Man of Many Talents

It was such a quiet morning at the shop that I was able to completely rearrange one of the cube stands before the second customer even walked in the door.

At midday, I was wondering what had happened to all of those holiday makers and it looked like being our worst Saturday morning on record, but just as I began to wallow in my mini puddle of negativity, the shop filled with people and the last one didn't leave until 1.45pm. We usually close at 1pm!

So the first day of school holidays was a success - though not without difficulty - the square reader that acts as our cash register decided to freeze the scan option, so the only way I could complete any of the transactions, was to manually input all the numbers on all the visa and master cards.

That was annoying and I tried everything except shutting down the iPad, which I will try on Monday if it's still causing problems.

Adoring Husband drove into The Bay to pick up the kitchen cabinets which came flat packed. The progress so far ...

He's a talented man.

After I arrived home, I had just enough energy to get the washing off the line, put another load in the machine and check out Adoring Husband's effort in the kitchen before I collapsed on my lounge chair for a well earned rest.

I took a meal out of the freezer - spaghetti bolognese sauce to which I added zucchini noodles - for AH's dinner.

I'm watching the football and hoping that Souths win so that Adoring Husband has a chance at winning some cash in the footy tipping competition. If not, we'll have to try again next year!

It's not looking good at this point.

I'm not sure what Sunday will bring. I may open the shop for a few hours, but it depends on how I'm feeling. I may spend the entire day in bed! Or I may be motivated enough to do some housework. Who knows.

Wait and see.

Nite all.  

On the Up

After a very quiet week, and a very quiet morning today, the afternoon picked up considerably as the holiday-makers lobbed into town and the day was a success!

I was so busy in the last two hours of the day, I didn't know which end was up!

Adoring Husband helped me close shop and I was home in time to make myself beautiful for the usual Friday night at the club.

Our table was a little bit lucky and I was very lucky on the pokies.

Adoring Husband had dinner ready when I arrived home and sadly his footy team lost their semi-final tonight so they are out of the comp - however - his AFL team Collingwood won their semi-final so they ARE in the Grand Final next week.

Here are all the photos taken in stages before the pool installation and what we are up to at this point.

Look at the time! It's heading towards 1am! Time for bed.

Nite all.

Equally Calm

We made the same amount of money today, as yesterday, almost to the cent! Weird.

The Real Estate Agent gave us a list showing the number of holiday-makers arriving on the next three Saturday mornings and the first week should be our busiest of the next three.

A strange man came into the shop and told me to be on the lookout for a selenite tower because he had a vision of me receiving one (I already have three so I don't know why I would get another) and he told me that The Motivator might need a 'reading'.

Thank you strange man. Have a nice trip back to the Gold Coast.

It was another one of those days where nothing much got done. I even bought two coffees and both of them went cold before I drank half, so obviously, I was busy enough to let the coffee go cold.

We got news from the pool guy and "P" day is Tuesday!

I promised to post pics to show the progress so far and I've taken three lots of photos since we made the decision, but they are still on the camera, so I'll try to post them here before "P" day.

Adoring Husband has spent the day painting some more in the kitchen, but he'd best stop soon, because the dirt and dust from the digging might cause a bit of mess since there is no door to the kitchen for protection!

My thumb is almost healed. It's taken a week of colloidal silver gel baths and it looked even too horrifying to take more pics earlier in the week, but it's looking and feeling much better now.

Now it's after 11pm so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Calm Before The Storm

That's what it feels like in the shop.

The school holidays commence this Friday and the tourists will all be arriving thick and fast, but at the moment it's very quiet.

The caravan parks are about 1/3 full and there are only overnighters filling spaces leading up to the permanent bookings for holidays.

We are now seeing our first customers from when we opened last year, returning for their annual holiday, so it's nice to welcome them back as they walk through the door.

Those overnighters come into the shop for a browse or to fill in ten minutes and then leave empty handed.

Having said that, today went so fast and I don't feel like I accomplished anything!

We had three new faces, including our first male participant at meditation, which made for an interesting morning. The subject that The Gypsy chose to discuss today resonated very much with me so I especially enjoyed the session.

We have a new table in the centre of the shop, so we can display a few more items there PLUS a new glass cabinet which I have to put together some time over the coming days.

Our signage is still leaning against the wall in the training room too, so that needs action soon.

The tiler finished tiling the floor of our indoor/outdoor kitchen and the electricians finished the wiring, so we now have lights.

We are very close "P" day!!

"P" = "Pool"

The pool guy is coming in the next couple of days to make sure we have cleared enough in our yard for them to start.

I'm concerned about our avocado tree because it has just one avocado growing (still many more buds appearing - just not fruiting as yet), but the single avocado is on the pool side of the tree and it's highly likely that it will be knocked off by machinery. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen.

Ok, 10pm, must get some sleep.

Nite all.

Timed Out

My time off has timed out and I'm back to work tomorrow.

I've enjoyed my week off, but I'm very much looking forward to returning.

We had a long morning coffee with the girls this morning which lasted for more than two hours and there were lots of snorts and giggles.

I followed that with a twenty minute bare-foot walk along the beach before I met up with Adoring Husband to drive into The Bay to get some office supplies for The Happy Abode, to buy some more organic celery for my morning juicing, and to purchase some more crystals ...

... that is a very large rose quartz natural rock which I intend putting in the garden beside the pool ... I also plan on purchasing more of those!

AH and I also enjoyed a delicious lunch of Creamy Garlic Prawns at Aquavue on the waterfront.  It feels like forever since we lunched out together!

I stopped to browse some lovely tops in a clothing shop, but the only one I liked was the most expensive one there and I feel that I spent my self imposed limit for the month last week while we were there. Probably two month's worth actually. So I refrained.

Even my lotto winnings weren't enough to cover that expense, but $33 was a pleasant surprise and more than enough to buy a ticket in the $30million Powerball this week. Fingers crossed for a bigger prize that I can brag about and share to make a few lives more comfortable.

Meditation tomorrow, so I'm off to bed. I will listen to more of my book before I doze off.

Nite all.

Felt Like Sunday

I forgot that it was Monday and enjoyed it as if it was Sunday!

Not that it matters.

I had fresh celery juice for breakfast, which, I must say, tasted pretty disgusting! In past experience, celery juice was quite watery and a bit sweet, but this one was bitter and I struggled to finish it. I know it has amazing health benefits, especially for my struggling liver, so I can put up with it.

Adoring Husband brought me a coffee quite late in the morning and I enjoyed it as I listened to my Medical Medium book while I sat up in bed.

The tiler man came to tile the floor of the outdoor/indoor kitchen and the tiles look amazing. He will grout them tomorrow. Adoring Husband is feeling pretty pleased with himself for a great selection of tile.

I made a big nosh up of bacon, eggs, mushroom, onion, tomato and zucchini for AH's lunch. I pinched a couple of bacon rashers for myself and we drank the leftover slushy juice from yesterday - pineapple, watermelon, pawpaw and lemon.

An afternoon coffee was also enjoyable.

AH had a toasted sandwich for dinner followed by blueberries and ice cream for dessert.

Almost all of my day was filled with listening to and taking notes from my book.

I also realised halfway through the morning, that today marks 27 years since I began my working life as a Public Servant, so I posted on Facebook. While my original thought was just to announce the fact, I kind of got carried away and posted this instead ...

Due to a very early marriage and having children, I was a late starter, but today marks 27yrs since I began work as a public servant at CES in Griffith, where I made some great memories and great friends.

That was a huge step for me, from being a single Mum on a pension and living in a housing commission neighbourhood where Molotov cocktails and police sieges were the norm, to being a working girl in a secure job and soon owning a home. It took a year of full time study and some soul searching and confidence building to get there, that’s for sure!

The Roz then and the Roz now are two different people.

After some very questionable life choices, a bit of hard work, some much needed personal development, and a very generous and loving Universe which was completely open to my wishes, I feel blessed to have manifested a life that is filled with comfort, love and happiness and is much more than I ever dreamed (back in those days) would be possible.
I am a very lucky human 💖

(Who knew that a simple work memory could trigger so much gratitude?)

... I had a pretty big response from my FB friends and while that wasn't my intention for posting it, I was pleasantly surprised by some of the nice comments and who posted them - especially a couple of old workmates.

Now I'm going to listen to more of my book.

See you girls in the morning for coffee!

Nite all.

Visions

I did a meditation tonight - in my lounge room - with the TV going - beside Adoring Husband - with my head phones in - and was interrupted by AH when he said good night (ugh, but in his defence, he had no idea what I was doing) - but DURING that meditation, while my eyes were closed, I had a vision!

A young man in his mid 20s was walking up the driveway to The Happy Abode and beside him was a little girl around the age of 4 or 5 and she had her hands cupped and outstretched in front of herself. As she approached me, she partially opened her cupped hands and there inside was a tiny little dead bird.

I gasped and said "awwww" and looked at her sad little face.

With that, the vision vanished.

No idea how to analyse that one!

The other thing that happened was my vision was like a blank canvas that turned turquoise blue and I could feel water lapping at my feet.

That might relate to the pool???

Anyway, my day was spent at home.

I juiced some celery for breakfast and I reheated a coffee that I'd bought on Saturday afternoon and had put into the fridge so that I wouldn't have to leave the house today.

I listened to my Medical Medium book which told me a lot about Epstein Barr Virus (the virus that the naturopath told me I had when I was at the Canberra Health & Wellness Festival last year). It also offered some good advice to help clear it from my body.

I removed myself from the bed mid morning and prepared dinner for tonight - actually there are four meals of spaghetti bolognese sauce now in the freezer.

I made a slushy of pineapple, watermelon, papaya and lemon. Yum.

I removed the bedding and replaced it with fresh new bedding ...

... took washing off the line and folded it. Did a couple of loads of washing before deciding to make some prawn toast for lunch. It was delicious but I ate too much and had to have a nap afterwards!!

I watched a couple of rom/com movies while I waited for AH to return home from Fraser Island after a very successful SES training exercise.

Now my Sunday is over and I'm off to bed for even more sleep.

Nite all.  

Amazeballs!

Who'da thunk that both semi finals of football would be decided by just one point?!

Amazing football = Amazeballs!

Very exciting for we footy fans.

I've had a pretty great day all by myself.

My alarm went off at 4.15am - I was Adoring Husband's back up if he slept through his own alarm, but he was already up and about when mine sounded - so I went back to sleep, only to be woken again at about 4.45am when he kissed me goodbye (not complaining about the goodbye kiss).

THEN I was woken AGAIN when my permanent alarm went off at 6am *sigh*

At 7am, I dragged my sorry butt out of bed and made my hot lemon water and my broth, then I cooked up some bacon which I ate with some toast.

It looked like such a beautiful day, so I made myself presentable and rode to the river (without my camera) ...

... it was indeed beautiful!

I was listening to my music and couldn't help but sing and dance with my trike as I pedalled, winding all over the rode. Luckily I have rear view mirrors to see if anyone is coming behind me!

I pedalled to the beach and walked into the water, up to my knees, where I danced for a while and then did my Superhero pose and I told the Universe exactly what I want in my immediate future. The Universe twinkled and nodded in agreement with my wishes, so I know my future is looking pretty rosy!!

After I'd soaked up my share of Vitamin D and finished grounding with the salt water and the sand, I realised that it was well after noon, so I bought myself a coffee and did some grocery shopping before making a quick visit to The Motivator at the shop.

We talked business and had a quick catch up before I helped her close the shop and I scooted home.

I had big plans for housework today, but I chose instead to start a new diary, do some study, watch a new series on Netflix, ordered some new snap jewellery for the shop, created our ad for the newsletter  and then watched the football.

I'll work on that housework tomorrow!

Meanwhile ...

Now it's time for sleeping. Have a wonderful Sunday!

Oh! Here is that top that I ordered the other day! I showed the girls at morning tea, so they know what it really looks like ... NOTHING like this!!

Nite all.

Pushed It

I had made plans to go into The Bay with Adoring Husband today, but I really wanted to cancel and stay in bed all day.

BUT ...

I pushed myself to get moving and we had a lovely morning together in The Bay.

Our 'to do' list included stopping at Office Works, MBO Office Equipment, Gypsies Tramps and Thieves clothing store, Go Natural, Bunnings (ugh) and Beacon Lighting.

From Office Works, I bought some stationery for the shop.  AH ordered some office stuff for SES from MBO Office Equipment.  I bought two beautiful tops from Gypsies Tramps and Thieves. Go Natural supplied us with organic celery and ginger, organic macadamia nuts and almond meal. We selected some colours to paint the outdoor kitchen in Bunnings and we picked up our outdoor fan for the pool gazebo from Beacon Lighting.

We were home before 1pm, in time to make some lunch before AH had to be at the SES shed to prepare for their big weekend on Fraser Island.

I pedalled down to visit The Motivator at the shop and to buy a cucumber for dinner - which we didn't even use - then returned in time to make myself presentable for my usual Friday night at the club.

It was our unluckiest night so far! Nobody won a thing... except Lady Lynn who won $50 on the spin and win but wasn't even there to accept her prize! All of us who were in attendance left the club as LOSERS.

Very unusual.

Adoring Husband's footy team, Cronulla Sharks, won their semi final match against Penrith Panthers tonight by just one point. What a game!

My thumb has improved somewhat. It still looks disgusting, but the pain has eased considerably. Don't get me wrong, it still hurts, but nothing like the last couple of days. I wish I had the guts to stick a needle in it to ease the pressure, but I'm hoping my body will fix it over time.

This is me, ready for the club, wearing one of my new tops (which you can hardly see anyway) and showing off my new evening bag that The Motivator gifted me from Bali! Nice!!

Now it's time for bed.

Nite all.

Misery Guts

That's me.

Misery guts.

I have an infected thumb - caused by some torn skin ...

I know right?! Pretty gross hey?

My apologies if you are currently eating your breakfast or drinking your first cup of tea. That's not a pleasant sight so early in the morning.

I'm coating it in colloidal silver gel every couple of hours, drinking lots of filtered water and taking probiotics - I sat in the sun this morning to get some Vit D to help my immune system and did some 'grounding' along the beach for about thirty minutes.

It's tight and swollen and throbbing BUT it hasn't deteriorated during the day. Hopefully, that's a good sign.

It is, however, probably contributing to my feelings of lethargy and tiredness. I've spent the afternoon in bed reading and resting so hopefully, tomorrow will see some renewed vim and vigor!

I definitely feel a bit run down.

The beach was beautiful this morning with the tide rising and a few people soaking up the sun as they fished, walked, sat and metal detected! There was a woman around my age walking along the beach in a bikini and I smiled a good morning with admiration in my eyes and wondered if I would even be brave enough to do that in my own back yard.

After I'd grounded myself, I pedalled very slowly along the river and noticed how many boats were moored in the water. When my morning routine included sitting at the boat ramp, there were about 23-24 boats always moored, but I counted 29 boats this morning. I wonder if it's the weather bringing them in for safety?

I took a little video of the duck family on my way home, which I hope I can remember to share tomorrow night - my phone is flat and charging right now.

Adoring Husband spent more time painting in his outdoor kitchen and we had our main meal at lunch time because he is at SES training tonight. Lamb cutlets and salad was delicious.

It's just after 8.30pm and I'm hoping some solid sleep will help my body heal itself.

Have a fabulous Friday.

Nite all.

Oh the Pain!

Meditation was marvellous ... as usual.

I spent a couple of hours debriefing and bringing The Motivator up to speed on the last twelve days that she hasn't been at the shop.

She told me all about the retreat and some of the things that she learned, as well as a few things that she saw and experienced in Bali. It sounded fantastic and amazing.

I booked in with The Gypsy for her 12.15 appt, but went in about twenty minutes early.

Every nerve, every muscle, every joint was tender and tight and sore.

Apparently, my liver, kidneys and spleen are struggling at the moment (as they were previously), which is why I'm so sore everywhere, so I have a list of foods that I should eat to help ease the stress. I also have some stretching exercises to help release and cleanse the sludge from my adrenals and to loosen the tightness in my 'bits'. I will do more meditations at home, do some walking on the flat sand of the beach and when the pool is complete, she will give me some more gentle exercises to do with buoyancy.

I could have stayed on that table for another hour. It bloody hurt, but at the same time, I could feel it doing so much good as everything loosened up.

I pedalled straight home, made some lunch and then parked my butt on the couch.

At around 5pm I had to lie down because I couldn't keep my eyes open and I fell asleep immediately and didn't stir for about an hour!

Adoring Husband reheated last night's leftovers because I wasn't hungry for dinner and now, at 10.30pm, I am ready for some more sleep. I'm thinking that a warm bath with Epsom salts would have been helpful, but sleep is more of a draw card for me right now.

I'm looking forward to some time off to relax and take care of me.

It all starts right now.

Nite all.

 

Terrible Tuesday

Here are the reasons that Tuesday was terrible ...

I didn't fall asleep until 3am.

I was woken by an emergency that sent the adrenalin pumping at 5am.

I couldn't go back to sleep after that.

It was busy in the shop, but only two paying customers.

The white top that I ordered online arrived and it's the most disgusting item of clothing that I've ever laid eyes on!! My Tuesday morning girls can confirm that!

I had a huge mess to clean in the training room (self inflicted) in preparation for meditation on Wednesday.

I had to vacuum the shop because it hadn't been done for over a week.

I couldn't find a box big enough to finish packing the stand for the editing screen.

I spilled lots of little pieces of paper/plastic out of a binding machine AFTER I had vacuumed and packed everything away.

It's bin day and I had to empty all the bins in the shop and take the sulo out the front - groan - I was soooooo tired by this time.

While I was bringing in the flags at the end of the day, a huge gust of wind swept up the driveway and lifted my top almost over my head!!

I was so tired by the end of the day, my body was aching and I couldn't think straight.

Here are the reasons that Tuesday was great ...

Morning coffee with the girls.

I met Ivy - I don't know how old she was but she earned her first dollar in 1934!

I'm going to be in bed before 9pm.

Nite all.

Mondayitis

I had a bit of Mondayitis today.

I felt a bit discombobulated and my energy was a bit low.

I think it's the change of season.

It was good to see The Motivator appear after lunch. She had a big smile with sparkly eyes and was obviously feeling pretty amazing after her Journey retreat in Bali. She will come back to work on Wednesday.

Business in the shop was pretty normal for a Monday and there are a few new holiday makers here for a couple of weeks. There were also a couple of people come in for a final bit of retail therapy before jumping in their cars to head home - more often than not, South.

Lots of men - husbands, boyfriends, brothers and fathers in today so I'm feeling that the females who were with them will return later in the week on their own, as is the usual pattern. A female's biggest money block is almost always a man.

The Gypsy had a full day of bookings so we didn't get to chat as much as usual, but we did sit in the seats outside the shop in the warm sunshine for about twenty minutes in the morning before her first appointment which was nice.

Adoring Husband had SES duties this morning but then returned home to help Kiwi Bernie do some more work on the outdoor kitchen which is coming along nicely.

I stood in the back yard with AH trying to picture the image that I've created in my head - but it's easier to see it in my head than it is to visualise it in my back yard. It feels like the pool is still a long way off! Time goes so slowly when you want it NOW.

Most of my girls are away tomorrow, so I don't know who will be having coffee with me in the morning. I think it will be a small and intimate coffee date!

It's rapidly approaching midnight, so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Gratitude

So I found my old 'Gratitude' journal!

I haven't written in the journal since July 2017.

I have written many words of gratitude in many other places, like my diary, facebook, other journals (of which I have MANY), scrap paper and here sometimes, but not in the journal which I have for that specific purpose.

I've been thinking about all the things that I have felt grateful for in the last year and am sharing them with you in this post.

I'm grateful for ...

*  An amazing business that brings happiness to my life.

*  A business partner and friend whose strengths and weaknesses balance out my own strengths and weaknesses and between us, we make a great team that has built the amazing business that I just mentioned.

*  The perfect peaceful workspace that has a wonderful atmosphere that people comment on all the time - in a good way.

*  A supportive community who appreciates the services that we provide.

*  Beautiful friends who support me, not only through their retail therapy at the shop, but also with their words of encouragement, advice and emotional support. Our coffee mornings are one of my great loves.

*  My photography skills that have brought extra income to the business from selling my work and through the workshops.

*  Adoring Husband, who is our constant strong support and who, without question, pitches in as the best 'Personal Assistant' that a girl could want.

*  My strong relationship with The Motivator as we grow our business together. It's a noteworthy achievement to create a successful business with so many extra branches while still maintaining a friendship that was strong, yet young, at the beginning of this process. We often announce how proud we are of ourselves and each other.

*  My friendship/connection with The Gypsy and her meditation classes that have provided me with many 'aha' moments, adding a calmness to my life while helping me release lots of negative stuff.

*  The painful physical suffering that my body inflicts on me when I've strayed too far from my health goals and my will to get back on track when I realise my blunder.

*  The shared excitement with AH as we create/design/imagine our new leisure space in the back yard and as we get closer to the pool build.

*  My admiration for AH as he takes on his new role within the SES with such a positive outlook. I know that he struggles sometimes with the symptoms of Parkinson's, but he doesn't allow that to hold him back and he always seems to find a way to balance his health needs with everything else that he loves and needs to do, in a responsible way.

*  My kids, who are as healthy as they can be considering their choice of diet and lifestyle (I know they are rolling their eyes as they read this) and for being strong independent creatures - depending on how you look at it, I can take the credit or the blame for that haha. I absolutely love them all and admire them from a vast distance.

*  My beautifully perfect Chicklet - there are no words.

*  My life that is full of ease and comfort and the freedom to choose what's right for me and what makes me happy.

*  Adoring Husband (again) for empowering me and teaching me that my choices are important, that I should never feel guilty for doing what's right for me and for supporting my need to spend all day Sunday in bed doing whatever makes me happy!

*  The Universe for supporting all of my positive choices, for helping me manifest so much happiness (both physical and spiritual) and for bringing me more of what makes me happiest.

  
The smallest things, like expressing gratitude really do make such a huge difference in your life.

It's only lunch time Sunday as I write this and now it's time to erect some signage at the shop, so I must get out of bed and make myself presentable to the world.

Afternoon all.

Zawsted

I have not been taking good care of my health during this last couple of weeks.

My water intake and my food intake has been minimal. I haven't put enough nutrients in my body to support the hours that I'm working and I'm feeling very tired.

Self inflicted.

At least I recognise my mistake and am taking steps to remedy the situation. It'll take a few days, but I'll focus properly and get myself back on track.

I was up early this morning and arrived at the markets a little after 8am where I found my jewellery lady and picked up my three new freshwater pearl bracelets.

Then I got a little carried away. In the short time before I had to open The Happy Abode, and because everyone was up for a chat, I only got to visit two stalls, but I bought up big at both of the stalls and bought lots of jewellery - because I don't have enough of that already *insert sarcastic tone here*

At five to nine, I gasped as I realised how much time had passed and I needed to be somewhere else! So I pedalled as fast as my little legs could go (into a strong head wind!) and made it with a minute to spare.

I thought I would be able to close the door for five minutes and go buy my morning coffee, but the customers arrived early so I had to wait almost 30 minutes before I had a chance to do that.

As soon as I returned with my coffee, customers came thick and fast!

Adoring Husband arrived with my broth at about 10am but it was after 10.30 before I could stop to thank him and say good morning because the shop was full and busy. I think there were about a dozen people in the shop at one point, which was a bit intimidating for me serving all by myself. But I managed perfectly well.

It was busy until about midday and the final hour of the day was quiet enough for me to tidy up a few loose ends, but I was so tired by close of business, I didn't do any of the things that I'd planned, like vacuuming and tidying up the training room which is full of packaging and the carpet is a disaster.

Adoring Husband and I are going to erect one of the signs on the fence tomorrow (Sunday) so I'll take the opportunity to make the shop more presentable then ... even though I'd rather do this ... 

AH helped me close the shop and we did some grocery shopping before heading home.

I chopped up the fruit - watermelon and pineapple - that I'd bought to make slushies on Sunday, bagged them and put them in the freezer.

Watermelon, pineapple, lime and mint slushies. Yum.

Then it was time to sit down, put my feet up and relax for the afternoon.

Dinner was salted, maple chicken thighs with sweet potato mash and stuffed zucchini. Pretty quick and easy. 

It's only 8pm but I think I'm going to get some sleep now. I may watch some of the Sharks vs Roosters game before I go, but I won't last long.

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday.

Nite all.

Ending The Week

What a game!!

The first final between Melbourne Storm and South Sydney Rabbitohs was an absolute blinder tonight and was decided by just one point. Melbourne won 29 - 28. I'm happy to say that I tipped Melbourne, as did Adoring Husband, which puts him two points behind the leader of the tipping comp!

Anything could happen!

It was a beautiful Spring day which brought lots of people out and about and made for a nice steady day at the shop. There is a big 70th birthday coming up for someone in town (I have no idea who) and a number of customers came into the shop looking for a gift for that special person.

AH and I spent the afternoon trying to package up a big Cintiq editing screen to send safely in the mail on Monday. It was a tough job and luckily there was lots of cardboard, foam and bubble wrap at the shop to assist us in this task. Fingers crossed that we've done a good job.

The local markets are on in town tomorrow and I need to go there before I open the shop to pick up some jewellery that I commissioned a lady at last month's markets to make for me. She sent me a text today to advise that my order is ready.

It was a lucky night for everyone at the club with lots of raffle wins for our table and a win for me on the pokies.

Now I need to get some sleep.

Nite all.  

Beeby Ducks!!

You have to say the word 'Beeby' in a very high pitched squealy voice.

Beeby duckies!!!!

I was riding home from work this afternoon when I happened across this gorgeous little family of ducks on somebody's front lawn.

So I quickly rode home, dumped my work bags, picked up my camera bag and hightailed it back to where I saw them.

Apparently there were originally nine ducklings (according to the man in the house whose yard they were accommodating), but today there were only eight.

It was a great day in the shop and here is the framed Tawny Frogmouth photo that I sold to a very happy customer.

It looks so good, I want the same sized photo framed and hanging on my wall at home.

My flights and accommodation have been paid for the wedding that I'm photographing on Melbourne Cup weekend, so I'm all set for that one.

The owner of Cenzoni came to the shop today. A very young, tall and solid Indian man with whom I shared an animated conversation about Muslims. He was so interesting and I wish he'd had longer to spend here because I could easily have chatted all afternoon! He was a very nice young man.

It's almost 10pm and I need to sleep now.

Nite all.

I Told You So!!

I sold another photo today!

Go me!

This one ...

... I've sold two of that photo in the last week, so I've printed three more and will have one of them framed. The one I sold today was framed.

Today, I had a giant Tawny Frogmouth photo framed for a customer, which Adoring Husband will pick up for me tomorrow ...

It's my most popular photo to date.

I'm happy to have sold four photos this week. That's pretty cool.

I dropped twenty one photos off at the framers to be framed with mat board, one of them will have a proper frame as well. It's time to switch the photos that have been in the shop for too long

It's all happening in the world of photography!

It was another slow day in the shop. Only two paying customers all day, but they spent very freely, so sales were good.

The weather was wet and windy, which is probably what kept people away.

The Gypsy was in house so we started the day with meditation. Her first appointment was at 9am and her second appointment postponed, so we spent a LOT of time chatting/discussing/analysing as we do.

The new signage for the shop arrived, so now it's time to get them where the world can see them.

The sales rep for Cenzoni phoned to make an appointment for tomorrow so that he can show the new range of leather goods - that should be exciting.

We had a fabulous night at trivia tonight and came in around 4th or 5th. It's always a lot of fun with some snorting laughter and The Blonde Bombshell returned to our table tonight, for the first time since the car accident about 6 months ago. It was good to have her back!

Now it's just about to tick over to midnight and I have to work tomorrow, so I'd best get some sleep.

Nite all.

Out of Sorts

I felt 'out of sorts' from the second that I opened my eyes this morning.

I didn't want to feel that way, so I tried a few different things to snap myself out of it.

I did some deep breathing exercises.

I guzzled some cool water.

I listened to some uplifting music.

I had a shower.

I consumed my morning hot lemon and chicken broth.

I cuddled my psychotic dogs.

I decided to wear bright colours to work.

I thought of all the things for which I feel grateful.

I remembered that it was coffee morning with the girls.

I couldn't snap out of it.

When I got to the shop to buy my morning coffee, somebody asked me how I was and I screwed up my nose and told them "I'm feeling very 'out of sorts' today and I don't know why!" She replied "Well, we all have days like that sometimes. Don't worry too much about it."

That actually helped.

I've been feeling so happy and vibrant lately, I guess I was due for a less than vibrant day. So I stopped worrying about it and just accepted it.

Morning tea with the girls was great and helped lift me somewhat.

A customer picked up and paid for her photos that she had paid a deposit on last week.

A large order of stock arrived (and we all know how much I love it when new stock arrives!), so I spent the afternoon checking the invoice, pricing and figuring out where to display it.

I had to tidy up all of the packaging and prepare for meditation in the morning + it's bin night, so I emptied all of the bins in the shop and filled our sulo to the brim before wheeling it out to the footpath.

I visited the butcher to buy meat for dinner, but got a bit carried away and bought meat for the next four days!

It was about 4pm when I arrived home and I was STILL feeling somewhat out of sorts.

I made dinner of leftovers for Adoring Husband, served with a salad.

It's now 7.30pm and I'm seriously considering a very early night to bed.

I hope that my mood has improved by morning and that tomorrow I'm not feeling so out of sorts.

Nite all.

Hello? Hello?

Hellooooooo?

Is there anybody out there?????

I left the shop three times today to see what was happening on our street.

All of the shops at our end of the street were closed - they've all decided to close on Mondays now - although I think the hairdressing salon is open for a few hours, I'm not sure.

Four of the five shops at the other end were open.

Needless to say it was VERY quiet in The Happy Abode today.

The Gypsy only had one appointment booked, so we spent a lot of time chatting and analysing each other. I love our conversations. They always lead us in the strangest directions and we almost always learn something new about ourselves and each other.

I found my jewellery-making tools and had a brief attempt at weaving some wires, but I didn't get any extended period of free time to focus on the job at hand, so I brought it home to try again, but I'm not in the mood tonight. I'll leave it all at home and wait for the right time - my psyche has to be in just the right place for creativity!

For lunch I mashed up an avocado and added red onion, lemon and salt, then dipped, what the package claimed to be GF, seaweed rice crackers. It was delicious until about 20 minutes later when I had that familiar uncomfortable sickening feeling of gluten intolerance.

Even though the package stated 'gluten free', the ingredients list clearly had 'wheat' listed!

How can they do that?

I've emailed the company. We'll see what happens.

The weather was looking ominous as I rode home this afternoon and there were a couple of cold wet plops on my arms as I rode along, but nothing more than that.

The psychotic dogs were uneasy and a bit whiny this evening and as I walked into the back yard, I could hear the rumble of thunder in the distance, so I was expecting a bit of a storm. Nothing eventuated, but there is some wet weather forecast for this week, so hopefully we'll get some much needed rain.

I recruited my first participant for the next photography workshop today - hopefully the first of many, but not too many. I like my workshops small and intimate.

It's almost 9pm and I think I might climb into bed and do some meditating before sleep.

Nite all.