Mildly Panicked

At five to nine this morning, I suddenly panicked and wondered whether I should be working in the shop today!

I sent a quick text to The Motivator asking her if she was working. She did not reply immediately, so I rushed into the shower, just in case 'I' was the one who should have opened the shop!

Thankfully, she replied to my text, laughing and telling me to relax and it was my day off.

Whew!

So I chose today to do some landscaping in my nether region (if you get my drift) so that I could wear my swimming costume in the pool.

I bought this costume four years ago before our trip to Magnetic Island.

Mrs Bucket, Woman of Many Talents, Reality TV Queen and I drove north to spend ten days on the Island for Mrs Bucket's birthday. We were staying in a resort with a pool, so I bought the swimmers specifically for that purpose.

I didn't go in the pool and came home from the trip five days early. My swimming costume was shoved to the rear of the dressing table drawer ... until just recently.

I tried them on, only to discover that the sticky plastic patch that protects the crotch area was still intact!

Until today, I'd worn 3/4 yoga pants and either an old swimming top or a singlet into the pool.

I'm here to tell you that swimmers are a pain the butt to put on and I would much rather wear the yoga pants. Humidity is not my friend.

I spent almost two hours in the pool this morning and only got out to make lunch for AH and I.

At 2pm, The Motivator picked me up to attend a La Reve essential oil party that lasted for 3.5 hours.

It was a lovely day and the hostess had gone to a lot of trouble to provide a delicious spread of food and drinks.

I knew most of the fourteen ladies there and it was well after 5pm when I was dropped home.

I considered swimming again but chose to sit on the couch and watch a Bollywood movie before reheating the dinner that I'd prepared last night for tonight.

We are watching Mama Mia as I write this ... well actually AH is snoring in the chair beside me and I'm ready for bed now.

Nite all.

Busy Editing

I was so busy editing wedding photos last night that I forgot to do my blog!

I didn't even realise that I'd forgotten to do it 🤪 until Adoring Husband asked me what happened!

All I remember about Thursday is that I worked and it was a pretty good day

The pool got a workout.

I've been exercising - swimming laps - freestyle, breast stroke, side stroke left, side stroke right and backstroke. 50 burpees. 50 twists. 50 running on the spot steps. 10 left and right leg lifts. Lots of floating.

Oh and the umbrella finally arrived!

Now for the Bali Hut and the Bali Outdoor Daybed. Fingers crossed that it's all here before Christmas.

Today, Mama Mia and I caught the bus into The Bay and spent four hours at the RSL. We had roast pork for lunch and listened to the live entertainment of Trevor Judge while we ate. I had some luck on the pokies and bought myself some new shoes with my winnings!

The Motivator manned the shop while I enjoyed my play date.

I didn't arrive home until 4pm and I tossed up between 'a swim' or 'the club'.

'A swim' won out and I stayed in the pool until about 6pm. Adoring Husband joined me for a while too.

He spent the day constructing this ...

It's a path that leads to the pool fence from our alfresco area and it's made out of all the old sleepers that surrounded our raised garden beds which had to be removed to make way for the pool. There is still a bit of work to do on it and there will be grass tufts planted along the edges later as well.

What a clever chook he is!

I'm feeling all worn out now, so it's bed time for me.

Nite all.

What a Day!

There have been warnings for the last 24 hours about how volatile our weather was expected to be, so I was feeling a little uneasy as the time drew near to leave for our lady's Christmas lunch.

The air was hazy and heavy - so much so that it was difficult to tell if the haze was cloud or smoke or dust.

For once, I only looked at the BOM once before I left for lunch and it showed nothing even developing on the radar.

Higgins Storm Chasers warned on Facebook this morning that the weather was so unpredictable that very dangerous storms could develop over a matter of 15 minutes and that we could expect 9cm hailstones and destructive winds, possibly tornadoes.

Scary stuff.

That was at 11am.

Just 90 minutes later, Adoring Husband phoned me to ask if I was ok.

There was nothing much happening around our marquee. Sometimes a strong gust of wind would blow through the trees and bamboo blowing up the leaves that covered the ground, and we could hear thunder in the background, but that's about it.

He told me that a big storm was currently hitting home and that the rain was heavy enough to flood our new outdoor kitchen.

That's when I checked the BOM again and there was a line of very nasty storms to the north of us and to the south of us - a gap in the middle - where we were enjoying our lunch!

The Universe took care of us, just as I had asked earlier in the day.

(I have to mention the amazing lighting in the marquee because The Motivator designed it and supervised the installation. It looks and feels fabulous.)

It was a really nice day and the food was great, though it was cold by the time it reached my table. Three different proteins (ham, turkey and pork) with cranberry sauce and a beautifully presented potato bake on the plate. A plate of salad and a plate of roasted veggies to choose from in the centre of our table. I chose the strawberry tart as my GF option dessert, which was served with a small side dish of whipped cream.

I heard some people complain about the food, saying it was hard, cold and not very tasty, but I disagreed.

By the time we made our way home, the storms had well and truly dissipated and there was hardly any evidence of them, apart from a few small puddles.

The Whinging Pom and I stopped at the bowls club for an hour to play the pokies before we came home. She was very successful. I was not.

After I got home, Adoring Husband recruited my Trades Assistant skills and I helped him finish the pool fence, then I prepared dinner for AH.

Now, I'm feeling quite weary. It's been a big day. Time for bed.

Nite all.

Puffy Eye

I think something bit me on Sunday night as I slept.

My eyelid was swollen on Monday morning and even though the swelling eased quickly during the morning, my eyelid still feels numb and feels like it's sitting heavily against my eyeball.

A very strange feeling.

It was a good morning with the girls and Mama Mia joined us while The Motivator attended an appointment.

We all started with a chat, followed by a mad dash through the clothes that I had removed from my wardrobe then almost everyone did a little shopping in The Happy Abode and everybody had left by 11.30am.

There was a steady stream of customers until around 1.30pm and then it went very quiet for an hour so I was able to tidy up a few loose ends before locking the doors.

It's bin night, so I had to find some strength and muscles to tear up all the cardboard boxes so that they could fit in the big bin and then try to avoid falling in the driveway again as I dragged the sulos out to the footpath. (I was wearing the same shoes that I fell in a couple of weeks ago)

I survived!

There was a light sprinkle of rain as I rode home so I was pedalling pretty fast trying to beat the downpour. Adoring Husband chose that moment to phone me, so I had to stop in the rain to answer the phone!

Doh!

He had preheated the oven so that I was able to put the chicken and all the veggies in the baking tray when I arrived home. With the chicken we had potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, green beans and zucchini with home made gravy - yummy.

No swimming today. It didn't feel hot enough and it was raining lightly for most of the afternoon.

I must say that I'm feeling pretty weary this evening, so it will be an early night for me.

There are nasty storms forecast for Wednesday and we have our lady's Christmas luncheon in a wall-less marquee so let's hope the storms come late in the day!

Thank you to The Motivator for coming in to work and allowing me to attend the lunch. I appreciate the gesture especially because time with Mama Mia is so precious. Big hugs 💕

I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

A New Week

What a stinker of a day! It was hot and steamy outside, but the shop was lovely and cool with the air conditioner running and the first sound as each customer walked through the door was a sigh of relief as they entered the cool air.

Monday is a Gypsy day, so we had lots to talk about, as always.

A great Monday for the shop as far as sales go.

Plenty of locals through the door, in fact I greeted the first ten customers by their first name as they entered.

It's definitely gift giving season because most of the purchases today were Secret Santa gifts or Christmas presents.

Some kids' snap bracelets arrived today, along with some unicorn buttons. Three pairs of freshwater pearl earrings arrived too and I sold one pair before they reached the display stand.

Customers were still coming through the door after 3pm so it was well after 3.30pm by the time I left.

It was still very hot as I was riding home so as soon as I arrived, I changed into my swimmers and once again made a beeline for the pool. The water was tepid and we really need the umbrella to cover the pool and keep the temperature down because the hot sun beating on the water all day heats it up.

I expected the umbrella to be here by now. They told us three weeks when we ordered it and it's been about six weeks. I'm ready to put a negative review on their website, so they'd best move their butts!

The water temperature in the pool, according to our little whale thermometer showed 30C.

I was in the water for about 90 minutes and Adoring Husband even joined me for a while.

I love our pool.

I know you know that.

I'm going to continue telling you 🤪.

I have a couple of chores to complete before bed, so I'm signing off now.

Looking forward to coffee with the girls in the morning and sharing all my clothes.

Nite all.

Productivity Plus

Thank goodness my motivation levels were high when I woke this morning.

I was out of bed before 7am on this, my Sunday off.

I took my coffee outside to sit with my feet in the pool and Adoring Husband brought some toast out to me, so I started the day feeling the love.

I got a LOT done today.

I moved all of my decluttered clothes to the back room and added some more to the pile.

I cleared all of my crap off the dining table ... it was completely covered with both mine and Adoring Husband's crap ... now it's clear to be used as intended again.

I cleaned out the fridge and wiped down the shelves. It wasn't a full clean, but it's much better than it was.

I chopped up, cleaned and packed ten big bunches of celery into water filled containers to store in the fridge for my juicing every morning. That was a big job!

I cleaned the kitchen and washed all the containers that came out of the fridge.

I cleaned the bathroom. I tried The Blonde Bombshell's suggestion of hydrogen peroxide to remove mould under the silicone but it didn't work. Thanks anyway.

I cleaned the toilet.

I cleaned the laundry.

I swept the floors.

I mopped 'some' floors - Adoring Husband mopped the rest.

I did four loads of washing.

I did some ironing - perhaps ten items?

I dusted in the family and dining rooms.

I made a pitcher of Margarita mix, a platter of fruit and put some crackers and dip on a plate in preparation for the arrival of The Motivator and Mama Mia who were coming for a swim - our first visitors to the pool.

We swam for about two hours, drank our margaritas, ate our snacks and needed to pee a lot!

I've had a really great day! When I have the cleaning bug and I'm feeling motivated, I really enjoy doing all these chores ... but those days are SO few and far between!

Now that I have my pool ... my goal for 2019 is to hire a regular cleaner!

I think I will sleep well tonight. I'm all worn out. I'm surprised that Adoring Husband is still awake given all the hard labour he did outside clearing everything from between the shed and the fence. I think he did three trips to the tip!

We were BOTH very productive today.

Nite all.

Decluttering Day

I spent this morning decluttering.

I now have 50 items (shirts/blouses/tops/jackets/jeans) hanging on a clothes rack - mostly labels that will be sold as 'pre-loved' in the shop.

I also have about 60 tops folded in a suitcase that I will offer for free to my friends before I take them to our local Op Shop.

Finally, I have about 30 items of clothing that need to be tossed because they've either been worn to death or they have unfixable stains on them.

My wardrobe still looks full!

I think I still have some work to do.

It's time to get the cards out to do the BIG declutter in the house.

Remember this?

I wrote on the cards

• decluttering clothes and shoes
• cleaning out the pantry
• washing windows
• washing the indoor blinds
• clearing the spare bedrooms
• washing the walls
• cleaning the ceiling fans
• cleaning the skirting boards
• cleaning the junk drawers
• cleaning under the kitchen sink etc etc

Whenever we had time, we would take a card and complete the task written on it. It should have taken about a month, but it only took about three weeks if I remember correctly.

That's what you have to do when you don't even know where to start!

After I finished my mini burst of decluttering - it was time to swim (but of course) so I slipped into my swimmers and slid into the lovely silky cold water.

Three hours later, I reluctantly climbed out to do some washing and get dinner started. I think I'm a little sunburnt so the Aloe Vera plant will be attacked before bed.

I love our pool ❤️

I think it's time for bed now.

Nite all.

All Done In

It's been a full day!

Although I didn't get out of bed til late, when I did, I had to act as Adoring Husband's trades assistant while he installed the gate in the pool fence ...

... then I had to prepare my food platter to take to the lady's gathering at Whinging Pom's house.

I packed my pitcher of Margarita mix and my platters and pedalled to her house at 1pm, where almost everybody else was already seated and and drinking and enjoying each other's company.

We ate.

We drank.

We talked.

We laughed.

We swam. (I dangled my feet in the water)

I don't think I've ever seen a more dreadful photo of us all - we look like we are all grimacing rather than smiling. We really were having a good time 😁

After a couple of hours I returned home with enough time to help Adoring Husband unpack and measure the outdoor furniture, jump in the pool to cool down, have a shower and wash my hair, prepare for my Friday night at the Club.

Blonde Bombshell and Maid Marian were the two winners at our table tonight and as an added bonus, we all got a late visit from The Motivator and Mama Mia! They arrived just twenty minutes before we were leaving so we didn't get to spend as much time with them as we'd have liked, but it was a great surprise to see them!

AH had cooked a corned silverside for dinner which was delicious and a perfect way to end the day.

I've had a headache building since about 5pm and I suddenly realised that I have not had a coffee today.

I need a coffee.

I'm going to sleep this headache off and hopefully wake up to a fresh coffee in the morning.

Nite all.

My Weekend is Here

Today did not go as I expected, but lots of friendly faces came through the door - that is my friends - which was just lovely. I received lots of hugs.

Two of our new tops and a new bag went to new homes today and one lady bought fifteen little owls!

We ended the day with a 'could have been nastier' storm so there was no swimming again this afternoon.

Adoring Husband drove into The Bay to pick up our car which was FINALLY repaired and THIS was delivered ...

It took four men (including Adoring Husband) to manoeuvre it between the pool and the shed and get it to it's final destination!

Apparently one of the men almost ended up in the pool, which would have been interesting because the Bali face would have closely followed!

I love it.

It's all slowly coming together!

I'm off work now until Monday. I have a lot to do and I wonder if motivation will be a factor - like it usually is - I hope my motivation level is high.

I do have a nice social outing planned for tomorrow - at somebody else's pool!

Should be fun 🤗

Nite all.

Humping Great Day

Today is Wednesday ... aka Hump Day.

What a great hump day it was!

Meditation was fantastic, as always, with more words of wisdom shared among us.

I got to spend the morning with The Motivator while Mama Mia had a treatment with The Gypsy. We unpacked the new clothing line that arrived very early and got to admire all the beautiful colours and feel the fabulous fabrics.

There were also some gorgeous bags in the delivery ...

These bags are so light to carry but with so much room inside! The Motivator has already snavelled one of them and I have my eye on one of the small ones.

My day was spent pricing and displaying the new stock, chatting with Mama Mia, The Motivator and The Gypsy, serving lots of tourists - Canadians in particular, dusting and adding up a great day of sales.

The last customer of the day didn't leave the shop until 3.15pm so I was a little late leaving work and then there was no swimming in the pool today because the concreter had returned to acid wash and seal the pebblecrete surrounds.

It has been more than two weeks since I returned from Melbourne and this afternoon I finally unpacked everything and put my suitcases away!

Dinner was oven baked crispy skinned chicken with a salsa made with tomato, capsicum, cucumber, pear, spring onion and coriander. Yum.

It's already approaching 10pm so I'm off to bed.

I'm expecting a big day tomorrow because I know of six women coming to check out the new clothes. The rack may be empty before we know it!

Nite all.

Bring on the Hats

We had a mixed group with some faces that are familiar in other surroundings but not usually Tuesday coffee morning!

The Old Speckled Hen arrived early, Work in Progress turned up unexpectedly, then The Motivator and Mama Mia stopped briefly before their movie date and they all joined The Brains Trust (once known as Tweedle Dee!), The Whingeing Pom, Beauty and I in the coffee corner for our morning session.

They all started the ball rolling with sales and it continued to be a good day with another steady flow of customers throughout the day - including one last customer who came through the door at four minutes to closing and spent enough money to reach my goal for the day!

A big box of hemp hats arrived in the mail and we're hoping that tomorrow will bring the colourful kaftans - the kaftans were ordered from Sydney on the same day as the hats, yet the hats arrived from Nepal (!!!) earlier than the kaftans from Sydney!

How does that work?

The snap jewellery was the most popular today.

I left the shop before 3.30pm and was in my pool swimming well before 4pm. I exercised. I floated. I swam. I kicked. I sat.

At 5pm when the creepy crawly timer went off and everything went silent, I chose to remove myself from the pool and get dinner started.

San Choy Bow was on the menu and it was quite delicious. Fresh blueberries and ice cream for dessert.

It's now 8.20pm and I need to be up early for meditation so this is short and sweet tonight.

Nite all.

Five Weeks til Christmas

It's sneaking up on us!

It was a steady day in the shop today and I still got to have a good chat with The Gypsy, so I thoroughly enjoyed the working part of my day.

I closed the shop right on time and when I arrived home, I discovered Adoring Husband erecting the pool fence. I assisted him with the first panel and then I quit because it was time for a swim.

I must have spent an hour or more in the water and only got out - for the usual reason - I had to pee!

I LOVE our pool.

Adoring Husband finished the second panel by himself, put away his tools and then he too came in for a short swim.

It was a late dinner for us because we were having a lamb roast and I didn't even get it in the oven until 6pm. Luckily it was a small leg, so we were eating at about 7.15pm, which is very late for us. We usually eat at 6pm or earlier.

A big platter of watermelon slices and cubed mango was dessert.

The other big event today was AH taking Psychotic dog Colli in for grooming. She is looking very trim and clean. Sorry no pic today.

Now I need to sleep.

Looking forward to coffee with the girls in the morning.

Nite all.

 

Day of Rest??

I wish!

There was no resting to be had today.

I was in bed and asleep by 10pm last night.

I was awake ... WIDE awake at 1.30am this morning.

At 5.30am I tried in vain to rack up some ZZZZs.

I gave up at 9am and we decided then to head into The Bay for our plant shopping adventure.

Nikenbah markets were held today but by the time we arrived, the weather had turned a bit nasty with gusty winds and some dark ominous clouds scudding around, so some of the stall owners were beginning to pack up.

Plants were being blown over in the wind, clothing was flying off coat hangers and solo ladies were scrambling to pack up their goods and escape before the weather really closed in.

However, we were able to purchase a good collection of plants such as yukkas, aloe vera, bromeliads,   pig face and some other spiky plants.

While Adoring Husband was lugging the plants to our car, I found a couple of nice tops and some delicious mangos and avocados.

From there, we drove to Possum Paradise, a plant nursery that once had very reasonably priced plants and pots and garden ornaments and furniture, but today they seemed a bit pricy and we chose to look elsewhere.

It was lunch time so we grabbed some quick sushi at Stocklands.

We did a Kmart run and left with TWO trolleys full of 'stuff'.

I raced round to Target and purchased some boardies for swimming (for me).

By now, AH was feeling pretty buggered so he went to the car while I did a quick shop in Coles - you know, stuff like TP, hand wash, a mop and .... YAY for lychee season!!

We did a Dr Dan stop and bought some Margarita mix and beer.

We stopped at the furniture clearance store to see if they had day beds, or garden swings or sun lounges. They had a fabulous three seater garden swing but it had a big fat 'SOLD' sign on it.

Our final stop was Harvey Normans.

It was meant to be.

Right inside the front door was this ...

... we both sat in it and moaned with delight at the comfort we felt.

There was no question. No doubt. No second guessing. We knew it was ours.

That was our last stop before home.

As soon as we got home, I began mixing up a batch of dog food and AH unpacked all the plants and placed them strategically behind the pool and then mopped out his new kitchen.

Then there was swimming to be done!!

I enjoyed about thirty minutes of exercising and floating, but the weather again was turning nasty with gusty winds and dark clouds and I didn't want to be in the pool while a storm developed.

There was washing to take off the line and some to put on the line and dinner to be cooked and collapsing to be done.

It's now approaching 9pm and AH is snoring in bed. I would like to be doing that too, so here is where I sign off.

Nite all.

Surprise Saturday

It was a very quiet Saturday in The Happy Abode.

Luckily I had a visit from The Motivator and Mama Mia to bring some interest to the day.

Adoring Husband spent the morning in The Bay.

There was a big surprise party that I had to aim for this afternoon, so I rushed home, wrote out the birthday card, did a quick change and AH drove me to the address.

The guests all had to be there before 3pm because the birthday girl had been taken out for lunch and was returning at 3pm - not knowing that there would be a house full of people awaiting her arrival.

The Blonde Bombshell is celebrating her 65th birthday - and celebrate she should! Considering she almost didn't make it after the terrible car accident earlier in the year. She survived to tell the tale and is still working on her rehabilitation, but always with a smile on her face and a positive attitude.

A good time was had by all and Grumpy Old Fart did a remarkable job keeping the secret and preparing enough food to feed the hoards without Blonde Bombshell ever knowing.

It started with plate after plate of nibbles - crab meat on crackers, layered guacamole dip, cheese platter, home made sausage rolls, asparagus and cheese slice (with a little help from friends).

He cooked up a feast of sticky pork ribs, sweet and sour chicken, beef and beans and fried rice, followed by a huge birthday cake made by Blonde Bombshell's carer and two big platters of fruit.

It was a very successful afternoon and we all had some good laughs and caught up with a few friends whom we haven't seen for a while ...

I arrived home with about thirty minutes to spare before the rains came. There is a storm and lots of rain passing over us as I write this.

I am absolutely exhausted and tomorrow AH and I will be hunting for plants for our pool area, so I'd best get some sleep. It seems so much later than 9.15pm!!

Nite all.