Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Day Four Hundred One

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Some updates on this room and the rest of the dollhouse:

I ordered the most incredible miniature easel yesterday. It’s made by a woman who lives in Denmark. I don’t know how long it will take to get here; whether it’s made after an order is placed, or whether there is already one in stock. That’s okay. I can wait.

But I’m really excited!

I know I bought that chair thinking it would be perfect for the Beacon Hill (whenever the heck I actually start to construct it) but I can’t get over how beautiful it looks in this room. It’s as if it was made for it. So, for now, it stays.

I pulled the shelf unit out of the modern doll house. There’s one just like it in Don’s mini studio. I’m thinking I can fill it with art supplies and books and paints.

I don’t know if Queen Victoria is going to stay in that room, but again – for now – she looks cool in that space.

Lots of canvases, lots of art work on the walls…I have ideas. But they’ll take time, and money, so I have no choice but to work slowly.

I also need a lot more small details in the other rooms, including baseboards.

And I have to dress the bed. I have the fabric I’m going to use, I just need to be motivated.

We’re heading down the final stretch.

I didn’t end up weeding yesterday. It’s allergy and sinus time and I just didn’t feel up to it. I worked on the puzzle and cleaned up my part of the studio space upstairs. It was way too cluttered and I can only stand that for so long.

Don and I are discussing the possibility of lifting the carpet in that room. We’re not crazy about it and the room would be so much better without it. But I immediately start to wonder how we can work around all the furniture in that room when we have no place to put it while we’re pulling carpet up. Two heavy desks, a large china cabinet, a big old chair, etc. This is the challenge of living in a small house. So, we’ll start with pulling up a corner to see what’s underneath. I suspect it’s plywood, but even plywood would be okay. We could paint the floors.

Today? The Adirondack chairs are coming out of the shed and the cushions are coming out of the cabinet under the stairs. If I can’t plant my pots for the porch yet, I can surely pretty up the seating area.

I’ve decided I’ll leave the blog post titles as is until either 450 or 500. Then, I’ll go back to what they were before the pandemic started.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Day Four Hundred

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• As we’ve reached Day Four Hundred, I’m currently pondering whether today will be the last post with the number of days in the title. I haven’t come to a conclusion yet, but I’m leaning toward phasing it out. As I weed in the garden bed today and do the laundry, I’ll be thinking about it.

Current puzzle: Main Street, from 1939.

• The new John Derian puzzle that I ordered last week from Amazon has been delayed. This is made all the more annoying since Oblong Books had it on their shelf and, knowing that I already had it on the way, I didn’t buy it. Amazon is saying delivery will be sometime between May lst and the 15th. No can do. Looks like I might be headed back to Oblong sooner than I thought.

• It rained much of the day yesterday, so everything around here is soggy. The perfect time to pull some weeds in the big garden bed. That’s what I’m going to do this morning.

• Something else to ponder: My sister and I were chatting the other day during FaceTime about messages from our parents. As you know, I had several visits from my mother, both when she was in the nursing home and on the day she died. I’ve never sensed a message or appearance from my father. Or my grandmother. But I did have one, long ago, from my grandfather.

And from my brother – more than one. Both Meredith and I have had dreams in which we were dancing with our brother. Vivid, powerful dreams. I remember feeling pure joy during and after that dream. He will be gone 30 years this year. It doesn’t seem possible. I love the fact that we’ve both danced with David in our dreams.

• Don is currently at our local farm stand/nursery. I was all set to go along and buy some plants but I saw it might go down to 33 this week (that’s awfully close to freezing) so I decided not to go. If I went, I would be tempted to buy plants and I don’t want to worry about them and have to bring them inside this week. So I’ll wait a week and, in the meantime, catch up on all the things that need to be done outside.

That’s it, my friends.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Day Three Hundred Ninety-Nine

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Right next to the catalpa.

What did I say to Don this morning?

“It’s Spring. And I’m fully vaccinated.”

Those six words say it all. Very, very grateful.

We had heavy rain yesterday, so the ground is saturated. I’ll probably wait until tomorrow to do anything outside. I’m anxious to visit our nursery/farm stand as it’s been two weeks since I purchased the pansies and I know they’ll have more stock. It’s time to clear the rest of the garden beds, buy another hollyhock, and plants for the Secret Garden pots and the pots on the porch and Funky Patio. Time to move the Adirondack chairs back onto the porch and dig those cushions out of the closet under the stairs. And, in about two weeks, time to sow seeds.

Wednesday’s book haul:

Uprooted  is by Paige Dickey, well known gardening columnist, and it’s all about having to move and start a new garden.

The Paris Library takes place during WWII and the Occupation of France and centers on The American Library.

The Rural Diaries  is by Hilarie Burton Morgan. She and her husband, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, are actors who relocated to Rhinebeck from the West Coast, bought some land and started a farm. They are very active in the Rhinebeck community. This book came out during lockdown and, at least for a while, a percentage of the proceeds was going to support Oblong Books. I’ve been wanting to read it for a long time and just started it this morning.

The Glass Hotel  is Emily St. John Mandel’s second book. I absolutely loved her first, Station Eleven.

Maigret and the Informer – another Georges Simenon because I love Maigret. I’d love to have a full set someday.

And here’s the puzzle:

Delicious colors, don’t you think?

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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