Hi all, I am new to all this blogging lark and this is my first post so a bit about me. I am 63 years young, have retired from working with teenagers and have taken up a lot of interests as an alternative to housework.
I paint in oils and watercolour (though a beginner at watercolours)and as a member of the Glenrothes Art club my hubby and I run fund raising car-boot sales twice a year. I make all my own Christmas cards and cards for lots of other occasions. From time to time I get involved in other crafts and at one point I did voluntary work doing arts and crafts with Age Concern. Since I retired at 50 I have also completed a number of tapestry pictures (needlepoint really) and am working on a huge one at the moment. It is the picture of one section in the famous ‘Lady with the Unicorn’ series and will probably take me years to finish.
For my 60th Birthday my daughter and her husband gave me a dolls house as I had always wanted one. Later my husband built a huge extension. This is an on going project and gardens and outbuildings are being added. I need an extension to the house for my plans for it!!
A few years ago I began looking into my fathers genealogy and discovered a new addiction. I have now researched my father’s family Nicolson from Skye, my mother’s family Quigley from Donegal, my mother-in-law’s familyGuthrie from Berwickshire and am currently working on my father-in-law’s family Sloan from Antrim. My plan is to put them into hard backed books published by Blurb.com, called The Road to Edinburgh books 1-4. They are tracing each family who ends with my daughter who lives in Edinburgh.
I have been building a Doll’s House for a few years now – 3 to be exact and I am fascinated by the amazing tiny things that can be bought. Here are some photographs of the various stages of work. The first thing completed was the roof and tiny red terracotta tiles were glued onto it. To view further posts click the links in the category cloud in the right hand column
I plan to write something in for most days… just bits about what I am up to most days……it will be riviting stuff…. not!
Well that’s enough about me to be going on with. Watch this space more to come
Lilian
I love your site. Keep it up !
By: knowledgetoday on March 30, 2009
at 8:49 am
Hi
nice to put a face to the name!
Last year i had a couple from America come and visit slafarquhar and told me their relatives lived here from about 1650.
I too have been building, have completed the last barn conversion after 4 years. if you type slafarquhar into google youll find lots of photos.
It was your original post that started me off getting interested in the history of the farm.
john nicholson is still remembered in the valley!
Steve Kelly
By: steve on April 6, 2009
at 8:42 pm
Lovely to hear from you again. I have been a bit naughty. You may remember that you sent me some photographs which included one of the original wall of the house…… well I have put the family history into a book which published on Blurb and included the photo. As I had lost your email and name through the change in computer I couldn’t give you the credit. I can now rectify that and give you the credit in any future edition – which I am sure there will be when I dig up more information.
How nice to know that he is still known in the area – good I hope. However not all the family history is to be proud of but then that’s what most people find. Can you tell me by what is said of him. It would be really good to know as much of his life is a blank. I would love to know more about his children as we only really have details about one son – our grandfather Malcolm.
By the was there is a link to the book where you can see the first 15 pages, on the Nicolson link on the right.
By: liliansloan on April 6, 2009
at 9:24 pm
very interested to find your site my mothers maiden name was Nicolson and her late father my Grandfather was called James and when he was a boy he lived on a farm called Slafarquar. He was one of ten children.
Helena Socha
By: Helena Socha on March 3, 2010
at 6:07 pm
This is amazing. James was my great grandfather’s son. I think he lived at Slafarquar until 1923 when the farm was sold. I have been trying to find out more about him and his siblings. Unfortunately in the next generation my grandfather caused a huge rift in the family so not a lot was talked about. As my father died over 20 years ago it is difficult now to find out. You are the first chink in the puzzle. You may have seen on the site a link to the book I have written about the Nicolson family beginning with their roots in the Isle of Sky. Please get in touch again. If you can give me your email address I can send you more up to date information and perhaps you can tell me what you know of the family.
By: liliansloan on March 3, 2010
at 7:39 pm
Wow!
It’s amazing what the internet throws up.
Did you see this
http://www.tooveys.com/lots.asp?WEBLOTID=121976&LOTID=3206 – Cached
By: steve on April 7, 2010
at 9:16 pm
Your Blog getting a bit out of date I see!
By: Ian on September 15, 2010
at 9:26 pm
yes I really need to spend some time on it and update it properly
By: liliansloan on September 15, 2010
at 9:36 pm
yes quite!
By: liliansloan on September 15, 2010
at 9:39 pm
Lilian,
I may be related to the Burns family of Tullydish Upper in Co Donegal in Ireland (Robert John, William, James, etc). One of your correspondents mentioned having a lot of information on this Burns family. Can I contact that person?
By: Edward Burns on October 10, 2010
at 10:26 am
Hello Edward, What is your connection? I have a lot of other information which I haven’t had time to put on this blog yet. It is in my family tree maker file elsewhere on my computor.
By: liliansloan on October 10, 2010
at 11:05 am
Hi Lilian,
Just had a wee look over your Guthrie family tree. My 3rd Great Grandfather was Archibald Guthrie 1809.
Did you ever discover who he married? I’ve hit a complete dead end. I think he might have been a soldier in Woolwich at the time, as his daughter Elizabeth was born there.
My family are Fifers now too. Our home is now Limekilns/Dunfermline. although I’ve lived in Turkey for the past 20 years.
I was amused to see that you are a card maker too. I make handmade cards and also photograph cards and sell them in many of the big stores in Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara! Must be something in the DNA!!
Annie Esentepe
By: Annie Esentepe on October 13, 2010
at 7:21 am
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By: 2010 in review « Lilian’s Blog on January 2, 2011
at 12:57 pm