Today was market day in my lovely little town.
It had rained all night and I was hesitant to pedal down to the park. I usually pack everything into the rear basket of my trike and set up at one of the permanent picnic tables in the park. I wondered how wet the park grounds were and I also wondered if it would continue to rain throughout the morning.
In the end, I decided to take the risk. I arrived right on 6.30 am, closely followed by my lovely assistant, the almost 70 yr old Aussie H, who also pedalled her trike and parked it beside mine.
Together, we took about 20 minutes to set up the stall, and right on cue, Adoring Husband arrived with our take-away coffee from the bakery. We settled back with our folding chairs and prepared for the onslaught!
The best part of our markets is catching up with all of the locals.
Unfortunately, none of them want to buy anything (to be fair, a lot of them bought my merchandise when I first started selling about 6 months ago). Instead they come to my table and stand around chatting, which is just lovely and is something that really gives me a buzz.
Sometimes, when there is a lull in the crowd, other stall holders wander over for a chat. Of course, you have to realize that our little market day only has a grand total of 25 stalls (maybe 35 on a fine weekend in tourist season!), so it's not like any of us are ever run off our feet.
Today was quite busy, as far as crowds go, but it seemed that nobody wanted to spend any money! The markets, today, was somewhere for people to pass the time and window shop. Something to do before the rains came again. Even the other stall holders were complaining about how slow the spending was ... although the 'Nut Man' on the stall next to mine, was pretty busy. Even I bought some raw nuts from him!
The weather remained threatening all day, but it didn't rain. The relative of one of my local ladies bought a bracelet from me, which was my sole sale for the day. Sad but true.
We are all looking forward to next month, which includes Easter. Our town has a big Easter Fishing Classic Competition which is so popular that our population triples and we always hold a market on Easter Saturday. It should be HUGE! Let's hope the weather is good to us!
So, after four hours, I sold one child's bracelet and spent a total of $18 at other stalls, bought an egg in bread at the SES kitchen, 2 take-away coffees from the bakery and $8 for the cost of the stall site. Pretty sure that works out to be a fairly heavy loss for the day ... financially.
Spiritually, it was a MOST successful day. I sold something that I made with my own two hands. I spent a few hours with my lovely Aussie H. I caught up with about twenty locals. I was out in the fresh air. I helped other stall holders by buying their goods. I got to brag about my lovely little Chicklet by passing round some photos. I got some exercise riding my trike. I smiled a LOT.
So much value in one happy market day!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Yay for NRL 2011
Anybody who knows me, knows that I LOVE NRL footy. I love it so much, I incorporated references to football in our wedding vows!
This weekend marks the beginning of the 2011 NRL season and I am sitting here in front of the television watching the end of the Roosters v Rabbitohs game.
I am a huge Broncos fan. Unfortunately they lost against the Cowboys tonight, so I am disappointed. I am also disappointed because the Rabbitohs lost against the Roosters!
I'm in the footy tipping competition at the local pub and these results makes me nil from two. Not a good start to the year! Ugh!
Adoring Husband is an avid Cronulla Sharks supporter, so we attended most of the their home games when we lived in Sydney because the stadium was about ten minutes from home. It's one of the few things that we miss by living here in our little pocket of paradise.
My favourite form of the game is State of Origin football. When it's QLD (Cane Toads) v NSW (Cockroaches). Adoring Husband is a NSW supporter because he was born and bred down that way. I barrack for QLD because I was born here. There is a very healthy rivalry in our house from May thru to July every year because that's when these games are played.
We fly the flags on the outside of the house, on the car and on my trike. Game night, we dress up in the all the attire and go to the pub to watch the game. We bag each other out the whole time.
Luckily for me, QLD has been on a winning streak for the last few years, so I have had bragging rights and make the most of it at every opportunity!
So from now until September, I will be spending most weekends in front of the plasma big screen watching my beloved footy and driving the Psychotic Dogs mad when they can't figure out why I am jumping up and down off my couch and screaming at the television.
Yay for the 2011 NRL footy season!! I am so excited that it's finally here!
PS A few days ago I mentioned that one of the Lovely Layers had to visit the vet ... for those of you who care, she is fine! She didn't even get stressed by her drive in the car or being prodded by the vet because she hasn't stopped laying even for a day!
This weekend marks the beginning of the 2011 NRL season and I am sitting here in front of the television watching the end of the Roosters v Rabbitohs game.
I am a huge Broncos fan. Unfortunately they lost against the Cowboys tonight, so I am disappointed. I am also disappointed because the Rabbitohs lost against the Roosters!
I'm in the footy tipping competition at the local pub and these results makes me nil from two. Not a good start to the year! Ugh!
Adoring Husband is an avid Cronulla Sharks supporter, so we attended most of the their home games when we lived in Sydney because the stadium was about ten minutes from home. It's one of the few things that we miss by living here in our little pocket of paradise.
My favourite form of the game is State of Origin football. When it's QLD (Cane Toads) v NSW (Cockroaches). Adoring Husband is a NSW supporter because he was born and bred down that way. I barrack for QLD because I was born here. There is a very healthy rivalry in our house from May thru to July every year because that's when these games are played.
We fly the flags on the outside of the house, on the car and on my trike. Game night, we dress up in the all the attire and go to the pub to watch the game. We bag each other out the whole time.
Luckily for me, QLD has been on a winning streak for the last few years, so I have had bragging rights and make the most of it at every opportunity!
So from now until September, I will be spending most weekends in front of the plasma big screen watching my beloved footy and driving the Psychotic Dogs mad when they can't figure out why I am jumping up and down off my couch and screaming at the television.
Yay for the 2011 NRL footy season!! I am so excited that it's finally here!
PS A few days ago I mentioned that one of the Lovely Layers had to visit the vet ... for those of you who care, she is fine! She didn't even get stressed by her drive in the car or being prodded by the vet because she hasn't stopped laying even for a day!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Everybody Has a Story!
"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."
I believe that every greeting should include a smile and every meeting should end with a smile. There is always something happening in everybody's life and you never know what the story is behind the face you see in the street.
You don't know what happened to your neighbour this morning. The bus driver may have received some tragic news yesterday. The girl who serves you coffee may have broken up with her boyfriend last night. The Public Servant's teenager may have run away from home last week. The Receptionist may be struggling to pay rent this week. The Teacher may have just missed out on that promotion. The Bank Teller may have to attend a funeral in an hour.
There is a lot of sadness, tragedy, stress, anger and illness in the world. People are affected and react in different ways. People grieve in different ways. Sometimes, they can't afford to take time off work to deal with their issues. Others don't have a support network and are trying to cope on their own.
We can't always treat people with empathy because we don't know what their issue is. How do we know that the stranger needs sympathy? How can we tell that the gym instructor is lonely?
A smile costs nothing and a happy, positive attitude is easy to share.
Who cares if you accidentally put a red sock in with your whites this morning? It's not important that you spilt red wine on the carpet last night. So what if you forgot to charge your mobile phone and the battery is flat? Is it the end of the world if your train was cancelled and the next one made you 10 minutes late for work?
Think about it ... is it so bad that you will still be talking about it as you sit in your rocking chair on the front verandah at the age of 90? Don't sweat the small stuff and figure out what the small stuff is.
Make it your mission to bring a small piece of happiness to the people with whom you interact during your day. Smile. Laugh. Crack a joke. Use your manners and always say 'please' and 'thank you'. Be patient in the queue, whether you are in the car or at the bank.
Give yourself the power to make the world a happier place. Happiness is contagious and it has the power to heal.
I've always believed this, but even more-so now that I have my Boys at the Boat Ramp to help me start my day.
They are always smiling. Always cracking a joke. Greeting both friends and strangers with a smile at every opportunity. There is no anger, no stress and no antagonism towards anybody.
I look forward to seeing them every day and I know that I will leave them with a smile on my face. That, in turn, makes me want to share my happiness with anybody who comes near me.
If everybody with whom I come into contact, gets to share just a small degree of my happiness, and walks away with a smile, then that makes me even happier!
Everybody has a story. For those of us whose story is looking pretty good at the moment ... it's our responsibility to help improve somebody else's story, so spread the love!
Everybody has a story. For those of us whose story is looking pretty good at the moment ... it's our responsibility to help improve somebody else's story, so spread the love!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
School Reunions
Over the years, almost everyone I know has been invited to a school reunion.
Almost everyone I know has complained about receiving the invitation to their school reunion, while I was secretly envious, and wishing it was my invitation! Sadly, most of them did NOT attend their school reunion.
My Dad worked in 'oil search' so his job involved travelling, not just around Australia, but also to other countries. I have a very limited knowledge of his career in this industry, but I know that he operated a drilling rig and drilled for both oil and for water.
We lived on Brampton Island for a few months way back in the 60s and Dad's job was to drill for water. We lived in one of the resort rooms, which were nothing like they are today. They were more like the little portable units that you find in caravan parks these days.
I remember the Owner/Manager's name as 'Smithy'. He owned a boxer dog that I used to play with on the beach and every Friday night the resort had 'horse races' which involved horses made out of beer or soft drink cans. I was very young at the time, maybe 5 or 6, so I don't remember a lot of detail.
I think I was about six years of age when Mum and Dad bought a caravan so that we could follow Dad around the country in his work travels. It was a 19 foot long brand new Franklin van that Mum towed behind an old lemon and green FJ Holden, and we followed the drilling rig that Dad was driving.
Sometimes Dad would let my brother and I take turns sitting in the passenger seat of the drilling rig. I didn't like it very much because it was loud and bumpy in there. No such thing as air conditioning and they certainly weren't built for comfort!
We travelled as far north as Cairns, south to Geelong, across to Adelaide and as far west as Perth. I attended 17 different schools, which included at one stage, School of the Air and also lessons by correspondence. My lessons would arrive in a big envelope (I can still remember the smell) and I would sit at the table inside the caravan to do my work.
Living 'out bush', we bathed in a half 44 gallon drum, hiked for 100 yards carrying a shovel and roll of toilet paper to go to the toilet and made friends with kookaburras and magpies. At night we used a kerosene lamp or a torch to find our way to a far away tree for toileting and there would be little beady eyes glowing back at us from a distance.
The longest I was ever at one school was the last school I attended. Pine Rivers High School in Strathpine. I was there for about 2 miserable years. So that means that I attended 16 schools over an eight year period, which averages about 6 months per school.
I remember, while living in Cootamundra in 1982, receiving an invitation for a school reunion in Perth, which would be held the following year. Carine High School, which was a brand new school when I attended, was having a 10 yr reunion for the inaugural class of 1973. Unfortunately, I had two young children, we had just bought our first home and couldn't afford for me to travel across the country to attend.
That was my first and last invitation to a reunion. I wonder if the 40 yr reunion will be held in 2013?
I am very envious of people who got to experience their entire education at one school, with the same friends, the same school bus drivers and knowing, at the end of one year, the teachers whose classes they would attend the following year. I envied the familiarity and (my imagined) feeling of security.
I tried to create that for my own children. I wanted them to experience that stability. Of course, they did not enjoy the experience and don't have fond memories of school! The grass is always greener isn't it?!
So, I imagine that the majority of schools that I attended, don't even remember me being there, and if they did, they certainly would have no idea how to contact me now. I did not keep in contact with any of the friends that I made over those years, because we never knew where we would be living from one town to the next and mostly because I was never in a place long enough to form close enough friendships.
If there is anybody out there from Pine Rivers High who knows of a reunion for classes of 1975/76, please let me know. I would love to attend. The same goes for Carine High in Perth for the classes of 1973/74.
Being the 'people watcher' that I am, I imagine a school reunion being a most amazing experience. I have so many high school 'experiences' because I was a naughty teenager, so there are quite a few names that stand out in my memory and old school pals that I would love to catch up with now. They weren't close friends, but the sharing of some experiences creates a bond, however small, and the 'where are they now' scenario is highlighted in my brain.
Oh! The ammunition it would give me for future posts on this blog!!
Almost everyone I know has complained about receiving the invitation to their school reunion, while I was secretly envious, and wishing it was my invitation! Sadly, most of them did NOT attend their school reunion.
My Dad worked in 'oil search' so his job involved travelling, not just around Australia, but also to other countries. I have a very limited knowledge of his career in this industry, but I know that he operated a drilling rig and drilled for both oil and for water.
We lived on Brampton Island for a few months way back in the 60s and Dad's job was to drill for water. We lived in one of the resort rooms, which were nothing like they are today. They were more like the little portable units that you find in caravan parks these days.
I remember the Owner/Manager's name as 'Smithy'. He owned a boxer dog that I used to play with on the beach and every Friday night the resort had 'horse races' which involved horses made out of beer or soft drink cans. I was very young at the time, maybe 5 or 6, so I don't remember a lot of detail.
I think I was about six years of age when Mum and Dad bought a caravan so that we could follow Dad around the country in his work travels. It was a 19 foot long brand new Franklin van that Mum towed behind an old lemon and green FJ Holden, and we followed the drilling rig that Dad was driving.
Sometimes Dad would let my brother and I take turns sitting in the passenger seat of the drilling rig. I didn't like it very much because it was loud and bumpy in there. No such thing as air conditioning and they certainly weren't built for comfort!
We travelled as far north as Cairns, south to Geelong, across to Adelaide and as far west as Perth. I attended 17 different schools, which included at one stage, School of the Air and also lessons by correspondence. My lessons would arrive in a big envelope (I can still remember the smell) and I would sit at the table inside the caravan to do my work.
Living 'out bush', we bathed in a half 44 gallon drum, hiked for 100 yards carrying a shovel and roll of toilet paper to go to the toilet and made friends with kookaburras and magpies. At night we used a kerosene lamp or a torch to find our way to a far away tree for toileting and there would be little beady eyes glowing back at us from a distance.
The longest I was ever at one school was the last school I attended. Pine Rivers High School in Strathpine. I was there for about 2 miserable years. So that means that I attended 16 schools over an eight year period, which averages about 6 months per school.
I remember, while living in Cootamundra in 1982, receiving an invitation for a school reunion in Perth, which would be held the following year. Carine High School, which was a brand new school when I attended, was having a 10 yr reunion for the inaugural class of 1973. Unfortunately, I had two young children, we had just bought our first home and couldn't afford for me to travel across the country to attend.
That was my first and last invitation to a reunion. I wonder if the 40 yr reunion will be held in 2013?
I am very envious of people who got to experience their entire education at one school, with the same friends, the same school bus drivers and knowing, at the end of one year, the teachers whose classes they would attend the following year. I envied the familiarity and (my imagined) feeling of security.
I tried to create that for my own children. I wanted them to experience that stability. Of course, they did not enjoy the experience and don't have fond memories of school! The grass is always greener isn't it?!
So, I imagine that the majority of schools that I attended, don't even remember me being there, and if they did, they certainly would have no idea how to contact me now. I did not keep in contact with any of the friends that I made over those years, because we never knew where we would be living from one town to the next and mostly because I was never in a place long enough to form close enough friendships.
If there is anybody out there from Pine Rivers High who knows of a reunion for classes of 1975/76, please let me know. I would love to attend. The same goes for Carine High in Perth for the classes of 1973/74.
Being the 'people watcher' that I am, I imagine a school reunion being a most amazing experience. I have so many high school 'experiences' because I was a naughty teenager, so there are quite a few names that stand out in my memory and old school pals that I would love to catch up with now. They weren't close friends, but the sharing of some experiences creates a bond, however small, and the 'where are they now' scenario is highlighted in my brain.
Oh! The ammunition it would give me for future posts on this blog!!
Our Perfect Wedding Day
Adoring Husband and I were married last year in April, the day after my 50th birthday. It was (children's births aside) the happiest day of my life. I was positively overflowing with love and joy on that day. We had friends and family travel long distances to attend, and feeling their love, having them share the day, just made it so wonderful and special. These words simply do not convey how amazing the day was for me.
Adoring Husband proposed to me on a karaoke stage, in the same pub, believe it or not, where he had met his first two wives! We had gone out for dinner with friends, so they were there to witness this proposal and they were pretty excited to be part of it.
He passed a note to the karaoke guy that read "Mick, call me up next. I want to propose to my girlfriend". So Mick calls him up. He hands Adoring Husband the microphone, who promptly gets down on one knee and asks me to marry him. I cannot, for the life of me, remember the words he used, but I do remember pausing, looking around at the crowd and then replying "absolutely", to which they all clapped and cheered.
I also recall telling Adoring Husband (or Adoring Fiance as he was back then) that I was disappointed that it wasn't a sober proposal.
We planned our wedding to go ahead a year later in Griffith, where I had lived for 22 years prior to moving to Sydney. Due to circumstances that I won't go into here, we had to cancel those plans and our wedding was postponed indefinitely.
So, last year, for my 50th birthday, my best friend, who you met in my most recent post and who once again will be known as Beautiful Girl with the Long Blonde Hair (aka BGWLBH), decided that she wanted to do something special for my birthday and shouted me a week in Surfer's Paradise.
Because of this, Vegan Chickie had to reveal that she had already planned a surprise visit with The Bare-chested Chef for my birthday.
Adoring Husband then decided that this might be a great opportunity to plan our wedding! We had six weeks to plan it. The first thing we did was contact the first Celebrant that we found on the internet. She was booked solid for a year, but had JUST had a cancellation for the exact weekend that we wanted. From there, every plan fell beautifully in place, as if it was always meant to be.
I wanted a wedding in the park by the river, followed by lunch at the pub. My friends and Adoring Husband decided that we should have something better than that. I raised my hands in the air and said "If that's the case, you can plan it without me. I don't want to know ANYTHING about it because I don't want any stress. Just do it!"
Two weeks before the wedding BGWLBH and I met in Surfer's Paradise. On the first day, we went shopping for the wedding dress and put together the perfect outfit in one day for half the price that we expected. That meant we could shop and play for the rest of the week! Wahoo for us!
It was an amazing week and we had a blast together. The weather was great. We had a nice win at the casino, so we got to do even more shopping and we ate at a different restaurant every night. We hadn't had any girlie fun like that in years, so it was good for us.
We drove home at the end of the week to find Vegan Chickie and The Bare-chested Chef waiting for us. What a happy re-union that was!
There was a Hen's night. Friends and family filtered in over the following days. A neighbour offered their house for guests to use while they were away, which was a wonderful gesture.
The day before the wedding was my 50th birthday. We had 50 guests come to the local pub for a birthday dinner. It was a great night and Adoring Husband had provided the most beautiful cake that I had ever seen. My local girlfriends had made up a basket with silly gifts that I had to open one by one and we had a few short speeches and some laughs.
The perfect cake!
Finally, the big day arrived. As a surprise, Adoring Husband had arranged for our neighbour with a white convertible Mercedes, to be our driver. He picked us both up at the house and drove us to the park. It was a glorious day. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, the water was glistening in the sunlight and all our friends were gathered there waiting for us to arrive.
The Celebrant had sprinkled rose petals along the pathway and we walked (and danced a little) to the sound of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". We reached the Celebrant and made our vows, which included some fun stuff about football and golf, but also the serious and romantic stuff. We signed the registry to the music "I Wanna Grow Old With You" from the movie 'The Wedding Singer' and then finished with "You Make Me So Very Happy" amid the cheers, applause and congratulatory hugs from our friends and family.
Off we went to a friend's house, where the secret wedding reception had been planned and as we walked up the driveway, there were all the portable gazebos and tables decorated in my favourite colour, purple. It was so beautifully done. They had gone to so much trouble to make it the way they thought I would like it. Not too much and not too little. It was just right!
We drank, we ate, we danced, we made speeches. My sister, Squirt, made a speech that brought everyone to tears. Another perfectly beautiful cake was provided. We danced some more and a few even sang ... badly I might add.
The happiest day of my life :o)
After about 10 hours, our wedding and reception was over.
It was so much more than I could ever have imagined. The work that so many of my friends put into making it the perfect day, was above and beyond anything that I could hope for. Everybody was happy and smiling and laughing and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
My heart overflows with joy whenever I think of that day. It was, indeed, our perfect wedding day!
Adoring Husband proposed to me on a karaoke stage, in the same pub, believe it or not, where he had met his first two wives! We had gone out for dinner with friends, so they were there to witness this proposal and they were pretty excited to be part of it.
He passed a note to the karaoke guy that read "Mick, call me up next. I want to propose to my girlfriend". So Mick calls him up. He hands Adoring Husband the microphone, who promptly gets down on one knee and asks me to marry him. I cannot, for the life of me, remember the words he used, but I do remember pausing, looking around at the crowd and then replying "absolutely", to which they all clapped and cheered.
I also recall telling Adoring Husband (or Adoring Fiance as he was back then) that I was disappointed that it wasn't a sober proposal.
We planned our wedding to go ahead a year later in Griffith, where I had lived for 22 years prior to moving to Sydney. Due to circumstances that I won't go into here, we had to cancel those plans and our wedding was postponed indefinitely.
So, last year, for my 50th birthday, my best friend, who you met in my most recent post and who once again will be known as Beautiful Girl with the Long Blonde Hair (aka BGWLBH), decided that she wanted to do something special for my birthday and shouted me a week in Surfer's Paradise.
Because of this, Vegan Chickie had to reveal that she had already planned a surprise visit with The Bare-chested Chef for my birthday.
Adoring Husband then decided that this might be a great opportunity to plan our wedding! We had six weeks to plan it. The first thing we did was contact the first Celebrant that we found on the internet. She was booked solid for a year, but had JUST had a cancellation for the exact weekend that we wanted. From there, every plan fell beautifully in place, as if it was always meant to be.
I wanted a wedding in the park by the river, followed by lunch at the pub. My friends and Adoring Husband decided that we should have something better than that. I raised my hands in the air and said "If that's the case, you can plan it without me. I don't want to know ANYTHING about it because I don't want any stress. Just do it!"
Two weeks before the wedding BGWLBH and I met in Surfer's Paradise. On the first day, we went shopping for the wedding dress and put together the perfect outfit in one day for half the price that we expected. That meant we could shop and play for the rest of the week! Wahoo for us!
It was an amazing week and we had a blast together. The weather was great. We had a nice win at the casino, so we got to do even more shopping and we ate at a different restaurant every night. We hadn't had any girlie fun like that in years, so it was good for us.
We drove home at the end of the week to find Vegan Chickie and The Bare-chested Chef waiting for us. What a happy re-union that was!
There was a Hen's night. Friends and family filtered in over the following days. A neighbour offered their house for guests to use while they were away, which was a wonderful gesture.
The day before the wedding was my 50th birthday. We had 50 guests come to the local pub for a birthday dinner. It was a great night and Adoring Husband had provided the most beautiful cake that I had ever seen. My local girlfriends had made up a basket with silly gifts that I had to open one by one and we had a few short speeches and some laughs.
The perfect cake!Finally, the big day arrived. As a surprise, Adoring Husband had arranged for our neighbour with a white convertible Mercedes, to be our driver. He picked us both up at the house and drove us to the park. It was a glorious day. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, the water was glistening in the sunlight and all our friends were gathered there waiting for us to arrive.
The Celebrant had sprinkled rose petals along the pathway and we walked (and danced a little) to the sound of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". We reached the Celebrant and made our vows, which included some fun stuff about football and golf, but also the serious and romantic stuff. We signed the registry to the music "I Wanna Grow Old With You" from the movie 'The Wedding Singer' and then finished with "You Make Me So Very Happy" amid the cheers, applause and congratulatory hugs from our friends and family.
Off we went to a friend's house, where the secret wedding reception had been planned and as we walked up the driveway, there were all the portable gazebos and tables decorated in my favourite colour, purple. It was so beautifully done. They had gone to so much trouble to make it the way they thought I would like it. Not too much and not too little. It was just right!
We drank, we ate, we danced, we made speeches. My sister, Squirt, made a speech that brought everyone to tears. Another perfectly beautiful cake was provided. We danced some more and a few even sang ... badly I might add.
The happiest day of my life :o)After about 10 hours, our wedding and reception was over.
It was so much more than I could ever have imagined. The work that so many of my friends put into making it the perfect day, was above and beyond anything that I could hope for. Everybody was happy and smiling and laughing and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
My heart overflows with joy whenever I think of that day. It was, indeed, our perfect wedding day!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Arty Farty Creator!
Wow! I can't believe how today got away from me!
I began the day by taking photos of my jewellery. A prospective customer asked me to email some photos of jewellery I had made that I hadn't yet posted on facebook. Until now, I've taken plain photos with a black background but I thought I should be a bit more creative this time.
So, I grabbed items from around the house that I thought I could use as props and took them with me out into the sunshine, along with my camera.
I'm pretty happy with the results ... obviously not professional, but they show off my jewellery quite well. (click on my facebook badge on the right)
I spent a number of hours creating a slideshow, that I hoped I could email to this person, but it turned out to be too big to email.
It then took a bit of time to email the photos separately to this person, with individual information for each photo.
I cooked dinner after that! Fajitas. Thank you Bare-chested Chef for the fabulous recipe!
Of course, I had to then upload the photos to facebook and tag the information on them.
Now I am here!
It's hard work being an arty farty creator!
I've always been quite artistic and creative. My first memory of learning to draw is around the age of 4, when a friend's neighbour taught me how to draw a cowboy with chaps and boots, a gun holster with gun, a vest and kerchief tied around the neck and the big cowboy hat. I found it so easy and I must have drawn hundreds of cowboys on every piece of paper, blackboard and flat piece of dirt I could find!
At school, I always got top marks for my art assignments and received very positive comments like my favourite in year 10, "These are the most beautiful and sensitive drawings that I've seen in a school art project" or "I hope to see you go further with your art, in a professional basis, when school is over".
My big plan was to become a Commercial Artist, but, as my big plans often did in those days, they fizzled away to nothing.
I did a bit of drawing and sketching over the years. In 1981, I enrolled in an art course and then promptly fell pregnant with my third child. I didn't think I was capable of being pregnant, participating in an art course, caring for a child (my first had passed away) and a husband effectively, so I canned the course.
In 1997, I enrolled in another course to learn oil painting. I did this course for 4 months and completed one large oil painting and few smaller ones. Just as I finished the large painting, my father passed away, and that drained all of my motivation to do anything artistic or creative for a long time. I still, to this day, have not touched my oil paints, but am slowly convincing myself to consider the option!
Then in 2005, my Mum passed away suddenly. On the way home from (interstate) her funeral, in a little town called "Johns River", my girlfriend (who shall be known as Beautiful Girl With the Long Blonde Hair, or BGWLBH) (private joke) and I stopped at the local markets.
There, for sale, on one of the stalls, was a bracelet made out of pink beads, pearls and charms. BGWLBH and I argued over who was going to buy it. I played the sympathy card and won. I loved the bracelet and thought that it would be pretty easy to make.
When we returned to Sydney (where I lived at the time), I searched through craft stores for all the resources that I might need and proceeded to make the exact same bracelet that I had bought! It was easy and then it became my therapy. It helped me through a very sad time in my life, after my mother's death had sent me into a dark place, and it kept me on the right side of sane.
Just over two years ago, Adoring Husband bought me my first quality camera and I took up photography. Vegan Chickie is also talented in this field. She and I email a photo to each other every day, of something that we've seen or done with a little story attached. It's a great way to keep in touch and be involved in each other's life.
A local business woman, after seeing examples of my work, hired me to do some photography for a Government funded tourism website. Through that I've been hired for special events and am currently considering a wedding job in October!
So now, I have bought myself some more art equipment and am getting back into drawing and sketching and experimenting with pastels.
I'm feeling particularly arty, farty and creative these days so stay tuned for some arty farty creations!
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