Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Saturday, April 6, 2019

Tip Fail

We are at Round 4 of the NRL footy season and my footy tipping is, at this point, an epic fail!

Disappointing to say the least and made all the more difficult by the terrible website that the new manager of the club has selected for us to use. In fact, I think I will withdraw from the competition, because the site takes away some of the fun - it doesn't have some of the features that made being a participant so much fun in past years.

It doesn't show us which teams the other participants have selected, so we can't keep track of who might or might not catch us with each game, or who we might catch or overtake on the ladder.

The site doesn't update at the end of each game and it can sometimes take hours to update.

It has also refused me entry twice and I've had to change my password once because it didn't recognise me.

I'm over it.

I still have the family footy tipping comp in the old site, so I'll continue with that one. I also joined the ESPN footy tipping which is free. They will keep me happy.

I opened the shop in a ghost town this morning. Just four people walked through the door and only one of them made a purchase, however, I could see as I left the shop that the caravan parks are filling up due to the commencement of school holidays, so next week will surely bring a smile to my dial.

I'm excited that it's Sunday tomorrow and on this day of rest, I have all my art stuff ready to create something amazing. I have two canvasses and two ideas of how I want to fill them. Fingers crossed that those ideas come together. I can't wait!!

During my morning reading time before I got out of bed today, I read this and found it very interesting ...

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They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & Sold to the tannery.......if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor" 

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot......they "didn't have a pot to piss in" & were the lowest of the low.

Here are some facts about the 1500s: Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell . ...... . Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting Married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof... Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would Sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive... So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.

And that's the truth....Now, whoever said History was boring.....Ha

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I don't know how accurate any of that is, but most of it makes sense to me so I don't even care if it's made up lol.

I'm off to bed now.

Nite all.

Friday, April 5, 2019

Youtube Friday

An interesting day in the shop with the first sale of the day being a good one, lots of tyre kickers in the middle, and then a fabulous final sale of the day which included one of my large photos.

It’s another one of those times of the year where people are returning for their annual holiday and it’s so nice that they are coming in especially to say hello and check out the shop.

There was enough time between customers that I could watch loads of YouTube videos on the various methods of paint pouring. Oh the wonderfulness of it all! I can’t wait til Sunday, or maybe even Saturday afternoon to ‘have a go’.

Adoring Husband helped me shut up shop and I rode home to spend some brief chill time under the Bali hut before getting ready for the club.

I won three drinks in one of the draws, had a small win on the keno and was lucky enough to nab the final single seat on the bus home!

AH had dinner ready and we watched the footy together.

Now I am SO ready for bed 😴




Nite all.


Thursday, April 4, 2019

Where Did It Go?

This day passed so quickly, it felt like I blinked and missed it!

Adoring Husband drove me to work because the plan was for us to drive straight into The Bay at 3pm  when we closed the shop.

AH opened the shop while I got my morning coffee. He makes life so much easier for me.

My plan for the morning was to learn how to use Garage Band on my laptop to create a guided meditation. Unfortunately, it took an hour to download the app, by which time, one of our sales reps arrived for our 10am appointment, which I had forgotten about because I didn't look at my diary this morning!

Ninety minutes later I had made two standby orders to be delivered in May and looked at some stylish pearl jewellery and Swarovsky crystal jewellery, all beautifully packaged. I made a deal for the rep to email the catalogues for these items so that The Motivator and I can go through them and make some choices together.

As the rep walked out, the Fishing Club rep arrived to pick up the donations that I had packaged up yesterday.

Then entered a steady flow of fun customers who were all in for a chat and included some holiday-makers who have returned for their annual vacation.

I ordered a late lunch from the local cafe, so I walked over to pick that up.

Murphy's Law that as soon as I sat down to eat, more customers came through the door and of course my food went cold before I could eat it.

Adoring Husband soon turned up to help me close the shop, but of course there was a lingering/loitering customer who had difficulty making decision and who took 30 minutes to choose a small fridge magnet and who walked out the door at 3.02pm.

With team work, AH and I drove out of the carpark at 3.10pm.

This is what we were driving into The Bay to collect ...


... On Tuesday, I had asked the shop to hold 4 of them for me until today.

While I was there I purchased four comfy casual tops.

We drove to King Kong so that I could purchase my own art supplies so that I can make a paint pouring wave.


I think that's my aim for Sunday. To create art.

This evening we found this little guy in our outdoor area ...


He's a big fat juicy looking fella and has been living out there for at least a couple of months. We hope he lives a long and happy life here.

Finally, before I head to bed for an early night, I though I'd share this with you ...


TGIF and have a great day.

Nite all.

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Mid Week Marvel

We had a full house for meditation this morning and it was an excellent class with lots of input from everyone. The entire discussion was totally relevant and relatable and everybody hugged at the end.

I loved it.

The Gypsy had the morning free, so, as usual, we spent the time chatting about everything and anything and philosophising about life in general.

There were enough customers in the morning to make me happy about sales for the day and the promise from one to bring her friends in tomorrow, which will hopefully make me happy tomorrow!

The Motivator left for Tasmania today and hopefully was not held up by the flight delays caused by the fog in Sydney this morning.

We had some heavy scudding showers here today too! Some good rain this evening making the grass and gardens look lush and green.

Adoring Husband spent time in the kitchen and made a chocolate brownie cake, so he brought me a piece to the shop for afternoon tea.

Unfortunately, it was the only thing I had to eat all day and the sugar content affected me big time! The sugar high was fleeting, but the crash afterwards was intense. We both fell asleep on the lounge in the Bali hut and my energy was completely drained. It was an effort to wake up and get up!

I made a quick but hearty dinner of chicken with veg - pumpkin, sweet potato, potato, onion, zucchini in a gravy that was made with a home made chicken and veg stock full of white pepper and olive oil. It was good enough that I could feel my body responding and my energy levels lifted considerably.

Which was lucky, because we had trivia at the club tonight so we needed the energy and we needed our brains to function on 'full'.

We picked up The Blonde Bombshell from her house and arrived very early at the club, but it was very busy and we had to find a table right at the rear of the club and around the corner. It must have brought us luck because we came second tonight!

Yes, that's right ... SECOND! By two points. Go us!

Now it's almost 11.30pm and I'm feeling it. Time for bed, but just before I go, I found this to be very interesting ...


... I believe this to be true. What do you think?

Nite all.

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Meditating or not?

So, our new routine in the afternoons when we arrive home, is to head straight to the pool area to sit under the Bali hut and chill.

Adoring husband reads.

I listen to an audible book.

Sometimes we converse.

We doze ... or sleep soundly lol.

Just sitting in silence is also an option ... which is a form of meditation 🧘‍♀️ but don’t tell AH because he’s scared of meditation. Don’t ask.

Needless to say, our TV is feeling a little neglected these days.

I had a nice day at the shop with Aggie presenting Nutrimetics products during our coffee morning and there was a slow but steady flow of customers until lunch time.

The Motivator and The Fisher King dropped in for a purpose in the afternoon and AH helped me close up, as he does.

Nothing much else to report for today. I’m sorry I missed Beauty’s birthday lunch, but it looked like a good time was had by all.

I’m not sorry that I missed tonight’s barbecue at the park because my lounge room is much more comfortable. Sorry friends.

Before I sign off, I just want to say this ...

Nite all

Monday, April 1, 2019

Busy Busy Busy

This is shaping up to be a big week!

Today was busy for Adoring Husband who began  by mowing lawns at work and at home, then drove into The Bay to buy potting mix and plants to fill our pots in the pool area ...



Actually, he only bought one plant because the frangipani cutting came from our front garden and the agave is from our garden too. The Monstera Deliciosa was purchased today.

I, on the other hand, spent the morning in silence in an empty shop!

The Gypsy had a morning of clients so I spent the time putting prize packs together to donate to the Easter Fishing Classic being held at the end of the month.

The afternoon picked up to help finish the day on a bit of high.

AH helped me close the shop, we did some grocery shopping and after we arrived home, we sat in the pool area under the Bali hut for more than an hour. It was so peaceful and relaxing. We are very proud of what we have created out there and at times, it's difficult to drag ourselves away.

While relaxing, I received a text from Vegan Chickie with this photo attached ...


I would have been about 23 yrs old and I honestly don't recall that photo being taken, so today is the first time I've seen it. It's a lovely photo and evoked some very strong loving feelings, being reminded of happier and more innocent times. I was still married and Bubbles hadn't even been born yet.

I feel that my hairstyle is almost Princess Dianna-like!

As I was saying about this week ... tomorrow morning is coffee with the girls which will incorporate a practice run for Aggie to present her Nutrimetics before she embarks on her new venture doing the party thing.

The girls are then attending a birthday lunch for Beauty, which will be followed by the monthly barbecue dinner at the Lions Park for our group.

Wednesday night is Trivia night at the Club.

AH and I need to spend an afternoon, probably Thursday, in The Bay searching for some important purchases.

Friday is either Club night or drinks round the pool, depending on how I feel at the end of the week.

I've just spent almost 2.5 hours on the phone with my sister, so I'm cutting this short now and heading off to bed. It's almost midnight!

Nite all.

  

Sunday, March 31, 2019

Feeling the Serenity

I've had a lovely day off.

Adoring Husband brought me breakfast in bed - vegemite toast and coffee - the perfect start to a lazy Sunday.

Then he ordered me to get out of bed and inspect the pots that he had spent the morning moving into the pool area ...



... we moved them slightly and then I didn't want to leave the pool area, so I plonked myself down with my electronic devices and there I stayed until it was time to make lunch.

I plonked myself down with our lunch and there I stayed until the water called me in at around 3.30pm.

I spent a delightful 30 minutes in the very cool water and while I was drying myself off, I received a call from The Motivator and she came round for a visit, bearing the gift of fresh watermelon!

We chatted for about an hour and came to an agreement regarding some plans we had.

After she left, I cooked up an early dinner - spaghetti bolognese with zoodles for AH and Vegemite on toast for me - don't worry, the novelty of having Vegemite back in my life will soon wear off. Haha.

Right now, I'm imagining an early night in preparation for a big week ahead, so I will share something that somebody special shared with me today ...


It's been another perfect day for me to feel gratitude and happiness for all that I have in my life.

Life is good.

Nite all.