We are in the middle of a heat wave here. Both Don and I were feeling blue yesterday and the heat, which kept us indoors much of the day, didn’t help. I did go out twice to water the newish plants. I think I’ll water them three times today – the relentless heat and sun is hard on them.
I’ll admit to feeling at sixes and sevens since I presented the TSP/Studio to Don on his birthday. I miss moving minis around! I miss playing ‘house.’ I know I need to dive into my next project (building the Fairfield) but I find I’m not quite ready for that. Soon, very soon…but in the meantime, I pulled out The Loft that I got from Target and played.
Taken late yesterday afternoon with the afternoon sun pouring in the windows of our office.
Taken this morning.
The chair, if you remember, was a purchase from AlicesMiniatures on Etsy. The red table was a Michael’s find. The pottery was a gift from Barbara from ValueARTifacts on Etsy. The books were in my stash, and the artwork on the wall was a gift from Brae.
I don’t have a lot of minis stored away in a stash (wish I did!) like many other miniaturists. In time, in time! But I wanted to create a scene with what I do have. Gabrielle, who made the sofa for the TSP, is in the process of finishing another one that I commissioned – this time in red! That will go rather nicely in this scene, don’t you think?
If I was to do more with the Loft, I’d paper the walls. The wood grain on the walls is so out of scale! The floor is fine, but the walls have a real-sized wood grain. Perhaps I’ll do more with The Loft while I get ready to start my half-scale build. In the meantime, it’s fun to play!
Hurrah! My favorites, the purple coneflowers, are starting to bloom.
I know this photo is blurry and normally I wouldn’t use it. It was very breezy yesterday and I couldn’t capture this flower during a still moment, but I wanted you to see this teeny-tiny bee that was crawling around on the coneflower. Microscopic, almost!
Beautiful ruffled daylilies.
You know, Don will be in one episode of Mr. Robot this season. I had a feeling that some of you thought he wouldn’t be in it at all. He has a nice scene with his daughter. Fingers crossed it doesn’t end up on the cutting room floor. That happened last season. (Can you tell I’m feeling a bit cynical about the whole thing right now?)
Happy Thursday.
The loft seems like a fun thing to play with during this heat wave. Your cone flowers are so pretty. Nothing much blooming right now around here. Hot, rainy, steamy seem to be how our days go. I had a great time with the Grands yesterday. That Tiger makes me laugh and Scout is such a cutie and climbs on EVERYTHING! Sara is enjoying summer and time home with her family. Today I will take Mom shopping.
hugs,
Linda
Sounds like you’re getting back into the swing of things, my friend! Family and laughter are the best medicine!
Play is good therapy, isn’t it?
It really is, Tisha!
It’s the weather….that’s what I’d blame your restlessness on…I have it too! I’ve been putzing my heart out, because it’s too hot and sticky to work outside. Trying to get little things done, that only I would notice! You know…I wouldn’t have noticed the scale of the wood-grain if you hadn’t mentioned it. Now that I know…I can see it….but I still think it looks fine. Just curious…how tall are those vases? I’m trying to figure out the scale. Your loft is lovely….anxious to see the sofa! Enjoy your day! ;)
Gosh it’s so humid, isn’t it? I hate humidity!
Okay, I’ll stop complaining. The vases are just about an inch tall, which in 1:12 scale would make them 12 inches tall in real life. xo
I hate humidity too….makes my hair frizz! ;)
Makes my brain definitely frizz!
Claudia the local news reports say that electrical consumption in our area is breaking records because of the heat. We are used to heat in Central Florida but this heat seems worse than usual. How people are enjoying theme parks is beyond me. I always enjoy seeing your miniatures and your lovely flowers.
Oh, heaven’s no! I couldn’t go to a theme park in this weather!!
My coneflowers have not bloomed yet. Have to wander out there to check it out. As Donnamae said , it is really warm and humid here, also. It really tires me out. I have been reading a LOT! We have had some rain, so not having to water in these temps has been nice.
But, all in all, I will take this weather over winter time!! 😎
I will, too. At least I can wander outside in the early morning and pull some weeds and look at my pretty flowers!
Hi Claudia! I think that your hauling out THE LOFT is such a good idea since you still have some modern minis that are in need of a home. I Really enjoy seeing your love of contemporary minis growing as you continue to explore this arena.
When I began getting involved in this hobby back in the late 70’s, there was NOTHING of this kind. In the 80’s there was Nothing Good, in the 90’s a few quality bits and pieces began showing up but most of it was out of scale. Now here we are in the 2000’s and the spotlight on Modern Minis has finally ARRIVED!
I say continue on with The Loft , Claudia since you are obviously on a Creative Roll! :D
Your encouragement means a great deal, Elizabeth! I like Modern Minis a lot. I’d love to replace the giant brown plastic door on the the Loft and have to figure how to do it. And then, and then….
xoxo
I didn’t know you’d done anything yet with the Loft house so it was fun to see you’ve been playing around with it; can’t wait to see that sofa…
I haven’t known much about this Mr. Robot series; I didn’t realize or had forgotten I could watch it on USA (had thought for some reason that it was premium cable, which I don’t purchase right now). Looks like it’s been embraced by the critics and the second season starts next week. I recognize names like Sam Esmail who seems to be creator/director; his wife or girlfriend is that fashionable actress/singer Emmy Rossum who is in a Showtime series I can’t recall the name of at the moment (about a dysfunctional family…”Shameless” ??). Looks like that’s also Meryl Streep’s daughter who’ll be in Season 2. Will watch it this summer to spy Don!
Sam Esmail directed the episode that Don just filmed. He’s a really nice guy, per Don. I know it sounds strange, but I’m not a great fan of Meryl Streep’s daughter. I think she’s just a so-so actress – she was on Newsroom and I watched her closely, trying to make sure I wasn’t being unfair and comparing her to Streep. But she ends up being, to me, rather bland.
I confess to having unfortunately missed Newsroom although I hope to catch up to it as my husband has recently; it was such a lauded series. I don’t know anything about Meryl Streep or her kids other than her success as an actress who’s been able to somehow live a non-tabloid life out of the public eye all these years; therefore, I know nothing of her kids. I recognize the little-bit unusual last name of Gummer which has somehow stayed in my brain chips.
It seems so much of the time that kids of people in the entertainment business follow in the steps of their parents but not always very well. I guess going to college and becoming a CPA or a nurse or a lawyer isn’t glam enough or feasible (fame, etc? [different last name, seems like a celeb kid could be invisible if they tried!]). Michael Douglas is a pretty good actor and his father was of course Kirk Douglas. I’m trying to think of a singer…well, there was Judy Garland and her daughter is Liza Minnelli. But the second generation are children of privilege and didn’t stomp the pavement like their parents, to hone the craft, pay the dues, no? So ‘easy’ for them; lots of connections. (I get really bugged when a celeb comes out with a book…like they’re suddenly a writer, just because their name is known, when other people who are really GOOD writers try endlessly to get published.)
What’s been your experience with this, in the industry? I’d read recently that Frank Sinatra, Jr. never had a chance against his father as a singer, which was sad, because many ‘experts’ and fans thought he really could stand on his own rather than always in the shadow of Frank Sr. For me, I’d want to do something entirely different and carve my own path outside of what my folks did but maybe for a lot of celeb kids, it’s all they know and all their talented parents have known (somewhat out of touch with the ‘real’ world outside of the singular world of arts & entertainment).
I don’t necessarily think it’s easy for them at all. I think in most cases, it’s harder. Harder because there will be inevitable comparisons. Especially if your parent’s surname is Sinatra or Streep. How can there not be? Frank Sinatra Jr. had a great voice, but someone who was larger than life was there before him. Following in a parent’s footsteps seems logical. It’s the family business, it’s what they see every day.
Newsroom is one of the best series I’ve ever seen. You should watch it. We actually own it because we love it so much.
Yes, I do see what you’re saying about the ‘family business’ – my primary care physician coming from a family of doctors (father, uncle, brother…all doctors). But I know ranchers in the area whose kids want no part of the hard work of farming; they’ve sold out; take the money and run. Makes me think of that film with George Clooney called “The Descendants” when the decision was left to his character as to whether or not to hang on to pristine and undeveloped land on Kauai or sell out, which would make all the descendants rich, many of whom he’d said had gone broke.
Anyway…
I should end the day but I’ve become so upset over the news coverage of the mass shooting in Dallas that sleep will be elusive. The exchange of gunfire on audio was horrifying. My husband came into the living room about 10pm and said, “turn on the TV” – wish I hadn’t. I said to him, “It’s guns again. Guns, guns, guns.” They said on the news that Texas is an ‘open carry’ state where I guess you can just walk around with guns in plain sight which, to me, seems frightening. I’m in SoCalif; we have tougher laws here. Our country is in such turmoil.
I woke up to that news this morning, Vicki. Sick at heart.
I can’t either. She’s finishing it sometime soon and then it will have to travel all the way here from Australia!
The humidity is bad here to in ct. They say we might have some bad storms coming our way. Hope not! Thanks for showing us the loft and saying the scale. It’s amazing the work that goes into making items that small.
We might have a thunderstorm later today and tomorrow, as well. It’s so Humid, with a capital H, that you can tell some storms are coming, Doris.
The same heat here Claudia..I had to drive my son to an appointment at 11 am and the heat was not good on my COPD…Thank goodness I finally got enough money together to a (new to me) used car with air conditioning that actually works!..Such a nice little scene you created in loft house..I love those tiny vases and the fabric on the chair..Stay cool!
I’m so glad you have A/C in the car and at home. This weather is definitely not good for COPD. I weeded a bit this morning and watered the plant. Now I’m waiting to see if we have a thunderstorm or if I’ll have to water again. In the meantime, I just cleaned the bathroom and now I’m basking in the A/C in the office!
We all need to play, whatever one’s definition of the word. I’m playing with pencil, ruler and graph paper, designing the memory quilts for my daughters. I finished designing one, and am now ready to plan how each block is sewn (there are 12). The design of the other one (20 blocks) should be done by this weekend, and I can start the sewing plan. Some of my friends don’t understand how I find this fun, as they think it’s tedious, but I love playing this way! It’s like solving puzzles.
Oh, I understand. I’ve made a lot of quilts and I loved the process – probably because I also love solving puzzles – especially crossword puzzles! Enjoy, Wendy.
Oh, how I yearn to play. I spent the morning on a field assignment today and am completely wrung out from the heat and humidity and feel just gross. My hair is still a bit damp from perspiration. But at least I’m back in my air conditioned office, having a soothing coffee and reading blogs before getting into the paperwork. The Loft is adorable! I’ve been having some fun with mine too, with modern minis, but also lack a “stash”. I’m putting them together little by little, and like you, have to parcel out the money pretty carefully. But the fun is there waiting for me! Isn’t it a good feeling to have a new project beckoning? Best to you both.
It’s really terrible out there today. Like being in the middle of a thick, humid soup. Take it easy, Dana!
The heat doesn’t normally bother me too much but for some reason, it seems ungodly hot here in Florida this summer. Some areas around us have recorded temps of 98/99 degrees in the past few days!
I understand your cynicism about scenes being cut. Last year, my daughter worked as an animal wrangler on several different projects that were filmed in Georgia including a music video, a few commercials, a couple TV shows/TV movies, and three major movies. This was a dream-come-true opportunity for her so she was more than just a little disappointed when she saw so many of the scenes she was involved in being cut from the final versions; scenes that required hours and hours preparation and/or time on the film sets.
She helped handle the animals for the TV movie, A Coat of Many Colors, and they also had her give the little actress who played young Dolly Parton in the movie a couple riding lessons since the little girl had no previous riding experience but had scenes where she would be required to ride a mule. However, as it turned out, they only used one quick close-up shot of the actress sitting on the mule but none of the actual riding scenes, at all.
One of Daughter’s dogs had a scene in the Jennifer Garner movie, Miracles From Heaven, that ended up being cut.
One of Daughter’s horses was in the Melissa McCarthy/Kristen Bell/Kathy Bates movie, The Boss, and the horse was hired partly because she is capable of pawing and rearing on command but unfortunately that scene, as cool as it was, didn’t make it into the movie. A very well-known actor also had one scene with my daughter’s horse where the wardrobe
department even went to the time and expense to color-match the actor’s belt to Daughter’s horse’s hair but that scene ended up being cut so not only was the color-matching work on the belt all for naught, the actor was not in the finished version of the movie at all! My daughter also did the stunt riding for Kathy Bates in The Boss and although her riding didn’t get cut, it was so quick, if you blinked you would completely miss it. When I saw it at the movie theater I wanted to shout, “WAIT! Rewind that part! I need to see it again!” lol. There were also several fairly elaborate scenes Daughter worked on involving two *ferocious* Dobermans that were either significantly shortened or completely cut from the movie.
The third movie she worked on is a Ben Afflect movie that isn’t due out until 2017 so we’re still waiting to see how many of the animal scenes she work on and her minor part as a *man* driving a wagon being pulled by a mule will actually survive, or end up on the cutting room floor.
Being in the business, you and Don must be well aware of how many scenes are filmed and never make it into movies, TV, etc., but it came as a real surprise to me that production companies would spend so much time, effort and money on filming these scenes but then end up cutting so much in the final editing process.
Sorry about all the cut scenes, but it does happen all the time! It’s frustrating for everyone involved because all that work is put in and in the end, you have no control over whether your work will be seen or not. Kevin Costner was supposed to be in The Big Chill, but all his scenes were cut and you only saw him as the ‘body’ in the funeral home at the top of the movie!
Gosh, I never think about all those scenes that – despite incredibly-hard work by cast and/or crew – still wind up snipped and tossed to the cutting room floor. That must be a bit hard for the
“snippee” to take – especially the first time. I guess it happens in every profession though. No one, no matter what kind of work they do, gets “every bill through committee.” Business people can’t close every sale, health care professionals can’t cure every patient etc. I guess the theater and other “live” entertainment is the only place where people are safe from being cut. PS – I hope you do start a new miniature soon, Claudia. I really enjoy watching you mull over ideas, work on individual pieces, pull together rooms, accessorize them etc. Before coming to your blog, I didn’t know there were so many people who love miniatures, and such a lively and active community out there. Businesses even! It’s lots of fun to watch however. 💛
Well, in theater: actors can originate a role but be replaced when the show goes to Broadway because the producers want a name. That happens. And it hurts!
Thanks so much, Janet. I’ve got two projects in mind, this one and the 1/2 scale house kit that I have sitting on my office floor as I write this.
Claudia, I love the way you captured the shadow of the echinacea (and you followed the rule of thirds, you rascal, you), to give us a stunning floral portrait. And your daylilies look soft and luscious; I can almost smell them. Thank you.
Yay, you, for seeing that shadow, which I really loved when I saw it through the viewfinder and then did a little adjusting to get that rule of thirds! You’re welcome!
Hi Claudia
That loft is so stinkin cute so far. The tsp was just unreal. Love it.
How are the peeps doing at the new bookstore, the next town over? Hope they’ll make a go of it.
If you wish to talk about the heat…I live in Arizona . I have limited myself to “one eye roll” per day. We are in the Monsoon season , therefore it is no longer “a dry heat.” aaaaaaaaaaggh
They’re doing well. I just stopped by there the other day.
It’s 94 degrees here with humidity that makes it feel like over 100. At that point, degrees make no difference. It’s simply “Yuck!”
I’d like a loft too, but we don’t have Target and the ebay prices are just silly. I will have to enjoy yours – I do like the little scenes very much!
I’ve seen those eBay prices…ridiculous!