Fire and Ice

It was a great day in the shop.

Sales were good and I was able to set up for art offering three options.

1. Dandelions
2. Fire and Ice
3. Face to face silhouettes

The class was relaxing and therapeutic …

The girls all made purchases after the class with topped off my day perfectly.

At home I put a chicken and vegetable casserole in the oven and then put my feet up to watch the football.

It was a relaxing afternoon and evening and I can’t believe it’s almost midnight!

I’m looking forward to a lazy Sunday, most of which I hope to spend in bed. I have much to study, videos to watch, notes to take, paperwork to complete and information to gather.

Ok so maybe it won’t be THAT lazy 😳

Right now, I’m done. I’m getting cozy under the covers and soon the 😴😴😴 will come.

Nite all.

Draining

It has been an emotionally draining day.

In the last four days I’ve learned of twelve people (friends and close acquaintances), whose pre-existing conditions have worsened OR they’ve been given a new serious medical diagnosis.

It’s concerning and disturbing.

I don’t like it one little bit.

It was a slow day at work.

Just three big sales, so I used the quiet time to rearrange the clothing and bag displays and set up the iMac in the training room so that I can run an instructional video during class.

I had lots of visitors during the day and sat down for a chat with most of them - except for Aggie - who, being the most important of all,  I should have sat down with!

So I still didn’t get to clear my desk. It’s going to be a big job when I finally get to it.

Adoring Husband arrived 20 minutes early to help shut the shop and at home we hung out a load of washing and I folded my clothes that came off the line and we played a game of Scrabble!

Winner winner chicken dinner for me!

We watched the men’s 10m platform diving qualifying round.

AH cooked his usual Friday night dinner and by 8pm I was ready for bed. I’m in bed watching the Olympic javelin event in which we have three Australians in the final.

I’m tired though and need to sleep now.

Nite all.

So Little Time

So much to do, so little time.

I rode my trike to work this morning, something I hope will become a habit, as it once was.

Today passed so quickly and I didn't get everything done that I wanted - I certainly didn’t have time to clear my desk. In fact I added more mess!

The clothes that I ordered yesterday, surprisingly arrived today! So it felt good to call my customer, who is here on holidays, and let her know that she could collect her top before leaving for home!

I had to order a stack more coat hangers because I have a stack more hanging space and a stack more clothes to hang there!

I paid for my Fathers Day order from Men’s Republic so it should arrive by mid next week.

My meeting with a sales rep has been postponed until at least next Tuesday because he is in lockdown on the Gold Coast.

I steamed clothes, tried them on, took some photos and posted on Facebook.

There was a break where I made some lunch and sat down to enjoy it with a cup of tea.

Even though I was riding my trike, Adoring Husband was still available to help me close the shop. He took my laptop and money tin home and I rode home with my handbag.

I was still feeling pretty energised as I walked in the door, so I changed out of my work clothes, pulled the bedding off the bed and asked AH to help me rotate the mattress.

This is a task and a half because it’s an ‘extra deep’ king size mattress and by the time we’d completed that task, I needed to sit down!

We watched Melissa Wu win the bronze medal in the Olympic diving. How freaking amazing was that 14yr old girl, Quan Hongchan, from China!?!? She was beyond awesome! So deserving of the gold medal and I felt like she deserved more prizes … a gold medal didn’t seem good enough for her.

I made paleo style tacos for dinner.

Eventually I found the motivation to remake the bed with fresh Lorraine Lea linen sheets and now I’m looking forward to sliding into bed. There is nothing nicer than fresh clean sheets. I wish I had a housekeeper to make my bed with fresh sheets every day!

When we win $80million in Powerball next week, that will be my first priority 👍

I told AH that we were going to win $60million tonight and he responded with “why can’t we win $80million?”

Nobody won tonight so the prize jackpots to $80million - AH has preempted the win so I look forward to celebrating with you all this time next week! 🥂

I’m off to bed to watch the footy as I fall asleep.

Nite all.

Plum Tuckered

It was supposed to be an early start, but my body decided that 4am would be a good time to be awake!

Ugh.

By the time my alarm sounded at 6am, I was ready to fall back to sleep, so it was a struggle to get out of bed.

We still arrived at the shop with plenty of time to spare before meditation started and was such a good class it went 20 minutes overtime!

Almost everybody hung around afterwards for individual chats with both The Gypsy and I. I didn’t have the shop to myself until 11am.

Business was steady and I had an above average sales day.

My three new mannequins arrived as well as a new clothing display stand which Adoring Husband helped me assemble and I immediately filled it with Jenny Jazz clothing.

I’m feeling a bit scattered because I’ve let my desk area get messy again. I plan on spending tomorrow getting it sorted.

We arrived home a little later than usual and I got to work in the kitchen making a stuffed butternut squash for dinner. AH said it was delicious.

The Bachelor got our attention before bed called to me.

Here’s my grandbabies…

Time to sleep.

Nite all.

Sad Face

I received some stock today.

Stock that I had been looking forward to because it looked so beautiful in the catalogue.

Most are one size fits all and this particular brand is usually ‘oversized’ but these are snug on me, in some cases, tight! 

I had my eye on a couple of those tops for me and two of my regular customers were waiting to grab them as soon as they arrived, but alas the sizing is all wrong.

I will contact the supplier tomorrow and arrange some returns I think.

I’m very disappointed.

There were just three visitors for coffee this morning but I didn’t get to spend much time with them because I had customers requiring attention.

After the others had left and while the shop was quiet, The Brains Trust stayed a little longer and we had a good old natter.

Even though it was a busy morning, it ended up being an average day for sales - it would have been much better if the new clothing were better sizes 😳

There was more talking than writing in the journaling class today but we came up with a lot of new memories to add to our stories.

It was after 4pm when I got home and there were a few chores to do before starting dinner - home made paleo pizzas. Nice and easy.

We watched the finale of Beauty and the Geek before calling it a night.

Early start for meditation in the morning so it’s sleep time for me.

Nite all.

Change of Plan

Our trip to Childers was canned at the last minute.

This didn’t bother me one bit because it meant I could stay in bed longer 😋

We decided to take a trip into The Bay.

I needed some canvases for the next art class but alas I was unable to find the sizes that I wanted.

I did find some paints, paint brushes and round brushes that I needed.

I bought the winning ticket in the $60million Powerball which will be drawn on Thursday.

There was grocery shopping, which included some toilet paper ‘just in case’ we go into lockdown and the crazy people out there go on a bulk buying spree.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Aquavue. I had grilled Barramundi with salad and the fish was cooked to perfection. The weather was  absolutely perfect and we sat outside under an umbrella.

I didn’t bother going into other shops because ‘checking in’ on the phone app is a pain in the butt and I wasn’t in the mood. Being a business owner, I shouldn’t be so fickle because so many businesses are suffering in the current covid climate.

We checked the mail before returning home and I received my new Rubyyaya top in the mail …

I already have this in three other colours, but I got this in the smaller size and it was 60% off on sale! I LOVE it! I’m considering getting a 2nd one!

When we arrived home, not so psychotic dog Colli had left a nice mess for us to clean up. I guess it’s to be expected when the poor old lady is locked inside for 5 hours.

We were both pretty buggered and Adoring Husband didn’t drink water during the day so the Parkinson’s tremor was a bit out of control, which put him out of action for the rest of the day.

We had an easy dinner and retired to bed after watching Beauty and the Geek.

I’m lying in bed watching the Australian girls lose the soccer against Sweden at the Olympics.

Time to turn off and sleep.

Nite all.

Got The Bug

The cleaning bug that is!

Adoring Husband brought breakfast to me in bed at about 8.30am.

Toast with tomato and a cup of tea.

I enjoyed a lazy hour or so in bed and then enthusiastically removed myself and began cleaning the ensuite.

It’s such a small room, it’s difficult to comfortably reach behind the toilet to clean it and the floor behind and at the side of it, so I was on the floor twisting and contorting trying to get the job done.

It took me a good 90 minutes to get it all sparkling clean, using a toothbrush to scrub oil of cloves into the shower grout to kill the early signs of mould.

I used the diamond scrubber to polish the glass of soap scum.

I washed the walls and cleaned the door front and back.

Got down on my hands and knees to scrub the floor tiles and wipe down the drawers and cupboard.

I was quite pleased with the result and even left the bathroom door open so that I could admire my handy work!

I got a couple of loads of washing done before I spent time with AH watching some Olympic action.

I’m trying to train AH to respond to my AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE with some OY OY OY, but he refuses to play the game! He’s such an old man.

We had a bit of ruckus happening in our outdoor area this afternoon.

Every Spring we have wattle birds nesting in a plant pot right outside the sliding doors. Today, a Butcher bird decided to move in on their territory and even though there are no eggs in the nest yet, the Wattle birds were going off! Swooping and attacking and squawking and flapping all about!

I went out with my trusty fly swat to gently persuade the Butcher bird to move on, but he was a stubborn little bugger and just kept returning so I left them to it. They must have come to an agreement because it eventually went quiet.

Later in the afternoon I was feeling a bit weary so I lay down and dozed on and off through the Olympic diving.

There are a few Burrum residents caught in Covid lockdown in Brisbane and the Sunny Coast at the moment. What a pain in the butt! Who knows how long this debacle will last?

It’s now 10pm and we are off to Childers in the morning, so I’d best push my sleep button.

Nite all.

Take a Bow

For some reason, I was sure that compared to the last three years, sales for this July were down by a LOT.

It was just a feeling. A niggling feeling all month long.

So when I did the numbers this afternoon and made the comparisons to previous years, I was genuinely shocked to see that this was my best July ever!

By a long way!

So I’m very happy with this outcome and I’ve learned to not make assumptions in the future, based on ‘feelings’.

Today was another great day for sales.

There were lots of happy people out and about so it felt like a real social morning for me even though I didn’t personally know any of them. There was lots of laughing and joking and teasing happening.

There were even last minute shoppers as we were closing the doors.

When we arrived home, it was nice to sit down and watch the olympics and see some live action.

I cooked up a big batch of butter chicken with cauliflower rice for dinner.

Adoring Husband killed a favourite plant of mine so today he snuck into town and purchased a replacement …

She’s a beauty and I’m going to give her a name when the right one comes to me.

I just looked at the time and I can’t believe it’s well after midnight already!

Time to sleep.

Nite all.

Xmas in July

That’s what it feels like.

This week has been like the week leading up to Christmas! So busy!

I still haven’t had time to take photos of the new clothes.

There are a lot of new faces in town. Groups of women. Groups of couples.

They are all happy to see such a great shop in our little town and I still love to hear the gasps of excitement when they first open the door.

One lady today said “Oh! It’s like the Tardis! Looks so small from the outside, but it’s huge on the inside!”

I arose from my bed bright and early this morning to make chocolate fondue for the ‘decade of your choice’ party.

It took less time than I thought and we were opening the shop at 8.15am 😳

Adoring Husband had to take ‘not so psychotic anymore’ dog Colli in for grooming in The Bay.

I didn’t close the shop til a bit later than usual because it was so busy and by the time I got changed into my dress up outfit, then stopped at the drive through for some alcohol, I was about 40 minutes late to the party.

There were some interesting outfits and I wish I’d taken photos of the food because there were dishes there that took me back.

It was only 3 hours but it was fun singing along to the 70s music and the happy banter was contagious.

It has been a big day and I’m keen to climb into bed very soon.

I’m hopeful for another big day of sales to finish my week off with a flourish.

Nite all.

Bizzy Bizzy

It was a very busy day in the shop!

For the first 45 minutes I was steaming some clothes but from there it was full on and sales were great!

There were lots of big sales and most of those customers said they would return tomorrow.

I found time for half a cup of tea and a quick lunch so I had sustenance to keep me going.

In between all of those sales, I had visitors as well but I didn’t get to spend much time being social.

Adoring Husband and I discussed adding some more hanging space in the shop and are now trying to figure out new display areas - we need more efficient use of the spaces.

I feel like I left a couple of jobs unfinished and I certainly didn’t have an opportunity to take photos of the new clothes. More clothes will arrive on Monday or Tuesday and I almost finalised a big order of giftware, but I decided to hold off on that until next week.

We were home before 2.30pm and AH had to attend a maintenance call at the shopping centre and then had an early start to SES training this afternoon so I prepared his dinner super early. 

I was going to make the chocolate fondue for tomorrow afternoons party but it has coconut cream in it which can be temperamental so I decided to wait until morning.

That means an early start in the morning for me.

So it’s good night from me.

Nite all.

Early Mark

I climbed into bed early last night and forgot all about blogging!

My apologies … especially to Lady Lynn 💐

Morning coffee was great yesterday with Reality TV Queen joining us for the first time in a long time. She didn’t have much of a chance to talk but it was lovely having her presence. I hope she comes again soon.

It was a good day of sales and I got some steaming done on the new clothes - I must take photos and post them tomorrow!

Surprisingly, I found some surplus stock and displayed it with gratitude.

I had customers still in the shop ten minutes after closing so journaling started a bit late, but was another productive class.

Soup was my choice of dinner, accompanied by a crusty GF bread roll.

I was in bed by 7.30pm , asleep by 9pm and slept soundly until 5am.

Which was perfect because I had to be up bright and early for meditation this morning!

It was a great class where we discussed the reasons we attended our first meditation and whether it has provided the answers we wanted and whether it’s still current and relevant to our needs. We also discussed the things we can control and what we can’t control.

Everybody hung around for 90 minutes afterwards and The Gypsy and I got completely lost in very deep conversation about God, the universe and the tests that both put upon us just when we think we’ve got a handle on ourselves and life.

The girls and I discussed the dance party we’re attending on Friday afternoon … we have to dress to suit our favourite decade from the 60s 70s 80s, bring a plate of food that was fashionable from that decade and we’ll be dancing to music from all three decades.

It sounds like fun and I’m making chocolate fondue in my fondue set for the occasion.

Today was a very good day for sales.

I ordered some more Jenny Jazz tops this afternoon and I’m surprised I hadn’t seen these gorgeous pieces before now. I can’t wait to see them in person and I’m pretty sure my name is on a couple of them!

It was a busy day.

My dinner of choice was a prawn and lettuce sandwich while I cooked a big dish of baked veggies for Adoring Husband to eat with his lamb chops.

I’m currently getting my weekly dose of The Bachelor and will be heading to bed shortly.

Nite all.

Gratitude

Time for some gratitude.

I am grateful for Adoring Husband who is still my greatest supporter and is always willing to help with anything that’s required, at home, at the shop and any other time I ask. He even offers when I don't ask. He’s my champion.

I am grateful for my bedroom which is my safe space to rejuvenate, regenerate, relax and regroup after busy days at work and where I love spending quality time studying, playing, journaling, reading, eating, drinking and viewing ‘stuff’.

I am grateful for my Zazen water filter that provides remineralised, alkaline water that hydrates me at a cellular level. I love my special water!

I am grateful for this beautiful extended Winter in QLD this year which is perfect for deep solid healing sleep snuggled under the covers.

I am grateful for Bubbles coming to visit me every year and becoming a strong loving shoulder to lean on.

I am grateful for Number One son who phones me regularly to keep our connection and to keep me up to date with his ever changing life.

I am grateful for Vegan Chickie who sends me pics of my grandbabies almost every day so that I don’t miss out completely on their rapid ‘growing up’ while covid keeps us separated.

I am grateful for my original ‘Burrum Babes’ and the bond that we have. They keep me grounded and their continuing support and willingness to include me in the lunches even though my limited availability limits their options makes me feel special.

I am grateful for my art girls who are hilarious and inclusive and supportive of each other, not only with their art, but also outside of class with the friendships that have developed and the social aspect that has changed the lives of many of them.

I am grateful for other local business owners in town, almost all of whom, support my own business and some have become close acquaintances who sometimes provide solid advice and are always encouraging.

I am grateful to be living in a place that has been minimally affected by covid 19 so we get to live our lives with fewer restrictions than most other Australians and lockdown for us is a distant memory (touch wood).

I could go on and on, but that’s enough for today.

I stayed in bed until 2pm today.

The training room was still set up for art, so AH and I drove to the shop to clear the mess and set up for morning coffee and journaling on Thursday.

We bought some groceries and checked the mail - I received a delivery of fashion items which I had to try on of course! Love the dresses. Love the denim jacket. Love the 3/4 length pants.

Can’t wait to show the girls.

Now it’s 11pm and I’m all Olympic gamed out!

Nite all.

Just Quickly

Nothing much to report from today.

I slept until 9am!

Adoring Husband presented me with some lemon water.

He brought me some reheated leftovers from last night’s dinner for my lunch.

We watched lots of Olympics.

We munched on my famous avocado and tuna dip all afternoon and kept up with the football scores.

Neither of us was interested in eating dinner … so we didn’t.

I have been in my pyjamas all day and I’m not even changing them before I sleep tonight 🥴

The dog next door is snoring so loudly, I can hear him from the ensuite.

There is a dog howling in the distance - I have my bedroom window open.

I can also hear creatures squawking from the lagoon.

It’s almost midnight so I’m signing off.

Nite all