Update from Tassie...!

Thought I should make an effort to catch everyone up with the 'happenings' down here.
After arriving early Feb, safe and sound (complete with drugged up pussycats), getting the house unpacked as much as possible was the first task. I have to say the 'Matilda' has done a wonderful job of letting us feel right at home very quickly. I spent a week here by myself before hubby arrived and she felt safe and warm every nite!
'Matilda' sits on a corner block and there is no garden as yet. That's good in that we get a clean slate to work with, the down side is you feel like a 'pimple on a bum cheek', as in you are right out there for traffic and walkers by to see. So we have planted our first hedge on the weekend and I am now willing each and every plant to grow and prosper!
We were recommended to plant Pittosporum 'Silver Sheen', as it is supposed to be fast growing. Having never had a garden before, I hope I can be patient enough to wait for it to bush out and give us some privacy and noise reduction. Fingers crossed.

I had an interview at a beauty clinic at Riverside the first Wednesday I was here and started work on the Friday! Hmmm. So much for a settling in period!
But it has been good to get back into work and keep the dollars coming in. Us new mortagee's get very nervous about these things you know.
I have been doing lots of massage treatments (especially Hot Stone Massage) and have also been lecturing in Anatomy and Physiology in the Training Academy that is part of the clinic. It has made me study up myself on all of this information I have not really thought about in around 4-5 years! It's getting more fun though, the more I do it. I am also getting back into facials and other such stuff so I am relearning lots of things. So that has been fun too.

We have been absolutely blessed to have Drew's cousin, wife and beautful daughter nearby to help welcome us to our new state. Gemma is the brains behind 'Loz & Dinny' (lozanddinny.blogspot.com) - an amazing range of handmade childrens clothing and more. Along with another crafty friend, Gem is about to open a 'den of handmade treasures' here in Lonnie and has kindly asked me to create some goodies to sell. The space they have found will also be used for craft nites and get togethers. It's all very exciting and I can't wait to get back to creating my little goodies again. I have missed them.
Promise I will have some fresh piccies to show next time!
Ciao!

red bamboo is online once more...!

Dear all,
Just a quickie to let everyone know we have finally received our modem and are back online as of today! Yay!
It's amazing how much we have come to depend on email and the internet. Especially for information gathering - it has been almost 2 months since we have been connected and it has made things definitely more difficult (and expensive since we have had to use Internet Cafe's in the meantime).
We are settled down here in the Apple Isle and are finding our feet in our new home.
Will write more when I have some piccies to show off and more time - got a few emails to answer right now!
Ciao!

Annie

Fashion for tots...

I just had to get a picture of this little outfit on here for all to see. We have been blessed with a recent addition to the family (Riley) from one of Drew's cousins and are also expecting another bub for his brother come June/July. I tapped into the wonderful resource that is my Mother to knit up something fit for these little bundles of joy. I posted off a similar outfit this morning to Riley's folks (I should have gotten a photo as well) and this will head off soon to Melbourne.
It is tiny!

Packing Boxes and Packing Tape.....

Our house here in Brisbane is looking more and more like a warehouse with packing boxes filling every room!

Who would have though that much stuff had accumulated and how many boxes it takes to empty a room!

Still we are getting closer to our settlement date (the 29th Jan) and my flight down to Tassie on the 7th. Hubby will drive down in our car with his father taking up the role of co-pilot.

Have booked our two pussycats into the 'cat hilton' for a few weeks while we move and set up again in our new home. They have never been kennelled before and so have a challenging time ahead.

This is Joseph. He likes sleeping, snoozing, resting his eyes, catching some ZZZZ's, reclining and most of all getting a little shut eye. He is also a master of what we have come to call the 'defrosting chicken' pose. Picture him flat on his back, spreadeagled with four paws in the air - now picture the four paws slowly sinking towards the ground as he falls asleep.

Will have to get a picture and post it.

Our youngest is Spud. A little flighty, a little spacey (he's blond) and a whole lotta 'smooch'!

We got them both from RSPCA and they have been the other half of our family for going on eight years now.

Spoilt? Maybe. Loved? Definitely!

We are looking forward to introducing them to true cold and maybe even snow! They are going to be little puffballs when their coats fill out again!

Cheerio Brisvegas!!!

I did my last markets (Designers Emporium) yesterday for Brisbane.

What an awesome group of people I have been lucky to meet and get to know. It's been a while since I could truly feel at ease being just me. So the whole experience has been very appreciated.

I managed to clear the majority of my stock so I am glad of that too. Thanks go to a good friend, Andrea, and her family who came to visit and bought just about everything!!

There were only six stalls, so very quiet, but a fun day anyway as we got to chat all day long!

Some of the other great stalls there were:

Mags Bags (http://www.magsbags123.etsy.com/) run by Maggie, a lovely lady who makes the loveliest handmade bags. I now own two!!

Cloth to Creation (http://www.clothtocreation.com/) run by Pam and Co who make some amazing things with vintage cloths and fabrics as well.

There are too many talented people to mention, but I wish them all the very best for the new year.

I can't wait to hit Tassie and start building my business there as well!

Now we get down to the nitty gritty of packing our life up and shifting it south. We only just found out today that our removalists want a fully itemised list on each carton we pack! Poor hubby Drew, who has been powering through the packing, was a little annoyed.

But we have a month before the move so there is time.

All the best to everyone for 2009 - looking forward to what the new year might bring!

Red Bamboo heads south!

What a year it has been, and the new year seems to be following along very closely. The latest news from this end is we have bought our very first house (Yay!) and....... it's in Tasmania!

Tassie has always been a much loved destination, and after a weeks holiday there a few months back, the seed to buy was planted (mainly by Drew's cousin and his family who are living there now).

We were lucky enough to find some lovely houses and do a few inspections while we were there and the one we are buying was one of those.

We think she is very pretty!......

Built in 1900 with 3 huge bedrooms and a massive lounge and kitchen, she is zoned Urban Residential and so we can run a business from her if we like.

Needs a little TLC (especially the bathroom and toilet) but her structure is solid and for the money we are paying, she is way above what we could ever hope to afford here in Brisbane.

While Drew and I will be happy for a new town to play in, it will be hardest to leave the awesome people I have met through the markets. I hope to keep in touch with as many as I can.

I will definitely be continuing with red bamboo down there and Drew's cousins wife (Gemma of 'Loz and Dinny') is already a market goer and is scoping out the best ones to go to as we speak!

I will always be able to post any orders for people and will be aiming to get a website up and running as soon as I can.

We are looking at a February move and so our time is speeding away already! Thanks to everyone who has supported us and my little venture. Special thanks go to Rachael and Leasl of Designers Emporium, Cathy from Peg and Kate, Wendy and Sharon from Mellow Moods Soy Candles and all the other brilliant stallholders. Best wishes for the Christmas season and a great new year to us all.

Annie

Christmas comes but once a year.....

Well, Christmas is racing towards us once again and it is a great time to to find bargains - if you know where to look for them.Personally, I intend to not set foot inside any large shopping centre if I can help it (I managed this last year to my delight!).

I have added these little guest sized soaps to my repetiore - the mould design is called 'Fleurish' and they look a celtic design to me.
I have a lady who wanted them as soaps for her guesthouse in the Moroccan Rhassoul (rhassoul clay, nutmeg, orange and cinnamon) scent. I have also put them on my market stall and dusted them with a lovely gold mica to give them a little 'bling' for Christmas.
I hope people like them.
It's a bit of a challenge to know how much to make of everything. On one hand, you want to have the stock there to sell - on the other, you don't want to be left with a lot of leftover stock to try and shift in the quieter months early in the year. Especially with perishable items like the soaps that can lose their aromas or sometimes their looks (scratches, dullness etc). But fingers crossed we will all have a great season and make enough money so we can go buy other marketeers goodies!
Be well.