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Random Thoughts on a Monday Morning

August 6, 2012 at 7:49 am by Claudia

:: Does this photo look like I used a special effect in PicMonkey? Nope. Just a foggy lens courtesy of this awful humidity.

But I sort of like it. It looks a bit magical and mysterious.

:: Don’s home for about 36 hours. Originally it looked as if he would be working tonight as the play is moving onstage for a week of tech/dress rehearsals, but the cast got the night off. One of his fellow cast members lives south of us in New Jersey and gave Don a ride to our local park-and-ride, just off the Thruway, where I picked him up. The dogs were very happy to see him. So was I. They made him shave his goatee and cut his hair for the part he’s playing. (I miss his goatee.)

:: Yes, I know. This is a rather boring photo of a hose and hose hanger. But, in the why-didn’t-I-do-this-years-ago category, after 7 years here, I finally bit the bullet and bought the hanger. Previously, the hose just stayed in a sort of coiled mess on the ground. For some reason, the spigot for the hose is all the way around on the far side of the house. So I had to buy a 150′ long hose a few years back in order for the hose to reach the big garden bed. This hanger makes things so much easier. And neater.

:: The weeds that I see from our kitchen window are very popular. Yesterday, I posted some photos I took of a goldfinch that was flitting among the flowers. Today…

Same weeds, beautiful Eastern Swallowtail butterfly.

Such ephemeral beauty.

:: Is it wrong of me to say I’m getting a little tired of the Olympics? I am. I usually love watching them. Indeed, I have spent every evening this past week in front of the television cheering on those athletes. But I’m getting a bit weary of the whole thing. Part of the problem is the fact that I can’t look at any news sites online or on television without seeing some result posted before I have the chance to watch the event in primetime. Some sites handle it well and say “Spoiler Alert” giving readers the chance to make their own decision about that sort of thing. Many of them, however, including CNN and other major news outlets, just blast the headline, not caring one bit whether they might have ruined the element of surprise for their viewers. I find the whole thing tedious. Since I’m online a lot, I feel like I’m trying to walk through a field of spoiler-landmines.

I know that covering the Olympics is an enormous undertaking but I do wish the commentators didn’t feel that they have to fill every moment with words. Too much talking! Sometimes I end up shouting “Shut Up!” at the television. When I was growing up in Michigan, we were able to watch Canada’s coverage of the Olympics, which I found much more sane and much less hyped.

Swimming and diving and gymnastics are my favorites and they’re pretty much done at this point. I used to love track and field, but now, not so much. Last night, it was a relief just to watch The Newsroom. Is there such a thing as Olympics burn-out?

I hope your Monday is a happy one.

Zinnias, Goldfinches and a Question or Two

August 5, 2012 at 9:23 am by Claudia

My first zinnia has bloomed. Yes, I know it’s a bit late but I seem to forget to put the seeds in the ground until late in the spring. I also planted some sunflower seeds. However, the plants that are coming up look suspiciously like the purple hyacinth bean vine that I planted in pots by the entrance to the dog corral.

I seem to have a problem with sunflowers.

Last year, a blogging friend sent me some giant sunflower seeds, which I excitedly planted. Whatever it was that came up was scrawny and I never saw a giant sunflower. Okay. So this year, I bought my own seeds and planted them. Something is coming up that bears no resemblance to the photo on the seed packet. In fact, yesterday I pulled out the seed packet (which I had saved in a drawer) to make sure that I had actually planted the seeds. I did. So what gives?

On another note: I caught a glimpse of this little goldfinch, who turned out to have a mate, flitting among the weeds on the edge of the property. I shot this through the mesh of the kitchen window screen, so it’s a bit fuzzy. He’d jump from flower to flower, sometimes hanging upside down. It was like watching a gymnastics competition.

Which brings me to a question I have about birds. In the last week or so, I no longer see birds at the birdbath. There was so much activity earlier in the summer and now….none. All of the rain and bird activity had dirtied up the birdbath, so I cleaned it out thoroughly, thinking that might be keeping them away. Still no birds. It’s so hot right now, I would think they’d be using the birdbath more than ever. And though I’m indoors a lot these humid days, I don’t even see them flying around. Where are they?

What gives? Does anyone out there have any information?

I miss them. That’s why I was so happy to see the goldfinches yesterday.

Other business: A few of you asked about the cabinets and plate rack I bought for the dollhouse kitchen. They are made by JBM Miniatures. I first discovered them on this site, but they no longer have them in 1″scale. They do still carry them in 1/2″scale. On checking the JBM site, I see they are also sold out. (This is why I decided to bite the bullet and purchase them the other day.) I found Grandma Holly’s House online and they had 2 left in stock. I just checked and there is still one available.

It’s a little more money than I would usually spend, but the units are so well made and are very high quality. The drawers open and are beautifully finished. To me, they were worth the investment. If you’re interested, I would click on that link as soon as possible. Good luck!

Happy Sunday.

Renovating the Dollhouse Kitchen

August 4, 2012 at 8:21 am by Claudia

The other day I treated myself to a little something for the dollhouse. I’d had my eye on it for over a year, checked back in and noticed it was out of stock here and there and figured I’d better get moving. With a little of my ad income, I made the purchase.

What do you think? I’ve always loved the kitchens I see in British design magazines and this so reminded me of a Smallbone kitchen that I couldn’t stop thinking of it. I already have an Aga stove, so this fits perfectly!

I was going to paint it. But then I looked at the tiny little plate rack and wasn’t at all sure I could paint around all those spindles. There’s a lot of painted furniture in this house already, so a dash of warm wood in the heart of the kitchen is a good thing. I used some wallpaper remnants at the back of the shelves to tie in with the rest of the kitchen and brighten things up.

I have to buy a faucet and I may tile the backsplash. What about a little curtain for that area under the sink?

I also played around with a shelf I had on hand, painting and aging it. It’s now over the stove – I’m going to hang some copper pans from the bottom of the middle shelf.

The kitchen table has been aged since I took this picture. So far, the kitchen is the hardest room in which to get any sort of good photo. It’s like a dark tunnel and I can’t get the lighting right. Any tips from you fellow dollhouse lovers?

One more shot of the sink and cupboards. I added some more plates.

This is the only way I’m going to get a farmhouse sink, so I might as well enjoy one in the dollhouse!

How are all of you? It’s so stinking hot and humid here that I barely leave the house. I had to run some errands yesterday, one of which was taking the trash to the town dump, ahem… recycling center. Let me tell you, the scent that was emanating from the piles of trash was especially pungent in this heat.

Happy Saturday.

Don’t forget, the Connecticut Tourism contest is still running until August 8th. Leave a comment on that post if you would like the opportunity to win $1000 toward your very own trip to this beautiful state.

Random Thoughts on a Monday Morning

Zinnias, Goldfinches and a Question or Two

Renovating the Dollhouse Kitchen

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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