Wednesday night’s sunset.

And this is not an exaggeration. We stood outside for the longest time. It was glorious.

I’ve been reading a lot – just finished an Orphan X novel this morning. I’ll start We Solve Murders  by Richard Osman later today. And I’ve been adding some bits to the Lake House, my vintage Cape Cod-style dollhouse.

Yesterday, I spent some time painting an unfinished sink/cupboard unit. I decided to go for a pale shade of yellow because the house is so dark inside. I stained the counter. What I have chosen to call the ‘kitchen’ is so darned small that this is the only thing that will work. It’s the same unit I have in Dove Cottage as the kitchen island. I tested it in the Lake House and when it fit perfectly, I adored another one. It’s been sitting there, woefully unfinished, for over a year.

There it is, next to the massive door hinges. Bless the maker of this sturdy house! I will never change them out.

Anyway, I think it looks pretty good.

You remember that my goal is to make changes that are not permanent. No gluing, no hammering, no painting. This is such a beautiful creation and I am honored to be the new owner. Someone made this with love. It’s solid as a rock. Therefore, my vow has been to leave it intact. The wallpaper in the living room was added to make it less like a black hole. It’s attached with the same tacky stuff I use to secure dollhouse paintings. I could pull it down in a second. I think I’m going to redo it at some point, just to make it neater.

Here’s a peek at the bed I managed to get through the bedroom doorway. I don’t have any covers or quilts for it yet. But it’s finally there!

I added this painting – a miniature Wallace Nutting – given to me by Barbara, I think. I’m going to try another rug here today.

A new painting and chair addition to the kitchen. The paintings and this chair are from my stash.  Actually, so is everything, except for the sink/cupboards.

I want to get a small narrow table with sides that can be raised to make the table bigger. I think it would work well in the kitchen. I spent some time on eBay yesterday searching for one. Nothing yet.

All this has been fun; cleaning the house, rearranging and adding some items, sprucing it up. It’s all cosmetic. It’s a real challenge. At the same time, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Beacon Hill and checking into what elements might have to replaced or adjusted. I have an unused kit from the days when I was thinking about building it myself. I was going to sell it on Craig’s List, but I now know I’m going to have to use some windows and a door and parts of the base.

Okay. Dollhouse(s) update.

Usually time goes by so quickly for us but, I swear, these days heading up to Tuesday are dragging by at an impossibly slow pace. Hang in there, everyone.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.