Christmas dining...

I thought i would share some pics
of the dining room
all ready for Christmas...
the tree is huge and i often think
if we ever left the pub i wouldn't be able to fit
it into a normal house...

we have lots of royal stuff around
and love collecting more to put up...
it makes a good talking point...

I hand painted the royal names around the second year
we were here and they are all in order
and it took me quite a long time to finish...

I first printed the lettering out from the computer
then positioned them around
and placed carbon paper underneath,
then traced over all the lettering...
once they we all traced i had a very fine "folk art"
brush and hand painted the lettering...
it amazes me now that i did it, i certainly wasn't sewing
anything at that point...
but people do comment on it and seem to like
looking at all the names...
we also have a very large framed poster that a friend
brought back from England that has
all the royal lineages on...i catch quite a lot looking at that...
and find i need to keep up with "royal affairs" to

to answer there questions...
but it's all fun...

Fit for santa...

After adding a bit of Christmas cheer
the mantle piece is almost fit for santa...

I made these stars last year
and just used scraps of matching material
and felt backing
i very roughly sewed around the edge
and added a bit of stuffing...
cute little star buttons hold it all together...

What to do...

What to do with a fireplace
that's seem better days?grad a couple of sample pots
before you go to work
and when you get home
turn the blow heater on and spruce it up

A work in progress...

love sample pots!!!
colour "red rum" by taubmans
by the way i serve quite a lot of rum
and I'm sure if they ever made a red rum
the colour would not look even close to this...

"my shadow"

We are wrapping up our year for home schooling...
in only a very short time doing it
"my shadow" can now read a book to himself
and is doing so well...
we don't have any stress and tears...
and i think the weight off his shoulders has now
lifted and he can actually learn things and they are sinking in...
we have spent the whole of his school life with
an amazing amount of anxiety, sickness, tears and more
and i kick myself all the time that we didn't do it sooner...
"my shadow" has been sick since really i suppose
before he was born and life can hand out hefty blows
but it is always so upsetting when there babies...
over the 11 years or so we have seen
and meet wonderful parents and children from all walks of life
and spent far to much time in hospitals
and as Christmas approaches i remember them all with fondness,
and wonder how there all doing...
and hope they are all doing as well as "my shadow"
our little guy turns 12 at Christmas
and i know that is a wonderful miracle
that we all only dreamed of coming truethis is a photo of me and him when we could take him home
unfortunately we had to take him back again
but it is a lovely shot because he has no tubes sticking out of his nose
we had to tube feed for 6months after that shot was taken
and so there are not many shots without it...
it will take me a bit to really go into it all
but i feel that there are still so many families
out there still going though it all
that it is hard for me to pretend it didn't all happen
and still isn't...

"our wonderful little guy"
was born with complex congenital heart disease
and has four open heart surgeries and so much other stuff
that i really choose not to remember...

All i can say is i love Christmas day as it means
"my shadow" is another year older
and he is with us...

Kings...

After a wonderful start to the week...
I found myself agonizing over a name for
these special little guys...
yes you heard right
"guys, men, brothers, princes, kings"

The problem started when i could think of heaps of "funny" names
It all started with Disco Stu, then Mr Magoo, and even
Jughead...the list went on and on...
but nothing came to me that really was "royal" and original
what to do...

in the end I came to the conclusion!!!
There are plenty of guys out there
that call themselves Queens...

So why can't there be guys who call themselves King's...

And so King Rupert it is...
he enjoys a spot of golf
and loves hitting a "birdie"
which luckily is not very often...
one of his favorite charities is
"Fairways not Freeways"

And King Cedric...
he likes photographing endangered species,
and has just released his first book...entitled
"If I can see it, So can you"
available at all small out of the way bookstore...

Welcome my good men...
Welcome to the world of Royalty...

Prancher...

Meet Prancer...
when she isn't busy helping out Santa at Christmas...
she likes clopping through the new leaves in spring
or nibbling on new clover...
she loves snuggling up when it's cold,
and loves children of all ages...

if you would like to give Prancer a home before Christmas
e-mail me and she will
Dash away, dash away...right to your door...
special blogger price of $40-00
which will included postage...that's a $20 saving!!!
only for Australian...sorry to my overseas friends...

Also I have been very busy on a very new "look"
can't wait till i have it completed...
and i think you will all have a shock....

to market, to market...

WOW
what a day...
yes it did rain, yes i wasn't as organized
yes i ate nothing, and didn't see half of what everyone had...
but WOW...
what a turn out...
great people , great stalls, great atmosphere...
i managed to sell out of the crowns
and only returned with 3 bags out of 17...
aprons were sold out as well,
yes i was selling them cheap as i want to do more exciting stuff
next market, but turn over is good...
and yes i have booked in for the next market
on the 7Th of February...

I did manage to have half a second to meet
Diana from Sketch
and how lovely is she!!!
and see her amazing range...
if you can't see her stuff at the markets
check out her online shops...
her caravan cushions are amazing
and she even have a new design
that i will let her tell everyone about
all i will say is that it is DIVINE
I'm sure she will blog about it very soon...

Now if you are checking out my blog for the very first time
"hi" to all the lovely people who i meet that day
and be sure to e-mail me if you are after
anything...you can just click on my profile
in the left top corner and you will find it there...
or leave a comment on one of my posts...

my niece's birthday was this weekend
and Vanessa made a beautiful " barbie" cake...

the detail in the dress is amazing...
the cake was a double mud cake YUM
and the icing tasted just like soft chocolate...
i think i could have ate more icing than cake...

i love going down to the city...
and love coming home full of new ideas and more materials

but as always when i do the long drive home
there is a spot about 10 minutes before i get there
that as i drive over a hill and reach the start of our valley
that i have a huge sigh....

and say
thank god I'm home...

new chickens...

this is our proud new mummy
with one of her four chickens...
it was only about a hour old when i took this picture
and very, very tiny...

we are all hoping they will be alright
as we have a severe flooding today and tonight
and the river is over the 2metre mark...
they are up high enough but I'm still worried
that they will be safe and warm...

A Crown of an idea...

just invested in a pair of
pinking shears...
I'll say invest as they are not the cheapest
purchase but wow should have bought a pair
years ago...

so these little crowns...
(if i can get them off little miss)
will be at the market stall...
so little misses out there can be a
"a royal princess"
at least for the day...

Props...

Found this cute BURGUNDY bench seat
at the chemist for $12-95
and think it will be a cute
prop for the stall

and it fits 2 girls on it...

Market - only 6 days and counting...

and you may have noticed a link with this picture in my side bar...
my sister has her web page up and running...
if you love cakes check it out...
there will be even more cake pics on it soon as she
has a photo shoot next week for a wedding magazine...

lolly legs

QUESTION:

Is i wrong to have "lolly legs" after 40...
total dilemma as i want to wear something fun
to the twilight market...
as it is held at the school grounds
and it will have, I'm hoping a real family Christmas feel... I made this skirt forever ago
and decided to shorten it to a better length...
i LOVE it and with the left over material
whipped up a couple of Chicago's with it...
the socks i picked up the other day and they don't quite
match in colour tone...
as you can tell...
i always wear jeans and t-shirts but now i feel
like re-living my "trendier" days and wear something
that i would have say worn 15 years ago...
any thoughts...
do i stick with the skirt and black socks and
black "royal" print t-shirt and flowery skirt
or
the lolly legs and dark skirt top etc
or have a collage of that the pic above???

can't believe i am worried about pure trivial crap at the moment but...
our minds play funny tricks sometimes...
and it's easier to worry about stuff like this...
than the bigger picture...

more juggling...

TICK-TOCK
time seems to be flying at the moment
and i can't help but get a couple more Chicago's done
before the market...just a reminded
OLIVE TREE MARKET AT THE JUNCTION PS NEWCASTLE
sooooooooo excited...

So if you are in the area why not do some Christmas shopping!!!

i have now got a three column blog and thanks to bellgirls links
i did manage to wing it and amaze myself by being able to do it...
i used this link...HERE...

also if you check out bellgirls site
you can view her newly arrived "Chicago bellgirl"
I think she will have many an adventure...

for all who asked...from last post...
i cook 5 nights a week and weekend lunches...
and yes i am very over cooking...
but i am one of these types that presentation is everything
and if the plate doesn't look just as appealing...i wont serve it...
coming up with specials is the hardest
as you can't keep everyone happy and you have to
be able to sell enough to make your money back
as i don't like freezing stuff...
also most of the stuff that i put on the specials
takes longer than all the usual food...
and if I'm the only one cooking it takes up to0 much time...
we have a very small country pub and most of the time
i can get through about 10-20 meals by myself...
as i didn't mention before that includes taking the orders,
taking meals out and all the prep and washing up...
don't you just love running your own business???
that's why 2 nights a week i get a lady in to help with prep and orders
and dishes etc...
i really don't know how some places have 5 or more staff
racing around the place
the wages would kill me...maybe i need to up the prices???
but i hate doing that cause i think most people in town
wouldn't be able to afford to go out...
and that just doesn't sit right with me...

I suppose...

Well if you have every wondered what i do...
this is it...
(no...i didn't mean getting plastered...)
i can hear the giggles!!!

sorry i actually can't stand the taste of beer and being surrounded by
grog most of the day isn't as exciting as it may sound...
i know this may be a bit of a shock to some of you...
as even my dearest friends and family still can't believe that
i run a pub...

i suppose I'm not the most typical publican...

my release from all this is my kids and crafting...

This year i have added a bigger work load on myself by
deciding to home school my middle son..."my shadow"
(thought i better give him a blog name)
there are a huge amount of reasons why we have decided to do this
but I'm not really ready to go there yet...
so maybe I'll go into that in another post...

I have also added a playlist that I'm sure all of you may have noticed,
especially if you had your volume up by accident...sorry...
I'm hoping it relaxes me so that i can write more...ha i think it's working...
it was easier than i thought as i am truly learning with all these gadgets...
if anyone wants to put one on their blog and is unsure what to do give me a hallo...

Now getting back to the whole pub thing...
as you may have noticed from other posts
i mentioned cooking...
i do all the cooking with help on the weekends
i think i might start doing a pasta night again now it's getting hotter...
and i can borrow a industrial pasta machine from a friend...
it's amazing how different "real" pasta tastes and
fresh basil pesto is to die for...
it's funny but i love making chilli type pastas
and my level of heat is a mild sweet chilli sauce,
luckily i have plenty of guys handy to test my experiments out on...
and they are more than happy about that...

well that's about it for this post...more later...
i think i have rambled enough...

Chicago sisters...

All i can say is...
no wonder i can't seem to find the time to do housework...

yes i can't help myself...
and even thou i said to myself
i wasn't going to make anymore "royals" before the market...
i find myself at the machine again...
frantically sewing...it's only one more...
and these colours are so nice...

and i did promise someone i would make
a special blue Chicago sister...for all her inspiration...

if you are keen on receiving a gift like one of these...
post a comment on my PAY IT FORWARD
and you could be that lucky...
now back to the kids and cooking and cleaning...
and maybe a tad sewing, not much, well only a bit...

pay it forward...and mail!!!

THE RULES:
I will make a handmade gift for the first 3 interested people
who comment on this post and I have 365 days (ample time)
to do it in...
You must have a blog to join in and be willing to do
the same for three other people...
Lets have fun!!!

I have signed up for SKETCHES - pay it forward
and can't wait to see what i get...

i will make something
totally amazing if you comment...promise...
Now for my mail
Betty Jo has sent me some wonderful prizes
and i am thrilled...
will be wearing this ALL the time...
Yes I now am the proud owner of a
LINOFOREST original....yah...

country life...and i'm a winner...

I think the chooks are playing a joke with me...
these tiny little eggs we collected this morning...
they are so unusual and pretty at the same time...
i had to put a big pic of them as they have fascinated me all day...

Yes this is our bell just in case we can't hear you!!!

and after i took that shot i spotted the willow esky in the photo
and took a close up...love it...
the tray to put the ice in is still in it
and even though it is a bit weathered it gorgeous....

i spent the day in the yard and cleaning up
the verandah (god i love that word) VERANDAH
so Australian...so 50's....
today was my sort of day when SPRING is Spring...
not when SPRING is Winter...
or when it thinks it would like to be Summer...
i got so much done with lots of fresh air and sunshine...

Now another reason i feel so darn chirpy
is i came runner up in linoforests blogtoberfest giveaway...
and what a haul...
check it out if you are anything like me and can't wait to see
the goodies...
every thing and every colour that i LOVE...
thanks heaps*** bettyjo***
will be posting lots of pics when my mail arrives...
but for now i just get to look...
and look some more and some more...

Bagging it...

wow what a week...

well i managed to score a spot at the
TWILIGHT markets
yes i will be there with bells on...(only joking about the bells)
so I'm into full production...
made up some more bags with cute little cakes on it...
speaking of cakes pop over to sugar rush
and check out the cookie bouquet...

will be posting more "stock" as i come up with it...
but for now it's all "treadle to the metal"...

looks a lot like...christmas...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...could not resist and had to give everyone a
sneak peek at what is in the works...
oh i love the whole Christmas bit...
and i think this new little treasure will be just yummy...
and if your wondering how the ongoing debate in my head
is going....well the markets are fully booked and i have
to see if anyone cancels to get a spot...
there are having a TWILIGHT market from 3pm to 8pm
which would be the most amazing thing...
so even if i don't get a stall make sure
if you live in the Newcastle area go to
the olive tree markets
at the junction primary school and take a look...
on the 29th of November...
I'm pretty sure SKETCH will be there
and over 80 stalls with all handmade goodies...

Market day...

well i actually managed to do it...
yes a proper stall at a "proper market"
well even if there where only about 40 people who walked past my stall...
i think every local in town now know what i do in my spare time...
which the look on there face was enough to make my day...
not a good "sales day" but i think at the right market
i could do really well...
am going to get in contact with the olive tree markets
in Newcastle and hopefully get a stall there for there next market...
now as i have said before i just need to get some time off...
I'll have to ask the boss
(oh right that's me)...
"can i have the weekend off"....
"are you serious, do you know how much work you have on...
how many meals need to be cooked".....
"pleaseeeeeeeeee"
stay tuned to more in depth conversations or arguments!!!

chenille bag...

I went to my "little material shop" today
and bought the only chenille they had
which was green...
but quiet pretty and services the purpose...
which is to make a few different thing to put on a stall...
that's if i ever have a weekend off to do one...
oh well one can dream...

The trip "to town" was a result of deciding
6 months between haircuts is too long
and luckily they squeezed me in....
bless there cotton socks...
and in between the "oh your hair is so thick"
and "that's a unusual colour you put in yourself"
I managed to come out of there in 1 1/2 hours
that was just a cut and dry...
but was very chuffed with the result...
I loved trying to describe to the poor girl of 19 that i would like
a cross between "Amelie" and Uma in "pulp fiction"
minus the fringe...
after a long pause i said "just a bob" will do fine...

Chicago sister

Well I am officially calling these

The Royal Chicago Sisters...thanks to great suggestions of course...
i don't really tend to name them until i do more than one
you see when there is only one it is not
officially a sister...
well after making up this gorgeous little "flapper"
how could i not...
this could be the start of a beautiful new theme...P.S. if anyone can tell me how i can
reply directly to peoples comments...
i get lovely replies from you when i post comments on your blogs
( they are the ones that the original comment is at the bottom of the e-mail)
and i can't seem to do the same...and i sooooooo
love all your comments...