Family Traditions

Family Tradition

One of my customers lately bought something of my Barefoot range which she was eagerly to receive. I was talking with her on the phone and she told me that she started a "Family Tradition" with the Barefoot Mice…..!

I thought how gorgeous is that. I am biased I love the Barefoot Mice. When I heard what what this gorgeous couple started as a Family Tradition, I could not help to share it with you.

They started off with 2 mice representing Grandma and Grandpa.

Then they bought 3 male sitting down mice to represent their 3 grandsons.

They will be continuing to build their collection of Barefoot Mice as more grandchildren arrive. When their grandchildren visit them they will grow up knowing the symbol of each and every mouse and I am sure great stories will be told and heard by their growing family.

How awesome is this. Do you have any Family Traditions that you would like to share with us.

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Have you checked our Specials in our store lately?

Have you checked our Specials in our store lately?

From time to time you should, as I am always offering items on Special.
These mainly are great deals that I offer from time to time and end of line products.
So feel free to browse and find a bargain.
At the moment this doll house is going for 35% off the normal price. It is an absolute Bargain, not many left so do not miss out.


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Do you have any helpful hints & ideas to share, why don’t share them with us here. We all learn from each other

Tips of the day using Tea Tree oil to remove any tacky glue from stickers or cleaning your storage tins……

 Tea Tree Oil

As I was pottering around this morning, doing my regular chores and putting things away, one of the things I had to do is to take some sticker glue of a tin that I wanted to keep, and as I started scrubbing it with soap and water, I remembered that there is an easier way of taking it off.  Good Old Fashioned Tea Tree Oil, which I think most of us forget about it.

So with a bit of Tea Tree Oil and some water, it came off instantly.. I just thought I share this, because many a times we buy things and the glue of the price tags are hard to take off…but if  you keep a jar of Tea Tree Oil in your cupboard, it will be amazing how much use you find for it.

 

I personally love collecting tins and store food and other bits and pieces in them, I feel they give a bit of character to my place and at the same time they are useful containers.

Again another helpful hint using Tea Tree Oil. With use the lids tend to get a bit jammed, especially ones that I use often like the ones below which are my containers for my Tea, Coffee, & Tea bags, and as one can imagine are in constant use. 

 

So every so often, I grab my Tea Tree Oil, and my Kitchen paper roll and I dab a little bit of oil onto the paper and the lids inside and out and around the rims of the containers…they will work like new again.

After I just polish them with some furniture polish and bring them back to life again. I love my coffee and tea tins collection they are some of my favorites, I bought them a few years down the track when Bushels had a promotion with them.

Hope you find use of this helpful hint and if you have one to share, please feel free to link here. I am always willing to learn. It is amazing how much we learn of each other

PS. "Experiences I expressed here are purely my own."

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New stock of Barefoot Mice by Barbara Sansoni has arrived in store….

Once upon a time actually in 1956 this lovely lady “Barbara Sansoni” started teaching illiterate people in Sri Lanka how to sew…..and viola the “Barefoot” concept started.

Gorgeous and lovable products have been created since then, some of which you will see proudly stocked in my store..

• Animals & Insects
• Australia Animals
• Baby Rattles
• Bags
• Dolls
• Hand Puppets
• Lovable Characters
• Marionettes,String Puppets
• Mice...
• Monkeys
•  

The sitting mice…were out of stock and a shipment of them just arrived…..in addition with the other sizes available in store.

A Mouse house with a family of six mice and furniture is also available in store. This is a great heirloom to pass on to your Grandkids.

Look at what just arrived, they are simple gorgeous, you look at one and forget the other, they are all individually lovable. Do not forget that the "Barefoot range" is all unique, you never get one the same. They have all been handmade and not one is exactly the same as the other.

They are all waiting for someone to love them …..and a good home!

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A visit to Dandenong Hospital’s Emergency Department–my experience

One day this week, I felt terribly sick. I was fine in the morning, actually I was playing Badminton, by the afternoon, I felt like a migraine was coming on, mind you I do not have these often, probably in my lifetime, I only had 2 or 3 attacks the most, I ended up on the couch, had 1 Panadine Forte, and lied on the couch for a bit. My Headache started to disappear. I had some soup for dinner (one that I cooked), after which I started having tummy aches. I did not think much about it then. I told my husband I think I am coming down with a flu of some sort, and off I went to bed…I could not sleep my pain started to increase, and I was cramping very badly, woke up my poor husband who was dead tired, he stayed up with me giving me hot water trying to help settle my stomach as I felt like throwing up, but couldn’t and pain level was getting worse, I could not sit nor lie down as it made it worse, so I was continuously walking up an down our family room. Finally I said to him ring the hospital and see what they say, they suggested for me to go to hospital and have it checked.

So we got dressed and took off to Dandenong Hospital which is only 10 minutes by car away from us..

• Great I said when I looked at the waiting room there is only 2 waiting. I was asked all my details at the same time crouching with pain and I had to keep going. (I hate that you have to give all your private details through a window, and everyone is listening to all your private details and concerns) Where is the privacy issue??????
• When you are in that much pain, you do not want to go through this…but I suppose they have to go through this process.
• I was told to sit down, someone will look after you, but there is a wait....(but I am in pain says me)
• After ten minutes a nurse came out and game some Anti nausea Tablet, and a couple more to stop me cramping…and again I was told I  had to wait as they are very busy.
• That I could not understand as I could only see 2 patients, but then I realized as the Ambulances were coming in, of course they would be given first preference. Then parents with young kids started coming in with high temperatures and again they took priority.

And I was left hanging there crouching with pain and no matter how much I asked  I was still told to wait…..so what do you ????

Having all this time……waited 5 hours until I left the Hospital.. I was looking around   eeeeeeeeee

• Yes the waiting room was decorated quite bright and welcoming
• TV on the walls  (which is okay for those who are not in pain)
• Bright light again, made you feel safe and welcome…but for a patient I wanted to be by myself and looked after for god sake!
• Couches were made of wood and  material, which looked great to the eye, but from Hygiene point of view, I think they are not suitable some had stains on them which put you off, and I can imagine they will be more hard to clean than leather…oh yes you are saying she is really going???
• Towels or rather some sort of blankets where left on some couches, obviously given to patients that were waiting, and no one bothered to pick them…so yes Germs are spreading again…I felt very uneasy to sit on a couch and lie down (Hygiene purposes)

I was finally called in the doctor and nurses I have to say were very nice and apologized for the delay. I was examined and put me through all the tests, blood test and x-rays and all, and very impressed they had results within half an hour so from that part yes I was very very very impressed.

X-ray department
Apparently the whole hospital is having a revamp, there was notices next to the X-ray department. I was called in to have an x-ray, and I had to lie on my back on this hard stretcher, which I did not complain, but the poor guy who looked after me, was all apologetic, as he found himself very uneasy, due to the fact that there was no mattress on the stretcher, as apparently, it got dirty and they do not have another one to replace, all he could offer me was a pillow.

Patient room
Had to go back to wait in the patient room where I was seen to and was trying to lie down a bit , I was starting to feel slightly better as my cramping was letting go a bit with the medication that they gave me, and tried to lift the head rest a bit as I do not sleeping with my head right down…well apparently the control battery ran out and obviously they did not have another battery to replace it, then I was offered a blanket, and I was asked do I want to use it as a blanket or as a pillow…which told me that they did not have any pillow around…….

Well well why did I feel that I had to say all this?????? I am very lucky compared to the number of patients that have to go and deal with these issues day in day out.

• I thought we are the lucky country?
• Why are we paying our taxes?
• I am not sure if Hospitals around Australia are having all these problems and issues?
• Very obviously Hospitals are understaffed and under equipped and no wonder nurses and hospital feel the way they feel?????

I finally like to thank all the staff that finally looked after me, they were wonderful, but obviously something has to be done in the Hospital system.

I like to hear your experience good or bad, so we can raise these issues and hopefully someone listens!

Thank you for listening



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Sirena Tuna and Rice has just landed on our shelves at Woolworths..

I am sure you all heard of Sirena Tuna before. Apparently it has been around in Australia since 1956. You can read the History of how the company evolved over here.

Well lately I have been approached by Soup (Soup is for people who love having their say and want to be involved in shaping the future of brands and products), to try a new product that Sirena just launched ready to eat tuna and rice meals in Woolworths.

They come in these 3 Delicious flavours which are ready cooked and can be eaten cold or warm:

   

Sirena Tuna and Rice – Italian Salad

Traditional Italian tuna rice salad filled with delicious Sirena tuna, rice, peas and capsicum

Sirena Tuna and Rice – Puttanesca

The perfect combination of delicate tuna, tomato, olives and capers with a hint of chilli

Sirena Tuna and Rice – Spicy Tomato

Spicy chilli and tomato Italian-style sauce with succulent Sirena tuna and rice

They are available in 190grm packs

To tell you the truth I was a bit skeptic when I saw these packets, as I really did not know what to expect, but once I tried one, I enjoyed the flavours and was really impressed. It actually took me back to my childhood. I was brought up in Malta, and we have a lot of Italian influence in our food culture. I cannot say I like one more than the other, as I really like the combination of the ingredients in the 3 flavours available.

I shared some of the samples with family and friends and asked them to use their imagination and to tell me what they have used these packs for and when.

Some of their comments:

• they all loved the flavours, even those who are not European background
• they said they made a great snack, for during the day, some were quite satisfied to have it for lunch, the guys felt that they had to have something else with it, as it was not enough on its own
• one person went very creative and mixed the mixture with some eggs and milk and made a scrumptious omelet
• personally I thoroughly enjoyed taking it with me to events where I exhibited , and found it so convenient to have as, all I had to do is open the lid and eat  without any mess …knowing I had a very healthy snack.

When I was in my studio, I ventured a bit more, and anyone can do this even if you work in an office or factory worker, as instead of having stir vegetables, you can mix it with a salad. 

1. Stir fry quickly some mixed vegetables

2. Put it in a bowl

 

3. Open the Sierra Container, this one in particular is Sirena Tuna and Rice – Italian Salad

4. Throw into the bowl

5. Mix everything together and viola a scrumptious delicious meal in about 10mins

Thank you Sirena for creating these delicious and scrumptious snacks, and thank you Soup for asking me to try them out…

I thoroughly recommend them to everyone.  

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Giveaway: Calling all new Mums & Dads, Grandparents Auntie’s & Uncle’s or maybe, “you” who have a special friend who had a Baby in 2011 or 2012

Great Giveaway for a New Born Baby or Child - a Personalized Gift!

We have just introduced some new designs in our Baby Section for Personalized Plates, so we decided to celebrate by creating a Giveaway whereby you win a voucher of $30.00 to spend towards a  Personalized Baby or Kids Plate of your Choice.

 Let me tell you a little bit of what we have on offer.

If you are after something special for a gift for a Baby, Christening, Special Birthday, Baptist, First Holy Communion, Confirmation......you have come to the right place!
These have proved to be very popular, a great keepsake to treasure for many years to come.

• Birth Plates  with awesome designs and personalized to your needs New Baby Personalized Birth Plate ...

We also offer Photo Personalized Plate for any Special Occasion ...which you can read all about it over here:

• Photo Personalized Plates great for any occasion Photo Personalized Plate for any Special Occasion ...

If you celebrating a special milestone in your child’s life…we have gorgeous designs that will make a great decor addition to their room…check out

• range of designs for boys and girls for special occasions Special Occasion Personalized Plate for Kids...

 ~~~~

Now what do you have to do to enter this giveaway:

• This Competition is open to all new parents, grandparents, new auntie’s and uncle’s and maybe a special friend (WORLDWIDE)
• Place a comment below as to why you want to win this Personalized Plate
• The name of the Baby the plate will be created for.
• Which design plate you would like to win or is your favorite.

The Above will entitle you to one entry for the Giveaway.

If you would like to gain more entries:

Leave a comment for each of the social networking that you follow us or maybe you consider to follow and you will gain another chance to win this fabulous Personalized Plate. Maybe you consider joining our Newsletter. Tweet or leave a comment on Face Book etc…if you decide to do so.

Join our social networks


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This Giveaway ends Sunday 1st April 2012 23:00Hrs
Winner will be announced on Tuesday 3rd April 2012 and will be given a $30.00 voucher to spend on A Personalized Plate with the design of their choice.


Who is the winner of this Giveaway is it you?







 

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Baby Names - Popular Baby Names - 100 Most Popular Baby names

Baby Names - Popular Baby Names - 100 Most Popular Baby names:

'via Blog this'

Personalized Birth Plates for New Born's

It was interesting to read which names were popular for Baby Names in Australia for 2011. Also I find it quite remarkable that Traditional names are more popular than made up names.







Jack still tops almost the list for boys with William taking over, and Ruby and Chloe are still popular for girls.

You can read the full blog post by pressing the link. I will be following this with some new designs for some Baby Plates that I have introduced in store.

If you had a Baby in 2011 what was the name given to your son or daughter?

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