Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

Cold and Gray

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Late afternoon light on the cottage.

The lights are up on the porch railings. It looks so pretty and sparkly out there!

We’re watching old movies every night and, boy, that’s a comfort! We love doing that anyway, but right now, it’s a necessity. Don is writing some new songs and playing his guitar. I’m doing some chores outside, thought it’s awfully cold out there right now, so I do a little bit each day. But it’s pretty bleak looking with frigid temperatures and gray skies. Sigh.

I assume we’ll go looking for our tree at the end of this week or the beginning of next week. We don’t go on the weekends because all the weekenders tend to mob our local nursery.

Can you tell I don’t have a lot to share at the moment? It feels like we’re deep into winter and yet it hasn’t even officially started yet! This does not bode well, does it?

Another day, another crown:

Yesterday was Ella’s day to be Queen.

I’m back to reading John Sandford and I’m not even trying to read his books in order because there are so many of them! There are several of his books on the shelf in my library, so I’ve started with them. Then, once I read them, I’ll start reserving his books through the library system. Louise Penny sits to my right, waiting to be read, but I think that will be on tap in January or February, right when I need the escape.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

 

Glitter, Miniature Decorating, Winterizing

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The tree is up in Dove Cottage. I was trying to focus on the tree, rather than the furniture – hence, the blurriness in the foreground. I aim to keep the decorating in the little houses as spare as the decorations in my big house: the Christmas tree, a few putz houses here and there, and that’s about it.

The Lake Cottage, Mockingbird Hill Cottage, and Don’s studio have trees. I may switch out the tree in Don’s studio with the vintage dollhouse in the kitchen. He doesn’t care, so why not? That way, I could get a glimpse of the tree through the windows of the house. Hmmmm.

I did a lot of work outside yesterday and it was incredibly windy! Lots of trips back and forth to the shed, as I begin to move porch pots for winter storage. I used a dolly to move the vintage pots that live in the secret garden to the porch. They’re really heavy! I also swept the floor of the shed. I’m getting ready to hang the lights on the porch, cover the sideboard with a tarp, and store the cushions for the winter. It’s really, really cold with nighttime temps dipping down into the teens. We – at least here in the Hudson Valley – are unofficially in winter.

The pansies are still going strong, though I haven’t looked at them this morning. I hope they hang in there as long as possible.

Four more girls wearing their crowns:

I’m having a lot of fun with this series. The photos have to be taken in the early morning, with a certain kind of morning light. Yesterday, I slept in, so there I was – no coffee yet – blindly grabbing Nina, trying to get everything in place for a picture.

Since Maeve has gold glitter on her eyelids, I couldn’t resist.

Such are my days; crowns, glitter, dollhouses, and winterizing….

Stay safe.

Happy Monday,

 

Crowns and Chairs

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As far as Christmas decorating goes, I now have a little white tree on the table next to my chair. I have been using it for a series of photos of the girls. I found a crown ornament at Target for 5 bucks. I looked at it and thought: that looks perfect for a Blythe head.

A daily series on my Blythe feed called “Queen for the Day.” The first one was of Chloe.

I’ve also decorated the girls’ cubbies.

I haven’t done much, if anything, with the dollhouse. I am  propping up one of the floors.

With Hilary Mantel.

Something is off with the placement of the third floor, but I don’t think there’s much I can do about it. I’ll try to reglue, but there’s quite a gap. “Hilary” is helping in the meantime.

I purchased that bed on eBay. It’s made by the same woman who made my other beds. She’s not making them anymore, so her daughters were selling the remaining stock and I grabbed this one.

You know that I have to have a look in mind – even before I do all the repair work on a dollhouse. For this Victorian, I want to go for the opposite of the ornate exterior. Very spare, with period furniture, wood floors, art and sculpture – that kind of thing. I purchased my inspiration sofa last year from an auction run by a guy I know (he’s rather big in the miniature world.) He lives outside of NYC and often runs auctions of miniature collections/estate sales.

I just snagged two chairs from his most recent auction. They’re made by Bespaq, a well respected maker of quality miniatures.

Aren’t they beautiful?

I envision a round table set in the bay window to the right, along with the chairs.

I usually invest in a higher end miniature to anchor the main room and fill in the gaps with less expensive pieces. And I do my best to get the higher end pieces in auctions. I got a very good deal on the sofa and the chairs. Sort of a steal!

Anyway, that’s what I have so far.

Rehab work starts this week.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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