Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Day Two Hundred Ninety-Two

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Today is grocery shopping day, so we’re going to go early – as always. Then we’ll hunker down at home and have our second cup of coffee. The coffee is our reward for masking up and hand sanitizing and everything involved in taking a trip to the grocery store.

A reminder of what the English Cottage, aka Dove Cottage, looked like the day I found it at the dump:

All by its lonesome, abandoned by its owners, missing shutters, windows, doors and trim.

Someone had to rescue it.

Just the other day:

I’m quite happy with the way this renovation has turned out. I have a beautiful door handle – a thumb latch – on its way to me. This particular Etsy seller, who I’ve ordered from before, only had one left in stock. So the door will have an exterior handle and when more are available, I’ll order one for the interior. I’m thinking of porch lights on either side of the door. And then I have to figure what I want to do with the ‘porch’ area. I’ve got ideas.

One of my Christmas presents from Don was this battery operated lighting fixture. I never wire my houses for electricity because I look at all that is involved and immediately say, “Nope!” I wish I was braver. I’m not. Luckily, there are battery operated lights available. All of my houses need them so I’ll add them over time because they’re not cheap. Anyway, this one is a bit taller than I had thought so I’ll hang it over the kitchen island. They are made with a too shiny brass, so I always age them a bit. I aged it the day before yesterday. I’ll hold off hanging it until I’m sure of the exact placement of the island. If you’re looking for battery operated lights, most miniature shops carry them. But the shop with the greatest variety is the Little Dollhouse Company in Toronto. That’s where Don got this fixture.

Someday, when all of this is finished, I’d love to visit that shop and revisit Tiny Doll House in NYC. I’ve been there before but it’s been a long time. A simple trip on the bus into the city seems unimaginable at the moment. And to think we used to do it all the time!

So. Grocery shopping. Disinfecting. Coffee. That’s on the docket for today.

Thanks for all your comments yesterday! Love seeing what you’re reading.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Day Two Hundred Ninety

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I ordered two jigsaw puzzles for this winter. I’ve been eyeing the puzzles offered by John Derian. Since I can’t get to his shop in NYC, I ordered them online. I was going to order them from his site but the shipping was really pricey, so I caved and ordered through Amazon Prime.

Aren’t they gorgeous? Butterflies and a nineteenth century map of New York City. Derian’s work and aesthetic are exquisite. He’s on IG and I’ve spent hours looking at photos of his NYC apartment and his home on Long Island. I absolutely love the way he decorates. I’d like to be him when I grow up!

I digress. Winter is here, which means more time inside and I need something to do besides reading and working on dollhouses. So…puzzles are back. I’m not sure when I’m going to start one, but soon.

A reader of this blog – Janet – contacted me and asked whether I wanted a piece or two of the Petite Princess furniture she had when she was a child. I already had a couple of them, but I didn’t have the chaise. She generously sent it to me, along with a little birdcage and a plant.

Petite Princess furniture is 3/4 or 1:16 size, so it doesn’t fit in my 1:12 dollhouses, but it does fit in the folk art dollhouse. I’m thinking it will look neat on the upper floor.

Check out this mini snake plant! I just published photos of my parents’ snake plant in bloom and, as always, I got lots of responses from people saying they had no idea that snake plants bloomed. They do. And evidently the maker of this plant knew that because the white flowers are very much like the blooms on my plant. I love it.

Thank you, Janet! I’m honored that you shared these beauties with me.

Yesterday was about washing sheets, vacuuming, dusting, etc. I also cleaned and dusted Don’t mini studio. Because it’s so close to the window it collects a lot of dust. Now that we have new mini-blinds, I’m going to make sure that it isn’t in direct sunlight for too long. I already see a repair I have to do on the floor because the glue has lifted.

That’s about it. I’m still waiting for Don’s other present. Sigh. If it doesn’t come today, I’m going to reorder. (It shipped out of Los Angeles on December 11th and there have been zero updates since then.) His present for me that was also missing arrived on Saturday. He’s holding it until the other present arrives and then we’ll exchange gifts.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

 

Day Two Hundred Eighty-Two

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Two of my Vintage by Crystal Christmas beauties on the piano.

This is the first year that I haven’t purchased any new ones. That’s not to say I won’t in the future, but display space is at a premium here (they live in the pink cabinet in my office, which is full.) Plus, I’ve been buying miniatures and that’s where my wee bit of discretionary income has been focused.

Speaking of miniatures, if you didn’t read the comments yesterday, you didn’t see that I ended up ordering the Beacon Hill. I found it on Wayfair for less than it was listed for on the Greenleaf website. Plus, they ship quickly. It should be here on Wednesday, but with the way thing are going lately, that’s questionable.

When I wake up in the morning, I usually look at something I was excited about the day before with a jaundiced eye. I don’t know why that is, but it happens more often than not. Groggy, no coffee yet, congested? Who knows? So this morning, I wondered why the heck I bought it, it was going to be an enormous project, where would I put it – there is absolutely no spare room here, what makes you think you can build this monster…etc. The good news is that within about 10 minutes, I see things more clearly. A sip of coffee and feeling a bit more awake helps. Now I’m excited again. By the way, I’ve learned to ignore those first-thing-in-the-morning thoughts. I just wait them out, knowing sanity is on the way.

Don is incredibly supportive (he’s literally surrounded by dollhouses here at the cottage) and he was the one who pushed me to go ahead an order it. Plus, my fellow dollhouse lovers; Helga, Megan, Andrea (all of whom have their own Beacon Hills) and Barbara urged me on, giving me quite sound reasons why I should do it.

It’s a gray day today. I figure if we’re going to have lots of snow on the ground it should be sunny. Unfortunately, it isn’t. I think we’re going to get some snow showers later this morning.

I found the mini Christmas accessories I had been looking for. They were wedged in the back of a drawer. I had a moment of panic that in one of my vigorous “clean everything” phases I might have thrown them out.

Caroline will be self-isolating this year, as will so many of us. She’ll light a fire in the living room, then she’ll come upstairs to the den to open her presents, most likely while she’s on a Zoom call with family. Sound familiar?

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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