First things first: It is too late to mail in your ballot. Too late. So, if you’re still hanging on to it, you need to deliver it in person, whether to a ballot box set up by your state, or to the local department of elections, or – as is the case here in NY – to an early voting site, where you can walk right in, drop it off, and leave. Those who were bringing their ballots to our local poll site were allowed to go to the head of the line and quickly drop them off.
Speaking of voting, I’m a huge fan of Mandy Patinkin, who has, along with his wife, been making wonderful videos of their life during lockdown. It was evident that they were staying in a second home somewhere north of the city but that covers a lot of area. He posted a video of them emerging from early voting yesterday and I had to play it a second time. They voted in the same place we did. So, Mandy Patinkin is our neighbor!
Oh my god. Miniatures are fun, yes, and creating a dollhouse or renovating an old dollhouse is satisfying, but, my friends, it can also be a huge pain in the ass. I submit to you yesterday, when I spent almost five house figuring out the best way to add a window.
A bit of back story. I am not a fan of the dollhouses made by Greenfield, which this one is, because they are made of thin plywood which needs to be sanded and things like windows are made cheaply. To be fair, if it’s for a kid, that’s not so much of an issue, but I much prefer dollhouses made byReal Good Toys or vintage dollhouses that have been handmade. The Greenfield trim is always out of scale, there are no window frames that can be easily and cleanly set into the opening. There’s just a few pieces of wood and an acetate fake window. Hummingbird Cottage has acetate windows as well, but there are set into solid frames and they’re done quite subtly.
Since this is a rehab, I had to remove a lot of broken elements. Barbara sent me her Arthur dollhouse kit which has helped enormously. The irony is that I could have used her kit to build a new dollhouse, but my aim, as you know, is to renovate an unloved dollhouse that has been discarded.
I now realize I should have taken photos of the “windows” that came with the kit, but I didn’t. They are acetate with lines drawn on them in white – in this case, the top of the lower portion of the window is represented by a thick white line, and then a fan design at the top in the same white. It looks childish, which is fine if that’s the way you’re going, but not-so-fine if you’re trying to make it realistic and maybe a wee bit elegant.
I tried to find diamond-paned windows but it was next to impossible. You can find them, but none of them fit in the opening. I finally settled on thin sheets of acrylic.
Okay. So yesterday, I painted the parts of the frame and cut a piece of acrylic that matched the size of the acetate windows, thinking it would be the best way to go about this. But, as I learned (having had to trim the window several times) the acrylic glued onto the frame itself made the whole thing uneven and too thick. Very frustrating, as I had to pull it apart several times. FINALLY, I realized that maybe I simply needed to cut the window to match the opening, not to overlap it as would have been done with the acetate, and try my best to pop it in. Thankfully, Barbara’s gift included the very wall of the living room I was working on, so I traced the window opening onto the acrylic.
Oh, and I had to scrap several stabs at windows because I got glue on them. I got glue on this one, as well, but I think it will be okay. It’s not perfect, but at this point, I don’t care. Only I know where the imperfections are.
I’m going to fill in the lines that show the parts of the frame with some spackle and paint the spackle. I’ll also touch up the paint on this window and paint the frame for the other downstairs window (I’ve already popped that window into the opening.)
You learn as you go with this craft. I’ve never had to replace windows. I’ve added windows and doors but in all cases, the windows and doors came in a solid frame, so I didn’t have to go through all of this. I’m not skilled enough to make a whole new window, especially with a curved top. I don’t have the tools.
By the way, the door is the same way. No frame around the door. So I have to find some way to attach it and mini hinges are notoriously hard to work with.
I was so determined to figure it out that I forgot to drink enough water and also forgot to eat lunch. Not good. I’ll be better today.
Stay safe.
Happy Thursday.
Well, I think you’re doing a grand job! It’s all coming together beautifully.
I was taken aback at yesterday’s photo of the lineup to vote. Wow. Even when there’s a huge voter turnout here, there are never more than two people ahead of us in line. Well done to everyone who made the effort.
Well, it’s happening during a pandemic, remember. Fewer poll workers, less people allowed inside at a time, due to safety concerns. And a massive amount of citizens who are fed up.
Stay safe, Barbara.
Mandy Patinkin is your neighbor…very cool. He’s one of my favorite actors.
Who knows, maybe you will bump into him someday, when you’re out and about. Someday, when we can leave home safely again.
I can see how painstaking and frustrating miniature work can be. You have to be a detail oriented person, as I think you are, to do it well. It’s fun to watch your progress.
Don’t forget to stay hydrated today!
Take care
I will! I have to go mail some bills at the post office, then I’ll do some more work on the house. Plus texting for Biden!
Stay safe, Marilyn.
i think (and see) that you are doing a great job on the dollhouse! keep going … just make sure to drink enough water and have lunch.
and mandy patinkin has you and don for neighbors! :)
glad if you take it easy today.
that’s what i am doing. i started this week of vacation with a long to-do list and have thankfully accomplished several things, but now am taking more breaks. it’s been a long time since i’ve stayed home two days in a row (yesterday and today); i very clearly feel that need so am going to honor it and if stuff gets done on that to-do list? great. if not, i’m going to be okay with that, too.
happy thursday and stay safe!
kathy in iowa
Yay, you finally get to relax! Wonderful!
Stay safe, Kathy.
Wow, Claudia!! Just, wow!!!! I would not have the patience that you do for all of that detailed work. Just amazing! I would have given up WAY before lunch, and not missed it, for sure!! Great job!
Hubs just left to go and pick up 3 different store curbside orders. The last is groceries, so I must go set up the “station” to wipe down all of the stuff. It really is an exciting life. Planning on an afternoon of reading following that fun. Tomorrow we have the wee one (!!!) for several hours. I know we will be exhausted after that. It is the first time we will have to feed her baby food on our own. She is a pretty chill little girl, so we are hoping she will go easy on us! Seven months old already. Born just as this mess all started. In some ways the time has flown by, but in other ways it seems like it has been years and not months!! Have a good Thursday!!
I had to have Don rub my back because I was completely crazed when I came downstairs! Too much!
But I’m back at it today.
So lovely to have time with your little granddaughter. Don’t worry, all will be fine!
Stay safe, Chris.
Oh my gosh – I LOVE Mandy Patinkin! I found his vlog a while ago (while scrolling youtube for songs of my youth type of thing one day) and on my birthday, Oct 15th, I was home on a day off and enjoyed his vlog that day, Preach to the Choir. I love his vlogs!! And how totally COOL that he turns out to live in your area (and voted at your voting location). Nice!! Well, only a little longer to go…
A lot of actors, both known and very well-known have houses in our area. Some very well known movie actors, as well. You just don’t see them very often. And remember, De Niro has a house in our town!
Stay safe, Dawn!
Seriously… you all have GOT to watch Mandy’s vlog “Preaching to the Choir” – both he and his wife are so funny in explaining the Senate, and importance of voting. I agree – it looks like a lake house / woodland cabin home, so I would guess they decided to ride out covid this year at this possible ‘second’ home. Looks homey and adorable and they are too funny and too good.
I’ve seen all of them, Dawn! Love them. They could live in any of the surrounding towns, as our early voting location serves several communities.
xo
I am a huge fan of Mandy Patinkin and was unaware of his vlogs until you shared and I am enjoying them so much. Thank you. The window looks good although that is a lot of time spent on one area – I would have lost my patience, I’m afraid. Good luck – I can’t wait to see the finished house. (yes, I know that may be quite a while from now but that I can wait for)
Cobbling this together is harder than I thought, but it will be what it will be!
Stay safe, Ranee!
This is incredibly complicated! I’ve always respected really good miniature builders — but seeing your work and what goes into it, I appreciate it all the more. It’s going to be beautiful, Claudia!
Jerry asked if I’d give you his contact email. I think I did on FB (haven’t been in messenger for a bit but I think so!) If I didn’t, let me know!
You did! I just haven’t written to him yet, but I’m going to do that right now!
Thanks, Jeanie.
Stay safe!
Thanks. My brain feels like mush lately! Too fragmented… too concerned. Ever since I came home from the lake I feel like the world is swirling 24/7 around me and I’m not keeping up!
Just sent him an email. And he’s officially in lockdown again, right? It starts in Paris tonight. xo
I’ve been wondering about the windows, so this post is a welcome description. Keep on with it; they’ll look terrific when you’re done!
I had meant to say that your photo on Friday of the falling snow was so interesting to me. Little flurries of it coming down. Quite beautiful.
With some amount of contemplation (again) of leaving California and moving to places where it snows (family discussions going on with me, husband, cousins; etc.), which intrigues me although I don’t know ‘snow’, I find the responses here on the blog to almost be a warning to me because everybody who seems to live in snow country dreads the coming snow. Is it just because it’s not fun to be cold? Because the lack of sun gets to housebound people? Is it because it’s just a hassle to go anywhere or do anything, having to shovel and dig out a car; that sort of thing? Like you really can’t enjoy just walking around your yard because it’s become hard to walk in slick ice and crunchy stuff or drifts? I’m just trying to envision it because I need to, since if I feel it’s not for me, I certainly shouldn’t continue to be in discussions about moving. Michigan and Wisconsin are precisely the states of which I’m speaking. My one cousin tried to explain to me that when he lived in Cleveland, he went months and months without ever seeing the ground and I guess that really got to him. He said he didn’t like the feeling of not being able to get himself warmed up when he’d let himself get too cold. I really need to hear ‘the real deal’ about snow and what it means to live in a season of it.
My advice would be to read the blog as we head into winter. I usually share all of that there. To be honest, I just don’t have the energy to address all of that in this comment – my head is elsewhere! xoxo
Okay, that’s fine; I never mean for my comments to be burdensome! We’re not moving tomorrow or even six months or a year from now (it’s a huge decision that takes much thought and planning; one cousin of mine has approached us to house-share in Santa Fe [NM], another case of families helping families [he says we three are childless with no adult kids for our advocates as we age, so we might as well ‘be there’ for each other and help each other]; needless to say, we have MUCH to consider about our future, but it would be 2022). I can be patient, learn about snow as I go, and I will indeed pay close attention to the blog this winter, although I usually do, since I’ve ‘read’ you for so long, and I do of course remember the winter that Don was gone a lot in Hartford I think, and we’ve much discussed Scoutie in her tunnel you had to dig, cleaning too much snow out of roof gutters, etc. That was a bad, bad winter for you, Claudia! Anyway, I’ve also posed the same question to a cousin in Pittburgh, so she’ll be weighing in with me about living in a cold climate. She grew up in snow and then went to Cornell in Ithaca which is VERY snowy but, before Pitts, she lived in San Francisco for many years, so she’s a good one to probe because she went from the subtle seasons of NorCalif and back to four seasons East Coast. I really find anything about weather and climate very fascinating. But I’m quite tired of drought, heat and wildfire in SoCalif.
xoxo
Thank you, Vicki. The door is going to be a pain in the tush, unfortunately!
xo