Using up old craft supplies

 Years ago I used to do a lot of craftwork and even sold some for a time to help pay for school fees, etc. when the children were growing up. Over the years I have given away most of the supplies I had collected but did keep some decoupage and jewellery items as I thought they would come in handy. At one of the annual craft shows I attended in Brisbane I bought some gold foil which I don't think I actually used back then and wondered if it would still be usable after twenty or so years. The glue in the kit hadn't dried up after all that time so I thought I would give it a try on some indoor plant pots. 

Memories of unusual times

A couple of months I was reading the news on the ABC website and saw an article suggesting that it would be a good idea to record our memories of the current COVID-19 pandemic for future reference and also to be able to recall our feelings at the time. As I live in Queensland these are some of my memories of the first six months or so in our state but circumstances are different in each state. 

Toilet paper just disappeared overnight 

Making masks

I have been thinking of sewing some masks for a couple of months now although here in Queensland they aren't mandatory.  A few people in our city do wear them but not a lot although that could change if we saw a change in the number of people becoming infected with COVID-19. If the time comes when it is recommended we do wear them I certainly don't want to wear disposable masks due to the cost and also I don't want to add to the huge numbers of PPE that are already being discarded.

A new month

Aren't the months just flying by? We are already in August and have only one month left of our coolish weather before the heat starts up again. Our fire season here in Queensland goes from late July to February so we are already being reminded of that fact on the TV stations. I must say that even though I have been whinging a bit about the recent cold days I really enjoy the winter months as normally the mornings are cool and then we have a lovely sunny and warm day. Perfect gardening weather!

Winter flowers

Support our country cousins

We are always encouraged to support our businesses in regional areas so a friend and I took a half an hour's drive from Toowoomba to Crows Nest yesterday as it was a really beautiful 21C day. I had never been there before apart from once when my sister and I were on our way to the Sunshine Coast and she missed the turnoff to Hampton and kept going up the highway to the lovely little town just a few kilometres up the road.

The Can't Be Bothereds

Sometimes I can't be bothered blogging, cleaning windows, sorting through the 'junk' room and so on and so forth. Am I alone in feeling this way although I doubt it? Anyone who blogs knows that first you have to take photos, then you have to resize them for a blog post and then you need to be lucid enough to think of something sensible to write while other bloggers seemingly have a mine of information in their heads to share with the world in each and every post. Not so in this little neck of the woods unfortunately. Most of the time it takes too much effort to turn on the PC to write a post as normally I am on the iPad which is much more convenient but sadly can't be used to write a Blogger post unless someone can inform me of a new App that has been designed for that purpose.

Some good buys

I don't usually shop at ALDI even though I know it is cheaper than the other supermarkets and I really should try out the new to me brands to see if I like them but I do subscribe to their catalogue news and noticed that they had benchtop composters for sale starting today. My old red enamel one has rusted somewhat and has a hole in the lid so I have been waiting for ALDI to receive new stock for some time.

A warm weekend

Last weekend we froze and this weekend the skies are blue and the sun is shining so we are back to our normal wintery days once again just in time for the official beginning of winter on Monday. I had to look at the calendar to see what day the 1st June is as most weeks lately I have no idea what day or date it is. Does that sound familiar in these crazy times?

An easing of restrictions in Queensland

Here in Queensland we have had an easing of Corona virus self isolation restrictions if that is the correct terminology. Starting at midnight on Friday 1st May we were allowed to go for a drive up to 50km, have a picnic, take out a boat or jet ski, shop for an outfit or a book but only with our household or one other person. I just saw the bit about 'shopping for a book' on the Queensland Government website and that was a surprise as I have never heard that before. 

Finding my blogging mojo

I am not sure where it went but my blogging mojo must have gone out for a walk around the block for daily exercise and left me behind :-) Since the self isolation restrictions have been put in place so many bloggers seem to be blogging once again after long breaks in some cases and they usually have such interesting things to post. I am not being really creative at present and just potter around in the garden and try to grow a few veggies that survive the local pests so am not terribly inspiring if anyone is looking here for inspiration. 

Now to finish all those UFOs

Now that we all have to stay home for the foreseeable future there really is no excuse for many of us who don't have children at home to finish off all those UFOs that we have promised ourselves we would get around to 'one day'. Well...I told myself a few days ago...today is the day! I had started ripping up strips of fabric months ago in preparation to make some scrap fabric bunting but something came along that needed my attention urgently so the fabric was packed away in a drawer.

An Easter like no other

Easter 2020 is almost over here in Australia and, like the media warned us over and over again,  it was to be an Easter like no other. I do believe that a number of fines were given out in Queensland  to some people violating the current social distancing measures....$660,000 worth in actual fact.... but I am sure that most Queenslanders did stay home as was recommended by the authorities to prevent the spread of the Corona virus.

Changing Times

Who could have imagined that lives around the world would be changed so much in such a short period of time? I had decided that I wasn't going to mention the dreaded virus in a blog post but then thought that it would be good to record how things are going at this point in time which might make for interesting reading down the track when life returns to some form of normality once again.

Building up your immunity

As  regular readers would know we have cancelled our Simple Living Toowoomba workshops for the time being due to the current crisis caused by the Corona virus. We had planned to have a workshop on herbs in May which Joan from Budgee Garlic and Herbs was going to present but unfortunately it had to be postponed. 

A Sign of the Times

Today I ventured down to our major shopping centre to pick up a few groceries as I needed to check out the flour situation in the health shop there as the supermarket shelves are usually empty. While there I had a bit of a walk (while not going close to anyone) to see how much of an impact the latest Government clampdown has had on the shops there.

Cancellation of Simple Living Toowoomba Workshops

Unfortunately we have had to cancel our monthly Simple Living Toowoomba workshops due to the current health concerns and recommendations from Queensland Health  about keeping safe at this time. I am sure this will be disappointing for everyone but this crisis will pass and we will get back to normal as soon as possible.

'Tis a strange thing!

Has anyone else thought that the paranoia about not having enough toilet paper is an odd phenomenon? I even saw on the news tonight that some people were having a fight in a supermarket over rolls of toilet paper. As I don't seem to have as much storage space since we had renovations done now that we have cupboards instead of deep shelves, I can't store much out of sight so just wanted to buy one pack which will last a few weeks but do you think I could find ANY rolls in the supermarkets. The shelves were bare!!!