Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Miniature Updates

November 11, 2026 at 8:57 am by Claudia

We’ve had murmurations by hundreds and hundreds of starlings, and pit stops by lots of bluebirds as they migrate south. As I was writing this, I saw a cardinal at the birdbath – that’s a rare sight! We’re about to have two full days of rain and we need it. Thank goodness it’s not snow, which was predicted earlier in the week. We’re going to see Judy Collins on Friday and I don’t want to have deal with snow as we head across the Hudson River.

Updates on the dollhouse – I’ve had a productive couple of days upstairs in the studio.

I removed the carpet from the two rooms upstairs in the Glencroft.

A little treasure arrived from Italy.

A box for art supplies – made by Carlotta of Cinen. Carlotta also made the big bookshelf/drawer unit that is in Dove Cottage. She’s very talented.

The top of the box.

How I wish I had one of these in real life!

I added some plates to this wall.

And I’ve been making teeny tiny books. I was chuffed when I had enough to fill up that top shelf! I’ll be making more today, and for a long time – there are nine more shelves to fill up.

I get such satisfaction from this kind of work. I asked Don to come upstairs and see the progress on the Beacon Hill and he was amazed. He couldn’t stop talking about it, bless him. I have the best support on the planet.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Dad’s Miniature Trains

November 9, 2026 at 9:08 am by Claudia

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my dad. For most of my life before my parents moved to Florida, my dad had an elaborate model train set up in the basement. Dad was often down there, wiring lights, signals, running the trains, and making miniature houses and signs and landscaping. He was always very good with this hands and he created little worlds (one of the towns was “Claudville”) that I took for granted.

I would always stop down there and admire whatever Dad had added to to his miniature world. He had a huge train table that eventually extended into the next room. And it got even larger when they retired to Northern Michigan. He started out with Lionel trains, but very quickly turned to HO trains, which were much smaller and had a level of detail that was amazing. He made the train car you see by hand. Thankfully, at some point he gave it to me and I admire it more and more as I work in miniature myself.

When they came to visit me in San Diego, we would visit the model train museum in Balboa Park. There were always model railroad enthusiasts there, running the trains, chatting with visitors – it was tailor-made for my Dad.

I think – no, I know – that I would view my dad’s work in a different way today. Now, I know firsthand how difficult working in miniature is and how teeny-tiny HO scale is compared to the scale I work with. My dad’s hands often had a tremor, which made that work even more of a challenge, but he stuck with it.

By the way, I work in 1:12 scale. HO is 1:87 – so much tinier. 1 inch in miniature equals 12 inches in real life. In HO, 1 inch equals 87 inches in real life.

When my parents moved to Florida, he sold his trains. I can’t imagine how sad that made him, especially when I learned, later in my dad’s life, that he never wanted to leave Michigan. He only did it because my mom insisted on it.

I used to have that “Claudville” sign, but it disappeared and I have no idea where it is now.

I miss my dad. How I wish we could talk about our miniature worlds now. How I wish I had talked with him more about his incredible talent for making small things.

But I do like to think that I inherited his gift. And that maybe he’s smiling down on me as I work in miniature.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.