Productive

It was a steady sales day.

One lady came in with a group of friends and announced VERY loudly “There’s a framed sunset photo as you walk in the door but it’s no better than anything I’ve got on my phone”

To which I responded just as loudly “Well thank you very much!”

Her friends all looked at me with a touch of embarrassment in their eyes, but she didn’t even look up.

While she was trying clothes on in the fitting room, they all left. None of them told her they were going so she was quite put out when she walked into a now empty shop!

She told me that they did that to her when they were all in Phuket one time and she had to find her own way back to the motel which, apparently, was harrowing for her!

She began to show me the sunset photos on her phone and told me that she had one done on a canvas but it didn’t come out very well. I said to her “ That’s the only trouble with phones, they look great on the screen but if you try to print one large, it doesn’t work”.

That’s when I realised that she had a serious hearing problem and needed to be reading my lips to understand what I said ... and why she didn’t look up when I responded to her initial insult.

She responded by walking over to my sunset photo and said “Yes this was probably taken with a good camera.”

“Yes! It’s a Canon 5D Mark IV” I blurted.

“Oh that explains it.” she said.

“No” I replied, “I think it’s more about the person being a good photographer.”

She looked at me and asked “Are you the photographer?”

I nodded.

That was when she realised her error in judgement and feeling flustered, went looking for something to purchase to allay her guilt.

We parted as friends 👍

Between serving customers I cleared some of the hand made jewellery from behind the counter and found some spots through the shop to display them.

I also sat in the training room at my little table covered in yesterday’s jewellery haul calculating prices, removing the wholesale tags and adding my own tags to everything.

I rearranged some of the jewellery in the glass cabinets to make space for the new selection but decided to bring all the lovely pieces home so that I can take photos to post on social media, which I will do tomorrow.

Adoring Husband replaced the weather strip on the back door at the shop in preparation for the inclement weather that has been forecast. He bought grilled fish from the local cafe for lunch - delicious! He washed dishes in the kitchen while I finished up.

We didn’t close the shop until after 2pm and by the time we finished tidying up loose ends it was 2.45pm when we got home.

I got changed, put on a load of washing, made myself an ice cream cone and planted my butt on the lounge.

We sat in a silent room for about 2 hours. AH fell asleep in his chair and I cleared some emails, checked social media, monitored the BOM for the weather that never happened, printed out my kombucha recipe and planned dinner.

I used the leftover Hainan chicken, added diced carrots, onion, spinach, snow peas and some of my creamy home made mushroom soup from the freezer, added a pinch of powdered ginger and chilli powder and OMG the flavour of that nutritious goodness was to die for. 

We are watching the AFL grand final right now and Richmond is leading by 16 points with nine minutes remaining in the game. I’m going for Richmond. My usual team is Carlton who have performed poorly for the last two decades. Prior to that, they were never out of the top 8.

Anyway, it has been a good day and I’m hoping to go for a dip in the pool tomorrow, depending on the weather of course. There’ll be a photo shoot and perhaps some art play.

The shop is now closed for my mini break and won’t reopen until Thursday 29th October. I’m looking forward to the break and have almost all that time booked out with play dates!

I hope that Vegan Chickie, Chicklet and Mr Perfect have settled into their new family home tonight and are feeling all snug and warm together.

Now it’s time to go cheer out the end of the game.

Nite all.

Forgot Twice

Emma from “Merchants of Venus” booked today’s appointment with me three weeks ago.

I put it in my diary.

I haven’t even looked at my diary for three days so when she phoned at 11am to to tell me she would be running 30 mins late for her 12:30pm appointment, I got a surprise because I’d forgotten she was even coming!

When she came through the door at 1pm, I got another surprise because I’d already forgotten (again) that she was coming! What the hell is wrong with me!?

After looking at her old Facebook page 3 weeks ago, seeing her work and knowing I would love it, I had set a sizeable budget to spend. I was swept into that shiny sparkly vortex and spent almost three times that budget.

I know it will sell so the purchase is a definite investment and while the initial outlay is hard to swallow, I can’t even feel guilty because the quality and the uniqueness of her work is divine.

I selected, for myself, a beautiful Prasiolite ring that matches perfectly to the bracelet I picked up from Tinkerbells on Wednesday. Prasiolite is one of the rarer crystals and is a very soft green colour. I tried to take a photo of it just now but the light is poor in the bedroom and it doesn’t do it justice.

There are so many pieces I’d love to keep for myself, but I will show self control.

We spent three hours together AND get this ...

I was wearing a white top and denim blue linen pants. She was wearing a white skirt and a denim blue top.

I was wearing a blue topaz ring and a white pearl ring. She was wearing a blue topaz ring and a white pearl ring.

I was wearing a necklace of raw aquamarine. She was wearing a necklace of cut stone of blue topaz.

We were totally colour and gemstone co-ordinated!

We had the same length hair - she was blonder. I was ten years older.

She lives in Mullumbimby.

She is BFFs with Melanie Woods whose jewellery I also sell in the shop.

I liked her a lot and I REALLY loved her jewellery ... obviously.

It was a slow sales day which gave me a chance to tidy up behind the counter a little in the morning and create some more files. I had visits from three chatty customers who took up quite a bit of time, which was fine by me.

It’s nice to be winding down knowing that I have a mini break coming up - although I’m still waiting on two deliveries that should have been here at the beginning of the week, so I’m worried about how I’m going to receive them now.

Now it’s time to sleep because I’ve smothered myself in ‘sleep soundly’ essential oil and I can already feel it taking effect.

Nite all.

Silly Me

It has been 8 days since I drank coffee!

I have been drinking a cup of tea every morning when I get to work and that seems to have kept the withdrawal headache away - I’m pretty sure there is almost as much caffeine in tea as there is in coffee BUT I take my tea black and it’s the dairy I’m trying to avoid.

I’m feeling better for it.

HOWEVER, last night, at 8.30pm, I decided to take a cup of tea to bed with me.

BIG mistake.

HUGE!

I used essential oil, meditation and then listened to an audio book - finally, some time after 1.30am, I fell asleep.

For some strange and unknown reason, I was awake at 5.25am.

I started my day with celery juice and a banana. A cup of tea at work. Lunch was chicken, sweet potato and baby spinach with a sweet mustard dressing. Dinner was a cup of the broth from Hainan chicken and vegan ice cream in a GF cone. I’ve had a litre of water.

I took it pretty easy at work today.

I sat at my desk and priced over 100 products before displaying them.

I paid my phone bill the second I opened it.

I photocopied a stack of receipts and filed them.

I worked on a budget for the next couple of months.

I served customers.

It was a good sales day and the time passed quickly, but with only 4 hours of sleep, I was feeling very weary by the time I got home. I tried really hard to stay awake but I fell asleep in my chair so I decided to climb into bed for a nap.

A nap that lasted almost 2 hours!

This meant we had a late dinner at almost 7pm! Unheard of!

It’s almost 10pm now and I’m about to return to my bed WITHOUT tea. 

Nite all.

It’s Somebody’s Birthday

For three weeks I’ve been racking my brain every day trying to figure what I could do for Adoring Husband’s birthday.

I’ve been telling everyone that his birthday was imminent and I didn’t know what to get him or how to make it special.

Nobody else could come up with an idea and I hoped that I would have an epiphany at just the right moment.

This morning at 7.15am, he was helping me open the shop in preparation for the meditation class, when one of my customers was filling out the COVID register and asked me what the date was - as I said it out loud, I realised “OMG the day is here! How the hell did it get here already!?”

😳😩😳

I am a bad wife.

For all that this man does for me on a daily basis ... I should have been on the ball and making this day special from the second he opened his eyes.

I decided to close the shop early at 1pm, and made a sign that said “It’s my husband’s birthday and he is a most amazing man, so I’ve decided to close the shop at 1pm and show him some birthday love. Thank you for understanding and I hope to see you tomorrow!”

We drove into town and I shouted him lunch at the Dayman General Store cafe where we ate a Buddha Bowl with Thai fish cakes followed by a choc berry tart. He had a coffee and I had a detox hydrating juice.

This is his birthday gift ...

I know right?! I wanted to get it out of lay buy but decided to wait until I was feeling richer. He stopped at Tinkerbells and handed me his card. My reward for forgetting his birthday? It’s just not right.

Tourmaline, peridot, clear quartz, moonstone and pearl.

I fell in love with this Larimar ring too, so I purchased it (not with his card).

We picked up the FROG box on the way home and stopped to get protein for dinner.

I did share my special GF dark chocolate rocky road with AH 🥴

It’s now 11pm and I’m listening to him gently snore beside me. That means I need to sleep before the gentle snore becomes a steam train snore.

As I wrote in his birthday card - he is my hero, my rock, my security blanket, my great love, the man of my dreams and the love of my life.

For all future birthdays, I will do better.

Nite all.

Perfect Shoes

My new shoes are absolutely perfect for work.

It was a busy day and I was on the move and on my feet all day.

Adoring Husband and I got to the shop early to clear the art stuff away and set the room up for morning tea and the journaling class. It took us about half an hour.

My girls arrived for coffee and I got to spend a little time with them before those pesky customers interrupted us again. The girls soon departed with their own plans ahead of them and I got busy in the shop.

At lunch time a delivery arrived so between customers, I unpacked and priced it all. I didn’t have time to display it because I had to make copies of today’s lesson and set the places at the table, so I stored it in the kitchen until tomorrow.

The cleaner arrived early so I directed her to where I needed the work done and the journaling girls arrived soon after. It was a good session. It always is.

As the girls left, AH and I folded the tables, vacuumed the floor and set the room up for meditation in the morning.

It was after 4pm when we left but physically, I was feeling much better today than the last two Tuesdays. Mentally, I was more tired because I forgot a few words during the class and I had to describe what I meant so the girls could tell me the word I was after! Gawd 😳

My shoes felt like slippers and my feet and legs felt fresh and strong at the end of the day. I love them and I think I’ll go get a second pair!

We had protein and salad for dinner.

It’s now almost 11pm and I’m going to ‘snort’ some Sleep Soundly essential oil and then fall asleep to the sound of a guided healing meditation.

Nite all.

Roller Coaster Ride

That was my day.

I had to be in The Bay today, which meant I couldn’t be here at the shop to receive deliveries, which I know are due but I wasn’t given tracking details so I couldn’t be sure that they would arrive today.

A dilemma!

I decided to ask the neighbouring business if they would accept my deliveries for me and I would make a sign for the front door to direct the courier to their door.

They very generously agreed to do that, which I was grateful for because I know how busy they are right now.

This meant we were able to get into The Bay early to run many errands before attending a very important funeral.

First stop was Office Works for plastic envelopes, price stickers and file boxes. Nanas pantry was next for our favourite ginger and lime balsamic dressing. Su Jus Cafe for a juice and some slices to take to Owen’s celebration of life. Truckloads to stock up on paint for the next art workshop and I did a little detour into Shoe Frenzy where I purchased some shoes and a bag. (Photos tomorrow)

Adoring Husband popped into HBW while I was doing that.

Bunnings for some Floetrol. Spotlight for a big purchase of 31 canvases.

By then, it was time to attend the funeral.

It was perfect.  Brave messages of love and loss expressed on video by some family members, because we all know how tough it is to stand up and speak at a loved one’s funeral.

Strong friends who spoke and expressed the feelings of all friends in attendance - even if they didn’t realise it at the time.

Beautiful music, amazing stories, a life time of photographic memories, overwhelming emotion and a fitting send off for Grumpy Pants, who wasn’t really grumpy at all.

Afterwards was a huge gathering at their home where stories were told, warm hugs were shared and loving support was provided for our Bombshell who was holding up well, all things considered.

Gone too soon. He will be missed. May he Rest In Peace.

It was a relief to get home where we hugged each other feeling gratitude for obvious reasons. I prepared an easy dinner and we planted our butts on the couch. 

Now we are both exhausted and ready for bed.

Nite all.

Always Something

Yes it was my day in bed 🌻

Before I tell you about it, here is a brief rundown on my fructose information.

I wrote everything down except the name of the doctor who provided the info!

Vitamin D is important for helping your body fight all disease and especially the Corona Virus, but even the smallest amount of fructose will inhibit your body’s ability to absorb Vitamin D. If your taking Vit D supplements but still eating fructose - you’re basically wasting your money.

Another one is glutathione which cleans your cells and helps you fight viruses, but fructose inhibits your body’s ability to produce glutathione. 

The third thing, in relation to Corona Virus, that fructose does, is completely surround and cover the Corona Virus and create an armour around it so that your immune system cannot identify it. It can then create havoc through your body because it’s camouflaged by the sugar molecules.

Read your labels because ‘high fructose corn syrup’ is the most damaging and is found in soft drink, biscuits, cake, pastries, breads, lollies, sauces, salad dressings, bottled fruit juices etc.

The second worse is sucrose (which is 50% glucose and 50% fructose) and it’s found in packaged breakfast cereals, grains, processed meat and sauces.

The fructose in fresh fruit and vegetables is safe and beneficial because it’s a complex carbohydrate with fibre and reacts differently in the body. People with diets high in fruit and veg have less oxidative stress.

To undo any damage you’ve already done ... remove fructose and sucrose from your diet, practice intermittent fasting, exercise, eat more fresh fruit and veg and get out in the sunshine.

That’s it.

I started my day by watching some news videos on the US election candidates - interesting. I got out of bed to make myself a cup of tea (Adoring Husband was on SES duty) and then returned to begin designing my 2021 calendar.

I usually create them through Vistaprint because every year they have a half price sale, otherwise it’s just not viable for me. They haven’t had the sale this year so I had to do some research to find a different provider. I was lucky enough to come across a site that was advertising great discounts but I had to have it completed by midnight of 18th Oct (today!) 😳

The problem with these calendars is that there is no option for adding words so I couldn’t put descriptions or titles under the photos and I had to improvise by creating my own title on the front page photo before adding it to the page.

I only ordered and paid for 30 copies and then announced on the shop Facebook page and my personal FB page that I was taking preorders. In the first 2 hours, I had 22 names on a list for preorder!! So I jumped in and ordered another 40 calendars. That’s it! 

Except for a break in the middle of the day when AH and I had to pick up some paperwork from work, shop for some lunch food and then make lunch, the calendar took most of the day to complete. I found the website easy to use but frustrating with it’s lack of options.

I did some bookkeeping and calculations, ordered some stock and paid a bill.

I found this on an old memory in Facebook ...

It’s almost 11pm so it’s time to sleep.

Nite all.