Kiama Mini-Break

I know it may have seemed that I abandoned my blog once again, however, I didn't. I just needed a bit of a break after losing Lily. We had her cremated and I had a photo of her printed. The days following her passing, there were a couple of weird events - we think she may have popped in to torment the dogs, something she loved to do! Today's blog post isn't meant to be a sad one. I just wanted to add the photo below to my blog.

Roughly a month ago, we went to Kiama for a 5-day mini-break, I mentioned that we were going back in February. As usual, breaks are never quite long enough! We were lucky as it was sunny for most of the time we were there, it only rained the last two days which really wasn't that big of a deal as we had done most of the outside stuff.

The first day that we arrived, there were markets on. We love markets! I did wear a hat, however, I was a bit slack in the sunscreen department and got quite sunburnt! Lesson learnt? Maybe lol 

While we were there, we stayed at Kiama Shores Motel. Now, just for some background info lol. When we travel, we're not the kind of travellers that seek five-star accommodation. For us, accommodation is just somewhere to sleep and to have breakfast and/or dinner. 

According to Google, this motel was 4.1/5 stars and was also well priced. As you can see from the photo, the motel was clean. So what was my issue? Weeell, there wasn't a kitchenette. We had a fridge and a kettle, but no kitchenette. There was also two BBQ's for patrons to use, but given the lack of kitchen amenities, we didn't have utensils or even plates to be able to use the BBQ's. 

The lack of kitchen facilities also meant that the kettle had to be filled from the bathroom sink, the same place that the two mugs had to be washed. This was an issue for me, I don't have OCD, but I do like my kitchen stuff separated from my bathroom stuff.

There was a cafe downstairs called Speak N Easy and we had breakfast there every morning as not only was it convenient, but they had a decent menu, it was well priced and the staff were friendly.

Ok back to my kitchenette issue! Aside from the kettle refilling problem, towards the end of our stay when it was raining and we were getting tired, we couldn't grab some take away earlier in the day to have later on for dinner as we didn't have any cutlery, plates, or even a small microwave. This meant that we went out for dinner every night. Admittedly, the restaurants we went to were great. However, in this day and age, is a kitchenette too much to ask for?

One restaurant we went to was called Ritzy Gritz Mexican Stonegrill and the food was pretty amazing! They didn't scrimp on anything and the surroundings were very Tex Mex!

We had two-day trips to Berry which is the most gorgeous little township about twenty minutes from Kiama. If you ever go to Berry, you simply have to go to The Dairy Bar! OMG! We were only planning on going there once for a look, but after spending one day looking around, we had to go back for another!

On the second trip to Berry, I purchased a new tarot deck for myself. I had actually checked out some reviews on this deck a few years back on Amazon. I can't remember why I didn't get it, perhaps it was out of stock? Anyway, I saw this deck on the shelf and the book was right beside it. I'd already picked up a few other decks but put them back on the shelf as I didn't click with them, so when I saw this deck and guidebook, I knew it was coming home with me. 

I purchased The Halloween Tarot from Shambalaa, they have two storefronts - so should you go looking for a new age shop and find a clothing store - keep looking!  

Ok, well I think the length of this blog post has made up for my absence!  

March Mini Break

Towards the end of last year, we went to Hobart in Tasmania, it was the first holiday we'd had in years! We loved Tassie so much, we've already booked our next holiday which is towards the end of this year to go there again. In the meantime, my wife has a month of leave over March, so we've decided to go down south for a few days for a bit of a mini break.

My wife's been to Kiama before, but I've only been as far as Wollongong, so we're going on a road trip to Kiama for a couple of days in March. To me, Kiama is best known for its blowholes and Jamberoo Action Park. Due to the time of year that we're going down there, Jamberoo Action Park won't be open, but that's ok, there's plenty of other things for us to see and do. There's also loads of smaller surrounding townships and villages with lots to offer tourists.

One place I'm looking forward to visiting is The Treat Factory in a nearby place called Berry. Guess what they sell? Treats! You can check out their online store here and their Instagram page here for some yummy looking photos!

Kiama also has a mid-week Farmers Market on Wednesdays which I'm also looking forward to checking out. I love markets! You never know what you'll find lol 

We've got about a month before we head off on our mini break/road trip, so we're both busily checking out what Google has to offer in ways of ideas! Who doesn't love a road trip?!?!?

A Couple Of Outings!

Finding time to go out between my wife's roster and my 7 day a week business is a nightmare! In fact it had been months since we actually went out - just the two of us. However we got to go out on the weekend and we went out again for lunch yesterday! My system didn't know what hit it! Two outings in almost as many days!

The view from where we were sitting. 

On the weekend we went to a local art/craft market and then instead of going to a cafe for lunch as we usually would, we got some take away wraps and drinks and had lunch in a nearby park in the sun by the water - it was so relaxing!!! I seriously could have just sat in the park, in the sun looking at the water, the birds, and the other people all day!

The view in the other direction. 

Even though there were quite a few people in the park, it wasn't noisy because the park's a decent size. I really miss being outside, either being surrounded by nature or at least being able to see it. I feel much calmer and at ease within myself when I can smell and see trees, see or hear birds, look out the windows or doors and see natural beauty rather than the neighbours fence or wall. The suburb we live in has parks, but they're really small, surrounded by houses and are purely designed for children with play equipment installed. Don't get me wrong, kids need somewhere to play, but adults need somewhere to go as well. 

Sadly the area I live in has new housing estates popping up every couple of weeks, the bulldozers roll in and rip out all the trees and McMansions are erected in no time - shiny, pretty and generic in appearance - without a tree or flower in sight. Only last week a Rosella landed on our fence, it was the first native bird I have seen since living here. 

Anyway back to our weekend outing! While we were having lunch, there was this guy doing some kind of Tai Chi nearby. Perception is a funny thing lol I found watching him holding his poses somewhat relaxing, where my wife did not lol I don't know if this is because when I lived in the City I would often see people in the parks doing this as a group and it was a normal sight for me, where you just don't see it much where we live.

My purchases.

After we had lunch in the park, watched the ducks, saw some boats and watched the Tai Chi guy, we went back to the markets and I bought a glass mosaic oil burner and essential oils. We did go to the markets before lunch and I saw it then, but I didn't buy it. It wasn't until we were having lunch that I decided that I wanted to buy it lol It looks amazing in the dark! I absolutely love it!

Yesterday we went to this cute-out-of-the-way cafe for lunch. This cafe has such an airy feel about it as it has huge doorways and windows, allowing for so much natural light and there aren't too many tables, so it doesn't have a cluttered feel. It's also situated right across from three parks and the ocean! Heaven! So instead of dining in, we got take away sandwiches and drinks and had lunch in the park overlooking the ocean. 

The stunning view from where we were sitting. 

It was such a busy little place considering how out of the way it is, but it was so peaceful sitting in the park amongst the trees, with the ocean down below and birds flying all around us. There was just this feeling of total freedom and openness. 

The sky was crystal clear like the ocean, not a cloud in sight. Some of the trees near where we were sitting were quite large, with holes and patches of moss. I love gnarly looking trees :)

Gnarly, mossy, holey trees and flowers. 

We've decided that we will have to make an extra effort to try and go out more, especially now that we're moving out of winter and into spring. Even if it's just packing a picnic lunch and going where there aren't any shops or cafes, and just having a peaceful day outdoors in nature, away from home and work. 

Storms And Colds

So what's been happening that's kept me away from Blogger? lol Where do I start? Okay so not long after my last post, the area I live in had the worst storm ever and it lasted 3 days! It was classed as a category 2 cyclone! I don't live in a tropical region, so cyclones technically shouldn't occur. I have never experienced anything like it in my life! I've seen on the news when tornadoes go through in America, and the people have those bunkers because they live in a region prone to such storms, and I often wonder how they keep wanting to live in those areas? After the storm we had, one was enough! I don't think I could live somewhere that had these storms/cyclones frequently!

We lost power for 3 days, the home phone for a week, our garage was flooded and rain was constantly blown in, around and under doors in our house, and we had some damage to our fences. We still had running water and gas so we were able to cook and wash. Mind you - when I say 'wash' lol I mean heating large pots of water on the stove and pouring them into the bath, as the gas water system has an electric ignition lol When the power came back on, you've never seen someone so happy to have a shower! Having a bird bath just isn't the same lol.

Others weren't so lucky, some lost power for more than a week, some lost the roof off their homes..... Others lost their entire home and sadly some lost their lives. Roads were closed in some areas due to power lines across roads, trees across roads or flooding. 

The news constantly told people to stay off the roads unless it was absolutely necessary. Guess what? I had to go out lol My shop is open 7 days a week and I have an online store. I only closed the shop for 1 day, but people from other states were still ordering products online. I took the photo above when I was on my way to the shop to fulfill an online order. I'm lucky I drive a SUV so the water wasn't an issue for me, but some cars that drove through this had water above the bottom of their doors. It also amazed me that people didn't slow down. One my way back home a woman in a small car raced into the water behind me.... Given that my car was much higher than hers she copped a huge wave of water over the bonnet and windscreen.... She slowed down after that.

So after the clean up, including drying my garage out all seemed to be good. Then about a week later it rained again and I heard something dripping!!! I checked all the taps and couldn't find where it was coming from, then I looked into the garage and discovered that water was dripping through a small hole in the gyprock ceiling just centimetres from my kiln. The garage was flooded again. We had a builder come out to check the damage, and it turned out that the wind from the cyclone had blown a bunch of roof tiles out of place. Phew! He put the tiles back in place and didn't even charge me. We've had rain since and the garage remained dry :) 

Next topic lol I had my last x-ray checked 3 weeks ago by my Dr and the morning of the appointment I woke up with a sore throat and burning eyes. I thought 'Oh No! This is how it all started!'. She told me my x-ray was almost all clear and there was no need for another one. I told her about the symptoms I had when I woke up and she checked me over but couldn't find anything.... She told me to keep an on it as she didn't want me to land up back in hospital. By that afternoon I felt horrid, I had another cold. 

That was 3 weeks ago and I still have it. I was almost over it by the end of last week, but on the weekend we had been booked for a stall at an outdoor event for our shop. It rained all day and it was freezing cold. The whole time I was standing there I just knew the weather was going to set me back. Sure enough, Monday morning I woke up feeling like I was back to day 2 of when it first kicked in. I'm drugged up and feel awful, I'm really over having a cold and feeling like this.

I have some other news, it's sad and deserves it own post. So I shall write it now and schedule it for tomorrow. I'm off for another handful of tissues! 

Psychic Medium Reading

I guess we've all had one of 'those dodgy tarot/psychic readings' in our life, I know I've had my fair share! Anyway, my wife gave me a gift voucher for my birthday to see a psychic. The psychic has been trained by Lisa Williams - so I knew she was the real deal as Lisa doesn't just churn out 1000's of 'psychics'. I was very much looking forward to booking my appointment and seeing this psychic!

Lisa Williams

So before I start, I know there are a lot of skeptics out there... When my wife bought the voucher, the psychic knew the voucher was for my birthday, she didn't know the date of my birthday, she only knew my first name, she did not have my email address and my wife paid via paypal which is still in her maiden name. So if the psychic tried to look me up, she wouldn't have found a thing about me if she used my first name and my wife's maiden name.

Okay, so I arrive for my appointment. The Psychic lives on a rural block and she has a very long driveway - Yes, the driveway has something to do with my reading lol. The psychic came out and met me outside in her beautiful environment. We go inside and she asks if I would like a psychic reading or a mediumship reading? My voucher was for 1 hour so I asked if I could have half/half.

She started with the psychic reading. The other thing I should quickly add, is that I recently bought an older Ford F150 for carrying around stock for my business. My everyday car has advertising on the rear windscreen, so I deliberately drove the truck to the appointment as I had not as yet had any signage put on it. I didn't want.... "Ohhh you own your own business etc".

So the reading began - no cards, hand holding or asking me questions about what I did etc, she just closed her eyes and said that she was going to contact her guides. The first thing she said was that she could see that I had been cleaning up and throwing away a lot of items. (The 2 weeks before I saw her I did have a big clean up at home! We had booked 2 council rubbish collections.) 

She described that I was in a high up position in my field of work - that I was on the top rung of the ladder. She said that a lot of people were surprised when I entered this field as it's not something anyone saw me doing and that I had a clerical position. (I have never owned, run a business or worked in retail. Although my business is retail, I don't 'work' in the shop. I run the website and take care of stock etc.) She also went into detail about how much things had improved in all aspects since I started there.

She went on to say that prior to me working where I currently was, she could see that I had been working on some kind of enterprise at home to generate an income, but it stopped abruptly. (Before I bought the retail store, I was working on starting my own ceramics business from home. I stopped abruptly because my Aunt got ill.) She told me so many more things which I cannot remember right now. But she blew me away!

After the psychic reading, she said that she was glad that I wanted a mediumship reading.... She said because it was such a hot day, she went to her office to open the windows and when she walked out she saw a woman standing in her driveway looking towards the road. She couldn't get the woman's attention and the woman kept looking at her watch and then back down the driveway. The psychic said that she didn't know who the woman was waiting for or belonged to because she couldn't connect with her. She said that she could feel a very strong maternal connection, but that she wasn't anyone's mother - that she was probably an Aunt. (I started crying. I knew before she went any further, it was my Aunt as she was always early and obsessed with time!) 

The psychic described her appearance to me perfectly and asked if I knew who she was? I told her she was my Aunt. The psychic said that she was no longer here but she would try and make contact with her. After a few minutes she started telling me some of the most amazing things! One of them being that my Aunt puts her hands on my shoulders when I'm stressed (She used to do this to me when she was alive) and that she speaks to me, but believes that I have only heard her once! (In the post below I mentioned that I heard her one night say 'Hi Love'.) 

The psychic told me that my Aunt was very proud of the way in which I carried out her funeral - however one person in the will did not get what they were supposed to get. This made me feel ill! I told the psychic that everyone received what was in my Aunt's will. The psychic kept talking to my Aunt and my Aunt told her a bed didn't go where it was supposed to go.... I had forgotten all about the bed! A friend of my Aunts was supposed to have her bed (It was a wiz bang electric bed lol), but the woman's sons wouldn't come and collect it, so it went elsewhere. The psychic explained this to my Aunt and all was good lol 

The psychic told me that my Aunt was now riding her old bike that I had found in the roof and she described a jungle that she like to spend time in that had little pathways everywhere. (When I was a child I found a old bike in the roof of my Grandparents stable, I asked my Dad to get it down for me and my Aunt was there at the time.... She said 'That's my old bike!'. The jungle that the psychic described with the pathways is exactly what my Aunt had in her backyard. She had a section that had little paths running all over the place!)

The psychic then said my Aunt was saying that I had lost my spark since she left me and that I needed to get back to what I was doing and get that ute! The psychic did look a little confused at this point lol because why would I need a ute when I drove up in a truck?!?! lol (In the post below I said that I sometimes feel like she's left me - not dead, deceased or passed away - but left me, the exact words the psychic used. My Aunt knew I was starting my own business before she became ill, and she said to my wife and I that I should buy a ute to carry around stock in case I attend markets with my ceramic items). The psychic also said that my aunt will always be with me, she will never leave me and that when it's my time she will be there waiting for me.

Again, so many more things were said...... After the reading I explained that I had been cleaning up so that I could start my ceramics again and needed to make room in the garage - which was my work from home enterprise that she could see in the psychic reading. I told her this was what I was doing before my Aunt became ill and that's why I stopped abruptly. That I was going to sell some of my ceramic items in the store and some online, and that I had also just bought the truck for events/markets. 

The psychic talked to me about mediumship and that she felt that with some practice I would be able to speak with my Aunt without the use of a medium since I had already heard my Aunt once. She also told me that she could feel that I had seen/sensed spirits/ghosts before. She blew me away. She told me so many things that very few people know about and none of it was 'wishy washy one size fits all' stuff. 

After I came home and told my wife about it, I went online and started reading more about the psychic and discovered that she now teaches. I have since enrolled in one of her courses that starts next year! lol Like running a business and trying to get a 2nd one off the ground doesn't take up enough of my time lol!

Echovox And New Technology.... Argh!!!

Yes readers I'm back and I have another Echovox EVP clip for you! lol It's only 20 seconds long, so it wont take you all day to listen to. I recorded it yesterday, but I only put it together this morning. I've also inserted a picture of my neighbourhood in the clip, just to give you an idea of what the voice may have been saying....

It took me a while to figure out how to put a 3rd image into the audio clip, but with some trial and error..... And holding my head in my hands for a while lol I finally got it.... I think??? I still have some way to go when it comes to fading images in and out like the pros do. :) :)

I've also started my own YouTube Channel, where I will also load my clips. In the past I have often watched a lot of videos on there, but I hadn't set up my own channel, so it's a work in progress, my channel can be found Here.

I haven't just been recording EVP's :o) My wife and I went out for breakfast yesterday morning, rather than going out for lunch as it has been so hot here, and then we went to the local markets which were just across from where we had breakfast. I purchased a couple of soy candles and 2 crystals.

It was my birthday last month, and I received some money from my Mum. I had no idea what I wanted to buy with it..... Anyway, yesterday, a whole month after my birthday, I decided to buy a video camera. It's nothing fancy at all, after all I'm not a professional, I just wanted something that I could use for everyday stuff - that was no fuss and easy to use. OMG.... I 'used' to be sooo tech savvy.... The older I get, the easier I want things to be, because it's all just too much, and does my head in lol.... Is this a sign that I'm getting old? Am I turning into the kind of person that needs a 3 year old to program their TV? lol

So I did my research and picked out what I wanted, I found a store that was selling it for the lowest price, but when I got to the store, I noticed that the price on the camera was $80 dearer than was it was advertised for! I was thinking that maybe I had missed a sale or maybe read the wrong model number. Anyway, the sales guy came over and I told him that the camera I wanted was advertised online for $80 less...... He looked a bit perplexed. So he went online and confirmed that I was right, and then gave me an extra $10 off! lol So I guess at the end of the day, check your prices and don't worry about asking questions... And yes, when I left the store, the original price tag displaying the added $80, was still being displayed.... Shoppers beware!

I let the camera charge last night, now I have never owned a video camera for a couple of reasons. The main reason is that I really dislike the sound of my own voice when I hear it recorded. I don't even record my own message on my mobile phone voice mail! lol My friends have video cameras, and when they bring them out, I hardly say 2 words. The other reason is that a lot of people have cameras because they have kids or are into sport etc. I don't fit into either of those categories.

After I read the manual this morning, I made my first 'video'. I haven't used any editing software, I just recorded it and then transferred it to the computer, so I hope that you are able to view it. If you can't it's on my YouTube channel and I know works there :o)

What Is Man-Stuff?

In my last post I expressed my frustrations with the lack of products that were aimed at male shoppers when I visited a local handcraft market. The responses I received were very supportive and made me both smile and laugh! One comment in particular that cracked me up was from Lisa over at Button Brain:- 

"LOL I'm hearing you! I guess if you want to see something different at the market you need to lead the way... perhaps you have some 'man-stuff' you could sell?" 

Firstly you need to understand that I had just woken up when I read this comment, and when I saw 'man-stuff' I started laughing!! Because... What exactly is man-stuff? Is it lumps of rope? Is it aftershave? Is it work boots, wallets, belts, fishing gear, train sets, navy blue singlets, hard hats, 100% full fat meat pies with lashings of 100% full sugar and salt content tomato sauce - washed down with non-diet Coke with no pretty slices of lemon or lime stuffed in the top? Geez! What a mouth full! So what exactly is man-stuff and where do we find it?

The Conjuring - The movie we saw.

Yesterday my wife and I went out to lunch before seeing a movie, and while we were having lunch, I was telling her about my last post and the comments received. The cinema that we were going to is located within a fairly large shopping centre. So after lunch we both made a point of looking at some of the stores, that sell both male and female products as we made our way to the cinema. Now I wasn't on a - fact finding - I'm making a documentary - mission lol I just wanted to see how the mall stores, in comparison to the markets, advertise - display their products. Some surprised me and some did not. Now this isn't a 'oh woe is me/males' post at all! lol I have some numbers below because I have a question for you at the end! :o)

We didn't enter these stores, these numbers are purely based on their window displays. David Jones window display was evenly split 50/50, which did not surprise me. Cotton On (clothing store) was also split 50/50, which did surprise me. Williams The Shoeman and Mathers Shoes were both three quarters women's shoes and one quarter men's shoes, Athletes Foot was three quarters women's shoes and one quarter children's shoes. Just Jeans was 100% women's wear, yet Jeans West was 50/50. Best and Less was three quarters women's wear and one quarter children's wear. The Body Shop was 100% women's products. Big W doesn't have a window display, but the first items to be seen through the door were women's clothes.

My wife was actually quite shocked by how little these unisex stores advertised - marketed towards male shoppers. She said that she had actually never noticed this before. Now we all know that aside from the unisex stores, most stores are aimed at women ie clothes, perfumes, shoes, handbags, make-up, etc. I also read a study recently that stated that the average male will spend approximately 25 minutes in a shopping centre. He will walk in, buy what he needs and leave, or become incredibly bored and leave, where women on the other hand can happily browse for approximately 2 hours.

So is this because men aren't interested in shopping? Or because there isn't actually anything of interest being sold, so browsing isn't an option? Is it a case of what came first? The chicken or the egg? Do males really dislike shopping? Or are females just easier to sell to?

I know of males who are keen fishermen, I also know of males who fly remote controlled aeroplane's, I know males who build model towns and build train sets around the towns, I know of males who surf. None of the large shopping centres in my area cater to any of these hobbies. Yet there are stores that cater towards scrap-booking, stationary,  knitting, sewing etc. Yes, I know that I have stereotyped here and that both genders can have interests in each others hobbies. What I'm looking at is the majority gender of these hobbies.

I would like to hear from my readers, ask your husband, partner, son, father etc if shopping centres catered more towards them, and their interests, would they be more likely to spend time there? If you are a male reader, what would shopping centres need to do or sell, to hold your interest for longer than 25 minutes?

Markets, Shopping... And A Bit Of A Whinge

My wife and I are the kind of couple that go out everywhere together, except for grocery shopping.... My wife mostly does that herself lol as she says that it costs more when I go along lol... Anyway sorry, wandering off the topic here as I do.... My wife is working nightshift at the moment, so she's asleep during the day, and there were some markets on that I wanted to check out. So I decided that I would go by myself, it was a bit of a weird feeling being there without her.

The view from the markets

I love markets! Especially when it's a nice sunny day - not too hot, and just being able to browse around at all of the handcrafts and unique items for sale. But there is one thing that I am starting to see a trend in, and that's the number of stalls that are selling mother/baby type stuff. Now before I get flamed or some troll rolls in and abuses me, I do not have an issue with mothers or babies. My wife and I don't have children - because we can't, not because we didn't want any. Neither of us begrudge other people or hold any ill-will towards those who do have children either. . .

Alert! Whinge Below!

Today when I went to these markets, the number of mother/baby stalls were out of control... Seriously. Yes I know that they say that males don't like to shop, or that women make most of the purchases..... But there is also the flip side of the coin, that if there were items for sale that were directed at a male market, men will buy them. I am a male and I shop. If I see items that I can use, or that I think would look nice in our home, I will pull my wallet out of my pocket and I will buy them. I'm also a huge supporter of buying locally and supporting 'the little guy'. But how do I do this, when most of the stuff that is being sold locally is aimed at mothers and babies? We don't all have children, we don't all know people that have children and some of us don't have family members with children. Okay, I had to get that out. I'm not normally someone who 'whinges', but this handmade baby culture thing just got to me today. 

Whinge Over! :o)

A small selection. . . 

On a positive note I found some soy candles! There were so many different ones to choose from, sometimes too much choice is a bad thing for me when it comes to candles lol! I normally go for the same or similar scented candles, but today I decided to be a bit adventurous and buy some that I hadn't purchased before. Daring, I know! lol

So decided on four, which should keep me going until I find some more markets to check out. I hope whatever it is that you did on your weekend was a blast! 

I'm also just going to take this chance to give Lisa over at Button Brain a plug :o) She has started a Weekend Writers Group, click here for the details :o)