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Frost, Flowers & More on the Dollhouse

October 28, 2011 at 9:44 am by Claudia

When yesterday’s rain turned to sleet, I checked the weather forecast. Frost warning. Ummmm, a bit early, don’t you think? Alarmed, I grabbed a flashlight, pruners, a vase and a slicker and ran outside to cut the zinnias. I feared they wouldn’t make it through the frost. Don snapped this photo as I came in the front door. It’s rather a dark corner at night so the photo is a bit grainy.

The zinnias are now sitting on the coffee table. The catalpa tree has dropped all its leaves overnight. The maple has already lost all its leaves.

Not quite ready for this drastic change in our weather.

Last night’s game 6 of the World Series was one of the most incredible games I have ever seen. It had everything. Boy, these teams are evenly matched. Tonight promises to be a nail biter.

I’ve been working on the bedroom in the dollhouse. Since it is on the third floor, I pictured it as a room that was carved out of attic space. Old floor boards, slanty walls…that kind of thing.

I used wider sticks for this floor and painted them white. I really love this look. My thought is that the homeowner didn’t want to go to the trouble of refinishing the floor (maybe the boards were uneven and not the best quality wood) so she whitewashed the whole thing and in the process made the room brighter.

You can see that I’ve been wallpapering, as well. It’s a pretty flowered pattern perfect for a cozy bedroom. That area behind the chair is a puzzle to me. Whoever put this house together somehow managed to get some of the cladding that’s used on the outside of the house in the bedroom. Wallpaper won’t disguise it. I’m playing with some ideas, one of which is to cover it in exposed brick – rather like the exposed brick in Mockingbird Hill Cottage’s living room.

I’ve run out of beadboard and window trim, which has put a little snag in my plans. Hopefully, I’ll get the order in a few days.

Can’t you just imagine retreating at the end of the day to this pretty attic hideaway? Or waking up with the sun pouring through the windows?

I want to live there.

Update: Don just called to inform me that we are supposed to get snow tomorrow. Up to ~~4 inches~~ 9 inches. Insert scream here.

Because some of the flowers are pink, the dollhouse wallpaper has pink in it, and my little chair is pink…I’m linking up to Beverly’s Pink Saturday.

Reality Shot Thursday #5

October 27, 2011 at 12:01 am by Claudia

It’s that time again. Another Reality Shot Thursday, that day where we share photos that aren’t staged or pretty and wouldn’t normally be included on our blogs. We’re just keeping it real, as they say.

This ugly bin is in our den. In fact it is just to the right of the dollhouse on the other side of the closet. This bin has been sitting in the den for a few months. Do you remember when Don was having yard sales this summer? I was away working in Wisconsin. In this bin are all his CDs and old books that were for sale. (By the way, I looked in the bin the other day and some of my CDs and books were in there. He’s lucky he didn’t sell them.) Anyway, I’m sick of looking at it and am going to strongly encourage my husband to clean it out and put it back in the shed where it belongs. It is directly across from me as I sit in my chair and blog.

As you can see, our various throws have done nothing to disguise its ugliness. In fact, the photo is grainy and I don’t care. Why pretty it up? (Those are dog toys to the right.)

Please share your reality shot with us this week and remember to visit each link and leave a comment.

I’m still pondering the fate of this meme. Do we want to continue it every week? Or perhaps once a month as someone suggested? Maybe the first Thursday or the last Thursday? Let me know your thoughts on the subject.

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Do You Like or Dislike Cleaning the Bathroom?

October 26, 2011 at 5:00 am by Claudia

I rather like this idea of asking a question of all of you, as I did last week when I asked whether you were a bed maker or a non-bed maker. It’s so interesting to hear everyone’s thoughts on the subject.

This morning the sun shone in the windows in that certain way that shows every speck of dirt, every dog hair, every clump of crumbs on the kitchen floor, every streak in the window glass. Since I have been ‘attending’ to my dollhouse and my blog and my job search, the house has suffered. Oh, I ran the swiffer every couple of days and I vacuumed, but that, my friends, was it.

Worse than all that, the bathroom was more than overdue for a cleaning. For those of you who are newer readers of this blog, I have mentioned before how much I dislike cleaning the bathroom.

For the record: I detest it. It’s a thankless job, involving scrubbing, hair in the drain, long hair (mine) everywhere, spots on the mirror, hard water stains, toilets, and general unpleasantness. For a while there, my husband was cleaning the bathroom. It was his job, a job he volunteered for because I do all the rest of the cleaning and he was sick of hearing me say how much I hated cleaning the bathroom. That lasted a short while, until I had to start reminding him that too much time had elapsed between cleanings. And that sort of thing always escalates to nagging. Then resentment. So I took over again.

Today, I could no longer ignore it. The bathroom is now clean. And that will last for about 3 hours. Or until Don comes home from work tonight and washes his face, somehow managing to splash water everywhere. My sister says her husband does the same thing. What is it with these guys?

The photo above is of my now clean bathroom. (I just discovered that it’s not easy to get a good photo of a bathroom!) So here’s my question: Do you like cleaning the bathroom or do you dislike cleaning the bathroom?

Do tell. And by the way, if you like doing it and you live nearby, come on over any old time.

Also – a quick reminder that Thursday is Reality Shot Thursday. Please join in. As I said last week, I’m happy to keep it going if there is enough interest….but numbers have been dropping each week. I’m starting to think it might have run its course? If you’ve thought of joining in this is the week to do it, as I ponder the future of this little meme.

Frost, Flowers & More on the Dollhouse

Reality Shot Thursday #5

Do You Like or Dislike Cleaning the Bathroom?

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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