Phew!!!! It has been a while since I blogged - in that time I have made a change - from the bookshop where I worked to the one that I work now - it is the opposition and in the new part of the 'being revamped' Westfield Shoppingtown in Doncaster. Anyone who is familiar with Doncaster Shoppingtown will know that it has been awhile she she had a facelift and boy is she making up for lost time - apparently when the revamp is finished she will be two thirds the size of Chadstone. I am not a fan of big shopping centres but I have to admit that the new part of Doncaster is looking very grand. If this is a taste of what the whole restoration will be like then Doncaster will be quite a showpiece. I can imagine that once it is all complete it will create a great deal of interest and of course paying public which is the aim of the exercise after all.
I feel sorry for the traders who are still in the old section as they are really suffering - not only customer wise but also they are working right in the 'eye of the storm' - a complete contrast to the area where I am ...
The new job is frazzling to say the least - D's have a completely new IT system as in COMPLETELY new. So the staff had to try and cope with setting up a new store - which opened a fortnight ago as well as learn a brand new IT system which of course is the backbone to EVERYTHING - stock movement, invoicing and a galaxy of other things and of course the all important POS (point of sale) which of course has all sorts of things attached to that - including toe tapping, watch glancing, credit card thrusting customers!!!!! Then there is me - brand new - from the opposition - and well, just new - feeling out of place, trying to find my feet and trying to overcome my nerves which are suggesting I should bolt for the door - like NOW!!!!!.
By the end of the first week I was beside myself -I had hit a wall - it was all just too much and I felt overwhelmed... And on top of it all learning that I shall be 'in charge' on a Friday night - yikes I don't even know these kids names - let alone be in charge of them...
After the stress of the last few of weeks - a close friend diagnosed with cancer, saying goodbye to the old job, supporting a close family member who is going through a very, very rough patch, hearing about another family member spending the day in hospital attached to a drip after her drink was spiked by an unknown person at a local club and last but not least my 96 year old father who wants more out of his life - it has become an emotional overload... Of course punctuating all of these events has been day to day living...
Interestingly enough I saw the author of this book being interviewed on Oprah one Friday and I bought a copy to have a bit of a read... Elizabeth Gilbert had what most people would say - it all - but Elizabeth didn't feel that way at all - she doesn't want any of it... While I certainly don't have no where even remotely like the life style that the author has I can in someways relate to her thinking - and I can relate to her statement that she wanted to live a full and meaningful life in a simple way...
Perhaps it is my age - there is a part of me that wants to just settle - have an afternoon tea , perhaps read a little or simply snooze, watch the day darken around me and have soup simmering on the stove... Dream on...
On another note I thought you may be interested in seeing my nearly completed 'faith' swap,,, I am running behind as usual -but here it is...
Since these photos there has been a border added. All I need to do now is sandwich it all together. The photos really don't show up the spider web which took me an age to do... P and I went to Warbuton a week or so ago now -top photo... On the way home we stopped at a great shop called 'The Patchwork Teahouse' where I found just the fabric I was looking for to make the border... I can now appreciate why 'proper' quilt making takes so much time - it is choosing all the fabrics!!!!! LOL this is only a very small wall hanging - imagine if it was a queen size quilt... Since it is the very first time I have every taken on something like this it has been one very steep learning curve - each step of the way I had to consider carefully what I was to do next... The bit that most surprised me was the painting - the hills were done one afternoon as I sat out in the sun and I loved the peace it gave me. The piece of foliage again was done in another afternoon - it too was a slow process but how I enjoyed 'growing it' with my paintbrush...
I have been in contact with the recipient as I am way overdue and she has been great and has been both encouraging and patient... I was going to send it on unfinished however I kept looking at what I had stitched 'with faith anything is possible' and I knew that I had enough faith in myself to finish it for L.
Nerxt weekend there will be the final photos before it goes home...
Not sure what I will do next when I have finished this - but won't the dining room table look bare until I decide...
