Midnight musings

I went to sleep soon enough, but then suddenly woke up ... hot as heck! Took off everything I could take off, and within minutes I was freezing. Got dressed again - though lighter, summer pyjamas ... but now I'm wide awake. And my blood is still boiling ... 

I really wish I had some means of generating an independent income. Some ideas are swirling around my head ... still nothing concrete.

Part of me is thinking along the lines of selling seedlings, or herbs-on-your-sill kind of thing. Since I'm an absolute amateur, and I just don't see plenty of bees in my garden, I don't want to sell seeds - as I just don't feel confident they will grow. And anyway, there are already way too many seeds on the market! You can buy practically anything online, now - ask me! I should know!

Seedlings, at least, have already grown - so there's that guarantee. It would have to be different from all those trays of seedlings available in supermarkets today, though. I'm thinking of kits. Firstly, making the number of seedlings optional - rather than a fixed 4 or 6 pack. Secondly, adding what is needed if you want to transplant into a garden (soil, fertilizer, etc) OR if you don't have a garden, and you want to transplant into a bigger pot. And making these 'transplant into a bigger pot' items optional - as well as available separately. In case you're not sure now, then you can get what you'll need when you are sure.

And with soil, compost, fertilizer, etc. always available only in big quantities - can't get soil for just one small pot - making that option available should be attractive, right?

Yet, seeing how I'm not having much luck growing herbs & veggies in my own garden ... I'd say that's pushing it a bit, eh?

I've also considered online selling. But to be perfectly honest, I'm not at all comfortable with that. Firstly, the what-cha-ma-callit, platform? Program? Software? Whichever, what you use, is suited for app-generation. I'm no app user ... I've had a look at the one our company website used ... I find it confusing. Anyone half my age will probably find it simple and easy, though. Then ... WHAT would I want to sell? And selling is all about marketing - which is not at all my strength. Quite the opposite. You need to constantly expose potential customers to your business ... shove it down their throat till they spend money, and when they do, increase the shoving. And that is totally against my nature.

So ... ideas spinning around my head like a gaggle of kids doing cartwheels. Nothing concrete. Nothing realistic. Yet.

With my midnight sleep interruption, I had trouble getting up this morning. Mewthos insisted on breakfast, though - came and mewled right in my ear! They all need a lot of extra cuddling lately. Mewthos is happiest when I stand and hold him in my arms - if I try to sit down (because he's heavy) he stalks off! Janey came for cuddles after I went back to bed in the middle of the night and Ziva considers every minute I sit in my armchair as HER time! She gets onto the ottoman and mips until I scratch her ears - and throws herself at my hand enthusiastically! Mini needs cuddles and licks me when I try to go to sleep. She often curls up in my arms similar to how Mynx used to sleep.

At work, my mind keeps springing back to my midnight musings. I've had a look at online selling. There's something called 'drop shipping', where you basically just market what someone else makes. Like a floating salesman. Not travelling anymore, like in the old days, but you just float somewhere in the ether-clouds spreading tentacles of sales pitches as far and wide as you can. Yeah ... not my idea of fun.

I think that's what's happening on Takealot, though - when I look at Whiskas, for example, and see the identical product, with the identical quantity, sold at vastly different prices. Like the one I 'fell for' - except that the quantity in their description didn't match the quantity they delivered, which is why I received a refund.

And then there's all those ... story-collections. Where people troll other people, steal or take their photos or memes and put them into a collection with their own interpretations. Talk about selling plagiarism! I fell for some of those myself - catchy headline of such collections, followed by bits and bobs that really don't live up to the promise while you're bombarded with pop-up advertising.

So ... today's online world is really alien to me. Even though, here I am, writing an online blog! And I do most of my shopping online! The irony is not lost on me ...

Anyway, I'm wondering whether I'll mow the lawn this afternoon? Power due to go out at six again, same as last night ...

I didn't mow last week, but it also hasn't rained since then. I think I should mow out front, though ... I'll see how I feel when I get home ...

Crap! My pet food has arrived, but I just got mail that the spot on I ordered is now out of stock. They want to refund me. Crap. Crap. Crap!

I just spent an hour fixing that ... on Saturday morning!

Back at home, I did mow! Out back, in front of my bedroom and in front of the veranda on the lowest setting, the rest on the second lowest setting. I was finished before five! Keep in mind that there are large areas I'm no longer mowing ... sigh ...

Afterwards I went out back to continue clearing the section under the Jacaranda tree. Although nothing there has reached knee-height, yet - I don't want it to, either. I'm pulling off more than out, since the ground is now quite hard again.

I managed to treat mippies - who came in early again - run my bath and cook dinner before the power went off at six. Phew!

During the outage, I watched German news about the Ukraine war again - there is a lot of fear that Russia could use an atomic bomb, though everyone clings to the hope that won't happen - the devastation would just be too awful. It's kind of funny (not in the ha-ha sense) how, on the one hand, western media portrays Putin as being insane, and how this war has no foundation in rational thinking ... while at the same time expecting he is sane enough to NOT use an atomic bomb.

Anyway, my curiosity is now sated, so I started watching a Terry Pratchett movie.

When the power came on at eight, I - again - didn't bother to turn on the PC, as power will go off again during the night.