Not so Restful

I woke up this morning and looked at my watch.

9.30am!!!

Shocking!

Adoring Husband juiced my celery for me and brought me a nice big glass of fresh green liquid, followed by some Vegemite toast.

We had made plans to drive into The Bay today and at 11.15am, I thought to myself "AH has been up for almost seven hours and has been very patiently waiting for me to get my act together. If I am very time efficient, I can be ready in about 20 minutes and we can be in The Bay a little after midday."

So I get out of bed, walk out of the bedroom to face AH who says "Would you please iron my shirt while I have a shower?"

What the!?

I just looked at him blankly and he said "Why are you looking at me like that? Don't do it if you don't want to."

Seven hours!! He couldn't have had a shower and ironed his shirt in that time?

So much for being time efficient and being in The Bay a little after midday.

It was almost 1pm when we finally got to The Bay.

Then it was non-stop driving and shopping all over The Bay.

The plumbing place to order something for AH's work, Bunnings (ugh), Barbecue's Galore, HBW, Office Works, Lawn Mower place, Kmart (twice), Robin's Kitchen, Heaps Discounts (twice), Boost Juice, The Coffee Club, Truckloads, King Kong, and lastly the Clearance Centre.

All of this to purchase art materials for The Happy Abode AND for my personal use.

AH was hoping we would find an outdoor bar setting for our other outdoor area, but we haven't found exactly the right setting for exactly the right price yet and today we were unsuccessful in our search.

We drove home dropping off some of the workshop materials to The Motivator's house on the way.

Realising that we had nothing out for dinner, we decided on grilled fish and chips from the cafe.

It was 6pm by the time we sat down to eat our dinner.

AH put together my new storage centre ...

  ... and I filled it with my tools of the trade.

Crazy huh? I think I'm gunna need a bigger storage centre lol.

Needless to say, I did not attend the club tonight for the usual Friday night shenanigans and I am absolutely exhausted!

Work tomorrow while the Paint and Create workshop is being run by The Motivator and then I get four days off.

R&R definitely required.

Right now, it's time for bed!

Nite all.

It's a WOW!

What a day!

Is that how I started yesterday's post?

Today was amazing from beginning to end.

Adoring Husband opened the doors early and two kids who had been in yesterday, came in with their brother and his mate. They bought a LOT of stuff, but they didn't choose everything and then bring it all to the counter. They purchased one thing at a time, one after the other, so between the four of them, there were at least six purchases! They just kept finding new stuff to buy. They even had their Mum on the phone at one stage.

This was followed by a return customer who was about to leave for home, which is in Victoria, and she had left her boyfriend in the car so that she could come say goodbye and add to her button collection.

Next, the owner of our local cafe appeared to give me some news.

She had forgotten to tell me that she had a large group of ladies coming for morning tea and that The Happy Abode was on their itinerary. She was expecting them to arrive in about 30 minutes.

That kind of put a spanner in my works.

Remember that 'to do' list that I was going to methodically work through? Hmm.

I had enough time to iron the new clothing before the hoard of women arrived. There were at least a dozen of them and they made lots of happy sounds when they saw the shop and commented favourably about the design and layout and atmosphere.

They almost all made purchases. Some sat in our lounge area and chatted quietly while others wandered around the shop and one after the other, they brought their selections to the counter.

The leader of the group advised me that she was part of a Classic Cars group who would be gathering together at Burrum River Caravan Park in May, and that she would be organising for the wives to convoy over to our town and visit The Happy Abode.

She took business cards and some of our postcards to issue to some other groups that she is involved with and promised to spread the word for us.

At that point, it was only 11.30am and I was feeling incredibly grateful for how the morning had gone and for the sales that we had made. I expected that it would go very quiet and I could work through my list as planned.

But no ... straight after they had all left, a lady came in to purchase gifts for a special friend and for herself. She did not hold back.

Customers just kept coming.

It was almost closing time and our total was just $3 off a a large round figure and I sent a message out to the universe to send one more customer in to send that total above the round figure.

Less than five minutes later, a woman walked in and bought a $4 miniature turtle.

In between all of this activity, I did action a lot of things off my list so my day was incredibly productive and AH helped me finish off my list.

Before I rode home, I took a call from The Motivator who was sitting at Brisbane Airport waiting for her final flight home. Her news sounded very exciting and I can't wait to hear more about the course and the amazing methods she has learned for healing. I'm looking forward to being a guinea pig!

Our pool area was finally certified today.

Number One Son's footy team defeated my footy team tonight ... sadly for me. I officially withdrew from the club footy tipping competition and sent an email to the site owners to let them know how I felt about their crappy site.

Last of all, I got a call from Vegan Chickie tonight, which was much shorter than our usual call, but it was so good to hear from her.

Now it's fast approaching 11.30pm and I am exhausted.

Nite all.

... and we’re off!

Life as we know it has returned to normal.

The quiet season has passed, customers are back and sales are on the increase.

I had another busy, busy day. So busy that I still didn’t finish unpacking the stock that arrived on Monday. Small steps.

I have a ‘to do’ list a mile long now, which I will methodically work through tomorrow, so that I can take some time off with a clean slate and a clear conscience.

It’s crazy how you can have days in a row where nothing needs to be done and then suddenly there are 12 things that need to be done yesterday!

The Motivator arrives home tomorrow and will be back on board Friday. It’ll be good to have her back. Hopefully I can work efficiently enough that she can start back with a clean slate too.

Today’s busy-ness included meditation, massage appointments, child customers with generous grandparents, customers spoiling themselves, customers buying themselves farewell gifts before returning home, unpacking stock, talking to reps on the phone, paying bills, contacting workshop participants and rearranging stock.

I didn’t get to chat with The Gypsy except for her last 20 minutes in the shop.

Thank goodness for Adoring Husband who helped me close the shop again.

Now I’m off to bed because my brain 🧠 is incapable of further thought.

Nite all.

It was Big!

What a day!

It's been an incredibly busy day.

I arrived early to attempt to unpack some of the new stock before the girls arrived, which meant that I opened the shop on my own. Adoring Husband drove into The Bay early to run some errands.

I only sat with the coffee girls for about 20 minutes because there was stock to unpack and customers to serve and then some of the girls decided to make some purchases themselves.

A couple of customers came in to request some orders, which require some research before it can be done.

Our fluid art lady dropped in some more art.

Another lady, our crystal expert, brought some beautiful crystals and rocks for us to sell on consignment. She provided stands and cases and gauze bags and a thorough list of information.

A sales rep phoned to get more information about what we want to see from him when he visits on the first Tuesday after Easter.

There are SO MANY scarves, clothing items, bags and jewellery from Ivys that still have to be unpacked and priced and displayed.

Beauty visited before she left for her 7 week holiday, to spend her birthday voucher.

There were bookings for The Gypsy.

Lots of holiday customers in and out all day.

I actually did some banking.

I haven't even checked my emails today.

I did hear from The Motivator who is raving about the course that she's been doing and I'm keen to hear all about it upon her return.

Adoring Husband drove into town and bought lots of materials for my paint pouring at home, which I'll do when I get some time off next week.

He also helped me close the shop this afternoon and I chose to be kind to myself and NOT stay at the shop to finish 'all the stuff', but instead I rode home at 4pm, made an early dinner and put my feet up. I edited some extra wedding photos for last year's bride and now I need to get into bed before midnight.

Meditation early tomorrow, among other things.

I'm exhausted!

Nite all.

Good One

Yes it was a good day!

Not only for sales, but a big delivery arrived this afternoon which is still not completely unpacked or displayed, but tomorrow is another day.

The Gypsy and I had some good discussions between her appointments and there were some fun new customers coming in all day long, as well as some regulars.

My Nutrimetics order was delivered by Aggie.

Adoring Husband helped me close the shop and I ate my first food for the day as I was riding home. The green grapes did not agree with me and the pain in my belly worsened when I ate 2 GF biscuits later.

I headed to bed straight after my small dinner, but was rudely jolted out of bed when psychotic dog Jack began screaming from cramps. AH and I rubbed magnesium oil into his paws and ears and I brought Jack to bed with me.

I am in bed as I write this and I’m still feeling pretty tender in the tummy, so I am going to sign off and sleep it off.

Hopefully I will have recovered enough to enjoy coffee with the girls in the morning.

Nite all.

Sweet Sunday

It has been the perfect day of rest.

I woke at 6.30am but stayed in bed until about 8.30am.

Adoring Husband brought my coffee to me, so I got up, got dressed and met him outside under the Bali hut. After a while he decided to make breakfast, so on the barbecue he made himself a bacon and egg roll and at my request, he made me some toast.

After breakfast, it was time for a swim. For me. Not Adoring Husband. It was too cold for AH. I have to admit that I stood in the water knee deep for quite some time until I adjusted to the temperature and then gathered my courage and jumped in.

I'm here to say that it was bloody cold!

After a few minutes, my body temperature adjusted to the water and I was able to swim a few laps, do a few exercises and float around for about 15 minutes. I sat on the edge of the pool in the sunshine for another 15 minutes to warm up before I began setting up for my art morning.

I should have taken photos of the process because it got pretty messy, but this is what our dining table looks like right now ...

... and this is the art that I produced. I didn't have all the materials that I needed, so I had to modify my ideas and it's not what I had envisioned in my head, but I know, after this bit of practice, that the next one is going to be much better.

I sat down for an hour after that to mentally prepare for the baked dinner I was serving for dinner. Chicken, potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, broccoli and gravy.

I'm looking forward to a good week at the shop. According to the local Traders shop, it was a busy day in town today and the Real Estate Agent announced that there were 92 houses in the area filled with holiday makers.

Let's hope they come visit The Happy Abode.

Now it's time for bed.

Nite all.

Tip Fail

We are at Round 4 of the NRL footy season and my footy tipping is, at this point, an epic fail!

Disappointing to say the least and made all the more difficult by the terrible website that the new manager of the club has selected for us to use. In fact, I think I will withdraw from the competition, because the site takes away some of the fun - it doesn't have some of the features that made being a participant so much fun in past years.

It doesn't show us which teams the other participants have selected, so we can't keep track of who might or might not catch us with each game, or who we might catch or overtake on the ladder.

The site doesn't update at the end of each game and it can sometimes take hours to update.

It has also refused me entry twice and I've had to change my password once because it didn't recognise me.

I'm over it.

I still have the family footy tipping comp in the old site, so I'll continue with that one. I also joined the ESPN footy tipping which is free. They will keep me happy.

I opened the shop in a ghost town this morning. Just four people walked through the door and only one of them made a purchase, however, I could see as I left the shop that the caravan parks are filling up due to the commencement of school holidays, so next week will surely bring a smile to my dial.

I'm excited that it's Sunday tomorrow and on this day of rest, I have all my art stuff ready to create something amazing. I have two canvasses and two ideas of how I want to fill them. Fingers crossed that those ideas come together. I can't wait!!

During my morning reading time before I got out of bed today, I read this and found it very interesting ...

******

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & Sold to the tannery.......if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor" 

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot......they "didn't have a pot to piss in" & were the lowest of the low.

Here are some facts about the 1500s: Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell . ...... . Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting Married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof... Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would Sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive... So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.

And that's the truth....Now, whoever said History was boring.....Ha

******

I don't know how accurate any of that is, but most of it makes sense to me so I don't even care if it's made up lol.

I'm off to bed now.

Nite all.

Youtube Friday

An interesting day in the shop with the first sale of the day being a good one, lots of tyre kickers in the middle, and then a fabulous final sale of the day which included one of my large photos.

It’s another one of those times of the year where people are returning for their annual holiday and it’s so nice that they are coming in especially to say hello and check out the shop.

There was enough time between customers that I could watch loads of YouTube videos on the various methods of paint pouring. Oh the wonderfulness of it all! I can’t wait til Sunday, or maybe even Saturday afternoon to ‘have a go’.

Adoring Husband helped me shut up shop and I rode home to spend some brief chill time under the Bali hut before getting ready for the club.

I won three drinks in one of the draws, had a small win on the keno and was lucky enough to nab the final single seat on the bus home!

AH had dinner ready and we watched the footy together.

Now I am SO ready for bed 😴

Nite all.

Where Did It Go?

This day passed so quickly, it felt like I blinked and missed it!

Adoring Husband drove me to work because the plan was for us to drive straight into The Bay at 3pm  when we closed the shop.

AH opened the shop while I got my morning coffee. He makes life so much easier for me.

My plan for the morning was to learn how to use Garage Band on my laptop to create a guided meditation. Unfortunately, it took an hour to download the app, by which time, one of our sales reps arrived for our 10am appointment, which I had forgotten about because I didn't look at my diary this morning!

Ninety minutes later I had made two standby orders to be delivered in May and looked at some stylish pearl jewellery and Swarovsky crystal jewellery, all beautifully packaged. I made a deal for the rep to email the catalogues for these items so that The Motivator and I can go through them and make some choices together.

As the rep walked out, the Fishing Club rep arrived to pick up the donations that I had packaged up yesterday.

Then entered a steady flow of fun customers who were all in for a chat and included some holiday-makers who have returned for their annual vacation.

I ordered a late lunch from the local cafe, so I walked over to pick that up.

Murphy's Law that as soon as I sat down to eat, more customers came through the door and of course my food went cold before I could eat it.

Adoring Husband soon turned up to help me close the shop, but of course there was a lingering/loitering customer who had difficulty making decision and who took 30 minutes to choose a small fridge magnet and who walked out the door at 3.02pm.

With team work, AH and I drove out of the carpark at 3.10pm.

This is what we were driving into The Bay to collect ...

... On Tuesday, I had asked the shop to hold 4 of them for me until today.

While I was there I purchased four comfy casual tops.

We drove to King Kong so that I could purchase my own art supplies so that I can make a paint pouring wave.

I think that's my aim for Sunday. To create art.

This evening we found this little guy in our outdoor area ...

He's a big fat juicy looking fella and has been living out there for at least a couple of months. We hope he lives a long and happy life here.

Finally, before I head to bed for an early night, I though I'd share this with you ...

TGIF and have a great day.

Nite all.

Mid Week Marvel

We had a full house for meditation this morning and it was an excellent class with lots of input from everyone. The entire discussion was totally relevant and relatable and everybody hugged at the end.

I loved it.

The Gypsy had the morning free, so, as usual, we spent the time chatting about everything and anything and philosophising about life in general.

There were enough customers in the morning to make me happy about sales for the day and the promise from one to bring her friends in tomorrow, which will hopefully make me happy tomorrow!

The Motivator left for Tasmania today and hopefully was not held up by the flight delays caused by the fog in Sydney this morning.

We had some heavy scudding showers here today too! Some good rain this evening making the grass and gardens look lush and green.

Adoring Husband spent time in the kitchen and made a chocolate brownie cake, so he brought me a piece to the shop for afternoon tea.

Unfortunately, it was the only thing I had to eat all day and the sugar content affected me big time! The sugar high was fleeting, but the crash afterwards was intense. We both fell asleep on the lounge in the Bali hut and my energy was completely drained. It was an effort to wake up and get up!

I made a quick but hearty dinner of chicken with veg - pumpkin, sweet potato, potato, onion, zucchini in a gravy that was made with a home made chicken and veg stock full of white pepper and olive oil. It was good enough that I could feel my body responding and my energy levels lifted considerably.

Which was lucky, because we had trivia at the club tonight so we needed the energy and we needed our brains to function on 'full'.

We picked up The Blonde Bombshell from her house and arrived very early at the club, but it was very busy and we had to find a table right at the rear of the club and around the corner. It must have brought us luck because we came second tonight!

Yes, that's right ... SECOND! By two points. Go us!

Now it's almost 11.30pm and I'm feeling it. Time for bed, but just before I go, I found this to be very interesting ...

... I believe this to be true. What do you think?

Nite all.

Meditating or not?

So, our new routine in the afternoons when we arrive home, is to head straight to the pool area to sit under the Bali hut and chill.

Adoring husband reads.

I listen to an audible book.

Sometimes we converse.

We doze ... or sleep soundly lol.

Just sitting in silence is also an option ... which is a form of meditation 🧘‍♀️ but don’t tell AH because he’s scared of meditation. Don’t ask.

Needless to say, our TV is feeling a little neglected these days.

I had a nice day at the shop with Aggie presenting Nutrimetics products during our coffee morning and there was a slow but steady flow of customers until lunch time.

The Motivator and The Fisher King dropped in for a purpose in the afternoon and AH helped me close up, as he does.

Nothing much else to report for today. I’m sorry I missed Beauty’s birthday lunch, but it looked like a good time was had by all.

I’m not sorry that I missed tonight’s barbecue at the park because my lounge room is much more comfortable. Sorry friends.

Before I sign off, I just want to say this ...

Nite all

Busy Busy Busy

This is shaping up to be a big week!

Today was busy for Adoring Husband who began  by mowing lawns at work and at home, then drove into The Bay to buy potting mix and plants to fill our pots in the pool area ...

Actually, he only bought one plant because the frangipani cutting came from our front garden and the agave is from our garden too. The Monstera Deliciosa was purchased today.

I, on the other hand, spent the morning in silence in an empty shop!

The Gypsy had a morning of clients so I spent the time putting prize packs together to donate to the Easter Fishing Classic being held at the end of the month.

The afternoon picked up to help finish the day on a bit of high.

AH helped me close the shop, we did some grocery shopping and after we arrived home, we sat in the pool area under the Bali hut for more than an hour. It was so peaceful and relaxing. We are very proud of what we have created out there and at times, it's difficult to drag ourselves away.

While relaxing, I received a text from Vegan Chickie with this photo attached ...

I would have been about 23 yrs old and I honestly don't recall that photo being taken, so today is the first time I've seen it. It's a lovely photo and evoked some very strong loving feelings, being reminded of happier and more innocent times. I was still married and Bubbles hadn't even been born yet.

I feel that my hairstyle is almost Princess Dianna-like!

As I was saying about this week ... tomorrow morning is coffee with the girls which will incorporate a practice run for Aggie to present her Nutrimetics before she embarks on her new venture doing the party thing.

The girls are then attending a birthday lunch for Beauty, which will be followed by the monthly barbecue dinner at the Lions Park for our group.

Wednesday night is Trivia night at the Club.

AH and I need to spend an afternoon, probably Thursday, in The Bay searching for some important purchases.

Friday is either Club night or drinks round the pool, depending on how I feel at the end of the week.

I've just spent almost 2.5 hours on the phone with my sister, so I'm cutting this short now and heading off to bed. It's almost midnight!

Nite all.

  

Feeling the Serenity

I've had a lovely day off.

Adoring Husband brought me breakfast in bed - vegemite toast and coffee - the perfect start to a lazy Sunday.

Then he ordered me to get out of bed and inspect the pots that he had spent the morning moving into the pool area ...

... we moved them slightly and then I didn't want to leave the pool area, so I plonked myself down with my electronic devices and there I stayed until it was time to make lunch.

I plonked myself down with our lunch and there I stayed until the water called me in at around 3.30pm.

I spent a delightful 30 minutes in the very cool water and while I was drying myself off, I received a call from The Motivator and she came round for a visit, bearing the gift of fresh watermelon!

We chatted for about an hour and came to an agreement regarding some plans we had.

After she left, I cooked up an early dinner - spaghetti bolognese with zoodles for AH and Vegemite on toast for me - don't worry, the novelty of having Vegemite back in my life will soon wear off. Haha.

Right now, I'm imagining an early night in preparation for a big week ahead, so I will share something that somebody special shared with me today ...

It's been another perfect day for me to feel gratitude and happiness for all that I have in my life.

Life is good.

Nite all.

Lazy Bones

I’m too lazy to move right now, so I’m creating this post on my iPad.

It was a slow Saturday at the shop, but at least we had customers! I expected the day to be a complete non event because of the weird weather, so I was pleasantly surprised.

I wore my dress 😄

The original plan was for Adoring Husband and I to drive into The Bay after I closed the shop, but AH had been working hard all morning and lost motivation, so we opted to buy fish and chips for lunch and spend the afternoon watching movies and the footy instead.

AH had attached a bamboo blind to one end of the Bali hut for afternoon sun protection, and he bolted the water feature to the back fence so there is no rope holding it up now.

The next job is moving the planter pots into the pool area and doing something amazing to that bare wall overlooking the pool.

I did a lamb roast for dinner. Fruit whip with toffee nuts for dessert. I even ate breakfast this morning. I think I’ve eaten more food today than I have in total for the entire week!

Might have to swim it off tomorrow.

Tomorrow I plan on doing nothing OR I might start creating my online challenge OR I might add to my book OR I could research which site to develop my course OR I might do nothing lol. Yeah. Probably nothing.

Coffee and vegemite on toast for breakfast in bed 👍

I hope you all have the perfect Sunday.

Nite all

Dressy

I received a parcel in the mail today.

A parcel that I forgot I ordered.

It was a dress!

Now I possess 2 dresses.

I have owned, in my adult life, including my 2 wedding dresses, a total of eleven dresses.

Seven of them in the last ten years.

One to walk Vegan Chickie down the aisle at her wedding. One to walk Best Cousin in the World down the aisle at her wedding. A Melbourne Cup dress. A beach party dress. These two new dresses and my wedding dress ... which technically was a skirt so it probably doesnt count.

I wore my new dress tonight and felt very comfortable. I think I’ll wear it to work tomorrow.

It was a slow but steady day at the shop and Adoring Husband picked me up right on 3pm.

I made myself presentable for the club, had a small win on the pokies and a small win on the Keno, no win in the raffle, was pleasantly surprised by the arrival of The Brains Trust and enjoyed a fun evening with the girls.

AH had dinner prepared when I arrived home and now I am ready for bed.

The Motivator is still feeling and sounding very poorly. Big hugs and love to her for a speedy recovery.

Nite all.

Very Weathery

The poor Motivator is a sick little bundle of sadness at the moment.

These are for her ...

Get well soon.

What a strange weathery kind of day it was today.

We received 15mm of steady rain overnight. That follows 16mm from the night before.

It was nice to fall asleep to the sound of the rain.

One of the psychotic dogs was very restless during the night and Adoring Husband got up to him a few times.

After my massage yesterday, my body was feeling a little tender and there were a few bits hurting when I stood up to get out of bed this morning. I lay back down and did a quick healing meditation before I tried rising again. It actually made a difference.

I had quite a few men come through the doors at work today ... mostly tyre kickers but they all agreed to spread the word when they left.

A participant from my first photography workshop came in for a visit. She is from Brisbane and has returned for a holiday, so it was nice to catch up with her and nice of her to visit me too.

One of the ladies whose husband has been diagnosed with Parkinson's spent about 30 minutes sitting in the shop with me chatting about her difficulties and the decline of her husband's health. She left, but returned moments later with a coffee for me. A lovely gesture.

The Fluid Artist touched base and let me know what she was up to with her art. I showed her the pieces that I've made after the last couple of workshops.

The Chatterbox visited with her white fluffball dog - such a gorgeous soft friendly little bundle of loveliness - the dog that is 🤪

Adoring Husband arrived to help close the shop and drive me home. I didn't ride this morning because it was raining.

I cooked up some chicken and vegetables for dinner and made some more fruit whip ice cream for dessert, which I couldn't eat because my tummy was so full from dinner.

I'm watching the Broncos play the Dragons in the first NRL match of the round. My team, the Broncos, have come back at the end of the first half and are winning by two points.

I believe that I'll be in bed early tonight, to let my body rest and take advantage of the goodness that's still going on in my body from the massage. It's good sleeping weather too.

Nite all.

Humpety Hump Day

The Motivator and I decided to take half a day each today.

While we both arrived early for meditation, TM wasn't well enough to sit in for the class, but I enjoyed the message that was being shared today, along with the other eight participants who were open to sharing part of their stories within the group.

I was booked in for the 9am appointment with The Gypsy and I must have been holding on to a lot of stuff because my mid section and my back were really tight and she had to work hard to loosen it all up.

By the time she finished, I felt like I'd been hit by a bus, but she gave me some good advice to release my 'stuff' and free up the tension in my body.

I had to pedal home from there and didn't have to be at work again until midday, so I sat in the pool area for a while before deciding to plunge in fully clothed. That was my moment of release and the 'hit by a truck' feeling immediately disappeared. I released all the 'stuff' and trusted that the universe has my back.

What a difference.

I arrived at work right on midday, just in time for TM to attend her appointment with The Gypsy, which she obviously needed too.

On good advice, she left for home immediately and I spent a very quiet 2 hours in the shop. Only one gentleman came through the doors during the afternoon ... an elderly local man who saw our sign and decided to check us out.

He didn't purchase anything but said he would be back some time and he promised to tell his friends and neighbours that we were there.

That's all we can ask.

I closed The Happy Abode right on 3pm, bought some chicken from the butcher for dinner, bought some fresh vegetables and ordered Adoring Husband's and my coffee just as he walked through the shop door.

He took the groceries and I pedalled home.

I cooked up an early roast dinner and now I sit here listening to the rain as it falls steadily on our tin roof. Time for bed - what a nice way to fall asleep.

Nite all.

Torrentially Tuesday

A torrential downpour of stuff happened today.

I was running late this morning, so Adoring Husband drove to the shop and opened up while I bought my coffee. It was exactly 9am when I walked through the doors to work.

My husband is a champion.

The girls all arrived for morning coffee and there were seven of us in attendance. I didn't get to sit for as long as usual because there was an early customer who was struggling to choose a gift for her good friend. In the end, she decided to purchase a gift voucher.

Our friend Aggie has decided to become a consultant for Nutrimetics, so I suggested that she have her first practice run on we girls next Tuesday during our morning coffee. I think it's important for us to support each other in our endeavours to create an income for ourselves 👍

I had customers for the last part of morning coffee so I didn't even get to hug my girls goodbye.

The few customers that came through the doors today all required time and assistance to make their purchases. Luckily they were worthy purchases to make for a successful sales day.

One couple took a good 40 minutes to choose two bracelets and four buttons for their granddaughters.

Another lady, enjoying the final day of her two week holiday, browsed and chatted for 30 minutes and took another 20 minutes to choose a kaftan. It was her first time in the shop and she was loving it.

A woman bought all the seahorse cups that we had displayed and a bowl to match. Each of those needed to be wrapped in bubble wrap and she took 15 minutes to go get her car ... she was worried about carrying the breakables too far ... even though they were perfectly wrapped and put into a secure bag!

The Timber Turner arrived to pick up a payment for a bread board that we sold last week.

The fruit and veg man arrived with his esky of goodies, but nobody wanted to buy anything today.

The training room was full of stock that had arrived yesterday, so in between customers, I sat in there pricing what I could and finding somewhere to display it.

The tables were all still set up for the paint and create workshop that we had on Saturday too.

It all had to be cleared for meditation classes tomorrow and just as I was getting on a roll, a gentleman walked through the doors and began wandering around the shop. I asked if he was looking for anything in particular and he introduced himself and told me that he was a Rep for a few different companies.

He said that he had found us on google and that he had driven out of his way to check out the shop to see if it was suitable for their products. He liked what he saw and commented that it was a hidden gem and we were one of the reasons that he liked to drive into quiet little towns off the beaten track.

The Motivator and I had seen the products at the Gift Fair in Sydney in 2018 and we had them on our 'wish list' for future reference. So it was serendipitous that he walked through our doors.

He showed me the catalogues and had some lovely samples, promised to email photos of new products becoming available soon and we parted on good terms.

Adoring Husband arrived to help me close the shop and I let him know that we had some work to do in the training room.

The poor Motivator was home feeling ill so AH and I powered through and cleared the training room.

What stock was left to price, is now sitting on my desk waiting for action tomorrow. I hope that I've put the paint and create resources in all the right places for TM to find next time she needs them. The finished artwork from the workshop are now spread all over the place. Some on the shelves on the walls, some on the cupboard and some behind TM's desk.

AH folded all the tables and stored them. We lined the walls with the chairs ready for meditation. We moved the TV. AH vacuumed the floor and before we knew it, it was looking pristine and ready for meditation.

We walked to the butchers to get some meat for dinner and AH took the rebounder out of the shop to take home.

On the way home, I had to stop at a customer's house to let her know that some products that she has been waiting on, have arrived.

Finally, at 5pm, I arrived home. I looked outside at the pool and strongly considered going for a swim, but all I wanted to do was take a load off. I plonked myself onto the chair and there I stayed.

For dinner, I made a salad for AH to have with his barbecued steak. I made myself 4 pieces of toast. Two with GF Vegemite (that AH brought back from NSW) and 2 with the lemon butter that AH brought back from some country show that he attended in NSW.

Nothing more to be done now, but go to bed. I'm done for the day and I hope to have a massage in the morning. 😍

Nite all.

I Just Need to Know

I googled "What do women over 50 want?"

These were the top responses that I could choose from ...

• "I asked a bunch of women over 50 about their sex lives"
• The fascinating truth about women & sex over 50
• What older women want in bed
• The top 5 sexual concerns of women over 50
• The truth about sex after 50
• Are 50 year old women sexually active?
• Sex at 50+ What's normal?
• Dating over 50
• Best female bodies over 50

So now I'm wondering whether google believes that women over 50 have a brain!

• Have women over 50 discovered their own philosophy on life?
• Do they want to make up for lost time?
• Are they more health conscious than ever before?
• Are they interested in furthering their education?
• Are they searching for a new career?
• Do they dream of starting their own business?
• Is travel a priority?
• Do they want to let loose their artistic creativity?
• Do they want to nurture new friendships?
• Are they keen to learn a different language?
• How about learning to play a musical instrument?
• Would joining a drama group interest them?
• Are singing lessons an option?
• Have they always wanted to play a sport like golf or tennis?
• Are they drawn to getting involved with community groups?
• What about volunteering?
• Is a lifestyle change on the cards?

So many questions! How do I find the answers? Do I need to create a questionnaire and pass it round to everyone I know? Do I post it onto all of the Facebook pages and hope for a good response?

This all has to do with a Challenge/Program that I'm going to create for women over 50. I hope to provide it on-line and hopefully create a workshop for a face to face challenge as well.

I just need to know what women want!! I think there is a movie in that!

I had the day at home but started by working for Adoring Husband early. I rode down to get my coffee and then visited the boys at the Seat of Knowledge. I haven't seen them for a couple of months, so it was a nice visit.

I took my camera bag with me and the tide was turning so the water was perfectly still the boats all reflected in the water beautifully. I got my camera out and attempted to take a pic ... until the camera gave me a message that there was no card in it. Ugh. I forgot to put the card back the last time I edited some photos.

So out came my my phone for this ...

I returned home at 9am, cleaned the kitchen, did some washing and then gathered my journals and devices to head out to the pool area.

A perfectly beautiful day. Listening to meditation music all day ... which makes the area really feel like a resort or a retreat. I had a couple of swims during the day and lay on the lounge reading, writing, adding more to my gratitude journal, meditating, creating my blog post and outlining the challenge that I'm working on.

I packed up at about 4.30pm, hung some clothes on the line, put another load in the machine and took a phone call from AH telling me that he was just going through Tiaro! I knew he would come straight home today.

I prepared some rice paper rolls for dinner and just as I was finishing, he pulled in the driveway.

The psychotic dogs are so deaf, they didn't even hear him pull in so there was no barking to greet him.

I think it's time for bed. I actually have work tomorrow! It's been fabulous to have this time off and I have used it to my best advantage. I feel refreshed and rejuvenated ... just as if I'd been on a retreat! 😁

Nite all.

Feeling the Serenity

The perfect Sunday.

I woke up at 8.30am and stayed in bed until 9.30am.

I got up and changed into my bathers, then made myself some GF pancakes with banana, bacon and maple syrup. I reheated my coffee that I'd purchased yesterday - for exactly this purpose - then dragged it all outside to the Bali Hut where I sat at the bar table ...

... and enjoyed my breakfast while listening to Bryan Adams on the sound bar.

Afterwards, I took my dirty dishes inside the house and then returned for a swim in the pool.

After an hour in the water, I set myself up on the lounge in the Bali hut and listened to my audio book, watched some videos by an old online course teacher of mine, wrote in my gratitude journal and watched a video teaching me how to create my own meditation video. Something I'll try one day soon.

I cooked up some chicken wings for a late lunch but only ate two of them. They can wait until tomorrow for lunch.

I had another swim while listening to meditation music and practiced some pretend Tai Chi in the water. A little after 5pm I cleared all my paraphernalia from the lounge and moved inside the house.

While hanging out some washing, I heard a voice calling my name and discovered The Motivator at my back door. She was running late for the afternoon swim that we'd discussed earlier, so I sat under the Bali Hut chatting with her while she spent thirty minutes or so enjoying the water and cooling her core.

After she left, I hung out some more washing and put another load in.

I made myself comfortable to watch Married at First Sight but looked forward to my bed time.

It's very tiring work not doing anything all day!

That's my sign ... I'm off to bed.

Nite all.