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​Good Morning Everyone,
   So sorry for not keeping in touch with you all but  this year has been extremely hard one and I had to let go of a few things and concentrate on me for a change.  
I was diagnosed with bowel cancer in January and had major surgery in February after I recovered from Covid that I caught in hospital. Took me a while to bounce back from The surgery  but I am getting good results from all the tests I have to take so fingers crossed I will stay that way.

     As if that was not enough my darling Little Mac finally through in the towel and went over the rainbow bridge in October.  He had Cushing's / Addison's diseases and fluctuated between the 2 depending on the medication he had to take.  Anyway he had a very good life with me as his mum and he is now out of pain.

   I have been able to fill all orders as they come in but must get back into the soap kitchen in the new year as stock is getting low and non existent in some fragrances.
  Before I have to store anything I make I am rearranging my Office
 and display area to give me more storage space.
  Yes I know I have been a bit slack but Covid hit just after we moved here and I only knew I was exhausted not that it was cancer.
  
    I have been able to make the odd batch of soap and keep orders going but my reserves are getting low so my New Years resolution
is to put in more shelving and sort the office and my stores out for easier and better access then I have get in and do some soaping to stock the boxes and shelves.

  I am not the only one having big changes as the Co-op shop
 Darling Downs Handmade has had to move across to the other side of the shopping centre in Wilsonton QLD next to the model cars and is now known as the Wilsonton Community Gallery.
It was closed for 3 months while this was going on and still has some things to get done but is fully operational as long as you have cash as no Eftpos as yet.  I took up a car load of goodies last month so I could chek out the new shop and I can tell you Beth and her helpers have done a wonderful job as the Gallery is packed with loads of handmade goodies.   Congratulations to them for doing such a wonderful job .

   You know how much I like to garden well have not been able to do much this year so nothing to report that is unless you want to know a lovely blue flower that I found and put into a pot.  It is a blue Salvia and has been flowering for months.  Also all my desert Roses that I grew from seed have flowered for the first time this year.  I managed to repot a Donut Peach that had been on order 
 for a couple of years.  It came in bare rooted so I put it in a pot and it flowered then produced 1 lonely peach.  We shared it when it was ripe and can't wait until next year to see what it produces.
Everything else has survived on their own with just me having to water assist when it was dry.

Well that is enough about me and my troubles here is hoping next year is better.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.



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I am running a test to see if this gets posted to Facebook as I have been having problems.
So please disregard this until I delete it.
​Thank You

  Good Afternoon Everyone,
  Good Heavens I didn't  realise it has been 4 months since I even looked at my website let alone 
 do any Rambling.
  So sorry for not keeping in touch but have been having health issues so was the last thing on my mind.  I had a heart operation in December ,  nothing major but had to go to Newcastle for it as no one does it up here on the North Coast and Gold Coast was not open as far as I know due to Covid.
Anyway that has solved the worst of the issues for now and I am slowly picking up and catching up 
on everything.
  I have been making soaps slowly to keep the stocks up so if you wish to order then I now have most of them back in stock or ready to be tidied and wrapped at least.  Still have a couple to make and will gradually get them done.  My problem is I cannot do as much as I used or as long as I used to as I have to keep sitting down and resting during and after each job but as I said I am getting better.   It is much easier now than it was as a lot of my supplies were still in QLD as Ivan's brother
 wasn't risking coming down and getting stuck here.    Problems, Problems, Problems.
 I have also had website issues due to me reading the "american" date wrong but they have been solved now as well.
  Don't forget that there is free postage for orders over $50.   This includes any Lotion or creme product as well.

    Little Mac has settled into his new life here well.  You do remember I moved down to Grafton Northern NSW in June last year.  We are now living in an over 50's Village and loving it.  So peaceful and so lovely 5 minutes from anywhere in town and such a pretty town as well with lots of lovely Jacaranda and poinciana trees flowering plus green grass everywhere.  Summer so far has been mild and it rains more here.  Mac doesn't go to Daycare anymore which I am sorry about but If I wanted to I could take him down to Bonville about ab hour south of here to join one just can't do it at the moment as cannot drive that far yet.  We found a good vet here in town and all Mac's special food is ordered through them and I just collect it when it comes in.  Too easy.

  Living in the village I am restricted in what garden I can have but that hasn't been a big problem as I haven't been doing much.  I have a few potted plants that I brought down in the car and they are in the carport extended area.  I would like to get some shelving put in eventually as they are just sitting on the cement but are protected from the hot afternoon sun.  I have a flower garden out the front with a few shrubs and ground covers growing and they have been enough until now as I can manage to water and trim them but I want to get rid of the grass out the back and put in a gravelled area that will hold shrubs in pots for my native bees and also to make it easier for the guys that mow the grass as it is not wide enough for the zero turn mower to fit in all the bits and so next door nieghbour mows it for me.  I am glad he does as I sold all my grass cutting gear before we moved. 
I bought my box of bees down strapped into the front seat with the seatbelt and they have been quite happy out the back as they get the morning sun up until lunchtime then they are shaded by the house during the afternoon.   I split the hive a couple of weeks ago and now have 2 boxes.  So far they seem to be going ok so I hope they continue and can both get a queen to keep them intact.  I wanted to do the split earlier but I didn't have the little box they live in as it was with the soap supplies in Qld until just before Christmas.   The weather seems kind enough so  hopefully they can build up enough to keep them going before winter really gets here.

Well that is enough for my first Ramble back and I will endeavour to keep them coming on a more regular basis from now on.
  
Take Care and be kind to each other.

​Blessings

Good Morning Everyone,
   I have spent hours trying to get my last Rambling to post to Facebook so many that the post is out of date  so will try and tell you everything in this one.  I am so frustrated with it that I am not posting to Facebook anymore instead will give you my website details so that you can look it up if you want to.
  Since I last posted to you successfully I have been cleaning up the products list but still more to do.  If something has disappeared and you still need it just let me know and I can reinstate it or make it for you outside of ordering through the website.

  To help you with costs I have decide to give free postage to anyone whose order is $50 or more 
as long as it will fit in one of the prepaid packets or boxes but as a trade off there will be no discounts given anymore.  If your order is under $50 then it will be whatever postage is incurred.  Tell me what you think?  Of course there will be free delivery for the Grafton area once I start advertising down here.
   I have been buying new portions of ingredients so that I can keep stocks up as some of the soaps and cremes were getting low.  So far have replaced Goat and Camel Milk lotions,  Cool Foot Balm and there is a couple more to go.  In Soaps i have only just started so have done Pomegranate and a new one called Blueberry which has turned green no matter how much blue I put in so will call this on green Blueberries until I can get it to go blue.  I thought I had my Micas here with me but they must still be held hostage in Qld.  While ordering the fragrances I found a couple of summery ones that sounded nice so will do them as I can.
I am trying to stick to a routine as I have to get everything out and pack it away when I am finished as don't have a dedicated soaping area anymore.  Luckily I have 2 large storage cupboards on the end of the deck and downstairs(4 steps) in the carport that all the ingredients and spare containers go then I have soap in the wardrobe of the computer room and the linen cupboard in the hallway plus another storage cupboard at the end of the hall.  I spent days labelling everything so that I could find it when I needed it.
 
   We are no longer in lockdown for now so can get out and about but I think it is inevitable that it will be here before much longer.   we had our 2 jabs before coming down here 3 months ago and yes it was the AZ one but luckily we had no reactions. 
   Well I think I have covered everything for now so Take Care and Stay Safe
​Blessings 

  

Good Morning Everyone,
  Well we are still in full lockdown here on the North Coast of NSW.  You will recall I moved here back in June.  I don't mind in one way as it has given me time to catch up with unpacking and rehanging as well as I am now sorting out my filing cabinet.  Didn't have time before I moved as I had so much to pack and so much to get rid of that I just made it when the truck arrived to load  in fact was still packing up the kitchen and pantry.  I do mind that a lot of my soaping stuff is still trapped in QLD as Ivan's brother is not allowed to enter NSW so I am lucky that I have the moulds and I have been restocking those ingredients that I need now just so I can have some of the products that have all sold or are nearly there.

I have been working on the Website as well and will also do my Facebook Page over the next week then will have some specials and surprises for you so that you can stock up for Christmas.  I won't be doing Fairs or Festivals down here as it is just to hard for me to cope with them.  I am getting to old in other words as I will be 75 in a few weeks.
For those who live in Toowoomba you can still get my products at Darling Downs Handmade in the Wilsonton Shopping Centre opposite Cafe 63.

  I don't do much gardening these days as only have a strip at the front steps and down around the side.  I planted pansies and Poppies and they are starting to get a grow on and flower and I have pruned a couple of camelias as well as an azalea bush next I have to get into and prune back a bougainvillia as it is growing right up the wall next to the steps and it has big thorns on it.  Eventually when I sort out what I want to do may get an above ground water wise tub or 2 for some vegetables but want to just sit and watch how the weather is here first.

Mac has settled in and I think he loves soft green grass as every time I take him outside he has to scratch it with both sets of legs.   There are a few other little doggies here and he has finally decided that Kiri the little black Chihuahua across the road is ok as they rub noses every time they meet.  Mac is far to boisterous to let them play but eventually I am hoping he calms down enough to let them chase each other around.
Mac has had 2 of his turns since we have been here not real bad ones and they don't last long once I pick him up and calm him down but it is very worrying now that we know what is causing them  that is another reason to try and keep him calm as don't know what would happen if the discs in his neck herniate or slip right out.   Guess it would mean immediate urgent surgery.  Hopefully it won't happen.
Well that is enough rambling from me so take care everyone and look out for each other.

​Blessings

Good Morning Everyone,
  Well I have almost finalised my moving to another State.  Still have a few Pics or photos to hang and some family ones to remove from frames and sort out ready to go into family history book when I put it together.  Also am waiting on Ivan's brother to get out of lockdown and bring rest of my soaping stuff down.
  It has been a very long couple of moths since I decided to sell and relocate and the stress has been extreme to say the least and it has taken it's toll on me as having been suffering with bad bouts of hay fever and sinus since moving.  Grafton is a lot colder than I remember and my house is 4 steps up off the ground so all the wind goes straight underneath and keep it cold as well but  all the moving /unpacking is behind me now and I just have to clear some extra bins and stuff that is not needed or won't fit anywhere and I am done.
My house is smaller than previous one at Minden and the laundry has to double as my soaping room but that is ok as it is so much easier to clean and keep tidy that I get more time to do whatever I want,  so far that has not been much else but find my way around the town and transfer everything over to NSW.  Only have Mac to register and all that is done.

I am getting much more exercise here as Mac goes for Pee Pee walks several times a day and if I miss one then he has a Pee mat outside on the deck.  He has adapted to life inside very well and is so much quieter here in the gated community as he hardly sees anyone or any vehicles going pass. He sits outside on the deck watch over the back  grassed area down to the creek.  If birds come close to the house then he lets them know that this is his turf and they leave.  It must be colder here plus our blood is thinner coming from QLD as Mac wants his coat on every morning at least for a few hours and sometimes he has it on all day.  He has been to a doggy parlour once since being here but I have to find another one as his foot pads got scraped and he suffered saw pads for a few days so not going back to that one.  Thank goodness I make healing balms as that soon took the pain away.

   I only have a small garden so far here just the front of the house and around to the side but eventually I may get some raised garden beds and start growing some herbs and vegetables at the moment small is good and I can keep it maintained.  There is no mowing as the Company employees do most of it also lovely neighbors does around the houses in between times.  I don't want to much gardening to do as having sold most of my tools would have to bu more plus a shed to keep them in.  There is a lovely pink azalea and a darker pink camelia in the front with a couple of potted bougainvillea's  one of which i have sent to plant heaven and another probably will go the same way soon as pots don't suit them and they are scraggily.  I di bring a few pot plants with me and will add more shade loving plants in the carport add on section.  Can even put hanging baskets in there but will do that gradually once I see what summer is like and what plants are suitable for there.

  I will be working on the website over the next couple of weeks and once I have it cleaned up will put on a sale to kickstart selling once again.   As I won't be doing markets/Fairs anymore online will be my only way of selling.  Yes there will be postage to add on but there will be discounts as well for any existing customers that should hopefully counter act any additional costs.   My products are still in the Darling Downs Handmade Shop at Wilsonton Shopping Centre in Toowoomba so if you live there or visit there then do go over to the Shopping Centre and support all the local handmade artisans.  It is such a lovely shop to browse and buy gifts from.  
To keep upto date with what is happening with Wundanook Creations or if something has disappeared and you use it please let me know as I can make "special" runs of a product that is no longer available.

Well that is enough rambling so take care everyone and don't forget to wear your face masks.
Blessings
Robbi
  

Good Evening Everyone,
  It has been quite awhile since I have sat and typed a Ramble so I apologize profusely for not having done so.  However I have had a few health issues and was finding it hard to get everything done so some things had to be put to one side.  I am feeling much better after lots of tests and a change in medication but now Ivan has begun the new year with a couple of visits to hospital and heaps of tests to see what is going on with him and his organs.

  Because of both our health issues I have decided to sell my home here in QLD and move back to NSW into a smaller more manageable place where I don't have to do any gardening or ground work.
Actually the house is sold and I am in the process of packing everything up.   My daughter came up from Sydney to help me have a garage sale and I have been madly selling excess stuff on Facebook trying to get the load down to a manageable size so that it will fit into my new place.

I am also stopping my attendance at any Fairs and Festivals and Wundanook Creations will become an online shop with a reduction in the number of products I make and carry as space will be limited.
Yes there will be postage costs but I am hoping sales and no price rises will keep that in check.  Guess we can only try can't we.    I am thinking I will have to suspend taking any orders for a few weeks until I get packed/moved/unpacked and organised in my new place.   Gradually I am hoping to improve or even change the platform I am using to try to make it better but that will be in the future.
 
  I am giving up my gardening just as I have things growing so well. I am picking lots of mini Roma Tomatoes and Egg Plants and my Dahlias looked so lovely this year.  My neighbours and I had  some lovely Pumpkins and Zucchinis and now I am enjoying heaps of mini Roma Tomatoes while the Grosse Lizzies are just starting to get fruit on.  At least the new owners will have enjoy having fresh things straight from the garden as the Sweet Potatoes and Tumeric are just starting to die off and will be ready for harvesting when they move but then so will all the weeds. 

Have finally found out what is wrong with Mac and it is not his stomach that is the problem.   After having his tummy and legs shaved and lots of tests - xrays, ultra sounds and MRI scans he has not 1 but 2 protruding discs in his neck and the fits he has been taking are really pain spasms from the discs pressing on his spinal column.  He is now on anti inflammatory and a nerve pain pill and has not had a turn for several months.     The pills make him drowsy but he still barks madly at anything and everything that goes on.  In fact he has had a ball over the last few days as people came in for the garage sale.

​Well that is all the News I have for now so take care and remember be kind to each other.

     Blessings





  I 

Good Afternoon Everyone,
  No I haven't forgotten you,  There has just been so much going on that this is the first time I can sit and type.  I have had my cataracts both removed and in one week will be finished running back and forth to eye specialist also will be able to get my new glasses.  My eyes are fine and the world is bigger and brighter as my distance viewing is fantastic now but the close up view is almost non existent as I can hardly see or read.
I umm!  ran over my current glasses by accident so am making do with one of the chemist specials.  They are not to bad and I can at least read things with them and as it is only one more week they will do.  I now have 2 little broaches that I constantly wear one of and my glasses hook into them when I don't need them that way I know exactly where they are at all times.
Of course one is shaped like o frog and the other is a little blue wren.  I might end up with more of them yet as they are so lovely.

  I have been spending a lot of the last few weeks on the computer as my personal page and Mac's page were deleted. 
Had to change everything, my business page was left untouched as my daughter was an admin on there I guess.  I now have a new page under Robbi Baker and Mac's photos are posted in an album on there for time being.  Not sure if it was a hacking and things were done to get me sent to facebook jail or whether someone wanted my details but guess time will tell if it was anything sinister.   I have Security on all my machines and thought that it was a good one so now I have 2 on there to try to protect me a bit better.

Anyway that is enough about my dramas.  I have also been busy in the soap room as have done a couple of fairs and products sold need replacing.  There is one more fair to do plus I am doing a small market at the shopping centre each fortnight until Christmas then Nothing until March or April next year.  It has been a strange year for everyone and I for one can't wait to see the end of it just hoping next year is a bit better. 
I am starting to look seriously at my products and if they are not selling then will gradually not replace them.  So if you use something that disappears then you will have to get in touch and I will make small individual batches instead of carrying in my product line up.  One of my suppliers had an unfortunate fire a few weeks ago and lost everything luckily for me I had stocked up on ingredients so am right for the moment.  Also some fragrances are hard to get with Covid slowing everything down but I have been ok so far and have had enough to do what I am doing not sure how much longer before I will need to find other suppliers but will keep going as long as I can.

 Thank God I love gardening as it has been my sanity over the last few months.  what with Covid then having 2 lots of anesthetic that really affects me I have spent a lot of time just puttering around in the garden and have a good vegetable patch going now.  We had 75 mls of rain in October which was great as tanks have water again and the garden slurped up the nutrients and grew.  Of course no follow up rain so am having to water every other day with the tank water to keep them alive but that is why I collect the rain so be it.  The flowers are doing well which is good as the native bees love them.  I am growing lots of blue and yellow ones as bees like them so the garden looks lovely and bright.  The day Lillies that I babied along last year have repaid me and there are some pretty orange flowers coming out now as well.  I have good neighbour's that have given me excess plants and have pumpkins and zucchinis growing this year.  Looks good as planted the zucchinis in with sweet potatoes and dahlias.  Everything is growing well so guess I found companion plants that like each other.

Little Mac is still going to playgroup once a week and he comes home exhausted so guess he has a good time there.  I know he nearly drags me over when I open the door as he races across the office to get to the door where all the other pups are.   He is still having bad gut attacks and I am wondering if he has fur balls blocking something off as they seem to happen after he has eaten mind you he gulps his food down so that can't be good either.  I am asking vet for a referral to University vets to see if they can find anything that hasn't shown up on his xrays.  Hopefully they will find something and we can get him fixed up as it is terrible seeing him go through it.  I sent him to a spa day at the groomers a few weeks ago and he came home a different looking dog.  He has legs under all that fur now as he has had all the on his belly and behind trimmed back.  I am not sure I like it but it is easier to brush I must admit.  He will go back but only for nails and bum trim I think. 

Christmas is just around the corner so if you want any gift packs or even just a few bars of soap please let me know early December as Auspost is taking twice as long to get parcels to me and it will get worse the closer it gets to Christmas I am tipping.   Check out the slideshow below for some ideas.
  

​Good Afternoon Everyone,
I have been meaning to sit down and type this for a few weeks but there seems to always be something else to do.  I did have 3 weeks out when I had one cataract removed so that is my excuse as have been trying to catch up with everything ever since.  Will be getting the other eye done mid October so guess will just get everything caught up and will have another 3 weeks out.  My body doesn't take to well to anaesthetic that is why it took me the 3 weeks to get over it.   Didn't realise I used my car for so many things until I couldn't drive anywhere.  I even forgot that I was down to do the Doll and Bear Show in Toowoomba as not only was my brain scrambled but I had a severe Kidney infection and just wasn't thinking straght.  Had my final check up and everything is good so guess it was worth all the hassles.
  Lucky I made a heap of soap before hand and it was sitting on the shelf curing.  Have since cut and labelled all of them and am ready to get the boxes filled up again before my next op.
   
 How are you coping with the Covid Virus.  We in Qld are pretty lucky as 
especially out here away from the cities and towns, however the virus has been detected in Ipswich and also one of the smaller towns near here so we are very vigilant and only go there if absolutely necessary.   I wear a mask when I go shopping in the supermarkets anywhere and also if I have to go near Ipswich as one can never be to careful in my book. 
 I am making my own hand sanitiser as I find the commercial ones really dry and crack my skin.  My one is a little whiffy from whatever is put into the 100% alcohol so you cannot drink it.   I made it at 97% but am going to try and break that down further.  The smell does fade after awhile and that allows the essential oils to come through so I must be on the right track and the best part is my hands feel nice and smooth after using it.

  I must get some more made for next weekend as am doing a 3 day market and want plenty at my stall for everyone to try.   It is normally the Carnival of Flowers next week in Toowoomba and there are visitors everywhere but because of the Virus things are going to be done differently
not sure exactly how it is going to work but do know the Food and Wine is off and the Grand Parade is not happening but the gardens will be there in all there glory just not sure how social distancing will work.

I have been working in my garden a bit lately and feel I am on top of it now.
Even had to mow the grass (brown stalks) to tidy it up and will need to do it again soon as the little bit of rain we managed to get has set the grass to seed.  I have my some of my vegetables planted and am even trying to grow a choko again.  Just cannot get them to grow up here.  Trying it in a pot this time.  I have zucchinis and butternut pumpkin looking very healthy from seedlings given to me by my neighbours.  We had 2 cold nights early in August and guess who forgot to cover their potato bushes but the frosts were only small ones and just nipped the tips of the bushes so I was lucky.
I picked my last pineapple a week ago.  It was only small but so sweet love home grown ones as I leave them on the bush? until they are yellow ripe.

Spring has sprung as the May bush and the Wisteria have burst out in flowers and lovely green leaves.  Actually a lot of the plants that normally die back in winter have kept a few green bits and are shooting new leaves up already at least a month earlier than any other year.  I had a lovely display of my little rock orchids and now the dendrobiums are bursting out in flower as well oh and the swamp orchid is just a mass of blooms.

  Little Mac is doing well since he was put onto special diet food - Low Fat kibble and cans of casserole (wet) and also a dry sort of canned food.  He has had 3 small fits and the vet is still unsure what is causing them.  I am recording when they happen so that I don't forget to let her know when she comes to give Mac his arthritis injection.  He soon comes out of them and there seems to be no lasting effects so that is one good thing.  He is still going to Playgroup of a Monday to socialise with all his little mates and he loves it.  I miss him that day as the house is so quiet without him barking at everything.

Well that is all I can find to ramble on about.  Hope you are all safe and well.
  Also hope you have liked my product posts that I have been putting up they are just shared from the Albums in Facebook so hope you find them interesting.
Blessings