A NEW MAN IN MY LIFE!

I can't quite believe just how long I've been away. I have been busy but it's no excuse for not calling in to say hi.

I have really missed having a dog and still miss my sweet Nicholas very much.
 My husband and I talked about the pro's and con's of getting another dog,  I was in two minds about it but K said definately not!!  In my heart I wanted a dog but also believed that I shouldn't search for one because the time would come that a dog would be in need of a home and it would be the right time.

 Well that time presented itself last week when a friend of my daughter's wasn't able to keep her dog and to make a long story short we are now the proud and loving owners of Buster.
He's a five year old Maltalier which is a Maltese Terrier/Cavalier King Charles Spaniel cross.
He is the sweetest natured little boy, so affectionate and just loooves his tummy rubbed.

We have already been for a walk around the block so he can see where he will be living.
One of our cats, Harry is ok with him but Bella took one look and was under the bed. She has been looking around the door but not game yet to venture any further.  Buster will live outside and the cats can only get out into two large cat runs so there shouldn't be any fighting.

HELP!

I'm up to my neck in ancestors and they are multiplying every day!  I've recently joined Ancestry .com.au and am loving it.

  I have three family trees and have found family all the way back to  the late 1400's. One side of my husbands tree goes straight back to the First Fleet. Anthony arrived on January 26th and Elizabeth on the first ship with women. They married and are reputed to have conceived and given birth to the first white child in the new colony of Australia.

If only I was able to go back in a time machine to talk with these family members and hear their stories, wouldn't it be wonderful?  I have looked on the internet for life-styles, clothing, housing and food for the relevant period in history and am so happy to be living in this time instead of then!

The photo is of my maternal great-grandmother (on the left) and possibly two of her sisters. Her name is Emily and although I love her clothes, I wouldn't want to wear them.

I've also found two men from different sides of my families who were awarded bravery medals in W.W.1. One was awarded the D.S.O with Bar. I've also discovered a father and several sons who were veterinary surgeons in the U.K. There is also quite a bit of information about the father on the internet.

 I could go on but I don't have time right now, must log in and "meet" some more relatives!

Blessings,

Vicki x

I'M STILL HERE!

I thought I should call in to say that I'm still here even though I haven't been in touch for a while.
I have been busy with the usual things in life but have recently made a discovery that's taking up most of my time. I've joined Ancestry.com.au and I have to confess that I'm well and truly addicted.
I took out a 14 day free trial thinking that there wouldn't be very much to see. Big mistake, there's literally thousands of entries to read through and it's going to take ages to sort out.
 My maiden name is quite uncommon here in Australia but it seems that every second person on Yorkshire U.K has it for a name! I can't believe how interesting the old documents are with the beautiful hand-writing.
I've even made contact with a lovely lady in Yorkshire. Her husband is my second cousin. It's easy to believe that we are all related in some way. The world isn't such a big place after all.

I'm trying to think positive about the arrival of spring. My blossom tree doesn't look quite like this yet but the daffodils and other bulbs are up and smiling at the sunshine. Still very cold and sometimes wet days to put up with. Oh well, it won't be very long and we'll be complaining of the heat!

Take care dear friends, I will be back soon.

Blessings for now,
Vicki x

GOOD-BYE SWEET NICHOLAS.

 My dear little Nick went to sleep on Monday, July 2nd.
 He had recovered from his big operation and was really well and happy for several weeks but then he slowly began to show signs of illness.
He drank quite a lot and lost his appetite. I just knew that his kidneys had failed so on the Monday morning after he had been sick a couple of times and fainted in the garden, I made an appointment with the vet.
 My daughter drove me there and after tests showed that he was very, very sick and had no hope of getting better, I made a decision to let him go.
 I held his hand while Jenny held me and we said good-bye. I cuddled him all the way home and he's now sleeping in the back garden where he loved to play.

This is one of my favourite photo's of Nick watching out the window. He loved to see people and cars go by and would get really excited when one of the family drove up in their car.

This is a fairly recent photo of Nick and his friend Bella. Nick is in his "pajama's" because he often felt the cold.  Bella loved to cuddle him, particularly near their meal time!

 I have watched as Bella cuddled Nick and her fluffy tail wrapd around his neck like a lovely scarf.

I love this photo too. Nick has his woolly "jama's on.  He was a fashionable boy, he had several coats and pajama's even a very smart red tartan coat that was for "best".

 I have nearly 14 years of memories and photo's but I miss him so much. The house is quiet and neater, I can walk without either tripping over him or having him follow my every step but, oh what I would give to have him back for another cuddle. I'm amazed that such a small dog could fill so much of my day.


           "Bye Nick, be a good boy and I will see you again one day. xxxxx

SORRY I FORGOT TO MENTION...

My apologies for not giving a lovely warm welcome to new friends who have decided to follow my little blog.
Please have patience with me, I promise to say hello more often.

Blessings,
Vicki xx

SMILES AND TEARS.

It's been a while since I last spoke with you.  My little dog Nicholas is back to his normal self again. His operation healed up within about ten days, I couldn't believe just how quick it was from looking awful and painful to now where I can't even see the scars.
 He's much happier, jumping up for a cuddle and wanting to go for a walk and his appetite is good too.  So much to be thankful for and thank-you to all of you, my dear friends, who said prayers and wrote lovely comments.    Nick and I are very grateful.


I have had a very sad few weeks recently.  My dear friend Ruth passed away on April 20th. She had fought a cancer battle for the last 16 years and even though we all knew her life's journey was coming to an end, it was very hard to accept, she was only 61.
 Ruth was one of those people who touched many lives in such a positive way. She was a true Christian person and had love and caring for every-one she knew. I will miss her so much but am thankful that I was able to have her as a friend.

I think our lovely Autumn weather has gone for this year. We were blessed with some of the most beautiful days in recent weeks. Ballarat is a wonderful city in the Autumn, trees in splendid colour,  leaved to rake up for the garden and a special atmosphere of peace and calm.  Now it's just colder and we want to stay nearer the heater and get out all the Winter woollies to wear!

Until next time, take care,
Vicki xx

GOOD NEWS.

Thank-you for your good wishes and prayers for my Nicholas.  His operation went well, the lovely vet Rob, was very happy with it all.
 He was able to get the large lump all out and now Nick is home with a plastic collar on so he doesn't hurt himself and a very sore, stitched up rear end!
He was able to eat his tea with a bit of juggling and he's mostly following me around or lying nearby looking suitably put out.

Both cats are giving him a wide berth, they don't like the look of the collar. Rob said the recovery should be about ten days. We can take Nick for short walks and hopefully he will be back to his old self quite soon.

Life really is good when all the "family" are home and safe.
Blessings,
Vicki x

MY NICHOLAS.

I have a favor to ask.    Would you please think of my dear little dog Nicholas and say a prayer if you wish. He's going to have a big operation tomorrow for a large cancerous lump

He's 13 years old but I hope and pray we will have him to love and spoil for a while yet.
 He's my little shadow, never very far away from me.  He follows me from room to room and just loves to be cuddled and patted.

He loves having a bath and being dried with the hair-dryer.  When he goes outside in the wet weather, his feet get dirty so as I let him inside again I say  "hands and feet",   he sits on the mat and holds his paws up to be wiped dry with a hand-towel.  My daughter usually comes for tea on Tuesday night and Nick sits in the hallway and just watches the door waiting for Jenny to arrive.  I swear he knows what day it is!

Blessings,

Vicki x

WELCOME NEW FRIENDS.

I just popped in to say hello and feed the fish and was so thrilled to see that I had two new followers.
 While I was composing a message to you both you will never guess what happened. A third friend joined my blog almost in front of my eyes!!
To Susan of Minicrochetmad,    Shez from Enjoying Life and Helen who didn't have blog details, a warm hello.   I'm so glad that you decided to stay. I hope you enjoy reading about what I get up to when I should be cooking or cleaning!!!
 I have been neglecting my miniatures a bit lately because I had surgery in my nose a few weeks ago and what with one thing and another, it's still painful to rest my glasses on my nose for long and I need to wear the "specs" for close-up work.  It's much better than it was so hopefully I will be back in business soon.

If you have looked back through my rambling, you will have seen photo's of garden flowers that I hope you have liked. I'm pleased to sat that they are all from my garden and when I take a close-up photo without the surrounding weeds, gosh don't they look great!

Take care,

Vicki x

GOOD MORNING.

I have created a new blog and hope you will drop in to see what I spend my time on when not making mini's.

http://vicki-thespiceoflife.blogspot.com

It's all about my other crafts and hobbies. I love crafting and over the years have certainly been involved in a large variety, cross-stitch, stitcheries, painting, porcelain dolls, teddy bears, card making and the list goes on.

I do hope you will call in and say hello,   I would love to hear from you.

HARRY THE EXPLORER.

I'm sure I've told you about one of my cats called Harry and his ability to climb up onto anything in the house.

I've found him on top of the wardrobes,  book-cases,  kitchen cupboards,  shower recess. In fact anywhere he can climb up to for a better view of what's around and new ideas for somewhere else to climb!

I recently took one of the small drawers out of a cabinet to look at the contents in the kitchen when I heard an odd noise.  This is what I found.

What goes in....

Must come out!

Then I need a little rest just to show you how cute I am.

MY DAUGHTER'S HOUSE.

After publishing my last post, I realised that I forgot to show you the photo's of my creation of my daughter's house.   I made this from scratch, it looks just like her home.  The colours are the same but I didn't have the right material to replicate the wrought iron lace-work on the verandah.

I found the lady sitting in her rocking chair and told my daughter that it could be her in the future! 

 She has two cats and no dogs but I think the dogs look very much at home here. I also love the rubber boots, they feel soft and realistic.

There isn't a wicker planter and plants either but when making mini's, we can surely have some say in how we want it to look can't we?

THE REAL ME .

After quite a lot of thinking and soul searching I have decided to "come clean" and use my real name on this blog.  I decided to use the name Sandie, as my blog name when I started it. Even though I thought I had good reasons, it has become too confusing for the lovely people that I've made friends with so....here I am as myself,    Vicki.
 What a good feeling  to just be me!

I also want to show you a project that my grand-son made at school two years ago. he gave it to me last week-end as he's now 16 and  interested in other things. I have always loved it, mainly because he made it ( with help from his Dad ) but also because it depicts a miners camp on the gold fields.

Welcome to you both.

Hell and welcome to Ascension and Jazzi.
 Ascension your tiny little elves are fascinating. I can't believe they could be made so small.
Jazzi, It's lovely to hear from a "neighbor". I really like your teapots. I have a few full size ones that I've collected and would love to have several smaller size too.  I have emailed you in the hope of us meeting up soon.

Australia Day.

I can't believe that I haven't posted since before Christmas. What have I been doing with my time?

I promise you I have been busy but just doing the things that I want to do. I love January because there's usually no commitments in my diary, so.....lovely days spent in my craft room,  in the garden or catching up with friends.  The weather has given much variety but lately, quite warm to hot.  I put a bag of sugar cane mulch on the front garden but will have to buy several more bags to finish the job.

I recently joined a new group, Miniature Haven and I'm loving it. There is a Project of the Month and for January it's items for a bathroom . As I was planning on getting serious about finishing my house, the motivation is back and I've made almost everything my bathroom will need.

The bathroom set is from the Delprado part-works that I "invested" in a few years ago. I re-painted the timber, it was dark brown. I made the towel, slatted mat, slippers, over the bath timber shelf, soap and loofa.

The soap is a tiny button on another and the hand soap dispenser is made from small beads, the face washer is fine terry towel.

 I painted over the blue motif on the suite with a soft green and made the toilet brush and waste bin too. You can't see the toilet roll and holder on this photo.

The pink towel was made from a piece of soft cotton that I dyed with acrylic paint in some water. The white one has some embroidery also.

I still have to find some small labels to go on the items in the cabinet that will go above the basin.

 I found a chair in my stash, repainted it and had fun making and placing a silky nightie and pink bra on it. I gently glued the nightie in place.

This was also fun to make. I cut out the shape of a dressing gown and glued and folded it to the look that I wanted. I left it on a sheet of plastic over-night to set. A tiny brass nail was pushed through at the top and it will hang on the back of the bathroom door.

I arranged some items on a small shelf and added a hand towel.

 You can see the basin better from this angle. I was really happy with the tiny  pink button, it makes a good bar of soap.