Been Busy

It's been a while since my last post, and it's because I've been busily working away on paintings and decluttering - well, okay, not so much decluttering but collecting from charity stores - and hanging out with my friend Tutasi. She's heading home to the USA earlier than expected; so I'm hanging out with her more over the next few days as I don't know when I'll see her again.

Anyway, today, I got in and did three loads of laundry and it's all outside on the line. The garden has been mowed, weeded and cleaned up over the past week or so. And I have to get either new batteries for the lights out in the garden - or new lights. I'll see if I can get new batteries first and if I can't, new lights it is!

I'm looking at cleaning out the kitchen and living room again and donating what I don't need anymore - yep it's time for another major declutter and donation before I buy anything else. But I've been buying some clothes for Winter and getting in and buying some bangles. 

Otherwise, I'm onto my 3 painting of Brunswick Heads at the Logan Artists Association and my 2nd one for this year. The first one this year will be going to the Member's Exhibition next week and I'll be hoping to sell it - now that'd be great! I can't wait if I do. 
I'm also knitting away at night for myself. I'm making my own throw for my bed. It's taking shape really well and I can't wait to pull it together in the next year or so. 

Now Autumn has been showing itself more, I'm looking at what I enjoy wearing more and the nights are cooler - thank goodness. The pedestal fan has been put away and I'm sleeping better; Summer really isn't a great season for people like me, people who can't handle the heat. But as the year moves on, I'll be working on bettering the way my place looks, the way the garden looks and the way everything fits in my place. This is going to be a really creative year for me in every aspect of my life. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here. 

Little Bits and Pieces

I'm coming to the pointy end of my Christmas shopping... yep, I'm still going with it; but as promised, I'm not going to the big retail stores.

And you know something? 

It's really become a relaxing thing for me this time around! 

Honestly, you have to try op-shopping for your family next year... and hand-making things as well... it's not as bad as you may think.

I've found some great things; and today I'm planning on getting in and finishing up on some housework, then popping out and catching up on checking the mail, going to Bunnings and buying a few things there, then getting in and finishing up with a spot of op-shopping at Vinnies to buy a couple of picture frames - one of them has to be really big to fit something in it.

It's the bits and pieces part of the shopping; and I'm looking forward to doing this part.

When I returned home from the coast, I got in and did a bit of grocery shopping, two loads of laundry and put away the wiping up on that day... then the next day day, I was out to get more food, the paper and to check the mail before coming home to weed the garden, water the lawn and gardens (as it's been horribly dry here) and then wash the car from it being at the coast for a week. 

Today, I'm washing my sheets - well, it's been hot and sunny... and I'm sure it'll all dry in the sunny conditions.

While the housework is being caught up on, I'm making sure the presents are being taken care off too... yep, a busy time for me all around. 

So, how is your Christmas shopping going? Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

A Busy Month

It's been a busy month; and so the reason why I haven't been writing in here all that often.

But at this time of year, I do slacken off writing online; on my blogs and do write more offline. So, what has been happening in my life is more cleaning out, Christmas Card writing, decluttering, working on what to give who for Christmas and enjoying the time of the year - which is supposed to be boiling hot, but it's not.

And this year, I'm making things for my family or op-shopping the things for them... so there's no mad rush to the big retailers for me. I'm going out to the charity stores to look at what's there and getting nice things for my family.

What a way to shop!

So far, I've got two presents on their way to being done... one is a painting, another is a t-towel. And next week I'll be pulling together the third one for another relative - well the beginnings of it anyway. 

This is the least stressed I've been for Christmas presents ever; mainly because it's the most fun I've had doing something for this time of year.

And isn't that the main thing? To have fun?

Sure it is.

So, when you're looking at what to get your family this year, stop and think. Do they really need something that's going to blow out your credit card, or do they really need that little something that will last longer than six months? 

I'm picking carefully... and going for something from the heart which is either hand-made or preloved. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

The War On Waste

Last night, on the ABC television, I watched an hour of television which really educated and saddened me. It was a documentary which showed me how much food we are wasting in Australia - and yet, the government is blaming us, the consumer, for this problem, when it's got nothing to do with us.

It starts at the farmers. They pull in more food than we can eat - that's enough food to feed over twice our population - and yet they are forced to throw away over 40 tonnes of it every day because it doesn't look right, it's too long, it's too short, it's too thick, it's too thin... sounds like I'm describing something disgusting, right? Well, I'm not. I'm describing bananas. Our farmers are throwing away so many bananas where there's nothing wrong with them except their size and yet, they're wasted because the big shopping centres think we don't want to eat them.
But this is to their strict standards of how food should look; making us fussy customers - which in turn makes the farmers waste so much on their farms. Putting it in ordinary terms: the farmers throw out about 40% of what they pull in every day - something they could be donating to food banks, sending to people who can't afford to eat and making sure we all eat.

Another way food it being wasted is at the shopping centres. There's big industrial bins out the back of the places where so much food is being thrown out instead of being used in the food banks. There are people who bin-dive to survive on the food there; and they are the most unlikely people as well. 
Over 20 years ago, when I was younger and working, I used to skateboard around the back of one of the local shopping centres and bin dive to find they threw out the best things! There were magazines, bread, fruit and vegetables, bags of chips and nuts... all within date. When I was spotted by security, the shopping centre whacked a padlock on the bins. Were they in denial or did they do that for my own safety? I'll never know. But if that was happening over 20 years ago, I wonder if they're doing this still.

It's not just food being wasted either. 

There's clothes, furniture and other essentials in life which makes our lives so much more comfortable which is being wasted by being tossed in landfill. 

I recycle everything I can before I have to throw it out. Almost all my clothes are from op-shops, so are my books, vinyls and furniture. 95% of my house is filled with second-hand and op-shopped items - the acception being my bedroom where I bought myself a brand new bedroom suite with a new mattress after 20 years of sleeping on the same bed (and the springs in it started poking through into me). 
When my clothes no longer fit me I donate them if they're in good-enough shape. Or if they're falling apart, I cut them up into rags and use them to clean my paint brushes or to polish my furniture. Once those rags are no longer useful, I cut them into strips and use them to tie to garden stakes (yep, I haven't used plastic ties in over 5 years, it's gentler on the plant). And once they're threadbare, it's then I throw that out... and this all takes around 4 - 5 years to take place. 
I donate everything from shoes to hats, handbags, jeans, pajamas and socks... all washed and cleaned properly, folded up and ready for use. But the one thing I don't donate is my underwear (after all if I don't want it, who else will?). 

Now, this didn't just happen. This took time. I had to take a careful look at how much money I was spending on things, figure out where the op-shops were in my area and make sure I knew what I wanted from them, knew what I could live without in my home and know how to be just happy with my lot in life... which is something we have to learn to be again. 

And this is the problem with out society. 

We have become a society of socialites, of greedy little grommets who want more, and more, and more and never think about what it's doing to the world, our bank accounts or what it will do to the future generations that when we do look around us and realise exactly how much in debt we are, how little we really do want our things and how unhappy we actually are with 'our lot in life', it'll be far too late. 

The time to act is now. If you're looking at buying new furniture from a big place like IKEA or Freedom, instead go to a Life Line Supa-Store (where the furniture is being sold) and look at the furniture there. It'll be in lovely condition, may be a little old-fashioned but will last longer because it's built properly. Some of it may be only a few years old, while other pieces will be over 40 years old and just lovely and will last longer than the 'retro-style' that's made now because it's got that weight it needs to keep it together.

And before you all start commenting on the expense to me, let me tell you something about how I've afforded to op-shop. I'm on a pension - which only just covers my rent, my bills, getting food into my stomach and my medication and putting petrol into my car - and yet, I can put aside $40 a fortnight into a bank account to save for something I really want at any op-shop around Brisbane. All you have to do is know where to look, be picky about what you want, and enjoy yourself. You're out shopping in a store, which has a bit of everything in it, and it's for a good cause too, and all you have to do on your first few visits is look... but donating to op-shops is even better for you as you don't have to throw your unwanted clothes in the bin, somebody else will enjoy them as much as you did. And besides, there's a lot of things you'll find in an op-shop you'll never find anywhere else.