Pool Party Success

I was away overnight last night... and it was to attend a pool party.  However, the pool part of it didn't really take off, even if the party part of it did.  We had plenty of food, a lovely turn-out and lots of laughs towards the end of the evening. 

I was picked up earlier in the day to go to my Chiropractor by a cab driver who couldn't drive the cab, didn't know where I wanted to go and broke every road rule there was.  And I thought I was a bad driver when I drove a car!  Well!  He nearly caused two major accidents on the way to my destination; one of them when he was picking me up.  He illegally pulled up in front of my unit complex at the driveway and cut off a driver behind him.  I told him about it and he acted like he didn't care; and car behind him was a very nice late model blue ute.  When I got into the cab and told the driver where I needed to go, he seemed okay with the destination, but by the time we arrived at Compton Road, it was clear he didn't know where the Wellness Centre was at Springwood.  So, I had to give him clear directions.  When we arrived there, he had to pull into the driveway - across a lane of traffic - and he waited until the last minute to cut in front of a car coming towards us!  I couldn't believe how close he had made it - I judged it as about 2ft!  It terrified me how much he just didn't care for the safety of his client; and that the car coming towards us would have ploughed into my side of the car if it had hit us!  I was very grateful to get out of the cab and away from him!

Soon enough, I had had my adjustment and I was out and Geoff was waiting for me out in the waiting room.  I told him about the cab and he was disgusted.  We drove off to Dan Murphy's and bought up some drinks for the party, then to Coles and then we were off to their place to set up the whole place.

One of these cakes was taken over to the pool party!

Once there, I handed over two books he was looking forward to reading over the Christmas/NYE break and he gave me the first book of the trilogy I just gave him the last two of.  But I'll wait until he's finished the last two before beginning the first one (in case I fly through it).  Anyway, I helped Vivienne with the Christmas decorations and the place soon looked like it had been decorated for weeks instead of hours.  Then, we moved all the food over to the Summer House where I began taking photos and put out the food.  

The people who showed were fun.  We had a great time eating and talking, but the weather turned a little too chilly to swim in; so we closed up at around 8:45pm and cleaned up and headed back to Geoff and Viv's place for a nightcap and coffee.  That's where they showed off their new television and Viv put on her skydiving adventure from 2009... it was much cooler on a bigger, digital, flatscreen television!  Once she turned it off, we stumbled upon an SBS1 show entitled 'My Penis and Everyone Else's'... how weird is that!  We thought it was the funniest thing to have come across and - much to the discomfort all the men present - we began talking about them.  Too soon, the program was switched off because there were some new visitors arriving who weren't really into those types of shows; so out of respect we left the TV off.  Otherwise, I took along a new little notebook I've begun for my friends to write weird and funny things in called:  'The Public Notebook of Funny Shit'... it's for funny quotes, thoughts and stories you know but can't tell and yet you can write down.  In the end, it'll be something for everyone to get their nose into for years to come... and I'll eventually get published into a proper book; and family will all get a copy of. Sounds cool?  Well, I got the idea from the Volunteers Notebook at the Logan Art Gallery reception desk.  Well, it's getting late and I have to catch up on sleep; as I only got around 4 hours last night (despite sleeping very well on the spare bed in their house last night).  It was the morning light that woke me... damned!  Oh well, I guess I'll sleep better tonight.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here. 

Time of Our Lives

Isn't is funny how time plays a major factor in our lives?  It's always time to go out or time to come home, time to get up in the morning or time to go to bed at night.  It's time for the news, time for this funny show, or time to get in and do study or the housework and pull in the laundry.

However, we never make time to do anything for ourselves.  I have found that when people have reached their forties, they realise with very sudden clarity that they are miserable in their lives and try to change everything.  I'm not knocking anyone who has done this, however, I've always believed in doing a job that you like; and not just because it's there.  So, take the time to look around yourself now and think, do you really like where you are? 

Some years ago, I found that I wasn't happy.  Mum asked me many times and I said I was; until one day, I looked at myself in the mirror and realised I really wasn't, and I didn't know how I had gotten here.  So, I phoned her back and told her I wasn't happy, she said she knew.  It took me over a year to figure out how I had gotten to this stage of being unhappy; and how the hell was I going to get back to being the way I was.  So, I talked to my Shrink (yeah, I needed some advice from a pro) and he said it was time I looked at what I surrounded myself with and did anything in my house make me happy?  I went home, looked around the place and found that there wasn't much that made me want to stay home and enjoy my house.  Then, I remembered something my Grandma once told me: 'Your home is your castle and it's where the heart is.'  I had to make my humble home look and feel like a place I felt welcomed in each time I walked through the door.

Making time to make yourself happy in your own home is hard.  Sometimes this'll mean being selfish, pulling away to rediscover your true self to find out what you really like to do, what your real happiness is.  I found that I had to stop being ashamed of how many books I had; that my passion was the written word and it made me immensely happy to sit and read for whole afternoons and not think of anything else but that; and no, I didn't waste those few hours in any way.  I still don't think I waste days or nights wasting hours reading when I could be doing something else - like I don't know, watching the idiot box in the lounge.  

Soon, other things were making me happy.  I had a few vinyls when I was young; however, I did have a deeper passion for them as a grew.  And so, I began looking for ones I liked; and I found that the more I looked for them, the easier it became to find them.  The next thing I knew, I found a nice turntable and I was set to collect vinyls.  And with each vinyl I collected, there was another out there I wanted.  Now, I can play most any vinyl I can lay my hands on in my collection and enjoy the music from my generation as well as my parents' generation.

However, being happy takes time... a lot of time.  There were other things that took time to find that made me happy.  And I have found that if you're not looking out, time will catch up with your happiness will always be just out of reach.  I know for a fact that life wasn't meant to be easy; I'm living proof; but if you work hard on yourself you can make it an easier place to be.  For me, my happiness was found in the written word, art, music and gardening.  Okay, it took me ages to find out those things, however, I found them; and it didn't take me until the end of my life to find them.  However, it's never too late for anyone to find the time in our uber-busy schedules to slow down enough to take a good look at ourselves and see - recognise - if we're truly happy and having the time of our lives or are we just fooling ourselves and putting up a facade for everyone to see.  If you are, pretty soon that facade will fall apart - as they all do - and you'll have to face the harsh reality that you are not as happy as you have been telling people.  And the longer you leave it, the harder it gets; as you leave behind the real you, it becomes harder to find the real you where you were happiest first off.

I'm heading towards forty and right now, I'm at my happiest time of my life.  I have found my happiness and I'm glad I have as there's not much that can destroy my life right now.  It's a great feeling to be just myself right now.  I can enjoy a great book, a great film and listen to great music in the comfort of my home which has some lovely memories of where I've traveled.  And that's what life is all about, isn't it?  Being able to just be yourself in your own way?  Well, that's what I think. 

Busiest Week Ahead.... Ever!

Okay, it's two weeks before Christmas and my family is doing a Secret Santa... the problem with this?  None of us have received our recipient's lists in the mail.  Normally, I have got all my Christmas Shopping finished and I'm kicking back with a good book and doing some painting.  However, this year, I'm stressed out that I need to buy a present for somebody that I may not be able to buy for them because there won't be anything left in the rush.

Now, I've organised a Secret Santa in the family before and it worked out really well.  Everyone got their people's names well before Christmas and they were happy as they had time to get the shopping done.  Now, I'm not putting down the person who is organising this one, but really they're cutting it very fine; and I don't like shopping this late in the game of Christmas.

This week, I'm busy as hell.  Already, I've been asked to edit the remains of an anthology I'm publishing in the New Year.  All I have to do is go through it and see if it looks okay and read through the corrections; and give it the go-ahead.  I've chosen the cover and title colour (deep burgendy); and just today, I've put in the dedication and a warning there's adult content, violence and some things that may make some readers uncomfortable.  The blurb was suggested and I like it; so gave that the go-ahead.  And seeing there were six stories, I've read the editings for four of the stories; and have two to go... ironically the last two are the longest stories out of the lot.  I have to get them all e-mailed back to the lady who helped me out with them before Friday; and I'll get it all done by Thursday morning at the latest.

Tomorrow, I'll be out and about at Logan Central Plaza paying off my 'Supernatural' boxset.  This is the whole 8 seasons of the hit television series which is coming to a finish soon which I've been paying off for the whole year.  I've got one more payment to go on it and it's mine!  I'll be wrapping it up for myself for Christmas and putting it under the tree.  Then, I have to get some medication from the chemist, journal and celophane and then come home.  It's just little stuff; but I need it.  

On Friday, I think I have a Chiropractor's appointment; I'm not sure, and so have to check.  But right afterwards, I'll be taken to a friend's place from Mum and Dad's place.  So, I'll have to take all my stuff with me that will be traveling with me overnight.  Saturday will be spent coming home and recovering from what is usually a party; and this one will be a pool party.

Before long, next week will begin and this week will slip by very quickly... taking us to Christmas and NYE... and then suddenly - very suddenly - it will be 2012; with another year gone.  

Wow... and what a year.  And this post began about how busy this week is going to be; and I have ended up talking about next year... how did that happen?  Until my next post, take care, keep warm and safe and remember, I'm always here. 

Big Storms, Cleaning Out and Artwork

Today seemed to go on forever... literally.  I jumped offline and went downstairs around 1pm and started work on cleaning off the coffee table.  There was so much crap on it I couldn't believe I had lived with it all there for so long.  The lounge was the same.  How did I live like this?  It's all so much more roomier now with it moved and removed into either another room, place or a rubbish bag and taken outside.  

Then it started.  I heard the first grumblings of thunder above the radio.  So, I raced upstairs and unplugged the computer completely - modem and all - and then closed the bedroom window and went back downstairs and went outside to check the drain.  But I had lost the key to the sheds.  So, once I found that in a bag I had used from last week, I went and grabbed the spade and cleaned it out to the best of my ability.  Soon, it came down and the car port began to flood, so I was out there again looking at the drain and found it was blocked and I had to pulled the leaves out with my hand and the flooding went away.

I spent most of my time with the battery radio, washing up and clearing away rubbish in the house while the rain poured down outside with thunder rumbling around the place.  And not too much later, the wind and rain slowed and stopped; however it was muggy and still hot for a while even when I opened the windows.

About an hour or so later, the skies were still overcast.  I had moved onto my next project of working on my current painting.  However, I found my work area was too dark; and becoming darker as I set up.  So, out came my battery powered radio again and off went all my electrical appliances again.  The skies became darker and darker.  This storm was the real one.  Then, the lightning began as I started on my painting with the light on above me, my cordless and mobile phone next to me and a great view to the outdoors, sky and yard to my right.  

To my left was the darkened unit where Little Miss Stevie was snoozing by the closed window as a little silhouette of a bird on a swing.  The fish were hiding behind their castle and staying low as the storm began to show its face with the first spats of lightning and claps of thunder.  And Triple M played very joyfully on the radio set up on the kitchen table in the dark.  

I worked on the painting as the storm moved over us, while I ate a piece of Christmas cake that Mum made for me, while I assessed what I'd be saying in my application to the Logan Art Gallery for an exhibition there in 2013.  The storm flashed and grumbled by us while I waited it out for it go away; our second for the day.  And by the time it had, it was almost 3:30pm; time to clean up, pack up and turn on some lights and make my place look lived-in.  I went out the back and looked at the rain gauge and found that for two storms, we didn't get that much rain... strange that.  But somebody out there got the real damage.

However, I did get a lot done this afternoon during those two storms.  I got my lounge room tidied up, rubbish thrown out, a painting was found while one came forward in leaps and bounds.  I worked on an application for a showing and I watched as water that normally collected in my car port go where it was supposed to go... down the drain.  Until my next post, here's hoping you achieved a lot in your day.  Until then, take care, keep warm and safe and remember, I'm always here. 

I Found It!

After I turned off the computer yesterday, I headed downstairs immediately and found it was raining.  Not a fun day to be do anything more than what I had planned:  cleaning up.  So, I turned up the radio, gave Little Miss Stevie a well-earned cuddle and - after I put her back in her cage, happy and blowing me kisses - I picked up the blue Logan Library bag that has been sitting on the floor next to the storage facility since February.  Yep, it's been there that long!  I put it on the table and pulled everything out of it onto the table.  

Now, the table vanished under all that paperwork of bills, stationary, magazines from Epilepsy Queensland and other places, but I kept on going sorting through it all.  Soon, the piles began making sense and I started putting things into the Logan Library bag that I needed to file away - and these were only to file away.  There were other piles that were for other things and they were sorted out as well and put away; and pretty soon, I had the table cleared and ready to be cleaned up.  I couldn't believe it!  After two hours, I had the table nice and clean and ready for use.  Underneath it still needed work, however, it was the table top I was looking at right now.  

I'm so proud of myself to getting this table cleaned off.  It's a first for me to do this ever.  And the Library Bag is another first... I haven't been able to get that empty.  Each time I've tried, it keeps being added to.  So, I was so proud that I'm going to continue on today with the lounge.  I'm going to keep working on my house; keep on making this place what I want it to be and nothing less.

I will be throwing things out - clothes will be given away to charity, items in my house I no longer need or use will be sold and I will be streamlining my place to a point where I will be able to look at it and be happy.  Finally, I'm going to make my house exactly the way I want it.  

Things will change a lot around my house and garden next year.  So, what are you hoping to start on now and finish next year?  Is it an old goal that you began last year and it's continuing on like mine?  Or is it something new?

It Begins Again!

It begins again!  Nope I don't mean School Holidays, I mean my annual Big Clean Up Challenge.  Each year, I go all out and clean out and clean up my little town house and try to keep it tidy.  And each year, I fail in some way.  However, there is always one room which stays tidy... so I must be doing something right!

So, this Christmas, I thought to begin on it early and take my time with it.  It'll be something I'll be hoping to keep up with, something that will be more permanent and something where - at some point - I won't need to shuffle things from one place to another.  My main aim is to have a house where I'm not embarrassed to have somebody come around and visit; I should feel as though my home is beautiful and not a mess.

So, seeing I have my kitchen sorted out (and it's been sorted for a while now), I need to start looking at my living room and dining area.  I have never had the dining table completely clear over the time I've lived here... and it's something I'd like to have.  It's the same deal with the coffee table and the lounge.  My whole lounge room has always been cluttered and messy; and I've allowed myself to live like this for the whole time I've lived on my own because of my own personal demons.  Now, I have worked those out, it's time to move on and live a better life and clean up a little.  I'm tired of the mess and need to find my space.  It's there, I know it is, I just have to find it.

Another thing that's beginning - and it's quite new this year for me - is the Summer Reading Challenge that's be offered to me on Good Reads.  I did the Spring Challenge and only got four books read; and now I've been invited to read in this challenge and I'm halfway through a book I began in the Spring Challenge.  I'm looking forward to reading more books; such as 'The Year of the Flood' by Margaret Atwood, 'The Passport' by Herta Muller' and three Romance novels I won over the last six months from The Romance Bandits who write nothing but romance and have fun competitions.  I'm looking forward to reading these ones.  And there's also a bookray I have to finish as well I started.  However, I haven't been near it lately, so I might just post it to the next person on the list next week.

The next things that begins again, is my savings.  Okay, I'm not going to get personal about this... I'm going to save up enough money to work on my front garden this coming New Year.  I've got two lovely plants in it, but I'd like it to look more personal; so I'll be getting in and making sure I don't buy anything I don't need from my savings accounts for a few months and I'll get some lovely pots, some uncut granite, soil and plants that will look good.  I can't wait.

So, what are you looking forward to over this time of year - and the New Year - to do for yourself?  Is it something special?  Or is it something you've been meaning to do for ages? Well, it's a miserable, gray day outside.  I have the radio going and I've got a house to get into and clean.  Until my next post, take care, keep warm and safe and remember, I'm always here. 

Friday... And The Sun's Out!

Today, I woke to my alarm, looked outside and found the sun was shining and birds were singing.  After two days of grey skies, cold and pouring rain, we're having a heat, sun and a chance to do our laundry.  Well, I did anyway.  While I was out the backyard photographing my gorgeous Frangipani flowers on the tree I have, my neighbour, Jodi, and I talked. She was pulling out the weeds in her back yard; readying it for the grass to come in over the weekend.  With the sun out, I put out one load of laundry and had another one out while we chatted.  It was lovely to have a good chat with her after such a long time in between talking; as it's been a few weeks since our last chat.

After I put the laundry out, I went to the post office and found I had received a Christmas Card from a Bookcrossing friend; and it's just gorgeous!  I love it.  I collected other mail on my way home.  By that time it was time for me to get my butt into gear to go out.  However, there were clouds threatening rain; and I had all my clothes hanging out there... I only hoped it would stay fine for the whole day as they promised on the news that morning. 

When I arrived at Springwood, I looked back over toward Woodridge and found more gray clouds were moving toward Springwood, and I still wondered if I had done the right thing by doing all my laundry today.  I couldn't do anything about it while standing there looking at it; so I kept going with my day.

I dropped into The Book Warehouse and made a purchase of two copies of 'The Year of the Flood' by Margaret Atwood (one for me and one for a Secret Santa on Bookcrossing) and then I bought a drink for myself at Coles.  This left me just enough time to arrive at my appointment at CRS by five minutes; and this included the bus being twenty minutes late... not bad if you ask me.

When I entered the foyer of the office, there were about sixteen heavily-built security men out of uniform all taking part in a self-defence course.  Each one of them had the giggles as the teacher went through step by step what they were doing and I was I asked to sneak off to one of the offices before it got really exciting and they all began laughing their heads off at themselves.  While I was at CRS, my teamperson, Melissa, and I talked about work and what kinds I could do, my referees and other things as well.  It was good session.  She was pleased I had gotten the two referees she had asked for and we chatted about work experience; and how long I'd like to try out a place before going for the real thing.  I said a month; and she was happy about that.  

Our session only went for about half an hour and so I found myself at Mum and Dad's house whiling my time away on the net, answering e-mails and looking through Facebook and blogging.  I've been enjoying my first week of My Reading List Summer Fun Event.  I'd decided to leave the weekends free so I can have some time to myself; and my followers can enjoy what has been going on during the week.  Otherwise, this will be going for the three months over Summer... I'll have plenty of fun on there, books go review and bookstores to recommend during that time.

During this week, we had the sad news that Harry Morgan passed away.  He was 96 years young; and had lived a wonderfully long life of movies and making two great television series that he's been remembered for.  For the full tribute I've written for Harry, please read the post below.  He was one my favourite old-time favourites, and I do believe he didn't regret a single moment of his life... what a man; what an actor.

Well, it's time to sign off.  I'll be busy this weekend:  sewing up book baggies, reading more of Stephen King's '11-22-63' and hopefully being able to clean out my house just a little of some junk I don't need.  Yep, it's on again... a Big Clean-Out Challenge... but isn't it always a challenge to keep our places clean when life is so busy?  Until my next post, take care, keep warm and safe and remember, I'm always here.

The World Loses Harry Morgan

There is no other actor like Harry Morgan.  Best known and fondly remember as Col. Sherman T. Potter who ran one of the best M*A*S*H units in Korea on the hit show of the same name, he became a quick favourite of the show along with Hawkeye and Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan along with a cast of others who tickled our funny bones.

Harry Morgan has led a great acting life; from cameo parts in 'Murder She Wrote' to epic television shows such as 'Dragnet', Harry played the parts brilliantly.  He was in a few movies - 'The Glen Miller Story' where he started out using Henry Morgan as his name before changing it to Harry Morgan.  He only began using the latter name due to the comedian, Henry Morgan, becoming popular on the radio.  The irony being that the two were only born eleven days apart.  When he wasn't filming television shows or movies, he was keeping himself busy with eleven hobbies ( golfing, traveling, dining, fishing, spending time with his family, reading, raising quarter-horses, horseback riding, animals, painting and poetry).  

Harry Morgan has lived a long and prosperous life, made many friends through film and television and enjoyed his lucrative career.  He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, He was an active opponent of the anti-communist witch hunts in Hollywood, In several episodes of "M*A*S*H" (1972), Col. Potter was seen painting portraits, mainly of the other characters. These portraits were actually painted by Morgan.

On the IMBd site (where I've collected a lot of this information), there's a collection of quotes of his.  I saw one where I remember him saying in a YouTube interview last year; and I'd like to put it here:  'I've never been more comfortable in a part than with Colonel Potter.'

May he Rest In Peace.  

Skateboarding in the 80's - The Lone Skater-Chick

I've been noticing that I grew up in the right generation; the X-Generation of the 1980's.  This was a time where the laws of wearing a helmet, elbow and knee pads were something that our parents asked us to wear, but if we didn't, well, that was really our choice.  No police pulled us up, there were no fines, there was no big thing that was forcing us to stop and think about the consequences.  

When I was young, I wore the helmet when I roller skated, but the consequences of that was that every time I did, I looked like and felt like a dork, other kids would skate by and rap on it hard and laugh calling me names.  Then, one day while my year 7 class was doing the Wednesday afternoon sports of roller skating, I had the other kids knocking on my helmet when I stopped at the edge and pulled the damned thing off and threw it in frustration.  The owner shook his head as he picked it up and noticed that it was one of the first stack-hats that had been on sale in the 1980's. This thing was indestructible.  I took off and kept on skating; but the kids kept on knocking on my head; even without the helmet.  Idiots; they didn't know something about me that day... they didn't know I was a skateboarder, and I wasn't about to tell them.  That would have made them laugh and tease more.

As I picked up my skateboarding - and roller skating took a backseat - I didn't wear pads or a helmet.  It just wasn't the done thing while taking off down the footpaths of Logan City in the late-80's.  If I stacked it, I stacked it... skin came off, I'd bleed and I'd have scars; so what?  Scars were cool.  

However, being the only female skateboarder was harder than I first thought.  There was another for a few years, but she took up netball and left the skateboard at home; and I was on my own again.  But being the only female skater was lonely; I didn't have that many friends in that arena as the guys didn't like me taking up their sport and their girlfriends thought I was a slut (which I corrected them immediately on that one; scaring them into making an apology to me).

I found I wasn't allowed near any bowls or skate parks (not that there were many around then anyway); so I took up Freestyle - which is where you travel the streets getting from A to B; using the board as transport.

I skated for years - about a decade - and I totally enjoyed every minute of it.  Over that decade, I had one major stack down at Brunswick Heads where the trucks on my board were loose and I took skin off my chin, left shoulder, wrist and the knees; and I had a pebble stuck in my right hand (leaving a hole there once I pulled it out).  It was the first day of the school holidays and I also had a 2ltr carton of milk under my arm which lost its label; but the used by date was still intact.  When I sat up and looked around, I found everyone staring at me and the owner of the caravan park's daughter laughing at me.  I got up, grabbed my board and walked off.  It wasn't until later, after Mum accidentally put a bit of rubbing alcohol on my chin (and made me scream so loud my brother came running!) that I realised I had been wearing my only pair of glasses... these were to read, see:  prescription glasses.  And you can only imagine that I was the last person in that caravan park that night to have a shower!  It was around midnight when I went to the showers with Mum and put up with the hot water against my wounds.  And I still have the white patches on my knees to show where I stacked it all these years later; however my chin has recovered by the number of freckles that have covered that one up.

In 1996, I had to give up skateboarding for something quite unexpected.  I had to get a melanoma taken out of the back of my left thigh; not an experience I wish on anyone.  It was a massive operation and the cancer could have killed me if it had been left any longer.  However, I have been fortunate enough to not have another show up anywhere else.  After I found I couldn't stay on a skateboard, I took up roller blading... I just couldn't stay away from the feeling an extreme sport gave me.  I bladed along Southbank and the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, then back to QPAC and back to Dock Street once a week for some years until I stopped driving.  I couldn't find a place to blade after that... there wasn't anywhere I could go, so I have my blades in storage with the pads waiting to be use again.  

However, I haven't lost my passion for skateboarding.  A few years back, I saw a young skater attempting to do an Ollie (an on-board jump) and he kept on falling off.  So, seeing I had some time on my hands, I walked over to him and watched what he was doing (and also he was in my unit complex carpark; so why not?).  I saw that his technique was all wrong and so I thought to advise him about how to land, his balance and his core muscles.  He did as I advised and his Ollie worked on his next jump!  He was thrilled!  So was I.  I asked him if I could have a go... and he said yeah thinking I was going to sit down on it and push myself along (like most girls do).  Instead, I jumped on it and skated around the complex like I used to.  It felt great to feel the board under my feet again... I hadn't skated in a long time and it was wonderful!  By the time I did a loop and stopped about 10 metres from where the young skater was waiting for me, I thought to do a few 360's and see if I could still get it where the pivot didn't touch the ground; but I had lost a lot of form.  Damn... anyway, I looked up and saw the kid with his phone and he looked like he had photographed me and was sending it to somebody (this had just come on a cheaper and easier way on mobiles).  I had been out of the skating circuit for so long, I couldn't think of who he had sent it to so I panicked a bit and skated up to him as his phone rang and he smiled picking it up.  He had a conversation with somebody saying: "Yeah, she's here." and handed me the phone saying it was for me.  On the other end was a fellow, skater from the 1980's who had known my brother and me - Gator - who had wondered where I vanished to in the mid-90's.  I had to tell him what happened and that what happened was just a fluke.  Gator has been keeping a database of all the older skaters so he can keep track of them all.  Cool, eh?

Well, since then, I've had two other times when younger skaters have recognised me; but it's becoming fewer now.  I think it's because there's so many girls on boards now that I'm not that much of a legend, not that new anymore.  But when I look back on how hard it was when I started out, I found that it was a very lonely life to be the only female skater here in Logan City... but I did have a lot of fun while doing it.

Christmas Begins Here and Rabbits Rabbits!

Well, it's the 1st, December and I've got two wrapped gifts under the tree already.  Yep, yesterday, I went out to Garden City to meet up with a friend to catch up with coffee and pancakes in the morning, and I thought to get in and start my Christmas Shopping while I was there.  Now, the meet-up didn't work out as my friend didn't show, but I did eat the pancakes and did get my first two pressies for Christmas; and that was the main thing.  

When I returned home yesterday, I started on some other hand-made goodies after I jumped on the net to see if my friend had e-mailed me that morning to change our meet-up date and time; but she hadn't.  It just wasn't like her to not show at all; and now I'm very concerned about her.  I hope everything's okay as she hasn't been online since Tuesday and I have sent one e-mail to her asking if there was something else that suddenly showed up and she didn't have time to let me know of the sudden change in plans.  If so, that's okay... I mean, that's how life is, it just happens that way sometimes.

Yesterday afternoon, I pulled out the sewing machine and some fabric I had sitting in a bag from a few weeks back and started working on some book baggies that I've designed.  These are going to be handed out as Christmas Presents to the kids and family on Christmas Day.  They're nice and light and easy to make; and I'm hoping to put a button on a couple of them so they do up and the book doesn't fall out.  But that'll be next pay. 

Today, I've got the fabric out again to work on more - bigger - baggies.  The template is sitting on the kitchen table waiting for me to fix to the fabric and to cut out.  One baggie is taking me about 45 minutes to sew up and complete where it used to take me around 1 1/2 hours in the early stages.  How good is that?  I'm hoping to get something for Little Miss Stevie for her Christmas soon; maybe some extra seed or another toy.  The fishies have their present... or I might buy a piece of coral or something else for the tank to make it look cool for them to swim around.  I'm not sure yet; but I'll wait until Christmas Day to give it to them.

It's become very overcast outside.  I think it might rain; however they reckon we're in for a storm.  I'm not sure, I think it'll just be rain - like yesterday morning.  Well, until my next post, take care, keep warm and safe and remember, I'm always here.