Happy Australia Day...

So you know the year is starting to age. The kids are back at school and Australia Day is upon us. But what does it mean to you? A day at the beach? (Going to be wet and windy in South East QLD apparently!) Or a barbeque with friends? Do you now what we celebrate? To be honest I am surprised at how many younger Australians don't know what Australia Day is all about. You tell them it's the day the First Fleet dropped anchor in Sydney Cove and they look at you with a blank face. And now 224 years later, we put Australian flags that are made in China on our cars that are made in Korea/Japan/Malaysia and some that are even made here and celebrate all that Australia means to us. At least I hope we do. To me Australia has been a place where you get a fair go. An egalitarian society where we look after each other. This has been shown to be true after the floods in Brisbane last year.

I hope our Australian way of life where we all fit in together; those born here and those who come to share our lifestyle and contribute to make a better Australia continues to be. Just yesterday I saw a car with a sticker that said "Australia, love it or leave it". A bogan sentiment? No I don't think so. Just an outward expression of how we all feel about the greatest country on earth.

And if you know some young people, do yourself and them a favour and see if they know what Australia Day actually celebrates. If they don't know.. fill them in. The Boutique will be closed on Australia Day.. but we look forward to seeing you on Friday and hearing about how you spent Australia Day. Our next newsletter is due out in March.. keep your eyes peeled for it.

Debra

And so this is Christmas...

So here we are again... Christmas Eve, the last working day for us for 2011. And my birthday. I have to thank Glenda from Amoena who breezed in and brightened my day with this delightful plate of goodies! This past year has been hard going for a lot of people. Floods, tsunamis, earthquakes and poor business conditions. In November nearly 100,000 full time jobs vanished in Australia. Very sad. And just today the poor people of Christchurch have been subjected to yet another earth quake.

How much more can these brave people endure. We have friends in the South Island of NZ and our hearts go out to them. And finally to all of our customers thank you so much for your support this past year. I am hoping that for all of us 2012 turns out to be a brighter, happier year ahead. Take care out there over the break and we will see you all on the other side of New Year's Eve. The shop will reopen on January 3.

Debra

Oh dear me.. the internet is good when it works!

This past week I have been tearing my hair out over our website shop. It crashed! Went away.. somewhere... not too sure but it is back now.

At this moment I need to thank Mark and a couple of our web friends, Jeremy and Clement for their help in putting it back. We are looking at developing a newer and better web presence in the new year. Stand by for that.

I am hoping that it is now working properly.. I have my fingers crossed. If you have any problems viewing or ordering then please ring us at the Boutique on (07) 3511 4222.

All the best

Debra

At the 11th hour of the 11th day...

So at 11:00 tomorrow.. will you stop and remember that day the guns fell silent on the battle fields of World War 1 Europe? As a school girl in Victoria we would all stand to attention for 1 minute's silence to remember those who had fallen in the theatre of war. If you walk through a modern shopping centre these days you will be hard pressed to notice any change to the every day as the clock strikes 11 on the 11th day of the 11th month. At the Boutique we like to stop and remember.. although sometimes our customers are in a hurry and don't want to wait for that one minute. We understand that.. but it saddens us. My husband Mark's father saw service in World War 1 so for our family this is a big deal. If you see a digger selling poppies tomorrow... by one and wear it with pride!

Meanwhile here at the Boutique our new Juliette Mastectomy bra is going out the door fast. The bras feature French lace and we have brought in a small order that is literally walking out the door. Juliette is exclusive to Spirit of Life and stock really is limited. Available in a beautiful silver with pink roses. Interested.. then don't waste time on this one.

Debra

So now we're 10!

October marks the 10th birthday of the Spirit of Life Boutique. And what a journey it has been. At first I managed the shop for the original owners (Coloplast) and then 7 years ago this month Mark & I purchased it. It has been a trip full of happiness from being able to help our special ladies and also tinged with sadness as we lost a few along the way. Today we celebrated with a few special people including long time staffer Jen, breast care nurses, our extended staff in the form of Helen our long suffering accountant, Desleigh our book keeper and Monte our Google master. We also had a visit from our good friend Tim Nicholls MP. Tim has been a friend of ours for many years now and is always interested in the boutique and always quick to offer helpful advice. He is one politician to watch in the future.

To all of the crew who joined with Mark & I tonight.. than you so very much. We'll do the next one in 5 years!

I have been busy.. really busy!

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. The Boutique has just been so very busy. Our new Singlet tops and T shirts with built in mastectomy bras have been generating a response like I have never seen in all my years in retail. Since our last newsletters went out we have been run off our feet. We have taken all available stock from Amoena both here and in Germany.The beginning of October marks Spirit Of Life's 10th birthday and 7 years since I bought the boutique.

This has been an amazing time and I have met so many wonderful people from all walks of life who have come through the front door of the shop. To all our wonderful customers who have supported us, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. We intend to be here for many years to come to look after our special ladies.

Debra

I simply cannot understand the value....

Last Friday an old girlfriend was in town, so I spent a little time with her in the city enjoying tea and scones at a well known cafe. Just fabulous catching up. But when I returned to my little car... I just could not believe the fee to park. For parking in the city I was charged $26 per hour.. so for 1 hour and 20 minutes, $39.00!!! How on earth can a space in which to park your car cost more per hour than what a shop assistant earns in the same time?

It is outrageous and I can understand why people shop in the suburbs. Here at the Boutique our first hour for customers is free. Now that's hard to top!

Mark is still in shock... $26 per hour for a car parking space. Someones making a bucket load of money out of that. And train fares.. Mark took the train to the city and back the other day (he hasn't got a Go card) and it was almost $20 return.

And still the governments at both State and Federal level are in debt. What on earth is going on?

Debra