November Roses & Geraniums from the garden

My New Divine Badges from the market

Miss Hannah and Miss Pepper, Santa's helpers!

I have been living busy this week. I'm sure there are degrees of busyness, but it's been enough to make me take a blog-break.
Last Friday my gorgeous friend Lisa had her annual KNIFE-SHARPENING party. This year was the third one. Lots of local friends & school Mums (coupla Dads) come along bringing their blunt knives wrapped in a teatowel. Out the back was Kaz the super knife-sharpening guy, with his van rigged up ready to GO.
While we chatted, had lovely nibblies and champagne, he tirelessly honed our instruments of dinner to perfection. He was working flat out from 10am - 6pm!
I decided to bring along the stock of Utter Puffery clips & elastics to offer to the gals pre-Christmas & was thrilled with the enthusiastic response. Lots of them will be looking most swish in weeks to come. We gas-bagged into the night. Luckily I remembered to collect the squids from school.
Then on Saturday I visited Elwood Primary School Community Market with my Mum. I met her fabulous friend Colleen. Hi Colleen! She was sharing a stall with two other ladeez & they were selling hand-made beautiful button necklaces, tea cosies and stunning silk badges. I bought myself a couple of badges. I am soooooooo in love with them.
Do anyone else's kids talk in accents halfway between Ahpoo from Simpsons and some American toy commercial? God I can't stand it. Will they NEVER shut up?
In the afternoon, D & I rearranged our bedroom for the first time in 8 years. Our double bed has been neatly squeezed into an alcove. Can you believe we have been shuffling to the end of the bed to get out in the morning for 8 long years? Now it feels as if we are in a hotel. I keep finding excuses to go & lie down.
On Monday I took a trip to North Melbourne to Mini Meek. Mira had called & asked me to stock them with Utter Puffery stuff. She surprised me by taking my entire collection. It was fantastic. My huge thanks to Mira for her big vote of confidence in my crafty bits. I wish her lots of luck in her new venture in a beautiful kids shop.
I have been sewing puffs to replenish my stock on the tram on the way to work. I'm sure some of the commuters are rather bemused.
And it had to happen....Christmas shopping has hit the city with a vengeance. Does anyone else work in retail? My God there are some wonderful customers and I love the ones who remember your suggestions from last Christmas & come back to trust you all over again or make you feel as if your recommendations are the best books their child has ever read. But..to the woman who rang the shop yesterday & asked me to go measure the dictionaries to determine which was the smallest, and to the woman who asked me whether the books were priced individually or on some offer for buying more than one.....AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
I never receive the sort of customer service that I and the rest of our staff offer. I hate being treated as though I am some sort of idiot, patronised, thrown credit cards across a counter, ignored whilst customer has very important mobile phone call, expert on the relative merits of philosophical texts or dismissed as a common shop-girl.
But normally I am not so aware of the differences between customers & sales assistants. It's the joy of Christmas. I just don't understand why it fills some people with such demented self-importance.