Wednesday, April 19, 2017

A Strangely Busy Month

It's been a busy time for me this month; so much so, I haven't really had time to write here - or even in my journal. 

I've been decluttering in the biggest way: with my furnishings. Half my living room furniture has been put on Gumtree to be sold off to the highest bidder and I'm looking at revamping my living room with really nice, second-hand chairs; making it more streamlined and feeling more homey. I have no use for my sofa-bed and so that's on Gumtree, so is my large 1970's coffee table and the hat stand I got when I was 16 years old... all three items were put on there over the Easter Long Weekend; and I've had people looking at them.

They will stay on there for the whole month for the free advertising; and if they don't sell, I'll try out the adverts on the Logan Sell, Trade & Swap Facebook Page... if they don't go on there, I'll get Life Line to pick them all up. But I'm sure somebody in Logan City will buy them off me if they see my advert.

Anyway, I have been looking at my house and wondering what else to toss out into the charity bin. I have my bigger things to get through - seeing I have the cupboards already working for me. But really, the furnishings are the one thing that are going to be the biggest things that I really am going to be working on.

I'm also working on my social life... I really haven't had one for over a year and so I've gotten my butt out there and have made an effort to mingle with the arty types. This meant joining the Logan Artists Association and getting in and working with my friends I've known for years. I'm looking forward to doing more courses there as this place is an art school, and I feel comfortable going there. 

I'm also working on publishing a book later this year. Yep, I'm back on editing and writing again. This does mean long hours on the computer editing my work - that is if my monitor doesn't burn out on me before it gets finished. One of my art friends told me about a self-publishing site where I upload my book, they help me work on a cover and I get an ISBN and it get published through Amazon and anyone who wants it can download it as an ebook or print on demand... I'll see how I go with it. I'm going to do my Flash Fiction first, the ones from 2015 first and then work on the ones from 2016 in a second book and so on... seeing I have over 100 flash fiction, and they're all on my blog, I've decided to write an alternative ending to quite a few of them... to show my readers how it turned out if the story went 'the other way'. I do have alternative endings for some of my stories; but just don't use them. It's always fun to keep 'em guessing, right? 

Well, the garden is going well. I have a massive wasps nest hanging off my house and the car had a huge leak a few weeks ago - which Dad and I fixed. I'm no longer going to a chiropractor and I've cured my arthritis with the most simple of remedies - molasses tea in the mornings - and I've lost 4kg over the past 3 months through a very healthy diet and weight training. Yes, this year is about looking after myself, keeping everything as healthy as possible and working on what is good for me and mine. 
So, what have you all been doing for the past few weeks - and months? - that has been good for you in every way? I've gone from 73kg to 69kg almost overnight (in a good way) and I'm feeling so much better for it... I'm drinking more water than ever and have found that my joints no longer ache and my back doesn't hurt anymore. This is a step in the right direction for me. Well, until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

This Past Week

I've been so busy in the past week, that this week is looking just as busy.

Over the next year, I'm hoping to get myself into working on my living room. The first thing I did was buy a new lounge chair - which will prompt me to sell my lounge. So, once the lounge is sold, I'll get in and work on getting in and buying another lounge chair - but I'm not hurrying into that.

And nothing brand new... I'm going to buy it second-hand, so it'll be a matter of me looking at Life Line Super-Stores and making sure I watch out for the next time they refill their stores (which is every month or so). How good is it that I'm in no real hurry?
But last week, I was busy every day. I had shopping day, picked up Dad from Sunnybank on Tuesday and Monday was my art class at the Logan Artists Association. Friday was me out and about looking at lounge chairs - and finding that one and bringing it home.

I'm looking forward to this week. Tomorrow is my art class, Tuesday I'm out and about and then for the rest of the week, I'm hoping to get in and sell my lounge, coffee table and the hat stand and then? Well, it's a matter of making sure I get in and work on finding just the right pieces to fit in my living room. And seeing I'm not looking for a 3-seater lounge, the lounge room will look and feel roomier and better. I'll be able to move the chairs around the living room and do whatever I want with them in the future - very cool.

Well, that's my catch up from me. The footstools I purchased from Moorooka are upstairs with me for now, and so will make an appearance in the next few weeks downstairs. Oh! I'm so looking forward to getting my living room into what I want it to be! Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Cyclone Debbie Fallout

It's been a really weird week. 

Really weird.

We had Cyclone Debbie hit the coast up north and then after it devastated the Queensland coastline, it turned into a tropical low and came to Brisbane, drenching us in rain, wind and thunderstorms.

We had a whole month's rain in 48 hours - that's over 300ml! 

The day of the rain, I found I had run out of breakfast cereal and took off to the shops to pick up only what I needed to see me through until today... and just as well I got to the shops at 8:30am because by the time I left at 9am, the undercover car park (where I had parked) had cars trying to get in, lining up outside, vying for the best spots out of the worsening weather.

Once home, I unpacked the car, turned on the radio and settled in and readied myself to have either the power go off in the first 12 hours and lose all my cold food or to be flooded out of my home. Yep, I charged up my phone, tablet and made sure I had my mp3 player working. The torches around my home had fresh batteries in them and all the candles in my home were within reach as well. I was thankful (as I always am in weather events) that I have a gas stove and hot water system; because then when/if the power goes, I can still have a hot shower and cook a meal.

It got dark early - I mean around 4pm - and the rain really came down hard. The wind came from the front instead of the back and the unit complex was dead quiet. I ate dinner, washed up, moved things out of the way and made sure I had a torch with me all the time once the sun went down. I don't like being caught out in the dark - as nobody does, it panics me.

Anyway, I managed to watch all of my television viewing and get my tapestry done, have a shower and stayed off the computer in case there was thunder and lightening around. The latter of which worried some of my friends on Facebook, but I told them later on I was okay.
The next day, I went out and checked all the storm drains around the place to make sure they were all clear from leaves and other things, as the rain was going to get heavier and those drains needed to let as much water through as possible. 

I didn't go out again until the next morning; and even then, it was on foot. 

Today, though, I was out in the car to Moorooka to pick up something I was interested in on Gumtree. While I was driving around, I found so many trees had fallen down from the wind and also the weight of the water on the leaves. I found I was driving a lot slower because I never knew what was around the corner on the roads with all the trees overhanging them.

Logan City and Beenleigh are still recovering from the deluge. Yatala Pies went under and are going to have to clean up big before they reopen, as well as the Rum Distillery and the drive-in movies not far from Yatala Pies. Anything low-lying around Logan and Beenleigh is still underwater. Roads are destroyed and a lot of people are still without power or running water everywhere (not just here in Brisbane, Logan and Beenleigh). 

I'm hesitating going to the Logan Artists Association in case some of the roads I have to use to get there are underwater... or the car park out the back is; and I can't park anywhere else.

So, do be careful out there my friends here in Brisbane. There's still a lot of cleaning up to do around our areas. Don't go swimming in floodwaters or near the storm drains. And if you do see a fallen power line, call the right people and don't go touching it yourself - it'll be the last thing you'll do. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.