Maybe The Weather?

I had a dreadful night.

I fell asleep around 10.30pm.

I woke up at 12.38am.

I was still awake at 2am so I went to the kitchen and made myself some sleepy tea.

I sat in the lounge room reading my new health book until 3.20am.

I was in bed asleep a little after 3.30am.

My alarm woke me at 6am.

I was at work by 6.40am.

Meditation.

Time with The Gypsy.

Morning tea with the meditation ladies.

An average day of sales.

Paid some bills.

Set the training room up for art on Saturday.

Cleared the treatment room ready for The Motivator tomorrow.

Purchased some hand made beaded Christmas baubles from a 91 year old lady.

Created a display for them with a sign.

Feeling quite weary, I left the shop at 2.30pm and pedalled home under the dark looming clouds that threatened to do much but actually did nothing.

Planted my butt on the lounge until I cooked salmon steaks with salad for dinner.

I climbed into bed to play BBC2 pop master and now, before 9pm, I’m ready to sleep.

Nite all.

Under Pressure

I started the day knowing that I had not yet prepared my journaling lesson!

Eep!

Coffee with the girls was lovely, even though I missed a lot of the conversations due to customers. Those pesky customers!

I received two parcels in the mail. Some lovely clothes that I’d ordered for myself online last week - black jeans, leopard skin tights that are so soft and delicious, two t-shirts and an ‘oversized’ top to wear with the tights.

The other parcel had Christmas gifts that I’d ordered for family.

It was an average day of sales which gave me time to create the journaling lesson. I printed out the last page 20 minutes before the participants arrived! 

I do my best work under pressure 😬

The lesson was a lot of fun and we were all a touch disappointed when the 90 minutes were up.

After the girls left, I had to fold up the tables and set the room up for meditation so it was almost 4.30pm when I pedalled into the carport.

I sat down for about 45 minutes, pulled my clothes off the line and hung out some more and then prepared a salad while Adoring Husband cooked our steaks and onion on the barbecue.

We watched some Spicks and Specks, I did the BBC2 pop masters quiz and now it’s going to be sleep time because I have to be up bright and early for meditation.

Nite all.

Lunch With Love

Bayaroma Cafe was the destination for lunch today, which was an early celebration for Lady Lynn’s birthday.

I ordered a Perky Pineapple juice and it was so delicious, I ordered a second! I also ordered Risotto with chicken, pumpkin, spinach and Parmesan cheese. It was edible and acceptable but not awesome.

The company, however, WAS awesome and the 5 hours that we spent together passed so quickly that we felt quite disappointed when it was time to go home!

We had a little shopping spree and I purchased a beautiful bright red and sparkling Czarina kaftan. It will be perfect for the Christmas festive season.

We finished up with coffee at Aquavue ...

Tonight I prepared duck breast with salad for dinner. I had half a breast and gave my other half to Adoring Husband.

I’ve just realised that I haven’t prepared my journaling lesson for tomorrow, so here I am at almost 9.30pm finishing my blog post and then working on my lesson!

What a doofus head 😳

Doesn’t matter. I do my best work under pressure!

Nite all.

Story Time

Here’s a great story that I read on Facebook today about value ...

A father said to his daughter “You have graduated from university, here is a car I bought many years ago. It is a bit older now. But before I give it to you, take it to a second hand car dealer and tell them I want to sell it and see how much they offer you for it. 

The daughter went to the second hand car dealer, returned to her father and said, “They offered me £1,000 because they said it looks pretty worn out.” 

The father said, now “Take it to the pawn shop.” The daughter went to the pawn shop, returned to her father and said,”The pawn shop offered only £100 because it is an old car.” 

The father asked his daughter to go to a car club now and show them the car. The daughter then took the car to the club, returned and told her father,” Some people in the club offered £100,000 for it because it’s a Nissan Skyline R34, it's an iconic car and sought by many collectors” 

Now the father said this to his daughter, “The right place values you the right way,” If you are not valued, do not be angry, it means you are in the wrong place. Those who know your value are those who appreciate you......Never stay in a place where no one sees your value.

So very true to know your value 🥰

I’ve had a lazy Sunday, although I did get up at 9am and cooked pancakes, bacon, banana and maple syrup for breakfast which I ate at the kitchen bench with Adoring Husband and then brought my cup of tea back to bed while I watched some YouTube videos.

At 11am I changed into my swimmers, put some easy listening music through the sound bar and slid into the pool. I did the usual routine swimming laps, stretching, dancing, floating and basking in the sun for ten minutes.

I sat under the Bali hut for a while and decided to peel the prawns to nibble on for lunch while we watched “Field of Dreams” in the lounge room.

My belly was still full of prawns by dinner time so I prepared AH a healthy salad with salmon steaks and we watched “Rocky Horror Picture Show”.

I did a load of washing today, but that’s about the extent of my productivity.

I’m looking forward to lunch with the girls tomorrow and it’s almost 9.30pm so I might attempt to sleep because I’m feeling a little weary.

Nite all.

Midnight Mania

It’s just turned midnight and I was about to go to sleep when I realised I haven’t done my blog!

So this will be short and sweet.

It was an average day of sales at the shop and the morning passed quickly.

The gentleman who commissioned me to do the art popped in to see my progress and has asked for an unexpected big change to one of the images on the canvas. My imagination is going crazy and I hope to play with the image over the weekend.

Adoring Husband helped me lock up and we shopped for groceries before he drove home and I pedalled.

I immediately got changed and went for a dip, float, swim and dance in the pool.

I sat under the Bali hut eating fresh prawns for a late lunch.

I cooked up a risotto with chicken, mushrooms, spinach, pumpkin and feta cheese for dinner and then whipped up a soft serve mango ice cream for dessert.

We watched a fluffy movie on Netflix (well I did while AH enjoyed an extended nap beside me).

I came to bed without him and he woke about an hour later and joined me.

Now it’s time to sleep.

Nite all.

Tis the Season!

Now that State of Origin is over (yay Queensland!!), it’s time to put the Chrissy decorations up in the shop.

I did that today.

Blue and silver baubles scattered throughout the shop, silver Christmas bauble decals decorating the counter, the glass on the front doors and some of the display cabinets plus tinsel on the outside chairs.

I didn’t think to take photos! I’ll do that tomorrow.

It was a slow day for sales - lots of tyre kickers though. That usually means big sales the next day.

There were lots of couples through the door and women rarely make purchases when their husbands are with them. They usually return alone the next day to have their fun.

A local lady brought three pieces of her art to the shop today on consignment. One of them is displayed but I need to figure out how and where to display the other two. It’s quite lovely and I think it will sell well.

I paid out some consignment money, spoke to a couple of reps on the phone, wrapped some Christmas gifts and wrote a ‘to do’ list for the weekend.

Adoring Husband helped me close the shop today and took all the bulky items in the car so that I only had to carry my handbag in the trike.

I decided to hand wash all of my silk and delicate tops this afternoon. I’ve been putting that chore off for so long and the weather was so warm with a strong breeze that those dripping tops were dry within a matter of hours and are now hanging in my wardrobe!

I put a load in the machine while they dried.

We had Adoring Husband’s usual fare for Friday night dinner. I love Friday night dinner.

I did have to make an ‘after hours’ call to a supplier, but it was short and sweet.

Now it’s after 10pm and I’m ready for sleep.

Nite all.

Like a Grown Up

I feel like such a grown up!

Paying all my bills as soon as I open them. Paying all the invoices as soon as I receive them. Keeping ahead of my budget.

It’s such a fun game!

Unfortunately, the lockdown in South Australia has two different lots of stock that I ordered now stuck in that state until the lockdown is over. What a pain in the butt right before Christmas!

Today I priced and displayed the new stock that arrived two days ago.

It was a good day of sales so I was busy with customers.

I had an extended and very interesting visit from Aggie. I like it when she pops by. I like it when any of my girls pop by!

An extended and profitable visit from one of my art girls.

Now that I think about it, I had a lot of ‘local’ customers today, which makes the sales number even more impressive!

I worked a little later today and after I pulled the flags, chairs and signs inside, I left all of my stuff at the shop while I visited Bombshell for her birthday to give her a gift and share a beverage with her and other friends.

Afterwards I returned to the shop to pick up the cash tin, my laptop bag and the groceries and then pedalled home.

Adoring Husband was all dressed up in his SES uniform when I walked through the door. I forgot it was training night so he didn’t get dinner before he left unfortunately.

I made some mango vegan ice cream tonight which was quite enjoyable, though surprisingly, not very sweet.

So it was another good day.

Now it’s time for bed.

Nite all.

Early Bird

I arrived at the shop at 6.45am!

I did some tidying up and cleared some of the work from my desk, priced a couple of loose items and displayed them, checked the invoice from yesterday’s delivery and calculated the prices.

All of that in the 25 minutes before The Gypsy arrived.

There were only 2 spare seats in meditation today and the class was amazing. A newcomer stopped me afterwards, thanked me for donating the space for these classes and raved about how wonderful the discussions and subject matter were. She shook her head in awe and vowed she would return. 

I love that kind of feedback.

People attend these classes for just a donation and I used to take half of those donations to cover my costs but decided some time ago that I get so much value from her lessons and The Gypsy puts so much work into them each week that she should take all of the money.

I consider myself very lucky to have her still using this space after 3 years and she has taught me the skills to bring positive change in my life. I could rattle on for pages about her virtues but I’ll stop here.

After meditation, the usual crowd hung around for coffee and I sat at my desk for a while catching up with The Gypsy until she had to leave for an appointment. I joined the other girls between customers and we discussed art and creativity.

It was another good sales day and I have overfilled my next art class for the 28th Nov, the majority of whom have paid in advance!

I’ve already recruited 3 people for my next vision board workshop too!

The day passed quickly and I kept the shop open for an extra 30 minutes waiting for a customer who did eventually turn up to make it worth my while.

We enjoyed bangers and mash with onion gravy for dinner and sat in the alfresco area to eat. The weather was mild with a slight breeze so it was a very pleasant dinner location. We watched the State of Origin prematch show while we ate and Adoring Husband bragged about his fabulous Blues team and how they were going to defeat my beloved Maroons.

Well we showed him! A huge well fought win to Queensland!

Now I need to sleep because it’s after 11.30pm.

Nite all.

Doing My Head In

I’m doing my own head in!

I didn’t pedal to work this morning because I had too much to carry and it wouldn’t fit in my trike basket, so we loaded it into the car and Adoring Husband drove me and my lode to work.

This included my ‘almost finished’ artwork, my easel, my bag of art pens and brushes and pencils and acrylic paints, the money tin, my laptop bag, my change of clothes for afternoon hooping, my handbag and my journaling lesson.

We arrived at the shop nice and early because I had some work to do before my girls arrived for morning coffee. 

There were only four of us sitting at the table and as usual, those pesky customers interrupted my socialising and I didn’t get to spend as much time chatting as I’d have liked.

I think it was close to 11am when the girls departed and I was flat out for the next hour and a half making good sales. It was an excellent sales day!

I found time to clear the morning coffee area, folding up the table and removing the chairs, leaving only the tables for journaling. I also cleared all the washed art tools and buckets from the kitchen and put them in their homes.

AH arrived to tell me about his new business add on and to close the shop for me as I greeted my cleaner who I convinced to give the kitchen area a good scrub (it’s so shiny and clean now!) and she was soon followed by the journaling girls.

We chatted and wrote and brain stormed for an hour. They helped me open the three boxes of stock that arrived at the same time they did ... that was a bit of fun.

We finished right on 3.30pm because two of us had to leave for our hooping class. I had already warned The Gypsy that I would be late so I didn’t stress myself trying to rush. I changed my clothes and power walked to the location which was about a block away.

There were six of us all learning new tricks and moving parts of our bodies that haven’t been worked like that for over a month! After a very full day, my body was certainly feeling it by the end of the session!

AH arrived early to pick me up but it was about 5.10pm when I climbed gingerly into the car and we returned to the shop to clear the training room to set up for meditation. We folded the tables, cleared the empty boxes, put the newly arrived stock behind the counter, moved my art to the treatment room, vacuumed the floor, set out the chairs and placed the donation box.

Once we were happy with the set up, we gathered the money tin, the laptop bag, the bag of dirty cleaning rags and my handbag and trudged to the car.

Thankfully, AH was doing his Friday night dinner deal for me and after I had a shower and cleared the usual after work mess away, I was able to sit down and put my feet up.

What a pleasant relief that was!

It’s almost 11pm and I have to be at work by 6.30am so it’s time to sleep.

I am well and truly done for the day.

Nite all.

Efficiently Productive

I’ve had an efficiently productive Monday.

I woke at 6am (again) and spent 2 hours watching YouTube videos of MAKEOVERGUY giving old women makeovers. Very efficiently productive ✔️

I logged into two supplier websites and filled my shopping carts with stock that I want to purchase next week. Very efficiently productive ✔️

I checked and deleted a bunch of emails. Very efficiently productive ✔️

I changed from my pyjamas to swimmers and stepped into the pool. I did some stretching, swam some laps, tried some water dancing and exercising, then sat under the Bali hut for an hour, listening to music and playing Words With Friends. Very efficiently productive ✔️

I reheated last night’s leftovers for lunch. Very efficiently productive ✔️

Adoring Husband and I drove to the shop, picked up the mail, cleared away all the art paraphernalia, put away the big tables, set up the medium tables for journaling on Tuesday arvo and set up the small table for morning coffee with the girls. Very efficiently productive ✔️

I returned home and almost finished painting the art piece that I’ve been working on. Just a few finishing touches tomorrow and it will be done. Very efficiently productive ✔️

Barbecued Porterhouse steak with salad and hash browns for dinner. Very efficiently productive ✔️

A fluffy movie on Netflix and time for bed. Very efficiently productive ✔️

Nite all.

Perfect Sunday

Fancy waking up at 6am on a Sunday morning 😳 

It’s not something I ever plan to do on my day off, but it’s exactly what happened this morning.

It was especially surprising because knowing that I didn’t need to be awake early, I was awake until almost 1AM binge watching ‘Good Girls’.

I made myself a cup of tea, got comfortable in bed and ...

I watched the first two episodes of the new season of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ - it was a dud version on YouTube but good enough to become invested. I look forward to seeing the real version when it appears on TV.

I finished creating my half page ad for the BHPA newsletter, sent it off and then paid the invoice immediately.

I finalised Tuesday’s lesson for journaling and printed it out.

I ordered some stock - jewellery for the young and the budget conscious.

Adoring Husband invited me to swim in the pool with him, so I changed into my swimmers and joined him. The water was perfect but whatever the new pool guy put into the pool made my eyes sting for about an hour afterwards. This is not good.

I sat under the Bali hut listening to 60s music for a while before attacking my art piece, which I hope to finish tomorrow and then deliver to it’s new owner on Tuesday. It’s coming along nicely.

Dinner was a nosh up of chicken and pork mince with cabbage, carrot, onion, zucchini, ginger, chilli and mushroom served with rice.

It has been a most enjoyable Sunday as well as being productive.

Tomorrow will be arty farty at home and then clearing the arty farty at work. No doubt there will be more swimming in these warm temperatures too!

I’m feeling very chilled and relaxed.

Nite all.

Cheating

It’s late.

I’m buggered.

This is my cheat ...

************************

A little something to ponder...

I asked one of my friends who has crossed 70 & is heading to 80 what sort of changes he is feeling in himself?

He sent me the following very interesting lines, which I would like to share with you ....

#1  After loving my parents, my siblings, my spouse, my children, my friends, now I have started loving myself.

#2  I just realized that I am not “Atlas”. The world does not rest on my shoulders.

#3  I now stopped bargaining with vegetables & fruits vendors. A few pennies more is not going to burn a hole in my pocket but it might help the poor fellow save for his daughter’s school fees.

#4  I pay my waitress a big tip. The extra money might bring a smile to her face. She is toiling much harder for a living than me

#5  I stopped telling the elderly that they've already narrated that story many times. The story makes them walk down the memory lane & relive the past.

#6  I have learned not to correct people even when I know they are wrong. The onus of making everyone perfect is not on me. Peace is more precious than perfection.

#7  I give compliments freely & generously. Compliments are a mood enhancer not only for the recipient, but also for me. And a small tip for the recipient of a compliment, never, NEVER turn it down, just say "Thank You"

#8  I have learned not to bother about a crease or a spot on my shirt. Personality speaks louder than appearances.

#9  I walk away from people who don't value me. They might not know my worth, but I do.

#10  I remain cool when someone plays dirty to outrun me in the rat race. I am not a rat & neither am I in any race.

#11  I am learning not to be embarrassed by my emotions. It’s my emotions that make me human.

#12  I have learned that it's better to drop the ego than to break a relationship. My ego will keep me aloof, whereas with relationships I will never be alone.

#13  I have learned to live each day as if it's the last. After all, it might be the last.

#14  I am doing what makes me happy. I am responsible for my happiness, and I owe it to myself. Happiness is a choice. You can be happy at any time, just choose to be!

I decided to send this to all my friends. Why do we have to wait to be 70 or 80, why can't we practice this at any stage and age....

I stole this, I don't know who to credit it to, but thank you!

Good to share

************************

I had a great day of sales this morning followed by a fabulous art class that absolutely took all of my remaining energy and I have come to the conclusion that I really am too old for this shizzle!

Then I came home and cooked fried rice for dinner.

Time for bed.

Nite all.

Out of Time

Huge sales today, which meant less time to prepare the training room for the art workshop on Saturday so I have a bit to do tomorrow!

I paid bills, filed paperwork, made lunch, restocked the counter drawer with bags, served many many customers, made 2 ‘to do’ lists - one for setting up the training room and another for everything else I need to do.

I have a lot to do 😳

By mid afternoon, I realised that I didn’t have enough canvases of one size for the class. So Adoring Husband drove me into The Bay where, to my complete and utter joy, I discovered the canvases were on sale at 40% off!

Needless to say, I doubled up on my purchases and returned home with 46 canvases. That’s enough for 4 more workshops. Bargain 🤩

As I was rushing to the loo while AH waited in the car, I noticed that Just Jeans was having a sale! Of course I had to duck inside and have a peek (yes! I had a pee and then a peek 😂) Two tops later and the sales person told me “you only need to spend $50 more this month and you will get $10 off your next purchase” 

She made it sound like a real bargain, but it makes no sense to me ... firstly I have to spend another $50 and THEN I have to purchase something else (their average price is around $50 per item) so now I’ve spent $100 to get $10 off!!!

I met AH outside and we drove straight back to my shop to offload the canvases and pick up the cash tin and my laptop bag. I wheeled my trike out of the shop to ride home while AH drove.

Sounds like there is a storm approaching so it might be time to sign off and climb into bed.

Nite all.

First Time

A lesson learned.

Thank goodness there was only three of us for vision boarding because the mess was vast and it took four hours to complete.

With more people, more chatter and more pictures, quotes and words of affirmation, it would have taken up so much more time and space.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and while we were unexpectedly very pressured to get the board completed in such a short time, it was inspiring, challenging and very satisfying to see the end result.

One young woman came all the way from Hervey Bay and the three of us had very similar interests and beliefs regarding health and wellness so we had plenty in common and much to talk about.

It was a good sales day and the cleaner (Molly’s Mum) came this morning and completely cleaned on top of and behind the counter area of the shop. I am grateful for her because she saves me precious time by doing the mundane dusting and cleaning that is necessary but not enjoyed by me.

While I was triking home at dusk, I ran into Bombshell in her mobility cart coming home from happy hour at Reality TV Queen’s place. That added fifteen minutes to my journey home and it was almost dark when I opened the garage door to park the trike.

I’m grateful that Adoring Husband took the initiative and decided to cook Friday night’s dinner tonight and I was able to sit down and have dinner served immediately.

AH and I watched a light and fluffy Netflix movie before coming to bed and I believe I will sleep very well tonight.

It’s been a good day.

Nite all.

Weird Day

I arrived at the shop EXTRA early to have some extra time with The Gypsy before meditation.

The time passed so quickly - it seems there is never enough time to talk about all the things we want to discuss. An hour before and after meditation and we still feel robbed when we have to do other life stuff instead of continuing our conversation.

After she left, I made a tea and joined the ladies in the training room where we chatted about art and told old work stories for an hour. They all left just before 11am.

It was a slow day for sales and I was handed the rates bill after lunch - an expense that I knew, in the back of my mind, would be arriving soon, so it’s not a shock.

I paid the 2nd part of two orders that have finally arrived at the warehouses and are now on their way to me.

I checked my bank account against my budget and got the thumbs up.

I began to create my half page ad for the December newsletter and cleared the clothes rack, rebounder and box out of the treatment room in readiness for The Motivator’s day IN tomorrow.

Of the five people booked in for the vision board workshop, four have pulled out! Who knows what might happen tomorrow, but whatever ... The Motivator and I will create our vision boards together ourselves - it’s no biggie. What will be, will be.

Sadly, NSW defeated QLD in the State of Origin game tonight. Let’s hope QLD can bring it home in the decider next week.

On that note, I am rolling over to sleep now.

Nite all.

On The Back Foot

I woke up bright and early, well before the alarm.

I was really enjoying my extended time in bed for a week day morning and was imagining how my day was going to pan out ... when suddenly it was 8.10am and I still had to iron my jeans, shower and wash my hair, apply make up, pack my trike basket and be at the shop in time to open the shop by 9am!

After such a great start, I was now on the back foot and that’s pretty much where I stayed for the entire day.

It was an average day of sales.

I missed most of the coffee morning with the girls because of a high maintenance visitor, which was disappointing. It was nice though, to have Bombshell back in the fold.

To balance the high maintenance lady, I had an extended visit with a local business owner which I enjoyed very much.

I fruitlessly searched for the plastic letters that go in my sign.

I displayed the new framed photos.

I put out some of the Christmas decorations.

I set up the training room for tomorrow’s meditation.

I emptied the internal bins and took the big ones out to the footpath.

I forgot to take the clean cloths in to the shop so my cleaner had nothing to clean with!

Ugh!

She’ll return on Thursday to complete her mission.

It was well after 3pm when I got home. I hung out some washing, made myself an ice cream and put my feet up until it was time to prepare a salad to go with the steaks that Adoring Husband was cooking on the barbecue.

I must say that I’m feeling quite weary and it’s not even 10pm!

Except for my ‘back foot’ situation, I enjoyed my day.

Nite all.

Marvellous Monday

Even though there was much to do, I still enjoyed a slow start to the morning.

I was expecting my photos to have their framing finished today, so I phoned to confirm, but they weren’t going to be finished until after lunch so Adoring Husband and I drove to my happy place.

I had birthday parcels to wrap and send to my brother and sister as well as customer parcels to mail interstate.

The training room needed to be cleared, vacuumed and set up for morning tea on Tuesday.

All of that was completed and we were heading into The Bay at 11.30am.

I asked AH where he would like to have lunch and he chose the fish and chip shop at the water park so that was our first stop.

We got to the service counter and completed the contact tracing sheet while the attendant ran around taking food to tables and doing ‘stuff’ in the kitchen. We stood waiting for about ten minutes until she returned to serve us.

Our meal of choice was GF crumbed snapper with chips. Unfortunately, she informed us that the only available GF option was grilled fish and salad. That was disappointing. Their GF crumbed fish is delicious. We graciously declined and decided to try somewhere else.

Aquavue was our next choice where we completed the contact tracing sheet and ordered two garlic prawns with rice, a coffee and a tropical frappe. It was delicious, the view was great, the weather mild and just for a change the restaurant wasn’t too busy.

It was unusually quiet in The Bay today.

We stopped at Go Natural to search for organic chicken feet. There was only one packet available, but I discovered some GF beef pies from Byron Bay which we had for dinner tonight. What a great find! Delicious.

We picked up the photos from the framers.

Bunnings was next on the itinerary to get coil for unblocking the kitchen pipes and some new Christmas displays for our front garden. We already have numerous Santa clauses, so this time we chose two reindeer.

Grocery shopping was next and I searched for a few Christmas displays for the shop. A silver Christmas tree, a silver bow for the front door and some tinsel for the chairs that sit on either side of the front doors. I found some great silver decal baubles to stick on the front windows and a timber tree that says “We wish you a Merry Christmas”.

The last stop before leaving town was the drive through coffee place for AH to buy his afternoon caffeine fix.

We were home by 3.40pm and I spent the afternoon trying to stay awake.

Right now AH is gently snoring beside me. Because of a lingering and annoying cough, he has slept in the lounge room for the last two nights. He needs to sleep upright to reduce the cough frequency. I doubt he’ll spend the entire night here in the bedroom. The cough will get the better of him during the night.

It’s almost 11pm. I must have got my second wind! Sleep time for me.

Nite all.

Not Lazy Sunday

I’m feeling pretty good about my Sunday.

I stayed in bed until after lunch.

In bed, I worked on the Vision Board workshop that I’m holding in the training room on Thursday afternoon and I watched and participated in The Gypsy’s meditation lesson in YouTube. I also thought about my ‘word’ for 2021 and have narrowed it down to three. I’ll let you know when I decide.

The pool was whispering my name, so I threw a load of washing in the machine, changed into my swimmers, grabbed a towel, hit ‘play’ on my Carole King music and slid into the water. It was quite chilly at first but it only took two laps to feel perfectly delightful.

I did the usual routine of swimming some laps, exercising, stretching and floating then sitting in the egg chair drying off and using my phone to play in Facebook for a while.

More whispering was heard when the easel with the commissioned artwork began calling my name. I changed into dry clothes and stood at the easel for over two hours. I’m quite pleased with my progress and my result so far. I wish I could share my progress with you, but it’s a secret job that I can’t reveal until after Christmas.

We enjoyed salmon steak and salad for dinner followed by a sliced up mini watermelon 🍉 for dessert.

It’s now approaching 11pm and I have plans afoot for tomorrow - mostly work related - so it’s time to sleep.

Nite all.

Satisfactory

I was very happy with my Saturday morning in the shop.

Sales were very good.

I wrapped my prize pack in clear cellophane with Christmas ribbon, stapled the prize list and a Roz’s Happy Place postcard to it.

I designed a sign for the promotion and a sheet explaining how to qualify.

I created the information slips to complete and put in the box.

I’ll have to find a box on Tuesday.

I rearranged some displays so that I could display the prize pack.

Tidied my desk.

Served a lot of customers.

Adoring Husband ordered grilled fish from the local cafe for lunch, which we ate at the shop before we came home.

This afternoon we binge watched the remaining episodes of Virgin River on Netflix.

It was a nice relaxing way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

I’m done for the day and it’s time to sleep.

Nite all.

Coupla Days

It’s been a big coupla days.

On Thursday, The Motivator spent the day christening the treatment room.

Sales were sadly very low but I spent my time chatting with Aggie, unpacking stock and setting up my iMac desktop computer which I hadn’t turned on for more than two years! I deleted over 10,000 emails and about 150 old photos.

I reminisced over 7 years worth of photography which took me for a walk down memory lane.

I put together a $250 gift pack which I will offer as a prize. Anyone who spends $50 or more will fill out a form to go into the draw - the draw will take place on Friday 18th December (a week before Christmas).

Off the top of my head, there is a large photo frame, my calendar, a bamboo travel mug, a leather snap necklace with 3 snap buttons, an Intrinsic gratitude journal, a small crossbody bag, a child’s bracelet, a travel shoe polishing kit, and one more item that I can’t remember.

Adoring Husband spent the entire day waiting for the plumber that never arrived, so I closed the shop on my own.

I’ve ridden my trike every day this week which I have really enjoyed - the fresh air, the sunshine, the exercise and the downtime, even though it’s only ten minutes each way is great for clearing the mind of all the work stuff.

Today, sales certainly made up for yesterday and I broke my sales record! It was an amazing day which started with me writing in my gratitude journal that I trusted the universe to take care of me and provide all the financial assistance to get me through what is traditionally a ‘dead’ month for sales.

The universe certainly responded in big way!

AH was again waiting for the plumber who actually turned up this time, so it was up to me to put together my new hat stand for the Cancer Council hats.

It looks great right inside the front door. If it wasn’t so windy, I’d park it outside the front door to attract customers, but the gale force conditions would have the hats flying all over town like a scene from Mary Poppins!

There wasn’t time to do anything else because there was a constant stream of customers. I didn’t even have time to post the four parcels that are sitting on my desk, two of which are for customers, so that task has to wait until Monday.

I had a visit from The Brains Trust - it was short and sweet and included two warm hugs.

The Motivator popped in to show me her beautiful new hairstyle and colour. Stunning!

I didn’t leave the shop until after 3pm and pedalled straight to Bombshell’s house where I was meeting up with Aggie, Maid Marian and Reality TV Queen for happy hour with Bombshell. I really enjoyed my time with the girls and the two glasses of Riccadonna that took two hours to drink.

By the time I arrived home, AH already had dinner in the oven.

I was feeling pretty exhausted and put my feet up.

We both came to bed at 8pm and I played my BBC2 pop trivia at 8.30pm before writing this.

Suddenly, it’s approaching 10pm, AH is snoring softly beside me and I’m ready for sleep.

I’m hoping for a superabundant Saturday ... perhaps the people will come to me after the Howard markets!

Nite all.

At Last!!!

My deliveries finally arrived today!

Sassy Duck bags, Glass on the Grass and a big shipment of hats from the Cancer Council.

I rode my trike again this morning and left home at 7.40am to arrive at 7.48am because I had a few things to do before meditation.

The class was great and a few ladies stayed behind afterwards for coffee. I sat with them a while.

I seemed to get a lot of jobs started today but very few finished.

I unpacked the hats.

I cleared off the white table behind the counter to accommodate my iMac which I will only use occasionally - but I haven't used it for almost 3 years so I need to remember the password to log in!

I began to clear out the treatment room in preparation for The Motivator to set it up for her appointments.

Because I needed a space to store some stuff from the treatment room, I began to clear some old boxes and ‘stuff’ from the end storage cupboard. 

So tomorrow, I still need to finish clearing both the treatment room and the cupboard. I need to price and display two boxes of stock. I hope the final piece of my hat stand will arrive so that I can display the new shipment of hats (of which there are many!)

I need to make a space for this giant hat stand!

We had to wait at the shop until the deliveries arrived, which was just after 2.30pm so Adoring Husband helped me check off the hat invoice while we waited.

I rode home and decided to take some quiet “me” time in the pool. The water was perfect so put on some 60s music, swam a few laps, floated and did some stretches, then sat under the Bali hut for half an hour.

It was the perfect way to end my work day.

AH cooked our lamb on the barbecue and I threw together a salad.

We settled in for State of Origin but I realised I had to find my Queensland charm necklace because I promised my little sis that I’d wear it.

I spent a long time searching through my extensive jewellery collection to no avail but at least I unpacked a lot of jewellery that I haven’t seen for a year, so I have so much more to choose from now!

NSW was winning 10 nil at half time in the State of Origin so I decided that QLD needed my undivided attention for the second half and it worked!! Winner winner chicken dinner to QLD!!

Time now to sleep. It’s been a full productive day and I need to rest this old body.

Nite all.

Dressy Affair

I wore a dress!

Today, I hosted an intimate Melbourne Cup gathering of friends and acquaintances at Roz’s Happy Place.

It was a really nice day.

There were 8 of us including Adoring Husband and I.

Because there is no aerial or antenna on our building, Adoring Husband had to put in quite an effort to get our big screen TV working.

He was my champion for the day and I don’t know what I would have done (apart from hand out a handful of iPads so that we could watch the race on small screens!) without his determination to make my day successful.

My guests all brought yummy nibbles for the table and I provided a variety of alcoholic beverages from a Sauvignon Blanc to Pink Moscato to Riccadonna to Champagne to Chardonnay and also a non alcoholic punch and tea/coffee.

Sunflowers on the tables 🌻🌻🌻

Sweeps for me to lose money on.

The last of my guests didn’t leave until well after 4pm. 

AH and I had to clear the room and set it up for meditation tomorrow morning, so it was after 5pm by the time we got home. We unpacked the car and brought the big screen telly inside.

Of course it was then time to prepare dinner so I cooked a couple of duck breasts and served them with salad.

We are both exhausted and I have to be at the shop at 7am for meditation so I need to sleep right now.

Nite all.

Annoyed

I had MUCH to do today.

The training room had to be cleared of the art, art gear and the tables and the floor vacuumed so that I could set up for Melbourne Cup tomorrow.

We had to be at the shop at 10.30am and 12.30pm for deliveries that, once again, did not appear. Three  weeks in a row now and I’ve contacted the original couriers twice and they’ve guaranteed me the parcels were on the truck!

I’m annoyed.

I’m going to get the courier’s addresses and send Adoring Husband to pick up the parcels. This is ridiculous and I’ve never had a problem with deliveries before, but I have a customer urgently waiting on one of these packages.

So we were at the shop for three hours for no apparent reason.

I conceded defeat at 12.50pm and we hustled into The Bay with a list a mile long of things to do.

Three hours later, after visiting Nana’s Pantry, Dan Murphy’s, three different art supply shops, Bunnings, Coles, Woollies, Harvey Norman’s and Su Jus cafe bar, we hustled back home.

We unpacked the car, fed the dog and repacked the car with a punch bowl, Riccadonna, stemless wine glasses, table cloths, esky, TV, flowers and vases and drove to the shop to finish setting up for MC.

We are still not ready and left the shop at 6.20pm.

There is still just a little to do tomorrow morning and I know what I’m wearing so it should be a smooth start to the day.

I think we have both gone above and beyond today and we are well and truly worn out.

Sleep time for me.

Nite all.

Body and Brain

I exercised both my body and my brain today.

My morning was spent in bed creating my monthly newsletter. It took about three hours.

Adoring Husband was hungry so I made two bacon and egg rolls for his lunch. For myself I did bacon, banana and maple syrup - yummy!

We watched a couple of episodes of a netflix series (the name of which I forget right at this moment but I’ve mentioned it here before) until I decided to make use of the pool.

The water was absolutely perfect so I turned on some relaxing music and I swam, stretched, exercised and floated for about an hour, wrapped myself in a towel and sat under the Bali hut for another 30 minutes. The weather was glorious and by the time I came inside, I was feeling pretty chilled.

For AH, I prepared chicken, mushroom and vegetables for dinner. I ate 2 mangos and they were delicious!

After dinner we watched the new “Chasers” show which I quite enjoyed.

This evening, I began designing my vision board workshop, the first of which will be held on 12th November. I’m really looking forward to it because it’ll be more fun doing my 2021 vision board with friends. I have 4 names so far.

Right now I’m in bed listening to AH snore like a steam train. It’s so bad, I’ve recorded him! 

Anyway, until the snoring, I’ve had a most enjoyable Sunday. Monday is going to be full on busy so it’s sleep time for me.

Nite all