The Wanderer has Returned and Clutter Concerns

Woodgate Beach

The last few days at Woodgate proved a bit busier as we got a little more active - the kids had us riding everywhere, walks, runs and swimming at the beach and since we couldn't put it off any longer, some jobs around the house - painting, organising and cleaning (since it will be months till we get back and no one cleans like you do!)

As promised from my last post, here are some pics - they were taken in the late afternoon so the beach is rather shady unlike most of the day.


We enter the beach here

Looking for interesting shells is a regular activity

The girls having races on the beach :)

After a mammoth 12 hour trip yesterday, we're back home. The kids are far better at travelling these days but my oh my we were all stiff when we emerged.

My first impressions of being home, albeit in the headlights since it was dark - the grass hasn't grown much so there hasn't been much rain (not so good for the crops but good for son who does the mowing!), it's decidely chilly (like slippers and jumper chilly ... rather different to the heat and humidity of the last couple of days) and on entering the house, 'thankgoodness its clean and tidy but we've just got too much "stuff"!'.

I realised in the last few days on holidays, that the kids had actually been perfectly happy with a minimum amount of things - well, apart from running out of books to read. The rest of the time, they rode their bikes around Woodgate, went to the beach and played games that we keep up there.

But here we are back home and they have 'stuff' everywhere. Stuff that they hardly (if at all) look at let alone use or play with. And I'm not much better - while my studio is full and a bit chaotic its what I need to get things done.  But the study is overflowing with my (and everyone's) excess 'stuff', the garage is likewise full, as is the storage landing in the shed.

I have been hit with the clarity of eyes that have been unused to clutter and my need for those built-in wardrobes in at least 2 rooms (that we've been talking about for at least 4 years) is coming to a head! It will be a good excuse for a clean out in those rooms at least, and I need to take a firm hand with all those 'one day it might be useful' items that ends up the study ... before getting moved to the garage ... and then onto the shed. The next stop should be the tip, but how often does that really happen in anyone's life!?

So I'm on a mission - I badly need to get back into the studio but I will have to set aside time for the great clutter cleanout! Well, at least until I run out of steam and get too used to it all again.

Any tips for me in my endeavour to live (or at least get back to) clutter-free?  If so, do let me know, I'll need all the help I can get!

Ciao
Annette

Back from holidays

I'm home from a wonderful, relaxing holiday in Queensland *sigh*. I was full of energy first day back, yesterday I hit the post-holiday low and then today I'm feeling a bit more 'normal' LOL!

We drove north west (instead of north east) and went to visit family in Bollon (west of St. George) in Qld. They live on a magnificent property "Woolerina" where they run sheep, cattle and horses. Last time we visited it was dry and dusty no matter where you looked, this time it was green! We're farmers and graziers but their operation is at a whole new level. Typical outback living and we all enjoyed our short stay immensely. The children can't wait to return.


We then turned east and eventually north-east and made our way to Woodgate and the beach.

There was lots of time for all of us to read, time to play games with the kids and daily walks along the beach. I saw dolphins which was a real thrill, hubby and son saw sea turtles and the twins are cross they didn't manage to see either!


I even managed some exercise - a bit of a shock to the body I'm sure! I was up every day around 5am and off for a jog. The warmer weather (but not hot) made it easy to commit to doing this daily!

The kangaroos were often entertaining too - if you haven't heard me talk of Woodgate before it's a rare town, situated between the beach and national park and there are kangaroos everywhere - on the streets, in the yards nibbling the lawns, on the beach in the mornings. Usually they just look cute (or in the case of the big males, rather intimidating) but these pair were having a fight in between our house and the neighbours...


The weather was consistently warm - even on the one day it rained it was still warm (very bizarre having come essentially from winter here on the farm) and the clothing layers reduced to one light one.


I even got to go shopping in a big town - with lots of shops yippee! - weekly. Such a rarity for me.

The weather a couple of hours drive south of us was atrocious with falls of 200mm in 24 hours. This was our destination on the return journey as my brother in law was getting married. The day of the wedding was gale force winds and rain, so the wedding moved indoors and the pool party became a normal party watching the rain sheet down!

So, I'm back in the saddle now, as they say, and have to wait patiently for another year till we can get away again.

I have a show (eek), this weekend, at the "Mayfield" open garden at Birriwa - a fundraiser for CanTeen. Lots of people say they're coming so it may be a very busy day - the gardens are supposed to be gorgeous and cover 3 acres, so it will be lovely to see!

Till next :)
Annette

More beach photos

Morning sky at Woodgate Beach


I can't believe another couple of weeks have passed - in a blur! The first week was just my fuzzy 'holiday head' where I was quite content just to kick back.... Then last week we went to Temora for the NSW Aerobatic Championships where I was contest secretary. This involved very long days, extremely hot weather, very little sleep and lots of brain power.... but I survived LOL. We got home yesterday and I'm still exhausted. I'll get back on track soon, promise!

In the meantime here are some more holiday pics (click on them to see them larger!) :)

Shells on the beach


Morning sun filtering through the trees along The Esplanade


Kangaroo on the beach


Till next :)
Annette

The beach holiday plus kangaroos

Hello all! Have you had a busy couple of weeks? I’m sure you have! I’ve been having a wonderful time kicking back at our beach house in Woodgate, Queensland and relaxing – reading books, running along the beach and exploring what the tide has brought in each morning and generally enjoying family life without the stresses of the every day. Above is a photo of the beach from the entry nearest to our house taken just after dawn. Don't you wish you were there too!?

I mentioned in my last post that I wondered if I would have an unexpected animal popping up in any of my photos – and I didn’t. But I did catch a pic of kangaroos on the beach. This was taken during my early morning beach walk – they don’t go down when the sun is high, preferring to sit around under the shade of trees on people’s front lawns! Apparently they go down to wash in the salt water to remove parasites from their fur. Clever animals.



Here is another one a bit closer this time...this one had just been down to the water and had hopped up to the dune between the beach and the street.



On the return journey I attended the Connect09 Seminar on the Gold Coast where I met so many wonderful women – I knew most online but it was so great to actually meet these people in person, such as the warm and funny Cheeky Monkey herself, Monique, the inspirational Cath from the Squiggle Mum blog (check out her winning the Top AusMumpreneur 2009 award!) and even some people I only know from the C2Ms Goodie Bag group. I saw that Melissa from Business Mums Blog was talking about how great goodie bags are and I have to agree!

I haven’t had much time to do blog surfing this week, but I did see a post by Karen at Winding Threads that talks of addictions – hers is fabric and we all know mine is gems! But we’re quite happy to have these certain addictions in our lives LOL.

No gemmie news this week - I'm sure there has been some but I haven't caught up yet! So, till next week,
Cheers!
Annette

Back from vacation

Well, I am relaxed, recharged and raring to go!!! What a wonderful holiday we had ... the weather was gorgeous, lovely warm sunshine and a couple of days light rain (but not cold) in the middle of our holiday to relieve that monotonous sunshine ;) The children had a wonderful time and spent their time darting between the house, the beach, the house, the playground, the house, the beach.... you get the idea, I'm sure!

I was also very productive and managed to make lots of beautiful jewellery inspired by the beach, the rather tropical feel and the warm, lazy days. Even though I spent some days 'working', being able to do so in comfort and still hearing the waves crash on the beach was very special.



It was marvellous to see our house again (once a year really isn't enough) and even though we have been there a few years running now, the number of kangaroos that hop around your yard, the street and even the beach is a bit amazing. We had a rather large male almost come into our garage and you can routinely get within a foot or so of them before they shy away. Of course, getting that close isn't really recommended as they are wild creatures, so its better to sit back and just watch! Although I had heard of them being on the beach, this was the first time I had seen it as this picture shows a couple of them that had been nibbling the grass on the dune in front of the beach! I can't understand why they don't promote Woodgate Beach a little more to our overseas guests who would love to see the 'roos hopping around the little town.

I am just about to start my spring show season - nothing like jumping right back into the thick of it! This weekend (13-14 September) I am off to Quirindi Show on both Saturday and Sunday and will be located in Pavillion 2, so if you are planning on attending the show, please drop by and say hello! The following weekend (20-21 Sept) is Merriwa Show and I get to catch up with all my lovely clients from that district. Luckily there are school holidays in between those two and my next 2 day event at the Coolah Spring Garden Festival on 18-19 October.

I was working on my website just before going on holidays and fingers crossed I may even get to work on it a little next week as well. I can't wait to unveil it all to you and am still so thrilled to have found the wonderful Emma of Morris Bear who created it for me. As I mentioned before I have looked and looked and looked for web designers and really had trouble finding anyone that could do what I was after at an affordable price! Well, I was pretty chuffed to see that there is another Aussie woman doing web design templates (not specifically e-commerce) at very reasonable prices - Jenni Markham Designs. She also creates the cutest stationery! Well worth a look if you are in the market for something like this.



The piece I've picked for today's pic is beautiful teal coloured, highly faceted jade (treated of course) which is incredibly sparkly. Would you believe the lovely sterling balls in between actually calm the sparkle down to a managable level? It's summery, shiny and sparkly - everything you need to wear against your skin or summer fashions.

It's great to be back although I'm still a bit behind on responding to comments... but I'll get there!!!

Cheers!

I'm back!

Ooooh, I think I'm addicted to the internet. I missed getting my emails and checking out my favourite sites soooo much! But I DID cope okay ;)

We all had a great time - the beach was gorgeous, the weather sublime and I took some jewellery to work on (and even managed to do some of it), the kids were out of control, but it was a holiday so I didn't get too stressed about it! This pic was taken one afternoon when the tide had gone out and left a channel in its wake with some groovy patterns in it.

I landed back in reality a few hours ago. The car is unpacked, the bags are halfway there. I have jewellery all over the floor and all over my bench! New supplies arrived in my absence - I LOVE getting parcels! - and all is go, go, go. I even had a client come over this afternoon among the disarray and managed to find her something perfect to go with her new dress. I have to get back into gear and get organised for Lovedale, so 3 days to go.....arrrgghhhh........

A simple necklace to show today - musky pink rhodonite and big sterling silver balls.

I'll report back after Lovedale :)