Late in the afternoon on Saturday, I wandered down to the mailbox, umbrella in hand, to get the mail.  I then wandered over to the area of the culvert we call Frog Pond and called out for Phileas. I sang a bit. Suddenly, on the periphery of my vision, something on the left leapt into the water, landing with a plop. I couldn’t see him under the water but our Phileas is still around! We were greatly relieved. Don looked for him yesterday and there was no response. We are accepting the fact that Phileas has his own life and is entitled to privacy and will not answer our questions as to where he goes. He is his own frog.

Rain all day long on Saturday, then Sunday started out as a sunny day, but turned gloomy later.

Taken yesterday morning, right after I watched a male and female wild turkey walk through our woods.

What else? I spent a few hours working on another project for the Beacon Hill. My friend Gwen sent me a 1:12 3D printed miniature cubby/cabinet a few months back. It’s the first 3D miniature I’ve modified. It came in basic white and I guess it’s made of some sort of plastic. I probably should have sanded it a bit, but I didn’t. I stained it in that walnut color and then painted and aged it. I wanted it to look like an old piece of painted furniture. I’m pretty happy with it.

Ir’s very hard to capture the color as it changes with the light.

Here it looks more green with less blue tones. I’ll try to get a good photo of it later today. That’s the wall it’s going on and it will be directly opposite the table and chairs. I didn’t want the living room to be too matchy, so I deliberately chose this color. I may play with it a bit more, but I’m pretty happy with it.

I’m not sure what I’ll choose to fill those cubbies. It won’t be books – more likely, some pottery. I had a vision of small rustic crocks, but these cubbies are rather small. I’d like whatever I display to look like a curated collection as the owners are collectors. We’ll see what I can come up with.

Last night, we watched Remarkably Bright Creatures  starring my pal Sally Field. It’s on Netflix. It’s a beautiful, powerful story and she is superb. Our friend Beth Grant is in it, as well. I cannot recommend it highly enough. You will be inspired and touched and moved to tears by the story. It’s based on a novel which I haven’t read, but I suspect some of you have.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

I stayed indoors much of the day yesterday to give my allergies a break. It helped a great deal. Since it rained all night (right after I had sprayed the plants to keep the deer away, grrr!) I’ll probably wait to do anything else outside until tomorrow.

I did venture out to get the mail and grabbed these pictures.

A bud on the shag hickory.

The lilacs have just started to open. Don told me he got a whiff of their heavenly scent so I had to investigate.

Don had an encounter with Phileas the other day. And we’re sure it’s the same frog this year. Don heard a splash in what we’re calling the Frog Pond, so he went over to investigate. As he stood there patiently, he sang the Phileas song he sang last year. Eventually, Phileas appeared and swam to the side of the culvert, popping up his head to say hi. It made Don’s day.

Started in on the baseboards for the living room. I was having ‘a day’ and couldn’t quite figure out how to mitre the joins in this strangely angled room. My solution? Fudge it. And that’s what I’ve done, if only to save my sanity. In the end, this project is for me. I’ll use a little spackle to cover up any space in the join. I briefly thought about painting the fireplace white, but that seems too matchy for me. I’m going to stain it in pecan, instead.

And lest you think I have things under control, this is the current state of the studio:

It’s a mess. A creative mess, but a mess. This is when I long for a larger space. Ah, well. I just saw some photos of my friend Gwen’s new studio and doll space and I’m incredibly envious!

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.