Wednesday night’s sunset.
And this is not an exaggeration. We stood outside for the longest time. It was glorious.
I’ve been reading a lot – just finished an Orphan X novel this morning. I’ll start We Solve Murders by Richard Osman later today. And I’ve been adding some bits to the Lake House, my vintage Cape Cod-style dollhouse.
Yesterday, I spent some time painting an unfinished sink/cupboard unit. I decided to go for a pale shade of yellow because the house is so dark inside. I stained the counter. What I have chosen to call the ‘kitchen’ is so darned small that this is the only thing that will work. It’s the same unit I have in Dove Cottage as the kitchen island. I tested it in the Lake House and when it fit perfectly, I adored another one. It’s been sitting there, woefully unfinished, for over a year.
There it is, next to the massive door hinges. Bless the maker of this sturdy house! I will never change them out.
Anyway, I think it looks pretty good.
You remember that my goal is to make changes that are not permanent. No gluing, no hammering, no painting. This is such a beautiful creation and I am honored to be the new owner. Someone made this with love. It’s solid as a rock. Therefore, my vow has been to leave it intact. The wallpaper in the living room was added to make it less like a black hole. It’s attached with the same tacky stuff I use to secure dollhouse paintings. I could pull it down in a second. I think I’m going to redo it at some point, just to make it neater.
Here’s a peek at the bed I managed to get through the bedroom doorway. I don’t have any covers or quilts for it yet. But it’s finally there!
I added this painting – a miniature Wallace Nutting – given to me by Barbara, I think. I’m going to try another rug here today.
A new painting and chair addition to the kitchen. The paintings and this chair are from my stash. Actually, so is everything, except for the sink/cupboards.
I want to get a small narrow table with sides that can be raised to make the table bigger. I think it would work well in the kitchen. I spent some time on eBay yesterday searching for one. Nothing yet.
All this has been fun; cleaning the house, rearranging and adding some items, sprucing it up. It’s all cosmetic. It’s a real challenge. At the same time, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Beacon Hill and checking into what elements might have to replaced or adjusted. I have an unused kit from the days when I was thinking about building it myself. I was going to sell it on Craig’s List, but I now know I’m going to have to use some windows and a door and parts of the base.
Okay. Dollhouse(s) update.
Usually time goes by so quickly for us but, I swear, these days heading up to Tuesday are dragging by at an impossibly slow pace. Hang in there, everyone.
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
Claudia, what a glorious sunset! I enjoyed seeing pictures of your beautiful dollhouse. I can sense how much fun you’re having. Enjoy your weekend, you two. Hugs, Elaine
Thanks so much, Elaine!
Stay safe.
The dollhouse looks great, Claudia! I love that sheep painting and also the color you chose for the adorable sink. I also love how you’re respecting the previous owner and keeping the house structurally intact.
Have a great day!
Thank you so much, Jenny!
Stay safe.
i can see why you love the lake house and that you are taking good care of it! looks great and like a lot of fun. :)
glad you have that lake house, the beacon hill, books and beautiful sunsets to enjoy, help get through the next several days (hopefully election results won’t take long).
we had over 1.8 inches of rain wednesday into thursday (the reason why all the towns around here moved trick-or-treating from wednesday night to thursday, a change not done in over seventy years). it was a must-do-shopping day for me so i was rained on three times and i loved it. :) yesterday after the rain stopped and i filled the feeder, earl spent a lot of time sitting in the tray (sometimes for a half-hour or more, a couple stretches throughout the day) filling his little belly. made me happy that he was happy that way.
my sister is knitting the last dishcloth so i tried starting the cross-stitch project for my brother and sister-in-law. tried. this will be my eighth needle work over the years (none for the past eight years) so i know what to do, and i’ve used higher thread count linen before… but this was so tiny and hard to see that i set it aside after only a handful of stitches … and i think there are two mistakes in there already. my vision hasn’t changed much over eight years, but the eye doctor said last january he can see the start of cataracts. i do not want to use much bigger linen with smaller thread counts! i will try other things to help, but (because these are gifts for family members) right now i’m feeling discouraged. ugh.
best i get to other things.
happy, safe friday to everyone.
kathy
I understand. It’s very hard for me to do the kind of needlework I used to do, so I’ve stopped. Between the strain on my eyes and my sore wrists, I can’t do it anymore.
Stay safe, Kathy.
sad, isn’t it, how just when a person has more time to enjoy hobbies that health problems often make those very things painful or impossible to do …? :(
i’m sorry about that for you, claudia … but glad you have many other interests. keep going (i will, too)!
xo
kathy
xoxo
Your sunset was gorgeous. We had a similar sunrise…and later Wednesday night, we received 3 1/2 inches of rain. It was much needed.
I’m happy to hear you have a diversion…the Lake House…to keep your mind occupied for the next several days. I had to look it up, because I couldn’t remember what it looked like. It is rather dark on the inside, but that wallpaper really brightens the living room up quite nicely.
We voted yesterday, and the hours now seem to be dragging by. As I left the voting place, I teared up. That’s never happened to me before…but I don’t remember an election being this important to our country before either. The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been. And, now to patiently wait.
Enjoy your day! ;)
Oh, we need rain so much! Nothing on the horizon that is anything significant.
You’re so right about the stakes in this election, Donnamae. We were very excited to cast our votes.
Stay safe.
I love seeing what you do with your dollhouses – they are beautifully decorated. Thank you for posting.
You’re so welcome, Julie. Thank you.
Stay safe.
I cannot wait until Tuesday is over. Hopefully, this feeling of high anxiety will be relieved and not exacerbated. Fingers and toes crossed!
And maybe we should throw in crossing our eyes!
Stay safe, Betsy.
lol Whatever it takes!
xo
That sunset was definitely glorious, absolutely gorgeous. I really love sun sets…sunrises, too! We had a fun Halloween last night. My sister was visiting and we were reminiscing about Halloween nights when we were kids; there were throngs of kids in the neighborhood. Last night we had 35 kids, but they would come a few at a time. I know what you mean by time dragging until Tuesday! Waiting, waiting! I really enjoy seeing all the miniatures you use in the dollhouses.
I remember tons of our kids in our post-WWII suburban neighborhood. Trick or treating went on for hours!
No kids trick or treat on our busy country road, sadly.
Stay safe, Barrie.
What a lovely sunset! It is good to spend time on your dollhouses to distract you from the waiting! I have a quilt cut out and ready to start sewing together for my youngest grandson who will be 1 in December. I am using scraps from a quilt I made for his Dad and also scraps from a quilt I made for his Uncle when they were younger.
Gotta keep busy to keep me calm!
Take care, Claudia.
It’s such a nice idea to use parts of family members’ quilts, Ellen.
Stay safe.
The first photo brought me to tears. It looks just like I remember my Grandfather’s (Morfar Mother’s Father)he was Swedish) kitchen. A lovely little journey back in time.
Take Care,
Kaye
Aw, I didn’t mean to bring you to tears, Kaye!
Stay safe.
Hi Claudia,
I Love seeing the Lake House… what an evocative name! The dark walls are so beautiful… those old Lake cottages often were unfinished wood paneling on the inside and the dark feel is perfect! The wood in that house looks so beautiful in it’s old unfinished condition. I agree totally with your instinct to leave it unchanged. I love the “big” hinges… I’m a bit of an “imperfectionist” when it comes to dollhouses because I want that old dollhouse feeling from before everything was so mass produced. Your “galley kitchen” even reminds me of our Cape Cod cabin kitchen… all in a row and very cramped but efficient too! Thank you for sharing this…. it really speaks to me!
Yes, hang in there!
I agree with you. These vintage houses need to retain their imperfections. I am so impressed that someone hand made the two vintage houses I have.
Thanks so much for your kind words, Betsy.
Stay safe.
I love it! It really IS a cottage! Wallace Nutting is a favorite of mine and I love the fact that he’s in mini too. And the cabinet looks great — it’s a really pretty color. It’s such fun to see your work on these. I don’t remember seeing the cottage before in previous posts. This one will be fun. I’m glad you are holding onto the “original” — hinges and such. It helps tell the story of it all.
I have several real-life Wallace Nutting prints, so I love having a mini version. I’ve written about the Lake House before – there’s a section about it under “Dollhouses/Minis.” Found it at local antique shop. The price had been cut from $150 to $75. I couldn’t pass it up.
Stay safe, Jeanie.
Oh Wow your sunset is beautiful!!
Thank you, Darlene. I can take no credit for it!
Stay safe.
Happy to see a dollhouse post. They’re always a peek into another world, which is a distraction I need now.
As you’re decorating your dollhouses, I’m undergoing renovation for three bathrooms and my master bedroom. The work has finally begun after months and months of waiting for this particular contractor. Of course, as for most of my renovation projects (this is the third in over 30 years in this house), I keep adding on…snowball effect. But, this is the house in which I age in place so I’m doing what I can to remain safe and happy here.
It sounds like you’re planning for aging in place and that’s a good thing, Wendy.
Stay safe.