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.
hooray for that common sense vote by the supreme court! and for sweet dollhouse things all the way from australia! and for sunlight!
different response to the increase in your predicted snowfall. we received at least five inches of snow last night and, while it’s beautiful (hooray for that!), that’s enough to affect getting around. and my mood, obviously. i’d like to see my family!
good luck with that forecast. enjoy the goodies and the day in the meantime and every day.
kathy in iowa
Yes – about 3 or 4 inches would be fine. More than that? No!
Stay safe, Kathy.
I was sweating yesterday as well…so relieved when I finally heard the news. I truly didn’t know how the SC would vote…glad common sense prevailed.
Cute miniatures. Did you make that bottle brush tree? Do you take a small brush and just cut it down, or is there some other method. I am intrigued.
We currently have 7 inches of snow, and it’s still falling. It looks absolutely gorgeous out there…but I hear the roads are treacherous. It’s a good day to write out some cards, and watch a UW football game. Stay safe! ;)
No, I bought a little bag of them at Michael’s several years ago! (Or was it Target?) Can’t remember!
Snow is beautiful, but dangerous. Ah well. All we can do is wait it out.
Stay safe, Donna.
A dollhouse is always the right background to post new arrivals. Natural light is the best to photograph your mini details. Look at the sunbeams, too beautiful.
We are very pleased about the common sense of the supreme court. We know in Europe, that most of the judges belong to the republican partie. This may restore the trust in a constitutional state.
I would have liked some snow here, but the forecast one week ago (with possibility of snow) turned into the opposite. Now they give temperatures of 50°F or more the next two weeks. Hope they fail again. Wonderful kitchenkabinet and I love the colour of the AGA.
Stay safe, Claudia
That late afternoon sun is wonderful and that happened to be the time I was photographing the minis.
Stay safe, Helga!
That’s a chunk of snow! Looks like a white Christmas for you this year — can that much melt in a week? (And if it does, that’s a whole different problem!)
Love the Lavender Dilly pieces. And the bottlebrush tree looks darling there, especially till you find/make the one that makes your heart sing loudly!
Sounds like a good day. I’m so relieved we can all rest easy. We just have to put up with the annoying banter but it’s good to go.
I don’t know if that much can melt – some of it will because there will be rain the next week. But it might end up icy and messy.
Stay safe, Jeanie.
Hi, friend. Just a quick note to tell you how much reading your post every day means to me. I look forward to it every day! You really are like my good friend that I’ve never met in person! Hooray SCOTUS. Now it’s almost time for those crooks, cons and grifters to GET OUT! Your friend.
Thank you so much, Chris!
Stay safe!
Relieved that all our Fearless Leader’s money and manipulations could not buy the court…at least so far. Really this stuff has to stop. It’s only tearing apart the country even more. I wish someone would gag him and his stinking Republican boot-lickers. Good thing I’m holding back today! LOL
Your Lavender Lilly pieces are a delight. Truly admire your taste and discernment. That cottage is a homey mix of periods and styles, each one from a beloved relative or friend, as I imagine. The tiny bottle brush tree is darling! I do hope you get some rest this weekend in the warm glow of your tree.
He thinks everything works like the Mafia – that he can call in ‘favors.’ Since he’s mobbed up, that’s how he works.
Thanks so much, Nora.
Stay safe.
He’s looking more and more like a true “loser”…he’s getting everything he deserves! We think there’s lots more bad coming his way. I suspect the attorneys are lining up to really show him how crooked he is & how he’s going to pay for his horrid actions over the years.
Love your miniatures!!!!
Be well
I think there is too. NYC is after him. The State AG is after him. I’m sure if won’t be long before he’s indicted.
Thanks, Priscilla!
Stay safe.
I just get worried about the unrest; the pro-Trumpers out in the streets. And will it get worse after the electoral college conclusion; after the inauguration. These followers have lost their marbles, as if they’ll follow him anywhere to where they’d even fall off a cliff if he said to do it. Scary. He unleashes the worst in people. They can’t see Trump for the evil, immoral monster that he is; they’re blind. A dangerous cult. I didn’t like seeing the photos of the demonstrations in Wash DC today; as if it’s what’s to come; the potential civil discord which erupts into violence. I did see somebody interviewed on the nighttime TV news programs … he may have been formerly with the FBI or CIA or Homeland Security or something, but he had credentials … and he said make no mistake, behind the scenes, the ‘good/better’ (my words) part of government has been preparing for insurrection. Wasn’t it just recently, Christopher Wray (FBI Director) who spoke of this kind of domestic terrorism being among the country’s biggest threats, if not the worst threat. Again, scary. And it’s all also got this insidious undercurrent of racism, not just politics/gov’t.
But it’s certainly encouraging to see democracy prevail as in the SCOTUS decision against Trump’s bid to wreck us. I wish it would shut him up; he’s a disgrace. Embarrassing. The polar opposite of bearing, refinement, dignity, thoughtfulness; humanness. Every day out of his mouth, something more to upset us, put us on edge. He is a divider, selfish and petulant. A bully. And how he continues to ignore the Covid crisis except to try to toot his own horn about the vaccines is just despicable. He should be on the alternate cover of TIME as The Worst and Most-Reprehensible Person Who Walked The Earth in 2020.
Amen Vicki! I too fear the civil unrest which he is actively encouraging. Doing a fly over today for all his followers…..what an incredible waste of taxpayers money…..and yet an acknowledgement to those who blindly follow him. I fear that on Jan 20th, he will have his alternate function and his followers will interact with those who come to cheer on Biden/Harris.
I pray that there are handcuffs waiting for him, his family and those who so blatantly broke the law…Barr at the top of the list!
I continue to pray for our country and most especially our health care workers who work so tirelessly for all of us.
I’m sure some of that will happen. I’m also sure that the Feds and local and state police are prepared for that possibility.
xo
Claudia, I’m pleased that SCOTUS did not disappoint in their responsibility as the third arm of our democracy, unlike the current Presidential office and some of the Legislature. If SCOTUS had capitulated to the whims of the Texas AG, willingly playing puppet to the OM puppet-master and hoping for a reward in the form of a pardon, I really feel that democracy as we knew it would have collapsed.
On a much more fun note, those are amazing goodies from Australia. It’ll be fun to see how you place them. Last night, I was surfing the channels for something to watch while I stitched, and found a miniaturist “war”, like the Holiday Cookie War, or other types of baking war, where teams compete against each other in a timed challenge. I watched it but, as with all these shows, the drama of failure outweighed highlighting techniques. Otherwise, it was a different challenge program, and the competitors were quite talented. Of course, the studio was packed with supplies and tools, including a band saw and oven.
Yes, I was waiting for the Supreme Court decision too. It’s definitely a relief. It is snowing lightly here today. The grass is just about covered. I hope we don’t get much more. It is supposed to warm up again so Michigan may have a green Christmas this year.
I just love how realistic the miniatures are. They will look perfect in their new home.
Take care
Thank you so much, Marilyn.
Stay safe!
Yes, I’m aware of the series but I have no interest in watching it. I know one of the contestants and I’m sure he’s doing it to get people interested in miniatures, but these kind of ‘wars’ are long on trumped up drama and very short on what it really takes to do that kind of thing well.
Stay safe, Wendy.
Many of us knew that the SCOTUS decision would have to be, but knowing it intellectually and believing it were two different things. I, too, was refreshing my feeds incessantly. Now we just have to see if there are faithless electors next week, and we’ll be through all the possible ambushes. I hope.
I hope that gift from a beloved shop brightens your weekend.
It’s a great relief, that’s for sure!
Stay safe, Linda.
Wonderful new purchases of miniatures; the platter is the bomb. And I love the wee bottle brush tree.
But snow so close to Christmas and wintery weather when you’re not going anywhere? Don’t have to travel? Sounds like a beautiful Christmas card to me; but, of course, I’m a SoCalifornian and I don’t know snow, especially in terms of practically living with it. All I see is the beauty of the white. And the cozy image of warm light from indoors; those photos of the light reflected in the snow outside. I don’t know what I’m trying to say; almost like hibernating in the safety and comfort of the bear in his den.
Still have to shovel it and dig out the driveway and parking area. And shoveling a foot of snow is not fun.
Stay safe, Vicki.
Yeah, I tend to forget about that part. My husband says that shoveling is really hard work, not easier as we age either. I’ll hope for the best for you and Don; that you get just the amount of snow that’s pretty to look at, yet manageable to live with!
Thanks, Vicki.
We had about 4.5 inches of snow. Both kids live in Madison and had nearly 10, and that is only about 25 miles away!! I have had enough now. The only nice thing is the Christmas lights on the trees and bushes look soooo pretty under the snowfall!!
The miniatures are lovely, and I would like one of each for MY kitchen!!!! Amazing!
Snow is pretty – preferably just 3 or 4 inches. But we may have a lot more!
Stay safe, Chris.
It’s as if this whole lame duck period is in slow motion. The end is in sight but will we ever get there? We are in for a long slog, and his attempts to hold on with all these dead-end strategies will continue to the bitter end, but there will be an end. Then, on to the clean-up.
Hang in there,
Anne
Clean up on aisle 4! The sooner the better.
Stay safe, Anne.
Every time I see one of your houses and the contents Claudia, I think, I could so cheerfully live there! Warm, homey, like being wrapped in a big hug. Love your little treasures and all the artists who do such amazing work producing them.
We are expecting the same storm here in MA next week. They have said that the So. Coast may get an ocean effect storm on Monday as well. I too love the look, the shoveling…..not so much!
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
I just watched some local guys showing three different computer models. Basically no one knows yet!
Stay safe, Donna!
It is great to have a peak into your miniatures,, both the “finished” rooms (I suspect there are no really finished rooms?) and the thought that goes into getting there. It would be interesting to see how the Christmas trees are constructed, or are they decorated bottle brush trees? I wasn’t sure. I need to look it up for myself, I know.
I look forward to your daily check ins, thank you for being a bit of light in a dark year.
ceci
They are based on an altered bottle brush tree but the tree itself isn’t bottle brush. You’ll see a bit more on today’s post, Ceci.
Thank you!
Stay safe.
Claudia, I sent you an email to your yahoo address on your website but it said the address invalid. I want to contact you about some dollhouse furniture. If you could please contact me. Thank you Janet
Must have been a glitch with your email address. I just tried it and it worked just fine. It’s not invalid.
I’ll send you a note.
Stay safe.
I enjoy all your photos but especially the ones of your “little” houses. They make me smile every time. Thank you!
Thank you Lisa.
Stay safe!