Tuesday, September 30, 2014

A Busy Month of Hayfever

This month, hayfever struck me down like you wouldn't believe.  Normally, it doesn't, but this year, it did!  I've never had so much of it since high school; and I hated it - and I still do.

Anyway, I also got a lot done as well, helped celebrated my Mum's 65th birthday, Mum and Dad's 45th Wedding Anniversary and my 41st birthday (the last two on the same day because everyone is going to be busy on the actual day of my birthday).  

I also got myself to the Mama Mia Mini-Markets at Murarrie where I made more money than I have ever made at the Creative Markets at Springwood.  Then, on the way home, I made the tough decision of leaving those first markets I went to try out selling my Crafty Pegs to the public.  It was difficult trying to not come across ungrateful, but in reality, the rent was too high and I didn't sell enough to cover it and make a profit.  
However, I've been offered other markets and I'm taking them on!  So, where one door closes, another two have opened for me.  How cool is that?  And, you know?  I don't mind the distance to drive, I really don't.  I actually enjoy driving my car, it's a pleasure to get behind the wheel and put on the cruise control on the highways and let the car just do its thing when there's not many people on the road.  And even when there is a lot on the road, I have air-conditioning... yeah, thank the Gods for that!

Well, I've been working hard on new products, a new website and I'm saving up for new things around the Crafty Pegs workstation too.  I'm hoping to get myself a whole new workspace.  What I'm planning on getting is a large work bench - a tall one - where I can store all my stores and stock boxes underneath it and have shelves on the wall where I can keep paint, brushes and other things until I need to use them.  Then, have a stool to sit on - and stand up if I need or want to - and it can scoot under the whole bench and keep out of the way.  I'll be getting rid of the bookcase and the green card table will be used at the markets and I'll give Mum and Dad the brown one for the coast (or even give that brown one to Gabe and Kat if they want it).  Well, that's the plan anyway.

In the last week or so, I've done the grocery shopping, checked the tyres on the car, scored some cheap fuel and I also went to Garden City and scored myself a very cool bag at StrandBags with a $30 voucher I got for my birthday from Graham Love... I did had a bit of money to it to pay for the lovely bag I had spotted online and it was mine!  And what a pretty bag it is!  It's a large tote bag made from polyurethane and I paid $39 down from almost $100... now, how cool is that?  I've been using it every day and I love it!  It has so much space and I can fit in my bag organiser in it too.

Well, today is the last day of September.  I've done a few things that have really made my month special.  I've read a book - yay, I did it! - and I wrote a review on My Reading List for it.  Then, I jumped in and did up some of the photo frames (and there's around 8 of them almost ready to be varnished and wrapped - but not yet, I've got some coat hangers I have to get done for the markets yet).  And then, I wrote two chapters of my 'Angel Love' book, and it's really kicking along!  I'm hoping to finish it soon as the plot is starting to really thicken!  I'm hoping it works out well with a bit of arse-kicking from all angles and good vs evil with a bit of winning from all aspects and losing out in just the right places.  But I'm tellin' ya, I'm exhausted... this month is a short one... with my birthday coming up, Halloween, and a new market I'm hoping to make some money at soon too, this new part of my Crafty Pegs hobby business is going to take me in a whole new direction.  It will take time to get all my ducks in the row I want them in, but being the kind of person I am, I'll have the patience to make this work.

And in between all of this, I'll be working on other personal stuff... like my Great-Grandmother's sewing machine.  Yep, it's about time I got my hands on that and worked on it.  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here. 

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

I Got Lost...

Yep... I got lost at the new and supposedly improved Westfield Garden City.  First off, I had to fight for a parking spot... a woman walked to where her car was parked (telling me she was leaving first, so it didn't seem as though I was stalking her), got in, and then waited for me to block the traffic.  Then some, 20-something year old tried to steal the spot from me!  I cut him off in a second... he wasn't pleased, but then, he really shouldn't be trying to steal parking spaces from people who have been waiting for them longer than he has.

Well, once I was ready, the car was locked up, and I had found my way inside David Jones, I found out the place had free Wi-Fi!  Very cool... so signed up for that on my iPod, and got it, so I could look up stuff online if needs be, walked through to the main larger area of Garden City I knew and prepared myself to find StrandBags... the place I came to look at.

I got lost looking for it.

You see, I had looked for it online, and it had been shown to me in its old place - where The Pancake Manor is now - instead of its newer place - near EB Games.  It's been in the new place downstairs for over a year, and the map hadn't been changed?  Now, that's awful!  

Once I found StrandBags, I talked to the lady I had spoken to on the phone and she showed me the bag I had lusted after online - and like most things we find online, as well as ourselves - it looked so much better in real life!  I loved it even more when I saw it up close, so much so, I pulled out the $30 StrandBags Voucher I had received for my birthday from Graham (one of my sci-fi writer friends) and added on around $9.00 more and bought it.  The ladies there at the store let me look through the bag and I found it zipped up just right for lefties!  How cool is that?
Well, after I bought it, I was offered a membership card, which I said yes to and signed up to be a member of their loyalty club.  Very cool.

Once all this was finished with, I stepped out into the bustling crowds of Garden City thinking it might be time to go home; but then, thought it would be a good idea to find Riot Art... as the new section of Garden City had opened just last week, and the finishing touches were being put onto the place.

I walked past The Book Cafe, and the place seemed to just... keep... going!  I was amazed at how many more shops there were.  I found Target, The ABC Shop and a few more hair salons around the corner as well as Noosa Chocolates... woah!... now that's a place I'll have to nose around when I return.  But there was no Riot Art on the top floor.  So, I got to the end where a massive red Target sign was and I went down the electronic ramp to the level below where I started talking to a man in front of me and asked him if he had come across Riot Art and he - thankfully - pulled out a map!  But we couldn't find it.  I spotted the concierge - and they were on the phone.  Then, I saw one of the new, huge, white touch screens which were maps of the place... amazingly easy to use.  So, I typed in what I needed to know and found the place... not 100 metres away.  Very cool!  These maps were great!  The man watched me use it and thought they were great too; as he had seen a few of them dotted around the place - and it was about time they had put them in for us to use.

I found Riot Art easily, and found the store had been squished into a tinier shop than it was previously.  Actually it reminded me of the shop over at Westfield Carindale... tiny and cramped.  I walked down one isle and found the paints and brushes tucked away there, when a lady walked in after me, and I commented how tiny the place had become.  She turned to me and said my name... strange thing was I didn't remember her until she said she knew me from RACQ and we had worked together!  Man!  That was a long time ago!  I had run into Regina Chandler!  She worked on the phones in Administration when I first started at RACQ when I was 18 years old!  Amazing how fast those years have flown by.  She said she didn't know it was me until I said something... and that I was so young when I started there that I just a child really; and very immature.  I agreed with her, saying I had a lot to learn.  But I learned a lot while working there, just not as much as most people would by the time they hit 24.  She disagreed, saying I was just young and my mind was young. 
I told her I was 40 now and she said I've grown into my own by now. And we chatted about what we're doing now and I told her my health really did me no favours after I left work; that I had a rough time with it and had to stop driving my beloved Celica.  Regina thought was bad, but it's great I'm going well now.  

We were going in the same direction and so chatted while we walked towards Coles.  And after we parted company, I still almost got lost getting back to my car.... stop laughing... it's gotten really confusing at Garden City now.  I kinda liked it... but then, I kinda didn't.  I guess new things aren't liked until we get used to them.  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Saturday Celebrations

Yesterday, I was up bright and early, had a nice hot shower and finished up cleaning up the house.  There were just a few things to put away, I had to move the lounge, organised the wiping up, sweep out the hall to the kitchen and then?  Well, I made myself something to drink, and hung out on the net for a bit until people began arriving.

After a few phone calls from relatives, I had Dad show up and he dropped off tables, chairs and the bbq and then said he'd see me in about an hour.  Then Mum showed up and found nothing had been done, she asked why.  I told her that Dad told me to not start anything until Gabe and Kat arrived with the marque - at which she balked!  We got it all going quickly and set the tables up, chairs out and - before we knew it - everyone started to arrive.  I put on the music and it was all going.

Graham - one of my friends from the sci-fi writer's group - showed up and then Dad did and Gabe and Kat and Aunty Helen and we all kicked back and scoffed into some nibblies and drinks.  Gabe shared his home brew and we sat out in the back yard enjoying the shade of the Lilly-Pilly's as the breeze began to kick in... it wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold either, it was just right!  A lovely Spring day for my birthday gathering and Mum and Dad's 45th Wedding Anniversary too.  
Then, we got in and started cooking on the bbq and getting out the salads and stuff for lunch.  It was wonderful how quick and easy it was.  Everyone loved the 'C Salad' I made (most of the additional ingredients in it started with 'C' - cashews, cranberries, cherry tomatoes, carrots... you know... otherwise there was lettuce in it as a main starter).  Dad cooked up some gourmet sausages and other yummy stuff for the meat-eaters and Gabe and Kat brought along a few packets of wraps in case we all felt like one.
Aunty Helen forgot the time and had to take off to do some shopping for Oma (her Mother In Law), needing to meet Kate to help her; and she left before my birthday cake was brought out.  She felt bad about that, but it couldn't be avoided.  She took off after bidding everyone farewell, me a happy birthday, and Mum and Dad a Happy Anniversary.

Then, we all sat around for a little while, chatting and enjoying the afternoon, the shade and the music.  Gabe had a look around my place - as he hadn't been here for a long time.  I showed him a new addition to my place which I had put up only yesterday morning and then, I showed him the hall table I had bought earlier this year.  He had only seen a photo of it on Facebook, and he said it was in the perfect place and it was beautiful.  Then, he spotted the family photo collage where I had put in lovely photos of everyone in it - even the pets of Little Miss Stevie and Jay - and he said it was wonderful I had that right in the middle.  He said the hall table looked like something of importance and that I could add to it by putting up more photos along the wall; which I will do once I find picture hooks that stick to the wall as there's water pipes behind that wall.
Otherwise, we looked at my office - which he jokingly called 'the fire trap' and he said I had an amazing collection of books.  I said I do go through them and give away books I just don't want to read anymore, then it gives me room to add to them again.  Gabe said it made sense to do that, otherwise it'll get out of control.

We headed back downstairs and it was time for the cake.  I put on a jacket as I felt it was getting cool, and Mum brought out the cake, cream and plates and everyone sang happy birthday.  Mum and Gabe got out the cameras and I didn't know where to look... it was funny!  Anyway, everyone got their photos and I cut the chocolate tart.  Mum cut it up into small slices and then we made coffee and ate our tart.  Gabe showed Kat the photos he took on his phone of the photo collage upstairs on the hall table, and she loved it, asking if I had other photos of Gabe when he was younger.  I said I did and raced upstairs and picked up an album of family photos, which she looked through, and everyone had some good laughs at.  There were some fun photos of me in it when I was around 6 years old and younger, which Kat thought were cute, and she said Dad looked all so serious in a few of them too.  
Soon, though, Graham said he had to make tracks and we gave him a couple of slices of the chocolate tart for him and his wife (as she couldn't make it) to have.  He took that home with him thanking us for having him, and saying that the others I had invited (I had invited about 8 other people who had said yes at first, then no when they got the invite through the e-mail) had missed out on a great day of hanging out, food and laughs; and he'd come back again if he was invited - and next time he'd talk his wife into coming along.

I did receive some presents yesterday - something I wasn't expecting from some of my visitors.  From Aunty Helen, I received, a set of lovely purple bath towels with matching hand towel and face washer.  Graham gave me a $30 gift voucher from 'StrandBags' and Gabe and Kat gave me a Bromeliad for indoors and Gabe made me a gorgeous necklace he made from scratch... it's so pretty!  They didn't have to give me anything, just come and enjoy the food and get-together, but the gifts are just so lovely!

By the time we cleaned up, packed up and had everything put away, it was almost 4:30pm.  I wished Mum and Dad a Happy 45th Anniversary.  Dad said it wasn't exactly what he had planned, but he enjoyed himself as it was a lovely, relaxing day, in the shade of my yard, hanging out with family; it ended up being just perfect seeing how the weather turned out - which was blues skies, a lovely Spring breeze and the shade of Lilly-Pilly's over my garden... yep, a perfect Spring Day in Brisbane.  Who could ask for more for a birthday and an Anniversary celebration combination?  Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe, and remember, I'm always here. 

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

A Time To Clean the House

Seeing I copped a really bad bout of sinus, I thought it was high time to get my butt into cleaning the house... seriously cleaning the house.

And I'm also having some friends over for a gathering on Saturday for lunch.... another good reason to do this too.

So, I started downstairs.  I got two big loads of laundry done and dried and put away.  The living room got a big clean out done, vacuumed, dusted and now it looks great!  Then, the kitchen floor was washed, so was the laundry floor and the toilet cleaned as well.  

This took two days to do because there was so many fiddly things to get done in between.

Then, today, I spend only two hours on the upstairs rooms of the master bedroom, study and the bathroom.  However, the bathroom took up about an hour of the time to get cleaned.  I scrubbed that place until it shone... and yet nobody will see it on Saturday.  I know, I know... silly, but Mum advised me that my friends will wander upstairs.  I don't think they will.

Well, once upstairs was vacuumed and dusted, the shoes were put away and I put the wash basket downstairs, I looked around and found there were only small things to get done - you know, last minute stuff - to do.  This will all be done on either Friday night or early Saturday morning.

Otherwise, I'm hoping to get the lawn mowed again on Friday afternoon, the car moved on Saturday morning and the kitchen completely cleaned up by that day too.  This place will look good and working well enough to have friends over.  
I still have a few things to do beforehand.  I have a salad to make and two dips to make too... otherwise, I have coffee (plunger and instant) and napkins, tea, corn chips and snack biscuits in the pantry waiting to be used.  

Tomorrow is Mum's birthday, I'm going out to see her, then we're all meeting up to have dinner out later on.  It'll be wonderful.  Saturday is my folks' 45th Wedding Anniversary, and I'm hoping to work it into my birthday celebrations too... but I want it to be a surprise.  It's not quite working out that way... I don't want to wreck the surprise and yet I wish them to enjoy the day.  Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Crafty Pegs Now Has A Spanky New Website!

I've been tossing up whether to do this or not and yesterday I thought to go ahead and get it done!

So, I looked up wix.com and pick a template and work on it!  Talk about fun!  This site is so easy to fluff with!  All I have to do is change the title, change then names and change the photos and choose a url and - badda-bang-badda-boom! - there's my site!  It's free of charge and lots of fun!  I can even change the back ground to something of theirs - or mine - and colours too... woah!... there's so much choice!

Anyway, instead of me talking about, how about you go and see it!

Now, I still have a few small things to fix on it, like the resume, so just ignore that, and it all look good.

Lynda's Crafty Pegs website

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

Friday, September 12, 2014

Woudn't You Know It...

I've been going well this week. There's been late nights, but I've been sleeping so well!  I've been eating well, taking care of myself, making sure I'm going well with my stress too.

Then, I went out yesterday to get some last-minute things and dropped by Mum and Dad's house.  I was suffering from some sinus - and let's face it, it's Spring, and I get hay-fever, I'm bound to get this problem - and so I ignored it.  I started sneezing a lot last night, took an antihistamine and made sure my dinner had a huge amount of garlic in and chilled out after dinner.

I even went to bed at around 10pm... yeah, now that's early!

But, I didn't sleep well.  The sinus kept me up all night and I woke this morning with a cold!  Now, I didn't get the usual warning of an earache, so how did I score a cold without my warning?  I'm still trying to figure this out... but I'm also thinking about the Mama Mia Mini Market tomorrow night; and still want to attend it as I've been told that it's a great place to make money.

I can't miss it!  I don't want to.

So, today, I packed the car and checked the stall sizes on Facebook and then ... well, I've been pumping myself with vitamins and minerals.  I've been eating plenty of super fruits and foods since I woke up and even took a boiling hot shower to clear out the sinus' this morning (and will grab another one this arvo to clear them out again).  I'm going to knock this damned cold on the head before it picks up speed on me.  I'm not going to let it effect me - not after I've been waiting to go to this market.

I just hope it doesn't rain tomorrow night as I'm not under cover... fingers crossed, knock on wood and anything else for good luck.  But really, don't you hate it when something like a cold shows up to wreck a good streak of good health?  Yeah, me too... oh well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here. 

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Lots of Busy Stuff Happening Soon!

Over the coming weeks, there's going to be a lot of time I won't be able to turn around without something happening in my life.

This week, I'm cleaning my house... slowly but surely... as next week, I'm having friends over for an afternoon, and it needs to be tidy.  And being a person who isn't a great house-keeper, it's going to be a great challenge to see how well I do in that department!

This Wednesday, I'm out and about doing the grocery shopping and looking for a few things for the markets.  One of those things is another stock box as what I'm taking with me there has filled the first stock box to the brim!  So, I'll be taking two boxes with me to the markets in future instead of one.

I also need to buy big magnets and glue them to the large pegs too... then leave them overnight to cure and then rewrap them again.  No biggie, it'll just take some time to do and reprice.  
By Friday morning, I'll have the day to myself, the float all fixed up for the next day and car packed in readiness.  I can't wait!  Even though the markets on Saturday are at night, I like to be prepared really early.

Anyway, that's this week. 

Next week, I'll be putting things away, looking around for a new craft table (if I make the money I hope to make) and then preparing the garden for company... it ought to be good to enjoy a few friends at my place.  I haven't had a get-together since I moved in here - and believe me that went really pear-shaped in a bad way!  So, I never had another one since.

So, I thought seeing I have a lovely group of new friends, it would be great to celebrate my birthday this year while I am in good health, have my place looking the way I like it, am confident within myself and know that my garden isn't a death trap with any prickles... and the weather is just perfect too!  I'd also like my family to meet my arty and writer friends too, so they know I've got good friends in this world surrounding me.  I just hope it goes off well... I'll let you know how it goes.

Anyway, today, I got in and cleaned up the kitchen a bit, put away a lot of stuff in the garden shed and made sure it looked good too... a lot of stuff was organised well, and I put away 2 milk crates in the shed from two different places.  They're being used as storage containers and all my stuff for my gardening tools and everything else.  My Terrarium gear is also stored in the shed along with my stuff to fix up furniture... I'll be getting a proper plastic box for that too so nothing eats anything in that.  Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe, and remember, I'm always here.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Busy Week... Messy House

This week has been busy, really busy, and I've still got the house to clean up.

So much has been going on and yet I can't seem to keep up with what needs to be done; don't you just hate it when that happens?  Yeah, me too.  

Anyway, I've been suffering from Tennis Elbow - again - but this time in left arm, and I'm left-handed, which makes it feel worse than it probably is.  However, I think it's getting better now as it's not bugging me as much as it did a few days ago.  Hopefully, it's getting better.

Today, I didn't really want to get out of bed (what's new?  It's been cold in the mornings).  But I did and got in and did a bit of laundry, put away some wiping up, put out the rubbish and started on working on finishing off two more picture frames and starting two more... they look great!  I'm so pleased with the finished ones and with the other two I'm hoping to sell as a pair.

Well, the day just zoomed by as I sat and listened to the radio, worked on my things, varnished what needed to be varnished and wrapped them up in cellophane and set them to one side ready to pack into a nice new box for the markets.  I'm hoping to sell a lot more at next week's market and save up to buy a new work desk for my work station.  The shelves will be going to a local charity and my new brown table will be given away to my folks to take to the coast to use as a dinner table out the front of their caravan.  It's a nice stable card table I bought to use, but when I get the new larger table for my work station, I'll use my green one (with the paint all over it) at the markets with a table cloth on it, I'll have no use for the nice new one.
The good thing is that my craft area will have more storage space and I'll be able to put things underneath the new desk, hang shelves off the wall and have a good light to work by too.  Well, this is the plan... fingers crossed, touch wood!

Anyway, I'm going well for the next markets.  There's still some coat hangers to get done, more picture frames I want to get painted up and wrapped, and more pegs I want to finish up too.  This week is busy, but good; as most weeks are.

How is your week going?  Good or bad?  Busy or boring?  I'd love to know... until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Only the Lonely

It's no big secret that I'm not with a partner in this world.  

I've tried to put myself out there and score myself a guy - or a woman - but I have had no real interest.  People have treated me badly; and it's no reflection on how I've come across, it's totally about how they've treated me from their direction.

Okay, I'm a very positive person.  The glass is half full.  There's two greens near every sand-trap.  There's a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow and yes, there's love for us all out there somewhere.  However, at the age of 40, I'm starting to wonder about exactly how this is supposed to turn out for me.

I can't have children.  I have a disease where I need to take medication for it to stay stable and I can't work a regular job.  

These are the down side of me... not that bad really.

Here's the upside of me:

I'm independent
I live in my own place
I have a car (yep I'm allowed to drive)
I have a small hobby business I run for myself
My medical condition is stablised so long I take my medicine and take care of myself well.
I have a loving, supportive family.
I'm a very positive person.

Now, I don't know what's wrong with people out there in the world.  But when they see this kind of attitude in a person, they get all itchy about somebody feeling too good about themselves... about having a too good-a life, too much good luck, getting a little bit of a good run in their lives and have to cut the person who's doing their best in life (and it's working out for them just fine thanks) by the kneecaps.  This is 'Tall Poppy Syndrome' and I've seen it way too much.

I've been a person who has had people torment me with it... and you know something?  I'm damned sick of it.  

Okay, my life is going sweet right now.  

I have people offering me spaces at fetes, markets and arenas around Brisbane like nobody's business!  I mean - woohoo!  I'm so pleased somebody wants my business! - but really there's people out there who don't want me to succeed.  There's that hatred about it around... and I'm not the only one.  It's that form of jealousy that can destroy a person's confidence in themselves.

The horribly sick part of it is that we are designed to destroy ourselves by bringing each other down.

This is a dreadful truth... 

I have learned over the years to not judge people.  I don't know their problems.  I don't know what paths they've walked to get where they are now.  I have no idea where they've been to come into my life right now... however, whatever they're battling is their own private war; not mine. 

We are all alone in our own private wars, our own private affairs... our own wishes, wants and needs.  And the problem with this is that a lot of people love to use the people who truly know what they want in life and throw them by the wayside - without another thought - and leave them to pick up the pieces.  

What I want in life is peace, happiness and love.  Are these things so hard to find?  Or are they just a figment of my imagination?