Happy Easter!

Hello dear readers!  I have been awol for a long time now.  In case you are wondering, it has mainly been due to health issues - mine and my family's.  I had bronchitis for several months last year and was just beginning to recover when my son became ill.  It turned out that he had to have his CV shunt renewed so he went into hospital for his 27th surgery on his brain.  We have been fortunate for the last 16 years that he has had a respite but for the first 10 years of his life he had lots of hospitalizations.  He has cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus and has two shunts from his brain to his stomach.  One of those shunts kept blocking and had to be renewed each time.  This last surgery had some complications and he had four weeks in hospital then another four weeks in rehabilitation.  Christmas was then on our doorstep and no minis of course during all that time.  After Christmas my darling husband Peter had increasing trouble and pain from his hip so finally he went to see about it and the result was a total hip replacement.  He is in rehabilitation now after the surgery.  So between looking after our son and visiting my DH, along with all the daily chores, life is very busy at the moment.  I certainly appreciate all that Peter normally does!  I have also been making twelve quilts for an Aboriginal school in Outback New South Wales, and they have to be completed by the end of this month.  Nine completely done, 3 tops done ready to quilt.  I will post photos of them when they are completed.  So please excuse me for not blogging lately - I hope to get back to minis when Peter is home and these quilts are done, and then I will post about what I am doing :)  I also hope that this year will see a larger studio being built for me in the back yard, by my brother.  More to come on that too.

In the meantime I want to thank you for hanging in there, I see that there are still some faithful followers checking out the blog and I'm sorry to disappoint you by not posting lately.  And I want to wish you and yours a very happy and blessed Easter.

I hope to 'talk' to you all soon!
Blessings,
Sandra

Here's to a wonderful 2017

I am looking forward to a much healthier and less stressful 2017, and wish all of you the same:  may it be filled with much happiness and many mini joys!

Hopefully there will be many UFOs completed and projects done right through to the end as well :)

Happy Christmas to you all!

I would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year).  May you all have a wonderful time full of love with friends and family.

Wishing you a happy Easter.

Wishing you and yours a very happy Easter.

Happy Australia Day

 Today, 26th January, is Australia Day.  This is a very special day for Australians and there are heaps of activities in most towns and cities throughout the country.

In Sydney the major celebrations centre around the gorgeous Harbour of course.  From inflatable thong races (in the US they call them flip-flops, don't know what you call them in Britain)

 to the annual Tall Ships parade down the Harbour, and vessels ranging from maxi-yachts to small pleasure craft throng the waters.  There is even a ferry race.

 People get into the spirit by dressing for the occasion.  Some with face painting

Some with temporary tatoos

Some with their dresses, teeshirts, shorts and hats

Even the family pet is likely to score some patriotic sign.

 Having a barbie (barbecue) and going to the beach are traditional activities.  And the grand finale after all the fun, the ceremonies, the awards of Order Of Australia to people who do special things in the community and the rest of the celebrations is a wonderful fireworks display over Sydney Harbour and in lots of communities.

 So wherever you are, I wish you a happy......

Happy Christmas to you all

I wish you all a Christmas full of joy as we celebrate our Saviour's birth.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas

My apologies for not posting before the day, to wish you all a very happy Christmas.  So now all I can say is that I hope you all had a wonderful time with family and friends, celebrating this special occasion.

I have been absent from the blog for a while.  Family events have kept my darling husband Peter and myself rather busy lately.  It was thought for a while that our oldest daughter might have a brain tumour but we thank the gracious Lord that this is not the case.  However it did involve us along with our long-suffering son Nathan driving out to her home in the country to look after her two boys for a few days while she in turn drove the 6 hours to the coast to our good friend's house to stay with her and go to the appointment the next day (another 2 hour's drive).  A painful electrical test of every nerve in her body that determined that the problem is indeed confined to her leg.  So there is a diagnosis but no explanation of the cause.  Even a whole raft of blood tests have failed to find a cause.  But at least they have ruled out a lot of unpleasant possibilities!

My mother has also been in hospital twice  lately, with life-threatening conditions and is very frail.  We took Christmas dinner to the nursing home to her this year.  I reserved a large room there that has a stove, oven etc, and we took all her favourite Christmas foods.  One of the nurses helped my brother bring Mum along with her oxygen tank down to the room and Mum enjoyed having so many members of the family there: my brother Terry and his two sons; Peter and myself and our son Nathan, daughter Kylie and her two boys Cameron (11) and Luke (7).  Our younger daughter Kirsten is away camping with her family at the moment but visited Mum when she came down for an early Christmas celebration a couple of weeks ago, along with her four: James (12), Grace (11), Chelsea (7) and Michael (4).  Camping when 30+  weeks pregnant would not have been my idea of fun but Kirstie takes it in her stride!

I was very fortunate mini-wise this year and received the furnishing kits for 'Choices', one of the kits I have from Suzanne & Andrew.  So it will be great fun to put it all together: the house and all the furniture.

But the greatest blessing of course was spending time with family.  And today (Boxing Day here in Aus) we are having a picnic with some dear friends.  It is a 3-generation friendship now, because our daughters are still good friends and in turn our daughters' sons are as well.

So I wish you and yours much happiness, whether you celebrate Christmas or not.  And I pray for you all that 2014 will bring health, laughter, friendship and happiness too.

And now to pass on a Christmas giggle.  You've probably received this as an email, it does do the rounds.  But it always gets a laugh from me:

Merry Christmas To My Female Friends If I were ol' Santa, you know what Id'd do I'd dump silly gifts that are given to you And deliver some things just inside your front door Things you have lost, but treasure before. I'd give you back all your maidenly vigour And to along with it, a neat, tiny figure. Then restore the old colour that once graced your hair Before rinses and bleaches took residence there. I'd bring back the shape with which you were gifted So things now suspended need not be uplifted. I'd draw in your tummy and smooth down your back Till you'd be a dream in those tight-fitting slacks. I'd remove all your wrinkles and leave only one chin So you wouldn't spend hours rubbing grease on your skin. You'd never have flashes or queer dizzy spells, And you wouldn't hear noises like ringing of bells. No sore aching feet and no corns on your toes, No searching for spectacles when they're right on your nose. Not a shot would you take in your arm, hip or fanny,  From a doctor who thinks you're a nervous old granny. You'd never have a headache, so no pills would you take. And no heating pad needed since your muscles won't ache. Yes, if I were Santa, you'd never look stupid, You'd be a cute little chick with the romance of a cupid. I'd give a lift to your heart when those wolves start to whistle, And the joys of your heart would be as light as a thistle. But alas! I'm not Santa.  I'm simply just me, The matronest of matrons you ever did see. I wish I could tell you all the symptoms I've got, But I'm due at my doctor's for an oestrogen shot. Even though we've grown older, this wish is sincere, Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year.

Today is ANZAC Day.  The acronym ANZAC originally stood for the Australian New Zealand Army Corps who fought and died at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.  Today ANZAC Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders who lost their lives in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operation and the contribution and suffering of all those who have served.

Traditionally The Ode is recited on ANZAC Day during the services, as it is on Remembrance Day and at funerals of Defence Force personnel.  It Ode comes from 'For the Fallen' a poem by the English poet and writer Laurence Binyon.  Often only the last verse here is recited but this year I have noticed that these two verses were recited at the Dawn Services in France and in Gallipoli, Turkey.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Customarily we also repeat 'We will remember them' in response.

It is an emotional day for me because my grandfather fought in WWI and during WWII my father was a prisoner of war for 3 1/2 years in harsh conditions in Germany and Austria, being one of the Aussies captured in Greece.  After being liberated at the end of the war he was 'rehabilitated' in England by the Army then allowed to spend some time with his Scottish family who worked hard to fatten him up so he was strong enough to stand the voyage home to Australia.  Upon his return home this 5ft 10inch man had been fattened up enough to weigh 6 stone!  Because of the hardships suffered he died when I was just 24 years old and I miss him still.

"Lest we forget"

Wishing you a blessed and joyous Easter

I wish you all a happy Easter - whether you are a person of faith or not, Easter is a lovely time of year, even if it is just a long holiday.  

For those us us who are Christians it is a reminder that we do not just live a meaningless life and then pass with nothing to look forward to - we have a blessed hope of eternal life through a Saviour Who died for our sins and Who rose again.

I wish you and your family a wonderful time 

over this holiday, however you spend it. I hope you have lots of sweet treats and of course lots of minis!

Happy Australia Day

Today is the day when we celebrate  being Australian.  All the different waves of immigration over the years, making up today's society have brought many changes to the Aussie culture, and we can all benefit from taking the best of what each has brought with them.

Today is a day to appreciate the blessings we enjoy in this wonderful - and sometimes challenging - country of ours.

Happy New Year! - and apologies

It's been hectic here for the last couple of weeks, and I didn't even get on to wish you all a Happy Christmas - so belated hopes that it was indeed a happy time for all of you, my friends.  And I wish you all a healthy, happy 2013, full of wonderful blessings and many miniature delights.

I did indeed complete the Christmas roombox in time for Christmas, apart from the window, which has since arrived.  So I will paint and insert the window and post a photo of it soon, I promise.  My older grandson Cameron really loved it while they were staying here, sleeping in the living room.  The lights on the Christmas tree were turned off at night but he loved having the lights in the roombox left on all night (and all day).  He found it fascinating.

I was also very fortunate as far as miniatures go for Christmas, receiving the Betterley's quilt shop 'The Silver Thimble' and the interior kits, the Flower shop and the ladies' shop along with the interior kits, from Suzanne and Andrew, as gifts from my family.  And yes, I must confess that I have started the quilt shop already - in fact it is virtually completed except that my satin varnish has disappeared so I can't use it for the 'dirty varnish' effect I want.  And of course it is out of stock in the craft stores at the moment.

Now an apology to Chris P and  Ana.  In the big cleanup before Kylie and the boys arrived, the gifts for the giveaway were inadvertently packed away and I won't be able to really get into the room where everything has been stuffed until after my other daughter and her four come to stay on Sunday.  I hope I can find them before we go away on 10th until 20th.  But as soon as I do find them they will be posted off to you both.

From our house to yours

Wishing you all a blessed Easter

Whatever your faith - or if you

have no faith, Easter is a lovely time of year. After Christmas it is the longest holiday, and for Christians it is a reminder that we have a precious hope.

I wish you and your family a wonderful time over this holiday, however you spend it. I hope you have lots of sweet treats and of course lots of minis!

Hugs and

Happy Australia Day

It is 26th January here in Australia, so it's a public holiday. It is meant to be a day of celebration - celebrating what is great abut Australia and being Australia, what we can be proud of, and how we can make Australia an even better place in the future. Most towns and communities have Australia Day celebrations and events. And of course there is always a test cricket match going on :)

The date was chosen because it is the anniversary of the arrival in 1788 of the First Fleet , which consisted of 11 convict ships from Great Britain and the raising of the Union Jack in Sydney Cove by Captain Arthur Phillip.

So - if you are an Aussie, however you celebrate it, Happy Australia Day! Whether you attend a community function, or have a family get-together or just have a quiet day, I hope you take time to pause and reflect on how fortunate we are to live in this wonderful land with the freedom and plenty that we so often take for granted. Let's make it a day when we contemplate the blessings and appreciate them, and show the pride in our land that we are so often too reserved to demonstrate.

Happy New Year to you and your families

Where did 2011 go?

Every year it happens, doesn't it?  It is Christmas, then New Year, we turn around and marvel at the fact that it is mid-year already.  Two blinks and we are preparing for Christmas again and then it is another year knocking on our door!

I wish each of you a happy 2012, with good health, people who love you, good friends, lots of laughter and lots of minis.  Several things over the last 3 years have really made me more aware of my mortality and the fragility of our life.  We can't take it for granted, but need to make the most of every single day.   

there is a saying that keeps coming to my mind, I'm sure you've heard it often.  I googled it and found not only it, but the thought I've included below it here:

"Yesterday is history,
tomorrow is a mystery,
and today is a gift;
that’s why they call it the present."
- anonymous

Cherish today, because the difference you make today will shape your future. Everything we do has so many effects and as long as you remember that the present is the most important time, you'll be fine. Enjoy life, you only get to live it once. Carpe diem - seize the day!

It might sound a bit of a cliche but it is so true.  And it is such a good resolution to make for a new year.  This is my resolution, along with a closer walk with my Lord and Saviour.

 

 

In case you are wondering about the photos, they are of the New Year's Eve celebrations on Sydney Harbour - centred around the Harbour Bridge (no, they are not mine - I googled them too).  Each New Year we have a wonderful fireworks display on Sydney Harbour.  People are already grabbing their spot along the foreshores ready for tomorrow night (it is Friday here).  Peter and I watch it on television if we stay up at all lol!  Quite often Peter is called by the hospital to work anyway, but not this year.  Watching the television is not the same as being there but at least we get to hear the music that the fireworks are synchronized to, and we see the whole display from lots of different angles.  And of course we don't have to cope with the long wait, or with the traffic jam on the way home LOL.

 

So - again, Happy New Year, and cherish each day in 2012.

 

Thank you for taking the time to look....

There can be so many demands on our time at this time of year that I really appreciate the fact that you have taken the time to have a look at 'Snippets'.  It is so nice to know that you, my friends out there, are interested enough to make the effort.

I also want to welcome two new followers: Rosangela and Maria.  Thank you very much for signing on, I do hope you found your visit here interesting enough that you will return often and leave feedback.  Maria, I love the pictures of angels on your Angels in the Attic, and your Diary of a Miniaturist is so interesting - I have visited there several times and enjoyed each time.

Rosangela, your Miniaturas blog has so many lovely vignettes on it.  I particularly like the patchwork one, with the tables strewn with all the bits and pieces that go with my second favourite hobby.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas: that you were with people you love, sharing good times.  And I hope it was a very mini Christmas for you.

I was very fortunate mini-wise.  Mum and Peter gave me money to choose whatever I want, knowing it would be minis of course, and Nathan instructed me quite early on in the piece to order a kit.  I was waiting for the Railway Inn to be released by Petite Properties but due to the pressure of sales and needing to provide stock for a series of Fairs, the release has been delayed.  So I chose instead a second Rosebud Cottage.  Fortunately it arrived in time for Christmas, much to Nathan's relief.  The girls have made something for me - it sounds very mysterious, and they will bring it with them when they and the children arrive in the new year.

I have also ordered a second Washtub Cottage, a second Halfpenny House (well, a third one actually) and two more side sculleries.  Hopefully they will arrive in the next week or so.  I want to do a bit of mix-and-matching between Washtub and Rosebud cottage porches to add a bit of variety to the mix, and I will do the second Washtub in a different finish to the first as well.  I'll also do the second Rosebud a different colour to the first of course.

As far as choosing what I'll buy with the money from Peter and Mum, I've been browsing the different sites and haven't made up my mind yet.

Christmas greetings to you all!

Wishing you a blessed Christmas

Whatever your faith I wish you a happy Christmas full of love and laughter and lots of mini things!  Sorry I have not been around for a while - but the good news is that I have actually been out a few times and done a little bit of the shopping.  That took care of the rest of the day while I recovered (and the next day too) but in the quiet time next day I made our Christmas cards.  Now that was a bit ambitious, but I am happy with the results and did manage to get them done, though the ones that were to be distributed at church today were being finished yesterday.  And I was able to go to church today to fellowship with my church family and even if I couldn't talk much or sing the carols I could hug and kiss people and sing in my head.  It was so good to be back after such a long absence.  Our good friend Richard was doing the service,  and Nathan was singing one of the special items.  He does so occasionally but was still very nervous.  He sang 'Angels we have heard on high', and did very well.  I am very proud that he managed to do it.

As for Christmas decorations - they are very scarce this year in our house, but the Christmas spirit makes up for it.  On Thursday I did buy our special Christmas decoration.  We try to buy one each year, and also add to our Lemax village collection, which we didn't get to do this year.  but I spotted this lovely musical ferris wheel ornament and couldn't resist it for this year's piece.

Santa's helpers enjoying various rides

The ornate ferris wheel and another view of the carousel

Santa's Workshop tucked away at the base

When you wind it up, the carousel rotates and it plays 'We wish you a merry Christmas'.  I have put it with a simple dish holding a red candle and sprays of decorations around it.

This looks especially pretty when the lights are off and the candle is lit.

We have just enjoyed watching the Carols from the Myer Musicbowl in Melbourne, and whilst we were doing so I gave my 1:12th scale shop  'Noelle Needlework' (still a UFO I'm afraid) a thorough dusting and straightening up, using the opportunity to get some photos while I did so.  This is a shop that specializes in Christmas needlework, selling cushions, stockings, wallhangings and Christmas-themed items, either ready-made or in kit form.  The left wall of the shop is taken up with shelves, the first section full of gift boxes, ribbons and cards, and gift wrapping.  The second and larger section has 'kits'.  Each of these is a scanned picture of a real kit, with some fabric in it, covered with plastic for realism.

 In front of these shelves there is a table used for serving customers, upon which is a stocking patterned in holly leaves, partly boxed for a customer.  Beside the table is a tub containing rolls of Christmas gift wrap.

 On the right wall is a fireplace, decorated ready for the festive season.  Some sample wall hangings add colour to the wall, and a comfortable chair shows off two cushions that match the lovely poinsettia design of the carpet and firescreen. To the right of the fireplace is the owner's workstation, with her drawers holding sewing supplies, her work basket and a stocking awaiting the cording around the edge, sitting on her chair.  The embroidery frame sits empty waiting for the next item to be stitched and of course there is a cat there stretched out comfortably on the floor - perhaps wondering where her mistress has gone to.....

 We take the opportunity to peek into the drawers of the cabinet: they hold gauze, cotton canvas, fabric for backing, and floss, and one of the top drawer holds packets of needles.  The handy slide-out shelf is covered with green felt, and an exquisite pair of gold scissors rests ready for use on it.

 In the sewing basket we see two more pairs of scissors, a pin cushion, tape measure, lots of kit packets for stockings and many other items.  We quietly replace everything where it should go, and close the drawers.

 Looking at the back wall, we can see that the Christmas rush has taken a toll on the stock, for there are empty spaces on the shelves.  But enough of the owner's handiwork remains to show that her fingers are busy indeed during the year.  There are stockings and cushions designed by various talented people and indeed variations worked on the charts that make them slightly different and individual.  The owner's fingers will need to be very productive again to fill those shelves completely but she has several more charts waiting in the wings.

 Standing and looking back into the shop, this is what we see

 The front of the shop is removable, and has an inset entrance which gives in effect two lovely bays for display.  The left window holds a table (turned around here for easy viewing) with an arrangement of a box and some ornaments.

 The right window holds a trio of three rather special angels.

Going outside and looking back into the shop, we pause for a moment to admire the window displays.

 And here it is decorated ready for the Christmas season, with the decorations across the front falling off at the least excuse lol!  And looking at this photo I see that I forgot to remove the pegs that I was using to hold it in place.  The lights are also a bit on the untamed side because they cannot be put into place permanently until the shop is completed.

 However once our lights are off, it certainly does look pretty all lit up!

And now it is well past midnight here, so officially Christmas Day - HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!