dollhouse — Page 78

Spying

August 31, 2015 at 9:13 am by Claudia

You may think me a voyeur, but I can’t help it. I’m always curious about Caroline’s activities. She is, after all, living under the same large roof as Don and me. Speaking of roofs, what did I see yesterday?

8-31 dh ottoman

Hmmm….let’s zoom in a bit.

8-31 mini mag

Aha! When the story on her house was published in American Miniaturist, Caroline seemed rather blasé about the whole thing, which made my reaction look over the top. I offered her a copy of the magazine. She declined. No more was said on the subject.

Apparently Caroline is a bit more excited than she let on. This rather well-thumbed copy of the magazine is sitting on the wicker ottoman, right where Caroline spends hours basking in the summer sun.

So: we have new sea shells on the coffee table:

8-31 dh den

And a new magazine. Could Caroline have purchased it while away on her vacation? One wonders.

Not that I’m spying or anything.

Your obligatory flower photo:

8-31 hydrangea

The hydrangea that I planted last year keeps blessing us with vividly colored flowers. I wondered if the original color would be the same after it had been planted in our soil, but it is.

The limelight hydrangea at the front of the house is starting to turn a soft pink. Happens every Autumn.

Don: Read No Further!

I finished the other side of the Top Secret Project yesterday.

8-31 tsp one side

The exterior has been covered with board and batten.

8-31 tsp another side

I added a coat of Matte Varnish by Delta Ceramcoat. I just may add one more coat today. Then it’s on to the inside. There’s some priming that needs to be done.

Happy Monday.

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Shells, Music, and an Anniversary

August 30, 2015 at 9:52 am by Claudia

I don’t profess to know all of Caroline’s comings and goings. She is very independent, as you know. Yesterday, during her absence, I snuck a peak at the interior of her house.

8-30 DH shells 1

She’s clearly been to the beach. I know those seashells were not there before.

8-30 DH shells 2

They’re pretty.

I wonder where Caroline was? California? Some Caribbean island? Hawaii? I mean, I know it’s none of my business, technically, but don’t you think letting me know when she’s going to be out of town would be the polite thing to do?

8-30 The guys-2

A wonderful performance last night by these guys.

Although there was a table of very loud patrons who were annoyingly clueless about their volume level and the fact that people were trying to listen to the words Don was singing. One woman eventually turned to them to ask them to keep it down. I walked over and stood by their table and gave them the evil eye. Twice.

There are people who travel in their own little bubbles and have no clue as to what is going on around them.

I wanted to knock their heads together.

Ah, well.

6-11mhc

Today, my friends, is the tenth anniversary of Mockingbird Hill Cottage. We moved in on August 30th, 2005.

Ten years!

The name Mockingbird Hill Cottage was not in existence on that day. It was just our very own house. That was enough, believe me.

Mockingbird Hill Cottage came a couple of years later. And then the blog appeared about a year after that.

Corners-kitchen 5

Yep. Ten years. See?

Does this mean we’re adults now?

Happy Sunday.

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Top Secret Project Update

August 10, 2015 at 9:12 am by Claudia

Despite my level of exhaustion yesterday, or maybe because of it, I needed a little creative distraction. So, when Don was away for a few hours, I went upstairs to my little lair and worked on the Top Secret Project.

It goes without saying (but I will): Don, stop reading this post!

I had this vision of a board and batten look on the studio, so I purchased some basswood strips at Michael’s. I thought I had purchased enough for the look I wanted, but when I went back through my photos from Chautauqua, I realized that the battens were about a foot apart on most of the cottages, much closer together than I had originally planned. Since I’m working in 1:12 scale, that means the battens are an inch apart.

So I didn’t buy enough. But no matter, I can get started, right?

8-10 TSP wood pieces

I started with the front of the studio, since the battens here only need to reach the height of the windows and I had enough wood on hand to execute the look. Then I painted. Two coats.

8-10 TSP board&batten 1

I’m really happy with it. I started on this when Don was still here – with strict orders not to come upstairs – and I had to stop myself from asking him to come upstairs and “see what I’ve done!” I usually share the ongoing steps of these projects with him and now I can’t. But I can share them with you.

8-10 TSP board&batten 2

I had to close the sliding door. We do live in the country after all – a little critter might decide to visit.

What do you think?

We watched Strangers on a Train last night, one of my favorite Hitchcock movies. Perfect.

The obligatory flower photo:

8-10 zinnias

Cheery zinnias.

New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page – it’s a review of The Cairo Affair by Olen Steinhauer.

Happy Monday.

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Spying

Shells, Music, and an Anniversary

Top Secret Project Update

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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