Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Been A While,... But...

I've been busily writing, volunteering, doing house work, falling down, and donating plenty of gear to charity.

Yes... you read right. I fell down. That happened on Monday just gone, and I bruised some ribs and floating ribs on my right side. It was the type of fall where once I started to fall, I couldn't stop myself, I just had to let it happen! Don't you hate those ones? Same here.

Well, it's been two days, and I'm going okay. My ribs still hurt - but not as badly as yesterday - and I'd taken a chunk off the side of my middle finger; and that still hurts like hell every time I do something - anything! But I keep on keeping on... you know. 

Anyway, I've been busily cleaning out, washing the car, reseeding the back lawn and mowing that once it got long enough... and then going to art class and working on my newest painting. I'm still learning plenty of new things from Aaron... and enjoying how the shadows can be hard and soft in the same painting... and yet mean different things while they're only centimetres apart. 

Otherwise, I've been making pin cushions like they're going out of style. These are for my next market in October; and I've yet to still get myself into making new business cards for that too; as I'm running out of those as well. I'll see what VistaPrint does for me and design a card then get them to post them out to me in time for the market... sounds great, right?

I'm also still decluttering my house - as usual - and writing my blog about it too (A Work In Progress). Check it out with my other blogs... it's a good formal blog which has advice, ideas on decluttering, cleaning and other discussions if you wish to join in. But I've mainly created it to keep me in check with my own decluttering - and it has! I know that sounds weird, but it does keep me in line - and 8 months along, I'm really doing better with this blog on here. It makes me take notice of my house and do the things I promise myself that I'm going to do. 

Well, last week, I got a tattoo of my medical band to my right arm... it's plain, ordinary and right where the police and medics would see it... it's also where the nurses and doctors would see it too in a hospital. this is a good thing for me, as I no longer need to wear a bracelet. A lot of people living with Epilepsy (and other medical problems) are doing this so they can do away with the bracelets - which are easily lost - and have it on their skin instead. 

Anyway, that's all the news from my end. How's your life? Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Early Spring Clean

I haven't been on here for quite a while, and there's a good reason. 

I've been getting in and doing an early Spring Clean. 

With the weather warming up and the sun out with a strong wind, I thought to get all my winter woolies all washed - including the winter blanket - so I didn't have to do it Summer.

Then, I've tidied up the living room, put away the VCR tapes up in my bedroom wardrobe (they don't play, but I'm getting them put onto dvd soon). I'm also vacuuming when I can, and making sure all my clothes are put away.

I'm creating new habits too... you know the end of the night habits of washing up and tidying up the living room before bed. And then there's the making of the bed in the morning and organising what I'll be eating every day before 3pm. I never thought all of this would make life easier; but it does!

Anyway, I've been trying to stick to these new habits, and it's not easy. But I've found that I've got more time to do what I love to do - write books. Yep, I'm back into writing my books again during the day this time - so at night I'm skipping the computer and heading off to bed earlier in the night and getting a better night's sleep.

And to think this just started out with and early Spring Clean, right?

Well, I better be going. I have a letter to write to a friend who isn't on the internet. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Do Something Different for July!

This past month has been busy. But I have spent a lot of time at home doing home-body stuff too, which is unusual of me. Normally I'm out and about being the social butterfly; unfortunately, I've been too broke to do anything but read books, paint and clean out my house and fix up the garden.

Lately, I've bought some grass seed to replace the lawn the Logan City Council destroyed. I did put down lawn food, but it didn't do anything - I needed to re-seed it and make more lawn. This has been really horrible because normally, I have a lovely, green, lush lawn in Winter, and it makes my yard lovely and hardy for Summer - keeping the bindis away for the hotter months too. However, I've had to start again and now I've got muddy patches under the clothes line, right where the they'd grow and get me in Summer.
Otherwise, I've been repotting plants and potting up some cuttings from the Frangipani at unit 16. The guy there got it removed and is growing Roses instead. So, I asked if I could take a few cuttings and the gardener he hired said yes; and that he was going to dump the tree. I suggested transplanting it into another garden or a park... seeing the root ball was still intact. He shrugged and walked off. I'm not sure what he did with it, but I hope he did transplant it, it puts out such lovely flowers.

Anyway, I finished 'The Tuscan Garden' and started on 'The Living Room' in my art class. Aaron Pocock, our teacher, is thrilled I'm learning so many things; but it's taking time for me to take in what's he's teaching us. He doesn't mind how slow it's taking me, he likes seeing my work transform the way it has. Okay, the first painting took 4 months, but I learned so much from it! And this second painting is ticking along so much faster now I'm painting tonally, and not the way I painted the last one. I've been taking a lot more notes and enjoying it more. 

Earlier in the month, I found I had given away one of my warmest top sheets! How silly was that of me to do? Well, after I stopped kicking myself, I went off to the manchester place at Springwood and bought a lovely set of sheets for $35 which are just lovely! I guess giving away something by accident results in getting something just beautiful in return. 

Art class is going really well. I finished 'The Tuscan Garden' and have it all ready for the raffle in October and now I've begun 'The Living Room' - a bigger painting with more elements and a cosier look to it. I'm a few weeks into it and it's looking great.

I've been neglecting the house lately, so this week, I've promised myself to keep it tidier than it has been. Today, I cleaned the bathroom - including the window sill - and the tub downstairs in the laundry and then cleaned out the fridge and put out all the rubbish as well. In between all that, I picked up and unpacked a few things, a few bags and gathered together my shopping bags from last week and will be putting them away soon. Then, after I get offline, I'll be pulling the clothes off the clothes horse and taking the clothes basket upstairs to keep it all tidy in that. 

Yep, housework never finishes. That's for sure!

Well, that's all for now. I have been meaning to hang out with friends, but without any fun-money in the accounts, I can't really go anywhere. So, home is where I'm stuck for now. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.