On Wednesday, I mowed the largest part of the front lawn. And then I mowed the Secret Garden. And then…even though I knew I was pretty darned tired, I mowed the lilac side of the front lawn. I did take about a 10 minute break in the middle of it all. That is a lot to mow with a push mower! I felt pretty proud of myself at the age of 73! Later in the day, however, I had a big old allergic reaction. My left nostril felt tingly and I started sneezing. I must have sneezed over 30 times in the next few hours. And it came back yesterday – more tingling, more sneezing. Crazy! Everything is bursting forth all over the property, I’m allergic to grass pollen, lots of mowing = a recipe for discomfort.

Yesterday, I made one last trip to the nursery and came home with two hanging plants and some small plants for two of my vintage pots. They’ll go in the Secret Garden.

I’m only filling two pots this year. The other two vintage pots are now at the porch entrance filled with pansies. I swept the porch, filled some trash bags, and I think the porch is ready to go!

I was determined to finish the wood floor in the Beacon Hill living room, so I went up to the studio. A few hours later, it was done.

It is such finicky and messy work. But it’s what I know and prefer. I watched a video of a guy who is an amazing miniaturist. He does his floors with thin veneer strips. I can see where this might be easier, but the veneer is too perfect and that’s not what I go for, as you well know. I like imperfections and slight gaps here and there between the floorboards – just like our floors here in the cottage. I like things to look old. I will be doing this in other rooms as well. Maybe a different stain color here and there, but this is an “old” house and it should look that way.

Now I start in on the baseboards.

It’s been a busy week. Don has a gig tonight. I may sneak in some back forty mowing when he leaves. Shhh! Don’t tell him.

And I have to sow my zinnia seeds.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Saturday was a day of endless rain, but we need it. Yesterday, I did a little work outside, but I mainly concentrated on this:

I’ve begun to lay the living room floor.  You have to be in the mood to do this because it’s tedious and exacting. That may not look like much to you, but it took about 3 hours. I stain each stick individually, let it dry, then cut it to fit into the jigsaw puzzle that is a wood floor. This room is trickier than normal because it isn’t just 4 walls. It has insets into the bay windows, and a kind of bump out on the left – all of it making this whole thing more challenging.

It’s also messy. Each piece has to be covered in glue. I usually use another clear glue, but I’m trying a white glue for part of this – just to see how it goes.

I know that other miniaturists cut a backing the size and dimensions of the room and attach the floor to it, but I don’t. This is the way I learned how to lay a wood floor many years ago when I first started on this hobby and all floors in my dollhouses are still intact and still secure. The only one that isn’t? The one in Don’s mini music studio and that floor was the kind that is made in a sheet. I had to re-glue the join recently.

I also stain each piece of wood before I attach it. I don’t wait until all of the bare wood pieces have been glued in place to stain the entire floor. I remember someone advising me that there is less chance of warp when you stain them individually.

So, we stick with what works, no matter how tedious! I’ll add some more ‘boards’ today. Then I’ll work on the baseboards – also a pain in the tush.

I’m using my favorite stain from Minwax that I’ve had for several years. It comes in a big tube. And, much to my surprise, it isn’t being made anymore! This is ‘walnut’ and I have another tube in ‘pecan.’ I must guard them with my life!

I also managed to detach the center window in the bay window and replace the acetate that had paint on it from the previous owner’s work on the dollhouse. I had to be very careful because I didn’t want to break any of the wood surround. But it worked and it’s much better for photos now.

Outside:

Those are little leaves on the big maple!

And here is the lilac update.

Heaven.

I am going to rake out a couple of small garden beds today. I want to sow my zinnia seeds and uncover the plants in the beds on the far side of the house.

It’s beautiful out there today.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

From no activity on the dollhouse for almost 5 years to lots of work for three days in a row. I will admit that I am hooked on this hobby once again. (But I do have to take a break today – too much overstimulation!)

I managed to wallpaper the wall on the left and another section of that same wall on Monday. This involved contorting my body while shoving a piece of copy paper into this section in order to trace the proportions and the doorway – because I can’t see it from my chair. I end up using that piece of paper as a pattern for cutting out the wallpaper. But I check and recheck because it’s all too easy to get it wrong and I had exactly one sheet left of this pattern. Amazingly, with very little tweaking, it worked. But since this particular brand of wallpaper is so thick, I had to put a book against the wall to make sure it stuck.

This is the other section that I completed.

Had to put some “Roseville”on that mantel.

Yesterday, I decided to hold off on laying down a floor in order to build a one day project. This took place at the kitchen table so I could chitchat with Don as I worked. I’ve had this kit on hand for a few years and it was time to tackle it.

The piano. It was tricky and messy, but I did it.

I’m so, so happy with it! Isn’t it cool?

It’s a kit from Mini Mundus, a German family-owned company that just recently announced their retirement. I would say “Why does this keep happening??” (my favorite miniature supply shop just went through the same thing) but then again, what are Don and I facing right now? Same thing. Anyway, they make beautiful kits and, thankfully, you can still find their products on eBay.

Lots of fiddly work, but very clear directions. I ended up changing out the fabric on the bench to this pattern.

Whoo, hoo! I’m just tickled by the way it came out. At the end of the day, I was so overstimulated that I couldn’t quite calm down. Today is cold and sunny and I’m going to think  about the dollhouse but I’m not doing anything with it. Except maybe clean up a bit because it looks like a tornado hit my tiny little work area.

I have lots of ideas, but virtually no budget for any of this – the problems with the economy/tariffs have hit us very hard, as I’m sure is the case for everyone – and neither of us has work. In the next month or so, I have to pay for plants for the porch as well as the cost of renewing my blog host/server for one more year. So, I need to be imaginative and do this as inexpensively as possible. I’ll buy wallpaper as needed. And I have some more kits on hand that will be fun to put together.

Anyway, there you go – the latest on the Beacon Hill.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.