It's been a bumper year in the life of me and my family - and my friends as well!
January started out this year - as it does in every year - and really I had absolutely zero idea what I was going to do with my life this year. There were no plans, no work I was going to do, no books to work on, no paintings... nothing really to help me kick me into gear. But I decluttered parts of my house during a heatwave, followed Peter Walsh's 30 Days of decluttering... and that was great. I have learned so much from Peter that I don't just declutter in the first month of the year, I keep on decluttering throughout the year - and now, this year, I've been decluttering for over 5 years; and this month, I start up a blog called 'A Work In Progress'... it's slow getting off the ground, but it'll pick up soon.
In February, I join the Logan Artists Association and begin taking art classes. I've wanted to go to art school for a long time; and it's something I wanted to do improve my artistic ways. I want to be able to work with other artists as well as with my niece, Riley, in the future as I learn more about different ways to paint and draw.
During this month, my Dad turned 70 and the Queen Beez Craft Group turned 25... two big milestones right there where I was able to attend both parties. I also took part in an interview with SBS about how Muslims are living in our society; then was told that it was going to be shown this November.
Over the next few months, I attended art school, donated plenty to the Vinnies at Underwood/Slacks Creek and then I looked for some armchairs for the living room and put my large, IKEA lounge on Gumtree... but nobody wanted it. We asked charities to take it but they wouldn't take it because it wasn't perfect. It broke my heart to have to tip it. It had been working very well for over 30 years and there was nothing wrong with it; and still we had no choice.
I also went to workshops at the Logan Art Gallery and scored a great Easter present from Mum - a Kitchen Aide! How cool is that? I ended up making a brilliant sponge cake with it!
I started seriously looking at how my house was furnished and making my place into a home I wanted to live in - and not just something I came home to and existed in. So, the next time I move, all the furnishings will be for the next home; and will fit in it.
My family also got to meet Ellie, Gabe and Kat's new little fur-baby. She's such a cutie, but still was getting used to being around people.
Art school continued on through Winter and I also added to my wardrobe with second-hand clothes and other items around the other charity stores. I also started looking for things to shop for this Christmas... yes, I'm a very early shopper.
Then, the LCC came and pulled up the sewer lid in my back yard to look at the drains and if they needed relining... a smelly and weird job. In the process, they wrecked my lawn. So, I had to reseed it and get it growing again in the worse time of year - Winter.
In June, I went to a stocktake sale at Eckersley's and scored myself a Jasart easel at half price! But instead of letting me pay for it, Dad wanted to pay for so he could get me to do things around his place for him. I don't like dirty pool; and told him that it's not a good thing to do to a person.
Also in June, I went to an outdoor art class for the day, took care of myself and made sure I was warm; but 3 days later, I woke up at 4am and found I couldn't speak let alone swallow... yep, I had laryngitis - again! So, there I was quarantined for over 2 weeks inside my house so I didn't spread it around... oh... yay... how much fun is this? Not!
Once I got over the hacking and coughing of Laryngitis, and I was able to sleep through the night, I got in and repotted most of my plants into bigger pots, or back-filled them... then Kat's birthday came around - and it was freezing! - but we had a great time!
Then August was here before we knew it! It has been 20 years since I had been to the UK and the same amount of years since Lady Diana and her lover Dodi had been killed in the most horrific car accident! I was over in the UK when this happened and I was also there for the funeral... however, the locals didn't treat me all that well, which was dreadful. They weren't the only ones who were taking it badly.
Triple M hit the big 37 year mark and cut a vinyl and the day it came out, I drove like a mad woman to Garden City to pick up my copy... and the one I scored was the only one in stock. Lucky me! I play it Every two weeks or so; as it's so much fun to hear those great songs.
I also removed my medi-alert bracelet from my arm for the last time. Now, don't get shocked: I went in and got: 'Alert! Epilepsy' tattooed to my right arm instead. Now, I'll never lose another bracelet ever again... it's right where the police and emergency personnel can see it.
In September and October, I made my first batch of Limoncello; and it put me to sleep when I tasted it... making me miss out on the last half of the AFL Grand Finals! Dammit, I wanted to watch that! For the whole months of October, I seem to celebrate my birthday... so I made a sponge cake for my birthday, received a box of chocolates from one of the class mates at art class and enjoyed my day. My birthday was actually on the Wednesday, and so we all went out to a dinner near Gabe and Kat's house... but during the week, I bought some weird and crazy things for my birthday; including Bruce Springsteen's autobiography and a box to put my phone in (which in the last few weeks I haven't used). In late October, the Pop-Up Store at the Logan Art Gallery started up and my display was in there... and I'm proud to say that it looks wonderful!
November was National Novel-Writing Month worldwide and I got in and wrote a great book! I worked my butt off on the damned thing and finished my 50,000 words! Yes, I was a champion this year - unlike the past years - I made it! I wrote over 3,000 words a day and didn't do any editing; not until next month, which will be good for me to get in and do.
But during November, seeing I was locked inside my home for a good part of it, I made sure I went out in the car a lot too... it just made sense to keep myself decluttering and op-shopping and looking for Christmas presents - and also shopping for a new tree; a 6footer! - to adorn my home now.
December has been a huge social occasion after another. First my brother had his art opening, then there was the Logan Art Gallery's Christmas Party, then I went back to art school on the Monday morning again and then there was the lunch for the Queen Beez Craft Group and the following week, I went to the morning tea for the Logan Art Gallery where we got our certificates and presents and other goodies and food and great things as well for the year. And then, I attended the Queen Beez Craft Group's last meeting; and I told them it was my last group for them; as my life is taking in other directions with the Logan Artists Association and I feel my time at the Queen Beez is coming to an end. They were kinda sad about this but asked me to come and see them when I could... I promised I would. Then, there was Christmas... oh boy! Christmas Eve was at my cousin's house and Christmas day was split between my folks' house and Tutasi's family and it was great, stinking hot and there was so much food! And then there was a massive storm which hit just as I got home and pulled everything inside from the car.
Yep, this year has been full of great things, bad things, arts and craft and other wonderful things. Next year is going to be the same. I'm going to be painting more, writing more, gardening more and looking at tossing out more from my house to make it better and better and easier for me to move out of here when the time does come to move out.
So, this was the yearly newsletter of what's gone on in 2017! It feels like it's been 10 years since the beginning of the year, doesn't it? Here's to the next year of 2018!
January started out this year - as it does in every year - and really I had absolutely zero idea what I was going to do with my life this year. There were no plans, no work I was going to do, no books to work on, no paintings... nothing really to help me kick me into gear. But I decluttered parts of my house during a heatwave, followed Peter Walsh's 30 Days of decluttering... and that was great. I have learned so much from Peter that I don't just declutter in the first month of the year, I keep on decluttering throughout the year - and now, this year, I've been decluttering for over 5 years; and this month, I start up a blog called 'A Work In Progress'... it's slow getting off the ground, but it'll pick up soon.
In February, I join the Logan Artists Association and begin taking art classes. I've wanted to go to art school for a long time; and it's something I wanted to do improve my artistic ways. I want to be able to work with other artists as well as with my niece, Riley, in the future as I learn more about different ways to paint and draw.
During this month, my Dad turned 70 and the Queen Beez Craft Group turned 25... two big milestones right there where I was able to attend both parties. I also took part in an interview with SBS about how Muslims are living in our society; then was told that it was going to be shown this November.
Over the next few months, I attended art school, donated plenty to the Vinnies at Underwood/Slacks Creek and then I looked for some armchairs for the living room and put my large, IKEA lounge on Gumtree... but nobody wanted it. We asked charities to take it but they wouldn't take it because it wasn't perfect. It broke my heart to have to tip it. It had been working very well for over 30 years and there was nothing wrong with it; and still we had no choice.
I also went to workshops at the Logan Art Gallery and scored a great Easter present from Mum - a Kitchen Aide! How cool is that? I ended up making a brilliant sponge cake with it!
I started seriously looking at how my house was furnished and making my place into a home I wanted to live in - and not just something I came home to and existed in. So, the next time I move, all the furnishings will be for the next home; and will fit in it.
My family also got to meet Ellie, Gabe and Kat's new little fur-baby. She's such a cutie, but still was getting used to being around people.
Art school continued on through Winter and I also added to my wardrobe with second-hand clothes and other items around the other charity stores. I also started looking for things to shop for this Christmas... yes, I'm a very early shopper.
Then, the LCC came and pulled up the sewer lid in my back yard to look at the drains and if they needed relining... a smelly and weird job. In the process, they wrecked my lawn. So, I had to reseed it and get it growing again in the worse time of year - Winter.
In June, I went to a stocktake sale at Eckersley's and scored myself a Jasart easel at half price! But instead of letting me pay for it, Dad wanted to pay for so he could get me to do things around his place for him. I don't like dirty pool; and told him that it's not a good thing to do to a person.
Also in June, I went to an outdoor art class for the day, took care of myself and made sure I was warm; but 3 days later, I woke up at 4am and found I couldn't speak let alone swallow... yep, I had laryngitis - again! So, there I was quarantined for over 2 weeks inside my house so I didn't spread it around... oh... yay... how much fun is this? Not!
Once I got over the hacking and coughing of Laryngitis, and I was able to sleep through the night, I got in and repotted most of my plants into bigger pots, or back-filled them... then Kat's birthday came around - and it was freezing! - but we had a great time!
Then August was here before we knew it! It has been 20 years since I had been to the UK and the same amount of years since Lady Diana and her lover Dodi had been killed in the most horrific car accident! I was over in the UK when this happened and I was also there for the funeral... however, the locals didn't treat me all that well, which was dreadful. They weren't the only ones who were taking it badly.
Triple M hit the big 37 year mark and cut a vinyl and the day it came out, I drove like a mad woman to Garden City to pick up my copy... and the one I scored was the only one in stock. Lucky me! I play it Every two weeks or so; as it's so much fun to hear those great songs.
I also removed my medi-alert bracelet from my arm for the last time. Now, don't get shocked: I went in and got: 'Alert! Epilepsy' tattooed to my right arm instead. Now, I'll never lose another bracelet ever again... it's right where the police and emergency personnel can see it.
In September and October, I made my first batch of Limoncello; and it put me to sleep when I tasted it... making me miss out on the last half of the AFL Grand Finals! Dammit, I wanted to watch that! For the whole months of October, I seem to celebrate my birthday... so I made a sponge cake for my birthday, received a box of chocolates from one of the class mates at art class and enjoyed my day. My birthday was actually on the Wednesday, and so we all went out to a dinner near Gabe and Kat's house... but during the week, I bought some weird and crazy things for my birthday; including Bruce Springsteen's autobiography and a box to put my phone in (which in the last few weeks I haven't used). In late October, the Pop-Up Store at the Logan Art Gallery started up and my display was in there... and I'm proud to say that it looks wonderful!
November was National Novel-Writing Month worldwide and I got in and wrote a great book! I worked my butt off on the damned thing and finished my 50,000 words! Yes, I was a champion this year - unlike the past years - I made it! I wrote over 3,000 words a day and didn't do any editing; not until next month, which will be good for me to get in and do.
But during November, seeing I was locked inside my home for a good part of it, I made sure I went out in the car a lot too... it just made sense to keep myself decluttering and op-shopping and looking for Christmas presents - and also shopping for a new tree; a 6footer! - to adorn my home now.
December has been a huge social occasion after another. First my brother had his art opening, then there was the Logan Art Gallery's Christmas Party, then I went back to art school on the Monday morning again and then there was the lunch for the Queen Beez Craft Group and the following week, I went to the morning tea for the Logan Art Gallery where we got our certificates and presents and other goodies and food and great things as well for the year. And then, I attended the Queen Beez Craft Group's last meeting; and I told them it was my last group for them; as my life is taking in other directions with the Logan Artists Association and I feel my time at the Queen Beez is coming to an end. They were kinda sad about this but asked me to come and see them when I could... I promised I would. Then, there was Christmas... oh boy! Christmas Eve was at my cousin's house and Christmas day was split between my folks' house and Tutasi's family and it was great, stinking hot and there was so much food! And then there was a massive storm which hit just as I got home and pulled everything inside from the car.
Yep, this year has been full of great things, bad things, arts and craft and other wonderful things. Next year is going to be the same. I'm going to be painting more, writing more, gardening more and looking at tossing out more from my house to make it better and better and easier for me to move out of here when the time does come to move out.
So, this was the yearly newsletter of what's gone on in 2017! It feels like it's been 10 years since the beginning of the year, doesn't it? Here's to the next year of 2018!
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