Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Good God! Good Grocery Day!

Today was an impressive day indeed! 

Have you ever had one of those days where you weren't really in any hurry to get anywhere, and yet, when you just let the day happen... great things happened to you that you just didn't expect? 

This was one of those great days!

It started out when I had to get petrol for the car.  Okay, I had to wait for the customer in front of me to finish fiddling with her car, but then like I said, I wasn't really in any hurry to get anywhere.  After she took off, I filled the tank and went to pay.  Once inside, a man came up to the count and put a coupon onto it saying, 'There you go luv, have it.  It's free.  I work for the company.' and walked out.  The lady behind the counter looked at the coupon and said it was real.  I didn't get a chance to thank him as he was gone so fast.  Darn!  But I picked out a dark chocolate and cranberry protein bar (which was what was for free that his coupon was for).  How cool was that?  

Well, I took off to do my shopping, and I had a plan in mind for it.  I was going to do my normal shopping at Coles and then go to the Rochedale Fruit'n'Veggies Market for my fruit and veggies - to see if it turned out cheaper.  You see, I'd dropped in there the other week and found the lettuce I had bought was fresh, delicious and crisp!  And the milk I had also bought was cheap... so I thought to buy my food there.  It's turned out that I'm spending the same amount of money on fruit and veggies, but it's not only fresher, but better-looking and there's more variety too.  And they put it all into a box for you if you have a lot - which they did - and carry it out to your car for you!  Now, that's service.  

Well, before I did that, I was still at Logan Central Plaza and I ordered in a few retro films I don't have.  They're John Hughes films I don't have and do love.  Well, the girl at 'Woodys' told me there was a pack of them online she could order in for me for $30 and there were 6 movies which had 3 of the ones I wanted and an extra 3 for about $15 cheaper than it would be to buy them individually.  So, that's what I did.  I also ordered in 'St Elmo's Fire'.  I remember watching it when it first came out but have no real idea what it's about (it's kinda like 'The Big Chill' I think).  Otherwise, all up, I'm spending about $50 on 7 movies.  Not a bad deal.

I did have a good day.  I bought new make-up, new mascara and got a new box for my themed stuff to be held in, so it's not all over the house.  Otherwise, I'm hoping to have another clean-out soon.  It's due.  So, how was your day?  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Driving While Texting

Yesterday afternoon, while I was on my way home from Craft Group, I had a close call with another car in traffic.

It was not my fault.

He was completely in the wrong.

He was checking his Facebook while he turned the corner, didn't look for me and he his eyes glued to his phone in his right hand.

He had two children in the back seat.

I had just taken off from the lights at the end of Fitzgerald Avenue and was only just picking up speed. 

It could have been worse - the lights could have been green before I got there and I could have been going faster and cleaned him up because I couldn't stop fast enough.

At the next set of lights, I was behind him and he was still on his phone.  So, while the lights were red, I took a photo - making it obvious to him I was - and he took no notice of me.  He was oblivious to what was going on around him... this is dangerous.

As we took off from the lights, he tailgated the person in front of him, failed to indicated to get onto Compton Road and then cut off another vehicle and almost caused the one who I ended up behind - a ute/pick-up - to rear-end him.  This guy wasn't speeding or going too fast, the phone guy just slammed on the brakes and caused us all to nearly rear-end each other (me?  I drove very slowly on purpose by this stage). 
By the time we got to All Gass Street, he was tail gating another person and was still on his phone.  I didn't want to be part of a major car accident, so I took All Gass Street - so did the ute/pick-up in front of me - and found another way home.

Today, I went to the Logan Central Police Station and reported the idiot.  When I told the lady at the front desk, she was astonished as his behaviour but happy I came in and told her.  I filled out an road incident report and handed it over... admitting I took a photo with my phone while stationary.  She said it okay, but what he was doing wasn't.

I hope they catch him before he causes an accident or kills anyone.  With me, it was a close call... with another person, it might not be.

Don't text and drive.  Your phone isn't that important!

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Wet Weather Spurs Big Clean Out

Yep, when it's raining outside, and there's not much going on in the garden, I get in and do a lot inside my house.  

This weekend, I've been busily working away in parts of my house to make them cleaner, tidier and more appealing to me and anyone else who happens to visit.  

First off it was the bathroom.  I looked around and started putting away my hair bands and bits to clear up the bench space for Winter.  Then, I went through my medicine cabinet and found there was so many soaps and yet I never used the hand-made ones.  So, I took them up and put them to one side for Mum to look at.  

Then, it was downstairs for me to go and I started on the lounge.  First I folded up all the towels sitting around, put away all the bags I wasn't using and then sorted out the receipts, put away the plastic bags and went through all the books, notebooks and anything else that was sitting around - ie: rubbish that needed throwing out - and the next thing I knew, it was tidy.  I then cleared the coffee table off and spray-n-wiped it, put the terrarium back on it, polished up the silver heat-proof thing for the teapot and the two large stone pieces and went through the part underneath and made sure there were only 3 things under there (the index of my dvds, my Christmas Box and the green box of things that sit around the coffee table). 
The knee rugs were next to be sorted out and organised.  I folded them up and put them over the back and one arm and they looked nice useful.  I lined the back of the lounge with the cushions and then I threw out last week's paper, anything else that wasn't needed went into the bin, and before I knew it, the lounge was tidy.

But, the kitchen table was messy... darn!  I can't seem to win!

So, I looked into that, and it seems that there were only a few things that I have to look into to clear that table up.  There's two recipe books I'm copying recipes from one to the other, all my bank statements are piled up and need filing and I'm looking at saving up for a shredder to shred all my receipts from shopping... I have a lot of them in my purse I don't need.  

Otherwise, I've gotten the piano nice and tidy, the credenza looks good and the work bench has been a life saver since I built it.  The one place I can't seem to get straight is my home office... no matter how much I work on it, it's a mess.  Well, I guess we all need something to work on on a permanent basis, right?  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Storm Watch

Over the last few days, Cyclone Marcia has been carefully watched by the BOM here in Brisbane and Australia as it's traveled over the Coral Sea.  

Now, to start with, there was one other cyclone they were concerned about, but it's not as worrying as Marcia... which is about to make landfall early tomorrow morning around Gladstone (which is about 4 - 5 hours north of Brisbane) as a category 2 storm.  It'll carry with it wind and plenty of rain with high seas as well.

We have had something like this before a few years ago, when I first moved into my townhouse; and it freaked me out - along with my friends overseas.  Now we know what to expect, I want my friends to not worry.  This storm is just something we live with in the tropics.  I mean, one New Year's Eve, we had this type of storm occur during the party and we hunkered down and still kept the music going until the lights went out... yeah!  Great fun with the howling winds, sideways rain and all the trimmings to go with it.  
I also remember when it occurred not long after that here in Brisbane and I was expected to be here at home and had to go out, and one of my friends overseas had called me to see if I was okay - or if my house had been knocked down - and I came home, to her panicked questions on my answering machine.  I phoned her straight back (fortunately it was midnight and off-peak time).  Man, she was so relieved to hear my voice, and that my house was okay, just it was windy and wet and cold.

Now, it's about to start and I'm not worried.  I have enough food.  I've got enough books to read, enough paintings and work to keep me occupied and I have my living room to clean out as well.  Yep, I have things to get done this weekend which will definitely make sure I'll have something to do while it's raining outside, trapping me indoors.  So, what do you get up to when Mother Nature takes a turn for the worst?  Do you do what I do and jump into reading, work and decluttering?  Or do you take a seat and watch it all go by, making it a spectator sport?  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

I'm Shaving My Hair Off!

Yes!

You read right!

I'm shaving all my hair off for the Leukaemia Foundation and donating it to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths Project so they can make a wig for somebody suffering from Cancer.  

And yes, it's that time of year again - for me to raise funds to the greatest cause around.  

But I'm not going totally bald, I'm getting a #4 buzzcut all over so I'll still have a bit of hair on my head.  And last Friday, I let Mum know about my plans, which she didn't approve of, but I insisted it was my hair and I wanted to do it.

I'm not going to chicken out and my hair isn't going in the bin.  In fact, I'm planning on buying the Express Post Pack next pay and making sure I have big enough ziplock bags so I can do this on the day... you know, post it all off to Pantene, so they can receive it as soon as possible.

They told me at Pantene that red hair is something people really look for and the company would love to get their hands on mine as it's a unique colour that people really look for.  So, I'm collecting sponsors right now and so far, I've got well over the expected amount I normally get at this time... seeing I received my sponsorship book on Friday and my goal is $560 - but if I raise more than that, that's great!

So, if you'd like to sponsor me, just click on the link below:

The World's Greatest Shave Sponsor Page

This will take you straight to my Sponsor Page - yes my RL name is Lynda Parker.  You can sponsor as little or as much as you wish as every dollar means so much!  

Anyway, I'm going to do this at an event at the Logan Hyperdome on 14th March at around 11am in the main court.  You can't miss it!  These public events aren't quiet affairs... they really go all out!  So, if you can make it to support me, please do, I'd love to see you there.  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here... and yes... my hair will grow back again. 


Okay.... I'm back... Phew! What A Week!

It's been such a busy week, I don't know where to start... but I'll try to fill you all in on what's been happening.

Last Saturday, 7th, February, I had a full day out.  I was away from the house by 9am and off to the Hyperdome Library where I attended a meeting on how to get my name out there into the world when it came to writing and publicising my books.  It was great because what I learned here I could use with my Crafty Pegs business too.
From there, I was off to Mum and Dad's house for around 20 minutes to pick up some things from there.  Once everything was laminated and ready, I was back in the car and off to the bank, then driving to the Mamma Mia Mini Markets which started at 3pm and went until 8pm. 
I didn't make any profit... only a little bit of money and that was it, but no profit.  Oh well.  Anyway, I got onto the road by 8:30pm or so, and was back at my folks' house by 9pm where I had a cup of tea to unwind and I was home by 10pm.  I was in bed by 11pm

What. A. Day!

However that wasn't all... a neighbour two doors down came home with his loud friends and started up a party at 11:30pm - music and all - just when I was dropping off.  I called the caretaker (who complained his hands were tied and that I should call the police) and then I called the police and at 1:30am, the neighbour's party closed up.  This was after the caretaker talked to him at 11:45pm and after I called the police... 

The next day, I was out again.  I felt like crap.  But I went out again because the family was going to the Moreton Bay Yacht Club for lunch for Dad's birthday.  It was a brilliant lunch in a great atmosphere.  Afterwards, we all waddled back to Gabe and Kat's place where we scoffed into Baked Custard with Rice and German Friendship Cake.  I made the former and Gabe made the latter... yummo!

Monday was my craft group and we were all there for the first group of the year.  So many thing were brought along for us to look at.  I bought a big black plate of a fish (which I'm using as a fruit bowl) and we all sat and chatted all afternoon while doing our craft.

On Tuesday I worked on my shopping list and cleaned out more stuff from the house and kitchen table.  My bin was almost full when I put it out that night.  Wednesday was shopping day and I still had stuff to put in the bin just as the rubbish guys came to pick it up.  And I was exhausted, so I didn't go on the computer that night... just shuffled off to bed.

Thursday was the day I received a phone call from the Leukaemia Foundation asking if I was going to take part again... yes I am!  This time I'm going to shave the lot off - a #4 buzzcut - and then donate my hair to make a wig.  The woman on the other end said it was best to look for a wigmaker in my city.  Well, that's a post for another time!

Anyway, Friday came around and I had two appointments:  one for my optometrist and one for my chiropractor.  I received my sponsorship book from the Leukaemia Foundation and within the first day, I raised over $130!  How cool is that?

On Saturday, I did my volunteer work at the Logan Art Gallery.  We had Music in the Gallery for the 20th Birthday Celebrations of the Gallery here in Logan City.  It was so great!  I totally enjoyed the music.  Mum and Dad were down to come along, but it slipped their mind.  So, I recorded some on my phone and showed them when I got off work; and Dad said they should have gone.  Oh well, next time! 

So, it comes to today.  This morning, I had pancakes with lime and sugar and fruit.  The leftover pancakes have been wrapped up in foil for afternoon tea... yummo!  Anyway, that's my week. I hope your week has been as busy and filled-up as mine has.  I'm totally stuffed and need to catch up with my sleep.  But it's good to be tired and happy like this.  So, do tell, how has your week been?  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Monday, February 9, 2015

Hey, Here I am... But Not For Long!

Yep!  Last week was such a busy one, I don't know where to start!  First off, I was at the shops doing my grocery shopping when I found some 'Blessed & Lucky' roasted peanut paste with 'a drizzle' of Maple Syrup... aawww... yummo!  For just $2.40, I thought to try it out!

Then, I had a few days to myself and Dad and I were off and running with the building of the new work bench... how very cool is that!  I had fun designing it, thinking about it and then finally having the money to make it happen!  And Dad was there helping me with the little things that went wrong... so cool!  I love it!
And last Tuesday, we got it finished here at my place as the legs were too long and we even got a metal piece along the shelf so I can put my finished magnets to get varnished onto it.  I am so happy that it went from a drawing in a sketch book to a reality in a little over 4 months... and amazed at how quickly it happened too.

Then, within a few days, it was my Dad's birthday and I had a market at Murrarrie, writer's workshop at the Logan Hyperdome and lunch at the Moreton Bay Yacht Club at Shorncliffe.  All three of the latter things happened within the last weekend just gone!  But Dad's birthday was last Thursday.  I had bought him a bottle of 'Label 5' whiskey... and he loved it.  Now, I know what to buy him in the future... it's a nice whiskey too; and not too expensive.

This week, I have had Craft Day today at the Springwood Community Centre.  Tomorrow I'm off to the doctors to get a skin tag removed (oh, yeah, that sounds like fun, right?) and then, there's shopping on Wednesday and then I have Thursday and Friday to myself.  Woah... that's a first in about two weeks!  On Saturday, I'm sure I'm working at the gallery, but I'm not certain - I'll call up and find out.

Otherwise that's what's been happening, what will be happening and is happening in my life right now.  And why I've been quiet for so long.  And have you checked out my new look for 'A Natural Background'?  Yes... it's got a name change and background... it's been changed over for my hobby business called Crafty Pegs so I can cover more ground with other people in social media.  Go and have a good look at it... Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Monday, February 2, 2015

So Tired!

It's only Monday and I'm so very tired - already! Well, I had been planning my art/craft workbench for almost 4 months.  I save and made sure it was perfect.  Then, Dad and I ordered in the pieces and made sure it worked.

And it did!

Putting it together took two days.  But I love it; even if it does need a bit of tweaking.  We also need to put up the shelving and finish off my art/craft area, but it all looks great!

But that'll be tomorrow... yeah, tomorrow.

Anyway, today, I went out and did something else which had nothing to do with cleaning, housework or my craft/art bench... I went to my first Queen Beez Craft Group of the year.  It was so great to catch up with the ladies there.  We all had a good chat about what we've been doing, how we all are, sat down and started in on what we are doing right now.

Some of the ladies had been caught up in that horrible food poisoning fiasco at the Chin-Chin Restaurant at Springwood and they are still recovering from it... a horrible problem that has become.  One lady, Bernie, she and her whole family were in Sydney when its affects struck them all down - while they were on holidays - and they all spent their whole holidays in hospital.  She's still not feeling right and it's been over 2 months since it happened.  Her husband passed out about 3 times in the hospital, broke his nose the first time and got 4 stitches in the back of his head the second time and I think he passed out a third time.  

Anyway, this afternoon, I put a few things away and cleared a space for the kitchen table to be moved out of the way for tomorrow, to make things easier for Dad and me to move the bench.  We'll be adjusting the legs and everything out in my car port tomorrow, and then putting it back... it won't take too long, but it might take until lunch.  So, I made a nice big piece of pizza and will be able to heat it up in the oven for him to eat for lunch I'll have something else to eat instead.

It'll be a good day.  Well, it's getting late.  I better head off to bed.  It's been raining, and I hope it doesn't rain too much tomorrow - it shouldn't.  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.