Local Connection

How strange that in the last few days, I've had three different locals tell me that they hadn't been to The Happy Abode because they thought it was a hippie new age type of shop and that's the type of thing that they're not interested in.

There were quite a few locals who came into the shop today, straight from 'craft' because they admired some jewellery that one of the ladies was wearing and were told it came from The Happy Abode.

As usual, they were pleasantly surprised by what they saw and heaped praise in our direction.

Another lady said that we had obviously worked hard to create a harmonious and welcoming environment with a warm atmosphere and that she loved being in the space.

On the weekend, at the markets, I commissioned a lady to create a bracelet for me and today, she delivered it to me at the shop ...

... the light is not good because I took the photo tonight beside a table lamp, but I *LOVE* it so much!  It's blue and silver and I especially love those big shiny silver dragon heads to remind me of Chicklet!

Here is the updated photo of the display that I changed last week ...

I did some more rearranging today and I spent some time with a lady who came especially to see me because her husband has been diagnosed with Parkinson's. Somebody told her that I might be able to offer some advice.

We chatted for about half an hour and then it got busy in the shop, so she left with an open invitation to return any time. We had a good chat and I think she was relieved to get a lot off her chest.

The Gypsy was in today and was booked out for the morning, but had to leave early to run an errand in Gympie. She's almost booked out for Wednesday too.

Adoring Husband was kind enough to come to the shop and do some 'lunch' shopping for me - an avocado, some shallots, a lemon and some smoked ham with a coffee. He then returned at 3pm to help me close the shop.

Some new snap jewellery arrived in the mail today and there should be more arriving every day this week and next.

Before I head off to bed, I must offer some birthday wishes!!

Happy birthday to my 'much cleverer than bubbles' daughter who reminds me of my favourite AA Milne quote ...

I hope you have the most fabulous day ever!

... and to The Motivator who still hasn't caught up to me ...

I hope you have an amazing day in Sydney with your family and you get to feel the love.

Obviously 24th July is a very special date producing very special people!

Nite all.

Super Sunday

I've had a super Sunday.

My only achievement was getting my washing done.

Adoring Husband found this in Facebook, which describes my Sundays perfectly!

Who knew that other people do this cocooning thing on Sundays?

I gained two points on Adoring Husband in the footy tipping comp!

There was a blackout during the night. I got out of bed at around 4.30pm to go to the bathroom, but when I switched on the light, nothing happened. In my sleepy head, I though to myself "Damned light has blown. Must tell AH in the morning."

I realised as I opened the bathroom door to return to the bedroom, that the street lights were out and it was VERY dark in the bedroom. No idea why the blackout occurred and I'm not even sure what time the power came back on, but that's the only thing of interest that happened during my Sunday.

So I'm off to bed for an early night. No early meditation tomorrow because we've changed it to Wednesdays.

I thought I'd share these before I go ...

Nite all.

Super Saturday

Beautiful Winter's day today!

It was busy for a Saturday, which was surprising considering the big Coal Fest was on in Howard today.

I met and had a long chat with an amazing 85yr old woman. I guessed her to be in her early seventies, so when she told me her age, I was truly amazed! Very strong and fit. Sharp as a tack and bright as a button, with fabulous stories to tell about her life ... and what a life she's lived! We only talked for about 30 minutes but I could have comfortably spent the day with her.

I thanked her for coming into the shop (she contributed nicely to our takings for the day) and told her how much I enjoyed our chat and how pleased I was to have met her. She said that she would return and wished us the best of luck with our shop.

She was the best part of my day.

Adoring Husband and I closed the shop a little after 1.30pm and did some grocery shopping before he drove off for home.

As I was pedalling back past the shop, two ladies came out of the cafe and were walking towards our shop and expressing regret that they were too late and the shop was closed, so I stopped and offered to open up for them.

They happily came inside and did a little shopping with the money they had with them and one of the ladies asked me to set aside a couple of items promising to return on Tuesday to purchase them. It was worth the effort to open up and we had some good laughs, making fun of husbands and old friendships.

I arrived home in time to put away the groceries, watch the end of a movie with AH and then settle in for Super Saturday football.

Sadly, I was unlucky with he first game and my selected team lost, but the game I was most looking forward to was first place on the ladder, South Sydney Rabbits, playing 10th placed Wests Tigers. I tipped the Tigers for an upset win because I felt like their two top players had found their mojo in their last couple of games and had a big win in them.

I was right!

I was the only one in the tipping comp to select the Tigers, so their win helped me move up a position on the ladder. Wahoo!

Now I'm off for an early night. The big week has worn me out.

Nite all.

Under the Weather

My apologies for not posting last night, but I was feeling a bit under the weather.

I climbed into bed well before 7pm and was asleep by about 8.30pm.

After a good night's sleep, I woke up feeling refreshed and healthy, so here I am!

Adoring Husband had a trip down to Brisbane today for a 2yr bladder cancer checkup.

He got the 'all clear' *happy somersaults and cartwheels*

It was another big day at The Happy Abode with lots of tourists spending their money today but a sales rep cancelled her appointment with me, which was disappointing.

This is the second time a sales rep has cancelled our appointment - I think it's when they realise how far out of the way we are, they decide to put it off til next time.

It didn't really matter to me because it gave me a chance to restyle one of our displays ...

Actually, those two bags on the right were removed after this photo and replaced with a purple/orange backpack and a small purple leather bag.

I also packaged up about 30 silver chains into ziplock bags to sell with the snap pendants.

The snap buttons were very popular today, which I love, because my favourite thing to do is play with the snap button jewellery!

It was about 3.20pm when I locked up the shop and pedalled home to get ready for my evening at the club.

Having been without AH all day, the psychotic dogs were excited to see me arrive home and I fed them before they chewed my leg off.

It was an unlucky night for all of us with no wins in the raffle or keno or pokies. One lucky member won the $600 membership draw, but it wasn't one of us!

It's almost 10pm so I'm off to bed. My beloved Brisbane Broncos have had a good win tonight so I can sleep with a smile.

Nite all.

This ...

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?"

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that others won't feel 

insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others

permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically

liberates others.

Marianne Williamson

The Gypsy introduced me this author today and I had to share her inspiring quote because it moved me.

Today was much busier in The Happy Abode and people were still strolling in until about 3.30pm. I didn't wait for more and locked the door after that. 

The other businesses on the street were complaining about how quiet it was, but they got the traffic early in the week when it was quiet for us.

The Gypsy was fully booked and speaking of 'authors', she sold five copies of her own book today! She was so busy that we hardly had any time to chat.

I was definitely ready for home and rather than sit down, I went straight to the kitchen to get started on a big pot of parsee curry chicken. I knew that if I sat, I wouldn't get back up! 

Dinner was delicious served with cauliflower rice and followed by fruit whip ice cream.

It's now 9pm and I'm off to bed.

I've slept soundly for the last couple of nights, but it's difficult to get out of bed in the mornings because it's so chilly! It was 2C this morning and I have a very limited selection of warm clothes. I still didn't wear sleeves today, but I did wear a light vest over my shirt.

Anyway, I still love the cold nights because it's so much easier to sleep snuggled down under the bedcovers.

Nite all. 

A Lull in the Season

After two big and busy weeks, there seems to be a lull in the season.

QLD public school holidays are over, however, private schools still have another week of holidays and NSW schools are still on holidays, PLUS the grey nomads are still booking out the caravan parks.

So there are still a lot of people in town, but they haven't visited The Happy Abode in the last two days.

Morning coffee with the girls was much more enjoyable for me today because it was so quiet in the shop and I wasn't interrupted by customers. The last few Tuesdays have been so busy, I haven't got to spend much time with the girls.

Luckily for me, this afternoon, I got a delivery of new stock, so I was able to spend the afternoon unpacking, pricing and displaying the new stuff!

That's it for the big deliveries, but over the coming three weeks, there should be lots of snap jewellery stock dribbling in each day.

I had to rush home before 4pm to be here for an appointment with a 'pool guy'.  We spent more than an hour with him getting a quote and having him answer all of our questions. The quote was still the same as 16 months ago but we had lots more questions.

We will get more quotes, but combined, Adoring Husband and I have some ideas that might look pretty good together. The tricky part will be doing it on a budget - "champagne taste on a beer income" comes to mind haha.

This company can't commence the project until October, but expect it to be complete inside 4 - 6 weeks, so we can be dipping our toes by November.

Aqua-aerobics at my place everyone!!

After the pool guy left, AH and I spent some time in the garden discussing our ideas and taking some measurements. We had another look at the quote and two styles of pools for which we were quoted.

Now we need to research all the landscaping ideas that we have and try to get the best prices for everything. We are going to recycle all the sleepers that we built the raised garden beds with, so we will save a lot of money just by doing that.

This new project is going to keep Adoring Husband very busy over the coming weeks!

I'm off to sleep on it.

Nite all.

Monday Meds

We had eight ladies in our last Monday meditation class this morning.

As of next week, our meditation classes will be held on Wednesday mornings ... because it's too hard to start the week so early on a Monday!

The ladies were all lovely and shared some really personal stuff today. It was a real hug 'fest' at the end of the session and we were all feeling the love.

It was a slow day in the shop which gave me a chance to do some more dusting and cleaning, pay a couple of bills, create a new sign for our changed meditation details, display some more stock from in our drawers and I was even able to make myself some lunch!

The Gypsy and I had some more interesting psychological chats - ALWAYS enlightening!

It was a beautiful sunshiny Wintery day, so I guess everybody was out making the most of it instead of shopping. We DID have a couple of people drive all the way to our town especially to come to The Happy Abode because, they said "We love your little shop."

That's a feel good moment.

By 3pm, every shop except the butcher and the supermarket was closed. There were three groups of people walking along the street looking for something to do and complaining about the fact that the street was dead.

Hopefully, they'll return tomorrow.

Adoring Husband helped me shut up shop and we did some food shopping before coming home.

We had an easy dinner of lamb chops cooked on the barbecue and salad.

I declined an afternoon coffee and am feeling decidedly tired tonight.

For the first time in a long time, I used my Sweet Sleep essential oil last night and slept soundly for over seven hours, so I'm going to do the same thing tonight. I don't understand why I stopped using it a few months ago. It's been sitting on my bedside table the whole time and for some reason I ignored it. I've had very broken sleep lately, so I'm pleased to have found the solution.

I need to sleep well so that I can enjoy morning coffee with the girls tomorrow. I always look forward to Tuesdays with the ladies.

Nite all.

Oops!

I’m in bed and have just realised that I forgot to blog!

So just a quickie to say that my day was pretty normal for a Sunday.

A few hours in bed.

We briefly visited friends who have a new pool, so that we could check out the handywork of the company we are using.

I made a big batch of spaghetti bolognese sauce.

Watched three games of football and was bitterly disappointed in my team who spoiled my perfect round.

Came to bed early, but now it’s late and here I am!

Early meditation in the morning so it’s time to sleep.

Nite all.

Cold Brrrr

As tough as it was to climb out of bed this morning - apparently it was 1C - I was up early enough to ride to the markets and spend almost an hour looking around and spending too much money.

I even had time to make my lemon water and then heat up my chicken bone broth to drink during the ride.

At the markets, I bought some raw honey, some coconut hand cream, a kitchen hand towel, two lead light whales, two planter pots, a necklace and I commissioned a lady to make a bracelet with a silver dragon clasp.

Luckily I had my trike with a big basket to carry all of my goodies back to the shop.

Adoring Husband left the SES breakfast stall to come help me open the shop and it took about ninety minutes for the first customer to come through the doors.

It was a relatively quiet morning which gave me the chance to do some rearranging and some dusting and some fluffing.

Today appeared to be a change over day for the caravan park as quite a few vans left their positions to make way for the next batch of holiday makers.

I guess that, paired with the markets, was enough to keep people pre-occupied and less inclined to shop at The Happy Abode.

AH returned to the shop at 1pm to help me close, so that I could leave and attend a LaReve party which started at 1pm. I was a little late, but the room was full of friendly smiling faces who all welcomed me loudly when I walked in the room.

The entire class of my last photography workshop was in attendance so I got to hear what they've been up to with their cameras since the class. One of them has learned how to do night photography since then and showed me some of her pics on the camera.

They are all still keen and excited about what they learned with me, so that makes me feel good.

The hostess of the party was lovely enough to make sure there was gluten free food available for me to partake, which also made me feel good. I am always grateful for the extra effort that people go to for my benefit when it comes to food.

I arrived home at about 4pm, just in time to watch one of the old Jurassic Park movies with AH.

Dinner was reheated beef casserole for AH. I'd had enough to munch on at the party so I didn't need any dinner.

AH and I are now researching pools and pool landscaping. It's been more than 18 months since we received our first quote, and now we are ready to create a little magnesium filtered oasis in are back yard - for our health as well as our pleasure.

We are on a mission!

Anyway, I plan on having a reasonably lazy Sunday - I drew a Journey card yesterday and it told me that REST was most important this week and that I needed to breathe deeply and meditate my way to sleep - which I do every night anyway - and to rest my body. Tomorrow, I will rest!

For now, it's bed.

Nite all.



  

Friday Frenzy

It was a crazy busy morning in The Happy Abode, but after 12.30pm, not a single solitary soul came through the doors.

I picked up the Cenzoni order from the Post Office and within five minutes of putting the first backpack on display, it was sold! It was my favourite - exactly the same as the one I use as my regular bag except this one was a 'smoke' colour.

Here is a selection of the Cenzoni bags that arrived today.

Tomorrow is market day and I really want to check the markets out before I open the shop in the morning, so I should get to sleep.

Apparently, it's going to be icy cold in the morning. For all of you southerners, icy cold in our town is 6C. Yes I know that it's -6C down south. Winter is perfect up here in Queensland. I just wish it lasted longer than a couple of weeks.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Nite all.

 

Like a Lizard

That's how flat out I was today ... like a lizard drinking!

Lots of people in town and each person that came in today said "People have been talking about this great little shop behind Elders!" and they all gasped and admired our beautiful Happy Abode.

So many of them also said "Your prices are so low!" and then they proceeded to buy birthday and ... wait for it ... Christmas presents!

One man suggested that we put a flashing light out the front to attract attention, so now I am researching solar powered flashing lights - NOT a red one! What a great idea!

Both of our caravan parks are full at the moment and some people have attempted to extend their stay, but their site is booked out for weeks in advance, so they have to leave.

It's pretty amazing how steady the stream of people has been and all of them are incredibly friendly and warm and happy and chatty.

As tiring as it's been, I've really enjoyed this week and I can't wait for the remaining deliveries to arrive. I'd really like some time to fluff around the shop and change some displays.

These are some of the scarves that have arrived this week, as well as some cushion covers ...

Just before I head to bed, I'd like to mention that I am missing Lady Lynn very much these holidays, but I hope she's having fun with her grandies and the fambam.

Nite all.

Hellova Hump Day

Today was busy and went oh so fast!

I chose to stay back for two hours to finish unpacking yesterday's delivery.

I've checked everything off the invoice, priced it all and displayed some of it, but not all.

Some stock was sold as it came out of the box!

It was nice having The Gypsy at work to chat with between customers and unpacking.

There should be more deliveries this week, so I need to be on the ball and pace myself to get it all done without overdoing it or getting stressed.

It's important to remind myself that this is the fun part and I don't have to have it all done in a time frame. I'm the boss and there is nobody riding my butt to get it done quickly - just enjoy the process.

Like Romy and Michelle in that fabulous movie, I thoroughly enjoyed folding scarves today!

So many beautiful scarves came out of the box and I can tell that they will be walking out the door quickly.

Right now, it's State of Origin time, so I'm going to watch my team defeat the Blues ... hopefully ... maybe ... gawd.

Nite all.

Pow!

What a crazy day!

I sat down for the first time today at 2.30pm. It lasted for six minutes before the next customer walked through the door!

Morning coffee with the girls was, as usual, full of fun and frivolity, even though I didn't get much time with them because the shop was busy.

A delivery arrived at about 9.30am and before I had even unpacked the first box, I'd sold a couple of fabulous frogs posing in crazy positions (you know who you are!).

So we have a shop full of turtles, owls, frogs, cats, trees, pin boxes and trinket bowls.

I met LOTS of holiday-makers from South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria and NSW. It seems that the town is FULL of interstate travellers, all of them incredibly friendly and very happy to be here. A couple of them have even bought blocks of land hoping to retire here in the near future.

It was a colourful, busy and happy day in The Happy Abode.

Thankfully, Adoring Husband arrived at the shop at 3pm to help me close and to put the bins out.

As he left, I received a call from Telstra asking if we had received our new modem for the NBN yet, so then I had to go to the Post Office to check. It wasn't there, but a big box of Ivys products was waiting instead.

I needed a trolley to wheel the very large, very heavy box back to the shop. Unfortunately, I had placed my handbag in the trolley before I dropped the box in, so when I returned to the shop, the box was too heavy to lift to retrieve my handbag, which meant that I had to open the box and empty half of the contents before I could lift it!

I now have new stock EVERYWHERE that still needs to be checked against the invoice, unwrapped, priced and displayed. I guess I'd best get to work early tomorrow! I also need to return the trolley from whence it came.

Our Ivys order is full of beautiful scarves, purses, wallets, handbags, cushion covers and hats.

Question is ... where is it all going to be displayed???

There are three more deliveries due this week so the pressure will be on to find display space!

Sleep will definitely come easily to me tonight. I feel very tired even though I slept a solid seven hours last night. I have to package up my bone broth and then I'm heading to bed - all things going to plan, I should be asleep before 10pm.

I'm all done in.

Nite all.

Too Tired

I can’t believe how tired I’m feeling tonight!

So this is just to let you know that I’m alive and well.

It’s been a good day at the shop.

I’ve got bone broth on to brew.

Adoring Husband cooked dinner on the barbecue.

I’m feeling the chill in the air and wearing my ugg boots.

I am going to bed right now - it’s 8.30pm.

Nite all.

Laziest Sunday EVER!

I didn't even do anything productive in my bed today.

I played word games, watched youtube videos and read some health information.

Adoring Husband brought me food and fluids.

He asked me for assistance in the kitchen while he cleared out some cupboards.

I did some washing.

It has come to my realisation that Sundays are my 'de-peopling' days. The days when I can hibernate and regenerate and not have to deal with humans or responsibilities.

These days are vital for my mental health and I didn't even know how much until today. The idea of getting out of bed this morning filled me with dread, but as the day wore on, I could feel my being fill with positive energy and motivation and lightness.

Generally speaking, I don't mind people, but this week has been pretty draining with some long winded customers who had sad stories and who obviously needed to purge.

At the end of my Sunday, I'm feeling much better and ready to face Monday.

Even better that my team won their NRL match 34 - 0 today.

Right now. Adoring Husband and I are watching the movie "A Wrinkle In Time" - I'll give you my review tomorrow.

Welcome to Monday!

Nite all.

Wet But Not Wintery

The temperature was mild but the atmosphere was humid and the rain came down very heavily quite a few times during the morning. This meant that the customers came in fits and starts.

In the long quiet spaces between customers, we ordered new stock. New lady's handbags and wallets, new snap button jewellery, new bamboo products, new knick knacks and pretty home decor products.

The next couple of weeks will be so much fun as the stock arrives. The Motivator will miss it all because she will be in Sydney having different kind of fun with family.

I kept the shop open for another hour after The Motivator left for home and a few people came in but they were all tyre kickers. They were all couples, so it's highly likely that the ladies will return next week while their husbands are fishing. That seems to be the norm around here - especially in holiday season.

When I got home, Adoring Husband and I began watching movies.

Shaun of the Dead - recommended by No. 1 Son. His only other recommendation was DeadPool and we all know how dreadful THAT was! Shaun of the Dead was not so horrific but it wasn't great either.

The second movie was The Greatest Showman. It was just as fabulous this time, as it was at the cinema the first time I watched it. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

The third movie was Georgia Rule with Jane Fonda and Lindsay Lohan.

The fourth movie is about to begin - Pretty Woman. I'm not sure if I can stay awake for all of it, but I'll give it a red hot crack!

If not, I'll go to bed and watch some Wimbledon until I fall asleep.

It seems there is a good little Aussie player by the name of Alex De Minaur playing Nadal and the commentators and other players have been raving about how great his potential is. I think I'll have to check him out and see if his demeanour is better than Kyrgios and Tomic.

I hope you all enjoy your Sunday.

Nite all.
 

Talking A Lot

That's what happened in the shop today.

Talking. Talking. Talking.

I don't mean The Motivator and I - although we DID talk a lot too - but we had very talkative customers today.

A couple of them took up a good chunk of our time telling us about everything and anything in their lives.

Comparatively speaking, it was fairly quiet in the shop today.

The Motivator worked on another project.

We put in an order with Luvnlife.

We registered with a new lady's bag/wallet supplier.

There was quite a bit of business talk so that I could catch up on all that's happened since Tuesday when I was last at work ... especially NBN stuff.

Adoring Husband turned up just before 3pm and helped us close the shop.

He dropped me at the club for my Friday night ritual, but their ATM was out of order and they tightly limited how much we could take from over the bar, Beauty and Beast were the only couple from our usual crowd in attendance, so I decided to return home. AH picked me up and I was sitting in my lounge chair well before 6.00pm.

I munched on some leftover chicken from last night's dinner and at 8.30pm I am now contemplating an early bedtime.

*yawn*

I was hoping to share a joke on here tonight, but I've lost it. Bugga.

Instead, here is a tiny snippet from the Tim Winton interview with Andrew Denton last week ...

Nite all.

My Weekend Has Ended

It's 4.37pm and I am still in bed, having worked all day on various things.

• Partially written our first newsletter
• Edited some of our website and watched some tutorials on the inner workings of it.
• Did a little research on creating my online course.
• Selected a date for a one day photography workshop.
• Read some more of one of The Gypsy's books.
• Started to write a description of the damaging rain events in our shop - to hopefully get things moving with our repairs.
• Had a mini nap
• Edited a couple of photos.
• Writing my blog post for the day.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the day, however, I didn't get any washing done ... oopsy!

It's been warm enough today that I've had the pedestal fan on since lunch time, but thankfully, Higgins Storm Chasers have advised that the weather will be taking it's second stint at trying to be Winter this weekend!

I'm excited.

It's time to climb out of bed to cook dinner - think I'll make a chicken curry.

Might throw a load of washing in the machine first.

I'm looking forward to being in The Happy Abode again tomorrow. Even though I enjoy my days off, I actually miss being in our shop.

Have a fabulous Friday!

Nite all.

One Down

I stayed in bed until 1.30pm today.

I made a 'to do' list which included things like

• work on The Happy Abode website
• work on the romanceyourlifewithroz website
• read Annemarie's books
• do some more DDT manifesting course
• create the next workshop
• create a newsletter for The Happy Abode
• do more with THA's instagram/twitter/pinterest accounts

... there is more on my list, but you get the gist. There is a LOT to work on. It's just a matter of time ie finding the time and using it effectively. I seem to get more done while sitting up in bed during the day, than at any other time!

The only reason I got out of bed at 1.30pm was because I had an appointment with The Gypsy to have a Zen Shiatsu massage at 2.15pm.

I was surprised at how many tight spots I had and how tender certain parts of my body were. She worked on all the parts that needed it and then gave me some stretches to practice to help gain more movement in the tightest parts such as my neck, hips and groin.

It seems that my kidneys, bladder, liver and heart are struggling at the moment. I will follow her advice and work on fixing these areas.

After my massage, Adoring Husband and I went for a short stroll along the beach so that I could do some grounding. We were only there for about ten or fifteen minutes, but I could feel the benefits, especially after taking my superhero pose in ankle deep sea water!

We did a little grocery shopping and then came home to rest for an hour before making a quick dinner and then getting ready for our trivia night at the club.

As always, we had a really enjoyable night with Tweedle Dee (new name yet to be decided) and the Garden King. None of us was feeling very clever tonight and came somewhere in the middle of the pack. The teams are only supposed to be four strong but there were a lot of teams with seven and eight members ... difficult to compete against.

Having said that - feeling clever helps - and we were not feeling it at all.

Tomorrow is my Sunday and I'm not sure how I'm going to spend it yet - perhaps I'll work on the websites.

The Motivator had a great day in the shop today and I hope that she can repeat that tomorrow.

I'm off to bed now.

Nite all.

My Weekend

Today is my Friday.

Wednesday and Thursday will be my weekend.

My plan for tomorrow is to stay in bed for as long as I want. Do some washing. See The Gypsy for a massage and perhaps go for a grounding walk along the beach.

Today was incredibly quiet in the shop for the first half of the day because there was a 'timbola' at the local hall from 9am - midday, so there were over 100 people in attendance there, which meant that they were NOT in our shop.

The afternoon was quite different as the people trickled in through the doors declaring that they'd heard about us at the timbola or saw somebody with one of our carry bags.

A large group of about ten people filled the shop for half an hour bringing an interesting energy and lots of busy chatter and noise.

One member of that group was a man with cerebral palsy in his 30s who lectured me because our pens didn't all have prices on them. We have the pens grouped in similar styles with one price placed in front of each group. He didn't like that idea and told me how it should be done. I thanked him for his excellent advice and agreed that we should do exactly as he suggested. He bought one of the pen sets.

I spent a lot of time cleaning all of our silver chains (about 20 of them) which took a bloody long time because I had to take the price tags off them first and then remove the hexagonal clasps. I dipped them in the silver cleaner and swished for ten seconds, then rinsed them under cold water, dried them off with a soft towel, reattached the clasps and replaced the price tags.

It took about 90 minutes, but now they are so shiny and sparkly clean!

I cleaned out one of the cube displays, dusted and replaced the stock.

One of our local artists, whose art we sell, dropped in some more of her work and I fell in love with and bought this ...

... it effects me emotionally! I just had to have it! The colours and the textures are stunning and I have no idea where I'm going to put it, but it's now MINE! I'm not sure about the black frame, so I'm going to look into some other options - I might visit my framer in town and see what suggestions he can come up with.

I'm happy that Wimbledon has now begun and I'm going to watch some of it before I head to bed tonight. Kyrgios is playing right now - I'm not his biggest fan, but he IS Aussie, so I will barrack for him.

Nite all.  

All Done In

It's been a big day!

I had a very early start for meditation, but along the way, I rode past Kindly Kel and had to stop to give him a hug. His eyes were looking so sad just a week after his Garden Fairy passed from this earth, so I needed to stop.

After a hug and a short chat, I had to cut the conversation short to get to work because I knew that The Gypsy was waiting for me to open the doors for her.

We had a good meditation class this morning that generated lots of conversation and triggered some great revelations.

It was a very slow start to the day, but by 10am the customers were coming thick and fast.

Adoring Husband came to visit twice, but I was too busy to stop and chat.

Considering most of the businesses along our strip were closed today, we had a very successful Monday in the shop and I seemed to spend a lot of time chatting to the male partners as the women browsed and made their selections.

I put together a box of goodies from the shop, valued at over $100, that we are going to give away as a prize on our Facebook page.

We have almost reached 300 'likes', so to promote our page and our shop, we are going to challenge people to share our post and tag their friends until we reach 300. At that point we will choose a winner.

The Gypsy's last appointment went a little over time and by the time I pulled everything in, closed the door and did my groceries, I didn't arrive home until after 4pm, by which time Adoring Husband was all dressed up and ready to leave the house for a big SES meeting tonight.

I made myself some stuffed mushrooms with a pork snag for dinner which was very satisfying and now I'm ready for bed at just after 8.30pm!

I'm well and truly done in and I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep ready for coffee morning with the girls tomorrow.

Nite all.

Unlazy Sunday

There was no lazing all day in bed today.

The date was made with friends to attend breakfast at the local cafe at 8.30am, so we were up and at'em much earlier than the usual Sunday.

I enjoyed a plate of bacon and fried mushrooms with GF toast and a GIANT mug of latte. Everybody ordered something different and it was a really enjoyable and relaxing morning with good food, good coffee and good friends.

We said our goodbyes and both Adoring Husband and I had missions that we needed to complete before we return home to enjoy a relaxing Sunday.

We needed to take photos of the communal toilets at the shops where lots of repairs, repainting and renewing need to be done. AH had to send them through to the 'powers that be'

Following that, we had to attach a big Happy Abode sign to a fence near our shop, so that took about twenty minutes and then we were free to enjoy our Sunday.

Our day was spent on Netflix.

It was great!

Yesterday I got a message that it was the last day of our Flickr challenge, so I logged into Flickr to find out what the challenge was. It was 'Negative Space' so I put a quick pic together and submitted it. I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm having an early-ish night ready for an early meditation start tomorrow.

Nite all.