Wednesday, April 22, 2009

No Longer Money-Hungry.

I haven't had paid work for over a decade now. And I've found that it's not so bad. You just have to keep yourself occupied and busy during the day and stay away from the brain-rotting box in the corner of the room called 'The Television'. Yes, that thing was a great invention for its time; but it does serve a purpose... night time use only. During the day, there's more to do than to stare at it. Talkshows bore the living crap out of me! Cooking shows can do the same; especially when the hosts get in the way of what's going on and talk over people!

I love getting up early - even when it's freezing cold - and facing the day. I'll sit on the edge of the bed and stretch and turn and then stand up and look outside briefly before pulling the curtains and looking for something to wear. The morning starts with a good breakfast and a listen to the radio. Then, I get in and do some housework. After that, I have the day to myself. However, sometimes, the housework gets left until later... which is okay to me. I'm in no real hurry to get it done. I do enjoy pottering around the house and getting some things done.
You see, I'm into Bookcrossing and Outsider Art; both of which take up a lot of my time. I'm also a prolific reader. I'm ravenous when it comes to books. It's only April and I'm reading my 12th book! My Mum is very proud to tell people that I read a lot of books and she really doesn't have a clue how many I've read - just that it's over 10 so far. Gardening takes up my time too. I enjoy getting my hands dirty in the potting mix and planter pots. It's just something I love to do.

Something you'll notice is that I'm not money-hungry. I'm on a DSP (Disability Support Pension) and that doesn't pay a lot. I just scrape by paying my bills, rent and groceries (the latter two of which I pay fortnightly
) and I put away $150 into a few accounts (one of those accounts in a bill-paying account). I'm not usually left with a lot to play with. So, when it comes right down to the bottom line of it all, I find that I have to shop around for great bargains, buy second-hand clothes, books and lay-by almost everything I want... or save up really hard for it.
I'm only on Bookcrossing because it's an internet site where we all trade books to each other, conduct bookrings (where you get a list of people who want to read the same book and they receive the book, journal it, read it, and then post it onto the next person on the list) and it saves us buying the book. This site has saved me so much money... however I have found that the money I would use buying a book is now used in postage in sending out the books. However, my best finds are always at either garage sales or charity stores.

It's taken me a few years to realise that it's not the huge salleries and big jobs that make us happy. It's the small stuff; the flowers coming into bloom. The great dvd we just watched with home-made popcorn and melted butter. The boardgame we've just played with the family that makes us happy. When we are pushed back into a corner and find that there's nowhere to go, we look around and sit there waiting for the problem to fix itself when really, all we need to do as pick up the book that's sitting on the floor by our feet and open it. Say, that title looks good... have a quick read of the first few pages; it may get you interested yet!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Knitted Trees And Other Games

I've had a very productive month; and now it's April, I'll have an even more fun month. My art is going outside. I'm still painting and doing my writing... however, I've found that I can attach my knitting to trees and other objects outside. It's outsider art and my first piece was placed on 7th, April and it's still there. I've got photos on myspace.com/mozette1791 if you'd like to see them; along with all my other art and exhibitions I've done in the last decade or so.

Otherwise, I've been busy as hell doing what I do - writing. I've finished 'Fry Nelson: Bounty Hunter#2' and thought it would do me good to take a little break for about a week and think of some good stories before I dive back into the futurist mayhem that is the life of Fry Nelson. I'm still editing 'Ravenstine Kingdom and the Three Swords' and my other books are being re-read by me and still have some BIG spelling and grammatical mistakes in them. I'm not fussed, I'm just glad I found them.

Little Miss Stevie is going well. In case you're not sure who that is, she's that cute little bird you see as my default. I don't see much of her during the day, so she's on here and myspace.com. And she's a favourite amongst my friends too. So, she's cool. And seeing it's been getting that way on this side of the planet (and believe me, we're going to be in for a cold Winter, seeing the nights have become cooler this early), I've been spending a lot of time with Stevie at night. What we do is: I'll get her in my right hand and she'll just lay there and curl up next to my neck or cheek and go right to sleep; feeling all safe and warm. Once in a while, I hear her click or chirp, but she'll be good for about an hour before she gets restless and I'll put her back in her cage gently and she'll snuggle up against her mirror and snooze. And yeah, I can hear you all saying: 'Aaaaww, that's gorgeous... but doesn't that spoil her?' Sure... but you see, my little bird doesn't see much of me during the day. I'm normally on here writing or surfing the net as a regular BookCrosser and so most of my day is used up on here. So, spoiling her in the early evening is something I do regularly so she knows she's loved.

The garden is looking okay I guess. I'm not real happy with it right now as it does need a lot of work. My folks reckon it looks good, but I see the faults in its design. So, I'm trying to save up the money for plants, potting mix and other things that'll make it look the way I want it to. My garden is the place where I escape to be myself, to celebrate the Sabbaths and just be so I can get into a book or enjoy the silence of the yard on the weekend.

So, Easter is upon us already and the fridge is full of chocolate goodies! Sunday will be a greasy breakfast day (the first in a long time) and I'll enjoy being around the house to just enjoy the place for once. I'll try and stay off here for the day to read the paper; but I don't think I'll stay away for long as I'll have a computer monitor to bring in here to replace my old one. There's a book to read ('I Know Why The Cage Bird Sings' by Maya Angelou. A bookring from BookCrossing) and some other knitted swatches to complete that I'm hoping to attach to other trees before the end of next week is out with my tag on them in ziplock bags to that the weather doesn't get to them.

Until next month's blog, this is Mozette signing off for now. Take care and don't eat too much chocolate over this holiday.