Out with The Old...

It was that kinda month this month - but in a slow kinda way. I had to wait for things to finish, and wait for things to start as well... and in a strange way, it was interesting to just sit back watch it all happen.

I had to wait for my last markets to come and go - and I walked away with over $70 on that lovely day - and within the next week, I could afford to buy my birthday gift to myself: two sets of Stratco shelving units for my art gear. Dad helped me put it together; I'm thankful he did, because it was fiddly in a lot of ways. He told me it won't fit, and didn't by around 10cm, but I found that little bit of give was good for me because when I charge up my tablet or phone, I can slot them into the lower bookshelves out of the way when I'm eating dinner or clearing the table. Not a bad idea, right? 
Well, all my art books fit into one bookcase, along with a container with my wrapping paper and the stone from my oven. Then on the other one is my esky/cooler (which was sitting in front of my oven for years and getting in the way) and other things which weren't working out where they were. I also have a space for my food processor (so I can use it more) and a container for my laundry detergents as well. It's created so much more storage and more space around the place. 

The garden is flourishing! There's the Camellia looking wonderful as it starts putting out new leaves as it'll flower this Summer. And then, there's the Garlic which I'm looking forward to harvesting next year. Then my Frangipanis all put out leaves in the past week! Also, my Ficus is growing too! The Agapanthus is all sitting up straighter and looking like it's going to put out stems for their flowers soon. Yep, it's all full steam ahead for another great Summer in my garden. 

Vanessa and Matt moved into their new place and I helped them clean the place next door. Then, within about a week or so, I got new neighbours of two young girls who are straight out of home. They're just starting out; and one's a karate instructor and the other is a uni student. They don't have much but they're doing well. 
Over the past few weeks, I've had a few things to donate at charity, so I thought to clean up those things and give them to my neighbours. They've been very grateful. I know what it's like to not have much when you first move out.

I've begun on my Christmas list and looking at what everyone will need this year.  So far, I've begun knitting a scarf and am looking around at what my Birthday Buddy is getting... which is a great fun thing which she can keep and enjoy and reuse as well. I'm looking forward to seeing what she sends me. We have so much fun with our exchanges every year... and to think it started off as a once-off thing on Bookcrossing and turned into a fun thing for us two. 

Anyway, this month has been busy, exciting, interesting and fun. I've done an art demonstration and am excited about starting new work. I'm looking at writing a new book. I'm currently reading - and really getting into - the fourth book of 'The Dark Tower' series. And I'm finding life is slowly turning around for me. It's taking time, but it's starting to look good again. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

A More Positive

It's been a while since I last wrote. But I've been going through a dark phase; and didn't want to depress you all. 

The garden is looking great; and I'm adding new little succulents which I got from a friend of mine last week. I'm also saving up for my birthday present of 2 shelving units from Stratco to put all my art and craft stuff into from the markets. This will give me more room to move - and an extra box to use for storage. The Crafty Pegs items I didn't sell on Saturday will be taken to my old craft group and they can sell them off to have the money given to the community centre. I just can't be bothered working out Gumtree where people want things for nothing... it's not worth my trouble. 

I'm cleaning out the unit again, and I started on Saturday night, where I cleaned up a piece of furniture and gave it to my new neighbours. They love it! There's going to be the skinny bookcase too; which I'll give to them as well. I won't be needing it anymore, and I scored that for nothing. So, why not pass it on while it's still in good condition?

Well, I'll be cleaning out my art gear and handing it onto people who want it, and getting rid of canvases I don't want as well... while getting ones I want to use for my next exhibition. It's going to be a big clean up, and it's going to be all worth the mess to start with. By November, my place will be tidier and better and easier to use and store things in. 

I'm looking forward to the next month of sorting out and I'm more eager about working on the place because I have a goal about how things are going to be. Just like the garden, my house needs a big tidy-up, bigger than it needed before. This will mean I'll be letting go of big things which I had in the place for a long time. And seeing a part of my Crafty Pegs hobby business is being let go of, doesn't mean it's going away, I'm just taking it into another direction... a great one.

My life is going into another direction as well. 

Since Hannah's passing, I've been in mourning and hit a kind of bottom. Some of my friends and family probably didn't see it, but I haven't been doing so well emotionally. I've had a huge case of writer's block and haven't been able to write anything to call substantial since May or June. 

But I'm getting my writing mojo back and I'm beginning to sleep better (yeah, I wasn't sleeping all that well). I've begun to look after myself, eating better and going to the gym, and I'm beginning to see things in a different light. I do miss my wonderful friend greatly, however, she was in pain. 

This past weekend was the first time I really enjoyed the whole weekend right through. I attended the funeral of a family member and didn't say much to many people - which was something only a few people noticed. 

And on the Saturday, I was up before dawn and attended my very last markets ever; totally enjoying my day. I forgot to bring my coffee and sugar and laughed at myself about it. It was a great, beautiful day to sit back and sell some goods to people. 

Then, on Sunday, I drove to the fruit market and took my time getting home - something I never do. It was the first time I really looked up and around in months to see it was truly a beautiful Spring day... that I had completely missed out on Winter and had pretty much ignored the world for so long. 

I spent my time split between sorting through my crap in the art area and sitting out in my newly-renovated garden that day, watching it - admiring it - and enjoying the beauty of that day. I had missed out on the past few months, somehow closing myself off from everyone and everything. 

Today, I went to art class and my teacher, Aaron, even noticed my attitude and my mood is different from the past months. He asked me if I'm okay... I smiled, 'Yeah, I'm better than I have been in a while.' And you know, I don't know what's happened lately. But I think it's because I've allowed myself to mourn and grieve properly that I can be happy with myself now. I'm hoping to move onto a new painting next week. I'm looking forward to cleaning up and cleaning out the living room and kitchen area so I can have my house tidier than it's ever been before. I'm hoping to be more positive than I have been in months. What are you hoping for? Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Another Year Here

My 8am alarm woke me this morning, and I found there was the lovely, sound of rain on the roof. I didn't want to get out bed because I was so comfortable - and the rain was so calming, and it was 8th, September. 

This date may not mean much to you guys, okay a birthday, anniversary or the date of when somebody passed away maybe, but for me, today is the day - to the date - that I moved out of my folks' house and into a place of my own, on my own sixteen years ago. 

It was daunting, scary and weird... and I didn't have much in the way of possessions, just a folding chair, a plastic box, a bookcase and a little black television set (which my brother lovingly called 'the porthole' due to its size). The room with the most furnishings was my bedroom and the kitchen didn't have much either - thank goodness I had a Glory Box with items in it for when I either moved out or got married. 

But the first two years were the hardest for me. I was scared, nervous, intimidated by everyone, and not knowing how to be friends with anyone. I didn't want to get involved with my neighbours, but somehow did and regretted doing so. 
And over time, I eventually made up my own mind over who to be friends with, who to talk to, what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go, who to have at my place and who not to invite over. It was all a matter of not trusting anyone but myself. Sounds harsh but it's true.

The older I got, the less I trusted people, the more next door neighbours who came and went. Some of them stuck around for a few years, while others were gone in a blink of an eye; and then there were others still who were evicted and then there were the ones who could smell the eviction notice coming and vanished into the ether.
I have seen all kinds of things happen around here and have often talked with the police, who have become harder to talk to as their jobs have become more difficult to do. At times, I've found myself hiding from the noises around the place in the middle of the night, instead of being in my comfy bed with all my lights off wondering if it stop - while most nights I've slept the night through and we haven't been bothered by anything. 

Every couple of years, I've changed something about my townhouse - be it the garden or the interior - and it's looked and felt different each time. In the past few years, I've made a big change to the furnishings, giving it a 70's theme and it's really gone well! I love the feel it gives off and enjoy the warmth of the browns and earth tones... and yet, there's the modern technology mixed into it as well. 
This year, I changed up the back garden completely renovating it over the past 3 months; and it's going really well! Just as I've put down grass seed, it's begun to rain and the sun has started to shine into the back garden in the afternoons, thus it'll all started to become lush and green again. 

Yes, sixteen years in one place has made my little townhouse look not so different from the outside, but feel like a castle on the inside. And that's the thing: your house is your home and your castle. No matter where you lay your hat, you make your place feel the way you want it to. I've seen the inside of many townhouses here at the unit complex, and there's not much going for them inside; simply because the people aren't putting in the effort. 

I started out with nothing in my house... and now it's built into a place I look forward to coming home to. I enjoy being at home on the weekends. I love sitting out in my back garden at any time of the day or night. Once the doors are closed and the curtains are drawn, the outside world not longer exists and I'm in my own world - and that's what a home is supposed to make you feel like. And when I move from here, and take my things with me, I'll be able to do the exact same thing with my belongings to the next place I live in for however long I'm there for. 

Where Do I Start?

Well, so much has gone on this month, and in the past few days that I'm not sure where to start. At the beginning is a good place I guess.

My Little Garden Facelift has come forward in leaps in bounds since I installed the greenhouse; and the things I've been growing in it - and want to grow in it - are great! I've got a flourishing black cherry tomato vine in there and some herbs I'm using all the time. I want to get in a good salad tomato for this Summer - one which isn't acidic (as these things often make me feel sick in the guts from the acid in them) and seeing I'm growing basil, I'll look into growing more than I have now. 
Then, I put down 4 big bags of cheap potting mix on my big dip in the lawn. It just wasn't working out properly and I had to level out the ground before putting down new lawn seed again. I have done that but the seed came up too fine and I found I had to get better seed - which I did, and now it's a waiting game.

Over the month of August, I've been working on shutting down 'Crafty Pegs'... but not in the way people think. Every time I've said I'm closing it down, I'd gotten the look of horror from my friends. I'm attending a market to get rid of excess stock and I'll be working on a commision; so people can order things from me and I can make them as they're ordered. It's easier for me and I'll have more room in my house too! 

Well, it's also been a great month for me to work on not only my house, but also myself. I joined a gym at the beginning of August - and stuck with it - but I'm continuing on with my membership for the next 6 months! I'm feeling wonderful, working out twice a week and enjoying the difference in how the gym is making me feel. 

I did a little op-shopping, cracked my pinky toe on my right foot (and it's still recovering) and then before that I decided to get myself a new toiletries bag from Priceline - and it had to be purple, didn't it? Yep, it did. And it looks just lovely! I'm so happy I bought it! 
And then, my brother and his family were by Mum and Dad's house one Sunday night and I came by too... Ellie, their dog, was there too for a few days and she was just lovely to hang out with and pat. I'm looking at the photos from Project 365 and I had a big month last month; and well, this month started off big too.

We lost two family members - one of them was a lovely lady who had been in our lives for such a long time, I do think it's going to take a long time for us to grieve. Oma, Aunty Helen's step-Mother-In-Law, passed away on Sunday - Father's Day here in Australia - aged 99. What an age to reach, and such a day to leave us so suddenly as well. She fell ill that morning and was gone before the sun set. 

The next day, I found out that my Dad's cousin from up north passed away on Father's Day as well. I didn't know his cousin well, but she wasn't well for a long time with Breast Cancer; and she was around Dad's age. 

So sad over the past few days. I'm only hoping the next month picks up for us all in my family. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.