Breaking Records!

Today, I smashed my sales record.

Smashed it like I didn’t think was possible!

This morning I was looking at April sales and thinking how much I needed a good day to help ease the loss of a week with the doors locked.

Saturdays are historically the worst day of the week for sales.

I remember back in the 70s when my mother owned a small record shop in the Brisbane suburb of Morningside and Saturdays were so busy she needed three staff and the queue at the counter were four deep all morning. It was crazy!

It has never been like that here.

In fact I’ve considered not opening on Saturdays because sales have been so mimimal.

Not today!

It was a blinder and has covered what I will miss out on next week!

To add to that, I ran a fantastic art class this afternoon with ten ladies who all produced some beautiful art. These are some of their efforts. I didn’t get pics of them all, but I will tomorrow.

We sat around drinking beverages until after 4.30pm and there was plenty of laughter and fun. They are a great group of girls.

We stopped at the local cafe to grab some chips to have with dinner and talked to the owners about the fact that they have sold the business.

What a relief for them because Covid has destroyed them and their piece of mind. The locals have really given them grief and I hope that their future is full of success and happiness because they are hard workers and they deserve a better deal.

My Melbourne family are mourning the loss of their pet cat Maggie tonight. I send them healing hugs.

I think I’m done for the day. Tomorrow will be huge as I pack and prepare for my trip to Melbourne. Just two more sleeps!

Nite all.

Job Well Done

It has taken me three days to finish pricing and displaying the new stock.

I thought it would never end!

It was a good day of sales and I had another visitor today in for a chat, which was lovely.

I sold some more of my art 🤗

I paid some hefty bills.

I received my new shoes in the mail!

They are actually navy and white. Thanks go to Aggie 🥰

Some more photos of my new g’bubba ...

Just three more sleeps and I’ll be having cuddles.

Chicklet’s new Aunty bought a cow and she got to feed it today!

It’s all happening down south!

Tonight, I’m looking forward to sliding between my new linen sheets that have been freshly washed and dried especially for their first night on my bed. They are wasabi colour and go beautifully with my ocean themed bed cover. I can’t wait.

On that note, I bid you a goodnight!

Nite all.

Bed Time

It’s 8pm and I’ve been in bed since 5.30pm.

It was not very busy with customers today so I filled my day pricing the new stock and rearranging displays to make space for it.

I probably should have taken a couple of breaks.

By 2pm I was feeling very weary and couldn’t wait to put my feet up.

After 2 days I’m still only about three quarters of the way through the stock that arrived and my office area is pretty messy!

At least the drop sheet is down and the tables are set up ready for this week’s art class.

I had a visit from a lady whose husband was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about 3 years ago. She comes in every couple of months to vent and debrief. She’s lovely.

There were a lot of parents with kids through the doors today. All just looking, so sales were a little below average.

Something that annoys me is parents who walk in with their kids saying “Don’t touch anything. Look with your eyes.” My gosh! I’m 60 years old and ‘I’ can’t walk into a shop with pretty things and not touch anything! The parents spend the rest of the time saying “I told you not to touch! Don’t touch!”  I appreciate their intention but I feel so sorry for the kids.

Anyway, I heard those words a LOT today.

It’s a great time of the year. The weather has cooled down and the nights are great for sleeping. The light is really clear during the day and there are birds of all shapes and sizes everywhere. People have reported seeing pods of dolphins in the river every day and the fishermen have spotted dugongs in huge numbers on their trips out to sea.

We live in paradise.

I need to go and focus on the football now. My team is beating the top team and I am shocked at their efforts so far!

Have a great Friday!

Nite all.

Time is of the Essence

I just don’t know where the time goes!

Only 7 people turned up for meditation this week. Nobody wants to sit for an hour wearing a horrid mask and because tomorrow morning at 6am, masks can be discarded, I gave the 7 people in the room permission to be mask free.

Afterwards, The Gypsy spent 45 minutes chatting before she had to rush off for an appointment.

In between serving customers, I began to price and display the stock that came in yesterday. Slow going with so many items and having to calculate each price because this company doesn’t provide a recommended retail price.

Aggie visited me for a little while and I was grateful for the break!

Adoring Husband turned up early and interrupted my flow.

After his dental marathon yesterday, he is feeling incredibly well, motivated and full of beans. The Parkinson’s tremor has even eased for him today. It would be nice if it remained that way.

My Lorraine Lea order arrived today. I can’t wait to wash my new linen sheets and put them on the bed. I also purchased a lovely mint coloured bath mat set which I won’t use until I give the ensuite a good scrub from top to bottom! My free set of towels are mint coloured to match so the bathroom should look delicious by the time I’m done.

Anyway, I’m off to play the Pop Master quiz and then climb into bed.

Nite all.

Long Long Long

Adoring Husband was being taken into the Bay for his marathon IV sedated dental appointment at 6.30am so after a very restless night, I was out of bed at 5.45am making my breakfast and saying goodbye to him.

His volunteer chauffeur arrived early so after they drove off, I brought my breakfast to bed and spent an hour relaxing before starting the day.

I rode my trike to work and arrived with plenty of time to spare.

I opened the shop and checked the mail - which required a trolley to bring 8 parcels back, 7 of which were stock!

During coffee with the girls, I opened all the boxes and made a complete mess. I was very grateful that The Brains Trust offered some of her time to help me check off the invoices.

Co-incidentally, a gentleman walked in asking for a leather wallet so I was able to show him the brand new stock and he purchased one before they hit the shelves.

The Pommy Warrior who has been leaving her preloved clothing at my shop, appeared today with another two bags of clothes, but I turned her away and returned to her, the remaining clothes that hadn’t sold. Then she hung around for an hour bringing me up to date with her life and home renovations.

So much of my time wasted. My own fault.

Suddenly it was 1pm and the cleaner arrived!

The PW finally left and I set up the table for journaling class, priced some new stock and displayed it until the class began. I had to close the shop first and pull in the flags, signs and chairs so we started a little later than usual.

We were very productive in class and got lots of writing done.

At the end I folded up the tables, cleared the stock out of the training room, set out the chairs for meditation, binned all the packaging from the stock, emptied all the bins in the shop, cleared off my desk, grocery shopped for dinner, locked up the shop, packed all my paraphernalia into my trike basket and at 4.40pm began pedalling home.

I was exhausted 😳

I arrived home to find AH sleeping in his chair but doing well after his treatment.

My best option was to cook dinner straight away because if I sat down, I wouldn’t get back up!

After dinner I got the washing off the line, folded it and put it away.

I played Popmaster Quiz.

I watched MAFS.

I came to bed and it’s already 11.30pm.

Must sleep now.

The day has been long and full and busy. Sales were good.

Nite all.

A Perfect Day

I woke up feeling much better than the day before.

More energised. More motivated. More inspired.

I had the BEST day with my girls.

Exhausting, but fun.

We shopped, we ate, we laughed, we walked and we talked.

The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, the view was special and the company was fabulous.

I had a bit of a spree and purchased two pairs of boots and one pair of shoes ...

Two tops, a pair of white bottoms, 3 gifts and a white fringed kaftan to wear over my swimmers.

Almost seven hours together!

I think we were all very weary by the end of the day and couldn’t wait to get home and put our feet up.

Adoring Husband was asleep on the couch when I walked in the door.

I threw some chicken drumsticks in a baking tray and sprinkled them with thyme, salt and pepper. I lay slices of lemon over the top and put them in the oven for 30 minutes. I removed the lemon and drizzled honey over the chicken and turned up the heat for another 10 minutes.

Delicious.

I can’t believe it’s now 11pm. 

Why aren’t I asleep?

Nite all.

Energy Low

I have to confess that I am feeling completely drained.

I had committed to the Lorraine Lea party this morning and it took every last ounce of my minimal energy to get out of bed, dress and pedal the half a kilometre to the party.

I stayed for 3 hours because I didn’t have the energy to pedal home!

Old Speckled Hen was in attendance and she lives across the road from the party. Since she has lived there for 17 months and I had not been to visit, I agreed to pop over and have a viewing.

It’s a lovely unit with a minimalist garden area, but they have it looking so welcoming and homely.

I pedalled all the way home before I realised that I’d left my handbag on Speckled Hen’s dining chair so Adoring Husband drove me back to pick it up. It was 32°C draining heat - like I needed anything to drain me more!

My aim for the afternoon was for pure laziness.

I achieved my aim.

It’s 7.30pm and I am in bed watching MAFS.

Tomorrow is our lady’s lunch to celebrate Beauty’s birthday and I REALLY hope to wake up more energised than I did today.

Just eight more sleeps til I meet my new grandbaby, my new son-in-law, hug Vegan Chickie and spend some quality time with my Chicklet. But who’s counting? Meeeeeee.

🥱 

I need to rest now. 

Nite all.

Arted Out

A busy and good morning in the shop.

Probably a bit above average for a Saturday where our markets are on.

Adoring Husband arrived early to man the shop for me so that I could leave for my art class, but my lift arrived 15 minutes late THEN sat in the car punching the address where we were going, into the GPS, so we actually started driving at 12.50pm which was ten minutes before the class was due to start.

The class was 40 minutes away 😳

My driver, Mz Merc, apologised for being late and in the same sentence said “I’m always late” like it was a badge of honour.

Good to know for future reference!

The class actually waited for us before they started and of course this meant that the class finished later than planned. Adoring Husband came to pick me up at 5pm but the class didn’t finish til 6pm.

The butterfly effect.

ANYWAY ... the class was fun!

Charcoal drawing is quite a bit more difficult than I expected. There are many layers of work involved and spraying each layer with a fixative before doing the next layer.

Even after the first three layers, it still doesn’t look like the pic that you’re drawing. It’s not til the final 2 layers that the details get added and it begins to look like something interesting.

It’s VERY messy work!

I’m not sure that it’s my cup of tea, but I’ll play some more before I decide.

We practiced the layering technique on an apple first ...

Then took the scary step of creating our giraffe on a big board ...

It hurt my brain 😳

Maybe that was the wine!

The organisers provided nibbles AND there were GF options which were delicious! bonus!

All 12 of the ladies in attendance were lovely and supportive and talented so I felt completely comfortable as soon as I walked in. The teacher and her assistant were positive and encouraging.

I had a good time.

And now I need to rest my weary brain and get some sleep because I have a party to attend in the morning (another Lorraine Lea) and I’m yawning just thinking about it.

Nite all.

Tyre Kicking

It was another good day of sales but there were also a LOT of tyre kickers.

I opened the shop at 8am today because Adoring Husband was taking the car into The Bay early for a service, so I took advantage of him and his macho abilities before he left and he did all the heavy lifting and carrying for me ... as he does.

I feel like I didn’t stop all day but I cannot for the life me tell you what I achieved.

After we closed the shop, I came home and made a bottle of pina colada to take with me to Blonde Bombshell’s house where a few of us were meeting for drinks. In the end, there were only three of us but it was a good afternoon nonetheless.

Friday night is AH’s chicken nibble night so I didn’t have to worry about cooking. I’d only had one glass of my concoction and that, combined with my busy day, left me feeling very very tired.

I am now in bed watching the Penrith Panthers vs Canberra Raiders NRL game. I’m not sure I’ll be able to stay awake for it all.

Bubbles messaged me this evening and made tentative arrangements to visit us after Mother’s Day in May/June. That makes me very happy 😊 

April, May, June will be big months for us.

I’m excited about tomorrow because AH is going to man the shop for the last 30 minutes so that I can attend an art workshop in The Bay ...

Looks like a nice location for creating art!

I’ll be taking my bottle of Riccadonna and spending 4 hours with like minded women relaxing and getting my art on.

I think it’s time to sleep now.

PS. NOT getting naked with you girls lol

Nite all.

A Biggie

It was another big day at the shop.

Everybody who walked through the door today wanted a handbag. I sold 7 bags and five of them were the Sassy Duck brand. I’ve never had a day like that before.

I was flat out for 3 of the 5 hours that I was open. My cleaner came in the last hour and I asked her to steam the remaining clothes in the store room. She saves me so much time with the amount of work she gets done in an hour. She is fabulous.

Everything seems to be going nicely for the new improved family ...

Vegan Chickie is already home and they are all feeling very loved up.

I have booked return flights and received my permit to enter Victoria so I will be catching up on cuddles with my grandies for a week in April.

I

CANNOT

WAIT!

Meanwhile, I’m feeling my age and these big days are wearing me out! So it’s sleep time for me.

Nite all.

Happy Day

Last night (Tuesday 6th) while I was creating my blog post, Vegan Chickie was very quickly giving birth to my new grandchild ...

7lb 6oz

49cm long

8 days past her due date

Hazel Joan Griffin Hodder

Perfect

Mum and Bub healthy and happy.

Dad floating on cloud 9

Sister jumping for joy.

This grandmother very teary and emotional 

While I was waiting to hear the good news, I kept myself occupied with this ...

And then after I received the happy news, I was too hyped up to sleep and it was well after 2am when I finally fell asleep and my alarm went off at 5.30am to get ready for meditation.

As you can imagine, it’s been a long day.

A long BUSY day as finally holiday sales have exploded and I was run off my feet until the last hour of the day!

I’m exhausted and ready for some deep sleep.

Nite all.

Hullo Out There!!!?

The caravan parks are full.

The holiday rental homes are full.

My shop has not been full 😳

Sales have been steady but nothing like I expected.

Very strange.

This time last year we were closed due to Covid and we were all in isolation so the usual holiday makers couldn’t leave their homes.

They are back this year feeling very grateful to have the freedom to do so, but annoyed that masks are compulsory attire - I know how they feel.

The Gypsy and I decided to run the meditation class tomorrow with reduced class numbers and with everyone wearing a mask. Hopefully, by next week, the mask rule will be dropped, but I have a sneaking suspicion that The Gypsy is about to pull the pin on meditation.

She is in the process of moving to Dallarnil (west of Childers) and it’s a 2 hour round trip. That’s a long way for a 61yr old with health issues and if she’s kind to herself, running a free meditation class an hour from home is not the right thing to do.

We’ve discussed this possibility a number of times in the last 4 or 5 months and she knows that even though I’ll be really sad to lose her and the classes, I’m ok with her decision. 

Wait and see.

Last night before I went to sleep, I did some more doodling/sketching/playing ...

I was going to do some more tonight but it’s already 10.30pm and I have to get up early in the morning.

Sleep time for me.

Nite all.

Reverse the Plan

My original plan was to open the shop today (Monday) but the weather forecast was so bad and the predicted heavy rain and winds scared me off.

Sunday’s rain kept everyone away and I figured heavier weather wouldn’t change things so I posted on Facebook that I would be closed and made a sign for Adoring Husband to put inside the front door.

Things changed overnight and the weather cleared somewhat so at 9.40 this morning I changed my mind AGAIN and decided to open.

I’m glad I did.

The last hour was very quiet and I was pacing the floor counting the minutes so that could come home at 2pm and participate in a photography challenge that was posted in Facebook. The challenge was posted at 1pm and was open for two hours so I thought if I got home soon after 2pm I would have enough time to squeeze something in.

At precisely 1.56pm, two elderly ladies walked through the door.

Ugh 🥴

It was 2.15pm when they left and it was 2.20pm by the time we locked the door behind us.

We had to stop at the supermarket so by the time we arrived home, the photography challenge was off the table.

We sat down with some nibbles and watched the old 1965 movie “The Great Race” before the football started.

Right now, the rain is pelting down and by the look of the BOM, it will rain for most of the night, which is lovely.

By the way ... still no baby ... seven days overdue and she has a checkup appointment tomorrow (Tuesday). Watch this space.

I purposely did nothing extra at work today because working for two weeks without a break is already more than I’m used to so I’m being kind to myself and taking it easy where I can.

I’m going to bed now to watch MAFS and then fall asleep to the sound of rain.

Nite all.

Too Weathery

While I was keen to open the shop today with a plan B for using my time productively if the people did not come, the weather decided to put on a miserable performance which kept most of the world indoors.

The two highlights of my day were a phone call from my friend Rebel Mardi and a visit from Aggie.

I spent the rest of my time serving a few customers and working on my newsletter.

I took photos of the art from Saturday’s workshop ...

that’s just a few of the feathery pieces.

It was nice to come home and put my feet up to watch the football this afternoon and I baked a leg of lamb with baked veggies and gravy for dinner.

One of my art ladies gave me some gluten free brownies so I had three little pieces with raspberries and whipped cream. It was delicious but the dairy has given me a runny nose. There’s always something.

Adoring Husband and I both went to bed at 8.30pm and while I watched one of my favourite movies, “The Holiday”, I did some doodling ...

I reckon with a bit of practice I could improve and get something decent happening with the doodle technique.

Anyway, it’s almost midnight so it’s sleep time for me.

Nite all.