Stealing time

So lately, I have been working 7 days a week on the business. Not unusual for a new business & I'm not complaining, just realising I need a little work life balance. I have designed a timetable & am setting the alarm on my phone. Sounds very regimented but it is getting me to the machine as well as getting the business stuff done so it's all good.

I have been going up to the sewing machine first thing in the morning & getting in a little quality time before I descend into the baking & paperwork chaos. Feels so much better!! Have nearly caught up on my SewEuropBeean blocks & have posted some off this week, working on the rest. Feels good to lose the massive guilt I was carrying.

X & Y blocks

Wonky Stars

For those who have asked, here is the view from my sewing room window. Not a great weather day for the photo but see that little grey/blue triangle between the rooftops & the sky? That my friends is the sea!! I love being able to see it in all it's colours & moods, makes me very happy. I am truly blessed to be where I am with who I am & never let a day go by without pinching myself. 

I love the fact that I get to bake biscuits, cakes & other yummy treats & I DON'T HAVE TO EAT THEM!! LOL Satisfies my baking urges with fewer calories, a win win I say.

Loving what I do

Lush x

 

 

Before the before, before & after

So I have been a very bad Bee member & am 3 months behind in my blocks but I kinda have a decent excuse I think.
The year started off calm & went to hectic in 0.3 seconds. 
New to me coffee truck delivered on 7 January. 
Unplanned trip to Oz took a 4 week chunk. 
Came home to sewing room looking like a storage facility. 
Started work the day after I arrived home. Been working 7 days a week ever since.
That pretty much sums it up. Here it is in pictures.

BEFORE THE BEFORE

BEFORE

See, there is a sewing machine in here, it's just impossible to get to it let alone use it!!

& AFTER

My cutting table

 Just ignore the pile of paperwork boxes, they still need to find a home. And I am not even going to go there about the stockpile of wadding behind those boxes. Yes I may need an intervention :)

 My ironing board & comfy chair. Almost obscured by the stuff for the eventual car boot. Not my exercise ball but those boxes.

All the pretties, back where they belong :)

 I am so lucky to have this space in which to create. Now I just have to carve out some time so I can justify this beautiful room. I started yesterday morning with one hour as soon as I woke. Seems to be this is the best time to exercise & create for me as it does not allow me to forget or get distracted by some other household task like cleaning or washing & gets the good stuff done. Like this blogging time.

I am so seriously loving what I do & especially with whom it is done.

Lush x

Australia. Finally!

I have been so busy since returning from Australia in February that I have had no time to devote to life other than the business let alone the blog but now I am dedicating some time to catching up.

I am eternally grateful to my friends Lee & Brian for allowing me to crash in their spare room for the whole time I was in Oz. It can't be easy having people lob in like that but they accommodated me with such grace & open warm hospitality & I am very thankful. It is always so lovely to catch up with Lee & the family. Their granddaughter Isabella is so grown up since I saw her last year. This year she is walking & beginning to chatter away. It is lovely to watch her grow.

OK, on with the pictures.

I had to have a stopover in Singapore before hitting Oz & was so surprised to see how much it reminded me of Las Vegas. People driving between massive buildings that are part shopping mall, part casino, part hotel. I know I only had one day & even though it is somewhere that has always been on my travel list, I have to say I was not that impressed.

I will need to go back again & have a bit more time I think before I pass total judgement.

Anyhoo, steaming hot outside, freezing cold (to the point of getting an icy type headache) inside & torrential rain. I think it suffered from my being anxious to get to Sydney but having to cool my heels. That is the trouble with booking tickets a year in advance, it's almost impossible to change if needed.

Doesn't everyone have an indoor river??

 Managed to catch a great exhibition, Art of the Brick, by Nathan Sawaya. I loved this exhibition. A. I love Lego. B. This was amazing, simple & profound all at the same time.

His (and mine) biggest fear is losing his hands. I think many crafters could relate.

 They had this really cool interactive Ipad on the wall, take your picture & then be Lego-ised.

Here is me. You need to get back from the screen for a better view but this was really fun.

This was one of my other favourite things in the exhibition. You know how walking on a few random pieces of Lego can hurt like a MOFO. Well it turns out that if you put loads of them together they make the best foot massage platform! Can't wait to dig out some old Lego & make my own massage mat. Yes I did take my shoes off & try it. It also reminds me of a modern scrap quilt in solids LOL.

Weirdly, for such an indoor place, the only way to get to the art gallery was across an open area. It had this amazing lily pond, so pretty. It was also raining so hard that the water was hitting the hard surface & splashing back up several feet. I ended up wandering around the exhibition with a wet bottom under my dress. Hysterical!!

Anyhoo, on to Oz. Funnily enough I did not take a load of pictures in Oz but I did have some lovely catch ups with very important people in my life.

Another Isabella, my bestie's daughter, plonked down next to these doggies after ice cream.

Here is me doing my best Ethel Merman imitation. It was so lovely to be in the warm sea on a lovely sunny day. My friend Tom was taking the photos. We had a tasty lunch & a good catch up in Bronte.

I rarely put up photos of myself on this blog but this is one of me with my 84 year old Mum.

Spent some quality time with my eldest sister & her daughter & her family. It really is amazing to watch kids grow & it seems very strange dropping in after a year away.

I returned to the UK in early March & went to work with the truck the very next day! Who said jet lag?? I have been working seven days a week ever since. If I am not out with the truck I have been on the computer doing stuff or on the phone trying to organise events etc.

I have done two events so far, one a mini event by myself, for the unveiling of some sculptures & one a Bank Holiday market with the Prince & friend JB helping out. I will post about that seperatley.

I have several more events planned for the Summer & continue to build the business during the week. Slowly but surely I think it is getting to where I would like it but time will tell. I am now trying to claw some personal time out of my day as I have been eating sleeping & breathing nothing but the business for some months now. I really have to catch up on my bee blocks. Started yesterday & am nearly there.

Loving what I do.

Lush x

Ask me how I know...

There are certain things you just have to learn by experience. Unfortunately not someone else's experience but your own.

The tiny truck is too tall for car parks. You will just have to make the scraping sounds yourself as you wince & duck. As if that is going to help?? Not too much damage was sustained thankfully.

Never place butter on the radiator to warm to room temperature in a hurry. You will forget it is there!!

Cleaning that out of the radiator grill took many days & many hands. Thank you to my Doozers who finished off what I started.

I have been so busy lately but I am starting to get more organised I think. This of course could be total rubbish & I may be lost in a sea of denial. Stay tuned to find out which LOL

Loving what I do, most of the time.


Lush x
 

A spot of sunshine

As a reward for nearly finishing the Olympic job we had planned to spend a week in slightly more predictable sunshine so after finding the cheapest option careful consideration, we chose Tunisia. We won't mention that at one stage when I was tired, I called it Tanzaninia. I like to call it, invent your own country. LOL

The hotel was lovely and right on the beach. Our room had a lovely view of the water & the sound of the waves was very therapeutic. 

 Lovely view of the moonrise & the sunrise from our balcony

As you can see there are some beautiful details in the architecture. Interesting to spend time in a truly desert country. The country is clearly suffering from a lack of growth in the economy like loads of countries but most of the people were just lovely. 
We won't go into details of the ones trying to chat me up (bear in mind that I am fat & fifty). Apparently getting a foreign passport is a legitimate career. I feel sorry for them & would probably do the same thing in their circumstances.
Sadly, 2 days after we left, someone assassinated the opposition leader & it is likely to kick off trouble again. Very bad news for the people who like you & I are just trying to get on with their lives. I hope that it does not progress to full on civil war.

Some of the things that really cracked us up was how our room was "detailed" each day. Yes, that is my nighty in a frilly pose. Our lady was lovely, we only wished we could have spoken her language but we seemed to get along in broken Franglaise & hand signals.

I can recommend the place, t'was funny to see the Brits & German tourists out by the pool in swimmers & the locals rugged up in their winter gear. Temperature is relative.

We did some cultural stuff while there, went to El Djem which is the site for the 3rd largest but most intact Roman Colosseum in the world and went to a fantastic museum that has most of the Roman mosaics found all over the country. To say I was blown away is an understatement. I could have been there all day. I won't bore you with too many photos but trust me I took loads!!

Some terrific geometric patterns in these mosaics and an owl! Nothing is new, everything has been done before. It drives me nucking futs when people bang on about how they have come up with a great new design. Seriously, don't take yourself so seriously. LOL


Anyhoo, I am almost caught up with things I want to document in posts. My trip to Oz is next but I have to go finish unpacking the sewing room & catch up on some very overdue bee blocks first. Oh and do some baking for the business, marketing for the business, chasing up events for the business etc etc etc. You get the idea.

Loving what I do (but I would love the weather to get warmer & sunnier please?)

Lush x