My warmest wishes for the Merriest and Happiest Holidays to all my dear followers!

                                           Also, a safe and caring time for all nature's creatures:

                              Hugs and kisses,

                              

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN !

BOO

Hugs again,

I'm Good to Go Again

Well, it has been two months since my operation and I have to say that I feel wonderful.  Thank you to all my lovely followers for your kind words through this ordeal. There was a few hiccups but, all in all, the surgery was easy on me.  The pain was pretty minimal for a few weeks and now I have literally no pain!!!  I am now able to walk on my own but will still use a cane, for the next month as a safety measure.  I have exercises to do every day...............which is a pleasure now !

My dear husband has been so good to me..........breakfast and sometimes lunch and dinner in bed every day!!!  He has had to do almost everything, including looking after the garden!!!  I will have to spoil him with 'home cooking' again as we are both tired of 'Costco meals!!!

'Peaches' 1997-2012

We had to put our darling little 'Peaches' down at age 15.  She was a rescue cat and was always the most loving and sweet little girl.  We miss her terribly!

Today, it is important to say that my thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by 'Hurricane Sandy'!
So very sad to see such devastation.........I hope that the power gets back soon so that they can back to some kind of normal.

While I was convalescing, I tried to do miniatures but it did not happen, so will try to do some things soon.
In the meantime,


Hugs

Sorry that it has been so long since my last posting..................life has a way of interfering in one's favorite pursuits!  I have had health problems over the last 3 years but in the last 4 months, things became worse.........I need to have a hip replacement and in fact, will have my surgery on August 29!!  A miracle because I got the appointment almost a month to the day from seeing the orthopedic surgeon (thanks to my dear Doug who got me on the cancellation list and also the fact that the bone is crumbling as we write). I will  eventually need to have my other hip done in a year or two.

 I have been unable for a long time to sit for more than 20 minutes at a time which really affects me with the computer and keeping updated on 350 blogs and Pinterest, that I follow (yes, I am crazy.........but I love to research!!).  Also, my petitpoint has been very affected and I have only managed to do a few things in the last while (more on these later).  So, I am going to have to be more creative in how I do these things.............with the help of my dear ones!!!

Enough said!  I want to thank all my loyal followers who have stood by me in my absence.........it really means a lot to me and I treasure you all!!!

Even though I have been down and out, I have been thinking about my miniatures and planning my 'petit chateau'....................still haven't got it down on paper yet because I am having a hard time figuring out the layout of the interior................if I put in everything that I want, the chateau would be too large to get through the door.  Since I am only going to build this one dollhouse, it has to be  perfect to me!!  Actually, the logistics of this are what has held me up for so long.  Wish me luck!!  Any ideas on this would be appreciated, for sure!

Well, I will now show you some of the things that I am working on in petitpoint:

This will be the Salon rug when it is finished (unless I change my mind again!!!).................

Antique Farahan

This is all that I have done since the summer..........................it's going to take a while!

41 ct. silk gauze and silk threads, 10" x 12"

The next items are to be copies in miniature of petitpoint done by my mother when she was young!!  They have always been favorites of mine and unfortunately I have lost the charts for them.  I have finished one and am still working on the second.  Here they are:

Lady 1 original

Lady 2 original

These are my attempts using 61 ct silk gauze and threads:

Sorry, not the best photography...............these are about 1.0" x 0.6" in size ...will take a better picture after these are finished and framed.

I have purchased a few items in the past few months and want to acknowledge the wonderful artisans that created them!

Sorry for the photography !!  The beautiful hutch is made by Jane Neuman Miniatures and the little chair was bought quite a while ago and is discontinued.  I am planning to paint the hutch to match the chair set but am still not decided!  The plates are made by Carrie Lavender and are absolutely beautifully made...I have ordered more of them so will show them when they arrive.  This is a photo (bad again) of the Staffordshire Rose Plate

Next is a darling teapot from Sally Meekins Ceramics!  I have adored her work for a long time and it is wonderful to see it in reality...the little teapot lid is removable.  Hope to order more in the future, for sure.

Now, last but not least, are some pieces from Christine Lourier.  These are so perfect in detail and wonderful.  Again, I will be ordering more soon.

I would highly recommend purchasing from these ladies as their items are first class and they are such a pleasure to deal with!!!  Many hugs to them!!


Well, I have really overdone it on this posting but I am not sure that I will be able to post again for awhile...........so I wanted to update everyone!


Till we meet again, I look forward to your comments.

Many Hugs,

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL

Here's to all those ladies in their Easter bonnets!!  .............remember when we were kids and we always had to have a Easter bonnet or a new outfit?

Hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday together................lots to eat, lots of fun, and exercise afterward!

Hugs,

SPRING IS STILL NOT HERE!!!!!!

Here on Vancouver Island, it is still not what I consider spring....................the rabbits and birds are trying to make the best of it and the spring flowers are trying to come out, finally, but we had a skiffle of snow yesterday for April 1!!!  I can hardly wait for some warm sunshine instead of all the rain and cool weather!!  Enough complaining!!

Well, I had great aspirations to get a lot done on my dollhouse and was quite inspired............................

Unfortunately, my body would not cooperate so have been on the 'down low' of energy..................................

Hopefully, will have some photos to show on my progress, soon.  I have also started a rug for the 'Living Room' which is going well...pictures soon.


Hugs to all my dear followers,

HAPPY VALENTINE"S DAY

I wish a "Happy Valentine's Day to all my wonderful followers...............

and HUGS!!!

HAPPY GROUNDHOG  DAY!

Today is Groundhog Day and it looks like 6 more weeks of winter....not soon enough for me.  For those who don't know what Groundhog Day is, here is a link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day.  It is also my birthday today as well, which is hard to appreciate when you get compared to a groundhog !!!  Not that 'he' isn't cute but those hips are not what I'm striving for!!!

I am finally posting pictures of a few miniatures that I bought on my trip......had hoped to find more as gifts but it was not to be................ 

 The large cat near the fireplace is from Egypt..............he looks nice there (cabinet will be going in the 'Library' ) but could look nice in the 'Foyer' or the 'Salon'.

The three statues on the mantle are of 'Buddha', 'Ganesh', and I believe that the one on the right is 'Shiva'

The 'mini people' that will live in my petit chateau will be world travelers who like to collect!!

I found these little alabaster statues at the special factory that we visited in Luxor..........the smaller statues are 'sacred cats' and the larger statue is 'Anubis' (jackel-headed god of ancient Egypt).

I have been working on creating drawings for my dollhouse but as yet are bogged down with the interior planning which will have to include several rooms that are larger.............I am trying to teach myself 'Autocad 2012' but it is a slow process.......................


These are some of the inspirations for my dollhouse...let me know what you think???

Chateau A

Chateau B

Chateau C

Chateau D

Chateau E

My favorite is Chateau A with touches of Chateau C, D, & E!!!  Let me know which is your favorite??

Bye for now,
Hugs,