Friday, December 23, 2016

Last Days

It's the last day for the Christmas Rush and I hope everyone has survived it this year without too much hassle. 

I'm going okay I guess.

The car is wash, waxed, polished, cleaned and the stuff under the bonnet looks good too. Then, I took it for a drive and nearly got cleaned up on Springwood Road because a driver backed out of their driveway and didn't look where they were going. On such a wide road - where there's a huge emergency stopping lane - you'd think they'd pull into the curb before joining the traffic. But they stuck the butt of their car right out into my lane and I couldn't stop, so I had no choice but to swerve and blow the horn. It was scary and yet I wondered what would have happened if the road was more crowded... it wouldn't have gone as well as it did.

Anyway, today, I took the time to do what I needed to get done. The presents are all packed up and ready to go to my cousin's house tomorrow night. I have the makings of a pasta salad all ready in the fridge; just to throw together and take with me in my Corningware dish (I just hope nobody scratches the crap out of it) or drops it. 

And tonight, I almost got all the first bit of the Lake Como tapestry completed! I'm so pleased! It looks so great! Well, I hope you have all finished up working on what needs to be done. Until my next post, take care, stay safe this holiday season and remember, I'm always here. Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Last Minute Craziness!

Okay, who hasn't finished their Christmas Shopping? Put your hands up... I knew it, there's some of you out there who leave it until the last minute.

I don't.

I started looking around at present ideas for Christmas during the mid-year sales. Then, in September, I start buying presents for Christmas... or making them... then, it gives me time to save up for the big ticket items people really want or need. And I always buy my presents last; that's so if I miss out on my presents, I can buy them at the after-Christmas sales.

But then, at this time of year - two or three days before the big guy shows up, I'm usually at home painting, reading, writing or watching movies. It's the best time to stay home and not go to the shops. This year, I've been going out to friends houses and cooking with them. Otherwise, I'm working on paintings and a huge tapestry of Lake Como. It's nice to just chill out and not do anything stressful for the next few days, unless I'm going out to see the Christmas Lights at night or checking the mail (and trust me, that's nothing too interesting). 

I'm hoping to just enjoy my time with my family over Christmas as one of the neighbours in the complex isn't here for this week - our week has been very quiet, when normally it's noisy. I'm looking forward to having a day or so to myself where I don't spend too much money on my groceries and put quite a bit of money away next week into my ANZ account before the New Year (as I've missed a few weeks lately). 

Otherwise, I am looking forward to working on a novel, editing some Flash Fiction and reading a couple of books over the few days I'll be at the coast for a bit. It's always nice to be able to get away for a while... I do look forward to coming home to my own bed though. Isn't it funny that when you head off to the holiday at the beach or the country, the one thing you really miss is your bed? Yeah, I find that interesting too. 

At least I don't have the last-minute craziness most people do. I've been a very organised person at this time of year because of how I've had to live on a such a tight budget. I sent off my Christmas Cards around mid-November. By then, I have got around 80% of my Christmas Shopping done and hidden in a part of the house, the wrapping paper has been bought the year before and there's plenty of sticky tape and labels. All I have to do in the month of December is send off an ornament to my Ornament Exchange Buddy (from Bookcrossing) and then buy a new decoration for the house from the Christmas Shack. It's a thing I'm doing each year... I'm hoping to do the whole house up to be totally Christmas-y in about five years - seeing I've found this place!

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year. I'll still be posting here before the New Year is upon us. I just thought to get those wishes in before I forgot to say them. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Only A Week Away!

Christmas is only a week away and I'm finished.

I'm finished with my Christmas shopping, card sending, and decorating for the month. I'm not going anywhere for anyone at all for the next week. I have presents for everyone in the immediate family; and if I have found a present for one of my cousins or Aunts well, they're lucky!

For the next week, I'm going to be here at my place reading, writing, tidying up and putting things away... it's going to be a stinker of a week and I don't wish to move anywhere (unless I have to) and it's going to be a good week of me not moving unless I need to.

I'll be doing a modeling gig, but that's to get me out of my comfort zone and get me into modeling again... and that's a good thing for the coming New Year.

Otherwise, the one rule I always stand by with every Christmas is: never go near a shopping centre the week before Christmas. Those places are just too damned crowded for me; and I hate crowds to the point where I either can't breath or you'll find me outside sitting on a seat staring into space because it bothers me that much.

I have had this problem with crowds so much I avoid art openings, the city and night clubs (the latter has other problems that have to do with my health; but that's another blog post). So, crowds aren't really a good thing for me... I only just made it through last New Year's Eve as the crowds at a street party wasn't too bad - except the clowns (yep, hate clowns - stop laughing, it's a real fear) who I really didn't wish to run into there. 

Crowds of any kind exhaust the crap out of me. I went out to lunch with friends and I was good at the beginning of it when there weren't that many people around. However, when the place was full to the brim with people at surrounding tables, I started to get tired. It started feeling as though I was being crushed slowly from the outside. We decided to leave at the right time; as when I arrived home, all I wanted to do was sleep. 

So, all the Christmas shopping bothers me because people rush, push and become rude. It's just how it works out. It's strange though: when I do a market, as a retailer, it's a different thing for me. My table keeps the crowds from bother me. I'm behind my table - where it's nice, neat and tidy - and crowds are on their own side where they can annoy each other. So, attending a market as a retailer is a totally different thing... it's exhausting, but it's a physical exhaustion, not a mental exhaustion. 

Anyway, I digress.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I'll still be here for a bit until the New Year when I may not be doing as many posts for the first week or so. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

A Very Smelly Week

Phew! And Gack! 

That's what I can say about this week as my folks are home a day early for doctor's appointments and to clean up after the power company - in their infinite wisdom - disconnected the electricity to rework the wires on the street for the new building across the road. Then, the day they were working on it, they didn't reconnect their power... well, we didn't get the letter until yesterday; and so missed out on being told completely.

Due to the heat wave and the storms - which kept me at my place - I didn't get to their place until yesterday afternoon... and it was then I noticed an overpowering stench. I thought it was a dead possum... or some poor dead rodent... which had become stuck under the house. I never thought the power hadn't been reconnected; let alone disconnected!

So, I madly made phone calls to my folks, they raced up the coast, while they organised for the power to be restored to their now-smelly house. And today? Well, my Mum and Dad were still working on getting rid of the rancid food from all three fridges and the chest freezer. And seeing they were up until 2am last night, they're just running on adrenaline.

However, Energex won't own up to their problems in how this has affected them. This would affect anyone - and it does! My Dad thinks it's not right to expect people to just be around for the electricity company to drop by and disconnect the power, then come back for them to reconnect it. It's not something people do, and it's not something we would expect of others.
But Energex expected us to do this; and it's unfair to expect us to be home all the time just because this was going on. I mean, if my folks had been on a 4 month overseas holiday and I didn't live close to them, what would have gone on then? In 4 months they would have come home to a house infested with ants, cockroaches and spiders and would have had to replace all their appliances because they wouldn't work.

This is a problem which isn't going to go away. We, the public must do something about it. We have to make sure the electricity industry work for us because they provide electricity to us - and we pay a lot of money for it; and yet still get told how it's going to work from them. Instead of them working to our timetables and working us - the people who keep them in a job - the big companies are treating the public as though we don't have a say.

My folks had food in that large freezer that they were going to use for Christmas Day. Now, they have no food at all! Their insurance company won't help them, and now Energex won't help them - nor will Origin. This is beyond a joke. We must do something to make these industries look at what they are doing. Instead of expecting us to be around when they are doing work, they have to figure out if somebody is home, ask if they're going to be there, make phone calls, email people (this is the age of the internet, after all!) and get on the side of the public who they're going inconvenience. 

Because if they don't, what else are we going to allow them to get away with?  

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Christmas Craziness

It's crazy at this time of year, isn't it?

Sure it is! Everyone is out in the heat or the freezing cold trying to buy that unique gift for that unique person in the family - and you can't quite find it.

Well, I've finished the Christmas shopping over the weekend just gone and am happy with everything I've managed to purchase... okay, I fib, I haven't bought  everything this year - I haven't bought myself my major gift; that's waiting for next week when I get paid.

However, isn't every Christmas crazy? It seems that every year that goes by, it become harder and harder to just simply go out and buy that simple thing you want to buy. No matter how early you leave the house, there are people out there who are doing exactly what you are just to 'beat the rush'. It's become a total nightmare to just do your grocery shopping because school holidays have started and kids 'are bored' within a week or two. 

And is it me, or have P Plater drivers become the biggest idiots on the roads and in car parks lately? They have the brand new, up-to-date cars and yet they'll park them just about anywhere (and block off half a lane of traffic - yes I'm talking about something that happened at Garden City on Saturday where a red P Plater parked on a yellow striped area and blocked off half a lane in a brand new Barina... when people told her it was illegal, she laughed at us. Little did she know that her insurance doesn't cover it when you're illegally parked; especially when you knowingly park illegally - oh well, her loss). I've seen so many P Platers zig-zag in the traffic and act as though the vehicles they're cutting off aren't as heavy as they think - especially trucks. A lot of P Platers can't make up their minds of where they're going... left... right... oh, wait! I'll go strai- left!... without indicating and all the while, they're playing with their hair or talking to their friends in the car. We know it's great you have this independence, but it'd be better if you actually paid attention to the road and got yourself and your friends - not to mention your car - to your destination in one piece, not stuff around wondering where you're going or trying to cause accidents.

Now, I don't mind driving on the roads - in fact I love driving - but since I have gotten a dash cam, it's been something I've noticed about other drivers. They will blame everything on you, right up until you point out that you have a dash cam; then they're gone! And at this time of year, when people are extra-crazy, it's harder to be a nice person on the road. 

Well, I really do hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. I wish you all the best of health and in the hopes you are safe and on the roads while you're out Christmas Shopping - as I try to be. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Haven't Stopped This Week

This week, I haven't had a day to myself.

It's been a familiar tune, hasn't it? Well, okay, not familiar, but happening more often. The closer we get to Christmas, the busier we all become.

This week, I had craft group on Monday, with a very sore tooth. I had no idea at the time that I had damaged my gums a few weeks ago. But eating had become almost impossible. Anyway, I just didn't eat anything much for about three days... mainly I drank milk, water and cold tea and yoghurt because they didn't hurt my mouth. 
Tuesday had me out and about at the NaNoWriMo meeting at the Logan Central Library, where I wrote about 2,000 words with another writer. We really got chugging along there. Emily finished her book, whereas I got my characters caught in a storm - not a bad writing session.
Wednesday was the longest shopping day on record. I went to the dentist, found out I had damaged the gum above my sore tooth with a toothbrush bristle (who would have thought I could do that!). Then the dentist asked me if I had used a harder brush, and I said I may have once a few weeks ago, and he said that's what did it. Well... okay. I was relieved to know I didn't need to have the tooth out.
Grocery shopping was done, and then I did some Christmas shopping and I arrived home. By that time, it was around 2pm! Woah! What a day!
Thursday had me up at 6am to put a few things away and do a couple of loads of laundry as the day started. In the afternoon, my folks and I took off to see my niece, Riley, off to her formal/prom and she looked wonderful! She and her date were driven in a 1962 Impala! What a car! Afterwards, my brother and his girlfriend, Mum, Dad and I were off to the Nundah Hotel to have dinner. We arrived home at around 8:30pm. 
Yesterday, I had an appointment at the Chiropractors. I did more laundry and started tidying up the house for Christmas. I bought some cheap streamers for outside the house (five streamers for $5.00 - what a deal!). When I arrived home, I was so tired!
Today, I slept in. After such a long and busy week, I didn't really want to get out of bed. But I needed to. I put all the craft gear where the tree was going to be set up upstairs wardrobe in my bedroom. Then, I moved a few things around, put the rubbish out, organised the coffee and washed up a few things before I made more easy-yo yoghurt and then made breakfast... yep, I've been busily working away at housework before breakfast. Now, it's afterwards, I just want to chill out this weekend and enjoy myself. 

What a week! Was your week as busy as mine? I hope so - or if you're busy enough as it is, I hope you found time to chill out. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

It's Been A Week

I've been meaning to write something for over a week now, and then something up came up; and I couldn't write for another reason... then the next thing I knew I had a whole weekend flit by and now, it's Wednesday (a hot and horrible one, where we are now waiting for a storm to cool us off) and still I haven't written a damned thing.

I guess John Lennon had it right: 'Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.' 

Boy did he hit the nail on the head! 

But really, I haven't had a day to myself in almost 3 weeks. Two weeks ago, I finished fixing up my Great-Grandmother's wash table and brought it home... so it's all done and dusted (except for the back and the arms). Then, Dad came around to look at my kitchen tap and the side car port door - which needed fixing in a big way. The tap took only a few hours, but the door took a longer time. 
Then, in between all that, I had volunteer work at the gallery, shopping bills to pay and other things to work on around the house - like my grocery shopping to do, laundry and washing up as well as putting away laundry when I could. 

It's been getting hotter as well... man the weather has been weird. First freezing cold, then boiling hot... and it's only Spring! 

The Melbourne Cup was amazing! One of my horses came in 3rd and so I didn't win much money. Oh well, next time. At least I won something.

Then, Dad finished up with the door and I started watering the lawn twice a day as the weather turned really hot... and if it's going to be this hot now, it makes me wonder just how much hotter is it going to get? Not too much hotter I hope... it's going to hit almost 40 degrees Celsius this week; and that's our Summer normally.

Well, I'm doing NaNoWriMo this month and I'm clocking along with that really well this time around. My book this year is a time travel one - kind of like Jack Finney's way of writing - and so I hope it works out well enough to be looked into by somebody. I have been going to NaNoWriMo meetings this year, as there's some going on around Logan this time - as most years, they're around Brisbane city and not on the outskirts. I hope to work it out better and work on some serious writing at my next meeting. Well, that's what I've been up to lately. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Over Forty and Letting Go

I'm beginning my third year of my 40's and have found the longer I'm around, the less things surprise me... actually a lot about the world disgusts me.

Over the past week, I've decided to sell off over 40 books from my huge collection. This is mainly a set of 52 books - with their own magazines - which were sold as a newsagents' collectors thing. You know the kind of thing it is: it started way back in the early 60's and has been going on ever since. You buy the first magazine with a piece for a discounted price, then the following week, you buy the next one with another piece at the full price of $9.99 and the following week, you buy the next and the next... until you have a full collection of books, or you've built the Eiffel Tower or you've built a model Mustang... or whatever it is you've been promised by those companies to have in your hot little hands by the end of the year.
Well, that's what it was for books. I was given a collection of 52 books - with magazines - for Christmas one year and they were these types of books. I had them for a long time and now, I've noticed that I have doubled-up on some of those classic books. So, I'm selling that 52-book set. 

It just makes sense doesn't it? You get rid of and sell what you no longer need. You whittle down the possessions until you just have those things that make you happy... no matter what it may be.

I have my painting, my books, my gardening, my furniture refurbishing... I love music and have a 1970's style house, but then there's always a time when I jump in and just throw away a pile of clothes, a collection of things I just don't look at anymore (or use) and it makes me feel better. I have more room and I don't fill that space up... instead it's just there to be enjoyed. 

Yep, I'm getting to that age where I want the extra bedroom for my craft gear, and yet, I'm throwing out what I really don't need anymore. It feels great. I never thought throwing out or giving away things would feel this good... but it does. What have you done in your life that makes you feel wonderful? Cleaning out a space does it for me. I'm begun to be good at being brutal with myself when it comes to letting go of things a now; but I never used to be. It all takes practice. If it wasn't for Peter Walsh, I wouldn't be as strict about my cleaning out as I am now. But really, I have to be in the right mood and zone to do it. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Busy Weeks

It's always good when life gets busy, isn't it?

I've been trying to work on my decluttering more again and it's working out for the best. I've gotten rid of 5 drinking mugs and replaced them with a set of 7 Mexican Glass wine glasses. I fell in love with them at Vinnies; and knew they'd look great in my kitchen... and I'd use them as well.

Then, I've wrapped up and gotten rid of some smaller glasses which I don't have a place for anymore. I just simply don't use them for anything; and so I have given them to Mum to give them to the right people. Anyway, I didn't know until it was almost too late that the set of 5 glasses with apples on them have a large jug that goes with them; so I'll have to get that to Mum as well (and thus freeing up more of my cupboard too). 

Otherwise, I'm painting, creating and getting into my gardening again. With Summer on the way, everything is growing faster in the hotter weather. And the best thing is that there's been some rain hanging around too; which means the gardens are getting fed too. I'm still watering, but with the rain coming at the right times, this means I don't have to water so much.

My brother's birthday was yesterday and my niece's birthday is on Saturday. So, we went out last night for a seafood feast at Sandgate. It was great! My brother loved the rough-cut serving platter I gave him made from Camphor Laurel and the pressies I gave Riley were perfect for her - she just loves them all! 

Yep, it's been busy, but a good busy for this fortnight. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

What's Life Without A Little Craziness?

There's been a few sleepless nights around here since my birthday last week - actually before that - but then, I'm not too worried about this. 

Every so often people around here - one person in particular - does some stupid things. And yet, he goes and blames everyone around him instead of sitting down and realising it's his life that is a mess. 

You see, I've had these dramas before when I first moved in here; and I've lived here long enough to not let things bug me, to let go of the wrong people and let the right people stick around in my life... this particular neighbour has still yet to learn this.

And this surprises me.

In a place like this, very little surprises me.

Anyway, after having apples thrown at my house because I asked him to turn down his music or close the door, then snapping at his visitor (because he's stalking my next door neighbour and stressing her out), I told the right people and tried not to worry.

Two nights later, on my birthday, I had settled in late - really late - when this particular, dramatic neighbour had a visit from his ex-girlfriend. She picked a fight, and it was on for young and old with those two. They had a screaming match in his house - throwing things and calling each other names - and she left. But instead of him staying indoors and sulking (like any normal person does), he followed her out to her car and really started in on her.

Jeez... 

Well... I won't go into detail too much; as you can well imagine what happened then. Of course it went from bad to worse and their domestic went and woke up most of the neighbourhood... the police showed up and took him away (after the fight was over). 

Exactly why people do this is beyond me. But really, it get a little old when you get past 40 and you've seen this a few times in your life; and don't really want to be around it anymore.

But then, what is life without a little craziness? It's boring, solitary and very sheep-like (you know, very same and grey-looking). I don't mind a little craziness, but there's a time for it and a time to leave things be. Then, there's a time to do something about that person who is always turning life into a drama. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Friday, October 7, 2016

My Birthday

Wednesday was my birthday... but I've been busily working on things over the whole week - thus I haven't written here for a bit.

I got quite a bit done on my day - some housework, went out and did my grocery shopping - then came home and chilled out for the rest of the day. I got myself ready for that night to go out for dinner with my family to the Royal Hotel at Nundah, where we sat outside and had a wonderful Italian dinner.
While the bill was being settled, the waitress was told it was my birthday, and she insisted I received a free dessert. I told her I have birthday cake at my brother's house and to not worry about it; but she pushed, and asked if I liked chocolate. Well, of course I do! So, out came this little ganache with coffee ice cream...omg! It was delicious! But I couldn't fit it in... I ended up sharing the last bits of it with Mum and Riley.

I received a lovely pair of ear-rings from Gabe and Kat - hand-made silver ones - and Riley made me the most lovely card. I love them! Mum and Dad gave me some scratch-it's where I won $15! Yay! And I bought myself the Red Hot Chili Pepper's most recent album 'The Getaway' on vinyl. What a great day. There's more still to come - like time to spend the vouchers from the stores I have received via my email, otherwise, I'm hoping to let that stretch the whole month long. 

Well, that was my birthday... I usually make it last the whole month somehow. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

This Year

It's been around a year since I wrote a post about what I've been up to over the year of my birthday... and so I'm at it again.

It's 4th, October. Tomorrow is my Birthday and I don't mind aging. I guess it's got to do with wanting to experience the world as it is; and enjoying myself while I do.

During this past year, I've given the boutique markets a rest. Last year, I didn't make any money, so I took a step back and figured out why... it was my product placement and that some of the things I was putting out there were produced properly. So, I have been working on making a better product; taking my time and learning new skills to work with the markets again next year.

I'm writing more books. Yep, once a writer, always a writer... it's the creative in me who gets a right workout. Being like this makes life exhausting; but I'm also painting as well as doing needlepoint, which makes life so much more colourful. But I wouldn't be an artist if I didn't have these things in my life.

My garden got a great makeover. It's the third year on and it was time to repot things over Winter, so I did. I started up a new blog about my garden, and have had another blogger who put my garden blog on his blog roll, to help kick it along. I also still have my garden facebook group too. 

My next door neighbour and her guy broke up, and she and I have become close friends. It's been good to be able to just hang out with her for hours on end and not feel as though I have to leave. She's so much happier and is working harder at work as well. I'm so happy for her because she's happier in herself.

I started a new painting when I came down with laryngitis over the weekend my 20 year class reunion happened. On the Saturday night, I was out and about, and okay and then the next morning, I discovered that my voice was croaky; however it became worse, not better. By the Monday, I went to the doctors and he told me what I had and to stay home, not talk to anyone and not talk at all... woah! That's so much easier said than done! But I got a lot of reading, painting and cleaning out done in that week. I still have the cough from it after 4 months though... can't do much about that.

Life itself has been good. I'm still cleaning out my house. I sold my late-Grandma's kitchen table to somebody in Beenleigh, who wanted to do it up for her family. To replace it, I bought a Chiswell dining setting off a man on Gumtree... it's beautiful, and I love it! Life is getting better as this year passed by. I've started saving up big for something huge I want... it will take time to get to my goal, but I'm not saying what it's going to be yet. So, there I am... my year in a blog post. It doesn't seem as though I got a lot done, but I did... I even got my heart stood on by some dude out there who I thought I knew - but didn't. Oh well, just as well I found out now than later, right? Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Long Weekend Starts October!

This weekend starts October and ends the school holidays. It started sunny and ended raining. It started with me not wanting to do any type of house work for money, and ended with me ironing for my Mum (which is something I absolute detest) and cleaning out my tupperware cupboard completely.I also watched 'Pompei' with Dad we found that main enemy in it just wouldn't die... and I kept calling Corvus (who was brilliantly played by Keifer Sutherland) a cockroach - for the obvious reason that no matter what happened to him, he just seemed to get back up and keep going; just like a cockroach. Dad found this hilariously funny and loved it that I had a name for characters like him in movies - and I said I called them that name in books too; because they just won't die.

Otherwise, I've been working on a couple of paintings, doing more needlepoint for my next markets and looking at some of my finances quite seriously. I'm also looking at finding a part-time job very soon to plump up my bank balance. All of this will be coming up to something that I don't want to make public - not just yet. It's something I'm working towards that needs to be looked into by me which will mean a big step outside my comfort zone - bigger than me being a Life Model (which was something I never thought I'd be in my life, but yet, I do this work now). 
Yes, I'm keeping a surprise from you all... but don't worry, like all surprises, it's worth it. And you'll love it when you find out. And only a few people in my immediate circle know about my project. Anyway, it's a slow process right now; which I think will speed up very quickly once the wheels are in motion. 

Otherwise, I've been busily looking around the garden and tidying that up before the rain hit today. Then, this morning I went to put some dropped palm fronds from outside my house into the green bins at the back of the complex when I found that somebody had shoved their recycling stuff into those green bins instead of the big recycling bin. You gotta be blind to not see the industrial-sized yellow-lidded bin sitting to the right of the bin bay... but then, I ended up putting everything from those green bins into the recycling bin - otherwise the green bin guys won't touch it. 
Once home, I washed my hands and got right into the washing up and cleaning up and put my coffee on - yep, I hadn't eaten breakfast as yet. So, once I ate that and kicked back to listen to the radio, it was then the skies started to look as though it was going to pour rain. I got a lot of the washing up done, put some of the plants out in the rain and then made my second ice coffee for the day and have come back upstairs... yep, it's a good internet day, as the rain settles in. I hope you had a great weekend.

I mean, the Western Bulldogs won the AFL Finals on Saturday - after a 62 year drought. I earned some money doing some ironing for my Mum, watched a very cool movie where a volcano blows it top and destroys a city and all who lives in it during the Roman Empire... then, I do out my Tupperware cupboard, cutting its contents in half. It's been a pretty good weekend... until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here. 

Sunday, September 25, 2016

School Holidays

I seriously don't like school holidays - and I don't know any parent who does. 

All the kids are home all the time and a lot of the times they're bugging everyone who will listen that they're bored! But they don't want to do anything around the house which looks anything like chores, because ... well, that's just boring!

And when you live in a unit/townhouse complex, having kids right outside your house and near your car port makes life that much more stressful.

We're coming into the second week of the Spring Holidays and the kids around here are pushing the parents to breaking point. One of the kids here annoyed the crud out of me and other people last week with her smart mouth, and this week has started off the same way - and this time, she's bullying the younger kids, then telling the adults off as well.

Before we condemn this child though, I have to tell you about her background. She comes from a broken family. Her Dad is a nice guy. He's trying his best to bring her up in a good, stable home, with lots of love and compassion and strict house rules at the same time... but her Mum is where her attitude comes from, and her smart mouth. A few months with her Mum and all his love and hard work is all undone. And this is where he wishes he could have her all the time; and sort her out properly.

Today, I talked to him about how much she lies and smart-mouths people. He ended up going and talking to her and she lied to him again, at which point he asked her the question of why would I lie to him about what she was saying and her attitude (as I told him that I would never make anything up about her, and what I was telling him was the truth - he believe me as he's had complaints about her before). So, this afternoon, he made sure to keep a close eye on her - closer than he did last week - and she behaved herself. But she only behaves when he's around; and he knows this.

It's such a pity that there's kids who don't have the love of both parents; when one parent is trying so hard to do the right thing. This is the one time I really don't like living in townhouse complexes... and it'd be better for me to live in a real house away from others.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

All In One Morning!

Today was a 'Claus Day'. This is named as such due to one of my childhood friends who was killed in a car accident when I was young - he was only 21 years old and engaged to be married. His name was Claus Skov; and a really beautiful, sweet, charming young man from Denmark I had grown up with when him and his family migrated from that gorgeous country to Australia when I was still in primary school.
My family had to reteach them English because every second word they said was 'fuck' and 'shit'. Hey, what can I say? They climatised in Mt Isa... they picked up their English from the locals there and brought their rather broad way of speaking to Brisbane. I remember fondly how they called their first pet - a white kitten - Little Shit. It was hilarious at how my brother and I tried to get him and his sister - Lena - and brother - Lars - to change the name by asking what they were going to call their cat when it grew up... Big Shit, of course! I think we settled on Snowflake or Fluffy - I don't remember. 

But today was a Claus Day... it was lovely and sunny. There wasn't too many clouds in the sky and there was a gorgeous cool breeze to lift our spirits - just nice enough to make us stop and sigh at how nice it was. Yep, that's what a Claus Day is. It's a day where I can picture Claus approaching my folks' house just to have a cup of tea and a chat. I could see his white/blonde hair fluffing in the breeze as the sun shines off it. His shirt flapping in that breeze and that wonderful smile he had. 

Like I said, he died so long ago. It was down near Beenleigh and I don't remember quite how it all happened or the details to the whole thing; but one day he was in our lives - and the next? Well, he was just gone; along with his fiance, who died in the crash with him (only a few minutes later). Really horrible and sad isn't it? My family knew him for so long and his life ended so young. 

But yeah... I had a good day out today on this day. I got a lot done in only three hours. I checked the mail, went in the search for a tapestry frame - which are as rare as hens' teeth and just as expensive as I thought they'd be once I found one! Yep, I'm going to have to make one! 
Then, I was off to the junk store at Springwood where I found some of my Birthday Buddy's present and searched for oversized pegs to paint for the markets. I then went to a Vinnie's store in search of a tapestry frame (you know, to see if they had any just in case somebody had tossed them out), but nope, not today! I did score a very cool dinner set... very retro!... for only $10. And then? Well, I went to the bank and deposited what money I had left. 

Yes it was a lucrative day.

I came home and cleaned up the new dinner set and set about figuring out what to do with the old mis-matched one. My old 20 year-old one is chipped and has bits missing from it, so I'm going to throw it out in the bin. It's not worth giving to charity if it's not complete. Well, that was my busy morning. It was only three hours for me to get this all done! Woah! What a morning! Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Other Plans And Life

Things have been really happening around here. I'm busily writing a new book - offline in a notebook I bought last week. I'm finding it easier to write it this way, instead of on the computer somehow. I don't know why, but I am.

Then, Spring sprung onto us. We've all changed our bedding onto our Summer sheets and put away our winter clothing as the temperatures changed almost overnight. Speaking of night-time temps - they are still a bit coolish, but they're nice. And we're getting rain again too.

I'm still working on pin cushions seeing a majority of mine are at the Logan Art Gallery. I can't wait to see them in the store. I hope to sell plenty of them over the next three or four months... and I also hope they become something of a permanent thing there.

Otherwise, I'm still cleaning out, cleaning up and working on my place - as usual. I bought some nice Corning ware from Vinnies and had to clean out the kitchen cupboards to make it fit. Otherwise, I'm happily making sure I have all the things I want in my kitchen and home now. 

Just recently - as recent as two weeks ago - I have been here for 14 years. I feel as though my life has been in two places at the same time in this time. I'm either standing still or going forwards; either way, it's something which keeps me thinking about what I wish to do with the rest of my life. I know I'm not a spring chicken anymore, and yet I'm not so old that life has gotten away from me.

So, what to do with myself? I'm still working on Crafty Pegs and getting in new things which may - or may not - work at the markets. And I'm hoping to get in and sell some of my work next year. Otherwise, this year has been busy with me figuring out what I want to do in the next three or four years of my life.

This week has been busy, though. I've been catching up with laundry, making pin cushions and watching the results of my garden since I fixed it up during Winter. It looks wonderful! I can't wait to see it in Summer at its height. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Only Thursday

It's Friday ... no hang on, it's Thursday!

Yep, today, I forgot what day it was!

I've had one of those weeks where I've been so busy over the last week or so that my brain hasn't kept track of the days.  Sometimes this is good, and sometimes this is bad.

For example, this morning, it almost slipped my mind that I have been living here in my townhouse for 14 years. It's been that long to the date and it's gotten that way where nothing surprises me anymore. Yep, no matter what people do, I just don't feel that shock anymore.

I'm looking at doing new things though.

Today, I was very busily driving around and getting things done this morning; then came home and vegged out with my next door neighbour who was figuring out her phone and stuff before she took off to do some shopping. Meanwhile her two darling cats were lounging around us getting a pat from both of us. 

I dropped of a collection of pin cushions to the Logan Art Gallery which are going to be in the store there from October to December. Then, I bought some tiny sinkers from BCF and half a metre of size 18 tapestry from Spotlight. I checked the mail and bought some calcium pills (which I normally take at night before bed) and then scored a cute notebook and two purple ink pens from Office Works before I headed on home.

On the weekend, I'll be doing some work on pin cushions and writing. Otherwise, not too much in the way of going out. I'm hoping to get more work done on a book where the character falls in love with the reader - which is a difficult thing to do, but I believe it can be done. So, there was my day today. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Friday, September 2, 2016

To Be A Hermit....

You know, sometimes, I think people who have gone and hidden away from the glaring lights of the public have got the right idea.

They've said: 'Go away.'

They've said: 'I want to be alone!'

They've demanded: 'Do not disturb me!'

And the public tries and tries - so does the media and they still ignore them all until one day these people emerge from the woodwork with a new book, script or have quietly passed away in their own part of the world - their own bubble away from the limelight - and into the history books of just how quietly famous they really were.

Yep, they have the right idea all right!

Now, I don't mind having people talk to me where I live - and living in a townhouse complex, it kinda hard to not have people talk to you seeing we're in such close quarters. However, when your neighbour's have big break-up, it's difficult to not get involved.

I'm good friends with the woman and we hang out and chat all the time now. But the ex-boyfriend keeps showing up like a lost puppy. He keeps on stressing us out at 8am in the morning, knocking on our doors and asking the question of 'Why?'.

Why ask me why? I don't know... I didn't break up with him, she did. It's between those two, not him and me... exactly why he showed up at my door (before I had had my coffee - which is a bad idea to do that by the way) and ask me stupid questions as to why they broke up isn't for me to answer. I kept saying that it's between him and her, that I didn't want to get this involved in their lives... and I didn't. He just wouldn't leave me alone - even after I told him I wasn't really in the right mood to be talking (aka: I haven't had my coffee!), but that went right over his head.

Now, my question to everyone, why is it that when your next door neighbours - in a townhouse complex - break up, at least one of them keeps on wanting to know why, and they ask every single person around them instead of looking at what they did?

This really pisses me off. I hate being the piggy in the middle of things like this. 

Now, he tried everything to get a seat at my kitchen table (he actually wanted to come inside and have a drink of water, I said no, and brought a glass out to him), and I said I didn't want that. He didn't know why I unfriend him on FB and I told him my reasons were clear but he didn't understand it... oh well, I ended up saying that all my friends have their lives together. They have full-time work, go to university, have families and/or businesses of their own... they have their lives well and truly together. However, I couldn't have one person who didn't - it just doesn't gel in my life to have a person like that in my life. And I hate that my standards are so high like this - but they are.

I think it's my family who have made me this way.

But I can't talk - for a long time, I didn't have my shit together, and over the past few years, I slowly pulled together my life and my money woes and savings. I sorted out myself. You know, it took only 10 years and I had myself figured out - even when my health wasn't so good, I was still working on myself as a person.

Now, it'd just be nice to be a hermit crab and live in my own little bubble sometimes and come out when the weather is good, things are good and everything is - well - good... but of course we can't all be like that, right? Nope. At least it's a nice fantasy.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Living In the Past

I think I have a love-hate relationship with the future... there's things about the past I love more than things that are going on about now.

Things were much simpler when I was a kid. If a kid bullied you at school, that's where the bullying was kept to - the schoolyard. You didn't have them bugging the crap out of you on your phone, while you were looking things up on the computer or while you were walking down the street; because 99% of the time the parents were the ones who took full responsibility for how their little grots actually acted. I had a bully at school whose parents knew their child was a horrible little grot, so much so he even picked on his little sister - yep, not just me. But he was one of those kids who made primary school so horrible for me that when it came time for me to go to high school, I asked my folks to send me to a different one than the one they had planned for me because of him.

It's not just the bullying aspect though. I have found that other things have changed as well. The way people cook is making us all so lazy. Instead of everyone cooking their family meals from scratch and sitting down at the kitchen table, most people are relying on satchels of powder where you add water, milk or cream and then you add it to something in a microwave pot, pop it in the microwave for ten minutes and hey, after cooking some rice up on the stove (yep, that's just about all people know how to cook now - besides boiling eggs and water), dinner is ready and they go and sit on the lounge and watch 'Gogglebox' or 'Survivor' or some reality television show which makes them dumber. 

Now, I'm not speaking for everyone here... but I've seen some people just pull the oddest things from the pantry and say they're 'going to cook dinner' when really they're not cooking anything, but making what I've dubbed 'plastic food'. I make dinner from scratch - and it takes over an hour to do. I buy my fruit and veggies from a farmer's market where if I don't eat it, the food actually rots in my fridge or on my benchtop in bowls (where I put fruit ready to eat!). I have milk, organic cream and full-cream, salted butter in my freezer and in a butter dish on my bench - where the latter belongs; not in the fridge where everyone seems to think mixing it with margarine is a great idea. 

I've gone back to eating the same way as my Grandparents and have felt so much better for it! My weight used yo-yo, but now it's stable. My blood pressure isn't up and down either. My blood sugars are also a very normal 4.6 - and don't move at all. And for a person who is from a family of Type II Diabetics, and has naturally low blood pressure, the doctors are very happy for me to stick to the 1960's diet I've 'discovered'... you see, it's not really a discovery I've made. The retro 1960's diet is one which is something which has been forgotten by society. 
Okay, we're a lot busier nowadays, but it shouldn't mean that we have to let our diet suffer. And just because I'm not doing paid work, doesn't mean I'm not working on anything in my life. I'm always busily do something to improve myself, my way of life or I'm working on something around my house.  I don't always have time to make dinner - but I make sure I have time to eat good food.

This has meant I have to let go of the futurist way of life. 

Yes, I have the internet - as you can plainly see - but I don't play with my phone constantly. I have a Tech-Free day once a week, where I'll turn off the computer, the television and just go for a whole day without looking either one and enjoy the day away from it all - sometimes, I go for two days without the high-tech stuff just for the fun of it. I'll pull out the vinyls and read some books, put away some art gear, work on the garden, or a painting and enjoy life just how it used to be when I was younger... and you know? It frees up my mind and I get some great ideas for writing. 
When this happens, I jump in and get out the typewriter and type up some pages of work on the table. Yes, I have a manual typewriter just for these tech-free days, so I can get in and get right back to the good ol' days of writing. A typewriter makes me really think about my words before I put them onto the page... it's a great way of writing. 

I'm also in the throws of changing my furniture back into the 1960-70's style of furnishings. In the last month or so, I've bought myself a gorgeous Chiswell Dining setting, and now, I want to buy a lounge to match the rest of the house... as the lounge I have now is very 1990's, and it just doesn't match anything I have. Yes, it's the last piece which isn't a part of the house... so I'll be saving up for a lovely old lounge over time. 

It's not hard to live in the past... what does make it difficult is how the outside world affects you when you step outside your home. This is why I love my home the way it is - retro and cluttered with little things that make it look and feel so cosy. I hang out my laundry on the clothes line and it dries out there - and I've seen so many people dump their clothes from the washing machine straight into the dryer because they claim they don't have time to wait for their clothes to dry on the line. However, when you line-dry your clothes, they last longer, feel softer and have been disinfected by the sun. In a clothes dryer, none of that has happened to your clothes.

If you live a retro lifestyle - like I do most of the time - good for you! I've been talking to a kindred spirit. However, if you're hooked into the futurist life and feel as though I've been bantering at you about a 'long lost era which I'm just dreamin' about'... well, you've failed to see my point here today. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Friday, August 26, 2016

A Tiring Week

Things have been weird this week.

I'm more tired than I thought possible; and yet my health is better than is was three months ago.

It's not me that has been causing my problems, the environment surrounding my place... and I'm not blaming my neighbours either. 

It's just life can get ... complicated sometimes.

With all this weather going weird - because it's changing from Winter into Spring soon - and so I'm not getting the sleep I'm hoping to get over the past few weeks.

It's infuriating that the weather can do this to us; and yet we put up with it. A lot of people say we're to blame, but I don't think so. Being a science-driven person, I think it's more or less the planet doing what it's supposed to be doing at the right time of its life. 

Planet Earth is a teenager going through the throws of puberty... and it's changing. It's only 3.8 million years old and has yet to do anything major with itself. I'm not surprised there's tectonic plates moving all over the place, and sink holes showing up and volcanoes doing what they're doing - it's just how a planet works, but we're here to witness it. I'm not worried about what's happening to planet; and no, we're not to blame. 
You see, when the Industrial Revolution was around, more pollution was shoved into the environment than we put out now. They burned more coal and wood than we do now; and so the air was more clogged with soot and smoke. However, people either don't think of this, or don't wish to know. 

Here on Earth, things are happening for a reason. Yes, the bees are dying out... however, if us Humans get back to our roots and work on planting out our garden more, instead of sitting in front of the television and running around after imaginary creatures you can only see with a mobile phone, the planet would be better off. 

I have become a retro-lifestyle person. My kitchen doesn't have a microwave. I don't watch television during the day, I don't have wi-fi and I most certainly don't feel the need to watch television if I don't wish to (and with all the crap on right now, really, why would I?). Retro living is a matter of going back to living like my Grandparents used to in every way I possibly can. I cook from scratch, I have solid wooden furniture, use Corning ware in my life and buy as much food as I can from a farmer's market - and only buy what I need from Coles. If I don't need to leave the house, I don't... I stay home. Yes, I have a car, but there's no real need to use it unless I absolutely have to.

It's how you see life that changes how you see the world... and it's strange how much you notice where people around you are so engrossed in their lives of computers, huge screens and phones as well as a faster way of life, that you have very much slowed down. 

I know I have slowed down compared to other people I know in my friendship circles... but then, in other aspects, I haven't. 

Yep, this week has been tiring, but only because of certain things that have been going on. I can't go into them (as they're personal and about a friend's business and isn't my place to talk about them on here). But it's something that I felt strongly enough about to help her out with. 

I'm looking forward to a nice calm weekend - well, I hope anyway - where I can work on my craft gear and enjoy being around the house; instead of being out and about all week. Until my next post, which I hope isn't so all over the place, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Life Stages

We all go through stages in our lives; and some are good, some bad. I'm going through that mid-life stage in my life where I'm settling into knowing exactly what I want... and it's funny I should have known I wanted this all along, but I didn't want people thinking I was being a dag about what I liked.

Isn't it funny how we all wonder how people what people think of us? Now, some of you will say that you don't believe in that baloney, but really deep down inside, you do. Before you leave the house, you look in the mirror at what you're wearing and wonder: do I look good today? That's you making an outside judgement of what others will think of you. For me, if I'm comfortable in my clothes, that's all that really matters; so long I have on matching socks, ear-rings and a nice necklace, and nice perfume, I'm set to leave the house.

But it's taken me until I'm into my 40's to realise that I love the 1970's way of living. The decor of my house has taken a huge step backwards a few decades and I'm hoping to keep it there. I have been happily working away at making it look nice, and enjoy the love of coming home to a retro-furnished home. However, I didn't realised how retro my house was until I bought my kitchen table to replace the Art Deco one; and the Chiswell one fitted in so well with most of my living room. The only thing which doesn't fit in now is my lounge - it's too modern; so it has to be replaced with something that fits in with the decor of the room; so make it feel right.

If you told me that I was going to be doing this with my furniture five or ten years ago, I would have laughed at you, asking what the hell you were talking about... and what would people think of me. Now, I'm older, I really just want my house to be comfortable, to reflect how I feel about life and how I want my life to be. It's another stage of my life I'm working through - it's a very cool stage; and I'm looking forward to finding that right style of lounge to fit into my living room. Then it's a case of getting rid of my old lounge... I'm sure that won't take long.

So, what stages have you found yourself going through in your life? Are they as sudden as mine are? Or are they subtle and less noticeable? Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Having An Opinion Treated Like A Crime

Yesterday, I was on Facebook when I watched a video of a Lion taking revenge against two hunters who had gunned down another Lion. They were happily posing with the fresh kill in front of their vehicle, joking around and taking their time; not thinking any other animal would be around watching on, when another male Lion attacked them both.

My opinion to game hunting like this is that they got what they deserved - and I said so. This was my honest opinion and I'm allowed to have it. However, it seemed to piss off a friend of the person who uploaded the video who jumped on me and told me off - yes, he trolled. He called me an uneducated person and questioned me about my ethics, about how I could put up a recipe which had bacon in it and how I could be a hypocrite when I put animals above the lives of Humans. 

He didn't get what I was saying.  

In my country, we don't hunt game like this; we cull animals like Kangaroos because they become a pest otherwise. We have strict gun laws and not everyone has a gun in our homes - we don't have a right to own a firearm, it's not something I have in my own house, I don't see the point. 

But it seems that when we have an opinion about something, it's not a good thing to voice our opinions about it because there's always somebody out there who we're going to be insulting, stepping on the toes of or bothering. 

I was always told by my teachers at school that if we didn't have our own opinions, we'd all be sheep, being led around by the nose by the wrong people in the same directions - and this is the truth, people.

I'm not about to apologise to any bigoted people out there who think what I say is wrong. And if they don't like what I have to say about something on Facebook, in the newspapers, on the news or in public... well, they don't have to like it. I don't like other people's opinions and I say so; and if people don't like that I don't like other people's opinions? Well, you get where I'm going, don't you? We get into a huge argument and it all becomes a huge fight.

In truth, you don't have to like anyone's opinions - because they're like butt.  Everyone's got one, but not everyone wants to see yours on the front of the daily newspaper. However, if you're on social media, and you voice your opinion about something - or show a video that may ruffles feathers in more way than one - you have to expect more than one person will have different opinions in the comments below it. Don't let your friends get into a huge fight. Don't let one person blaze another publicly and don't let anyone make another feel like shit in that public forum when you've uploaded something that will make the shit hit the fan in more ways than you think. 

People and the public will always have their own opinion about everything... and what I find difficult is that not everyone will agree on the one thing every single time. You have to decided what is safe to put up for the public to see, what is safe for your friends to see and what is just for you to see. Keep in mind that once you've uploaded something onto the internet, it's there forever.

Friday, August 5, 2016

Being Sentimental

I've been catching up with all kinds of things since last week; since I bought a retro kitchen table and sold my late-Grandmother's art deco one within 48 hours of each other. It was weird. I found a Chiswell Dining table with matching chairs and got Dad to help me purchase it and sold a table and chairs I've known all my life to a lady in Beenleigh who wanted to do it up as her kitchen table. 

She loved it just as it was. I did say in the advert that it needed work on the chairs and the table was in good condition - and when she pulled the car into the car park next to my place she squealed with delight, saying it was gorgeous, it was perfect and just what she needed. She paid me and then put it into her SUV and took it home. 
Dad, Mum and I went in our own directions as we had places to be last Saturday. I had an Author's Day at InHouse Publishing to attend and then head off to my folks' house to finish up polishing the chairs and painting a stain on the veneer on the table before I took two of the chairs home. 

But it was when I arrived home, when I was confronted with that space where the old table used to be that I realised I what I had done. I had gotten rid of something I've known all my life. I've sold off a piece of my Grandmother's furniture I have only ever seen in her house - in her kitchen - and now I'll never, ever see it again; and this thought crushed me. I burst into tears and wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I phoned Mum and talked to her; and she told me that Grandma would have understood completely; she would have approved of the new, retro Chiswell table I've bought, that she wouldn't have minded me selling the old one at all. I know I sound like a sentimentalist about this, but when you've grown up with something like this in your life, and it's been in your memory for as far back as you can remember, it's hard to let it go. 

I'm one of those people who find it very hard to let go of things in life which hold a great memory for me. Now, that old kitchen table reminded me of all the meals that Grandma cooked at Tarragindi for us - all the roast lunches, all the times I dropped in to see her on Thursdays after Grandpa had passed away and I brought Red Rooster with me (we would watch 'Days of Our Lives' on the television in the kitchen and she'd tell me who was horrible and who was nice during the show). She always had a vase of plastic yellows flowers in the middle of that table on a green and white doiley she had made, and was always up for a chat. And after a huge lunch, she'd lean down, open up a cupboard and pull out a few Tupperware containers of slices and a cake and feed us more! Man, my Grandmother would cook enough food for the Army, the Air Force and the Navy... then there'd still be leftovers for the family! 

This is why I became so distraught over selling the table after it was gone. So many memories had been made around that table. So many breakfasts with my brother and Grandma and Grandpa on school holidays... lunches, morning tea and afternoon tea as well. Then, at dinner time when I didn't want to eat my brussel sprouts, Grandpa would leave the kitchen and Grandma would scoop up my and Gabe's servings and eat them for us, and then give us our desserts, promising us that she'd 'never tell Grandpa...' and she give a wink and a little smile. I still hate brussel sprouts and wonder if anyone would still scoff them down for me if I didn't want to eat them at dinner. Fortunately, now I'm grown up enough to say that I don't like them and don't want them on my plate.

I'm just so happy that my late-Grandmother's table went off to a lady who really wanted something that was Art Deco and pretty for her home; something she was going to use after she fixed up the chairs and get rid of the wobble in the table. But seeing how old the whole set is, it's in pretty good condition and has been cared for well. I just hope the lady looks after it and loves it as much as it has been loved over the last 30 - 40 years; as those types of dining settings were built to last - just like the Chiswell. And I'll never let mine go because of how well it's built. 

Sunday, July 31, 2016

So Much Going On This Month!

Oh, where do I start? So much has gone on and there's so much to say, but I don't know where to start.

I'm over the laryngitis - finally - and now we're about to be plunged back into freezing cold weather again soon. The weather is nice and fine now, but word is that we're in for more chilly days and nights before we see Spring coming our way. And that's fine for me - so long I don't get sick again.

This year is Census Year. This is where we all get to put our hand up and be counted by our country. It's a great thing. Now, I'm going to remember to put down which religion I am so that I can be counted in that way too. However, that doesn't happen until next month.

This month has been a busy old month of things going on, a Birthday, a building starting to be built across the road from my parents' house and one nearly burning down at the unit complex and then my garden was finished for this year while I was sick. And in this last week, I sold my late-Grandmother's dining table and bought a lovely Chiswell dinner table and chairs and fixed them up! What a great thing to have in my possession. Dad helped me buy it, and I have almost finished paying him back; not far to go now. 

But in between all that, I've been knitting more of the squares of the huge throw I'm making, painting, cooking and baking, reading, writing and watching movies. My living room is halfway through being tidied up and I'm hoping to have my folks over in a couple of weeks for dinner as my new dining table will be big enough to use for just that - without us bumping elbows with each other.

Yes, I've had social occasions to go out too. I dressed up as my favourite animal at the Logan Art Gallery when we had a Family Fun Day (I went as a butterfly) and then it poured rain for the afternoon - which was a bit of a bummer. And just yesterday, I was out and about in Underwood at InHouse Publishing attending their Author's Day. I loved it! What a lovely day it was to have an outing like this. There was a coffee van, sausage sizzle and books! Oh! I was so lucky to have not taken any money with me that day! Well, that's all about this month... until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.