Here are some photographs I took on the 6th anniversary of my fathers passing... Just to show him that we didn't spend the whole day feeling blue... just some of it! I am currently revamping my blog as I has lost my connection with it and want to rejoin with the blogging world. Change is as good as a holiday... yes? xox
. 
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There you have it... the last few weeks stuffed into one post!
I hope to hear from you all soon!
xox Nic
~
This collage above is made up from images I 'borrowed' from all over These two photo collages below are what I am doing today. Besides watching 'So You Think You Can Dance Australia'. Christopher recorded the show from last night as we watched CSI & CSI Miami. All the clothes you see are from op shops. I never pay more than $5 for a piece that only needs minor altering or strap repositioning. I never pay more than $2 for a piece that needs major alterations. If a piece jumps out at me and I know it is vintage and special.... then alot of thought goes into what I would pay for it before I look at the tag. All of this is... of course... for Miss (I'm turning 9 on Wednesday) Isabella Rose.
Top Left - Green strapless - Belle wants the bow removed.
Top Right - Cotton and Satin top - too big.
Bottom Right - Hot pink top - too big.
Bottom Left - 3 Sparkly LBD's - too big.
So.. three of these need minor size adjustments.
Top Left - Black (sorry about photo) cotton skirt - Turn into a dress, with satin straps and belt. I just love the hemline.
Bottom Right - Scraps from three adult gypsy skirts. - My Aunts gave these to me and I will use them with the denim offcuts to make a couple of ruffle skirts.
Bottom Left - Two metres of each - The lavender is a light and whispy cotton, which will be turned into a dress and perhaps some pyjamas. The black & white will be turned into a dress, a winter skirt to wear with tights, and I'll keep the rest??
So.. some major alterations ahead.
This gorgeous couple is my Mum and her Beau 'Barry'.
They are sweethearts.
Awww!
Isn't she beautiful!
Yes she is!
I'm out of here... to go do lots of sewing!
Stay tuned for 9th Birthday celebration preparations.
I haven't done anything yet..... Aghhhhhh!
Love you lots, Nic xox
I have received many many comments and emails from alot of caring people over the past two weeks. I want you all to know how very thankyou I am to each and every one of you and hope that in this dark and tragic time we have united in friendship. Hopefully Rachael will open her blog again soon and you all can send her your love and light. She and Parker are constantly in our thoughts and I know that she reads my blog and what you have all written. If you have any private messages for her.. I will gladly pass them on promptly. As you could imagine... she will need all of our strength to get through this time. It will be a long struggle due to the impending court case... and this journey has only just begun.
The above and below photos were taken in 2006 at Rachaels and my joint Birthday party in January. harrison, Isabella & Parker were flushed from running around the backyard with their Daddys. Just look at those beautiful and happy kids. It was such a wonderful day. We will never forget those moments captured in time.
There will be a memorial service for all the bush fire victims in Melbourne at the Rod Laver Arena and in Brisbane at SouthBank this Sunday. This will be for anyone who wishes to pay their respects. We have been invited to attend the Brisbane event.. to place a photo and flowers.. but just the thought........I'm going to go and reprogram my brain into positive thinking and start some crafting. I was suppose to go through photos.... but I can't.... maybe tomorrow!
My love to you all, Nicole xox.
SCHULTZ. - Martin Carl (Marty) Died tragically as a result of the bushfires at Callignee on Saturday Feb. 7, 2009 Aged 33 years With his beloved dog Kelli Loved and loving son of Carl and Helen (dec.). Much loved stepson of Jenny. Loved and loving husband of Rachael and adored and loved Dad of Parker. Loving brother and brother-in- law to Chris and Nicole, Allyson and Glen. Stepbrother of Sonya, Mandy and Josh. Loved son-in- law of Peter and Colleen. Reunited with his Mum and Dar Funeral arrangements in later edition LATROBE VALLEY FUNERAL SERVICES TRARALGON (03) 5174-2258
This is me.
This is me at my first jazz dance concert.
This is me all dressed up to go to an under 18's disco.
I'm telling her this was your idea!
That was one washing pile that had a second run through the machine!
Here is some Christmas craftiness.
I honestly have'nt done that much crafting since November.Today has been an easy day of making lists, watching some television, making lamingtons, playing hairdressers, eating, resting and generally talking it easy whilst my body is still recovering.
xox
You guys have missed out on some serious living!
Where does one start?
Sometime in November we got our hands on tickets
to 'Australia's Funniest Home Videos Grand Final' show.
Below is a photo of Shelly Craft, the host.
This is the lovely Ms Tina Arena.
My gorgeous family.
We have been so very busy these last few months
I just have'nt had time to post on my blog,
let alone pick up a paintbrush!
Christmas was lovely.
It was the very first Christmas in our own home.
This is a cake carrot with cream cheese icing.
As I was driving the chickens into school this morning, I wondered why there were only a dozen cars in the parking lot, compered to the normal 100 or so. I was met by a flustered teacher who told me the school was closed indefinitely due to damaged buildings and debri covering the entire school ground. As I was driving away... I noticed huge trees ontop of buildings and windows smashed. I am starting to realise how lucky we were last night. We had a little flood at our back door, but that is quite normal, and there was no other damage except for the car. Which I must admit was my very own ridiculous idea. Silly girl!
Sooo...... thats me for now. I have to go wash and dry some clothes whilst the skies are dry (but not blue). Very weird Queensland summer weather. I wish you all health, wealth and happiness.... until next time.
xox
We met the 'Morning Crew'
Ate spooky food...
Got our tickets & VIP passes...
Boarded the 'Spooky Train'
(Can you see me?)
Met some new friends
(A Nepalese Princess)
Some more new friends...
Went on some rides...
And slept happily ever after!
"Once Upon A Time"
Harrison handed me an envelope last wednesday for a birthday party on the saturday of that weekend. That was nasty nice of them to give us heaps of notice!
Of course.. having made a deal with the devil to not purchase any kids birthday gifts this year.. I had to create a small masterpiece to satisfy a seven year old girl. Isabella most kindly offered to model for me. Oh my gosh... why didn't someone tell me my baby girl was getting so tall? I'm sure she was just six or four the other day! I gave her a swift telling off and told her to cut out the growth spurts and stop growing up. No money was harmed in the making of this bag. All supplies came from my stash.
Duck for huge ego!
I would dearly love to tell you that we saw said birthday girl at the local swimming pool the next day with her mother. Guess what the mother had in her hand and was putting her own purse into? My bag! My ego was pumped up good and proper. Mind you.. I have cut out another 10 bags ready for sewing up. My very own pattern of course. I did pinch the idea of the frill off a bag my S.i.l. whipped up for Belle a few years back. The flowers were an after thought.
The stamp making has had to back pedal again. We didn't go anywhere near the art & craft supplier the last week or so. I will be going next week. I will. I really will. The Australia quilt & craft expo is on this weekend but I will not be making an appearance as the last few I attended was a complete and utter let down. Yes, the bead stand was FANTASTIC but that was the only stand I spent more than a few minutes at. I can do without the loss of the entrance fee plus transport plus food & drink. My wallet is feeling poorly enough without adding those symptoms to the list.
These paintings below were whipped to start off a new section in my etsy shop. They were painted in water colour with an acrylic dusting on flat board canvas 3 mm thick. They measure 210 mm x 295 mm. They will be on sale in the dext few days.
Til next time... keep safe and well.xox Nicole
So that explains what I have been doing recently.:
Last Friday was Christopher's 39th Birthday.
This is where we went for his birthday.
It was awesome!
Happy Birthday Sweetheart.
This is where I went for his birthday.
Without him... lol
My Mum so very kindly
shared her tickets with me
and we had a blast.
This is where we hope to go tomorrow
In the Boss's car
If the rain has cleared up.
It's the annual kite festival at Coolum.
Which is about 1 hour north from here.
The festical is super fun and very bohemian.
There is fireworks, firedancers, bands, sand sculptors,
performers, food, crafts, swimming, kids activities,
sky divers, huge kites, races, prizes....
or you can sit on the beach and watch the full moon
rise over the horizon.
Start up your sunshine dances for us.
This is what I did before the hornet stung my hand.
I love these colours more than the last.
I will be selling some of it soon in my shop.
I want to try some teal, pumpkin and raspberry next.
I have some antique lace that I will be selling plain
and taking orders for required colours. Good idea?
I have not been doing much craft...
which is a real bummer...
because my hand was so sore after the hornet stung me.
It is feeling much better now though...
but I have been so busy doing other Mum stuff etc.
In future I will go back to normal blogging rules
and not promise to post, visit, sell or make anything
so I don't fail any deadlines.
.
I have put more earrings in the shop but that's all for now.
Mind you.... they are my favourites so far and nearly didn't make
it into the shop. Soooo pretty!
I was working on stamps but I didn't like the finished
product and will be ordering the proper materials
instead of cheating. lol
I wasn't really cheating, just using a type of foam, instead of vinyl.
I have about 100 designs drawn up and a few prototypes
but nothing I am willing to even give away as freebies.
Talk soon
xox Nicole
ps. Sorry about the double spacing and wasted space. Blame blogger!
That kept them busy for awhile.
Missing from bag.... but I bet Tanya won't let me count them....
So there you have it. I hope that is acceptable and that I haven't forgotten anything. I am now going to make my way over to Tanya's and see what she can produce. I should have bet on a box of her mangoes.... Oh well.
_________________________________________
Tanya said.....
"I concede defeat. There is no way I can beat walkie talkies, Uno cards, and BINOCULARS!!!! There is an addendum on my blog acknowledging that I couldn't match you for baggage contents.A box of fermented, fibrous, fruit-bat sampled mangoes can be on it's way to you - just say the word :) "
Nicole said.....
Ye Gads… I will share the win with you. Are you allowed to make additions at the last minute? Is that fair? Let it be known to said ‘world’ that I have two children to run around after. The binoculars are for when we go to footy training and I want to watch my boy (the seniors running around with no shirts). The walkie talkies are for a number of reasons.. like when we go to large parks and want to stay in contact with the kids. We can see them but can’t yell at them etc etc the walkie talkies allow me to yell at them lol. Lastly I must add that I usually carry around my husbands ’stuff’ as well cos his pants fall down when he carries it… or so he says. Hmmmm
Someone's following me!
BOO
Did we scare you?
Thats me on the left.
It was awfully terrifying but tremendously exciting.
We are planning to do another crazy adventure soon.
xox Nicole
___________________________________
Check this out
You may not know that I used to work in a child care centre. I was the centre's administrator or manager. I was also a child carer. I worked in many of the rooms and gradually got to know all the children and parents quite well. There were a few times when I unfortunately had to report incidents to 'family services' when I noticed that a child was not being taken care of properly or abused in some way, shape or form. I used to have to reprimand parents for actions that their children did.... like inappropriate language or touching. I once caught a little girl with her hands down a little boys shorts. She said it was what Mummy did to the men who came to visit. Just remember.... they watch us and learn how to live life from US.
The first few were great... as I am quite the motorbike enthusiast... but then when we got down to the next hour and then the next...
Things got a wee bit...
I got a wee bit...
impatient, bored, snippy, cranky...
I mean to say that it was Father's Day... and the kids were outside playing with their friends whilst I was stuck.. I mean.. lovingly sharing some time with my husband. I will know better next time I agree to something like that...
Much better!
GIVEAWAY
I told you last week that I was going to have a giveaway.
Well.. start your engines and away we go....
Here are their descriptions, going clockwise, starting from the top left.
Goodluck!
This is what I like to call.... not getting any spring cleaning done!
I was quite emotional that we missed out on our family tradition of watching the fireworks from Mt Cootha which overlooks our city.
My favourites are definitely the chandelier earrings.
I will be placing some of these pairs in my shop this week as well as a few more which are yet to be complete. I have to drill a few more holes and bend some more silver before they are ready. I want to start making a few more different things as well.... besides earrings.
I am off to nurse my poorly chickens (children). They have both been hit with a nasty bug going around. It strikes children with spiking temperatures and aching bodies. Not nice!
A special thankyou to my Mum... who has directed me in the care of my sickly family and calls me twice daily to send love and check on us.
My chest is finally clear of any pneumonia germs... though I have been laid up with the flu for the past three days. I am finally feeling like there is hope to leading a healthy life tonight and thought I'd squeeze in a post before I started feeling poorly again. Fingers crossed!
We popped out to a thrift shop or five (blushing) and found ourselves some wonderful bargains. I bought this potato and onion box for $4.50 and found the perfect job for it. I have been looking around for a toilet roll holder for months and didn't even think of this until I spotted it in the store.
While I wait for my new set of lino cutting tools to arrive... I whipped up some more sketches of future stamps. Just mucking about really.... laying some ideas onto paper etc. I really like some of them but others will need a bit of fine tuning. 
Not the proper way to spell Copyright but that will do for now. The sewing designs were inspired from Kali as she is quite crafty with the sewing machine. I am off to bed now to get some much needed rest to fight of a few more germs. We have a big weekend planned and I need to be healthy.
What an exhausting day!
Hmmmm
Not Good!
______________________________________
ps.. below is proof of life..
Not exactly art,
but proof I have been doodling,
never the less!
WoW
How time flies...
Enjoy the photos!
Just a wrinkled prune
My 1st Birthday.
Mr 2 with his favourite girl.Sissy
(Isabella)
I'm 3 hereIn my Kindy photo.
4 years old
...and the start of a Mother's Day tradition.
5 years old
Mother's Day again..
6 years old
Mother's Day 2008
With his favourite girl again.
Saturday was under 8's footy as usual.
There are only two more games left unti the season finishes.
We are planning all sorts of events to celebrate a good season.
Saturday afternoon saw us going for a long drive in the coutry
ending up at a playground of course.
Sunday was our football club's carnival.
The chickens had their first go in a dodgem car.
This sexy dude is Bernie "Gabba" Vegas
He the Brisbane Lions team mascot.
He gave us a bundle of free caps
and other free stuff.
Sunday afternoon took us in the direction
of our rose garden.
We decided we were sick of pulling out weeds and grass
and bought some 'green' weed matting.
As you can see.. it is not finished yet.
I have to finish pulling weeds
and pack on more mulch.
Monday saw me cutting rubber into stamps.
These are my very first ever stamps.
The rubber is not the recommended type
as it is more like an extremely condensed foam.
It cut ok and will be great for kids stamps.
I have found a local linoleum supplier that is
going to keep me stocked with free scraps.
After I have practised with kids designs
I can do some more intricate designs.
Today saw me in a thrift store.
I bought some romance novels ($4),
a basket ($2), a summer top ($4),
and this beauty below ($2).
Tomorrow will see me making paper!
I have an awesome tutorial and am extremely keen to give it a go.
I have been feeling poorly for quite awhile now
and finally hoofed it into the doctors.
Would you believe that I have pneumonia AGAIN!
This time he gave me a super duper dose of antibiotics
and anti-inflammatories.
I feel heaps better already.
Have an awesome day xox.
We went strawberry picking at a nearby farm on saturday.
We had footy in the morning and decided that we would go for a drive in the afternoon. We ended up at a farm which encourages the children to pick their own fruit and pat the animals.
We ended up with over one kilo of berries.
Sticky Meatballs with roast garlic and caramelised onion.
These are made from Dutch Salt Dough and are waiting to be painted.
They are easy to make and can be varnished to keep forever.
You can make just about anything you can dream up.
Dutch Salt Dough2 cups plain flour
half a cup of cooking salt
1 teaspoon of glycerine
1 cup of hot water
Put it all into a bowl and stir.
Use extra water or flour if needed.
You can colour the dough with food colouring.
Wrap in plastic when not using.
Bake in a low temp oven until hard.
This last process can take hours.
8 cups cooked popcorn
1/2 cup butter
1 cup of brown sugar
one quarted cup of golden syrup
1 teaspoon of vanilla
half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
In a saucepan on the stove, combine the butter, sugar and golden syrup.
Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and add the vanilla and bicarbonate of soda.
Pour your caramel over the popcorn, and mix it up with a wooden spoon.
Place the caramel corn in a thin layer on baking sheets,
and put in a low oven for 20 minutes so it dries out a bit.
Just like store bought.
Enjoy!
ps. I am told it last for awhile in a sealed container, but I would'nt know! lol
If I had another daughter I would have called her Annalise.
I have culled my favourite crafters list!
It was quite difficult.... but I did it.
This is a list of all the bloggers that I stalk on a regular basis...
...looking for inspiration and a good kick of enthusiam.
They are all extremely talented and gifted in their creative fields.
It used to be a good 100+ instead of the 27 it is today.
I am sure it will grow again by tomorrow.
Check out some craftilicious goodness for yourself.
Allsorts
Angrychicken
Annejulie
Annwood
Belladia
Blairpeter
CupcakesforClara
flossy-p
Futuregirl
heatherbailey
hopskipjump
mollychicken
Oldschoolacres
onegirl
Raspberry
Redfeltflower
Sewingstars
shimandson
StampingMathilda
Suzi Blu
Tania?
The Black Apple
Treefalldesign
Tsktsk
Turkeyfeathers
Wardi
Whileshenaps
Crocheted Hearts! 
I have my chair, thermos and hat ready to go.
Bring it on!
Feast One Hundred & Seventy Eight
Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of cereal?
Crunchy Nuts Clusters
Soup
When was the last time you purchased something for your home, what was it, and in which room did it go?
This morning I woke up at 5am to go to a church yard sale.... where I purchased a number of items including a little vase for which a candle will be placed inside. This vase will end up either in our front room or beside our bed. We lurve candles.... they save on electricity, which is great for the Earth, and provides soft and romantic lighting.
Salad
What is the funniest commercial you’ve ever seen?
I love the 'Hahn' beer ads.... which you can watch HERE.
Main Course
Make up a name for a company by using a spice and an animal (example: Cinnamon Monkey).
Lemon Grass Giraffe ???
Dessert
Fill in the blank: I haven’t ______ since ______.
I haven't skinny dipped since 1991. lol
These photos were taken yesterday... this area is what you first see when you come inside our front door. I change things around quite regular... but this will stay the same for awhile as I am quite happy with the outcome. The door in the reflection opens into our master bedroom... the little blackboard is on the wall t0 the left of the front door when coming into the home. To the left of the mirror is a hall way leading into the rest of the home. To the right of the mirror is our front loungeroom or entertainment room which lives our big screen television (100 plus cms). More photos next time.... maybe lol. My style is what I call 'Hemmingway'..... dark wood and lots of white and a sprinkling of green. I love greenery and the freshness of white. Pressed (don't laugh Mum) linens and lace.... crystal and silverware.... lots and lots of light shining in through the windows. I lurve flowers too.... and have a few vases of them scattered here and there.... though I should mention that I have gone against the grain and gone with silk. I like my roses, lavender, gardenias, geisha and jasmine etc etc to stay in the garden. Don't get me wrong... a nice bunch of roses from the garden will appear when visitors are due... but I like the look of a plump rose bush. My favourite colour is raspberry red.... and this you will not yet find in our home as I can't quite figure out where it will look best. Probably in the kitchen.... but you will have to wait and see. I have started painting murals on the walls too.... but am not ready to reveal any secrets yet. Wait til you see the bathroom!
This beautiful couple is my very own Mum and her man Barry. It was taken on new years eve just gone, which also happened to be Barry's birthday. As you can see..... they are very much in love. 
Above is a watercolour done at the end of the school year.... December 2007!
I have been doing bits and pieces since then but did'nt have a proper camera to take photos with as mine was stolen...... along with my laptop. But thanks to the magic of insurance, I have since replaced both items, and life resumes itself with a little joyful kick.
I hope all your Christmas' and New Years celebrations were spectacular.
We spent our Christmas with my Mother, Grandmother and other much loved family and friends. New Years eve was celebrated with my best friend Cherie and her son Tristan. We were very lucky to witness live fireworks going off right in front of our home. One of our neighbours (who shall remain nameless due to the breaking of laws with fireworks) invited us to share in the fun (very safely I must insist) and for about 20 minutes..... the boys ran back and forth lighting them and cleaning up debri. It was extremely loud but oh so much fun.
As the monsoon has set in we had to cancel any holiday camping trips that were planned and rely on our imaginations and quick thinking to come up with exciting new plans.
School resumes a week from today and thats when my life is back on track with the painting, glueing, sewing, cutting, stitching, drawing and all those other marvelous things I do when I am in a creating frenzy. Hi ho hi ho it's back to work I go.
This past weeked proved to be ......... Extreme!
We went on a bushwalk that lasted for days ... lol
Actually it was about 4 km's or so in total
I think..... not sure!
We went to visit a waterfall and gorgeous swimming hole plopped in the middle of one of our many local rainforests here in sunny Queensland. Christopher Rooster and Harrison Chicken went for a swim in the delicous water whilst the rest of us watched and bathed ourselved with refreshing cloths dipped into the icy water. We sat and watched teenagers attempting to commit suicide by diving off the nearby rock cliffs. I now know why there is a helicopter landing pad stuck in the middle of the wilderness. You can't see the bottom of the water and the waterhole is surrounded by large rocks and boulders. Idiots!
I captured a few images for you.
That man is my very own Christopher Rooster.
Yesterday morning I discovered a tick in Harrisons hair and rushed him to the local hospital to get it removed. The ticks body was removed but the tip of the head is still lodged into his scalp. The little bugger would'nt release it's grip when it was told to. Harry is just fine and I am watching him like a hawk for signs of infection and such..... I was told that it should pop out in a day or two. It sure scared the heck out of me though!
Thats all for now my friends.
I apologise for the lengths in between blogging.
xox Nic
I hope you are all well.
Talk soon.
xox
The second is a dog.
I have been making hot air balloons today.They will be for sale in my etsy shop as well...... when I have them finished.
A couple of paintings and other bits and pieces as well.
Hopefully I will have a few things in my shop by friday and will be open for business.
Yay!
We stayed at a camp gound just north of the town of Ballina.
It was a lovely town.... lots to see, lots to buy.... but just your average seaside town. I mean that in the nicest possible way. There are lots of places to eat, shop and play.We live just north of Brisbane in Queensland (near Flossy). Brisbane is north, following the coastline, from where we were. You have to drive through the Gold Coast to get there.
Here is our camp site.
The tent above is ours. The tent in the background below is Cherie's.
Behind where I am taking the photo, is our food tent, or 'fly' tent. You can see a little bit of it in the photo below. In this part of Australia, you need some protection from the flying insects...... so we have a special tent just for storing our food and sometimes we eat in there if the mozzies are out and about.
My man.... what a hunk-a-spunk!
The 'view' from my 'regular' position on the beach.
This is the road coming down from the Byron Bay lighthouse.
We spent one whole day there siteseeing and ate 'brunch' at a wonderful cafe overlooking the beach. I had apple and cinnamon pancakes with raspberry and maple sauce. Sigh!
Photo below is not mine (tourist site).
The photo below is of my bounty.
There were thousands of shells around the rocks at low tide.
The camping ground was practically on the beach.
There was a point of rock called 'flat rock' and beach either side.
You could walk over the rocks and explore the rock pools.
It was magical.
We spent our days usually on the beach. We would either collect shells, paddle in the water, or read our trashy novels lol. I took my knitting but it did'nt get to see daylight. The kids got to 'boogie' board or body surf..... all day long. Isabella is convinced that she wants to become a pro surfer.... I can just imagine her doing that too. The kids played around the camp site when we were there.... there were other kids around us, so they had 'friends'. We cooked all our food together and bbq'd to our hearts content. I even baked ribs on the camp fire.... yum! We had a bad night though.... when the smoke from the fire blew straight through our eating area and our food went cold as we tried to fix it. I got really cranky but learnt a valuable lesson.
Most nights we would sit around the fire and chat the night away. We have half of a galvanised metal drum that we use for a fire pit. Chris is going to make a grill plate to put over it for cooking. The chickens would toast marshmallows and tell scary stories.
This would have to be the worst photo of me ever.....
but I wanted you to see my angel.
It tok about one minute in my arms,
before Harrison was fast asleep,
and it was the best cuddle of my life.
xox Nic
ps... more crafty photos next time.
This is what I came up with...
What do you think?
It didn't get as much Oooohinh and Ahhhing as I'd hoped, but it was greatly appreciated anyway. I think my ego needs a good talking to. lol
Anyway, I'll be back in the next couple of days and I'll have pictures of our recent camping trip and of a fairy I found at the bottom of our garden the other day.
xox Nic
Told you I'd be back.... though it is a flying visit as I'm off to Warwick this morning to catch up with Mum and Grandma. It is Mums birthday next Tuesday and then Grandma's birthday the week after. Christopher and I are taking the chickens on a week long camping holiday and will be away for Grandma's birthday.
Below is a photo of some family friends and relatives standing with Grandma at 'Queen Mary' falls. It is a beautiful waterfall in the mountains near where Mum lives. Mum is taking the photo and they had just sprinkled Poppy's ashes into the lush greenery below. He would be very pleased with this.
This is my best friend Cherie with her brand new Puppy 'Max'. He is a Shitzu X maltese and is nine weeks old in this picture. She was'nt going to get him because they had just lost a pup last week but I talked her into it. They are in puppy love. Mum and pup are doing extremely well.
This is one of the gifts I am giving Mum for her birthday. They are three pottery frames from a thrift shop which I thought have great potential. I repainted the timber and finished them with a clear varnish. I am very pleased with the outcome and hope she will be too.
You may recognise this next picture. I have repainted over three paintings of mine. I used a three dimensional paint which looks like porcelain when dry. I have shown you the complete process to prove how easy it is... and it may inspire one of you to do something similar. These paintings are for my Grandma. She has dark coloured paint on her bedroom walls, so I thought this light colour should look great, and I'm extremely pleased with the finished effect. It looks alot like stone tablets or fine porcelain tiles etc. Very pleased!
Can you believe......
I have been up to heaps more.... but I'll save it for another time.
xox Nic
Goodness, it has been awhile since we last caught up.... has'nt it? I have been up to my armpits in life. It has been rather refreshing to see the fruits of our hardwork appearing before our very eyes. We have had so much on our 'to do' lists that everything was pushed to one side...... this includes all things blogger. I won't fetch too far back in history to update you on our comings and goings..... as my mind is full of 'the sickness' spreading around suburbia of late. Yes, I have a cold..... hopefully not for too much longer as it is making me into the biggest grump machine of all time. Thankfully it is not the influenza A virus which is killing people.... yes, you heard right. There is a strand of the flu bug going around which is fatal. Someone hand me four face masks please. We have have a few fatalities in our city alone. A bit scary!
We have been doing some work on our gardens and inside our home. I got sick of seeing everyone else's homes looking spiffy and decided to reprioritise our lives and get the important stuff done. We have been organising our lives as well. It is most enjoyable and exciting. Sort of like going on a holiday.... and coming back with a spring in your step.
Our male chicken 'Harrison' turned 6 while you were away and we threw a pirate party for all his mates. There were a few away due to the 'sickness' going around, therefore only 20 or so turned up....... although a good time was had by all. We laughed, played, ate and had an excellent time. Thanks to my two Aunts and my best friend who helped out on the day. I could'nt have done it without them. Below are a few of the photos I took on the day.
I thank everyone who checked in on me from time to time to see how I was. I apologise for my absence but I have not had the inclination to enter the blogger world. I guess I have had a wee holiday from it all. This coming Monday is my Poppy's birthday. We were supposed to go with my Mum and Grandma to spread his ashes.... but we are too sick to do so.
Don't get me wrong. I'd really like to go and say my final goodbye to this man that I adored. It would be like letting a cage full of butterflies out into the freedom of the skies..... a way to release pent up emotions, if you like. I'd like to go..... but we are too sick. It is so hard sometimes to just let my emotions out..... I keep checking to see who is around me watching me and judging me. It is a shame. I have so much built up inside. But, enough of that, it is depressing.
Belated Birthday wishes to Kali, one of my sweetest friends. I am truly sorry that I missed your Birthday.... and anyone else that I forgot. I am also sorry to all my blogging friends for not 'being there' for you all. I hope you understand that I needed 'time out' to heal.
All my love, Nicole xox.
Last Sunday saw us attending 'Finding Nemo' on ice. I have added a few photos though most are out of focus as they were taken on my mobile phone. We had a great night. We were in the VIP section and felt quite special. It was amazing! The fairyfloss was $10 and flown in from the USA lol. There must have been four times the usual amount in that bag and Harry ate the whole lot.
Women should get their very own public holiday once a month. All sanitary items are free and plentiful. Every house is provided with sanitary bins that get emptied by the council.
Children do not interrupt us when we are talking to another person. Children are taught how to rub their mothers feet in school.
The council will provide me with a free water tank free of charge to cope with the level five water restrictions they have in place and for which I cannot afford the added extra expense.
Men are not allowed to use the ensuite toilet nor urinate in the shower, must replace the toilet paper when the roll is emptied and PUT THE SEAT DOWN.
Child care is tax deductable as is the bus which will pick them up and bring them back home again to their loving Mothers. All child care facilities provide free meals, nappies and entertainment.
Shoes, clothes and toiletries are sold on prescription. Beauty salons take medicare cards.
Chocolate and flowers are mysteriously delivered to our front door steps every day. Gym memberships are free and have attendents who make us feel all giddy, giggly and girlish. These attendents will look at us like we are aphrodite and tell us how much they want us. I did say this way 'my' list.....
Men are not allowed to say the word "NO" to women. Men take their children out for a few hours every weekend. Men are not allowed to wear socks in bed, nor know what the words 'dutch oven' mean. Men are not allowed to be honest about their wives cooking.
Mothers Day lasts for a week.
Christmas is redefined for the holiday it really is and present giving is kept to a $20 minimum for ALL children and adults. Men must help with the washing up after Christmas dinner. Men must sing Christmas carols with the family on the eve of this special day.
Men must not comment on the dust bunnies he notices around the home. Men will remember to empty out their pockets before putting their clothes in the dirty clothes basket. Men will remove their sock before they get home and put fresh ones on every day. Men will wear their wives favourite after shave only around their wives. Men will cook an actual meal once a week on the bbq with salad and fresh bread.
Drinks with the mates down the pub means a maximum of two beers no more than twice a week and agreeing to 'take the kids of her hands' when he gets home.
~
I have to stop myself there as I fear there is no end to my list lol.
xox Nic
I adore accoustic guitar but don't have a favourite.
'A Day Without Rain' by Enya, on the piano.
I am back after taking some time out for the planning and preparation of Poppy's funeral.
I honestly have'nt felt like visiting blogs etc. I apologise but my heart has been feeling heavy. Thankyou to all who have kept in contact with me via commenting and emails etc. You have all been so very kind and made me feel that I am not alone. Thankyou for your beautiful and kind words. I thankyou all for your friendships and how you have given your hearts to me so freely.
I would like to mention that besides all my online friends, I also have my closest friends Cherie and Melissa by my side. They both live nearby and can come to me in minutes if need be..... just to let you know. I am not one to express myself orally, but prefer the use of the keyboard, to open myself up and share my feelings. It is comforting to that you are all there... whether it be by email or messenger.... it is very comforting to me.
Here are some words from a letter I sent out to all my closest online friends.
It's difficult to write down my feelings and emotions these days.....
God has taken too many loved one's from my family and I am trying my best to understand why and accept that this happens. I guess that I am lucky to have the family I have left and should be ever grateful for that. There are others who have much less than I and I need reminding of this.
The funeral went very well. I think that Poppy would have been very pleased with what we did. We called it a celebration and reminded friends and family of all the good times and qualities he shared with us. I spent hours writing the eulogy with Chris as I wanted him to be proud of us. Christopher read out most of it. Mum read a personal letter whilst I read two verses. We had a handful of guest speakers as well. We wanted it to be personal and low key due to his requests. We will scatter his ashes around the 20th August.... his birthday. There will be another service on 1st July in Victoria for all the friends and family down that way. There will also be a memorial at a later date for the Masonic Lodge. He was a well respected man and will be greatly missed.
Christopher and I are thinking about selling our house and renting as it will put us in a better place financially. We will end up nearly doubling our money from what we bought the house for. After repaying the mortgage, we will be putting a nest egg away for another mortgage, or buying Mum and Grandma's share's of their house. We will either rent around where we are or move to Warwick (Mum's town) and look after my Grandmother. Christopher wants to move to Warwick and become a truck driver. He says it is because he needs a change and more income... but I think it is because he likes having family nearby and being apart of a community, which we will be in Warwick. Mum has found herself a new man and things are looking up for her. He has'nt asked her to... but we think they will end up sharing their lives together. He works at a big mine quite a distance away and has two houses. He comes home for a few days every month and Mum reckons that is a fantastic arangement lol. He is a sweetheart and definitely not someone looking for a free ride compared to the last few. I can understand her wanting to be loved again and I hope this works out for her. It will mean that I have to take over caring for Grandma but I see that as a privelege not a burden. All she has to do is give us 'the nod' and we will be there.
Rooster and I have been spending alot of time with the chickens doing wonderful things like kite flying, fishing, star gazing, bush walks and picnics etc. We love the outdoors and hope to add to our kite collection (we have three). Rooster just bought (cheap on ebay) a stunt/trick kite to learn how to do kite acrobatics. Should be fun to see him getting dragged along the beach lol. In the photos above, they are with their friend 'Tristan', at a nearby beach. There was no wind on this day, so the chickens had to run up and down the beach, and promptly fell asleep in the car due to exhaustion lol.
This Sunday afternoon, we will be going to see 'Disney On Ice Presents Finding Nemo'. We are very excited as this will be our first 'on ice'. We have been to a few large scale concerts and productions but this will be the first time we have front row seats. I mean, rink side seats lol. We will be taking a thermos of hot chocolate I think.
To my dearest blogger friends,
Tomorrow we are heading back to Warwick to prepare for Poppy's funeral on Friday. Christopher and I wrote the Eulogy these past few days with Mum and Grandma editing each copy that was sent to them. We each have a little something to say and have all agreed to keep the mood light and uplifting. I cannot predict how the day will go, but I am sure that if we stick together, we will be fine. We have back up readers just in case we cannot manage due to emotions.
I will give you a brief idea of what happened last Monday though I will be leaving quite alot out as there is a possibility of a coroners inquest and police investigation.
The week before last, Poppy had surgery done on his neck to remove another cancer, on the opposite side to the last one. He came out of surgery fine, and the doctor told him that they were successful in removing the cancer, and he could look forward to another three or so years of healthy living. After a few days in hospital, he was discharged, and allowed to come home. After a few more days, it was decided that Poppy was'nt healing as he should, and he was taken to the local hospital to get checked over. Poppy was admitted immediately. Over the course of the day, the swelling increased, and it became more difficult for him to breathe. Later that night, we received a phone call, telling us that he was deteriorating. At about 1am, another phone came telling us that he needed to be transferred to a bigger hospital. Mum and Grandma set out to meet the ambulance. Unfortunately he did'nt make the trip. It was not quick and certainly not pain free. That is all I will tell you.
It was quite a shock being told one day that your Grandfather has many years left in him, and then quite the opposite happening, just days after. As you could imagine, I went into shock, and I still don't think it has completely sunk in. I have been blessed with a sense of calmness.
It is heartbreaking to see his best friend, our son, with a broken heart. Christopher and I tried to start talking to him again last night about what he would see when he walked into the chapel. Poppy would be in his wooden chariot, waiting to go to heaven, after we all said our goodbyes. He started to cry and cover his ears. It will be difficult on Friday. Isabella is doing great, but every now and then comes out with excuses for not doing things, using Poppy as her alibi. I am too sad that Poppy has gone to clean my room. lol I try hard not to laugh and explain that Poppy would'nt like her saying that. "Poppy wants her to smile and clean her room...... " trying to hide my giggle. I can play that game too. She asked me to make her some extra afternoon tea yesterday...... so you can guess what I said...... "I'm too sad that Poppy is gone to make extra food" Poppy would be in hysterics at that, I can just see him now.
So anyway, I would to extend a huge thankyou to everyone who has left a comment or emailed me or sent a card. It meant the world to me and I thankyou all. It has been good to talk to people about what has happened and I am blessed to have so many beautiful blogger friends.
I will go now as I have nothing else to say. I will wait until next week to visit your blogs, and in the meantime, please know that I am thinking of you all.
With all my love, Nicole xox.
This is part of our backyard. We are on a quarter on an acreage and have a generous backyard. At the moment we are in the midst of a drought and our lawn looks like a toad's breakfast. This weekend I will be dancing around in my spikey turf shoes to aerate the soil and help it thrive. 
This is one of my Orchids. They are one of my favourite flowers.
This is my beautiful Jack. He is a Jack Russell. He is about two and a half. 
This photo is to show my Mum that I do know how to hem curtains...lol
This bookshelf is in my kitchen/eating room. It is filled with jars of ingredients for baking and cooking. I use alot of baking ingredients and this is the easiest way (and nicest) for me to store them all. Some have labels but I know what the difference is between others. 
A bit of a catch up. We are all well again. This weekend is a long weekend and when I know what we are doing, I will let you know, but apart from that..... nothing special is planned. We may go camping or fishing, who knows, especially if this rain keeps up.
My computer is up to date again but I still have alot of files to beg, borrow and steal. My music collection is updated and modernised, thanks to MMM and JJJ, our favourite radio stations. I also log onto their web sites and get the latest top 100 songs and albums. I think I have about 11 gig of music now. The best thing of all is that there is no lame music in my collection anymore. I should mention that this is all done above board.
I am off to go pack up some ebay parcels ready for posting in the morning.
So until next time..... xox Nic
Peggy, congrats on the birth of Diva's kids.
Robyn, deepest sympathies about Oscar.
Gina, well done with your webcam.
MsRobyn, well... she knows what I'm thinking xox
Hope I have'nt missed anyone.
And a foot note.....
Poppy had another surgery yesterday to remove another cancer on the other side of his neck. He is fine and they got it all. He is a tough old bugger!
Isabella and I have had nasty colds this past weekend and unfortunately the bugs have settled down in our chests for the cooler nights. We get chest infections quite easily and I have to watch Isabella closely as she has had pnuemonia twice already.
We have been doing alot of fishing lately. Nearly every weekend actually. We go to a place called Coochin Creek. It is really weird as you have to take a dirt road through the state forest which then turns to bitumen about 15 minutes up the road. There are a handful of houses there as well..... which you'd never know about unless someone told you or you got adventurous as we did and decided to have a look one day. We don't catch alot but have heard others tell us tales of big catches. Hmmmm I wonder whether they are exaggerating or we just cannot catch them?
I have been trying to clean out alot of the clutter that is eating our house. We have two rooms where all the clutter migrates to. The garage has been converted to a spare room where all the lost souls of things 'not in use' go to die. It is carpeted and has two beds in it. It has pretty curtains for guests privacy.... but nothing covering the garage door, which could be off putting. I am thinking about putting the two single beds in Isabella's and Harrison's room's and putting all the kids toys in the garage. This way, if we have visitors they will be inside, and the kids can bunk together. Then all the kids toys and books etc can be in the carpeted garage and altogether for playtime.
I have been op-shopping for bargains. I'd post some photos but I have lost them all. I bought a pudding steamer so I can make christmas puddings and syrup puddings etc. I have wanted one for years but they were too expensive. I also found heaps of childrens books, some vintage sewing bits and pieces, a handbag and some other books.
Harrison's class have a nursery rhyme concert coming up and Harrison will be The Grand Olde Duke of York. I have to make him a Duke's hat and accessories this week so he looks spiffy.
I have been spending every piece of my spare time knitting my Mum's scarf. This may sound pretty trivial to some of you, but with my hectic life, it is a grand feat to me.
I have been designing some doggie clothes for Jack. I will start sewing them this weekend hopefully. They will mostly be polar fleece for warmth.
We had a chocolate drive this past week as well. We managed to collect over $200 for our school which is pretty excellent. Many thanks go to the hungry mechanics, service team and sales team at Nissan lol. We only ate two boxes out of about 60!
A big congratulations to Miss Diva at Hidden Haven for giving birth to her beautiful new baby kids. Well done Peggy and Aunty Robyn.
If anyone has had any experience with cats.... please visit Gina to help her with her cat problem.
I really have'nt had time to do any craft work. I made a handbag for my Mum in law for Mothers Day but forgot to take photos of it. I have hundreds of ideas and works in progress but won't touch any of them until I get this scarf finished.
I have been volunteering at the school alot, especially in Harrison's class, as I have been spending alot of time in Isabella's class lately. He seems to 'play up' alot when I am in the classromm and so I have to stagger my visits to suit his moods. Yesterday he started crying when I was paying attention to his classmates instead of him.
I have been flat out getting this computer back to normal. I have also realised that I lost all my business style sheets and design sets.... all my craft files and idea folders.... and all my interent favourites. Bugger! This post has been put away and taken out about half a dozen times. I am so tired and am now going to have a lay down. So with that.... I bid you a farewell until next time.
This photo is of the five chickens that Cherie and I had to usher around the zoo. Cherie is a good friend of mine and Mum of Tristan at rear of croc. The croc is not real.
This photo is of a croc handler feeding a salt water croc.
That was held in the Crocasium (croc-a-see-um).
It is where all the main events are held.
This photo was taken at the gates of Tiger land. I was a good Mum.... I bought the five chickens all a keyring of Steve each. One of the chickens lost theirs and Isabella gave hers to the clumsy little duck. I bought Harrison and Isabella some other goodies too.
This photo was taken by Chris on a mobile phone and shows Harrison standing next to rugby league legend Wally Lewis.
This is one of our favourite fishing spots. I think I have shown you this one before of Christopher sitting on the bridge..... not sure. The sand flats are what is surrounding the bridge at low tide. The bridge is unused and is next to the used bridge. There is a channel running under one part of the too long to walk across bridge and we sometimes cannot get a spot and have to fish in the shallows. This of course ends up in dozens of toad fish and cat fish being caught and husband throwing tantrums. We have another favourite spot but since we have'nt caught a fish there in awhile.... hubby is giving it a rest and searching for other places. We get beeps from car horns sometimes and the kids enjoys waving and yelling hello at the passing motorists. I just tilt my hat down a little further and act inconspicuous.... lol
This is my famous home made pizza. I have become quite the expert at bread, pasta and pizza making and enjoy eating the end result. The kids love putting their own toppings on their pizza and our neighbour loves getting the spare focaccia or two.
These are some of the eighty cupcakes I had to make for a 40th Birthday Party.They were half chocolate and half vanilla with butter icing on top.
I had three spare, one of which I gave to my next door neighbour Wendy, and the other two went to my chickens of course. My fellow school mums were not impressed that I showed up cupcake-less though. I will bake some more especially for them... lol
This is the wedding cake I finished this morning,
set up and ready to be cut into pieces.
Aaaaaaaaaaagh!
They are chocolate mud cakes with royal icing and hand made sugar flowers.
There are twentyone roses on and around that cake painstakingly made by me.
We have a concert to go to tomorrow night at our local show grounds. It is a huge event for our shire which attracts all of our city. It is a county music weekend which holds hundreds of different events over the long weekend. We are going to a music muster with fireworks, bon fires, bands, food and drink, and heaps more. Should be great. All four of us have a strong appreciation for any music which gets the toes tapping.Sorry about the delay, but we went away for Easter, and only got back yesterday. I did'nt want to blog until I knew what the test results were. They are all inconclusive to the problem. I am right back where I started from. The blood tests that were back were normal and the smear was normal too. I am confident that this means no cancer nor abnormalities.... in fact, I am sure that the result will be that it is just one of those things. I have another appointment on Friday which will lead to a referral to a Gyn specialist. I did'nt want to post this on my blog due to the 'big deal' it became.... but there are those of you who I think would want to know. There is no 'poor me' in my vocabulary.
Again, I cannot stress any further that I am in hardly any pain, and the only emotion seeping out of my brain is frustration due to the bloody inconvenience of it all. I thank you all so very very much for all the advice and good wishes. There's nothing like being held up by the caring words of others to keep you on a high. Excellent!
Below are some old photos from when I started learning how to decorate cakes. They are all done with butter cream on sponge. The top cake is about three feet square.... The middle cake is about two feet across.... and the bottom two cakes are about six feet by three feet. I won prizes for all of those cakes, which included trophies and ribbons. I ended up winning 32 trophies and 42 ribbons in those days. I still write to my old boss as she and I had quite a bond.
I have a huge day planned tomorrow and hope to fit in some crafting and blog surfing in the afternoon or evening.... so watch out, here I come. I have about a dozen items to put on ebay and heaps of tidying up. Mum gave me alot of things on the weekend that I need to find homes for. She also gave me some of my Dad's things to treasure..... and with all my heart, I will.
It was the birthday of a little friend of ours, 
This is one of my Mum's favourite ways to cook chicken. You rub olive oil and garlic into the seasoned chicken skin and then spinkle heaps of paprika all over. Cook as per a regular roast chicken. Yum. The yellow tinged chook is organically corn fed. The children and I have stomach conditions and need to limit our intake of wheat and gluten products. The other two chooks are regular type chooks. I try to make gluten free meals every other day to give our tummies a rest.
On this past Saturday we took a pleasant walk through the Mary Cairncross rainforest walk up at Maleny. It is a man made path through natural rainforest. There are board walks and oak benchs along the sign posted walk. It was so lovely and quiet. You walk through an information centre and give a donation before stepping into the magical scenery. It is one of the things I love about living in Queensland. The diversity of the land and scenery. The tropical to the desert. It took us a total of 45 minutes to do the biggest walk (there are three).
This is an order I completed yesterday. I was extremely pleased with myself as I have finally perfected my buttercream recipe. For any Aussie's.... that is mock cream but with a teeny weenie yellow tint due to butter in the recipe. It is called 'American Buttercream' and according to Harry chicken..... is roolly yommy (mouth full of cake). This cake feeds about 30 or so kids at a party.... sometimes more depending on who is cutting it into slices. I ran out of sugar flowers and had to hand make cream roses. I don't usually do this while the weather is still warm as they tend to droop a little and loose their definition but I took a chance. Anyway, hope you enjoy the photos, and have a brilliant Saturday. xix Nicole
So all we have to do tomorrow is spray a phenyl mixture around the perimeter of the house and in the ENTIRE yard and spray an insecticide around the perimeter of all the rooms in the house.
Want to come help? You live 'how far' away? Thats not a problem... I know a friend who has a friend who...... Oh well, I tried.
Above is what happens when you have a family of Gecko's living in your home and you let 6 insecticide bombs off all at once. They scamper, run and hide for some fresh air. 
Above is what happens when your children start to think 'Hey, my Mama's a cake decorator and I'm hungry.... Hmmmmm'. You (and the neighbours) end up with 3 dozen candy pink cupcakes. Nice one Mum!
Above is one of the four knitting books I bought for $3.00 each from spotlight. I am pretty impressed myself. This book is my favourite as it has some gorgeous 'little' tops and funky cardigans. Very Nice Nicole.... Very Nice! I also bought 3 cross stitch patterns for my Melbournite cross stitch pal and will pop them in the post on Monday. Don't sweat it "you know who you are" they were only $2.00 each. Bargain!
I can hear my sewing machine calling me.... or is it my knitting needles? Maybe it's that lump of clay over there on the shelf..... no, hang on, it's definitely my paint brushes lol. Take care xox.
This is a Polar Bear requested by Isabella's (boy) friend "Jack". He and his sister Courtney live around the corner and frequent our home often. He brought over his latest library books and asked if I'd 'do some art' for him. No, they are not 'going together', they are great friends. The paper is from one of my many sketch books and drawn with pencil. 
This picture below is of my lunch yesterday. It is my wonderful lemon and lime chicken with garlic rice. I have been asked for this recipe a few times now as it is just the yummiest Summertime recipe to cook on the barbecue is tastes so refreshing and zingy. I tried to imitate the Nando's style chicken as I lurve it. I could'nt find anything similar in the way of marinades... so I made my own!
Nicole's Lemon & Lime Chicken
About 4-5 chicken breasts
2 heaped teaspoons of crushed garlic
2 heaped teaspoons of chopped lemon grass
2 heaped teaspoons of chopped coriander
Rind of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
Rind of 2 limes
Juice of 2 limes
Pepper & Salt
1 chilli deseeded and chopped finely
Butterfly chicken and put into marinading dish. Put all the above ingredients over the chicken and rub into the meat very well. Leave for a minimum of 1 hour. Remember that the acid in the citrus fruits will start to cook the meat, so don't leave it over night, or the meat will be tough.
I normally rinse the chicken slightly to remove the lemon grass as it is'nt pleasant to eat uncooked. Cook on a very hot grill and be sure to char it slightly for extra flavour. Garnish the chicken with coriander and serve with sourcream and chives.
Nicole's Garlic Rice
2 cups of Jasmine rice, cooked.
50g butter
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon chopped chives
Half cup of finely grated parmesan cheese
Pepper & salt
Put it all in with the rice and stir until well combined.
ENJOY!
I am still really tired as Christopher rooster and I both have a virus that has us running to the littlest room frequently. Yes, I can see a pattern forming and am quite aware that drastic measures need to be taken to get our health back up to scratch before the winter sets in. We are eating lots of good food and I have jars of vitamins lined up on the kitchen benchtop. Ms*R has been giving me lots of good advice and my Mum is always guiding me (telling me off lol) in the right direction. If I don't do something now... she may come for a lengthy visit and "clean" my home. That usually means a few rubbish tip deliveries..... I'm getting scared!
I'm painting the last of the Bondi beach boxes today and will take a photo and show you later. I will also be doing some scrapbooking with the kids for their Grandparents. I think I will take a Nanna nap too before deciding to add to the list. See, I do listen to you all! xox Nic
I am here under duress. I have too much to do and not enough time to do it all in. My art & craft is suffering.... there has been no knitting.... and do not even start with me about the etsy site. I have been reorganising the house, room by room, and getting rid of alot of clutter. I have been seeing clients (brides etc) and getting my paperwork organised. I have a list a mile long that I need to complete by the weeks end and Harrison chicken has come down with a bug similar to chicken pox and will be off school until sometime next week. Isabella chicken is all better now and back at school after suffering through a nasty chest infection. Christopher rooster comes home tired and cranky as
