Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Late in the day yesterday, the sun came out. We were quite happy to see it.

I walked down to the mailbox and then, on my way back, I took this picture.

Today is also sunny, we’ll get some rain tomorrow and then, for the rest of the week, colder temps with a fairly dry stretch which will free us up to clean out the shed. Whoo hoo!

I was immersed in some household chores yesterday. Later, when the sun came out, I had the urge to photograph the dollhouse. The office/studio gets strong late day sun, so I turned the house around so that the interior faced the windows. I added a few accessories here and there -just as filler – in order for me to see stuff, if you know what I mean.

Heavens, I love playing house with my dollhouse projects!

Taking photos of miniatures and dollhouse interiors is notoriously difficult, but cell phones have made it easier. Nevertheless, you have to shove the phone inside the room and pray that you get a realistic and detailed close-up.

You’ll be happy to know that seeing these photos this morning has convinced me that this was the right wallpaper choice. I really like it now.

I’m still not sure how to finish the island. I have to deal with that soon. What color? I’m trying to use what I have on hand. For instance, the beams were made with scrap wood that I had in my stash and the number of beams was determined by the available wood. I painted the ceiling with paint that I had on hand and the stain for the floors was used in Hummingbird Cottage. Likewise, the trim paint used on the windows and doors was in my stash.

I’ve ordered some plates from Sofia at Twelve Times More Teeny, an Etsy shop. She makes them to order, so it will be while until I see them in the mail. I ordered several pieces from her for Hummingbird Cottage and, thankfully, she’s still selling on Etsy. Several miniaturists that I have ordered from in the past are no longer there and that makes me sad.

Okay, friends. I’m going to get going here. I think I’ll take a nice walk in our woods today.

306 Electoral Votes. Enough said.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

You’d better believe that I ran out to the porch for this one! After a long and rainy day, this beauty was our reward.

More rain today and tomorrow. It’s pretty dreary out there.

I find myself feely drowsy a lot and I know it’s because I’m finally getting some sleep, along with releasing long held tension from the past 5 years. I imagine a lot of people are feeling the same way. We’ve been held hostage – he’s still trying to hold us hostage. I would liken this aftermath to PTSD on a massive level. (I’m no expert, of course.) It’s going to take a while to recover. The last two nights, I’ve fallen asleep between 9 and 10, while watching tv. I can’t seem to stop it, though I try. My body and mind are letting go.

Let’s see, what else? We watched My Favorite Year  the other evening – one of my very favorite movies. Peter O’Toole is brilliant, as is the rest of the cast. It makes me happy.

We’ve begun watching The Queen’s Gambit  on Netflix. Excellent! It’s so well done and the subject matter is fascinating. We’re also watching older episodes of The Great British Baking Show. 

I’m rereading A Fatal Grace  by Louise Penny, the second book in her series. I’m going to pull these books out to reread from time to time. In the meantime, the newest John Connolly arrived in the mail and I’ll probably start that later today.

Don’s playing guitar and writing some instrumentals, which are lovely. He’s cooking lots of interesting dishes.

We’re hanging in there, trying to just be, to support each other, and to gradually let go of everything that is the Orange Man. Joe Biden is  the President-elect, OM will  be gone. I’m ticking off the days.

Barbara asked about the bedroom in the dollhouse. Here is a picture of the wallpaper I’m using:

I have some touch up work to do there before I wallpaper, using spackle to fill in the gaps between the dormers and the walls. I might start in that today. Yesterday, I spent hours looking at miniatures on eBay and Etsy. I have three projects ongoing at the moment, the vintage Lake House, the modern dollhouse, and Dove Cottage. So when I start looking at miniatures, I’m thinking of all of them. Oh, the possibilities!

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

I spent the afternoon working on the door to the dollhouse. It’s pretty much done, though I have to do a bit of finishing work because it doesn’t fit perfectly. The door (which is actually 2 doors glued together) are from the replacement kit that Barbara sent me. The original house had no door. Greenleaf dollhouses are dicey on fit to begin with, but since the replacement doors were from a newer kit, the fit isn’t exact. I’ll try to tweak them, but frankly, I’m just thrilled that I got them in there! And that my leaded glass insert worked.

No doorknob yet. I’m looking into that. I wanted the outside of the door to be stained and I applied 4 coats to get it to the color I wanted. I could have painted it dark gray like the trim, but that was too matchy-matchy and I thought it deserved a rich wood finish.

Since Greenfield doesn’t supply any hinges and miniature door hinges are notoriously hard to install with all sorts of stories about damaging the wood, I went with a suggestion that I found on the Greenfield forum. Insert a piece of chamois or fabric or Tyvek between the two halves of the door and then insert it between the molding/trim and the wall. I used Tyvek from an old envelope. It worked. Not beautifully, but it worked. I very seldom open the door on Hummingbird Cottage since I’m usually looking at it from the big opening, so I’m fine with it the way it is. I’ll add some touch-up paint where the trim doesn’t quite meet the door.

This is why I don’t like this brand of dollhouse. They are less expensive, which is great, as dollhouses can be expensive, but the savings is shown in cheap plywood that is splintery and components that aren’t uniform. Every piece of trim that is to be used around the windows and doors is uneven, narrower at the top or the bottom. It’s annoying. Everything has to be sanded and when you sand, you risk making the piece too small, as large chunks of wood come off. So you have to try to fix things, which results in a lot of extra work. If they provided the windows and doors as inserts already installed in frames, I’d like these kits a whole lot more.

Complaints aside, I think a little more tweaking will make them look even better. Baseboards are next, but I usually hold off on them until I’m sure of furniture placement. I don’t install one long baseboard on walls where there will be furniture, as the furniture is then too far away from the wall. (It’s why I don’t like the baseboard heating in my real life house.) Once I know where everything should be, I cut the baseboards to fit around the furniture. So, that can wait.

Now, the bedroom. And, of course, gathering more and more bits and bobs for the living room and kitchen. I love decorating the rooms, it’s my favorite part of the process.

Hang in there. Last night, I had my first really good night’s sleep in a long time. Sigh of relief.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.