greenolive

thunder & lightning

very very frightening!

A hint of things to come...

Last night/this morning – the time when we should all be in bed asleep – we had our first thunderstorm of the season.

Loud cracks of thunder. Flashes of lightening that lit up the sky. Heavy drops of rain. Falling very fast.  Deafening noise. The sort of thunderstorm you get in Queensland. More specifically Brisbane on a hot summer afternoon. Almost made me homesick.

Jack, the dog we babysit regularly, didn't like it one bit. All he wanted to do was run around in the back yard and bark at the thunder and lightening. We let him have his wish, but once his barking got loud enough to wake the neighbours, we called him in.

As for me, I tried to sleep but to no avail. Don't know whether it was the thunder, lightening or the energy in the air, but I was all revved up and just couldn't sleep. So rather than toss and turn, I decided to get up and be productive.

Cup of tea made. Blog post written. Now for some etsy uploads. I mean I need to make the most of those cashed-up consumers looking for that perfect handmade holiday gift.

A scarf...?

Some screenprinted fabric...?

Maybe some leather goods...?

bliss is...

your own resident King Parrots

The King Parrots seem to have followed us to the new house. They are just as friendly as they used to be. 

We seem to have picked up a few extra birds along the way - we've got two pairs of Mr and Mrs, and one lone Mr.

Mr greenolive has discovered they have a liking for the sunflower and pumpkin seeds I put in my home-made breakfast. Very expensive bird seed I say.

We are so lucky to have them vist us every day or so. They really are the most beautiful birds.

Oh, in case you are wondering, Mr is the one with the flashy red head, Mrs is a bit more subtle. Apparently the flashy threads are the catch the eye of the Mrs.

small steps

 

In the last few days things have started to move in the right direction. It feels like we are finally getting a break. Our luck is changing.

A very sweet Etsian sent a convo to tell me that one of our listings was on the front page of Etsy. In a Tribal Treasury – and one curated by Etsy Admin no less! Remember this post? Maybe I was right after all...

The used car bastards have finally sent the cheque for the refund of the Saab we purchased to replace the Honda Jazz that we couldn't afford to make payments on and that was ultimately written off in a car accident just over a month ago. I spared you all the gory details about the Saab-saga, but the short version is we were sold a lemon and the car died just 10 weeks after we bought it. A mechanic diagonised major engine problems and finally we got some of our money back. It wasn't all smooth sailing let me tell you – my sister the lawyer had to intervene.

I've discovered the upside of not having a car. Yes, there is an upside. We have to walk everywhere – shop, chemist, post office, to the bus stop – and all this walking is making me lose weight. My waist has made a reappearance and my thighs are tighter. Yesterday a trip to the bank to deposit the bastard's cheque and then to the osteopath for mr greenolive's back took seven hours and 11, 401 steps. 

The sun is shining and the days have been lovely – just the sort of weather that makes me glad we live in the country. The sun and heat has also helped to break my hibernation – I've been busy photographing lots of things for the etsy shops and have also had a strange urge to clean the house and wash up. 

Last Sunday at the Arts Centre market we had our best day ever in terms of sales. We are praying this trend will continue in the lead up to Christmas as we need to generate as much cash as possible to get a replacement car.

And, Magnolia Square has offered us a spot in the upcoming market in Brighton in December. Its very exciting, especially as initially they approached us having followed us on twitter. Now we just have to come up with the money for the stall fee...maybe the car might have to wait...

So all in all, things are looking much better than they did a few weeks ago. Thank goodness!!

autumn on my mind

 

Autumn Harvest Entangled Scarf in shades of pumpkin, squash, maize...now available in the shop.

Its really odd, today is our first real warm Spring day and I'm thinking of Autumn. Twenty-eight degrees and I'm surrounded by the colours of Fall – orange, rust, pumpkin, squash...

I've been knitting (and crocheting) up a storm in the past few weeks and today's sunshine means I can finally photograph the output and upload the scarves to the etsy shop.

That's the lot of an international etsy seller I suppose, to be totally out of the loop in terms of seasons, holidays and special occasions. I mean, what does Thanksgiving mean to an Aussie.

So for now I'm channeling the spirit of my New Jersey Zajacek relatives and thinking about Fall. But don't worry, I'm still thinking about Spring too.

PS: I had a very woe-is-me post running through my head this past week, but out of concern for you my dear blog readers I thought I'd spare you the gory details!!

time for a change

I'm well and truly over the direction life has been taking over the past five months. I haven't gone into all the gory details here – because its been a very personal and quite confronting experience, and I didn't want to fill these posts with complaints about all the things that have gone "wrong". About how the life I'm now living is NOT the one I planned.

Nearly every part of my life has been touched - health, employment, financial situation, living situation, emotions, feelings, even our beloved Jazzy Jazz has been written off in a car accident. Everything that could go wrong has.

The upside is that through it all mr greenolive has held my hand, keeping strong and optimistic when I am doubtful and sad and angry. He has been incredibly supportive, even while his own life is changing as much as mine.

I feel that life has thrown everything it can at me, testing me and forcing change where change is required. Despite the momentary hiccups and lots of tears I've managed to survive, and have emerged stronger. 

I'm learning that life can be lived at a slower pace. More simply. With less stuff and money. 

I'm praying that there are no more "changes" in store for me and the rest of the year is positive and relatively quiet. I think I've just about had my fair share of change for 2009.