Goodbye to Everyone's Starman

I don't think the music world will be the same this week after the shock news of the passing away of David Bowie. 

He was Ziggy Stardust.

He was the Thin White Duke.

He was our Starman.

I grew up with his strangeness on the radio and loved every minute of it - even when my friends thought it wasn't the most in music around, and they went off and listened to Bros and other boy-bands. I stuck with my favourites I'd known since I was young:

The Cure
U2
The Police
Pink Floyd
The Who
Queen...

yes the list goes on... but I loved my English bands as well as my Aussie bands and US bands. But David Bowie was a musician who struck a certain chord in me I couldn't tell anyone about. It's like looking at a painting and finding something in it that nobody else can; and yet you're the only one who can see it.

However, I think everyone has this feeling with Bowie's music at some point in their life. 

And David Bowie wasn't just a musician, he was an actor as well. He was the Goblin King in 'Labyrinth' and played a very serious role in 'Merry Christmas, Mr. Laurence'.

However as with any musician or artist, David Bowie's work is what he will be remember by the most, as well as the things people knew about him. He was a left-handed person, who played the guitar right-handed (I noticed this in a film clip from 1972 of 'Starman'). And he wore just about anything in that decade and coloured his hair a collection of colours too. He also had one blue eye and one darker eye - which wasn't really true. The pupil in left eye was permanently open after something happened to it when he was a teenager causing it to stay open like it has for the rest of his life - otherwise he had blue eyes. He also loved to read as well. I will miss him horribly, as we all will. But he's joined the other great legends up there in the clouds - Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and any others who have left us here too soon. But the difference with David was that his work was completed; and he was ready to go there. Listen to his work, enjoy is music and remember how great he was, and will always be. 

31 Day Challenge

I've jumped back into Peter Walsh's 31 Day Challenge on his Facebook page and on Youtube. And so far, I've given away 1 box of charity goodies to Vinnies. 

Yay!

Well, that's a good thing to get done in the few days we've all been doing it worldwide. I've also cleaned out the shampoos and conditioners in my bathroom and thrown a lot of them into the bin (these are ones which were all mostly used and were of no use to me anymore). 

Over the next few days, I'll be working on putting away all my laundry and making sure the living room is tidied up again and I'll put away the Christmas decorations; making the house resume its normal everyday look until next year.

There's still things I have to look at throughout the home. There's bags of rubbish I have to sort through and throw out, there's clothes I want to look through in my wardrobe to give away and there's still a lot of things I want to do to make sure the house stays in good working order. Mum's stayed here over the time I had my sun cancers done last year, and she said that the cupboards are all incredibly organised, but the rest of the house is the problem - I just don't seem to have the space for anything around the place. She can see how I have problems trying to keep things in their own places - they don't have any permanent places to live; every place I put it is temporary, and that's not good.

Well, this is why I keep on cleaning out, so I can find permanent places for my things I want to keep. Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Looking Good'n'Pretty

I have been looking around the internet lately - and noticed something which has become something of a style lately: not dressing up to look good.

Now, I'm not sure if it's just me noticing this or if it's all about what's in the news, magazines or what I saw around the partying arena on New Year's Eve, but I have noticed that there's less and less women taking pride in their appearance these days.

A lot of them just won't dress up in a nice outfit, put on the make-up, do their hair, figure out the right ear-rings to match along with the necklaces, rings and maybe a broach, strut their stuff. Okay it takes time - maybe an hour to get all that stuff done - but really, it means you have self-love, you want to put your best foot forward and you want people to see you take pride in what you're wearing.

I'm in my 40's and when I first lived where I do, I found it was a poor area, but my Mother told me to keep my standards up - to never let the people of the area cause me to wear anything less than what I should be wearing normally. And you know something? She's right.
As time went on, I dressed in my good clothes to go shopping, with my make-up on, did my hair nicely and wore my best jewelry as I never knew who I'd be running into while I was out and about grocery shopping. And a lot of the times I was dressed better than most of the mothers out there doing their normal grocery shopping... who at the time went shopping in their pajamas! Yes, it was at that time, that people really didn't care what they looked like. I was stunned to find people walking around in their Winter P.J's, dressing gowns, Ugg boots with their handbags and messy hair... talk about not giving a rat's arse about what they looked like! And they gave me strange looks wondering why I was dressed up.

Well, now - about 5 years later - there's not so many people doing that anymore, but I still find a lot of people have taken to walking around in yoga pants, track pants and Active-wear. They don't go to a gym, but they own Active-wear and go out shopping in it. I don't understand why they own it when they don't go jogging, to Yoga or any other fitness classes but they think it looks good to do this? I mean, just go out in your ordinary clothes - jeans, t-shirt, jacket, sneakers - is it so hard put on those things?

As I get older, I know I'm going to feel better in wearing what I want to wear and make sure I look just right before I go out. This is because I've been brought up to dress up no matter where I'm going. At Christmas, I dressed up to go to all my Christmas parties and loved it when all my friends did the same - however, we did have the odd non-committed type of person who looked out of place with us and they simply told us that they got sick of dressing up just go out. 
I don't think I could ever get sick of dressing up when I go out. I love to show off my outfits as I don't have anyone in my life to take me out. So, when I'm invited somewhere I make sure I really look great - even if I am overdressed a little - at least I know I'm going to have a great time; because you never know what'll happen when you're all dressed up with nowhere in particular to go and you get to meet somebody new. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Promises

Happy New Year!

Now, I don't have resolutions, I have promises. This is where I promise myself things that I hope to do this year; then if I do break those promises I know it's something bigger than a resolution. So, I've got a few promises I'm going to write down to make sure I have done by the end of the year. 

1. Get another tattoo. 

I'm already saving up for this one. I'm hoping to put away money for it every fortnight and make sure I have enough by April to get it done.

2. Read more books from my collection.

Now this is something I didn't do much of last year. This year, I want to get in and read more - especially in my lovely big Reading Chair.

3. Refine my home's clutter.

I've been decluttering my home over the last few years. This year, it's time to bite the bullet and give away those things that I really just don't use anymore - some of those things will be hard to let go of, but once they're gone (because they're coated in dust), I'll be feeling better that they'll be in a better home.

4. Save money for another trip.

It's been almost 20 years since my last big holiday somewhere. I'd love to just get in Little Green Machine and go somewhere and sight-see. So, I'm hoping to save the money for this too. This will be the beginning of another saving lot for me too.

5. My Garden

I have to get in and work on my garden again. It's lovely, but there are a few plants that need repotting this Winter and so I have to buy newer, bigger pots and that's something I need to budget for.

So, what are you promises for yourself this year? Some of mine are for this year, some are more for the next few years (like my holiday, but I have to start somewhere). Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

2015 - What a Year!

It's been most certainly a busy year for me. I've gotten a lot done around my house; as well as a lot done in my life.

I still have my Little Green Machine; and it's running very well. It did have to get a look at around November as the coils stuffed up and so I was without a car for a few days. However, she's been running well since.

But at the beginning of the year, I got a lot done. The decluttering of this townhouse intensified and I threw out more rubbish and gave away more things I didn't need. I reorganised the kitchen in such a way I really didn't have to look for anything by rummaging anymore - and I discovered Lazy Suzans... yes, those retro merry-go-rounds everyone seems to be using for the fridge, pantry and even the bathroom. 

The chair I worked on in the beginning of the year came home about a month later after it was finished being reupholstered ... and now it takes pride of place in my office where I sit in it after writing for hours on end, want to chill out at the end of a long day, or just sit and read in it whenever I want to - but I never get far and end up falling asleep in the lovely thing.

I scored myself my first tattoo on my right wrist of a semi-colon; for the Semi-colon Campaign. However, I'm not stopping at just that little bit of ink - I've planned to get myself another few before my life is through. I'm saving up to get Angel Wings on the back of my left shoulder. The reason for this is personal and spiritual - besides, if I told you guys, you'd probably laugh - so I'm getting it for my own reasons. When I get a tattoo, I won't be getting it because it's cute, there will be a story behind it. This time, it's hard to explain, but when I do get it, I'll tell you why. It will be next year I'll be doing it, though.

But the year hasn't been all roses. I recently had my sun cancers removed from my arms and my right hand - talk about painful! There were 6 of them and they weren't on the surface, they had to be cut out while I knocked out (this part I didn't mind; as I didn't want to be awake for any of it). And when I did wake up, I found that the ones on the hand the doctor said he was going to burn off, he ended up cutting out. He came into post-op and told me that they were deeper than he anticipated and he had to do what he did. 
These took so long to heal and I had to really care for them - making sure they healed up properly. So, I Googled some after-surgery oils to apply; and found Coconut Oil did the trick - and man, did it work! From the first application, I could feel it working its magic on my scar on my hand. And it's only gotten better since then.

Christmas crept up on all of us. One minute it was my 42nd, Pizza Party at my brother's house with family and close friends, and the next thing you know, I was scaring the crap out of kids on Halloween and Christmas adverts were being screamed at us on the television set. Fortunately for me, I had already done most of my Christmas shopping and had only a few things to pull together - yep, I'm always prepared and start my shopping around September or so. My Christmas Cards are posted off in November and then there's the decorations to put up around the place - which were late this year, but with my hand and arms the way they were, well, I had a good excuse to be slow. But they got there.

New Year's Eve is tomorrow and there's still preparation to get done. I'm looking forward to not spending another depressing one here in the unit complex. The last one I spent here, I was on my own and there were parties going on around the place and yet people knew I was on my own, and not a single one invited me for a drink or to to hang out. So, usually, I'd head to the coast... but I went there to recover from the surgery. This time, I'll be somewhere else. We'll be chilling out and enjoying our night with friends, food and music. That's how it's supposed to be enjoyed. 

So, I hope you are all enjoying your New Year's this year with people you love, at a place you're enjoying yourself. If you're driving take care, don't rush, don't drink'n'drive... and if you've had a few, have a designated driver who will take you home or call a cab (that's what they're there for). We need to see you all into the New Year and into the future. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Merry Christmas!

It's been a good couple of days with a sour ending last night. However, the good outweighs the bad in my case; as I received what I wanted, and gave more than I received.

On 24th, December, we gathered at my cousin, Kate's, place and had a wonderful Dutch Christmas where we ate more food than humanly possible, exchanged gifts, then scoffed down more food and coffee. Riley didn't know what to expect, as this was her first Christmas away from her Mum; and she hadn't seen a family Christmas where nobody was fighting. I asked how she was going a few times, she said okay, but I knew she was just sussing out the room and watching the party.

Gabe, my brother, loved the single malt fully-imported whiskey from Speyside, Scotland. Dad was impressed I found something that was such good quality for a good price - and Gabe loved it as he tried some of it when he arrived home; was too good to share with his buddies, so he's hiding that one on them - hehehee.
Kat received at pendant from me which was petrified wood. She loved it. I bought it off the silversmith himself at the gallery and she was impressed that I picked one that wasn't too heavy and the colour was just right. 
Mum and Dad's presents were given to them on Christmas Day, so I wasn't unwrapping mine alone here at home. I don't like being alone at Christmas; not since Little Miss Stevie died - it's just to depressing. I still miss her horribly.

At Mum and Dad's place, we exchanged gifts and enjoyed watching 'Arthur Christmas', an animated movie which had us falling around the lounge room laughing! It would have been hilarious on the big screen, but it was brilliantly done. 
I bought my folks two dvds - 'The King's Speech' and 'Mrs Brown's Boys D'Movie' and a few other things that I thought they'd love. Then I gave them a hand-crafted box I bought at the Logan Art Gallery; which Mum adored. They said they'd watch the movies down the coast and they would put the box to good use around the house - or even store their coasters in it on the coffee table in the lounge room... 
Lunch was leftovers and freshly peeled prawns. And of course we all ate too much food. But then, that's what Christmas is all about. We split up the food and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon watching another Christmas move with Michael Keaton in it and then I went home just before they left for the coast again.

The sour ending was last night. One of my neighbour's has a new girlfriend, and for some reason or another, we don't really get along (okay, we can't always get along with everyone, that's fine). So, I've kept to myself, minded my own business and done my own thing. She's made sure to pick on me, stick her face in mine and whenever possible scream abusive names at me when I've tried to talk to her about one thing or another. Yep, she rude. I'm not the only person she's rude to like this - so it's not an isolated incident. 
But last night, I was watching a movie and I heard what I thought was teenagers outside my house and to opened the door and told them to shut up; but it was her and her daughter. She screamed abuse at me as I closed the door... but I heard every word and I reopened it told her to piss off and really slammed the door. She upped the antie and became louder until she got into her car and drove away.
Last night, I wrote an email to the right authorities about the months of abuse I've copped because of her. I'm not putting up with her doing this to me.

But today, I was hanging out my laundry when I heard her boyfriend tell her that he heard what went on last night and he wanted her to apologise to me. She told him to bugger off and that she wanted me to apologise to her. He said that I had been very quiet today - and I had - and that they had better start looking for another place to live because he knows I've written an email. She got snotty about it, but didn't knock on my door. I don't expect her to get it that screaming abuse at somebody isn't right... but at the very least, admit it when she's not the nicest person to be around.

Anyway, I hope you've all had a better Christmas than I have in the end. At least most of my Christmas was wonderful. I have got plans in place for next year: save up for a new tattoo on the back of my left shoulder of Angel wings. And I'll be working on a sign post of fictional lands (similar to the one you see in M*A*S*H) to put in my garden. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

A Day Filled With Cooking!

I wanted to sleep in today - but I didn't because it turned very hot very quickly. Instead, I sat on the computer for a few hours after breakfast and opened a Pinterest account for mainly my craft gear.

Then at around midday, I jumped offline and started preparing the Turkish Carrot Dip. For those who don't know, I've got a label down the side called 'Recipes' and you can find it there. It's a fun one to do and has only 4 ingredients; but you have to be patient and don't use too much garlic or you can ruin this dish. While the carrots were cooling, I started on the two Christmas Cakes. I had to cook the pumpkin in one pot and the dried cranberries and blueberries with spice, some sugar and a cup of water in another pot; then let the whole lot cool (once I put a teaspoon of bi-carb soda into the second pot). Then, it once it all cooled down, the real action of the day started!

I greased the Christmas Tree-shaped tins, lit the oven and put the cooked, grated carrot into the serving bowl of yoghurt with a pinch of salt and garlic... which was kept chilled in the fridge over this time.

By the time the cakes were cooked, the kitchen was a mess and I was on the phone with a friend of mine who was in real need of a good talk. By the time the cakes were cooled, I had the dip in the fridge, the oven turned off and was thinking about what to have for dinner... and my friend had to go because she was having dinner too. 

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We have plenty to do tomorrow during the day and the night. I have had a good few nights where it's been quiet, except last night where I heard noise but didn't quiet know where it was coming from, so didn't go and have a look for it; instead chose to ignore it. Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe this Christmas Season and remember, I'm always here.

Busy Week Coming Up - For Everyone!

Today is probably the last day where I'll be able to sit on my butt and do almost nothing all day. Okay, I've been doing a few things scatter throughout the day, but I'm making sure I'm not burnt out over this week - yep, I'm getting a full-nights' sleep every night.

Okay, I'm still one of those people who can't sleep all that well on Christmas Eve because it's just the little kid inside me who's excited about the whole day of presents and giving and receiving and all the food and fun of it all. I hope I'm not the only one who's like that.

Of course I'm not.

Well, today, got all the laundry done, the sheets on the bed changed over, other laundry put away, the blanket from Winter/Spring put away and Grandma's 1970's quilt put away too. Now, out on the line is just the laundry from the past week and I'm waiting for it to be good and dry so I can get it in about an hour. 
Otherwise, I've washed up everything and been out and about today to donate a Christmas present to the K-Mart Wishing Tree. I handed in a Christmas mug filled with all kinds of teas (all wrapped), a hand-painted picture frame and a hand-knitted dish cloth... I wrapped it all up in celophane so they don't have to unwrap it all and they can see everything in it. The girl who helped me with the card said it all looked lovely... and was surprised that I thought to add in something hand-made, most people just buy something from K-Mart and hand it in. I'd rather make something than buy something; it's got a more personal touch to it.

Then, I was off to Springwood to pick up some money for tomorrow and some decorations to use in a piece I'm working on... I'll see if it works out. If not, I'll be putting it all away and trying again next year. So far, it hasn't worked. I'll have to look into how it worked for my friend who made one on Facebook. I've worked on it 5 times now, and each time, it's fallen apart. There's more glitter around my living room than on the decorations, and some of them are now broken from me handling them so much... so I think I'll just pack it up and leave it alone.

Anyway, I'm ready for the volunteer work tomorrow morning. And that afternoon, I'll be doing some reading and tidying up around the place so I can chill out without being stressed out. On Wednesday, I'll be making a dip and two cakes for Thursday night, where the family will get together at a cousin's house for Christmas Eve dinner. Then, on Friday, Mum, Dad and I will be hanging out for a light lunch for a few hours and they'll head back to the coast, and I'll be back home.

Yep, a week of busy things happening. But then, it's onto New Years' Eve... I don't know what I'll be doing then. This is my first year of not being anywhere for that night. So, I might have a movie marathon of a particular actor or do something else for the night. I'm not sure yet. Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Christmas Holiday Volunteering

Man! This week has been so busy I just don't know where to start! 

Wednesday, I was out the door by around 8am or so to do my shopping and home well before midday. I had bought absolutely everything I'd ever want for the fortnight - and a few things I didn't think I'd need, but got anyway (as you never know over this crazy time of year). 

Thursday, I went out again to buy the small things I forgot; like my prescription medications. Yeah, I forgot them. How typical of me to do that... honestly, I did forget them. Then, I bought other stuff which was going to be used over the weekend - hopefully - and if not, I'll use it next year.

Yesterday, I was out and about again to look for a bookstore I've been meaning to look at again. But I found out it was closed. Oh, jeez! It was a great bookstore too - Cumquat Books was the best bookstore around Annerley and I wanted to go there again before the year was out. I was told by the person who owned the vintage clothing store that's there now, that the owner retired from the bookstore arena. This is a difficult thing to do - to retire from selling books... it's like retiring from being a Librarian, you kind of never leave the field because your love of books never really goes away. But the previous owner felt she was getting too old for the game; and I could understand that.
But I was put onto another bookstores around Mount Gravatt. It was the Mount Gravatt Bookshop. It's not far from the Mount Gravatt College of TAFE and I didn't know it was there; and this store has been there on Carrara Street for over 25 years. What a great place! It's in a such an unsuspecting place too - in a line of shops off the main road. Lovely!

Today, I chatted to the caretaker of my unit/townhouse complex. We haven't talked about things around the place for a long time; and so I thought to see what was what around (as a long-time resident, I do have the right to have a good chat with him) here seeing the party season was upon us now. Last year, a neighbour a few doors down had over a week of parties which kept half the complex awake and nobody liked him very much. This year, I'm hoping that doesn't happen. If it does, I'll be back to writing to the Body Corporate and seeing what happens, and not being able to sleep because of it.

Oh... yay... how... fun...

Well, I went to my volunteer work today at the gallery and it was empty. There were no phone calls, and I bought my future SIL's Christmas present. I hope she likes it. Anyway, it's been a week of being full-on, doing full-on things and all I want is next week being able to kick back do nothing, sleep a full night's sleep and just work on my garden (yeah, I wish! My hand isn't fully healed yet). Otherwise, I'll see how I go with the new craft work I'm hoping to get done before the next markets in February. So, how's your Christmas preparations going? Have you finished your Christmas Shopping, card-sending and everything else yet? Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe, Merry Christmas to you all and remember, I'm always here.

Up and At 'Em! It's Grocery Day!

I find that the closer we get to Christmas, the crazier it becomes out in the shopping centres.

So, I came up with a plan of attack today - yes I said attack, because there's no better word for it. At this time of year, I find that I have to stock up on everything I need, and some things that are luxury items, so I don't need to go out.

However, just after I filled the car with fuel, I returned back to the unit complex to get my prescription for my Topamax when I spotted the rubbish truck pulling into the driveway... well, I did a u-turn and went up the road and decided against trying to pull in next to that thing! I'll get my medication tomorrow. It's something that's not really that urgent, and I can work with it at a chemist up the road.

Well, I bought myself things I had on my list, other things I didn't - like 50+ sunscreen. I know that seems over the top, but after the SCC's I got cut out recently, I'm not taking any chances on my skin anymore. I'm hoping to buy some driving gloves from Super Cheap and will wear long sleeves when I drive, so I don't get any more of these things growing on me.

It's been a strange day, though. I have bought all my groceries, all my fruit and veggies and petrol too. Then, I came home, unloaded and took a look at my hand. It looks good; even after I wrapped it up for the outing. But last night, I put Coconut Oil on it before I went to bed - and during the night when I washed it off - and it's looking so much better. I hope it heals better and faster with this stuff. 
Well, I'm hoping to get through Christmas with no problems with the others; as they were basic, whereas the one on my hand was more complex

Anyway, with the shopping out of the way, there's still a little to get done before Christmas. I've also got some volunteer work before the gallery closes until the New Year... nothing like getting in some good work there. Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.