Gosh it’s a lovely day today! The sun is bright and the sky is blue. I’m sat at my desk in a cool room being thankful for the perfect temperature! The house is quiet but for the whirring of a grass mower down the street… I’m having one of those “ahhhhh” moments. Just soaking up the serenity that doesn’t come my way as often as I’d like, but when it does it feels all the sweeter.
I thought you might like to see a sneaky pic of my ‘Deer Cabin’ table-runner design? It has been sent off to Creating Country Threads magazine and is due to be published in the next month or two.
I used some of Lynette Anderson’s ‘Scandinavian Christmas’ fabric… although it is so versatile with its love-hearts, stars and cute little mushrooms, that it needn’t be saved just for Christmas projects alone. I drew the deer from photographs, and with the woodland theme in mind, thought that Log Cabin blocks would be the ideal choice to accompany them. I’ll show you the full project when it is published, and will release the pattern at the same time so that if you live overseas and would like to make it, you can do so. (smile)
Well, the serenity didn’t last for very long people… my little dog is barking her head off at everyone who walks by – and we have a hard rubbish collection on our nature strip (grass verge), so people tend to stop and linger… gosh I love Kayla, and she is doing a very good job of guarding her family… but sheesh, she is driving me nuts!
Butter wouldn’t melt, hey cutie?!
If you were reading my blog a few months ago you would have been greeted with a sweet pic of my young Rosie’s little pet mouse, Nibbles. She was such a dear little thing, but she became very ill only three weeks after we brought her home. I took her to an ‘exotic’ vet as not many vets will treat mice. Turns out she couldn’t go to the toilet and although she was given medication, she wasn’t given the diagnosis of a good outcome. The vet thought it was probably an anomaly the young thing was born with. Little Nibbles lived in my hands for hours at a time, I hand-fed her and gave her medication. I just sat and cradled her, she must have liked the warmth from my hands as as soon as I tried to put her back in her cage, she would run back on to me. Just as we thought there might be a chance that she would come good, we lost her.
Both Rosie and I (and dad and brother) were so incredibly upset. I think there is something about helping an animal to survive… you get so attached. I was shocked at how tearful I was for two days straight. Rosie wanted to give Nibbles a good burial, so we decorated a box, and put her inside with her favourite things – some food, a toy, and some toy-stuffing to keep her comfortable. It was so hard seeing Rosie heartbroken, as we stood out in the rain, in the garden; but in a strange kind of way we also bonded in our grief. It’s hard to explain, but it felt wholesome.
We now have two new pets… Cheeky and Tickles. Rosie didn’t want the late Nibbles to feel like she was being replaced, but I explained that because Rosie was such a good owner, Nibbles would love for some other mice to have the pleasure of being looked after by her.
So many of my friends cringe at the thought of owning pet mice. One friend in particular said she would rather touch a spider than a mouse! But I think they make amazing pets. They are so tame. I must admit, that before we got Nibbles I had my doubts about housing mice, I was so worried about the smell. But I’m quite happy to clean them out twice-weekly… Rosie helps out and we have special time together.
Anyhow, it’s time I headed off to continue with some stitching! Ooh – and I’ll set up a photo-shoot with my toy sewing machines as I know a couple of you are interested!
Until next time, hope you get to enjoy some serenity!
Vikki xoxo