I’m going on very little sleep. It was a strange night. I had a nightmare early on – I barely remember it now. I hardly ever have nightmares, so that in itself was strange. Anyway, I got up to use the bathroom and I never really got back to sleep except for a doze here and there.

But let’s get to what I was doing yesterday. I decided to make a Christmas tree for Dove Cottage. I was also going to make one for the Lake House, but I forgot how long it takes to make just one and quickly realized that was a no go. Next year.

Don was downstairs writing music and recording. I was upstairs making a mini tree. Both activities required a lot of meticulous attention and at the end of the day, we were tuckered out!

There is a post somewhere on the blog showing the steps I took to make that first tree. If I can find it, I’ll post the link. Found it: it’s here. Though it doesn’t actually say anything more than I’m writing here!

It starts with a tree like this one:

This is a basic bottlebrush type tree that you can find in tons of stores at this time of year. I bought a bagful of Lemax trees on sale a few years back at Michael’s. The one I used for this project was exactly the same size as the tree pictured.

You take the tree and cut back most of the bottlebrush, leaving about a half inch or less (you’ll have to eye it and see what you’re comfortable with) so that you retain some structure in which to anchor the lycopodium, which is a kind of preserved moss, sometimes referred to as preserved pine. A note about lycopodium: you can find it at Earth and Tree Miniatures for $5.00. Pretty good deal! I got mine from miniatures (dot) com several years ago but I don’t think they carry it anymore.

After you cut it down, you start clipping small pieces of the lycopodium and gluing them in, one “branch” at a time – the largest being at the bottom with the tree getting narrower toward the top. I trim as I go, trying my best to keep the tree looking natural, and then I go over it once again when it’s finished. This takes a long time. You will have glue all over your fingers!

Here’s what it looked like when I finished it:

I was finally able to use one of the tree toppers I found at the miniature show a year or so ago!

Then I decorated with some stuff I had on hand. I use those holiday picks that you find at Michael’s. Remove each glittery ball from the pick and glue it into the tree.

These are a bit larger than the ones on the tree in Hummingbird Cottage, but I’m fine with that. I remember my aunt and uncle having some large ornament balls on their tree and I loved them. Eileen, I’m talking about your mom and dad!

And here it is in the dollhouse. I’ll try to get a sunnier picture later. (Some of you keep referring to the great light I have in the studio. I don’t. That’s simply the editing I do on the photo.)

I have to make some sort of tree skirt. I’m also missing my little box of Christmas presents, etc., that I use in creating these scenes. I’ve looked and looked and can’t find them! Here’s hoping I find them soon.

Before I forget, there’s a link for Don’s latest song on the Facebook page for Don and Dan’s collaborations. Here is the link. It will take you to their page and then you’ll see a post with another link.

Okay. Have to go. I didn’t mean this to turn into a tutorial, but someone mentioned that they’d like to know the details, so there you go!

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I spent a chunk of the day refreshing Twitter constantly, hoping that the Supreme Court would come through with a rejection of the bogus and insane Texas filing request. As it got later and later, I expressed my fears to Don that they wouldn’t rule until Monday. Just as we were about to eat dinner, we got the good news. I know I shouldn’t have stressed, but I did. So this weekend is about TAKING IT EASY. The only way to express that is in all caps.

In the midst of the whole thing, a little package arrived in my mailbox from Australia.

I love Carrie Lavender’s work. Hummingbird Cottage has several of her pieces. When I started working on Dove Cottage, I knew I wanted to order from her again. It took a while until her Etsy shop had what I wanted. And then it took a while until it reached my mailbox.

A blue willow teacup and saucer, an enamel pan edged in red, a pitcher with the words ‘milk and cream,’ and a large platter with wonderful crazing. The platter is too large for the hutch, but my plan has always been to hang it on the wall somewhere. I just couldn’t pass it up. Carrie does beautiful work.

I spent about 20 minutes trying to find the right place to take a photo of these items and then it dawned on me: how about the dollhouse itself? Don’t know why that didn’t occur to me right away, but better late than never.

While I was up in the office, I took another picture because the late afternoon light was so wonderful.

Just as in real life, I love miniature rooms bathed in highlights and shadows. I may not have made a Christmas tree for this little cottage yet, but it does sport a little bottlebrush tree. (I may make one today for both this little house and the Lake Cottage.) We’ll see. It’s tedious and messy work!

The forecast for next Wednesday has changed from 3-5 inches of snow to 8 -12 inches. The first thing on the weather app for Wednesday is: Watching a potential winter storm.

Gulp. I don’t mind some snow but a foot of it?

Let’s hope that changes for the better. It’s going to be cold next week with some days only reaching the twenties. The week of Christmas will, unfortunately for snow, be in the forties and rainy. Crazy town.

Okay, friends. I’m still groggy and I’ve been up for three hours. Have to go.

Stay safe.

It’s a bit warmer today and sunny. Maybe I’ll finally  hang the lights on the porch. I’ve managed to avoid it for three days and it’s the easiest decorating I do for the holidays. Go figure.

I can’t believe that Christmas Eve is two weeks from today – which means that 2020 ends in a little over 3 weeks. Bye Bye, 2020. You’ve been a nightmare for so many; so much loss and so much of it avoidable. We’ve been in our version of lockdown since March, so the majority of the year has been spent away from family and friends, away from the little things that I’ll never take for granted again. I’m happy to do it, as are all of you. We wear masks. We stay home. We protect others and ourselves. Top that off with the increasing insanity that is coming out of the White House. I will be so happy to say goodbye to this year. I know our worries about the coronavirus won’t magically disappear, as we have to be more careful than ever and it looks like vaccinations will be spread out over months.

Anyway, I’m not saying anything you don’t already know. I’ve had some tough years in my life – how can you get to age 68 without having had tough times? But I’ve never wanted a year to end as much as I do this one. That being said, we count our blessings every day here at Mockingbird Hill Cottage and we will continue to do so.

Don’s friend mentioned that we might get some significant snow next week, so I checked the forecast and it looks like we will get 3 – 5 inches next Wednesday. Both Don and I are excited about that because the first snowfall is always wondrous. It’s when we hit February that we’re over it. I don’t think it will last through Christmas because the temps will be above freezing.

The kit table is now in Hummingbird Cottage. After thinking way too much about it, I painted the chairs white. Since I plan on changing them out eventually (I don’t really like them) white will do for the moment. Taking a photo of the far end of the kitchen is always difficult, it’s like taking a picture in a tunnel. But this gives you an idea. I decided to stain it as I wanted more wood tones in the kitchen. I haven’t added anything to the table yet. That will come.

Okay. Have to go.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.