Sunday, September 29, 2013

Not Long Now

The end of September is coming and it's not long now until my birthday - it's on this Saturday actually.  I've got a little art thing planned with some friends I'm sure I'll enjoy.  It'll be the first time I'll have visitors here to see my new house, new bedroom suite and how much I've done with the house.  

It's not long now until my folks come home from overseas.  Under a month in fact.  They've had a ball!  I know from all the postcards and they've sent home 4 huge parcels which I've put into the spare room in their house so their not sitting out.  
And with them not far from their due date home, I've been working on their yard.  I've bought lawn food and begun looking at fixing up the yard for them to make it look good.  Fortunately, we had some rain after I mowed the front lawn and now it looks close to normal.  I've yet to get back over there to fix it up again and do more work.

It's not long now until my house is finished with its Four Month Make-over.  I've done so much and yet I still feel it's not finished.  There's a lot I still wish to do with the place.  I still want the outdoor setting from Bunnings, the loungeroom cleaned up, some plants out the back repotted into new pots, get rid of the old bedroom suite in the car port... yes, it's not long now until the end of the makeover and yet there's still so much to do to make it finished and complete. But still, I'll find other things that aren't quite right, won't I?

It's not long now until Halloween and Christmas.  I love these times of years.  Both are Pagan Holidays and I delve right into them.  I carve pumpkins on Halloween and dress up my house and enjoy the act of All Hallow's Eve.  And with Christmas, I adore dressing up my house in the pagan colours and dressing my tree.  Yes, Christmas is originally a Pagan Holiday until the church hijacked it and said that Jesus was born over that time... when he was really born in the Fall/Autumn.  We don't really celebrate Christmas that much in my family; we see it as family time and to give gifts to each other as much as possible to show how much we love each other.

It's not long now until the end of the year.  September's almost gone, and Octobers beginning in a few days.  The Melbourne Cup will be here after Halloween and then Christmas and New Year's Eve... what a great, full time of celebrations we have ahead.

yeah... not long now.

Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

What A Stinker!

Now, I mean that in the way of the weather, not in smells.  It was a real steamer today and I decided to stay at home until I really, seriously needed to go out to get things done.

So, at around 12:30pm, I put on some make-up, no earrings and the coolest shoes I owned and went to Logan Central to get some Muslin for next week.  Then, I picked up Season 8 of 'Supernatural' I paid off yesterday - as it arrived today - and then I was off to Springwood for a Chiropractic appointment.  On the way there, I picked up some Hank's Root Beer to leave at Mum and Dad's place.
But when I arrived, I found one of their treet had major damage to it.  I wondered what the hell happened to it!  So, I had a closer look at it and it looked like it had been hit by something; as a lot of bark had been taken off the tree from about half a metre up and up until the first branch (around 2 metres off the ground).  This wasn't the kind of tree you can easily peel bark off of... it's thick, dark and splintery.  So, I asked the chiropractor's down the road and they said there hadn't been any rumours of any accidents around the place.  I even called the police to see if there had been any accidents on the street where a car hit a tree and the Sergeant said no.  He asked if the tree was out the front of the house, I said yes, but it was old, and it's a tree that has been sick for a while.  So, it looks like I have to talk to Gabe about it and see where we go from there.  

Today I wanted to get a lot of stuff done around Mum and Dad's house.  But it was so darn hot, I thought to leave it all alone until tomorrow and the weekend.  So, I left the Root Beer in the fridge to cool off overnight and will be taking some Cranberry juice with me too.  I'll be working on the yard tomorrow and might stay overnight to work on the yard more over the weekend.  There's a lot to do and clean up.  I have pruning, weeding, mowing and then feeding the lawn to get into and then the watering part... I might just do it a little at a time and see how far I get.  I hope it does cool down enough for me to work on their yard.  
I looked around for 'Guts' the Magpie, but he wasn't around.  I don't think I'll be seeing him again - not after what happened the other week.  I have looked for him but he's not coming back - the poor guy - I really did what I thought was best for him.  And today I had to get the wheelbarrow out and clean up the bark from out the front.  There was a lot!  Here's the photos of the damage... and if you know what's wrong, please do let me know in the comments.

Tree damage1 

Tree damage2 

Tree damage3 

Well, I don't have much more to say.  The AFL Grand Final is on this Saturday, so I'll be home for that, and working away on my Crafty Pegs or writing for the day while the tv will be going.  Other than that, I'm hoping the Hawks will win!  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Cleaning Day

There are days where I just jump in and tidy up the house because it looks like a cyclone's hit it.  And today is one of those days.  

This morning, there was a heavy fog outside, and the sun struggled to get through it.  This meant a hot day... good!  This also meant a great day for laundry.  So, the moment I got up and dressed, I stripped the bed, grabbed the laundry and put on the sheets.  Then, while that was going on, I prepared breakfast, did some washing up, put on the radio and opened the house.  
By this time, it was 8:30am and I checked my To-Do List on my iPod (yeah, these are free off iTunes and are very cool).  I had a couple of my jobs on the go... this usually happens when I get going with housework on days like this.  
Once I had finished breakfast, I thought to get my butt outside and shift the Pajero and sweep out the car port of leaves.  However, when I walked past the front left side, I found a Praying Mantis holding onto the front tyre.  So, I put the car keys in a safe place, picked him up and found a nice tree for him to hang out in.  I don't know if he was happy or not, but I did go and get my camera and took a few photos of him.  He was so cute and I got to pat him a little too - which he did mind me doing. 
Anyway, I shifted the car, swept out the car port and put the car back and crossed off one thing on the list that got done.  Then, by around 10am, the laundry was all done - or as much as I could fit on the line.  I still have the handwashing to do tomorrow and a few other things too before it's all done.  I had done one lot of washing up, and so I wiped up the first lot and have another lot to get done.  Then, I paid a phone bill for Mum and Dad and I checked the water in piano and refilled the glass (it wasn't empty, but I did it anyway).

Then, I was outside taking photos of the garden to make a journal of what's been going on in my garden over the last four months.  It's been a lot!  And I'm darned proud of what my place looks like now... despite the few hiccups that have happened with it all.  I'm still moving plants around to make my garden look good and I'm hoping to have my place looking and feeling the way I want it before my folks get home.  

Yep, cleaning days are big, long and tiring; but they're kinda fun as you usually find that you get a lot done, and you feel better when you go to bed and you're sleeping in a nice set of clean sheets.  I do enjoy getting the place cleaned up - even though it's hard work.  Paying the bills, checking that I have everything on my shopping list and putting out rubbish is some of my favourite parts of cleaning days; as it makes me feel as though I've accomplished something big... it's put everything in my life in perspective and squares things off until the next time I have to clean up the place.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Working At Home

It's been a while since my last post; and honestly I didn't think I'd be able to post properly today.  I burnt my left hand while making pancakes this morning and had to wrap it up with honey and bandages to wait for it to heal a little.  Believe me, it'll hurt more tonight and tomorrow as the real healing sets in.

Yesterday, I was off to volunteer work in the morning and then came home and washed up a bit, tidied up the lounge and made the bed. 
It was nice to get away from the unit complex for a bit as I'm really getting very  tired of my neighbour.  She not a very nice person at all; and while I was out, her friends' kids got into my pot plants out the front and threw the little silver stones everywhere, so I had to go and pick them all up and put them back; something the parents should either should have done or their kids should have been made to do.  But in all honesty, my neighbour doesn't have much respect for her landlord as she doesn't keep her place, the back yard or the car port tidy.  He has been by and seen it, but I don't know what he thinks of how she keeps it.  However, there's nowhere for her daughter to play in the backyard as there's a large crate there, a mattress and a large dining room table in the middle of the yard, and no space for her little girl to play.  Normally when people have children, they invest in swing sets, see-saws and other outdoor toys for them to play on, and they want to keep an eye on them; but not this one.  So, I'm not sure what's going to happen next.

Anyway, Crafty Pegs is going well.  I found myself some Dolly Pegs and have been working on some designs.  I glued some magnets onto the backs of pegs where one side worked out but the other side didn't... and now I have Magna-Pegs, and the Cool Pencils have a great opinion level amongst people I've told them about.  However, I have no orders coming in; which is a bit of a concern.  But this does give me time to work on my pegs so I can put up set of pegs for sale online and get people to buy them if they wish at any time.  So far, I have 4 lots of pegs all wrapped up ready to post off, there's pencils all painted up ready to be personalised, about 8 Magna-Pegs ready to be sold and sent off in the mail and 2 Dolly Pegs all done up and a gold Dolly Peg to have a design painted onto it.... so I'm working hard on this.  
I've also been handing out business cards all over the place and have some at the Logan Art Gallery for anyone to take too.  I just hope this takes off soon.  But on the other side of the coin, it's only been going for about 3 weeks, so I keep on working hard and I'll be okay and word will get around faster once some good, positive feedback is reported on my site. 

This coming week is busy.  I have Craft Group tomorrow, washing everything on Tuesday, shopping on Wednesday... then Thursday and Friday I'm organising myself  to get to Mum and Dad's place again to work on getting Dad's lawn back to what it was.  I'll be working on trying to get their plants watered - even though the place will dry out quicker than the desert again no matter what I do.
Then, on Saturday, it's the AFL Grand Final Day... on this day, I'm not leaving the house.  I'm going to leave the television going all afternoon up nice and loud to listen to the game all day and work on my craft while eating popcorn as my team got into the finals!  Yes!  The Hawthorne Hawks are playing!  I hope they win!  They really need another win!  Go the Mighty Fighting Hawks! Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Next Week...

It's been a little while since I last pottered around my garden, fixed something in my house, replaced an item and threw out an old thing or did something big to make my house work better.  Well, okay, it's only been since last Saturday, but it feels as thought it's been forever...  and this makes me feel lazy.

I have until next Thursday or so to buy new things.  These things are going to be a new folding 2-step ladder for the kitchen, a couple of metres of Muslin and an Easy-Step Matt for the back door.  Now, in the process, I'll be putting money away to save up for something the back yard I found at 'Barbeques Galore' at the Home-Maker Centre which will look great!  It's a two-seat outdoor setting, which is white, rust-proofed and very pretty; and you all know I've been looking for something like this for a long time - and I have tried looking online, through the free sites and on The Trading Post too - and so actually buying one is my best bet.  I'm just looking forward to having my house fixed up by the time Mum and Dad come back home next month.  And you know, that month will zoom by!  

Today, I did major, heavy housework for the first time in 2 months - since my Tennis Elbow!  I have been able to move heavy furniture and actually clean up the living room, dust and wash the kitchen floor!  The house looks and feels clean!  How good is that?  It's wonderful!  I feel great!  Now, that's downstairs done, I'll get in and do upstairs tomorrow morning before it gets too hot.  Might even get out and buy that Easy-Step Matt while I'm out at my folks' house checking on it.  

There's still things to get done here - as you all know - but I'm working at my own pace.  And I'm hoping to get everything I want to get done soon.  One thing I did get rolling is the plumbing report to my neighbour's landlord.  It's been very quiet next door for the last day or so... not a single sound at all has come from there for the last 48 hours.  So, I don't know if they're home or not.  But I am hoping the plumbing gets fixed up completely soon and that the water hammer is remedied; and that I don't have to live with it anymore.  This is so when we do wish to sell my place, it will definitely sell, and sell easily.  Well, until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Saving Up Again

As you all know, I've been taking on a Four Month Makeover of my house.  It's been a huge project and I've totally enjoyed the challenge - and there have been times where I've had to take a week or two off - but I've jumped straight back into it again and been enjoying the time cleaning out, straightening up and organising.

Now has come the time again for me to sit back and wait.  It's been such a roller-coaster ride of work, work, work that sitting down and waiting for money to save up again is hard to do.  But I do have work to do here with my new Crafty Pegs business, so that'll keep me busy, and I still have some housework that has been neglected since I started too.

I'm saving up for a little table and chairs set made from wrought iron that I spotted at Bunnings which is going to cost me around $140.  Now, I did look around at freecycle and givet before I decided to get in and buy this piece but nobody was selling one or giving it away.  So, I'm stuck with buying one brand new.  I also looked around The Trading Post site too and there was nothing there I could find within Brisbane or the Gold Coast that I could get that wasn't over-priced.  And for $140, I'm getting a sweet deal really seeing that most people who sell through the classifides think their furniture is worth more than it really is.

But in reality, my Four Month Makeover is almost finished... I have to only do a few more little things and that's it really.  I'm so pleased to say that if I didn't have access to a car, I wouldn't have been able to get all the things I wanted to get done completed... but then, the stuff I've gotten done isn't really finished, it's just something I have begun, hasn't it?

Today, I'm at home to get into the housework, wash up, wash the floors, vacuum and sweep out the car port.  I was hoping to drive out and price the Car Lovers place on Logan Road, but I think I'll wait until the time Mum and Dad come home from holidays before I take it in to be washed so it's cleaner for Mum.  I will rinse it off over the next few days or so.  But I still have to get rid of the old bedroom furniture from 4 months ago.  Yes, I still haven't given it away, sold it or been able to dump it because givvet hasn't sent anyone to pick it up, I haven't been able to get anyone from a charity to pick it up, and nobody will help me dump it.  I also have a dryer in my house which is a fire hazard, and yet I can't get rid of that either.  I don't want it and it's still hanging up on my wall, unplugged and as useful as a screen door on a submarine.  So, I still have things to get rid of around my house that are big things; things that have been around here for a long time and make my place look horrible.

Well, I guess I'll have to wait until next month for help, for somebody to get rid of these items for me.  I've done the best I can with them so far.  But they're still a pain the butt, and it's not my choice to have them still around my place.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm still here.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Wet Monday

It's raining.  Yep, I woke this morning to a cloudy sky and cool temperatures.  Then, after a nice hot shower, I sat down to nice hot bowl of porridge with bananas and dried cranberries and looked outside to find it was raining.... wonderful!  I'm serious!  I'm so happy to see the rain finally here.  
It's been so long since we have had rain that I thought it would never come.  Now, it's around 5pm in the afternoon and the day is really dull - so much so, I have had to turn on a light in the office to see where I'm going.

But I've had a long day out and about.  I'm glad I did get out today, as I spent my weekend here at home.  it was a nice quiet one where I could relax and sleep here for once.  And seeing I haven't been able to sleep here for a while, it's been nice to catch up with what I've wanted to do here instead of at my parents' house.  But the time is coming where I will have to get over there and work on their house to make it ready for them to return home.
There's vacuuming and dusting to get done, their bed sheets to change, the whole house to open up and air out, shopping to get done and floors to wash.  I have the lawn to look after too as it looks a little dead from the very dry Winter we've had.  So, lawn food is called for.
Anyway, a lot of this stuff won't take too long and I'm hoping it'll be okay for me get on with what still needs to be done here.  I have a modeling thing to do, my birthday to organise (and Gabe and Kat are helping we with that) and then there's the folks coming home... we can't wait until that happens.

I have had a good time with the use of the car.  However, I do think Dad thinks I'm going to live at their house for the next few months... I don't know what they think I do in my life, but there's more to me than they think.  Gabe's noticed how trapped I've been without a car as he and Kat visited last Saturday and saw a huge difference in my place when they walked through my door.  It was tidier, more organised, he found I had thrown out a lot of stuff and my garden was looking better (out the front and the back yard too).  It's something he hadn't really taken note of until I began driving again... and that's hard when people don't notice that kind thing.  What's going to be hard is when Mum takes back her car... wow... jeez, that's going to be a big gap in my life again.  I'll have to ask for the use of it and not just jump in it and go.

But that'll be a bit down the road and after they return.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Lazy Sunday

Today is the first truly lazy Sunday I've had in over two months.  Honestly, I'm sitting here online and it's not yet midday and I'm totally enjoying the quiet of the day before hectic beginning of the working week again.

Yes... it's been a very busy 3 months for me since Mum and Dad flew off overseas; and now I've had time to sit down and take in what I've gotten done, I feel as thought I'm being lazy and almost bad that I'm not doing anything.  Weird, eh?  But really, it's nice to have a day to myself to do what I want.  Then, I can get in and do some pegs and pencils, work on some other wonderful things around here and not have to worry about much else.

But I'm hoping to save up for a few things while I'm taking my time with a couple of things around here.  There's a wrought iron table and chairs set at Bunnings I spotted for $139.00 which I spotted while looking for dolly pegs.  But before I wrote down the price, I searched online for a table and chairs just like it and didn't find anyone giving one away - not on freecycle or e-bay or anywhere - so I looked through The Trading Post online too, there's nothing on there (and besides, people are expecting too much money for their second-hand items).  So, I've begun saving up for the outdoor setting myself.  It won't take long to have the money in my account and in-hand seeing I've got most of my stuff done around the place anyway, and I do have most of my Four-Month Makeover done.  There's just the finishing touches to get done around here.

There's still a few plants I want to get in and repot and a bookcase or two I want to replace around here with sturdier bookcases, but I'm going to concentrate on finishing the garden first, and then see how I go on seeing the details of my project; after all the devil's in the details of a project isn't it?  I do enjoy making sure it's all done up properly and working well.  But if waiting for a particular part of my project to be finished and financed is called for, well, I guess that's just what I have to do.

Gabe asked me yesterday where I got the money for my project, and I said that I had it all sitting in my savings for a while until I got the use of Mum's car.  Once I spent a bit of money, I waited until the next pay, spent more money and then went to cheap stores and spent more... it eventually added up to getting all of what I wanted done. 
I've just checked my iPod for the jobs that need to get done.  And I've checked off the list the art area being cleaned up... now I have only two more things to finish:  the backyard, and the lounge room.  With a month and a half left to go, I'm right on shedule to getting everything done up, finished and tidied up.  I can't wait until my project is complete.

But then, it's not really complete - is it?  There will always be something for me to do here, something to replace, something to get removed... something to make sure I'll have to get put in to make my house feel, look and run better all because I want it to.  Well, until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Back Home Again

I came home yesterday.  I miss being in my own place, my bed and doing my own thing.  Besides, my house was pigstye and really needed cleaning up because Gabe and Kat were coming over to visit.

Anyway, I arrived home and found the neighbours were very quiet.  They didn't use their taps unless they really needed to and she did a laundry run at around 4pm instead of midnight.  I'm happy about this, but how long it'll last for is something to be seen.

Today, Gabe and Kat arrived here and they were really impressed at how much I've gotten done around here.  Gabe loved the shelving unit I bought at Sam's Warehouse and Kat needed a rest so caught some zeds on my bed; which she loved!  She said the mattress was so lovely and firm and the blanket was nice and warm as was the duvet.  
But I also let them into a project I'm getting done here with the plumber.  I'm getting all my plastic taps replaced with chrome ones because the plastic ones are old and cracked.  And then he's also fixing up sewage venting hole in the backyard which has been left open for the last 7 years; and isn't meant to be like that, so he said he'd fix that too.  Gabe reckons it'll give the place a little more class and make it easier to sell too.  Also, he's happy that I've gotten out in the car a lot too - more than he realised I would. 
Then, while we were at lunch at a Turkish place at The Underwood Marketplace, he commented that he hadn't realised how trapped I had been without a car.  I said that before I began driving again, it would take me 4 - 5 hours to get one thing done; if I was lucky.  I'd have to catch the bus to where I was going, make sure I could do what I needed to do, or get what I could get, pay for delivery if needs be, and then catch a bus - or 2 - home.  By that time, it would be late afternoon and I'd only just beat the delivery of my item home... he shook his head not realising things took so long.  I said that with a car, I could get 4 or 5 things done in 3 hours and be home and have the afternoon to myself to wash up from the morning, pull in the laundry and pay the bills.  It made life so much easier.  And grocery shopping has been cut in half because I get my fruit and veggies on the way to Coles, and I'm home a bit after midday.

Before lunch, we were at IKEA.  Man!  I truly hate that place.  It's so full of crap and things we need - and yet don't - and then we all get lost on the way out that I don't go there very often.  This was first time in over 2 years I've been there and I nearly got lost twice.  Gabe and Kat were looking at buying a new lounge, but they have to measure their old one first as there were so many to pick from.  Then, I was there to chose a chair for my art area - one which is swivell and is on wheels for easy movement, and it doesn't take up much room.  Well, I found my chair and then, a new strainer for my washing up for my knives and forks.  Then, I found a small sifter that was perfect for when I make pizzas.  All up I spent around $35.00... not bad for a day out at a massive Danish furniture store full of crap I don't need.

Well, how was your Saturday?  All good I hope.  Mine was good and full of visitors, shopping and new things from IKEA.  But we had fun while we were there.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Foating Between Two Homes

I'm not home right now... well, I am, but I'm kinda floating between my place and my parents' house while something gets sorted out at my place with my neighbour's plumbing and their landlord.

This means being away from my lovely collection of books and my home for, well, I don't know how long.  So, by day, I'll be here at home but at night, I'm not.  I feel as though I'm homeless right now and it's crap that I can't be where I want to be - at home with all my stuff, my vinyls, books, art gear and where my food and everything.  

So, this means, I'm unable to read anything.  Yeah, I'm just visiting my house right now as though I'm a house sitting and nothing more; and yet I've lived here for over a decade and my neighbours have forced me to live somewhere else while their landlord makes me feel like dirt and horrible.  The body Corporate won't help me and now?... now, I want to move. I want to move away from here and to another place where people don't act like asshats and there's more space to move.  
I've already had a meltdown over the phone with my brother on the other end and he'd really pissed off about my situation and he has said he'll help me get out of here and get the place fixed up as much as we can.  But it's already done up... it's the plumbing next door we have to get the landlord to fix up and the place will be good enough to sell.

Right now, I have the great advantage of starting a lovely little business on Facebook and I'm stoked about it!  But at the same time I'm really down in the dumps and depressed about what's going on too.  I went out and did more shopping than I needed because I need food here at home and at Mum and Dad's place too.  This sucks big-time.  I hate my life.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Eleven Years

The day is coming to an end, the sun is making shadows pull long as its warmth shines still for this long Sunday afternoon.  And being the 8th, September, I in two minds in being here in this unit complex for this long.  

I wanted to move 5 years ago, but Dad wouldn't uproot me.  It was because he had only just bought the place, but now, it's been a while and even my brother thinks it's time for me to move from here.  But that's neither here nor there right now.

The Federal Election was yesterday and we now have a new Prime Minister to lead our country - not the one I voted for - but he's not exactly who anyone wants either and he's here for a bit.  I wonder what he's going to do to our way of living?  Guess we'll find out soon enough.

Today, I was up nice and early to go and get the paper and a bottle of milk.  I made pancakes, read some of the paper, and then hit the computer for a bit before I decided it was time to go out and see if I could get some business cards for my Crafty Pegs business; but Office Works was going to charge through the nose for something I had no control over.  Their site didn't exactly tell me to go and design on on picmonkey, ipiccy or Publisher or anything like that, it just expected people to know we had to do that... and the people instore were just as helpful too.  They thought I had one already to print up on my thumb drive; which I didn't.  I was back at square one.
So, I decided to get my butt out there again and work on buying a few things for my Crafty Pegs business.  I bought a few plain pencils to paint up, a receipt book and a journal to write down people's orders and addresses in.  
Then, I was off to Bunnings and looking for Dolly Pegs.  These are harder to find than a do-do bird.  I search there, then went to Big-W, the Choice Store and then thought to get itty-bitty pegs and little buckets for them, but was out of money by that time.  So, I came home with my little store of things for my business:  3 tubes of paint, a bulk-buy of spring-loaded pegs (from Bunnings), then a receipt book, a journal and 10 plain wood pencils to work on (from Office Works) and that was it... I was out of cash.  Oh well, I tried.  I'll have to wait until later this week to get more stuff; but mainly my new art cabinet from Sam's Warehouse.  I can't wait.  

I'm going to be busy this week.  There's my first sale tomorrow, then opening a bank account at my bank, then Craft Group, then, I come home.  Then, I'll off on Wednesday shopping for groceries and looking for Dolly Pegs.  Then, on Friday, I'm supposed to go to an art thing in the city and stay overnight at Geoff and Vivienne's house... but I don't know if I'll be out for that as this week will be busy as hell and they have a visitor staying there already and there's nowhere really for me to sleep.  So, I might not go to the art thing.  Anyway, I might just get my business cards on Friday and get myself some publicity and hand out cards at the Logan Art Gallery (if they'll let me do that).
So, how was your weekend?  All good I hope.  Well, until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here. 

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Just Quickly...

I was up nice and early today, stripping the bed, getting the laundry ready and hanging out my 2nd load by around 9am.  By 11am, I had my 4th load out and the first sheet pulled in to make space for the rest of the laundry on the line.

There were things to do, and I had been up since around 8am organising myself and making phone calls to get myself organised.  Phone calls because my next door neighbour's landlord has accused me of 'defamation of character' and that I should refrain from doing so.  I'm still hearing water hammer after 3 years of trying to get it fixed from the neighbour's side; without success.  So, I have been forced to call my plumber and ask him if he could help me by writing a report (again - because this has happened before) and get something done about the mixer taps next door from making a horrible noise through my pipes.

After the phone call and laundry was done, I found my computer's hard drive had crapped itself - again!  This is the 4th time it's done it.  I had to get it to repair itself and restart... knowing now I have to get a new 1 terrabyte hard drive next week - sooner than I expected.  So, I thought to go to Game Dude at Springwood and price one.  The guy told me to bring in my hard drive and he'd look at it; I said that I'll bring in the whole tower as I don't have a clue how to open my tower as it's brand new.  Well, he told me that he could get me one for $79!  How cool is that?  I'll be getting a new hard drive next week.
While I was out, I dropped into Mum and Dad's house to pick up two boxes I had left there while they were away - in the hope I'd be staying there while they were on holidays.  Unfortunately, with all the roadworks going on, I can't so I'm beginning to pick up my stuff and organise their house over the time left.  So, I picked up these two boxes and brought them home in readiness of getting my new cabinet for the art area.

On the way home, I dropped into Aunty Heather's place to see how she was doing after knee surgery and she's been doing well.  She has been going to physical therapy once a week and has a set of exercises to do at home as well.  She looks great too.  However, I stay a little long and she didn't tell me when her lunch time was.  We did chat about Mum and Dad on holidays and my last sms from them and had some laughs too.  She is in good spirits, and I did say that Mum would have my hide if I didn't visit her at least once or twice while she was away on holidays to see how she was doing. 

Anyway, I came home and organised a few things, saw the laundry hasn't dried yet and now, it's mid-afternoon, I had better go and have a look at it soon to pull it in before the dew settles.  I still have some work to get done on my Crafty Pegs order and then I'll see how many I can get done today.  I have 8 or so finished and once all 12 are finished up, it'll be time to spray-varnish them and deliver them early next week.  Well, until my next post, take care keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

A Busy Wednesday Morning

I'll start with yesterday; as it was busy too.  I decided around midday yesterday that it was time to get in and clean up the art area of my house.  It had gone on too long with me ignoring it and so I thought it was high time to get my lazy butt down to the back door and start cleaning it up, washing the floor and throw out the back door matt what was stuck - physically stuck! - to the floor!  
I did all that.  I pulled up the matt and found the black crap on the bottom on the matt had stuck to the lino and so I had to get on my hands and knees and scrub the floor with Ajax and hot water and steel wool to get most of it off before anything else; before I could do anything else.  It was exhausting!  But I felt good throwing out that old matt that had been there for so long!
Then, I emptied out the big black box that Dad had bought me as it had outlived its use.  It cleaned it up, wiped it down and put it in the back of the Pajero ready to take it to Mum and Dad's place.  I got in the car today and then drove straight there after checking the mail; taking Dennis Road.  I coasted along the street, taking my time, knowing there'd be roadworks and thought I might be able to get into their driveway.  However I was so wrong about that!  I found half of my folks' street dug up!  It was all being resurfaced between 37 and 41; so they took up the bituman and I couldn't get into their driveway.  So, I was stuck with the big box for an unknown amount of time.  This got me thinking while I was out and about looking at things:  Dad would only fill it with crap.  So, I was better off just giving it away to somebody or to a charity.
Well, while I was out, I went to the bank and pulled out $30 and then went on the hunt for a small card table.  I didn't want anything that was too expensive, just something I could use for my work station at home and fold up when I needed room for something else.  I tried Target, K-Mart, Big-W and then, thought to try out Bunnings.  And it was here I found my card table for $25!  What a great little bargain!  And doesn't it look great at the back door?  All that natural light to work by and that lamp to use when I have to work at night too.  Not a bad set-up so far.
When I arrived home - before I unpacked anything - I noticed that Paul Barrett (Ian's new flatmate) had been out to do some shopping.  So, I locked up the car and walked over to their place and offered up the box to them.  Ian was hesitant, but Paul thought it might be good to put some of his stuff into for storage and grabbed the measuring tape.  he came over, measured up the box and said it looked good, happily taking it off my hands.  I was grateful, saying that Dad would only fill it with crap and it was better he had it than my Dad.  He agreed that I was doing a good thing.
Now, next week, I'll have only the cabinet to get and then I'll be able to put all my stuff in the bags into it and have access all my paint, brushes and other stuff too.  The area will look and feel cleaner and better as well.  I can't wait to get it all done up and finished.  Well, until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm, and remember, I'm always here.  

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

A Lull In Plans

As I did a few weeks back, I have a lull in my plans.  This is purely a financial setback, but it'll be okay by next week.  
You see, I've got a week of doing nothing - well not nothing per say - but I'll be around the house for this week.  This will give me a chance to get this place looking and feeling better than it has done in a while. 

So, what I'm going to do is empty out the black box in the art area, and start tidying it up and readying it for the makeover I'm planning for it.  
I've spotted a cabinet at Sam's Warehouse for $70 and a card table for my Crafty Pegs work too.  So, I'll be able to clean up the art area next week and make my work area a proper work area for my small business.  I really need it tidied up so my lounge room does clean up better than it has done in the past, and I have a place to sit down and work.  It's going to be the most organised I'll be in a long time with my art work.

But for now, it's a waiting game until I have some money in the pocket.  And after the art bits are all done and put away and everything is sorted out, I'll have to wait a little longer before I can really get my finger out and start doing some serious work done on the garden again.  
However, I'm very happy with what I've accomplished with the things I've done so far.  Seeing I've had access to a car and I've been driving everywhere and doing what I've wanted - and it's saved me a lot of money - I've enjoyed being able to cart stuff home from places where I normally can't, and this is great.

It's only been two months and I've cleaned out my office, my bedroom, fixed up my front garden, tidied up my backyard and worked on some things in the kitchen and have my eye on a cabinet and table for my art area and opened a new small business on Facebook.  This may not seem much, but it all takes time, money and a lot of driving around; and I had no outside help, but it's been fun.

So, how are your projects going?  All great?  I hope so.  Mine are going well, a little behind schedule, I've had a few surprises, and I'm enjoying my time behind the wheel of the car.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Twenty-Four Hours

It's Father's Day, and a lot has happened in the last twenty-four hours that has made it a totally different day to what it was yesterday.  Yeah, I know that it's like this every day... each day isn't the same as the day before.  But before we get too philosophical about it, I want to tell you guys what happened to me yesterday; as it really did change my life.  

I went out driving.  I had a few things to get done, pick up and drop off, then I had to check on Mum and Dad's house before I went to the Kingston Butter Factory to see if I could get my Crafty Pegs sold in their shop there.  Seeing my Aunty Lu has two large sections of their store with her craft gear, and she's seen my pegs, she suggested I try their store out.  Even the Logan Art Gallery suggested them.  However the lady who oversaw the craft items sold said no.  She gave me some bull-crap story about the 'economic climate' and that anyone could paint up the pegs.  I told her that it took me 3 hours to do 4 pegs.  She didn't believe me; so I took my nicely wrapped pegs home, unsuccessful in my attempt in selling them.
I was depressed, sad and seriously bummed-out that I hadn't been able to sell anything.  And what really got up my nose was that the lady at the Butter Factory had told me that the weekend markets would be a better place for my pegs.  However, the renting of the stall alone would kill off my prophets and I would never break even.  So, I was back at square one again without even trying.
When I arrived home, I had a headache, it was hot, and I jumped online to tell my friends on Facebook how my day went... I don't often put up anything about how I'm feeling, but this time I did.  Then, one of my friends - a writer - suggested I start a business online with Facebook.  So, I did!  It was so simple!  I created a photo album of the pegs and invited all my friends to 'like' my page and so far, there's 16 likes and 17 people talking about my product!  

This is so very cool!  

And I haven't sold anything yet!

I am back to painting pegs again just last night as my Tennis Elbow has settled enough to let me hold something in my right hand.  I've got 3 set of pegs ready to sell, one of my friends has hinted that her Mum's birthday is coming up and she likes pastel colour (so I'll be starting on those tonight) and then there's another 2 dozen pegs that are varnished and 1 dozen that aren't.  Phew!  I'm ahead of myself, but then, I have to be right now.  So, if I keep myself ahead of schedule, I'll have enough pegs painted and ready for whoever wants them.

Now, it's been a little over 12 hours since I created Mozette's Crafty Pegs on Facebook and I'm stoked!  I've been accepted by people and I didn't have to leave my home to do it!  And I didn't have anyone making lame-arse excuses about 'economic climates' or that my pegs are 'too crafty' to be sold.  I'm doing this my way and people like my work.

And like I said, it's Father's Day.  I think my Dad would be downright proud of me for not taking no for an answer and digging my business heels in doing what I know is right - and that is going ahead and being the best I know I can be.  So, Happy Father's Day, Dad.  I've begun a small business of my own and it started 24 hours ago.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.