March is a fickle month. Last week it was in the sixties and now it’s thirty degrees colder. Gray skies, snow showers…sigh.
Some additions to the English Cottage (aka Dove Cottage):
A miniature oil painting from Weston Miniatures on Etsy. I’m not sure where I’m going to place it. All will be revealed.
I’ve had this one for a while. Yesterday I decided to hang some pictures and I decided this one should be on this wall. It’s a Japanese print from MiniMyEye on Etsy. She often uses postage stamps for artwork.
Also new is the thumb latch on the door, from Weston Miniatures. I already had one on the outside of the door but it went on back order, so I had to wait for this one.
Also new is the painting on the other side of the front door, which you can see here. I briefly considered aging the frames but I like the pop of gold in this somewhat darkish room.
A closer look:
I’d have to look it up but I think these women are Muses. Another stamp art piece from MiniMyEye.
I received the baseboard trim that I want in yesterday’s mail, so the next step is to finish the windows in the last room – both the acrylic inserts and trim – and then I’ll start painting the baseboards to add to each room.
Don and I check in with each other every day about the studio space. He can record anywhere as his equipment is portable, but if I’m not going to do anything with the dollhouse, he goes upstairs. Not sure what today will bring!
I’m reading The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz, one of my favorite writers. We’re still watching A French Village, which is stunningly powerful. The acting is superb.
Stay safe.
Happy Tuesday.
beautiful choices and work, claudia! i could move into that second photo. wish i had the painting in the third photo (and that i could always be as relaxed as they appear to be).
hope you and don have a great day. a home full of hobbies, interests and love is a wonderful place to be!
kathy in iowa
Thank you so much, Kathy!
Stay safe.
The paintings look perfect. How clever to use postage stamps! My house arrived yesterday. It looks like all the pieces are there. It also looks intimidating! I have a lot to learn. The decorating part will be fun. It’s the construction I am worried about. It will be a learning experience for sure.
I won’t have time to do much with it for a while, maybe til fall.
Stay safe (and stay warm)
Yes, I know it can be intimidating – but just take it slowly, a bit at a time.
Stay safe, Marilyn!
I just started listening to Anthony Horowitz books on my phone. They’re wonderful, though I do have to rewind sometimes to keep things straight!
He is a wonderful wrier and he loves to turn the murder mystery genre upside down!
Enjoy.
Stay safe, Debby.
Love the artwork in the house. I’m glad you started hanging the pictures. It adds even more life to the room.
I love Horowitz. Have you read the sequel to Magpie? They are going to make Magpie into a series. I think Lesley Manville is the editor. I can’t remember who they cast as Atticus Pund but it was interesting casting. (So was Manville — I saw that character as somewhat younger.)
Oh yes, I read it a few months back. He’s a wonderful wrier.
I think they cast Timothy Spall as Pund.
Stay safe, Jeanie!
You got me started on Edmund Crispin… The current book on my desk is the third in succession, and I think I’ll go through the lot.
So glad you’re enjoying Crispin, Petra!
Stay safe.
Love the paintings. Some beautiful stamps and they do make gorgeous miniature art. I got my 2nd Covid vaccine yesterday and I’m doing well. A little tired but I planned a quiet day today to recover. So blessed to be vaccinated. I’m working on some collage art this week which is always enjoyable for me. It is cold and rainy here today. Spring is so fickle!
Hurrah! We still have two weeks to go before our second shot. I will be so glad to have it done with!
Stay safe, Linda!
Thanks for photos of the English Cottage. Love the idea of framed postage stamps for the art pieces. My daughter collects postage stamps and I help with organizing them into the spreadsheet and albums. Fascinating miniature worlds when one delves into the history of the image, the artist, and the reason both were selected.
Many family members have had their first, and even second, shots. Two got them because one clinic was begging for arms…an excess of vaccine and too few arms to jab. Didn’t want the vaccines to go to waste.
After a very welcome heat wave of upper 60’s, we’ve had cold and rain. We’re in between storms now; the next one is from the Northwest, so very cold and wet….but will last only a day? My plants are so confused.
Enjoy your day!
Our second will be on the 31st. Instead of the usual 3 weeks between shots, ours are a month apart, But we’ll take it.
Stay safe, Wendy.
I can’t put my finger on the paperwork right now, Claudia, but I thought it was 21 days between Pfizer doses and 28 days between Moderna’s first & second. Don’t quote me on that, but it’s what sticks in my mind. “My” medical folks all seemed to get Pfizer back in January and early Feb; but, since then, anyone I know, for weeks now, at least in my area where I live in SoCalif, is getting Moderna and it’s always a 28-day wait between first and second shot, although they pulled us (husband and me) in one day early at 27 days, I have no idea why. I’d read it’s better to go a little past that 28-day mark rather than early; but, you know, I’m not driving this car; we just do what the doctor says to do! Showed up where they told us to, followed the instrux and just so glad to have even gotten vaccinated already when I have relatives in other states, with real reasons TO get vaccinated due to health or line of work, and their vaccine rollout is slow and disappointing.
It’s hard to feel that urgency to get vaccinated, try and try, and not be able to pull it off (yet). You got a hint of that yourself of course. It’s such unfinished business for a lot of people. I have a cousin who’s a teacher ‘back East’ and she’s really about to pull her hair out in frustration; her son has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (immune compromise) and they both want and need the vaccine. It’s a real exercise in patience but the sweet girl is already suffering some anxiety and this is adding to her misery. (Truly is no picnic to keep teaching from home; the virtual classroom.)
We got Pfizer, but the month between appointments has nothing to do with the kind of vaccine. It has everything to do with when the nex appointments were available. In NY you have to book both appointments when you book the first. In other words, they won’t let you book one without the other. This was a big part of our frustration when trying to find available slots. So Walgreens clearly had no openings until the 31st – a month after our initial appointment. Here’s hoping that everyone gets at least their first shot by May 1st.
xo
The whole house is wonderful, especially with the paintings/wall art, but I really love this new door latch!
I love that latch, too! The same latch is on the outside, as well.
Stay safe, Vicki.
Thank you for your email! I always get a little worried about readers if I haven’t heard from them – especially during this time.
Much love.
Thanks again, Claudia. You’re truly the best.
Wow are we having (what I-Vicki feel!) is a gorgeous and clear day after some rain, but the wind’s up and it’s brutal to my thin skin, so I can’t imagine what snow showers and 30s must have been for you today. I just was out in the sun trying to warm up and cut the first of my roses for a small vase, four buds in total, magenta and yellow, variegated and white. Spring is definitely starting to arrive in SoCalif and the hills are greening up as if moss-covered. (We enjoy it while it lasts; doesn’t stick around for long before they’re dry and brown once more.)
I’ll wish for warm weather for you soonest! I always enjoy your gardening posts. Our garden center (indoor/outdoor) was in major prep today (we drove by) for a three-day/weekend sale of all new things ‘Spring’ and I’m itching to go check it out because I know they’ll also have a fresh crop of veggie plants but I’m just not feeling secure enough yet despite being ‘fully vaccinated’ (as of Saturday) after my 2-week wait following the second vaccine dose. I wonder when I actually WILL feel comfortable doing it? It’s just not time yet. (But when? When???!!) Have to see what’s happening with ‘herd immunity”, virus variants, “surge”; sigh. (I’m ready to bust out!)
I can’t wait to go to our local nursery. But that won’t happen for a while.
We’re very restless and can’t wait to go to a bookstore, etc. We’ll still mask and we’ll still take precautions but I think we’ll feel much safe overall in a month or so.
xo
It’s so much fun watching Dove Cottage come to life!
I can’t believe it’s been a week since our first shot. The 29th seems an endless time away until our second, but I’m sure it will go quickly. I’m trying to think of a suitably exotic risk activity to indulge in once we are “street legal” again. Like daring to have a can of paint mixed at Lowe’s. Or dashing into Bed Bath and Beyond for a kitchen scale. Oh the places I’ll go…lol!
Wishing vaccine success to everyone else out there. Stay healthy and keep that glass half full!
Our second isn’t until the 31st and we got our first shot on the 3rd. I’m sure it’s purely because that’s the first opening they had for a second shot.
Yes, we decided that we’re going to a bookstore of some kind on April 14th, which will be two weeks after our second shot.
Stay safe, Roxie!
Beautiful paintings! I’ve probably said this before, but I wish you could decorate my home–you have such an eye. We woke St. Patrick’s Day morning to a gloomy gray sky and a sweet sugar dusting of snow. I forgot to order corned beef and cabbage, and now my mouth is watering for it–I could skip the corned beef and just enjoy the veggies! Hope your day is lucky and Green. XO
We had a little dusting of snow as well.
Eat some veggies and enjoy the day, Nora.
Stay safe!
Oh I just LOVE the additions you have for the dollhouse! Adorable! I also loved the couch! Can’t wait to see the progress! I have been watching some dollhouse tours on youtube, so fun!
Yes, it got cold again here in upstate NY. I wore sandals last week but back to shoes this week. I think this weekend starts the 50’s again all through next week so that will be exciting! Have a wonderful day!
Yes, as of Saturday, we’ll be back on track – hopefully! Spring cannot come soon enough!
Stay safe, Mamey!