Once You Op, You Can't Stop: Lifeline Loot

Once You Op, You Can't Stop: Lifeline Loot

If you have a blog like this one I would love to connect with you.

There is nothing better than finding something pre-loved that you can use or pass on. One of the most depressing aspects of society today is revisited at least once a week when the trash goes out.

We recycle as much as possible and donate anything of use. It makes our household feel like they are working toward a better future. My daughter (almost 21) loves to op shop. She is the label queen and finds alot of her wardrobe second hand. It can be done, and she is stylish, quirky and individual.

I've had some great finds lately will post pics soon.


Kez.

Artfest began today....

So this weekend I'll see m humble offering for 8 x 8 competition on display with all the other entries. Milton is a lovely place and rather than go the pseudo olde village route, it has kept the country town charm and embraced the arts.

Not only will the visitor be accorded a visual pleasure, the associated music festival, gives an aural one as well. Food also plays with the senses, chefs of the area exceeding expectations for the tastebuds of the customer. For the more discerning there is poetry, and those more literate short stories.

For me there are craft markets.......

If you need to know more go to http://www.escapeartfest.info/

Bye for now...

My throat is still sore....

I still have a sore throat.

That doesn't mean that I've forgotten or forgiven, I just have other things to think of.

My first entry in a local art festival goes off today. It is only an 8 inch square, but it is mine and it will be a thrill to see it part of the display. There were 300 entries in the same category last year and they hope to have more this year. I will have a photographic collage of what I see at the festival in early October.

Have just got back from Milton. It really is a pretty town. Rolling green hills in the west and the blue waters of the South Coast to the East. It has a collection of boutique stores, galleries and cafes. You can get 'Good Coffee' in Milton. Scratch a little of the Artistic flare from this gem on the coast, and you find a quaint country town that revels in its history. Berry was once like this before Sydney discovered it. Milton deserves its success but not at the price of its overall ambiance.

Enough with the traveloge.

So the painting is in. The town is cute. My throat is still sore....

And that's all for now folks.

To whom it may concern.....

I know you're out there.

You know who you are.

At sometime during the last few weeks you were infected.

You didn't think of the consequences, who else would you could infect.

It starts slowly...

You knew it was a risk but you just couldn't stop, contact contamination, airborn and (yuck) bodily fluids.

There were ways to prevent the spread, but then, you think its nothing.....

I am looking for you and when I find the person who has given me this *$%#@* cold I am going to drown you in antibacterial handwash, suffocate you with Glen 20 and wrap you up in 2000 tissues.

You deserve more for sharing something no one wants. I hate having a sore throat!!!

The last word......then back to everyday life.

Prior to the last state election in NSW, while I still lived in Port Macquarie, Joe Tripodi, power broker for the NSW Labor party, visited Port Macquarie on the quiet.

The NSW Labor Government were not sure they would win, the prospect of a possible hung parliament had the backroom boys scrambling, looking for support amongst Independent candidates. One receptive ear belonged to Mr Rob Oakeshott. The rumour at the time was that Mr Oakeshott had agreed to side with the Labor Government for a position in the ministry.

Fast forward to yesterday. He has been at it again. The human equivalent of a glass of warm milk has cemented his place in the running of the Federal Government. The crap he has been spouting has been exactly that, crap. Tony Windsor has been snowed by a master of misdirection. The Hastings were always busy watching boyish, guileless Rob with the surf club or in a triathlon, not seeing the shady deals he was facilitating with the State government and foreshore developers.


Regional Australia got shafted yesterday. I call on all Conservative candidates to inundate all Federal Government departments with the problems of their constituents. Encourage their electorates to complain, write, phone, compile petitions, go to the media, peacefully protest, and let Canberra know that they are accountable and they are being paid to find solutions and not create more problems.

Bob Katter for all his bluster, is an honest man. He has his electorate's welfare at heart. I might find him a bit overboard, but he doesn't mince his words or try to justify his decisions.

I'm glad that the NSW State Labor government will be out next March. Go get those Members and Candidates working Bazza show the rest of the Country how its done.

Back to normal tomorrow.........Well unless the government does something else to stir me up.

Superfast Broadband, useless without electricity!

If you are like many of the people living on the South Coast of NSW, the North-East of Victoria or Christchurch New Zealand, you could be forgiven for feeling a bit upset over the continuing fixation that some people have with High-speed Broadband, especially when you don't have power or water, or a home to live in that's safe.

Within the next 24 hours three men will decide on Australia's future for at least the next three years, and many won't have power to see the results on television.

We have trees and tree limbs down everywhere on the South Coast, many will not have power till later in the week. Above ground powerlines are the bane of our existence. Wouldn't a subsidy for solar power for all homes, or having the powerlines moved underground be a better way to spend 43 Billion dollars? Time to get our priorities straightened out.

Will rant on later....

Never too late too learn something new.

All us 40+ women know that our kids know things we don't. They might not be great at cleaning (anything), often their lives are one chaotic event after the next, but there is a fact that we as parents have to admit, they often have skills we didn't expect.

I gave birth to a Networking Queen. She has the ability to bring together peers from her many contact groups, and finds common ground for almost all.

Sometimes, in her teenage years she had to handle the disappointments that come with friends, but she has come out of that period with the realisation that true friends are rare and that you can't change your friends values to match your own.

But this is not what I want to write about, The Girl (from her blog "The Girl Writes Life") has always been into Retro Chic, she has some classic clothes and has the knack of combining her finds into the quirky style that is fast becoming her own trademark.
I am also a retro fiend, but more from a homewares perspective. The Girl has sent me a number of links to great retro and op-shop diva sites, I've listed my favourites.

This is a fun way to not only shop for style, but have fun with it. Take note some of these people have thriving businesses from revamping recycled clothes, furniture, books and homewares.

Will update you soon.........

2010 A New Start

About July last year I made the mistake of saying "Never".

If you have a drop of Irish blood anywhere in your family tree you'd be familiar with "Murphy's Law". My brush with this paradox had me in St Vincent's Hospital this year, (It must have been bad I was in within two days of contacting the ENT team there.)

My gross operation from last June (the one I was told would fix the problem failed). My leak was worse and I was working up to a third bout of Bacterial Meningitis. I cannot praise the team that looked after me and my surgeon (Dr Richard Gallagher) too highly. St Vincents is now my hospital of choice and I am on the mend.

I have started painting and drawing again and will be entering my first competition this month. It only an 8 inch square, but I am working on some larger projects.

Funny being with my family on the coast, where I grew up the weather is good, but I miss the markets in Canberra and the galleries. My daughter is still there and we are not far, just a couple of hours by road.

I will be posting with a bit more regularity, sort of a self imposed therapy, it makes me use my language skills and gives me a chance to vent.

Keep watching.....