How Long Will You Live

This is an interesting question and, I must admit one that I was just asking myself. A friend just happen to send me this info and I thought you might find it interesting yourself.

I have always envisioned myself lasting until my late 90's BUT (based on this calculator) I will not get much past 80 and THAT SIMPLY WILL NOT DO!


http://media.nmfn.com/tnetwork/lifespan/

Since adding this info to my blog I have lost 12 kilos, changed my way of eating and even though I can't quite get to doing formal exercise I will now live to 90! Well so it says anyway.

STUDENT:- BIANCA 1st model

STUDENT:- BIANCA 1st model

Isn't it amazing. I have my second student. She read about my first student, here on this blog. This is brilliant!

I have finished Spring Cleaning my two rooms, my studio and I am now open for business.

This is what Bianca started with

Bianca choose to start from scratch so she choose a gourd, cleaned it and then used a saw to cut her gourd open revealing the seeds and pith inside. She then needed to cut out the windows.

Her next job was to create all the permanate fixtures. These were a floor, fireplace, three cupboards and shelving and stairs and a clock. She also designed and painted her own stain glass windows.

As can be seen from the image to the right the 'bones' of the inside of the house has been placed inside. There is still a 'few' things to do just to finish it off.

The inside with the lights switched on.
The inside is almost completed.

It has three lights and one flickering light in the fireplace and she will be using optic fiber on the outside. All up it took Bianca 60 hrs to finish her house. She visited me once a week for 3.5 to 4 hrs. The cost of her lessons were $15 hr. The cost of the gourd was $25 and the cost of materials was $20 and lights $25.00. The lights are run on two 9v batteries.

 

After 60 hours of work she made this. Isn't it wonderful!

STUDENT :- LUKA

STUDENT:- LUKA

I have my first student turning up next week to learn how to make a gourd house. Isn't that brilliant! I am hoping that she will be the first of many and then I can give up my watergardening that I have been doing for the past 30 years.
I am presently spring cleaning my studio 'again'! I am really hoping that this is the last time. I've put up lots of shelving and purchased lost of clear plastic containers and hopefully it will be enough to keep these two rooms in a nice ordered fashion.
My hope, if the student will allow it, is to put up a photo of her completed work.

Well hear we are photos what do you think. Pre-t-e-t-y good I reckon.
I am EXTREMELY proud to put forward the results of my first student. She is girl aged 10 year named Luka.

A pre-made Gourd

She started with one of my pre-made gourds. Others can be seen in the back ground of the image to the left. By starting with one of these a 1/3rd of the work is already done.

Luka wanted to create a bakery.



The inside of the bakery

 Luka built the long shelving off to the left of the building out of balsa wood. Then two small shelves off to the right.











She created the stain glass windows, the pleated curtains with music notes all over them. Then created a fake door on the inside, made cakes and bread to go in baskets and bowls. She then stuck everything in as you see here. Luka also placed a light in her gourd house and also had a bunch of optic fiber that would be placed on the outside. This was run off a 9v battery. She also created fake vines to go around the gourd.

This is the last photo I had before the project went home for Christmas
to show to other memebers of her house hold.

As you can see an awful lot has been done. There is still a little bit to do. Luka created her rabbit (with a little help from me). She dressed her and created the counter and the cakes that are sitting on the shelves. She then decorated the outside of the gourd and can you see the row of ants walking under the floor boards? Very creative.

I am extremely proud of Luka's work. She learned how to cut wood, how to solder, how to work out what lighting she needed and how to put it all together. How to iron fabric, to sew fabric, to design her work, to work with colour and to create a model out of polymer clay. She also designed and painted her own stain glass windows. Luka's mother was extremely pleased with her daughters work and the classes I held and the way I taught my lessons and the information Luka learnt.

All up it took Luka 29 1/2 hrs to reach this point. She visited me once a week for 2 to 2.5 hrs. The cost of her lessons were $10 hr. The cost of the pre-made gourd was $25 and the cost of materials was $12 and light $10.00.

In the end Luka was very proud of herself and that is worth more than any money can buy.

Grant Workshop with Artslink

Artslink

Last Wednesday (22nd August) I attended a workshop on how to go about getting a grant. What was different about this workshop was that I was able to do a 5min presentation of my work and then the next day sit down and talk about how I should proceed.

My new movable sign with a hanging house
with lights, plastic sleeves to hold leaflets
and of course my new name
Bramblewood - where secrets are hidden
and magic abides.

Overall the night was a great success. There were representatives from various departments that deal with funding. There was a remarkable young lady talking about Rabbit & Cocoon which is an art pre-sink she and two other people have set up at Miami on the Gold Coast.

At the end of the workshop I now have a clear idea on the way I wish to proceed.

The first is to put away all the little things I am doing at night (I build fungi and flowers for my models) and get out my hanging houses and work on them. My aim is to build 50+ hanging houses so that I can hold a huge exhibition. It will enable people to walk through the village as if they live there.

The second thing is to work on selling my skills. Not just my craft and art skills but also the skills I have with watergardening (which I have been doing for nearly 30 years). It was also suggested that I join Artslink and put a blurb about myself on their website. This website is available to anyone but especially to councils. The hope is that (as I am very happy to travel) that councils out west and others of course, will employ me to do a workshop.

I feel much better now as I have a better sense of direction.

Bees and Insects

I know this has nothing to do with my art or my books BUT I am VERY passionate about this. Albert Eienstein quoted (something like)

"When the last bee dies the world has 4 years of life left."

Humans pour out poision into the air and soil and chop down trees and flowers like there is no tomorrow. ONLY a few of us try to do 'something'.

I think that the only way this world can be saved from the people on it is by getting one person at a time to do 'something' to change the world they live in. Sometimes that one person gets other people and a group of people do 'something' and that is great but other times I feel the indivual person feels "What can I do? I am only one person."

Well here do this. Make or buy an insect hotel and hang it in a tree, hang it at the back of a shed.
Check out You Tube there are lots of people doing this. It is very inspiring to see. I am going to do another post with two videos.

Mudgeeraba Show 2011

Well I have set up my display at the MUDGEERABA SHOW. If any of you are passing by then please come and see me at the Eduction Building. It is the green building near the chickens and wood turning. See you there.


Image for the 2011 Mudgeeraba Show

Mudgeeraba Show 2012

  SEE YOU AT THE MUDGEERABA SHOW!

I shall be displaying my minature models in the education pavillion this year. This will be the 5th time I will have displayed my models at this show. If you would like to know more abut the show then click here.

If you are passing by then please say hello. If you have any bits and bobs you would like to donate to the cause then PLEASE dropt them off to me. The show is on from the 23rd to the 24th June 2012.

At this show I shall have a few of my models on view and I will be building a new model so people can see some of my work in progress.
I shall also be advertising that my models and I are now available to come to schools and funtions. This is a new venture for me but with the success of the Silkwood School I figured other children (and adults) would like to see my models so I thought I would give it a go. I shall have a price list available so people can decide what it is they would like me to do. I can do a talk about my work or I can help everyone create their very own model.

Photo of my 2011 display at the
Mudgeerba Show.



I decided to display my doll art, decorated boxs
and macrame (somehting I have loved all
my life and I include tiny, tiny macrame
hangers within the rooms of my
miniature models).

Other People's Blog - Scoop.it!

Because my miniature models are created out of recycled objects this blog is just up my alley. I am always trawling the net for ideas. People can be soo amazing at times.
It is a blog that deals in creating interesting artwork and home decorating objects out of re-cycled bits and bobs. I've included some photos form the site and if you would like to see more please click here.


Made out of knives, spoons etc. Amazing.
If you would like to see more of the work of
Sayaka Kajita Ganz then click here.



Old tea containers made into fridge magnets. Just make sure your magnet is a stong one if it has to hold the weight of pencils as well.




Old tenis and squash rackets made into mirrors.




My First Video - The Kitchen of Pebble Cottage

This is my first video and it is an experiment. I have already put it onto my facebook page. It took 1 1/2hrs to upload so it will be interesting to see how long it takes in Blogger.

The first problems I have noticed is that the video takes a long time to upload when I want to watch it on my facebook page. This could be just because I have an old computer with only 2GB's. I have asked other people if they have the same problem. Also the image and the voice are out of wack and the video starts at a different place than where I wanted it to. It starts with my eyes shut!
Anyway I'll upload it here and see how it goes.

Well It took 2 1/2hrs to download and I must appologise for the standard when it is enlarged to the whole screen. It has certainly degraded from the version that is on my facebook page. I will leave it here for the time being until I can have the time to sort it out as something is better than nothing. At least the voice and image are working together.

If you have any advice on how I can improve this video please leave me a comment.

Author - Angela Sunde

I met Angela when we were both accepted for the Write A Kids Story conducted by Louise Cusack and put on by the Gold Coast Council in 2009. I did not know then that we, and nine other members of that first group, would stay together for many years and become friends.


Angela at her book launch for Pond Magic.
Image taken from Angela's facebook page.



One of Angela's illustrations
image taken from Dee Scribe Writting Blog



Angela is not only an author but is also an illustrator and presents workshops of how to design and create your own picture book. Angela was a school teacher for many years and so has a wonderful understanding about how children, no matter what age, think and feel. This is a brilliant basis for her writting and illustraions.

If you would like to read my review of her book Pond Magic click here.

If you would like to contact Angela about workshops or purchasing her books I have supplied the info below.

http://angelasunde.blogspot.com.au/

Below is a list of places that you are able to purchase a copy of Pond Magic. Also if any one would like to have a signed copy then please contact Angela through her web site. Angela Sunde's web site.

A local Gold Coast bookstore;
Network Educational 4/498 Scottsdale Dr, Varsity Lakes, Gold Coast. Network Educational
and
Love That Book bookstore, Southport Park Shopping Centre, Southport Park, Gold Coast. Love That Book Store

Pond Magic can be ordered from any bookstore in Australia and New Zealand.

It can also be ordered from any online store such as: these are all facebook sites. Just click on the continue button there is no need to log in if you are just looking.

Fishpond: Fishpond
Borders online: Borders Online
Mighty Ape online: Mighty Ape
Seek Books online: Seek Books
Booktopia: Booktopia

The book retails for approx $12.99.

Author - Tiana Templeman

This weekend I have been at the Literati Festival held by the Friends of the Library and the Gold Coast Council.

On Friday I atteneded a master class held by Tiana Templeman author of Absolutley Faking It. Her story is about how she and her husband won a $65,000 prize. They were to stay in the top 10 hotels of the world the problem was they had no spending money so they had to back pack there way around.

Image from the QWC web page.



Image from the Jeffery Books &
Stationery Pty Ltd web page.


Tiana presented 'Pitching to Publishers' which I found fascinating as that is where I am at with my story and even though it was free to attend I would have put down hard cash to hear her talk.
Tiana also has a website that concentrates on Travel called
Tiana Templeman's Travel Test.
If you would like to purchase her book I have supplied some links below:-
ABC shop
Amazon
Bibli Oz

Visit to SilkWood School 2012

Just before I went away on my trip I had the honour of being asked to visit Silkwood School at Nerang, Qld. The children will be creating their own Fairy Houses and my houses were there to inspire them. Isn't that BRILLIANT!

Below are photos of the children enjoying my models. The children had so many questions about how I created them that they couldn't all be answered before my visit ended. It is so lovely to see children inspired by imagination and creativity.

If you would like me to visit your school with some of my models please contact me through my e-mail address of blackhawk@qld.chariot.net.au and I will discuss my fee and your situation.

My Last Edit

I have been home a few days and been busy but I thought you might like to see where I had been.
I went to Heron Island. It was a two hour boat ride off of Gladstone, Queensland and it looks like this.

If you look to the right and turn the corner then walk past the Research Station there is a bush. Next to that bush I finished my first four chapters of my story. How COOL is that!



This one of the many photos I took from the glass
 bottom boat. When I can I'll put a few more on.



Simple Solutions to the Worlds Problems - Light

This is amazing! Can you imagine yourself living in a house that has no light at all unless you want to pay more money than you can afford just to switch the light on for a minute or two. Crawling around in the dark looking for things. Well they always say the simplist solution is the best and this could not be any simplier and there is no reason why we can not use it here in our modern electric filled world.
http://www.wimp.com/lightenup/

Heath - Herbs - Gotu Kola

I have always been interested in herbs and have used some of them for over thirty years.
Now one that would be worth looking into is GOTU KOLA.

I intend to start using the leaves once I purchase some from Isabell Shipard at Nambour, Qld.

This picture has been taken from the Isabell Shipards website. It is of Gotu Kola.

The herb is taken every day, 2-3 leaves (the size of a 50c piece). It has been studied for hundreds of years and it seems almost impossible that it can help, if not cure many of the ailments mankind suffer from. If it was not for physical results (people who have used it) people may scoff but I intend to use it anyway.

Even though I am reasonable well there are a couple of things I would like to cure/get rid off and if this can help then brilliant.

Black Salve Results -Final

 I have decided to redo this post. Why? Because it has now been over three years since I put it up and over 2,000 people have looked at it.

The very first thing I would like to say is that I believe in the use of Black Salve BUT care NEEDS to be taken when using it. ONLY USE SMALL AMOUNTS AT ONE TIME. I could NOT tell that I had this 'thing' in my hand. I could NOT feel anything. It was as if the skin underneath was normal. How wrong I was. This is a CAUTION you CANNOT tell what is under the skin. It may be nothing or it may be very large. You NEED to consider this BEFORE you use it. Make sure you do your research and then make an informed decision.

I would also recommend that you consult your doctor if you believe you have skin cancer or melanoma and once you have a diagnosis then you can make a more informed decision as to which way you will go. I did actually go and have a regular skin cancer check, unfortunately not one of the 'things' I have killed off where picked up by the doctor. The only spot he was worried about had no reaction with the Black Salve. Now I can not blame doctors for not picking these things up, I could not either, I just put the Black Salve on to see what would happen. Please USE YOUR COMMON SENSE. Go to the doctor if you find anything on your body that is not normal and get it checked out.

When I first started using the Black Salve I placed it on four different sites I was worried about and had no reaction. I thought I had been sold a dud but I was wrong it just meant there was nothing wrong on those sections of my body.

My first try using Black Salve. I had two tiny pieces of dry skin that kept coming back after I picked them off and thought I'd best put some Black Salve on it thinking that it would be just like the other nine that I have killed on my face (at that time), in that the eschar would fall out after five days and only be 2-3mil wide. I was wrong. Please note that the three black lines on my hand top right ONLY indicate where the pain in my hand was.

 
The photo above on the left is how my hand looked after using Calendula for six days and then moving on to Comfrey. When the wound was all closed up and I had scar tissue left and this was because I picked the thing out instead of waiting for it to fall out. DO NOT DO THIS. I used Rose Hip oil until now when I only have tiny bit left. (2012) I am now using MacArthur Paw Paw cream.  

I have taken about 6-7 weeks to get to this point and I only have a tiny amount of scar tissue left to go. I am extremely pleased that this thing in not living in my hand anymore. 

I've come back in to add this bit. A month or so has gone by and still the tiny bit I had left would not heal. So I put some more Black Salve on. Buy the next day I had found I had something there. It was about the size of a pin head. Now that is gone the MacAurthur Paw Paw cream has almost removed it.

A few weeks later I came back to say that even though the hand is healed there is still a a small lump under the skin and the bump is only half the size. No one would really notice except for me. I have put Black Salve on again and again it has caught something. The lump has completely gone now and I'm just waiting for my hand to heal. 

I have been meaning to put this photo up for so many years and finally I have managed it. You can see that all that is left (in August of 2015) is nothing but a small star of a scar. I have put Black Salve on just a couple of weeks ago and no reaction.

It has been a long process but I can tell you I would rather this than have that thing in my body. So far I have found no other suspected cancers.

It is now August 2012 and I have been fighting the scare tissue. I eventually put some more Black Salve on which I found helped get rid of most of the scare tissue and DID NOT find any more cancer(?). This was my 7th go with Black Salve. Six times it found something. The 7th it did not.

September 18th 2012. I have come back to add that there is still the tiniest of a bump (not a lump) and a small section (3mils across) that is still red.

September 3rd 2013. Adding this on. I have no real sign that I ever had a cancer(?) on my hand. There is a tiny star where the hole used to be. There is no lump, no nothing. If you would like to read more click here.


Since I started looking into and using Black Salve (in 2012 - click here if you want to know why) I have cleaned up 15 'thing's on my face. I can NOT say that ANY of them were cancer. Some of them (what ever they were) were only the size of the fingernail on my little finger. Others were only tiny dots, mainly around my mouth. I was just not willing to take the chance and so I have used the Black Salve to kill them. Below are the abnormal cells that I have killed off this week using Black Salve I have made for myself in 2015.

This is on my forehead. It has been killed by the Black Salve I had made myself. I used it overnight, with a band-aid.

I have had a small lump on the side of my nose for years and nothing I have tired has rid me of it. I had to put the Black Salve that I had made on it for 24 hours to get this reaction. I did this in two separate sections during the day time, not at night.  As you can see there are tiny spots on the outside and so when this cleans up I shall do it again to get anything else that is there.

It is now 2015 and I have finally ran out of the Black Salve I had purchased (in 2012) from someone before he was shut down. Here in Australia it is illegal to sell the Black Salve as a made up ointment BUT you are aloud to purchase the individual ingredients and make it yourself, so I have been told by many a website. I am assuming this is because everything is natural and you can just go and buy them off the shelf at most health food stores and how do they stop that? It being illegal is of course a great shame but what else do you expect from the chemical companies that make billions from people being sick. Billions more is spent (worldwide) looking for a cure to cancer even though there is already one. Infact if you go looking there is more than one, granted not for all types of cancers but definitely for skin cancer and melanomas which here in Australia are a real killer. Thankfully with the help of thousands of people worldwide, and the with the use of the internet, the horse has bolted and the chemical companies can not stop the movement of people who have been let down soo much by them and unfortunately even some doctors must be included in this even if they never meant it to happen.

Don't get me wrong there are times when the inventions from the chemical companies and the research and the doctors needed to cure the terrible diseases on this earth are most welcome but when they stop people from saving their own lives and have people thrown in jail all for the mighty dollar there is something wrong with man. But I laugh. Look at what is happening to this world with its love of power and money being at the root of it all. Even so even though I attempt to look after myself with natural remedies I DO USE MY COMMON SENSE and go to see a doctor if I think I need to. 

I have looked at some of the photos on the internet and they are horrifying and I wonder what where these people thinking, where was their common sense? Off on a holiday I think that is why I say use Black Salve ONLY  on one spot at a time and ONLY IN SMALL AMOUNTS.

WHAT I HAVE GLEANED OVER THE YEARS
When I started looking into Black Salve all those years ago I did not know much about it but now I have a better understanding. I thought you might like to know what I have gleaned from my use of the ointment and how I have made the ointment and why I made it the way I did.

First:-
When 'people' on the Internet tell you 'DO NOT pick the core out of the dead sun cancer or melanoma' before it has finished doing its job they mean it. WAIT FOR IT TO FALL OUT NATURALLY. The reason is that as the cells are killed off your body will want to get rid of them (this is the pus - it means your immune system is working). The eschar (the dead cells) seem to arrange themselves into a cone shape with the point facing down into the body. Eventually as all else dies off there is left a root, or an anchor it could be called I have found that if you pull the eschar out and break that root then it will take months to heal and could end up with scar tissue. This of course can be rid by using a combination of Rose Hip Oil one time, then Paw Paw the next and then keep repeating this until the problem is solved. Remember I am only telling you how I did things. It may be different for you.

Second:-
I can ONLY say how I use the Black Salve. You must make your own choice. I ONLY use SMALL AMOUNTS at one time. The internet is littered with images of people putting on the Black Salve in, what I would call, large areas and it makes me gringe. I only use enough Black Salve that will fit on a normal band aid. This would be LESS than the size of a 5 cent piece (a little larger than the end of a pencil). My usual way of applying this is to do it overnight unless it is near the eyes and then I ONLY use it through the day time. DO NOT GET THIS IN YOUR EYES!
In the morning I take the band-aid off and wash the salve off. If there is a reaction, no matter how small, I then put new Black Salve back onto a new band-aid and apply it either for the rest of the day or leave it until the evening to apply it when I go to bed it depends on what is happening on the day. 

I ONLY use it for a total of 24hrs but sometimes have found that 12hrs will do if the spot is only small.

Third:-
Once the 24hrs is up I then use either Calandula, Paw Paw to keep the area moist (this will help to keep scarring down and help with healing the area as well.
I am presently doing an experiment with the two reactions (see photos above). I have made an ointment using Plantain, Sheep Sorrel, Red Clover and Bees Wax and I am using it to see if reacts the same way as Comfrey which is that it heals the eschar and makes the body not expel it but absorb it and rid it that way. The problem was that when I used Comfrey and found it doing this, with the hand, I couldn't stand the idea of my body doing that and I stopped. This time I am going to see what happens. My thinking is that if the body absorbs it then there will not be a hole. I will let you know how I go.


Fourth:- (Making the recipe)
When I made my first lot of Black Salve I did not want to add Zinc Chloride. I have read that if too much is added it will burn the skin and cause scar tissue so I wanted to make it without. It also worried me that it is called a poison. 
The problem was when I made my first batch, because it is made from natural materials mixed with boiled water and glycerine, it went moldy. A nice crop of mold it was to, all different colours. I didn't worry about it though. I cleaned most of it off and put the salve in the fridge (in the vegetable section down the bottom).  This killed off all the mold except for two tiny bits and even these may have been killed off if I had left them sitting in the fridge for longer.
I also noticed that even though I had cooked the mixture for thirty minutes it stayed a reddy brown colour.
I decided to add a small amount of Zinc Chloride. I wondered if this was one of the reasons it was added. To stop the mold from growing.
As I was using 250grams of dried material (which I had mixed into a wet ointment) I only added 100grams of Zinc Chloride instead of the 250grams recommend in most recipes with 150mil of boiled water.
I then added it to the salve mixture and cooked it in a double boiler for 30mins.
I have found that the mixture has now turned a much darker brown colour (not black but dark enough to stop it looking like something the dog had left on the pavement).
When cooled I placed it in clean jars and have put it in the back of the fridge.


 If I think of anything else I will add it later.

The internet is littered with websites about Black Salve. I have placed links to a few of them and then only for your information so you can make a more informed decision.

I purchased my dried materials from this website.
http://plantessentials.com.au/collections/everything/products/graviola-galangal-bloodroot-chaparral-powder-100g-mix

http://cancersalves.com/discus_cs/messages/27/27.html
also she has a website.

http://www.cancersalves.com/sources.html

PLEASE NOTE THAT I DO NOT KNOW THIS PERSON AND CAN NOT VOUCH FOR ANY OF HER PRODUCTS OR INFORMATION. PLEASE USE YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

I have also added another link concerning Black Salve in Australia. Again I do not know these people. I can NOT vouch for anything they say. You MUST always use your own discretion.
http://www.blacksalveaustralia.com/

I have looked at these youtubes and thought you might be interested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGhetfdyoHY  It is a long video but I was glad to watch. Important he suggests a Black Salve that DOES NOT HAVE Zinc chloride in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HbqOLqA8Eo
This man started using Black Salve when he was at Stage 4 of Cancer. Even though he used it and agrees that it worked on the tumors around the ear (which was the main tumor) he believes that by allowing the doctors to cut into them caused them to spread to the Lymph Glands and from there to the rest of the body. In the end I believe he has died. The videos certainly seem to be a really true account of his battle with cancer and what he did in attempt to beat it.As he said he wished he could have used the Black Salve when it was just a spot on his forehead.