Wednesday 15th September 2010

G'day, my name is Buddy

I'm an Australian Yellow Bearded Dragon.

 My relatives vary from dark grey and sometimes reddish-brown, yellowish-brown, or dark brown in skin colour depending on the variety but I am a very special type - or so I think. 

 Here is a photo of one of my relatives.  Not nearly as handsome as I am!

When I came to live with my pet human Jesse, I was 6 weeks old and 10cms (4 inches) long.  Now I'm three years old and measure 34cms (around 14inches).  When I am fully grown I will measure a full 24 inches or 60cms.   We're called 'dragons' because we puff out our throats and look very fierce when threatened.  We also open our mouths very wide and that makes us look even fiercer.  And aren't our spines impressive?

I eat crickets, woodies (a type of native cockroach that live in woodpiles), mealyworms, fruit and vegetables.  My favourite foods of all are lettuce, pumpkin, strawberries and - most of all, sweet corn.  I'm a bit skinny at the moment just coming out of winter, but I'll soon fatten up a bit.  Here Kylie is hand feeding me.  I really enjoy being hand fed.  Spoilt?  Me?  What do you mean?  I am only getting the treatment I deserve!

I came to visit Kylie today because my pet's mum is her good friend.  And Kylie's mum Sandra took these photos.  I must say they don't do me justice - silly goose left her camera at the caravan and had to take the photos with her phone! So of course I had to have a good look at the phone to see what she was doing.

Aren't I a handsome fellow?  Do you think the photo above  is my best side?

Or do you like this view better?

See how I like sitting on people's shoulder?  It helps keep me warm as well.  In the wild I like to bask on rocks and things to warm up.  That's because I'm a reptile, of course.  When I came to live with Jesse I lived in his bottom drawer at first,and that was fun.  But now I have an enclosure that has rock walls on three sides and a glass front.  It has an earthern floor and rocks in it.  Heating and temperature contol keeps it very comfortable for me.  Jesse's family has to have a special licence to be able to have me live with them. 
  
Sandra took HEAPS of photos, trying to get a good shot of me eating some corn.  But I fooled her - I shoot out my sticky tongue so quickly to grab each kernal, just like I catch an insect, that the best she got was a few blurry ones he, he, he.

So it was very nice to 'meet' you.  I hope you enjoyed it too.  Life is certainly interesting having Jesse as my pet.  I get to have all sorts of adventures.  Bye for now.

Sunday, 12th September, 2010

Welcome Lainie and Marlene!

Hi Marlene and Lainie and welcome to my blog.  I hope you enjoy it here and visit often.  I really appreciate you taking an interest in my ramblings vbg.

Mini-ing with Shailee

Something different to share with you today. Our grandsons Cameron and Luke were intrigued with the latest of the Town Square series (Dickens Bookshop) that I did here while visiting, and want to do some miniatures. I promised them that when Pa arrived I would ask him to cut some of the thin MDF I have so that they could build something.

In the meantime, our daughter Kylie’s neighbour and friend Fiona and her two daughters also came to admire Dickens Bookshop and the younger one Shailee (pronounced Shay-lee) in particular was keen to do some miniatures too. Fiona asked whether Shailee could come and watch me do some work on my miniatures, then remembered that she had been given a kit for a small wallhanging of a fruit and juice shop in a frame.

So Shailee brought the kit down to the caravan today and I helped her put it together. Shailee is just nine years old, and like many of us has been making small things out of foil, cardboard, fabric, paper and other bits and pieces for quite some time. This is her first ‘formal’ introduction to miniatures and what fun to be the one to introduce her to the pleasures of this fascinating world!

She was surprised that it wasn’t as difficult as she thought it would be and as you can see in this photo she really concentrated on it. I showed her what to do and then she did it herself. I did help some of it but she did 90%. Not a bad effort at all!

Shailee was very very proud of the result, and so was I – of the result and of her efforts too.

I asked permission of her mother then Shailee herself before I included photos of her on this post. They were both happy for me to do so.

And by then the boys had returned from bowling with Peter. I cut some of the MDF scraps to make shelves for them like the shelves in Shailee’s vignette, and they started to glue them together. Cameron is 7 and Luke is 4 so their patience can’t be expected to last as long, but they got them glued partly together. They were waiting for me to cut more shelves and for the glue to dry and went off to play, and will finish them tomorrow or the day after. And Peter will be cutting something else for them tomorrow as well.  I am really looking forward to doing some minis with them as well!

Friday 3rd September & Sunday 5th 2010

Fourth in the Town Square series.....

…….is a bookshop, aptly called ‘Dickens’ Books’. It is a building with real character, stucco finish with and timbering outside and one of my favourite wallpapers used upstairs inside.

The kit this time came with a desk and chair to go upstairs, and kits for two wooden bookcases and a sales counter as well as the till. Sunday was Fathers Day here in Australia, and Kylie and the boys spent the day with the boys’ father so I was happy to have the day to work on the Bookshop and I certainly got a lot done.

Here are the ground and first floors with the stucco and timbering on the outside. The door and windows are put in without glue while the timber is added. Then the stucco goes right up to the edge of the openings for the door and windows. I did get stucco on the timbering, and scraped it off. But I still needed to touch up the wood with paint again. And then I needed to touch up the stucco again as well vbg. Which was fine because I decided that I wanted the stucco a bit lighter anyway – it had dried slightly darker than I expected.

I chose to do more of the exterior and interior decorating than the instructions said before joining the two sections together and it certainly made it easier to wallpaper the ground floor. This next photo shows the inside of the two sections. The side walls and ceiling of the first floor had not been papered at this stage. They are done in one strip. The ground floor has been done in the co-ordinating paper supplied.

Here you can see the two sections joined. You might be able to see that I dry-brushed areas of the exterior with a bit of brown to ‘weather’ it a bit. This is an old building, so it can’t be pristine but it is occupied and I don’t want it to be decrepit either.

When I sprayed the windows and door I first did them with the plastic primer, than absent-mindedly did them with white spray paint as well. That was on Friday, so I left them over Saturday and today (Sunday) I sanded each of them and did them the correct colours: brown for the outside windows and door frame; blue for the outside of the door; and latte for the inside of the door and the inside windows.

And here is Dickens’ Bookshop. Well, so far anyway. Still a few things to go.

 I want to make a sign in slightly different lettering than the one provided but haven’t chosen the font yet. The wooden sign is painted and ready though. And I feel that there needs to be a ‘scroll-y’ metal arm holding the sign rather than just putting it up on the front, but I need to experiment a bit. I think I could make that from a sliver of tea-candle holder metal, and being away from home I might have to buy a pack of those to get some.

The Spaniel at the front is from Grace Shaw, who showed the most amazing patience with me when I was working out an order for animals to put into ‘Feathers and Fur’ Petshop for the Town Square. She really is the most amazing supplier! Grace painted this gorgeous Spaniel for me
specially. I am more of a cat person than a dog person (apart from loving the little white fluffball that has adopted me) – hence having a cat or several in each mini project I do, but I do also love spaniels and have been owned by two in the past.

Today I also constructed the bookcases and serving counter and painted and ‘aged’ the desk and chair. I have glued the desk and chair in place upstairs but haven’t glued the bookcases or counter yet, hence the bookcases are on a lean and look crooked. I need them to

be accessible to add the books and the things to go under the counter.

On the tall bookcase you can see the grey cat that has climbed up so she can look down and observe all the happenings from her lofty perch among the books; and upstairs a pretty white fluffy cat is enjoying a snooze on the warm chair seat – perhaps the shop owner has just risen from that chair and the seat is nice and warm. Finishing touches needed of course: books, books, books and more books; something to go on the wall; some vases of flowers; paper to wrap purchases in; paperwork for the desk; ornaments perhaps for the desk etc.

This one is another really satisfying little building for the Town Square. It is now 5th September, so the invoice for the next in the series will be arriving probably tomorrow or the day after. I wonder what that one will be?

Thursday, 2nd September 2010

Kylie's Christmas Stocking

The first Christmas Stocking I did for my family was this one for Kylie, our oldest daughter.  Just as Kirsten later chose the design she wanted for her stocking, Kylie chose the chart and I did it on (I think) 14 count Aida cloth.  The two stockings are very different and each reflects the taste of the girls.

Looking at the date on the stocking, I did this one in 1993.  It was quite a complex one to do but it's really beautiful.  The colours are really rich - it has come out slightly pale in this photo.

If you haven't seen the one I did for Kirsten, I have already blogged about it - it will have the same label 'Counted Cross Stich' as this one does.

And just to show that it is real life, and not miniature, here it is with a ruler beside it.  This ruler has both inches and centimetres.  So you can see that the stocking is more than 12 inches (30cms) long.  Proof that I do do things other than mini petitpoint lol!

And today I ordered another full-sized stocking for one of the grandchildren.  Either Cameron or Luke.  I already have one for one of the boys,

Before we came away I sorted a lot of my cross stitch and put all the Christmas stockings in one place.  I haven't found all of them yet, they are in another large tub in the storage container so when I go back to Sydney I will rummage through it until I find that one as well.   I really would like to get going on the stockings for all the grandchildren.  The only stocking that had the project, the chart and the threads all in one place was the one for me!  That's what happens when someone else packs things for storage. 

Monday 30th August 2010

A little fluff ball has adopted me

Kylie and the boys were given a little ball of fluff about three months ago, and the boys insisted on calling her 'Fluffy'.  She is a cross Shitzu/Maltese and was the runt of the litter.  The breeders had to get rid of her because they had the maximum number of dogs permitted, but no-one had bought her so they gave her to Kylie. 

Fluffy was spoiled by the breeders and continues to be one very spoiled little doggie indeed.  She is very small even for the type of dog she is, but that doesn't stop her from thinking that she is a big fierce guard dog and she protects her family and property against all comers with defiant barking lol!

She has adopted me and loves to climb up on my lap, where she quickly learned to lie down and not fidget.  When she gets too warm she climbs off and this morning she squeezed between me and the arm of the lounge while I was reading the comments on the blog.  She was thrilled that finally someone sat still for more than a minute to cuddle her. 

Things are not good for our darling daughter, in fact they are more complicated and stressful than we even realised before we came to visit, so I just hope and pray that my visit here will be supportive for her and I can offer some help.  I won't talk about it, but I can show you photos of the gorgeous little Fluffy.  These ones are not the best quality because they are the ones that Kylie sent to my phone but they are a start. 

Right at this moment Fluffy is cuddled once again at my side, since my lap is occupied by the laptop.  Earlier she was draped around the back of my neck and licking my ear.  Not my favourite thing, I am more a cat person than a dog person but if I ever did have a dog one of these little white fluffy furballs would certainly tempt me.

Peter has just finished moving the caravan to a better spot on the wide grassed footpath outside the house.  We were planning on bringing it through the double gates into Kylie's back yard but when we measured the opening he decided that there really wasn't a lot of leeway (about 4 inches) and considering he would have to manouver around a tree to get into the gate we decided to give that a miss.  Instead we have moved it further forward so that when he and Nathan leave tomorrow I can access the gate more conveniently to go into the house.  And he is making the van more level by using the big wedges.  So I will now go and set up again. 

Sunday, 29th August 2010

Great to be with our family again

Nathan was up bright and early and over at the house with the boys this morning. We slept really well again in our ‘cocoon’ as I call the caravan. Once we were up and dressed of course the boys were over at the caravan to check everything out while I tidied up and got things organised. Luke thinks it is very 'cool' because there are lots of cupboards and everything has it's place.  He told me today that he really likes the wardrobe because the handles have buttons on them.


Peter took Nathan and the boys ten-pin bowling; it’s part of our ‘tradition’ when we see them. Usually I go with them too, but today I was feeling woozy with fatigue after the long trip yesterday, and planned to have a rest. When they returned the boys, Kylie and I spent some time on the bed with my laptop looking at photos of Luke’s birthday party yesterday.
Cameron made up a booklet from some paper I gave him and started a ‘book’ of his adventures. Our visit has already helped them slot into some of the regular things we do together, which I guess brings a little bit more stability into their life during a time that’s difficult for all of them. We love our daughter and grandsons so much and just wish we could help them all more.

I took photos of the interior of the caravan this morning to show you. First, looking from the rear of the van to the front, you can see here our bedroom, with the wardrobe and bathroom on the right. On the very left you can see the partial dividing wall, and the strap that is folded around it holds the concertina door in place when we are travelling.

This second photo of the same end of the van is slightly more to the left side and shows the side window rather than the bathroom side. Sorry about the mess on the bed – just as I was about to take photos Peter brought things in from the car and I hadn’t put them away yet. And of course my laptop lives on the bed during the day vbg.
The space between the end of the bed and the wall doesn’t show in these photos, it is about 2’6” and part of the wheel hub is there. That gives a handy support for a small shelf to fit over it so I can put the computer on there at night, along with anything else I want to put there too. On our long trip I had a couple of large crates stacked on it but I prefer to keep it uncluttered.

The bathroom on the right is not large but there’s room – these two photos show each side- because of the layout I can’t get it all in one photo. The little handbasin is fine for washing your hands, the loo is comfortable and the shower gives a great shower! There’s enough hot water in the tank for me to have a shower and wash my hair if I turn off the water while I scrub my hair.

There is a light in there and an exhaust fan. And just the warmth of the shower keeps you warm enough even in the cold. The hatch opens to let the steam out when you want to. And it’s great to open it wide in the warm weather and look up at the stars at night.

Next, here is the view of the other end of the van. The lounge at the end is wider than a normal couch because it doubles as a bed. It is where Nathan sleeps when we don’t put up the annexe with his camp bed in it. In cold weather it is much better to have him inside. You can also just see the back of the second seat on the opposite side of the table. The photo has come out dark because the sun was shining in so brightly – I always find that funny.

This second shot of thesame side of the caravan (looking
from the rear) also shows the back of the second seat, and the rest of the ‘dining’ area of the van. This side has the fridge, and a cupboard with slide-out wire baskets for food. The DVR, TV are on the sliding shelf and above it, the controls for the satellite dish. We can pull the shelf out and turn it so we can watch TV, satellite or DVDs from either the bedroom or the other end of the van.


When the ‘guys’ go back to Sydney the table will become my mini work area, if I do any in the caravan. Naturally my first priority will be my family but I’ll also be conscious of giving them their own space as well.

Standing at the rear end of the caravan and looking back to the left, it’s the kitchen. When we designed the caravan I chose the bedroom from one caravan on display and the kitchen from another one and we mirror-reversed the kitchen to fit our design. The makers liked it so much that they then released several others in two different lengths, the same design as ours. And a customer saw ours waiting to be picked up and ordered one in another colour as well. So I took that as a compliment vbg.

These two photos show the entire kitchen. We had a full oven put in, so we could have one of Peter’s lovely roast dinners if we wanted it while away, cook a cake or whatever. The fridge on the other side is actually larger than normal too but could be bigger. The large board you might be able to make out behind the hand towel on the rack above the sink fits over the sink and draining board to give extra work surface area if you want it.

The panel on top of the oven area lifts up and the stove is underneath that. It works on bottled gas, as does the oven. The microwave of course just works on electricity so if we are in a place without power we can’t use it.

The fridge works on AC or DC electricity or bottled gas, and the lights on AC or DC electricity. So we can stay at unpowered sites for several days, though Nathan prefers not to – he really likes to have his television.

So why am I telling you all this? Because lots of people have asked lots of questions lol! I know caravans are called by different names in different countries, but I think they are fitted out pretty much the same. Ours is several years old now, we bought it in 2003. So styles and finishes have changed but we are very comfortable when we are in ours and we love it.


The only way we would change it if we could is to trade it in a longer van so that Nathan could have his own room at the end, with space to set up his own things and an area that he could call his own. He is less independent than we thought he would be at this age, but fortunately he really enjoys travelling with us and at present wishes to continue to do so. And having his own area would be nice now he is an adult. Better than having to set up the annexe when we are moving on quite frequently or the weather is cool.

So although I won't publish photos of our darling boys on a public site like this, I can at least show you our 'other' baby!

Saturday 28th August, 2010

Happy Birthday, Peter - and Surprise!!!

Peter celebrated his birthday for the second year running by driving all day vbg! We slept well, and woke early, enjoying to the magpies carolling to greet the dawn then drifting off to sleep again. But by 6.30 we were awake and refreshed. For once before Nathan vbg. We did the ‘Happy Birthday’ thing with Peter, giving him his presents and coffee in bed and prepared for a reasonably early departure.

Our daughters phoned to wish Pete a happy birthday and when Kylie phoned I told her we had gone away for a few days for Dad’s birthday. She accepted it, but seemed surprised. We decided to just drive as much as we felt comfortable doing, and see how far we got. It was still 600 or more kms to Toowoomba because we left so late yesterday, but it isn’t worth pushing too hard when you are fatigued. When we left Scone the skies were blue and it was 13degC; within an hour the sky had clouded over and the temperature had dropped to 10deg. It didn’t rise above 13deg until late afternoon.
 We stopped for morning tea after a couple of hours at Tamworth, then at Guyra for lunch. We stopped beside a lovely park, quite small but nicely set out and I made some bread rolls for our ‘picnic’ lunch. Only we had it inside because of the chilly wind. Kookaburras are plentiful here and their cheery chuckling was a nice background while we ate. Several came and sat in the trees nearby as well and had a good look at us to see what we were doing.

I couldn’t resist taking some photos of the pretty garden that caught my eye when we pulled up. The splash of colour from the daffodils and the contrast against the silver trunks of the trees and the red of the shrub behind was very pretty. A Willy Wag Tail in the branch of one of the trees flicked his tail and made

 his sweet call too as though telling me how nice it was that spring is here, until I came too close. These little birds look so smart in their crisp black and white feathers - as though dressed in a dinner jacket.  And they never stay still, always hopping and wagging their tails. They are such busy little creatures.

I loved the daffodils and also the snowdrops in the garden – I wonder whether the ones I have in the pot at home will bloom soon? Probably while I am away.

Peter kept driving and driving. I took a spell after lunch too for a couple of hours. I could see that Peter really wanted to make Toowoomba even though he didn’t admit it, and we did. And once we arrived, we promptly proceeded to get lost!  Pete was so sure that he knew exactly how to get to Kylie’s house but it turned out we turned just one street too soon, then there was a street closed off and a detour and of course that meant we lost our bearings hopelessly. So he pulled in to the first service station and we were soon on the right track again.

 

The dogs came out barking, soon followed by our daughter (not barking). She seemed quite calm and unfazed but said she was in disbelief. She had looked out the window to see what the dogs were barking at and saw the end of the van. Thinking to herself that it was the caravan but that it couldn’t be, she ventured out to investigate. Luke had just fallen asleep after the excitement of his birthday party today and Cameron was snuggled up in the play room with his doona, half asleep also. He had heard our voices in the adjoining kitchen but didn’t believe what he heard and when I walked in to the room his eyes just got bigger and rounder and bigger and rounder! I said hello and he said ‘Hello Marnie’ (their name for me) with a great big smile then jumped up and gave me an enormous hug over the back of the lounge. What a wonderful welcome.

He was of course then so excited that it took ages before we could get him settled but he and Nathan ended up in the Play Room watching a video and he finally he went off to sleep again. It helped that Nathan told him that he was having an early night and we were having the same. It also took a while before Kylie could quite believe that we were really here vbg. She said she felt that she was dreaming.

 

Kylie’s neighbour and friend (and her daughters) also had to come down and say hi. Fiona also calls me ‘Mum’ and it was good to see her again too – it didn’t take her long to know that we had arrived as she and her husband Gary keep a good eye on Kylie and look out for her. They are good friends. Fiona had kindly brought down the photos of Luke’s birthday party so I could download them on to my computer because she had taken her camera to be official photographer for the day.

After such a huge day and the excitement of seeing our family we are of course ready for another good night’s sleep!

Friday 27th August, 2010

Feeling right at home

Yesterday, as soon as we got to the caravan it was as though we had never left it. We felt right at home. I haven’t slept so well since we moved out of the van into the house. Not even now we have our new bed.
 The estimate of a lunchtime departure was right on target, unfortunately. It would have been good to have left earlier but at least we are on our way. What a relief to get out of the city again! The freeway going north is ablaze with bright yellow wattle. 1st August is Wattle day but they are looking beautiful even now, and different varieties will come into bloom progressively throughout the year – virtually all year.

There has been a lot of rain through this northern New South Wales area and things are looking so green. Nature takes no notice of the calendar as we know, and in spite of spring not starting officially until September, it has already been spring for a fortnight. The magnolias are in bloom, the blossom trees are bursting out, azaelias are blazing with colour and everything is full of life. It is still cold at night and during the day a cold wind is taking the chill factor waaaaaaay down. But if you can stay out of the wind, Sydney temperatures today were 20deg and we were actually too warm in the car.

We stopped mid- afternoon to buy something to eat in a little town – can’t remember the name. We were parked outside an antique shop with some delightful and tempting things for sale – boy, did my mouth water at the sight of a beautiful marble-topped washstand with tiled back! And just beside it was a lovely old building occupied downstairs by a hairdressing salon. Peter took some photos of the building for me – can’t you see this as a lovely quarter scale mini project? I stood against the verandah post for one of the photos then he took some like this. It took him quite a few minutes to get several shots, partly because we were on a main highway so he had to wait for a break in the traffic going both ways, and partly because he was constantly being swooped by a magpie!

Fortunately it didn’t make contact even with its wings let alone pecking him, but I was a bit anxious for Peter – that maggie was quite determined to ‘protect’ his area! In spring Magpies become very territorial, swooping people who venture into an area near their nest. They might buffet you with their wings or even peck you with their very strong beaks as they pass by. I’ve googled a photo for those of you who aren’t Aussies to show you what Magpies look like. They are 38-44cms when mature, and become very tame around households, quite often coming to be fed tidbits of meat and such. Their beautiful carolling songs make up for their unpleasant habits during nesting time though!

We hit a lot of traffic before and in the Hunter Valley and the caravan parks were full. We pulled in to one hoping for a spot and while I was waiting in the car, Eastern Rosellas were swooping around the car. They are really pretty birds, I googled photos of them too. They are medium-sized parrots, around 32cm or 13inches long and are characterised by their white cheek patches. The females are similar to the males but perhaps a bit duller. When they fly you see these brilliant flashes of colour. I used to see lots of them in Sydney but don’t see them where we live now.

Nathan was really disappointed that there were no vacancies there because there were two figures outside the office, one of a full-size mare and one of a foal. I wish I had taken a photo for him but there wasn’t really time before Peter came back to the car. I was in the driver’s seat in the meanwhile in case the car and caravan needed to be moved to let other traffic through.

Finally we went on to Scone, which isn’t that much further on and calls itself the ‘Horse Capital of Australia’. It is considerably larger than the previous town, which surprised us. First caravan park we came to was full but the second one had a spot and we are all settled ready for another good night’s sleep.

Thursday, 26th August 2010

On the move again – briefly!

My ‘Sandra from Sydney’ blog is supposed to be the travel blog but since this is just a short trip I am writing about it here on ‘Snippets’. We actually are on the way to Queensland to pay a surprise visit to our oldest daughter Kylie so I won’t post this until we arrive. She needs a bit of family support at the moment, and I hope we can give that. Peter and Nathan and I are driving up and they will leave me and the caravan there for at least a couple of weeks then come back for me. They will stay a couple of days each time to rest (it’s the best part of 1000kms each way) and we will take a couple of days for the trip.


It has been a spur-of-the-moment decision, made last Saturday, so this week has been very busy indeed. Of course my packing started with choosing the minis I would take! I have packed a quarter scale ‘Petite Properties’ project (#1, The Corner Shop) – just in case there is time to start on it vbg. Also lots of Paper Minis things to put together in small bits of time. Flower kits, and more.


Then there are mini needlework projects. I hope that once I am with Kylie and not so worried about her wellbeing I will be able to concentrate a bit better and able to stitch again. And some full size cross stitch too – have to get a move on with those Christmas stockings for the grandchildren after all.


So I don’t think I’ll run out of things to keep my fingers and mind busy when I’m not doing Nana things with the boys and Mum things with my daughter!!!


After those essential things were dealt with – that took a couple of days to get sorted – it only took an hour to sort out my clothes. But I also needed to wash the curtains in the caravan, give it a quick dust to get rid of any that had come in while we left it airing, make up the beds etc. As well as tidy the house and clean it; appointments to keep; Peter’s birthday presents to buy (that’s on this Saturday); Church Bulletin to do and deliver ready for this week; Mum to visit then again just before we leave; other appointments to cancel; rearrange Nathan’s work schedule; and so on.

We had planned to leave first thing this morning but here we are in the caravan all of five minutes from home! At my brother’s house in fact, where the van is parked while the storage container is still in our driveway. We are spending the night here, will do a couple of last-minute things in the morning, do the last visit to Mum, and be on our way by lunch-time at the latest.
 I’ve included some photos of our caravan. It is a Regal brand 18’ long, and we tow it with a 4WD (Mitsubishi Pajero). We love our caravan! The photo at the beginning was taken last year in winter at our house, around a month before we left for our trip. The bare garden (lacking it’s usual winter colour) was mulched in the hope of keeping weeds down while we were away, and we were packing the caravan in readiness. My Holden just fits on the driveway with the caravan there, as does the Pajero. As you can see, we live on a small suburban block in your average small suburban house.

This next one photo was taken on our trip, at Coffs Harbour north of Sydney, where we stopped for the first night of our trip around Australia last year.

Friday 20th August, 2010

More 1:12th scale revisited: Conservatory

I did have this conservatory assembled too, but dismantled it a couple of years ago and it has been in storage, then repacked by Mark and moved to the storage container for several months when my workroom was cleared out. I had never done the brick work on the walls but being on a roll after doing the Corner Toy Shop I went on with the walls for the conservatory. Believe it or not, this proved more tricky because the spaces were inset and quite small and the stencil didn’t want to bend at the edges.

Finally I cut a piece out of a smaller brick stencil I had and used that. I could then get it right up against the sides of the sections so there was no build-up underneath the stencil edges.


I also experimented with colours of the bricks a little bit, to see how it went. This project will be set in the present day and I want an aged brick appearance. So I added some of the grey/neutral compound I have to the red brick compound, to make a lighter colour.

Peter cut me a rear wall and a base for the setting. I plan to add other features around the conservatory itself, and have made the base and wall quite large – over 5 ¼” wider on each side than the building. Originally I wanted to put it on another base as well, to give it more dimension with steps leading down to a lower level, but I’ve put that part on hold just for now.

When I had nearly finished bricking that rear wall I realised that I had goofed – you are supposed to paint the timber first, to be the

grouting.  And I was doing the bricks on raw wood. I was really, really well and truly over it by the time I had finished bricking that large area. I made the mistake of doing too much – sticking to it for three days between both projects, well into the evening hours. Something to remember when I tackle the massive job of bricking my ‘Cadogan Gardens’ kit from Dollhouse Emporium.

I had to then undertake the extremely tedious task of going through and painting between the bricks with a dirty wash of different shades to cover that bare wood. It also got on to the bricks themselves no matter how careful I was but in the end I realised that it just added to the old, dirty brick effect of the wall that I wanted anyway. Some of the bricks have actually fallen off – they are really fragile at this stage. I will glue them back on and hope that once it is all varnished they will be more durable.

Back in February, when I unearthed the flowers and conservatory that I had previously had stored in Peter’s shed, I found that some of the flowers had disappeared – simply melted away. They must have been made of bread dough or something dissolvable, which wasn’t mentioned on the boxes that they were in when I bought them. I thought that they would have been properly made from clay or something lasting. How annoying when they weren’t cheap in the first place. I bought them online and the vendor is no longer in business. I have no clue about their maker.


Fortunately on our trip around Australia I bought some beautiful, beautiful, flowers from Kathy B in Western Australia so I have lovely things to put in there anyway. I will post photos of some of them another time.


Big decision – do I remove the bricks from inside the rear of the conservatory or do I leave them? Opinions please.