Arty Farty

I believe that it was a huge success.

The Motivator's 'Paint and Create' morning resulted in some beautiful art work and left me feeling very envious!

The paying guinea pigs - being the first participants in the first workshop - left feeling very happy with their pieces of art and happy to return next week for the next instalment.

It was also a good sales day in the shop, thanks to a frenzied one hour period, otherwise I had time to make up two gift packs and wrap them and do a few other chores including follow up of phone sales.

Somebody from Bundaberg bought one of my calendars via phone call and I will mail it to her on Monday.

The weather was looking ominous this morning so Adoring Husband drove me to work, which meant that he had to also pick me up after work. He helped us close the shop and bought our afternoon coffee.

I was supposed to have a date with The Blonde Bombshell this afternoon, but I accidentally (or should I say 'foolishly') ate some dip with gluten while I was at work, so my afternoon was spent purging the unwelcome gluten from my body instead.

Ugh.

No swimming today due the inclement weather and Adoring Husband laid some sleepers as an edging for a garden bed, which he will fill with some kind of mulch. I will take a photo of that tomorrow, along with the rose quartz crystal rocks that I forgot to photograph today 😳🙄😲.

I am watching "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" with Jerry Seinfeld. It's a bit of everything - funny, deep, ridiculous, interesting, quizzical, questionable, normal, warm, stupid ... I've seen some of the re-runs, but I never watched Seinfeld back in the 90s and I've never been a big Jerry Seinfeld fan. I do like the Jerry Seinfeld of today and I like the way he relates to the other comedians.

I need to go to bed now so that my body can heal from the gluten contamination.

Nite all.
 

The Waiting Game

I've had two days off work and for one and a half of them, I've been waiting for electricians who never turned up and the delivery of the Bali hut that was two hours late.

This left me half a day to get done what I had already put off for two weeks because of other commitments (not mine) and this also meant that I had less time to enjoy the process and had to move my butt much more quickly than I'd have liked so that we could squeeze everything in.

I found some beautiful big rose quartz rocks and purchased three of them to place strategically around the pebble garden beside the pool. (I'll take photos tomorrow)

I also found a stunning giant Citrine crystal cave reduced from $3600 to $1800.

I did NOT buy it.

If I'd had a spare $1800 to toss around, I would DEFINITELY have bought it ... but I already have a fabulous pool in my back yard with a Bali bed, a giant umbrella, fabulous outdoor furniture, stunning garden pots yet to be filled, a water feature to bring peace and tranquility to my world and a Bali Hut in pieces waiting to be constructed.

For ten years I have imagined a pool in my back yard, but not once in my dreams, did it look as fabulous as it does right now and it's not even finished yet!

I visited Tinkerbell's on the Esplanade in search of a blue kyanite ring and while it's not quite what I had in mind, I found this little beauty ...

I absolutely love it.

Adoring Husband purchased a wireless speaker for the pool area ...

... and it sounds great.

I decided to attend the club tonight and just as I was about to walk out the door to get a seat on the bus to come home, one of my numbers was called and I won a $50 meat pack! Right in the centre of it was crumbed steak, which means that every piece of meat in the pack was contaminated with gluten so I can't eat any of it!

We will save it for our first pool party to feed the hoards. (You know who you are 😁🤪😍)

It's almost 11pm and I have to work tomorrow, so I'm off!

Nite all.

Bit of a Waste

Adoring Husband and I spent the entire day at home waiting for electricians who never arrived.

Apparently they'll be here on Monday. This has been a wasted day and we could have been in The Bay getting a lot done from our 'to do' list.

The other disappointing news was that the stirrups to hold our Bali Hut securely to the concrete can no longer be provided to us by the company from whom we purchased the hut. The hut will be delivered tomorrow (Friday) but we need to have these special stirrups made for us by an engineering company - we hope the one in The Bay can do that, and we hope they can do it before Christmas!

Bugga.

My first box of calendars arrived today! They're now at the shop. Adoring Husband purchased one, as did The Motivator. I wasn't expecting that lol.

I've been editing some of the wedding photos. A small sample ...

There are still so many to get through! So far the brides are happy with the photos that I've given them - about 40 to this point - there will be at least another 60 or more. They have made the photos their profile pic and page headers on their FB pages, so that's a good sign. People have made favourable comments and that's always a relief.

Weddings are so stressful! I don't think I'll do another.

Anyway, I'm all worn out. I did get to have a swim today in the gale force conditions and between downpours - then I dried out and warmed up in the Bali bed with Adoring Husband and two psychotic dogs.

We had a delicious dinner of corned beef and cabbage with mash and white sauce. I made an extra large batch of cabbage hoping to have bubble and squeak for breakfast but AH decided that it was so delicious that he had to eat the entire pan of it!

I can't complain about him pigging out on healthy food can I?

Time for bed.

Nite all.

Treatment 4 Me

I only worked half a day today but most of our sales came in the afternoon when I wasn't there!

We sold three more calendars, sight unseen! How weird is that!?

I ordered another batch before the sale ended on the print site but I feel like (and I hope) that we haven't printed enough. This was really just an experiment to gauge local interest and to give us an indication fo how many to budget for with next year's print. It's been a promising start!

When The Motivator arrived at the shop, I shouted myself a treatment with The Gypsy so I relaxed for an hour and let her do her stuff - which she does so well.

We discussed the tightness and problem areas that she found and she gave me dietary and stretching advice to help resolve those issues. She warned me of some emotional release that may be experienced tomorrow (or today as you read this).

I rushed home knowing that Adoring Husband was at a meeting and that our Bali Day Bed was due to arrive any minute.

Thankfully, it didn't arrive until after Adoring Husband returned home and between us, we were able to assemble it in it's permanent position in the corner of the pool area.

It is SO comfortable and I can't wait to laze in it tomorrow on my day off!

By the time we'd finished that, I had no motivation to make dinner, so Adoring Husband and I attended the monthly trivia night on an empty stomach.

It didn't make any difference to our mental abilities ... we were still ... the word 'stupid' might be a bit harsh ... we both had our moments but our scores were average and we had no success with any of the prizes. Between the four of us, we certainly did NOT shine and we missed Blonde Bombshell, who I'm certain would have helped us smash the 'alcohol' round!!

Now it's heading towards midnight and I'm feeling a touch weary, so I'll sign off.

Nite all.

Stormy Change

The day began hot and steamy and as the girls arrived for our coffee morning, they had worked up a sweat and needed some cooling down, so the air conditioner was set to low.

I believed that almost everyone was out of town and that I would be either on my own or only have one lady to chat with, but in actual fact, I had seven ladies in attendance and it was one of the noisiest mornings we've had!

They looked through my clothes, took and/or bought the items that they liked and it was around 11am when the last lady left. It was a good morning, as usual, but we missed The Brains Trust and Lady Lynn.

The shop was quite busy until around 1pm when weather began to develop into a nasty storm, so people were smart enough to remain indoors.

The Motivator had come to the shop to get some work done, but was distracted by talkative customers and ... me.

She too had ridden her trike, so we both had to park the trikes inside the shop and Adoring Husband drove us home as the weather deteriorated rapidly.

AH and I chose to miss the monthly barbecue at the Lions Park, but about ten of the usual group attended despite the rain, which seemed to pass just in time for the event.

We chose to get grilled barramundi and chips from the local cafe. It's been a while since we did that and it was quite delicious.

I now have a corned silverside in the slow cooker so tomorrow's dinner will be ready to reheat ... I hope to have mash, cabbage and white sauce to accompany it.

It's time to begin thinking about my 'word' for 2019. I've started a list and I have one in mind, but it still doesn't feel like 'the one', so I'll keep searching.

Last year's word was 'fearless' because I was terrified of running the photography workshops - I overcame my fear and the workshops were a hit. I will work harder at recruiting for 2019 and make them a more integral part of The Happy Abode space.

It's only 8.30pm and I think I'm ready for bed. I only work for half a day tomorrow and I'm booked in for a treatment with The Gypsy after that. I may even go for an early morning swim in the morning before work!

I'm still trying to edit wedding photos.

Nite all.

New Week

Happy Monday to you!

Although, as you read this, it's Tuesday!

It was a steady day in the shop.

Lots of chatting with The Gypsy between her appointments and my customers.

A nice visit from The Motivator and Mama Mia.

I got some jobs done.

I did some phone sales (they phoned me - not the other way round). Weird huh?

I didn't get home until 4pm and I didn't even go into the pool because I had too much to do.

I'm still trying to finish the wedding photos.

I also had to finish creating and ordering the calendars.

At this point, I've ordered a very limited number of calendars, and I expect them to sell quickly - there won't be any re-orders/reprinting because the price is due to increase by a LOT in two day's time.

A sneak peek ...

Numbers will be down for coffee in the morning - in fact, I might even be alone. We'll see!

I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Mighty Hot

It was 32C at 9.30am today.

Adoring Husband spent the entire day between his shed and the new kitchen rearranging things, tidying things, culling things and putting all of his tools and 'stuff' that he's been using in the pool process back into the shed to make room in the kitchen for actual kitchen stuff.

It was a job and a half.

I spent more than two hours in the pool.

I made lunch for us.

I watched 'Slumdog Millionaire' for the very first time and I am very disappointed that I didn't watch it sooner, given that it's ten years old! What an amazing movie ... and I do love Dev Patel.

I edited some wedding photos. SO many MORE to do yet.

I did some washing.

AH found a box of goodies in the shed and I sorted through it. Half of the goodies weren't that good, so they got tossed. The remainder were special items that belonged to Mum & Dad, like coffee cups, a teapot and sugar bowl. There was also a breakfast tray - stainless steel and timber - made especially for eggs and toast.

It all needed sterilising after being in the shed in a simple cardboard box so I boiled the kettle a few times and soaked them, scrubbed them and soaked them some more.

I was lucky enough to find a container of frozen spaghetti bolognese sauce in the freezer, so I heated that for AH's dinner and made some zoodles to have with it.

I have no more frozen meals left in the freezer now, so I need to spend a day in the kitchen and build my stock up again.  

I'm ready for bed now, so I leave you with these ...

That last one was just to keep you on your toes.

Nite all.

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.