Dear Shanna, whose portraits of our dogs hang on a wall in our living room, was kind enough to paint our groundhog! We waited to open it because we usually quarantine mail for a few days and then, of course, Don was ill. But we opened it the other day and it’s gorgeous!
Doesn’t it perfectly capture him/her?
In the interest of transparency, we are pretty sure this little one is not Henry. In the beginning, we thought it was our boy, but then, as he began to come closer to the house to munch on the grass, we realized this was not Henry. The facial features are not the same; he’s not as gray, nor is he as big as Henry was.
In the beginning, he was getting into mischief. I caught him on the front porch and in the garden. (Henry would never do that.) But once he realized those activities were a no-no, he has behaved quite well indeed.
I don’t know if our Henry is around, but this guy is living under the shed, so I think we must come to the grips with the fact that he’s probably left us.
We love you Henry.
We haven’t named this guy yet, but when he was up to no good, Don called him “Shifty.” He now thinks that’s not fair to this little guy, so we’re waiting until we find the right name for him.
In other news, Barbara Vajnar, the creator of incredible miniatures under the name Bubba’s Country Cupboards, (including this one that I purchased two years ago) is retiring.
She is selling off the inventory she has left. Oh my. I will miss seeing her booth at the show – it was always my favorite. I was on eBay yesterday looking at miniatures and I saw one of her cupboards up for auction. When I clicked on it, I realized that Barbara herself was listing it and when I read further, I saw that she was retiring. She had a few pieces that were about to end and I watched in real time as one cupboard, which had a high bid of $191.00 about one minute before the auction closed, went from that price to about $450.00 at the end of the bidding. Amazing. These are one-of-a-kind, of course, and the workmanship is so incredible and detailed and impeccably done, that everyone wants to grab one of her creations while they can. I briefly considered bidding on that piece because I’d love to have another in my collection, but I didn’t. I would have been knocked out of the action within a second!
You all know that my mustard colored cupboard is one of my favorite pieces ever. Everything about it – the hardware, the cut-out design on the sides, the drawers and doors that open and close, the color, the impeccable detail – is stunning. I’m so glad I caved and purchased this piece when I could! Thank you, Barbara. You will be missed.
And finally, I did another video tour on Instagram. This time, we are visiting the Folk Art Dollhouse. I just posted it this morning (I have to do these when Don is out on a walk.) I hope you enjoy it!
It’s going to be incredibly hot here today. I’ve already been out to water and we took a moment to sit on the glider while it was still comfortable out there. Now, we’re in for the day.
Stay safe.
Happy Monday.
wow; beautiful work by shanna and barbara!!
i love shanna’s painting and her style … she does a great job showing their sweet personalities! it’s a perfect gift (again) to you and don who love animals.
peace to you and don about henry. peace to henry! in time you and don will find just the right name for this groundhog.
i can appreciate why barbara might choose to retire from making miniatures … making just one of those teeny items (and certainly it wouldn’t be incredible like your cupboard) would be enough for me to say “no more”! but i can see why you love those things … they are little works of art … and i am glad you have that cupboard.
also glad you did the outside work when it was hopefully coolest, in the morning. now you can call the day your own … enjoy the air conditioning, do your favorite indoor things and relax!
hope you have a nice easy day.
kathy in iowa
It certainly can be a strain on your eyes. Such fine detail!
It’s horrible here today. Simply the worst! I’ve been outside twice watering and everything I do – no matter how simple – is exhausting. The heat index is well over 100.
Stay safe!
Isn’t Shanna a wonderful artist! What a treasure to have this depiction of your resident groundhog(s); I’ll think of this guy as Henry’s son!
He may well be one of his progeny. There was a time during the past years where there were baby Henrys running around.
Stay safe!
I agree that could be Henry’s son. If so you could name him Henson , like Henry’s son but shortened. That watercolor is beautiful. I wish I had a full size mustard cupboard like that miniature. Then again where would dI even out it! Stay cool, dreaming of winter.
Me too – but no space for one in real life! Hard enough to find space in a dollhouse!
Thanks, Mary. Stay safe!
He is a cutie! Shanna is very talented! I finally got caught up on all your dollhouse video tours…I really enjoyed them.
Stay safe…and cool! ;)
Oh, thank you, Donna! Glad you enjoyed them. Stay safe!
Oh, that sweet picture!! Shanna does such amazing work. What talent!! As far as that wee little cupboard ~ well, those works of art leave me with no words. I have such a hard time even understanding that someone could craft something that tiny with so much detail. When you post them I almost always mistake them for an actual piece of furniture or decoration. Totally mind boggling!!
We had the worst of the heat yesterday, then last night we had some heavy rain. Around noon today the humidity broke, and we were able to open the windows again. It looks like the low to mid 80’s all week. That will be so wonderful if it actually comes to pass! A break from the heat and humidity would be so welcome. I will wish it your way as well!! Keep cool.
It’s horrendous out there! I have all three window a/c units on! I will be glad when this weather pattern changes Chris.
Stay safe!
Thanks, you guys! (All of you💕) It was fun painting the little guy, and especially right now, groundhogs seem appropriate, one day melting into the next, as it seems to do.
Claudia, the tiny hutch is a treasure. Barbara is a master! She must have the patience of a saint. I’m sure her work will be missed by so many.
And lets hope that this unbearable heat and humidity ends soon for all of us, ugh.
This little groundhog is a cutie and you captured him beautifully, Shanna! Thank you so, so much!
Stay safe.
Hi Claudia,
Here’s a link to an article about a Hungarian miniature artist named Fanni Sandor. She creates miniature animals. They’re pretty neat! https://www.boredpanda.com/tiny-dollhouse-animals-miniatures-fanni-sandor/
Thanks, Cheryl! I’ll check it out. Stay safe!
I watched your folk house tour on Insta and enjoyed it so much. It really is a great piece of folk art and you are so lucky to have found it. (By the way, I also occasionally comment on your postings there too where I’m “althewondercat” in honor of our dear Allie who left us last year.)
Love the portrait. Henry or not, the colors are just beautiful and it’ll look great on your wall. The humidity level here has fall from the high eighties yesterday to the forties today. So I tried to sit out for a while but now, after all the rain and heat, the mosquitoes are just awful. Time to search for the repellent even though I hate to spray it on too often.
Stay cool.
Kay
It’s still awful here Kay! I hate having to stay inside all day long!
Stay safe.
What a beautiful and thoughtful gift. He was indeed a wonderful pet, your Henry, even if not of the indoor variety. And it is so perfectly captured!
Love your special piece by Barbara. I can see why you didn’t bid at that auction, but oh, too bad!
I know! Her pieces are worth collecting, Jeanie.
Stay safe!
I just loved the painting of the groundhog. The artist has captured him so beautifully and what a lovely piece to remember the groundhog visitors you have had.
We have got over the terrible wet weather which has hung around causing damage and floods. I have just sat and sewed for days now without having to go outside much. Hope to have a picnic on Thursday with a good friend.
It’s such a lovely painting – I agree!
Have a good time at your picnic, Robyn!
Stay safe.