The chrysalis has joined the other inhabitants of the Plate of Curiosities. You can see it next to the robin’s egg and the cicada wing.

Friends, I’m tapped out. The news of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing last night was shocking. I suppose that I, like most everyone, thought she’d hang in there until January. She was that fierce and that strong. RBG was extraordinary and she will be greatly missed. Her legacy will be enshrined in history. McConnell’s will live in infamy.

Keep up the fight. We can’t back off now. She wouldn’t have wanted that.

I woke up too early and because my first thought was about RBG, I couldn’t get back to sleep. So it’s mowing and cleaning today to keep me busy. Don’s off to recycle.

In the past two days, we’ve watched two documentaries that I highly recommend. The first is Unfit, and it’s from Duty to Warn, a large group of mental health experts who have spoken out about Trump. It centers on Trump’s pathology and how dangerous he is. It’s available on several platforms, but we watched it on Amazon Prime for $4.99.

The second, which we watched last night, is The Social Dilemma  and it’s available for free on Netflix. Excellent. It’s a warning about social media (from those who helped develop it) and the ways in which it is changing the shape of who were are, how we respond to things, how it effects children who are exposed to too much of it, how it shapes public thought, and it explains the whole “how can they believe that?” question I seem to constantly utter. It’s really well done and I urge you to watch it. I know that both Don and I are thinking long and hard about it today.

The heat kicked on this morning even though we were determined not to turn it on. It went down to 39 degrees last night and will be even colder tonight. This will last for a few days and then we’ll be back to more normal temps. I am currently wearing my pajamas, a hooded sweatshirt with Escape to Margaritaville  on the back, and a wool cap I got in Edinburgh. Yikes.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Our little Emby took off yesterday morning. I’m not sure what time, but once the sun came out and I had finished this post, I went outside and he was gone. I looked around to make sure he was not on the ground, but he wasn’t.

Both Don and I felt sad for the rest of the day. Obviously, we were thrilled he took off on his adventure, but we missed him. We sort of fell in love with him.

I also wrote out the check for the tree removal yesterday. Gulp. We need some employment. But COVID. But we need some employment.

Anyway, I thought I’d give you a little update on the dollhouse.

This is the basic setup for the first floor. I’ll have a side table or a coffee table and at least one more chair. I think I forgot to include the kitchen island the last time I posted a photo.

I ordered this piece from Italy. It’s perfect for what I want here and I don’t have to attempt to build it, thank goodness. The cupboard on the left will be a mini fridge – I’m thinking the owner can walk to the neighborhood shops to pick up fresh vegetables and milk, etc. She doesn’t need a big refrigerator.

The AGA and cupboard will be on this wall.

This cupboard will be filled with books and vases and pottery. There will be a chair and a table and a rug.

I applied the wallpaper yesterday (it’s a pain in the tush) and here is a glimpse of it:

I like it…but I’m a bit unsure about it at the moment and much of that is due to the fact that the windows are unfinished, as is the door, as are the floors. I’m thinking of adding some beadboard (chair rail height) to the wall behind the stove and cupboard in the kitchen. So that wall would be half wallpaper and half beadboard.

The last thing I want to do is remove the wallpaper. So I think I’ll just trust my choice and move on to the floors. Oh, there will also be beams on the ceiling.

Okay.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

We’re on chrysalis watch.

Really, that’s what yesterday was mostly about. I could see the chrysalis changing from green to a darker color and I knew it was time. I think I went outside around 10:30, after constantly checking on it through the window, and I sat by the birdbath for about 4 or 5 hours. Don would occasionally spell me, or we’d sit there together. It changed to this:

You can see the wings! I can’t tell you how hard it is to take a picture as this is the underside of the birdbath and it’s dark there.

We eventually went inside with frequent trips back outside to see if there were any changes. Late in the day, I posted on Instagram asking how long this part of the process takes, and I also did a search on the internet. Contrary to what we thought, it can take up to 48 hours. Okay.

So, it’s been almost 24 hours and I just asked Don to check on the chrysalis and it’s still like the photo above. My former colleague at the animal hospital tells me that the monarchs she has raised usually eclose (that’s the term for it) in the morning. Another friend from San Diego tells me that the chrysalis gets cloudy right before the butterfly emerges. So, after I finish this post, I’ll go back outside and keep up the vigil. I sure hope we get to see it emerge. It’s already been so miraculous seeing the wings inside the chrysalis.

I’m calling it Nature Week here at the cottage. A black bear and the emergence of a monarch butterfly.

Some wallpaper that I ordered for the dollhouse living room came the other day, along with another pattern that I plan to use elsewhere in the house. I wanted it faded looking but sort of formal, like something that had been in the house for a long time.

I’m still not sold, but I think I’ll go with it. I could have gone with a William Morris pattern (and I love them) but with the sofa being upholstered in a Morris design, it seemed too ‘on the nose.’ My intention is to have this cottage look like a place that has been put together with an eclectic group of furniture and books and knickknacks. Maybe it’s a weekend place for someone who lives in London. Maybe it’s a charming full-time residence in a small town. I’ll know more as it evolves. Charming is the key word, charming like all those wonderful photos I see of old English residences, a hodgepodge of comfy sofas and old chairs and old rugs and paintings on the wall. I don’t know if you’re familiar with him, but designer and shop owner John Derian’s apartment in Manhattan and his house in Provincetown are my inspiration. And he’s American, not British! But his style is much the same. I’ll post more photos tomorrow.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.