Sassy Saturday

I’m exhausted!

It was another busy sales day in the shop which hindered my efforts to finish setting up for the art workshop, so I was a little flustered by the time the workshop was due to begin and to top it off there was a flurry of customers in the last 15 minutes before closing.

The workshop participants all arrived at different times and a touch early too which only added to my discomfort.

Eventually, the shop was closed, I changed into my casual attire and I was seated with the girls ready to play.

At the beginning of the week I had 9 people confirmed for the class, which dropped to 8 by Tuesday and then 4 just didn’t turn up today - no communication at all. In future, I’ll get everybody to pay in advance.

It really didn’t matter because the four who attended were a great little group and they were a lot of fun and very enthusiastic.

We were all so involved and so deep in concentration that before we knew it, it was after 3pm and we hadn’t even begun to clean our messes!

It was all very busy as we finished our art pieces, cleaned the mess and shuffled out the door much later than usual!

I forgot to take photos!! 😮

I will take photos of the dried art on Monday, but the group photo opportunity has well and truly passed. Bugger.

I signed up the first person for my journaling course which starts on Tuesday week and the local newsletter where I’ve advertised hasn’t even been published yet! Wahoo!

It has been a great week. I feel like it was productive and fruitful and I’m definitely ready for a day in bed to recover from all that fabulous juju.

Nite all.

A Blinder

Today was full on.

A fabulous day of sales and in between customers I partially set up the training room for Saturday’s workshop, finished pricing the fascinators, created folders for two new suppliers, put together an order for the new range of Jenny Jazz clothing (OMG some gorgeous stuff there but that’s on hold until I can afford it!), checked my emails, paid some consignment money and I actually ate some lunch!

I was quite frazzled for most of the day and literally fumbled my way through it.

It started when I ordered my morning coffee and discovered that there were 9 coffees ordered before me. I had left the house ten minutes later than usual so it was slightly inconvenient to wait. I was lucky to have Adoring Husband opening the shop for me.

I picked up my mail and arrived at the shop to find AH setting up the tables for the art class, so I immediately went to his assistance, arranging the tables, moving chairs out of the room, putting the plastic sheets over the tables etc until my first customer came through the door.

I was about to make the first sale and found the iPad with my square reader checkout was dead flat. It was a big sale so I was incredibly lucky that the customer had enough cash in her wallet to pay for it!

After she left, I had to find the cord to charge the iPad. Usually I take it home overnight to charge it, so I was certain that there was no cord at the shop. I remembered that the last time, I charged it using AH’s cord at home so it was pure luck that, having searched all the drawers, I eventually found the cord in my laptop bag!

For the third sale, I misplaced the little white square reader, which is essential for making the sales. I eventually found it on the corner of the desk hiding between the cash tin and the little set of drawers. It took me ages to find it, but I was lucky that the ladies were very good natured and not in a hurry to go anywhere.

The next sale was for essential oils and I accidentally undercharged for one of the oils, not realising it until after she left. Too late. Too bad.

Another customer, who purchased a Himalayan salt lamp, asked for some spare bulbs for it. I have them in a box in the cupboard. They have always been there. I have not moved them. Could I locate them??? Noooooo.

So I searched in all the places where I knew they couldn’t be until the customer said to message her on Facebook when I found them and she would come back. Not ten minutes later I found them exactly where they have always been, but I had placed a box over the top of them which hid them from my view.

Ugh.

Just a whole bunch of silly little things one after the other to frustrate and frazzle my usually organised brain. I had a good night’s sleep so my brain should have been sharp!

I was embarrassed but I survived.

Tomorrow will be better!

It’s almost midnight so I’d best get some sleep.

Nite all.

Moving On

I love this ...

“I ain’t draft dodging. I ain’t burning no flag. I ain’t running to Canada. I’m staying right here. You want to send me to jail? Fine, you go right ahead. I’ve been in jail for 400 years. I could be there for 4 or 5 more, but I ain’t going no 10,000 miles to help murder and kill other poor people.

If I want to die, I’ll die right here, right now, fightin’ you, if I want to die. You my enemy, not no Chinese, no Vietcong, no Japanese. You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposer when I want equality. Want me to go somewhere and fight for you? You won’t even stand up for me right here in America, for my rights and my religious beliefs. You won’t even stand up for me right here at home. “

- Muhammad Ali

If only we could all be so forthright, honest and assertive.

I had a nice day.

Adoring Husband swapped the fence flags so now I have green and gold satin flapping for people’s attention along the fence.

It was an average sales day.

I ordered some clothes which I think will be here tomorrow.

I took a stack of photos of the new stock and posted them on Facebook.

I priced and displayed 4 dozen pairs of socks.

I attempted to delete 7000 emails but they kept bouncing back into my inbox.

All but 2 of my customers paid with $50 notes so by lunch time I had to get change from the post office.

My back was giving me a hard time after yesterday’s effort of unpacking and displaying the new stock - also I only slept for 4 hours - so I’m signing off now to get some sleep.

There will be more stock arriving tomorrow and I have to set up the training room for Saturday’s workshop.

Nite all.

Improving

Today was certainly better than yesterday.

But I do miss my little Ruby Booby.

Meditation helped me start the day on a positive note. It ran over time because we were all so deeply involved in the subject matter.

The Gypsy could only stay for 15 minutes afterwards so we filled that time with chatter and then I joined the ladies in the back room to finish my coffee and listen to their silly banter.

I was interrupted often by customers so my involvement in the banter was limited.

It was a good day for sales.

My Ivy’s order arrived so I have new crossbody bags, beach bags, scarves, purses and enough fascinators for EVERYONE in town!!

The new flags arrived so Adoring Husband will get them sorted tomorrow.

It felt like a long day, but I got a lot done and served a lot of people ... even a customer in Ballarat VIC who would normally be here for holidays right now but as you all know, the borders are closed, so she chose to shop with me over the phone!

That’s three interstate customers now, who have phoned to purchase something because they can’t get here in person.

I received a fabulous catalogue full of new fashion pieces that I drooled over for about 45 minutes. This means I need to stop purchasing stock long enough to build a strong bank balance that will allow me to order freely!

AH arrived with plenty of time to help me close the shop, mail off the customer order and head home to unpack this week’s FROG box which he had picked up earlier.

Waiting for us at the front door was a big box of hemp kombucha which I haven’t opened yet. I’ll give you my review of the product in the next few days.

Now it’s time for me to sleep. I have to say that I slept soundly last night for a solid 7.5 hours and woke up feeling refreshed and energised. I think I was emotionally exhausted!

Happy Thursday to you!

Nite all.

Morning Mourning

Yesterday afternoon I noticed that psychotic dog Ruby’s health had deteriorated.

We knew the time was coming but I figured as long as she came running for a pat whenever I arrived home, she was still ok.

Yesterday she remained in her bed, her breathing was shallow and there was no ‘happy’ left.

When Adoring Husband picked her up, her breathing became laboured, almost like her lungs were being crushed, so I made him put her down and she sat quietly in her bed.

I phoned the vet and she offered to come out to our house today to put Ruby to sleep, so I agreed to that.

Sadly, Ruby’s health deteriorated rapidly and she didn’t make it through the night.

Adoring Husband was inconsolable and I have to say that the first 4 hours of today were incredibly painful - mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. I went to work with a very heavy heart and my eyes were red and puffy. Every so often I would remember my happy little girl and my eyes would fill with tears, but I got through the day in one piece.

AH buried her in the back yard and we will have a plaque engraved to place beside her resting place.

The other two dogs have been a blessing. Their wagging tails and wiggling bums have eased the pain a little and right now, aside from a little arthritis, they are both healthy.

I slept poorly last night and I’m feeling exhausted after this very emotional day, so it’s sleep time for me.

Nite all.

Application

I used a website today, where freelance professionals look at what you need and apply for the job you have available eg I want someone to create a simple, easy to navigate website that will be easy for me to manage and maintain after its completed.

So I described in detail what I wanted, and just like a job interview, I gave 5 questions that they need to answer before I choose the successful applicant.

I haven’t posted the job description yet, but it’s all created and ready to go ... whenever I’m ready to go!

I had a nice time in bed today, although I had to close the bedroom window early this morning because the breeze was strong and cold!

Adoring Husband waited on me, providing lemon water, broth and coffee.

I made a salad for lunch while he provided some cold ham from the butcher.

Dinner was lamb loin chops with roasted cauliflower steaks, baked sweet potato, tomato and onion.

In the food processor I chucked an avocado, a frozen banana, coconut cream, maple syrup, melted 85% dark chocolate and some salt. I served it with blueberries and maple toffee crunch.

That was my nutrition for the day.

Sleep time and work tomorrow.

Nite all

Worthy Recipient

I sacrificed my Sunday in bed.

It was worth it.

It was to celebrate The Brains Trust’s birthday and we all drove together to her favourite eating place where we could sit together outside, in nature, eat good food, talk loudly, laugh even louder and bond more over our silliness.

We learnt valuable information about discarding hand towels when leaving the public toilet area, performing wifely duties (cake baking), how important our partner’s 69th birthday is and how South Korea can teach the world a thing or two about hands free toileting 😳 (you had to be there).

We enjoyed our meal, received excellent service, the weather was lovely and we ended the day with a walk around the grounds.

Five hours of fun and frivolity - even Adoring Husband sent me a text 6 minutes before I arrived home wondering where we were!

My nutrition for the day: lemon water, chicken broth, coffee x 2, filtered water. Lunch - chicken, avocado, cheese, half of half a GF bread roll, lettuce, onion, beetroot, carrot. Dinner - half of a scotch fillet steak, tomato, cucumber, beetroot, avocado, lettuce.

I’m hungry right now! I could eat a family block of chocolate! I should have brought home a GF citrus tart from our lunch location!

Well I hope that tomorrow I’ll get to spend some extra time in bed, although I have a feeling that there will be a couple of deliveries at the shop that I may need to open up for. That would be annoying.

Welcome to a new week!

Nite all.

Feeling Elderly

What a huge day!

As you know, I had to fend for myself this morning. Good Lord! I had to make my own lemon water and heat up my own chicken broth! What is my world coming to!?!? 🤔

I gave psychotic dog Jack his medication before getting ready for work and loading my trike basket to the hilt with all of my paraphernalia including a change of clothes to wear at the retreat in the afternoon.

There was plenty of time for me to grab a coffee before opening the shop, but as I returned with my coffee, Adoring Husband appeared! Wearing the mask all morning at First Aid training had left him feeling decidedly unwell. He pulled out of the training but still helped me open the shop.

There were a LOT of people in town today and I almost considered putting a sign up to limit the numbers allowed in at any one time!

The first two hours of visitors were mostly tyre kickers which gave me the chance to design and order a new banner to replace the one near the butcher shop and then order and pay for some new Bali flags and replace the broken flag poles.

The second two hours were nonstop paying customers who kept me on my toes for the entire afternoon!

It was an excellent day of sales and the last customer walked out the door 5 minutes before closing time.

There was just enough time to get changed and prepare a platter of vegetable sticks and guacamole to take with me to the retreat.

Adoring Husband appeared once again to help me close the shop and load the car with all of my paraphernalia so that I didn’t have to take it with me.

I pedalled my trike to the hall where the retreat had been moved to because of forecast rain and storms - it was originally to be held in the outdoor area of the property where The Gypsy resides.

The Women’s Healing Retreat was fantastic. Very emotional in parts but mostly joyful and full of love. We danced, we meditated, we moved and stretched, we smudged, we drishti-ed, we shared nutrition and we supported each other through our own private and personal healing.

I’m very happy to have participated and I knew all fifteen women in attendance.

I pedalled home at 5.15pm as the dark clouds loomed and threatened to dump some heavy rain.

AH was supposed to be out for dinner so I hadn’t planned much. Now that he was home, I threw together a chicken concoction and put it in the oven for 45 minutes.

AH went back for seconds!

For dessert, I melted 85% dark chocolate with some coconut cream and we dipped fresh strawberries into it. I also made up a batch of maple toffee to sprinkle over it. Delicious.

After all of that, I have to say my body is feeling very elderly and there are bits hurting all over the place.

My nutrition for the day (besides what I’ve already mentioned): tomato, onion, cucumber, carrot, celery, avocado, shallots, hummus, apple, pear, water.

Far out, it’s 9.30pm and feels like midnight!

Nite all.

Making Sense

As some of you well know, I have never ever been a fan of Alan Jones. I have found him to be divisive and bigoted, misogynistic, cruel and a hypocritical.

Right now though, for the first time, he is speaking my language and as much as it irks me, I totally agree with his stance on this so-called pandemic.



I have made a LONG list of all the ‘things’ that just don’t make sense, but I’m saving that list for another post which you can either open your mind and read OR choose to ignore, which of course, is your right.

I’m going to slot some short videos of Drs, scientists, nurses and frontline workers into my blog every week or so, just to give you a taste and perhaps show you a different perspective to what mainstream media are forcing down our throats.

Here is the first and it goes for three minutes ...

Dr Tamper of Nebraska

It was another great day at the shop for me today.

Even though I haven’t had a chance to even browse through it, my “Cleanse to Heal” book arrived in the mail today and I hope to spend some time reading it in bed on Monday.

There were lots of customers today, half being tyre kickers and the other half gladly opening their wallets. This week has seen lots of snap jewellery going to new homes, mostly to returning holiday makers who purchased some this time last year.

Aggie came for a visit and we stood and chatted for some time ... when I SHOULD have invited her to sit! Sometimes I’m too vague for my own good.

I sold some more art - not mine this time.

I banked some cash - wahoo!

I’ve made an extensive list of suppliers that I want to order from in the coming months.

I ordered some new stickers and created a new banner to replace the one near the butcher.

I printed some postcards to cover me until the new ones arrive.

My last customer left at 2.55pm and Adoring Husband and I packed up in a flash so that we could enjoy some down time at home.

Instead, I spent quite some time trying to get psychotic dog Jack to take two lots of medication with his dinner. Every time he yawned, he shrieked a little because obviously his mouth is still a little tender after his ten extractions.

Hopefully he will improve rapidly - as long as I can trick him into taking his drugs every day 😳

AH cooked dinner and I prepared dessert.

My nutrition for today: water, lemon water, chicken broth, coffee. Chicken wings, tomato and avocado. Chocado - avocado, natural dark chocolate, coconut cream, maple syrup blended and served with a mountain of blueberries and strawberries, sprinkled with flaked almond maple toffee.

I bathed psychotic dog Ruby’s eye this evening before climbing into bed to watch the footy and now I’m listening to AH snore his head off beside me.

AH is attending the SES First Aid training all weekend so I’ll be fending for myself.

Work in the morning followed by a Women’s Healing Retreat in the afternoon and on Sunday a fabulous lunch to look forward to. Monday will be my day of rest.

Just before I go ...

Have a great weekend!

Nite all.

Broke a Record

Not me.

Psychotic dog Jack broke the record.

Remember how psychotic dog Colli had 9 teeth removed?

Jack had TEN teeth removed!

$850 later 😳

Lucky it was Dental Discount month or it would have cost almost $1300! She clipped his nails for free too.

Jack is much happier, is drinking easily and ate two meals tonight! No cramps so far but he’s only been home for 5 hours.

Even though Adoring Husband was feeling stressed when he dropped our boy at the vets this morning, he was feeling a lot better with the outcome of Jack’s treatment when he picked him up.

I rode my trike to work this morning with the rear basket full of my wheelie case which contained my laptop, my iPad and notebooks and paperwork, a bag full of the cash tin, my lunch and my water bottle plus my handbag.

It used to be so easy to pedal that trike ... like ... no effort at all! Today, after more than a year NOT riding it, I struggled! My butt kept sliding off the seat, my right knee felt under pressure and I felt a little bit puffed when I arrived at my destination!

Back when I was riding regularly, I was obviously fitter than I realised.

It was a great day of sales AND I sold a piece of my art!! My seahorse ...

for $140.00! 🤭

Weirdsville huh?

I paid MORE bills (they seem to be never ending).

My business cards FINALLY arrived ... the first box got lost in transit, so Vistaprint had to make some more and send them express post.

I stapled a heap of cards to the small handled bags.

I’ve ordered postcards from Harvey Norman to put on the large bags.

I sent through the ads for the local newsletter and at the last minute created a half page ad for the journaling classes and even set a date!

I had an interstate customer phone and ask me to find her a stack of silk scarves - my usual supplier has no silk scarves anymore, so it was a task and a half to find some at a reasonable price and it took me a good 90 minutes including sending numbered photos so that she can easily select the ones she wants.

I closed the shop on my own and collected our ordered meat from the butcher before finally pedalling home after 4pm.

Jack got most of my attention for the first hour and AH offered to cook dinner which I gratefully accepted.

Tonight I’ve watched The Bachelor and Celebrity Gogglebox. Now we’re catching the end of the football and I’m happy because I tipped Melbourne Storm to win.

Bed time for me.

Nite all.

Vet Check

Another full house for meditation and for the second time in 3 weeks I had to sit with my chair outside the training room door!

There were a couple of regulars missing too so I’m thinking that while we have social distancing requirements, we’ll soon have to start taking bookings otherwise we’ll be turning people away.

It was a great class and 8 of the ladies bought a coffee afterwards and made themselves comfortable for a girlie session in the room. They reluctantly left at around 10am.

It was another average day of sales, just a touch better than yesterday.

I paid the Men’s Shed for the sign they made for my wall (yet to be attached) and for the three planter stands that I sold for them.

I paid The Jewel for another two of her pieces that I sold.

I paid a supplier for an order.

I cleared the kitchen of all the art resources that had been washed on the weekend.

I made up a sign for the front door to explain why I closed the shop early.

At 2.30pm Adoring Husband arrived with psychotic dog Jack, who was obviously feeling very skittish in this unfamiliar territory.

We closed the shop at 2.30pm and headed in to Passionate Paws in The Bay.

Jack has been struggling to drink water for about five days. Every time he takes a mouthful, he jumps away from the bowl, circles it and then tries again with the same result.

He wasn’t eating much either so I assume that he has a problem with his teeth.

Because he couldn’t drink enough water, he has been dehydrated which causes severe cramps.

I explained all of this to Dr Amanda and she attempted to check in cranky Jack’s mouth, but he snapped at her and then tried to climb into my arms.

He is now booked in for 8.30am tomorrow for whatever dental work is required plus claw clipping. Lucky for us, it’s “Dental Discount” month with the vets! Today’s visit was a free consultation but the rest of it I calculate will be around $600+

I’ll be riding my trike to work because AH has to be at the vets right on opening time to drop Jack at the vets AND right on closing time to pick him up and bring him home.

I was so thankful that I’d cooked the chicken last night. I heated it up in some home made gravy and served it with cauliflower, broccoli and mashed sweet potato. Watermelon for dessert. That, along with lemon water, broth and coffee was my nutrition for the day.

I’m feeling very weary now so ...

Nite all.

Non-stop Tuesday

The cold weather certainly slows down the paint drying process.

Seventy two hours after we finished our workshop on Saturday and four of the pieces were still so wet that they had to remain on a flat surface for all of today and by 3.30pm, two of them were dry enough to lean against a wall. I’m hoping that the other two will be dry by tomorrow.

Adoring Husband and I cleared a space in the training room for morning tea with the girls. There were five of us around the table but lots of interruptions for me, with customers, someone picking up their art, the fruit and veg man, a gentleman looking for The Motivator and a woman wanting a vest.

The girls and I planned a lunch date and they all streamed out the door by 11am.

I received a call from a new supplier and I ordered some designer socks!

One of my consignment ladies popped in so I paid her for the three items that I sold for her.

I finished transferring my sales info to the new sales sheets.

Then it was time to properly clear the training room and set it up for meditation. It was quite the task, but I had most of it done by the time AH arrived to help me close.

Sales were average today.

We stopped at the butcher and chose lamb loin chops for dinner as well as a whole chicken. We have to take psychotic dog Jack to the vet tomorrow after work. I baked the chicken tonight so that I don’t have to spend long in the kitchen if we get home late tomorrow.

My nutrition for today: lemon water, chicken broth, filtered water, coffee. 2 lamb loin chops, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, onion, bacon. 2 strawberries.

It’s now late and I have an early start. Sleeeeeeeep time.

Nite all.

Today was a good day.

Adoring Husband waited on me all morning providing my lemon water, chicken broth and coffee while I sat up in bed like a spoiled movie star.

I had a quick catch up with The Gypsy before AH and I drove into The Bay to run some errands.

Nana’s pantry was first on the itinerary to purchase some tapioca flour, ginger and lime dressing, dark chocolate and flaked almonds.

Second was HBW to grab three different sizes of brown paper bags with handles for the shop.

Next was Stocklands to get some cheap cutlery for my personal use at the shop. The bonus for me was finding a pair of Skecher shoes, which they finally had in stock at Williams shoe store. While AH was waiting in the car, I ducked into another store and tried on a bamboo top which I bought.

That was it! Coffee at the drive through as we were beginning our journey home.

We stopped at ‘Roz’s Happy Place’ to deliver all of my purchases before we returned home.

I spent the afternoon copying the information from my old sales sheets to my new sales sheets.

Dinner was salmon steak with salad of baby spinach, Roma tomato, cucumber, beetroot, avocado, onion and a lemon wedge.

No dessert tonight.

It’s now midnight!! Sleep time for me! 

Nite all.

Perfect Sunday

Remember the Twilight series?

The books/movies about Bella Swann and her relationships with the vampire Edward and the wolf Jacob?

Well, the writer of those books has just released a new book called Midnight Sun and while the first series of books were told from Bella’s viewpoint, the new book is written from Edward’s viewpoint.

I purchased the book on Audible with one of my free credits and listened to the first chapter this morning. It was like playing the movie in my head again but knowing the reasons that Edward said and did everything.

The book is 26 hours long by narration so I’ll need to pace myself!

My Sunday was, as almost always, spent in bed.

I designed a new sales sheet for the shop, which was frustrating because I used an unfamiliar program  and it took a bit for me to figure it out. I still didn’t perfect it, but the sheet is usable.

I did some fresh COVID-19 research.

I listened to a meditation from The Gypsy and followed that up with some written and action work from her books.

I watched some YouTube news videos and art videos.

I got out of bed to briefly become Adoring Husband’s trades assistant while he attached some timber pots to the outdoor tables, after which I returned to my bed haven.

I played some games and hung around in Facebook for a while, until it was time to prepare dinner.

My nutrition for the day: lemon water, filtered water, chicken broth, coffee, the last GF cone with coconut ice cream, pork loin chop, mushrooms, onion, garlic, spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, snap peas.

Got a big day planned for tomorrow so it’s sleep time for me!

Nite all.

As Predicted!

I posted a meme on the shop Facebook page this morning with the comment “Rainy day sales will be through the roof and the art workshop will be a blast and a half”.

I was correct on both counts!

It was a busy, productive and fun day - my lower back pain is the proof of it!

I finished setting up the training room, mixed the white paint, strained the Floetrol, prepared the fruit and tea/coffee, served the customers and ran the workshop.

It was a great day!

Even though three people had to cancel, there were still 5 in attendance and they were all hilarious and committed and creative and amazingly helpful in the cleaning up process at the end of the day. They all booked their spots in the next class so more fun will be had.

Here is some of their art ...

Not as messy as last week!

My nutrition for today: lemon water, filtered water, chicken broth, coffee x 2, a slice of watermelon, 2 strawberries, baby spinach, tomato, onion, mushroom, cucumber, avocado, beetroot, chicken thigh, sweet potato, GF ice cream cone with coconut ice cream - both still full of sugar but we HAD to try it! No nasty affects but not a habit we’ll take up.

I bathed psychotic dog Ruby and did a small load of washing before sitting down to enjoy Super Saturday football.

I prepared dinner while Adoring Husband slept soundly on the couch.

We came to bed to catch the end of a good old John Wayne movie “Eldorado” and now “Guns of The Magnificent Seven”. They remind me of Dad - he always liked a good cowboy movie.

I plan on spending most of my Sunday in bed. I may have to hold a ladder for AH while he trims a hedge and I’ll change the bedding while I’m up, but that will be the extent of my physical productivity.

It’s going to be a lovely cool morning and a mild day.

Nite all.