Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

Snow. And More on the Way.

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Not a whole lot of snow on the ground and what’s there is heavy and wet. It’s currently still snowing, so we might get a half inch more this morning. That being said, what worries me is the nor’easter that is being forecast for Monday into Tuesday. That could come with 8 or 9 inches of snow. I know I said yesterday that I was fine with some snow, but a nor’easter is an entirely different animal. High winds, dangerous, and lots of heavy wet snow on the trees and plants. I’m praying that particular forecast changes, though our crack local weather guys seem to think it’s going to happen. I’d love to see it move east and head out to the ocean.

Fortunately, we have a freshly baked apple pie which should take us through Tuesday. Fingers crossed.

I’m nearing the end of the A Killing of Innocents  by Deborah Crombie. As always with Crombie, the book is excellent. Then I’ll start Shrines of Gaiety  by Kate Atkinson, another favorite author.

And this sucker is almost finished:

I have to fit in all the border pieces on each side. I’ve already begun. It’s pretty tedious.

We finished watching Season 4 of Unforgotten. We were completely shocked at the ending. I can’t stop thinking about it this morning. Season 5 is airing in Great Britain, according to Dee Dee. I know it will be a while until it airs here and I’ll need it to recover from the end of this season! If you had been here, you would have heard gasps from both of us.

Have a great Saturday.

Stay safe.

 

Mabel’s Outpatient Surgery

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I apologize for the heavy Blythe content this week, but that is the way it’s been around here. We’ll get back to whatever seems to be “normal” next week.

First of all, we’re getting about 6 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow and more on Monday and Tuesday. I’m fine about it. I wouldn’t be, perhaps, if we had already had a winter full of snow, but we haven’t. So I’m looking forward to it. Since it’s late in the season, it will melt rather quickly. We moved here because we love the seasons; the Southern California weather, at least when we lived there, was very consistent, and though I loved it, I missed the seasons more. So, bring it on! I’ll be eating apple pie while it’s falling.

Yesterday: I decided to change the body on my Blythe from a licca body to an Obitsu 22. I watched a video showing the steps I needed to take. In the meantime, Don went to Lowes and had them cut a piece of 1/4″ plywood, which looked far too thin to him, as well as a piece of 1/2″ plywood. I took Mabel’s head apart, removed the licca body, and started to work with the obitsu body. The obitsus are notorious for having weak necks that can’t handle the weight of the Blythe head. So I had also ordered a neck strengthener/neck joint. That meant I had to take apart the torso of the new body, replace part of it with the new, stronger piece and then add the neck joint that allows the dolls head to tilt, etc. It was very fiddly work and when I was finally ready to insert the replacement inside the torso, it wouldn’t fit. I tried again and again and I couldn’t figure out what I might be doing wrong. I sent off panicked messages to Palma dolls (the creator of the neck strengthener and joint) and to my friend Natalia at VegaDolls, who also uses these in her dolls. Both of them are in Spain, so they were six hours ahead. It was evening.

In the meantime, Don came home, so I left the doll and came downstairs and we proceeded to attach the bookshelf to the wall. It wasn’t easy. Our floors are funky, and the bookshelf itself is wonky – I’m not sure why, as it was assembled correctly. It leans to the right. Maybe this narrower unit needs to be right next to a wider piece in the same system? I don’t know. Long story short, we attached it to the wall. (And we went with the 1/2″ plywood, by the way.)

The wonkiness drives me a bit crazy, but really, I’m the only one continually gazing at it, so who cares? The shelves are level, the girls stand up straight, so I need to let go of my need for perfection.

After lots of water and some lunch, I went back upstairs to give the body another try. By this time, both women had contacted me and given me guidance. I finally figured out what I needed to do. It took a bit of time, but I was successful! Ta dah!!! But it was exhausting.

Mabel with her new body:

You can see the many joints on this body and that is why I love it and why you can do so much with it. Mabel is happy her head feels more stable.

Having survived surgery with grace,  Mabel decided she needed a change of clothes.

If only the rest of us looked so fresh after surgery!

Today? No more craziness. Rest. Reading. Puzzle. By the way, I finished all the leaves in the puzzle! Now I have to fill in some blue background pieces and finish the patterned edges and it’s done.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Thursday

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The ever-present and very slow going puzzle. I think I inserted about 5 pieces yesterday. Sigh. But I will finish this thing, darn it! I will!

Yes, we will brace the bookshelves and attach them to the wall. We’re going to get a piece of ¼ inch plywood, suggested by one of the readers of this blog, and place it under the unit. That will allow the cutout to fit over the baseboard. It won’t be completely flush against the wall as there is a cable system cord there that we can’t do anything about, but pretty darned close. And then we’ll use the L bracket IKEA included and screw it to the studs in the wall.

Don is going to go get a piece of plywood this morning, along with a new battery for my stud-finder.

He was going to do all of this yesterday afternoon but he was really tired. He’s been doing a lot lately, most of it to help me out, so it was time for him to rest. Bless him, he’ll run any errand, but he needs to rest.

And in more “Dr. Frankenstein” (as Don calls me) news: the neck joints for the Obitsu 22 body that I ordered for Mabel arrived. Depending on today’s schedule, it might be time for some surgery. If you remember, Mabel came with a Licca body. I don’t like them because they are not posable. They’re great if you are a collector who simply wants to display the dolls, but you know I love to come up with little scenarios and stories. I only ordered one Obitsu body because they’re a bit pricey and Mabel needed it most, as her neck joint is making her head wobble. But little Olivia also has a Licca body and that will be replaced when I have a bit more money. Licca bodies are smaller, so Olivia always looks shorter than the rest of the girls. That’s sort of adorable, but again – all she can do is stand. Is that fair to Olivia? She needs to be as flexible as her sisters, don’t you think?

I’ll try to take a photo of Licca and Obitsu bodies so you can see the difference.

What else? I guess we’re going to get a small amount of snow tomorrow night. But it will melt quickly.

I am READY for spring. The daffodils are coming up on the edge of the woods, and the day lily by the side of the house is emerging from the ground as well. I’m sure there are more signs of life than that, but it’s too early to clear all the leaves/mulch in the garden beds because it’s definitely too cold at night.

Porch sitting, gardening, flowers, GREEN: Bring it on!

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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