Thursday's Day Outing

It's been a huge day out with my Little Green Machine, a terrarium and me behind the wheel following the directions of a Tom-Tom all over Brisbane city... and what a gorgeous day for me to be doing just that!

First off, I received a phone call from my folks, on holidays, that Mum needed some things she forgot to pack.  No probs!  I dropped over there to check on the place as well as do this little thing for Mum; only to get locked out of a bank account they have control over... damn... so I couldn't post the things she needed off and left them on the kitchen table all folded up and ready to go.  

I hate that.

Well, it was time to leave, so I jumped in the car, drove to Spotlight at Upper Mt Gravatt and looked around for a tapestry I could do... a nice simple one that didn't cost the Earth.  However, there's no such thing as nice and simple anymore, and they all cost the Earth.... sooo, I'll have to rethink my approach to my cushion design for the Secret Santa this year at my craft group.

I left Spotlight with a wooden 'kitchen' word to paint up for my stall and organised myself with the Tom-Tom to take me to Bardon where I had to get the cork for the terrarium.  

Well!  What a drive!  I knew where I was going right up until it took me off on to Moggil Road and got me totally lost!!!  I had no clue where it was taking me until I found myself about 5 minutes from the Mt Coot-tha Lookout.  And so much has changed there that I used the Tom-Tom to  get me up there.  This is where I took a well-earned break and sat down in the restaurant there to just have a coffee and ended up staying for lunch.
I mean, who wouldn't want to?  I had a near-perfect view of Brisbane City, Archerfield Airbase and could just see Moreton Bay.  And all the while I was eating pumpking gnokki - a pasta that was made with pumpkin and flour then boiled in rolling water for only a few minutes (or until it floated) and it was put with parsnips crisps and blistered cherry tomatoes... mmmmmm.... yummo!  It was delectible!  Such a gorgeous meal and it sounded like it should have cost the universe, but it only cost me $20... okay, $24.00 with my latte on top of that.  Pretty good for a five star restaurant on top of a mountain, don't you think?  And I mean, I was there for around an hour, taking a break from driving, with around 50 other people!  The place was packed with sight-seers who just wanted to see this great city from afar!  I live here, and I wanted to see my home city from afar too... such a pretty little city; and it's growing so fast.

Before I knew it, I was on the road again.  Little Green Machine took the twists and turns of the road down Mt Coot-tha so well!  And I nearly got stuck on Milton Road - but found my way to the Wesley Hospital through Eagle Terrace (where I used to live with a horrible man years ago) and then onto Coronation Drive and onto the freeway... traffic wasn't too bad all the way to Logan; actually it was pretty good.
I got off at Springwood, drove straight to the large Bunnings store at Underwood and bought 3 plants, some sphagnum moss and stones for my terrarium.  I already had the rest of the stuff at home.  While I was there, I ran into Kym Foxx, who used to live in my unit complex, and I showed her my new little car.  She was so please I got something so cute!  And said it must be great on the fuel.  I told her where I had been today and she was amazed that it was going so well, then I told her what I needed to get and what for.  She loved that I was making a terrarium; and thought it was the best thing for small houses.  

Well!  I got home, unpacked everything, cleared a space on the coffee table and organised myself to get the terrarium working!  Within the hour, my little garden in a bottle was planted out, decorated and watered in... err, had a little spray from the bottle... and then?  I put the cork on it and took photos!  It's such a cutie!  I looked around and wanted to do another one immediately!  Yes... I'm hooked on these things.  
But after the day I've had, I'm tired.  Mum phoned me before, letting me know that she's unlocked the account needed to let me in.  I pick up my hall table tomorrow and post off Mum's stuff to her on the way too.  I can't wait to get home, move some furniture and get the hall table looking great!  That will all be done in the morning... so I have the rest of the day to myself.  And then?  It will be the end of a very, very busy week!  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

It's been a busy weekend for me, so today, I thought to take it easy and chill out on the net.  Yesterday, I was out all day at my Romance Writer's Group and ended up having lunch with the girls at the Hyperdome food court.  It was great to not have to worry about when to come home because I was driving the Little Green Machine and not Mum's car.

But when I did get home so much was going on here, it was amazing.  Somebody was moving in or out of unit 5 and blocking most of the driveway in and out of the complex; making it difficult to get past one of their vehicles.  Then there was a guy running around here on a motorcycle.  Now, there's been some dude - a learner rider - running around here on his bike without his helmet.  But he's been not only using the main drive ways around the place, but also the walkway thoroughfares too.  I did report him to Darryl, but I'm not sure what's been going on with him about it.  I know Darryl went to talk to him about keeping to the driveways and away from the walkways.

Anyway, this arvo, I'm hoping to clear away the lounge room completely and permanently.  There's also some big stuff I have to get done in the corner next to the stereo system where there's some bags and boxes blocking the use of the cabinet there.  So, I really have to get in and do some serious throwing out and sorting of my stuff.  
Along with all that, there's my shopping list to get done, the newspapers to throw out from last week and my wardrobe to go through to figure out what I'm wearing and what I'm not from the last year or so.  I'm also hoping to get in the buy a new hall table after I get the terrarium done over the next three weeks; once I get the cork cut for it over at Bardon.  It shouldn't take me long to get there and back one day this week; then after that, I'll get some nice little plants, figure out what kind of stuff I need for it and work out the rest of it all... and before I know it, I'll have my terrarium ready.  This will take some time - some weeks - to pull together because the plants I'm looking at getting aren't going to be cheap and I'll buy the stuff I need for it bit by bit.  I'm also hoping to make a few for around the house too - like I'm looking at making one for the bathroom and one for my bedroom as well, just to bring some life to the house.  Anyway.  I'll see how I go with the big one first and then, I'll look around for cheap glass containers at charity stores in my travels and work with those. 

Yeah, this week is going to be busy.  But I'm hoping to see how well my house goes today and how much more I get done before the week is through.  I'm being brutal and honest about my place; now I have something to work towards; and that's to make a large terrarium a centrepiece in my livingroom.  And to make that happen - and pull it off right - the living room has to work right, look right and be tidy enough to have the terrarium be exactly what I want it to be.  Well, what projects have you been up to lately?  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Toss Out and Cleaning Up Makes More Space!

I've inherited a Terrarium.  Okay, for those who don't know what that is:  it's an enclosed glass  garden which you have inside your home.  It can be put under any glass surface - like a wine bottle, a plate or even a light bulb - and it can be inside plastic soda bottles too... so long you have the correct plants.  The one I have is a large, round glass one which is around 50 years old and it has a cork in the top - which has to be replaced.  So, I'm working on my place to have the terrarium in my living room so it works well with my home.  

First, though, there's some cleaning up I have to do, the cork to get replaced, the plants to buy and the preparations to get for the planting of the garden within the terrarium so it doesn't die on me.

This means, I'm cleaning out my downstairs living room and dining area... and as you all know, this is a great thing!

So far, I've sorted through the old large fruit bowl on my dining room table, washed it up, and put it in with the charity items.  Then I put in all the stuff for the fish care items too... I just don't need them anymore.  And then, I put that bag in the boot of the car, ready to take them away to a charity store.  Then, I sorted through some more stuff that was just sitting around the place, and I have put them into a bag and out into the boot of the car.  

During this afternoon, I organised myself a First Aide Kit for the bathroom, sorted out the cupboards under the sink and made sure everything fitted.  While I was doing that, I found out I have more shampoo than I know what to do with!  So!  I won't be buying anymore shampoo or conditioner for about 2 months!  I'll be using the stuff I have under the sink instead until it's all used up - that goes the same for all my cleaning products!  Woah!  Do I have some cleaning stuff for that room or what?

Anyway, I also went into my bedroom and removed one of the pillows.  It's just not comfortable anymore... so I threw it away and replaced it with another one I've had in the cupboard for the last 6 months.  Hopefully, it'll be comfy enough for my head now.

I have attempted the washing up - and kept on failing... oh well... I'll keep on trying with it.  Then, I got all the laundry done!  Yay!  At least there was one thing I got finished.  I crossed the few things I had on my list on my iPod and looked around... then packed the car with a bag of books I have to take to Browns Plains to The Really Good Book Shop to hand in.  I'll be doing that sometime this week on my way to doing a donation run to The Endeavour Foundation.  In around 3 weeks, or so, my terrarium will be fixed up and living; and my house will be mostly cleaned out too... 

... and you know, all it took was me bringing home an indoor garden tank to get me going!

Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.