Tuesday, April 29, 2014

New Beginnings

Yep... it's all a new beginnings for me since Dad bought me Little Green Machine.  There's been a lot of fun being had by me this week so far; and I haven't had her a week yet.  

On Saturday, I was out all day, driving around Logan City.  I drove to Holmeview MacDonalds to meet up with friends and have something to eat and drink.  They were stoked I had my own set of wheels and that she looked so pretty; as I had plenty of photos of her on my camera.
Then, it was time to leave and we were off to the Logan Art Gallery.  But I was an hour early.  So, I went to Logan Central Plaza to pick up a few things to eat.  Now, this was my first time parking my little green car in a parking lot... and from experience, I didn't want to lose her.  
Years ago, when I had my 1981 Toyota Celica, I recall parking it in the carpark behind my folks' house and promptly losing it almost immediately!  It was the first time I had parked it in a carpark and so I didn't know what to expect seeing there were so many cars there.  And so, I had spent over an hour walking around the carpark before security personnel asked me if I was okay... then I told them I had lost my car, you know, parked it and forgot where I parked it.  The guys were really good about it... and we could laugh about it when we did find my car.  But I never forgot how horrible I felt when I couldn't remember where my car was.  So, I had to start remembering landmarks in the carparks; it just makes it easier for me to find my car.
Well, it was the same deal with my Little Green Machine... I parked her in a very easy place to find her, locked her up and made sure I knew where to find her and walked to where I needed to be.  Soon after, I was back there and found her.  I also had found out that Woodys' Music was closing down in July!  Bugger!  Now, I'll have to find another place to get in my 'Supernatural' Seasons 9 and 10.  
At the Logan Art Gallery, I was on my own for the afternoon.  My partner in crime who was supposed to be there couldn't be because he was looking after his Mum who had just gotten out of hospital... well, I don't blame him, and really I wouldn't leave my Mum at home on her own either.  
Anyway, we had a concert for our once a month 'Music in the Gallery' session of Adam O'Connor.  He's a guitarist who was brilliant.  He also had a flautist, singer and pianist who played with him as well while people sat and listened; and he had a cd he was selling at the front desk for $10 each.  He sold two of them - one I bought and the other Jillian bought - and I've burnt a copy for Mum and Dad because I thought they'd like it.  

Then, on Sunday, I had the Creative Markets; which was slow.  I sold nothing... in fact, nobody really sold anything during the day.  People walked past and looked, said things were pretty and walked out.  I had a 10 year old ask to see all the Itty-Bitty Jugs and then walk away with a snide grin on her face, not wanting to buy any of them.  Her Mum caught up with her telling her to stop doing that to the retailers and apologised to me, and I said I wanted to hear the apology from her daughter not her... and the kid just stood there smiling.  Grrrr!  She just didn't show any remorse for anything she had done. I knew there'd be kids like this out there, but man, what kind of person will this child grow into if she's like this now?

Anyway, I got myself an early night after we all packed up 15 minutes early.  None of us made any money - and blamed it on the long weekend.  We knew it was because our regular customers were on holidays.

Monday was a busy day for me.  Dad got me to arrive at their place earlier than I usually do to get the car out and about to buy some things for it.  He bought me windscreen wipers - because the ones it had were stiff and old - and a dashboard matt, which came from Supercheap.  Before that, we took the car in to get a quote on getting the back window tint fixed up.  Anyway, we got everything we needed for now before I took off to my craft group for the afternoon.

Today, I went out to get a few little things for myself - mainly stuff I forgot at the shop last Wednesday - and to see about getting a few things for the car from K-Mart.  I found myself a nice plastic toolbox for the boot where I could put all the stuff that's rolling around the boot into it, and it fits, well and doesn't move around.  Then, I paid off some of a layby at Woodys' (an AC/DC vinyl of 'Back in Black') and I was off to Coles to get some supplies for myself and tomorrow night before returning home and jumping onto here to check my mail and other stuff.

Yep, my little car is settling into my life well... it's easy to drive, easy to park and once it gets going, it's easy to just keep going.  A sweet little green ride, I love my car.  Dad is happy that I'm taking care of it too.  Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember I'm always here.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

At The Movies: 'A Room With A View'

Lucy Honeychurch is touring around Florence with her older - and supposedly wiser - cousin, Charlotte to expand her experiences, her mind and to be 'a woman of the world' before she is expected to settled down with a man to look after her and marry him.  Things are going wrong at every turn, starting with their room.  It was supposed to be south-facing with a view, but it was north-facing without a view.  So, when George Emerson and his father offer up their room in exchange, Lucy is quick to accept, but her cousin isn't; thinking it's rude.
Introducing Mr Beeb - the pastor to be from their home of Summer Street in the UK - who mediated for them to have the rooms changed over quickly and easily, explaining the mix-up of how things were taken.
After this rather embarrassing evening, the gorgeous morning that follows is something to blot out their worries, and Lucy and her cousin go forth and venture out into the streets of Florence to be tourists.  During their day, they run into people staying at their hotel.  There's Eleanor Lavish - a writer who takes in her surroundings and reproduces it in her books.  There's two elderly sisters who have never married but travel everywhere together around the world.  And then, there's Mr Emerson and his son, George who wander around the lovely churches and squares of Florence.  
However, George is a very quiet, reserved man who is quite taken by Lucy.  It's all in how he looks at her from across the dinner table, how he watches her walk through the church during the day and on the outing a few of them take a few days later when he finally takes Lucy into his arms on a hillside and kisses her, fully, without holding back and intensely that shows Lucy that he wants her.  But Charlotte takes that very bold move of his the wrong way (of course) and rushes Lucy back to England, forcing George to away from the woman he has fallen for completely.
Once back at Summer Street, Lucy is quickly courted by a very unusual man called Cecil.  He starts out being a nice man who appears to be able to care for Lucy... however as time goes by, it's evident that he's unable to show any emotion to her unless they're behind closed doors.  He cringes when people talk, hates humourous music and songs and won't play any sports.  Cecil is basically a man who is nothing more than a lazy person who is living off the money his parents have made, and he refuses to go out and work.
Then, George and his father show up at a villa not far from the local church.  It appears that Cecil met them in London and organised their whole move to Summer Street behind Lucy's back; having no intention of telling her, and Lucy's brother, gets along with George famously.  About a week after the Emerson's settle in, George is invited to play tennis at Lucy's house; and this is where he makes a move on her in front of Cecil - who doesn't seem to even notice he's done it!
Right here is where the lies start.  Lucy lies to George first... then she lies to Cecil (breaking up with him in the process).  Then, when Charlotte comes to visit, Lucy lies to her, then her mother and finally young Lucy lies to the two elderly sisters she met on the trip to Italy.  And nobody sees through her lies - well, the two older ladies do, but then, you'd expect them to.  The only person Lucy has kept on lying to the whole time is herself ... about how much she loves George.  So, exactly what she does next is admit it to herself and everyone around her what they all knew in the first place....

For a 1986 movie based just before World War I, this movie was brilliantly cast.  I love the cinematography and how well done it is.  And talk about opera!  The music in the film is wonderful too! Well, there's my Saturday night at the movies... how was yours?

Friday, April 25, 2014

I Have A New Car!

This week was going to be busy... really busy... and Wednesday and yesterday turned out to be a lot busier than I expected.

On Wednesday, I did my grocery shopping, arrived home, and just settled in to surf the net for a little while when I received a phone call from Mum and Dad (just when I was wondering where they were) and they said they have found a car that looks like me... hehe... well you guys know what I mean when parents say that.

Anyway, I said I'd be ready in a bit and Dad picked me up about twenty minutes later and took me there.  On the way, he started talking at me about money, finances, insurance, registration... jeez, I hadn't even seen the car yet and he was badgering me already.  I said to settle down and let me look at the car and we'd see how it goes.  He was convince, though, that it was the car for me.

And, you know something?  Dad was right.  On Wednesday, he put down a deposit and yesterday, we picked up my little green machine... she's a sweet car.  It's registered in my name and insured too.  Now, it's a great little thing and I love it.  I have been putting money away for it into a bank account, and will be putting away more as time goes by.  I'm hoping to have this car running well.  

Dad's worried that I won't care for it, but Mum thinks I will.  This car isn't like my first one where it ran really badly.  This car is something I will take pride in more because it's better.  It's a 2000 model Holden Astra... a green one.  It's such a pretty thing too.  I love it.  It's the same colour as Mum's Pajero.  But the places I will go in it will be great seeing it's a 4 cylinder... and it'll be good on the hip pocket when it comes to petrol.  
And that's another thing with Dad.  He's worried I won't have the money to run the car.  But when I was driving the Pajero, it was a 6 cylinder; and that thing drank petrol like water!  I worked its filling up time in with my fortnightly budget and shopping day.  I had to get Mum to put some money into it when she borrowed it off me and drove it because it would really bite when I found it had less in it than I expected on the days I needed it and had to use my car account to fill it on those days.  Anyway, now I have this little sweet car, it should be good to drive, a sinch to run and drive and really lovely to get around in.  Oh!  And here's a few photos of her my Little Green Machine! 

My Little Green Machine 

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

Monday, April 21, 2014

Four-Day Weekend

These weekends come along only once in a while.  However, we have two long weekends within a week of each other this month; and people are going to go stir crazy about them - I just know it.  And if it's not the Easter Long Weekend that hasn't made people go bugshit it's going to be next weekend.

So, it looks like I'll have to have the car packed and ready for the markets totally by Friday night just in case the neighbours have a 3 day party over the weekend (and you know, I wouldn't put it past them).

This weekend just gone, I've had a nice quiet Good Friday where I worked hard on some coathangers and prepared my pegs for varnishing in the boxes.  On Saturday, it was Saturday Night at the movies for me, and I watched 'A Knight's Tale' on dvd.  A great film and I love it!  This kind of film doesn't age and has some great humour in it.  I did a review of it below.
Also on Saturday, I received a phone call from Riley asking if I could be at Mum and Dad's place as she wanted me in a movie she was shooting for and about family.  It's so good she loves her arts academy and work.  Before long, they were off to the Blues'n'Roots Festival down the coast and I was off home.

Sunday was Easter Sunday and I dropped around to my folk's house for morning tea and to drop off their Easter pressie of an Italian Cookbook for Australian kitchens.  Well, seeing Mum and Dad loved the food in Italy when they were over there last, it was pure fate to have found this book when I did.  I was hoping to keep it for myself but there were no vegetarian dishes in it... so it was kept for my folks.  

Today, I dropped the Pajero over to their place to have driver's side window looked at by Dad and so I thought to leave the car there today so he could work on it for two days instead of one.  Before I left, Gabe and Riley returned to pick up the dog and we all hung out for about an hour and I was dropped home.

I still have work to do with the Creative Markets.  There's two coathangers finished with two more to be completed before I varnish them all, wrap them up and add them to the rest of the stock.  Then, there's the rest of this busy week.  *Phew!*  What a week I have ahead of me!  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Saturday Night At the Movies: 'A Knight's Tale'

William Thatcher wanted to be a great person, but being born poor meant he wasn't allowed certain things - certain privileges - that rich people automatically had.  He had to fight harder to get where he wanted and what he wanted in the world.  And so, when his father organised for him to go traveling around with a Knight at the tender age of around 7 years old, William left home to 'change his stars'.  
Twelve years later, William had taken over the riding of his employer's horse, his name and was working under false papers to win Jousting Tornaments around Europe, Paris and London with his rag-tag team of friends.  However, it was the trip home to London that would undo his hard work in the Tornaments; as he had earned himself a reputation, an enemy and the heart of a gorgeous Princess - Joselyn - who he was willing to put everything on the line for to stop being a liar, and earn the Knighthood he so badly wanted. 

I love Heath Ledger.  He's one of the greats who died too soon - aged 27.  And yet, he held his own place in a movie like this in so many ways.  

Australian actors find it hard to make their place in movies that make it big on the silver screen; but Heath Ledger - playing William Thatcher, a peasant from Cheapside, London - really made this movie great.  

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Easter Long Weekend

Tomorrow is Good Friday and there's plenty to do as I ready my presents for my family.  As I posted earlier last month, I'm not giving chocolate to anyone this year, instead I'm giving plants or presents to them.  So, Mum and Dad are getting an Italian Cookbook I thought they'd love (as Dad loves his meat), my brother and his partner are getting a plant I've got in the garden and Riley, my niece, is getting a gorgeous pendant I bought at Brunswick Heads over Christmas.  

Now, I normally give chocolate, but after finding exactly how much Palm Oil we all do use in our lives, I think it wasn't right to give the milk chocolate eggs and stuffs I normally gave.  And when I bought the dark chocolate goodies for myself, I read all the ingredients on the packaging and made sure the ingredients were right... and they were.  

I'm hoping to go to my parent's house tomorrow or Sunday and give them their Easter pressies.  I hope they love it.  By then, they'll have Jay the Wonderdog there... yes, Kat and Gabe's dog there. I hope to see this wonderful woofy as I haven't seen her in a long time.

Well, today is going to be busy - unlike the rest of the week.  I thought this week was going to be busy, but it wasn't.  So I stayed home, read a bit, wrote a bit and basically just hung around the house enjoying the Lunar Eclipse and doing a few things around here.  Otherwise, this Saturday, I'll be varnishing what I've done, cleaning up the craft area and putting everything away and then, I'll make sure it's all ready for the markets on 27th, April.  Next week, is my week off from working - as usual.  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here. 

Monday, April 14, 2014

Busy Week Ahead

My weekend was tiring after Saturday.  I had a friend over on Sunday morning for breakfast - he had hadn't seen me in a long time - and so I got to eat with somebody instead of just scoffing into my pancakes on my own and reading the paper over my kitchen table.

It's lovely when that happens, isn't it?

I spent Sunday reading a bit, cleaning up and working on a few things around the house.  Then, I watched a bit of 'Supernatural' Season 8 and went to bed at 9:30pm.  Yeah, I was tired from being a nightowl with the Saturday night movie, then stupidly being on Facebook for about 3 hours.  So, it was catch-up time for me.

Anyway, I slept wonderfully well last night and woke to a dull, cold day this morning.  I was going out this afternoon and got up to get ready for it.  However, I forgot a lot of things and wished I had stayed home in the end... as I forgot my purse which had money in it for my craft group.  I forgot my drink container for my milk drink and I forgot a few other things that would have made my day better... and when I arrived home, there was the bag with all the gear that I needed hanging off the chair by the door to the car port!  Grrr... I was so mad at myself for forgetting it.  But then, what can ya do?

It's been raining here and cooling down; so Autumn is most definitely here in Australia.  And with the Tropical Cyclone Ita being her destructive best in Far North Queensland, I'm sure we in for a lot more rain soon; along with cooler days.  
My week is looking kind of busy this week.  Tomorrow I won't have the car as mum has Mah Jong and will need it.  This will give me time to do a few things in my car port - namely get some pegs varnished and wrapped up ready to be sold.  Otherwise, I'll be hoping to repack the stores box and stock box this week to.  I don't want to be rushing through things next week as it's going to be a busier week than this week.  So, what are you up to this school holidays - or what's left of them?  Chilling out or on the go?  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

At The Movies: Amadeus

I've decided to do something on a regular basis.  Yep, I'm going to have movie night.  I have a massive collection of movies at my disposal.  They're all in an index book in alphabetical order, so why not watch them one by one each Saturday Night?  Sounds good, eh?  And the best thing is that I'll be able to see a different movie each Saturday without any re-runs... without any ad-breaks and in the privacy of my own home.

Yeah, sounds like a good plan to me too.

Tonight, it was 'Amadeus': The Director's Cut.  Yes, there's one.  It was put out when the film hit the 30 year mark, and I snapped it up!  The film was made in 1984 and starred some great people.  The version I have is a 2-disk set and I watched special features too.  This whole movie is almost 3 hours long, is full of sex, love affairs, God, hatred, jealousy and spreading rumours... and all this from one man who carried a hatred for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart so strongly, he had a plan to kill him through making sure he gave him a commission he knew Mozart couldn't finish.  What a film!  I loved the director's cut of this film... it had so much in it, and I don't know why they cut so much of it out; when quite a bit of it didn't make sense once they did.  Okay, Mozart's wife didn't like Salieri, and her dislike of him is evident, but exactly why she hates him so much isn't; not until I saw the director's cut.

This film's music score is fantastic.  I love the music of W.A. Mozart as it just fills me with such joy and love as it cresendos from the lows and takes me on the journey throughout the piece without stopping, without pause, without leaving my side... as though he's taken my hand and led me along a path and is showing me the way to see his music, not just listen to it.  However, using the music as a muse in the film and Prague as the backdrop to fuel the emotions of the whole thing; well, it was fantastic... pure genius.  And it takes me as a viewer on a journey I will never forget.  Even now, I have the music score resonating through my head and it's been over half an hour after I've put the dvd away... it's become it's own ear worm and I don't think I'll forget it tomorrow either.

'Amadeus' has become a classic film in its own right; as it's won 8 Academy Awards.  And if you haven't seen it - in particular the Director's Cut - do go out and rent this dvd.  Even if you're not really into classical music, opera or orchestral music, the story of this man's life will definitely pull you in... and maybe make you a fan of Mozart's.  And I'm not a fan because of movie.  I've been listening to W.A Mozart since I was around 10 years old when my Grandpa first put his music on the radio and I asked who it was, and he told me that Mozart was the best composer in the world.

Over recent years, research has shown that Mozart didn't die from the result of being murdered by Antonio Salieri.  Instead, he died from Strep; which was something that was common in the late 18th Century amongst men under 40.  There's more research to say that he may have had other medical conditions that may have come back on him that he had when he was a child - however that's all something that people across the world have theories about but have yet to be proven or not.  But the more research I do, about Mozart's death and how he died, the more it all seems to go in circles and goes nowhere.  I do have two books about him, and I am determined to read them and find out the full truth about how he lived, worked and died... then I'll come back here and tell you all how it happened - once and for all.  Otherwise, I do recommend enjoying this movie by all means.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Busy Friday

I had a busy day, but I didn't rush around like I normally do.  It was going to be a hot day, so I took my time getting places and did my thing, stuck to the speed limit and just got home whenever I ended up home.

However, this did mean that I was running around in the car like I was on a scavenger hunt for a good part of my day... which was unusual.  So long the end of my 'hunt' ended up back at my place, well, that's all I cared about.
Anyway, I had an appointment at my optometrist's to look into getting myself a pair of occupational/work glasses for when I do my close-up work with Crafty Pegs; as my reading glasses weren't cutting it, and I'm beginning to get headaches, tired eyes and feeling really tired within myself when I've been working on my craft for long periods of time.  This is something that isn't good for my eyes; and Graeme even said that it can lead to my eyesight worsening more than it should be over a shorter length of time.  And seeing my eyesight is in pretty good nick, we don't want me straining my eyes too much.  So, today, I scored myself two free pairs of glasses; one for reading and one for up-close work.  I stayed with my usual, lovely purple/green frames for my reading glasses (as I love them) and picked out a cool lot of frames for my craft work/up close work.  They'll look totally different from each other so I won't confuse them and the craft glasses will be kept at my craft area too, so I'm not carting them around the place.

Well, the car got some cheap petrol in it, I checked the mail, ordered in a book at QBD and found a piece of Royal Doltan at David Jones that Mum broke for half price that I'll buy for her for Easter.  Then, I was off to Bunnings where I tried to find a piece of pipe for a teapot I've got that drips... but it was the wrong size.  So, I'm back to square one with that. 
But never to fear, I found a few fun things to use from there for my Crafty Pegs market.  I picked up a proper peg basket I can put my pegs in to sell and 24 metres of white clothes line to string around my stall.  I'll hang my pegs on it and put Christmas Cards, business cards, Birthday Cards and Postcards on it, to give people ideas of what they can do with the clothes pegs.  I also have to write up some lists to put with the Magna-Pegs, but that'll come with a bit of time.

Before long, I was home.  I found that the kids around the place had been playing in my car port but they were no longer around.  I really don't mind school holidays, but parents around unit complexes really should have some idea what to do with their children during this time.  And they should be telling them to not interfere with anyone's houses while they're out.  I know that makes me sound fussy.  But I've got two cabinets at the back of my car port and if any kids pull them down on themselves while I'm not around, it's not my fault they were there and I wasn't; and not my responsibility.  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Mah Jong Tuesday

Today, it was Mah Jong Tuesday for Mum... so while Dad's car was in getting something done, she took Green Beastie to her destination for the day.  This gave me a chance to get in and do some serious cleaning up around the place.

At around 8am, I put on the laundry and hung it out.  However, by around midday, the weather was still cold, it looked like rain and I wasn't confident that any of it was going to dry properly.  So, I brought it all in, sorted out what was dry, and hung up the rest that was damp on my very cool, big clothes horse.  

Once that was done, I pulled everything out of the pantry - shelf by shelf - and sorted through all the food and threw out anything that was either expired or looked like it wasn't edible.  Before putting it all back, I cleaned the shelves and reorganised where it all went.  This took me about an hour and half and I filled two rubbish bags and took them out to the bin.  I then washed the kitchen floor and started on the lounge room by pulling out one of the drawers in one of the china cabinets and pulling everything in and putting all on the kitchen table.  Man!  Talk about messy!  I grabbed a few zip-lock bags and put some picture-hanging stuff into one and other things into another and found I had more space than I knew what to do with by the time it was all organised.  

The coffee table was next and I grabbed a rubbish bag and threw everything that was actually rubbish into the bag.  Picked up an ice cream container and put all the clothes pegs I hadn't put together into that and put all the things that needed to go upstairs into a 'green' synthetic bag.  
I had picked up a really nice basket to use on the coffee table for my coasters, remote controls and hand cream and put all of those things in it as I cleared off the table of all the junk, used a spray'n'wipe stuff on it and then put everything back.  I then cleaned up the heatproof plate that I use for my teapot completely before putting it on top of the notebooks on the corner.  The coffee table look a lot better than it used to.

I started on the lounge and cleared off more than I thought I was going to and filled up another two rubbish bags and put them out into the bin before I folded up the kitchen towels and took some clothes upstairs and put them away in the wardrobe.  I came back downstairs and looked through my dvd index book and made sure I had kept it updated with names, but I hadn't.  So, I found the tv shows and dvds I bought over the last year or so and wrote them in the right places and put them back in their right places.

By this time, it was almost 3pm.  I had spent 3 hours cleaning out, decluttering and filling up my wheelie bin outside - thank the Gods tonight is bin night!  I then went out the front of my place, sat down and did some writing before I noticed the shrubs in my front garden were in bad need of a trim.  So much for an afternoon of writing... I got up, packed up - after chatting with one of my neighbours - and trimmed the shrubs, removed some stakes from one of them and found it could stand up on its own with just one stake in, then tossed the rubbish trimmings in the green bins up the back of the complex before asking my neighbour if she'd like to see my garden (as she commented on how nice my front garden was).  
She was amazed at how lovely my garden was and asked if it was hard to keep it looking good.  I told her that most of the plants were low-maintenance plants, and I more or less ignored them, watering them once or twice a week, then they grew.  I'd only notice they'd flower in Summer.  She thought growing a garden was hard, but seeing how nice my garden is, it's not really that bad or hard, it just takes time to find the right plants for the garden.  She even let me look at the plants in her front yard and I told her that the last people who planted them were pretty good, choosing plants that low-maintenance and hardy. 

The next thing I knew, it was around 4pm and Dad picked me up to go and get his car, then I drove home.  It's been a long, busy day of laundry, cleaning, and filling up the bin for collection tomorrow.  And tomorrow for me is my grocery shopping day; which in itself is going to be a full day out for me.  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Friday, April 4, 2014

It's Friday!

Everyone loves Friday.  I love Friday.  There's so much to do on a weekend, and yet so little.  And this weekend, I want to get my pegs worked on again, so much so that I'll have a lot more stock to put out at the end of the month.

However, there'll be a bit of housework... not much, just a bit of vacuuming, dusting and washing the kitchen floor - you know, the basics, before I even consider getting into working on my Crafty Pegs.  I also want to work on Chapter Two of my new book and the last few chapters of my Fry Nelson trilogy... and finish that off before I start looking at book one of that to edit it and fix it up.

But it doesn't mean I haven't been busy this week.  I've been out and about mainly working on my garden, and have bought myself something to help with my physical fitness.  I bought a set of weights - 1kg, 1.5kg and 2kg - that are to start me off on the road to building up my arm muscles and core muscles again.  I know I'm not going to be exactly like I used to be in my 20's, but I'm going to try to get myself to a point where I can pick up heavy items without feeling as though they weigh more than they really do.

Anyway, that was on Wednesday - my really busy day of the week.  Today, I was out and about looking at new things I could do with my stall.  However, I found that I have enough things to work on with it.  Even Mum said to not do too much with my work, unless somebody asks me to.  I am working on trying to get the coathanger to be personalised with writing on them... and hopefully, they'll look good once I get into the swing of doing them.  Otherwise, things are going well.

I was looking for my photos from my childhood for the last week, and just the other day, I found them all!  So, I picked up all my autobiographical stuff and put it into a briefcase I had from when I was working.  I don't want to lose this stuff again.  But then again, I want to organise this briefcase a lot better than it is now so I can work on my life better too.  This will take time.

And speaking of organising... I still have a few things to sort out with my decluttering for the year.  The living room is going well as I've put away all the Christmas and Halloween gear into their proper boxes and looked for my Peace Flags at the same time (without success) and then, I have moved all my tea pots from the credenza to the place where the halloween stuff used to sit.  Yep, I'm trying to make more room on the credenza so it looks better, and cleaner, and I don't have to dust so much.  But honestly, I want to do something with my bathroom... it looks okay, I guess, but I want to do something with it where it has more personality as it looks a little like I'm staying at a hotel, rather than my own home.  Still gotta think about what I want to put in that room.  Sure, it's got a few things that make it purely mine, but I want to put in some touches that say it's mine completely... it just seems a little dull.

So, what have you been up to that has kept you busy this week?  A lot around the house, around town and around your life?  Or have you had a slower week - if it's the latter, lucky you!  I did have a few problems later in the week involving my cousin, who took something I said on facebook the wrong way... but then, you can't please everyone, and you can't always help the people you hope to help in your life.  Well, I hope my cousin feels better in herself soon, not because it'll make me feel better.  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Wednesday Busyness

This morning, you'd swear I was on a mission... a true mission!  I was out of bed before 8am, had a nice hot shower and washed my hair and dressed by around 8:20am and then put on the first load of laundry of towels just as I got my breakfast ready and opened the house up.

Then, after I put out the towels and the hand-washing, I finished my toast and paid the phone bill and got myself ready to go out.  I had my list of things to get done and then I was out the door just as the rubbish truck was coming through the gate out the front.  So, I pulled the Pajero around in front of my neighbour's house so I didn't get stuck face to face with a big J J Richard's truck halfway through this place, and waited for them to come through... but they didn't.  Instead, they backed out and drove away.
So, I spent a little time reporting this to the right people and then took off on my errands around the place.  I had to go to A-Mart All-Sports to suss out some hand-weights.  I want to get my lazy muscle back into some kind of working form again; as I don't feel or look as good as I could.  Besides, I have 'tuckshop arms'... oh, yuk!  These are things I promised myself I'd never have, and now I do!  So, I'm not going to let my body go any further into the lazy muscle stage, it's going to be worked on ... I bought myself a nice box of hand weights which add up to 10kg... there's a piece of paper inside where it tells you how to get started and I can work on my arms now, and when I graduated from this stage, I can hand them onto Mum and Dad; and they can use them.

Then, I was off to the bank to deposit the cash I raised for the Lukaemia Foundation.  I have to post off the book to them - and I'll be doing that tomorrow.  And then, I went to Bunnings and found a nice little plant to pot into the large half-pot one of my neighbours gave me.  And it looks just so pretty.  It's a succulent and flowers from Spring through to Autumn, and is just green in Winter.  It's self-seeding and so I can keep and eye on it through that time and it flows over the edge of the pot, so it looks lovely and it attracts butterflies to the garden - which is a plus!

Once I was home, I potted the plant, unpacked the weights and organised myself.  I'll be doing a lot more stuff over the next few days.  I have to keep working on a few things and get my butt into gear for the weekend... I really need to put away laundry, find some photos, and my Peace Flags.  Otherwise, I'm okay with the house work for now.  How's your week going?  Busy, busy, like me?  Or just average?  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Autumn Days Have Arrived

I woke this morning to my alarm and looked outside at the dawning day to find that I didn't want to get out of bed.  Nope... it was still dark, so I snuggled under the covers more and went back to sleep.

The 7am alarm went off and I really didn't want to get up... but tried, and failed... until half and hour later, I didn't have a choice.  I rolled out of bed and looked outside at what was going to be a lovely, hot sunny day. 

This meant I could do all my laundry.  Yay!

So, I grabbed the sheets off the bed, all the towels and laundry sitting around and put on the first load of sheets and made myself breakfast as I organised what I was going to do today... which was supposed to be housework.

Instead, I've been stuffing around on here on the net.  Oh yay... the promises we break on ourselves, eh?

Well, I got all 3 loads of laundry out and potted up a small half-pot and hung it onto a post in my garden, and then made myself a drink and jumped online.  Facebook wasn't working, so I ignored it for about an hour and found that it was slow... it does that sometimes, but I really wanted to see how my Crafty Pegs page was going.

Then, I Googled A-Mart All Sports at Underwood and sussed out a set of hand weights there... and found a sweet set of hand weights for $50!  They come in their own hard case and look good.  I'll swing by there tomorrow and look at them.  However if they're not good enough, I'll look at others that are more my speed.  
I've also gotta go out and do some banking and buy a plant for the halfpot I have for my yard.  Now it's stopped raining long enough, I'll be able to work on the garden more - and also it's coming into Winter, I'll be able to repot my plants again.  So, I'll be looking for pots for some plants I have to separate and get more potting mix to backfill other plants to make them look and feel fresher.

Otherwise, the garden is really looking good right now.  The lawn hasn't looked better since I began feeding it with budgie seed and lawn food.  However I'm looking forward at saving up for some park benches to give my backyard a nice homey feel to it... and I'll be able to work more on getting more plants hanging off the fences in pots as well as plaques.  This is all long-term projects, of course.

Anyway, that's about all there is for this month to do.  Dad and I have to keep looking for a car.  We've decided to not go back to the auction yards as they seem to recycle the cars that have been sold because the owners aren't happy with the prices the cars are being sold at.  But he doesn't remember us agreeing on this.  Anyway, it looks like we'll be working on looking at other car yards further afield.  

The Creative Markets went off well.  I had a good time there, despite the weather being humid, dull and wet.  And the public weren't put off by that either, showing up in droves.  I made a lot of my money within the last 2 hours of the markets - as usual - and have been given a cool nickname: The Peg Lady.  I love it as it's so cute.  Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.