Farewell. Adieu.

In the morning I will wake up bright and early and I’ve booked an Uber for 7am to get me to the airport.

My time with the family passed so quickly but it was precious time spent with my girls and I’ll cherish it in my memory bank forever.

I met Mr Perfect’s family today and they are lovely. I know that my little family are well taken care of with lots of love and support close by. I feel good about that.

I’m looking forward to seeing Adoring Husband tomorrow and I’ve booked a table at our favourite Eumundi restaurant for lunch. I booked online so let’s hope they are well connected with their website and we don’t get turned away tomorrow!

If that’s the case I’m sure we’ll find somewhere else.

My bag is packed and I’m about to set the alarm for my early start.

Happy 11th wedding anniversary to Adoring Husband ❤️

Nite all.

Good Bub Day

🎼 Happy birthday to me 🎶 Happy birthday to me 🎵 Happy birthday dear meeeeeeee  🎶 Happy birthday to me 🎼 

Hip Hip Hooray!

Hip Hip Hooray!

Hip Hip Hooray!

Hazie has been much more like herself today!

A checkup appointment with the district nurse returned good results. A weight gain of 450 gms in ten days and everything else perfect.

She wasn’t a fan of the drive there and she didn’t like being stripped off for her checkup, but once that was all done, she settled right down.

We all bundled into the car and drove to The Hatter and The Hare for my birthday treat. Unfortunately, they had sold out of the cake that I wanted, so between us, Chicklet and I shared a blueberry, lemon and poppyseed cake AND a chocolate cake. 

They were both delicious!

I also had a fresh juice - apple, cucumber, spinach and mint. Chicklet had a smoothie with pineapple, mango, orange, passion fruit and strawberries.

It was a lovely afternoon and we all enjoyed two hours together. The cafe was amazing and very busy with happy noisy patrons. The food choices were extensive and worthy of photographing but I was in too much of a hurry to eat them so I didn’t think of taking a pic. Simply spectacular.

Granny Izzy joined us and presented me with a gorgeous hand made macrame plant hanger (she made it herself!) with a pot inside plus a book “Dear Mum”. I was not expecting that and was very touched.

I very much enjoyed my birthday afternoon.

We all returned home and needed an afternoon rest/break/nap.

I prepared dinner for Chicklet and myself and we followed that with an ice cream - WAY TOO MUCH sugar today!

I’ve received birthday calls from Number 1 Son, Bubbles, J Mac and The Motivator.

Now I’m in bed watching the football on my iPad.

I’m feeling a bit weary so I should sleep well tonight.

Nite all.

Bad Bub Day

Little Hazie had a day of discomfort and was very unsettled today.

This meant we had very short cuddle times together but at least Mum got to have a shower.

Chicklet and I had breakfast together and she explained some more of her gaming apps to me.

Other than that, we had a very quiet day.

Vegan Chickie took this great pic of Chicklet, Hazie and I...

Adoring Husband phoned me this afternoon and we chatted for about ten minutes which was nice.

I had pre-sleep cuddles with Chicklet and we planned our day for tomorrow.

I brought my portable clothes steamer with me in the suitcase and used it for the first time this evening. For $50 from Good Guys, it works really well! I’m very happy.

Now the cloths that I’m wearing tomorrow are steamed and hanging up ready for my birthday outing tomorrow. We are going to The Hatter and The Hare (https://www.hhcafe.com.au/menus/) where I’m looking forward to trying this ...

accompanied by freshly squeezed juice called Gryphon’s Cure!

Vegan Chickie and Mr Perfect have an appointment in the morning so Chicklet and I are going for a walk to catch some Pokémon.

Now it’s time to sleep!

Nite all.

The Grannies Meet

It’s bloody cold!

The woolly jumper that we purchased in Eumundi is deliciously warm and toasty so that was a good buy!

Little Hazie seemed to like it because she curled up in her snuggle ball shape and slept for almost 2 hours on my chest at lunch time and then again for about 30 minutes later in the afternoon.

Chicklet helped me catch some more Pokémon today and educated me a little more on the workings of Pokémon Go.

I made chicken, shiitake mushroom and pak choy soup for lunch. It was delicious and I have enough left over for lunch tomorrow.

I almost burnt the house down and set the smoke alarm off while MR Perfect was in the shower and Vegan Chickie had just been puked and pooped on.

The smoke alarm is connected to the security alarm and needed a code to turn it off - since both occupants of the house were in compromising situations, the alarm was going off for quite some time before MR Perfect came flying out of the bedroom half naked to save the day!

At about 3.30pm we received a visit from Granny Izzy. It was our first face to face, in person, meeting and it began with a long squeezy hug and was followed by lots of chatter and laughter.

She took her turn getting Hazie cuddles and we agreed on how lucky we are, not only for our adorable grandchildren, but for the fact that Vegan Chickie and Mr Perfect found each other.

Before she left, we invited her to The Hatter & The Hare cafe for my birthday on Friday.

My dinner tonight was just dessert - vegan ice cream in a GF cone.

I took Mama’s place for night cuddles with Chicklet before she went to sleep, which I really enjoyed and we talked about her favourite book (Cat Warriors) and how she and Mr Perfect went for a drive this afternoon and captured two Pokémon gyms in battles.

Norman the cat got a mention, as did ice cream, which we are going to have for lunch tomorrow with berries!

It’s very cold and my hands need to get warm under the blankies so here is where I sign off. This large huntsman is living outside my bedroom door and Adoring Husband suggested that I get a gun. 🥴

Nite all.

Warm Welcome

It is as COLD and WET as you would expect it to be in Melbourne.

I’m in strife for naming the cat Morgan in my last blog post haha. His name is Norman and clearly he is definitely a Norman and I need to train my brain to see Norman and not Morgan. I can try.

It was a nice lazy start to the day, just the way I like it. I don’t think I got out of bed until 9am and Chicklet and I had breakfast together before Mum, Dad and Bub appeared.

Today I’ve been learning all about Pokémon Go. I had deleted the app from my phone after the last visit so I had to reverse that decision. Today I have caught 36 Pokémon! Chicklet is very patient with me - although sometimes she uses big words that I don’t even understand.

How can a ten year old using her normal every day language make a 60 year old feel like a dill 😳

Easily ... is my answer.

I had a long cuddle with my little Hazie this morning, after which MR Perfect took me grocery shopping at the nearby supermarket.

This afternoon we’ve all been resting. I had an hour with Chicklet in her room and she showed me all the apps that she plays in, the creatures and avatars she has created and the rooms she has designed. She showed me an animation she created and made my brain hurt. That’s why I needed to rest.

The sun is now setting and I’m about to exit my room to see if there is any action in the house. It really is the perfect day for lying in bed under the covers, catching Pokémon and watching Netflix.

After a short rendezvous with the family and sharing our ‘Best thing about today’ stories, I am now in my jammies and snuggled under a double doona trying to get warm. It’s currently 11°C and moving south to 8°C overnight. Tomorrow’s max is only going to reach 15°C so I’m really pleased that I purchased that big woolly jumper at Eumundi yesterday!

I think I might need to find some woolly slippers somewhere tomorrow - if my feet are warm, everything is warm.

So far I’m having a lovely time with my family 😍

Nite all.

I Am Here!

It was an easy drive from home to Maroochydore.

Adoring Husband stopped at Eumundi for coffee so I took the opportunity to shop next door for some warm clothes. I selected a long sleeved t-shirt and a jumper but when I got the counter, AH took out his wallet to pay for it. I hadn’t even looked at the prices so it was a shock to both of us when she rang up the total. More of a shock to AH than me lol.

Thank you darling.

I checked in at the ‘drop off’ point at the airport because I had already checked in online and selected my seat. When I looked at my boarding pass I had been allocated a different seat and commented to AH that it was pointless choosing your seat online if they’re going to change it when you got to the airport. He suggested that I say something, but I didn’t bother.

We killed over an hour eating sushi, drinking an immune boost smoothie and sucking in our own carbon dioxide behind our compulsory masks until my flight was called.

We said our goodbyes and I made my way to my new allocated seat. I had barely made myself comfortable when an attendant asked me for my boarding pass - then she pointed to the name on the pass and said “That’s not you is it?” I looked at the name and it was something like Angelina Brettschneider! “Oh! No it isn’t” I replied.

I hadn’t even looked at the name when I was discussing the seat number with AH 😳

She led me to the back of the plane to the seat that I had originally selected but there was a man sitting in it. I should have made him move but instead I sat in the aisle seat.

A baby sitting on his Dad’s lap just across the aisle from me screamed from the tarmac until we reached altitude, then was as cute as a button and we played peekaboo and other giggly games, then he screamed all the way as we descended into Melbourne airport.

Chicklet and Mr Perfect were waiting for me and I had tears of happiness as I hugged Chicklet as tight as I could without crushing her. Mr Perfect and I gave each other a hug of introduction and then chatted easily until my baggage arrived.

It was a long drive from the airport - almost 2 hours with peak hour traffic - normally about 45 minutes.

The conversation was comfortable and Mr Perfect’s driving was skilled.

I got to half hug Vegan Chickie because she had a babe in arms and then ‘I’ had a babe in arms ...

I got to meet Mr Perfect’s Dad and his wife and the crazy cat Morgan who sits in a box, climbs cat poles, bounds through the house and hugs Chicklet often.

Now I am lying in a very comfortable bed ready to doze off into a deep slumber. It has been a long exciting and tiring day.

Nite all.

Ready Or Not

I made a list.

I checked it twice.

I’m three quarters packed.

I can’t wait to see this face in person ...

... she’s cute as a button!

I’m not sure that I’ll be able sleep tonight and it’s going to be a huge day of travel tomorrow.

2.5 hours of driving to Maroochydore. 2.8 hours flying. 45 minutes of driving from the airport to the house. It’ll take me a day to recover!

This is short and sweet because I’m off to watch the final episode of MAFS and then I’m crawling into bed.

Watch this space!

Nite all.

Breaking Records!

Today, I smashed my sales record.

Smashed it like I didn’t think was possible!

This morning I was looking at April sales and thinking how much I needed a good day to help ease the loss of a week with the doors locked.

Saturdays are historically the worst day of the week for sales.

I remember back in the 70s when my mother owned a small record shop in the Brisbane suburb of Morningside and Saturdays were so busy she needed three staff and the queue at the counter were four deep all morning. It was crazy!

It has never been like that here.

In fact I’ve considered not opening on Saturdays because sales have been so mimimal.

Not today!

It was a blinder and has covered what I will miss out on next week!

To add to that, I ran a fantastic art class this afternoon with ten ladies who all produced some beautiful art. These are some of their efforts. I didn’t get pics of them all, but I will tomorrow.

We sat around drinking beverages until after 4.30pm and there was plenty of laughter and fun. They are a great group of girls.

We stopped at the local cafe to grab some chips to have with dinner and talked to the owners about the fact that they have sold the business.

What a relief for them because Covid has destroyed them and their piece of mind. The locals have really given them grief and I hope that their future is full of success and happiness because they are hard workers and they deserve a better deal.

My Melbourne family are mourning the loss of their pet cat Maggie tonight. I send them healing hugs.

I think I’m done for the day. Tomorrow will be huge as I pack and prepare for my trip to Melbourne. Just two more sleeps!

Nite all.

Job Well Done

It has taken me three days to finish pricing and displaying the new stock.

I thought it would never end!

It was a good day of sales and I had another visitor today in for a chat, which was lovely.

I sold some more of my art 🤗

I paid some hefty bills.

I received my new shoes in the mail!

They are actually navy and white. Thanks go to Aggie 🥰

Some more photos of my new g’bubba ...

Just three more sleeps and I’ll be having cuddles.

Chicklet’s new Aunty bought a cow and she got to feed it today!

It’s all happening down south!

Tonight, I’m looking forward to sliding between my new linen sheets that have been freshly washed and dried especially for their first night on my bed. They are wasabi colour and go beautifully with my ocean themed bed cover. I can’t wait.

On that note, I bid you a goodnight!

Nite all.

Bed Time

It’s 8pm and I’ve been in bed since 5.30pm.

It was not very busy with customers today so I filled my day pricing the new stock and rearranging displays to make space for it.

I probably should have taken a couple of breaks.

By 2pm I was feeling very weary and couldn’t wait to put my feet up.

After 2 days I’m still only about three quarters of the way through the stock that arrived and my office area is pretty messy!

At least the drop sheet is down and the tables are set up ready for this week’s art class.

I had a visit from a lady whose husband was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about 3 years ago. She comes in every couple of months to vent and debrief. She’s lovely.

There were a lot of parents with kids through the doors today. All just looking, so sales were a little below average.

Something that annoys me is parents who walk in with their kids saying “Don’t touch anything. Look with your eyes.” My gosh! I’m 60 years old and ‘I’ can’t walk into a shop with pretty things and not touch anything! The parents spend the rest of the time saying “I told you not to touch! Don’t touch!”  I appreciate their intention but I feel so sorry for the kids.

Anyway, I heard those words a LOT today.

It’s a great time of the year. The weather has cooled down and the nights are great for sleeping. The light is really clear during the day and there are birds of all shapes and sizes everywhere. People have reported seeing pods of dolphins in the river every day and the fishermen have spotted dugongs in huge numbers on their trips out to sea.

We live in paradise.

I need to go and focus on the football now. My team is beating the top team and I am shocked at their efforts so far!

Have a great Friday!

Nite all.

Time is of the Essence

I just don’t know where the time goes!

Only 7 people turned up for meditation this week. Nobody wants to sit for an hour wearing a horrid mask and because tomorrow morning at 6am, masks can be discarded, I gave the 7 people in the room permission to be mask free.

Afterwards, The Gypsy spent 45 minutes chatting before she had to rush off for an appointment.

In between serving customers, I began to price and display the stock that came in yesterday. Slow going with so many items and having to calculate each price because this company doesn’t provide a recommended retail price.

Aggie visited me for a little while and I was grateful for the break!

Adoring Husband turned up early and interrupted my flow.

After his dental marathon yesterday, he is feeling incredibly well, motivated and full of beans. The Parkinson’s tremor has even eased for him today. It would be nice if it remained that way.

My Lorraine Lea order arrived today. I can’t wait to wash my new linen sheets and put them on the bed. I also purchased a lovely mint coloured bath mat set which I won’t use until I give the ensuite a good scrub from top to bottom! My free set of towels are mint coloured to match so the bathroom should look delicious by the time I’m done.

Anyway, I’m off to play the Pop Master quiz and then climb into bed.

Nite all.

Long Long Long

Adoring Husband was being taken into the Bay for his marathon IV sedated dental appointment at 6.30am so after a very restless night, I was out of bed at 5.45am making my breakfast and saying goodbye to him.

His volunteer chauffeur arrived early so after they drove off, I brought my breakfast to bed and spent an hour relaxing before starting the day.

I rode my trike to work and arrived with plenty of time to spare.

I opened the shop and checked the mail - which required a trolley to bring 8 parcels back, 7 of which were stock!

During coffee with the girls, I opened all the boxes and made a complete mess. I was very grateful that The Brains Trust offered some of her time to help me check off the invoices.

Co-incidentally, a gentleman walked in asking for a leather wallet so I was able to show him the brand new stock and he purchased one before they hit the shelves.

The Pommy Warrior who has been leaving her preloved clothing at my shop, appeared today with another two bags of clothes, but I turned her away and returned to her, the remaining clothes that hadn’t sold. Then she hung around for an hour bringing me up to date with her life and home renovations.

So much of my time wasted. My own fault.

Suddenly it was 1pm and the cleaner arrived!

The PW finally left and I set up the table for journaling class, priced some new stock and displayed it until the class began. I had to close the shop first and pull in the flags, signs and chairs so we started a little later than usual.

We were very productive in class and got lots of writing done.

At the end I folded up the tables, cleared the stock out of the training room, set out the chairs for meditation, binned all the packaging from the stock, emptied all the bins in the shop, cleared off my desk, grocery shopped for dinner, locked up the shop, packed all my paraphernalia into my trike basket and at 4.40pm began pedalling home.

I was exhausted 😳

I arrived home to find AH sleeping in his chair but doing well after his treatment.

My best option was to cook dinner straight away because if I sat down, I wouldn’t get back up!

After dinner I got the washing off the line, folded it and put it away.

I played Popmaster Quiz.

I watched MAFS.

I came to bed and it’s already 11.30pm.

Must sleep now.

The day has been long and full and busy. Sales were good.

Nite all.

A Perfect Day

I woke up feeling much better than the day before.

More energised. More motivated. More inspired.

I had the BEST day with my girls.

Exhausting, but fun.

We shopped, we ate, we laughed, we walked and we talked.

The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, the view was special and the company was fabulous.

I had a bit of a spree and purchased two pairs of boots and one pair of shoes ...

Two tops, a pair of white bottoms, 3 gifts and a white fringed kaftan to wear over my swimmers.

Almost seven hours together!

I think we were all very weary by the end of the day and couldn’t wait to get home and put our feet up.

Adoring Husband was asleep on the couch when I walked in the door.

I threw some chicken drumsticks in a baking tray and sprinkled them with thyme, salt and pepper. I lay slices of lemon over the top and put them in the oven for 30 minutes. I removed the lemon and drizzled honey over the chicken and turned up the heat for another 10 minutes.

Delicious.

I can’t believe it’s now 11pm. 

Why aren’t I asleep?

Nite all.

Energy Low

I have to confess that I am feeling completely drained.

I had committed to the Lorraine Lea party this morning and it took every last ounce of my minimal energy to get out of bed, dress and pedal the half a kilometre to the party.

I stayed for 3 hours because I didn’t have the energy to pedal home!

Old Speckled Hen was in attendance and she lives across the road from the party. Since she has lived there for 17 months and I had not been to visit, I agreed to pop over and have a viewing.

It’s a lovely unit with a minimalist garden area, but they have it looking so welcoming and homely.

I pedalled all the way home before I realised that I’d left my handbag on Speckled Hen’s dining chair so Adoring Husband drove me back to pick it up. It was 32°C draining heat - like I needed anything to drain me more!

My aim for the afternoon was for pure laziness.

I achieved my aim.

It’s 7.30pm and I am in bed watching MAFS.

Tomorrow is our lady’s lunch to celebrate Beauty’s birthday and I REALLY hope to wake up more energised than I did today.

Just eight more sleeps til I meet my new grandbaby, my new son-in-law, hug Vegan Chickie and spend some quality time with my Chicklet. But who’s counting? Meeeeeee.

🥱 

I need to rest now. 

Nite all.