This isn’t all that exciting, but I started to do some initial work on the dollhouse – which was interrupted, but more on that later.
This is called tapewire and it one of the methods used to wire a dollhouse for electricity. I was initially excited by this when I first got the Beacon Hill. But it’s been two years since then, and I’m less excited now. I don’t know if it works, I’m not thrilled by the way it was done (based on my total ignorance of the process) and I rarely light up my dollhouses. I use a few battery operated lights, here and there, but that’s about it. The advantage of wiring is that there are more styles of lighting available. You have more options. But they’re all expensive and I don’t see myself investing in them. I am going to try to do this house on a budget. I will most likely buy a few quality pieces, but really, the truth is that right now I only have a germ of an idea as to how I’m going to decorate. But there’s plenty of structural work that needs to be done first.
So I removed all of the tape yesterday afternoon,
Next up, priming the red and brown rooms with white so I can have a clean palate to start with.
I was ready to do that when we had to run outside to stop the guy on a tractor that the county employs to clean up the sides of the road. I don’t know if it’s the same guy, but one of those people chopped down my favorite crabapple last year. He had gone by earlier and much to my dismay, I saw he had cut down a lot of the roadside lilies (aka tiger lilies) that were about to bloom. Yet again, I was angry. Plus, he left all the things he had cut down, so I had to go out and clean it all up via 4 trips with the wheelbarrow. He also came very close to the ash tree, a tree in which we have invested time and money. Most ash trees around here died because of the emerald ash borer, but this one is hanging in there. A few years back when a crew came to cut down some of our trees, the owner of the company commented on the ash that had sprung up down by the road. He suggested treating it once a year – he just did that about a month ago – and we are hopeful it will stay alive.
Back to the guy driving the tractor, his cutter, which is sort of like a huge bucket on a long arm, was moving the branches on the ash and Don was very concerned. As was I. So the minute we heard him coming back for a second cut, we ran outside. I stood on the street near the edge of our property line, Don stood by the ash. As the guy came nearer to our property, he noticed me and shut down the tractor. I asked him not to do any more on our property. I explained that last year someone had cut down my favorite crabapple tree and that he had already cut down our tiger lilies and that we were also concerned about the ash tree. He nodded and said “I can work with that.” We thanked him. And he skipped over our property and moved on.
But what if we hadn’t been home? I can imagine other property owners must not be happy with all the cutting. Plus, a lot of debris falls into the culvert, which can result in a clogged culvert. That was part of my cleanup yesterday.
In the middle of it all, Don was stressed – so he made a pie.
We’re due for thunderstorms today, with ‘gusty winds’ possible. I foresee a lot of catalpa blossoms on the ground. I’m going to go out there and take some photos before we lose them all. They’re so beautiful, I wish they could stay there all summer long.
Lily snuck into the bedroom because Pip seemed to be sleeping for a long time and she was concerned.
That’s a little planner (it really works) made by a favorite Blythe creator. And I bought the little dog from a toy shop when I was living in Brooklyn.
A reminder that a lot of my replies to comments (if you have a google/gmail account) are not getting through. They want us to add another layer of something-or-other that involves security. Since I refuse to jump through yet another Google hoop, that isn’t going to happen. So check back here for my reply.
Stay safe.
Happy Wednesday.
glad you were home, could talk with tractor-guy and that he agreed to leave your property off his to-do list.
trees were trimmed at my parents’ townhome group a couple months ago while we were gone and it was awful … branches (whole limbs) that would have taken years to get to the house or over the driveway were removed. very sad. also maddening.
oh, that’s right … the big beacon hill! i love creative projects, my own and seeing what other people are making. have fun!
and enjoy the rain and apple pie! lucky you!
hope everyone has a good day. stay safe, too.
kathy
It is maddening.
Thanks, Kathy.
Stay safe.
That tapewire does sound difficult or unwieldy…it kind of looks like an abstract art piece now. That’s a good thing you and Don were able to talk with that guy with the tractor…and that he proceeded past your area so agreeably. Enjoy the apple pie!
If only he could give us back our lilies and my crabapple tree.
Stay safe, Barrie,
Pleased you and Don were able to stop the county guy from destroying more of your plants/trees. I have the opposite problem…not enough is done by the homeowners association to prune the trees, especially the Italian stone pines on the association side of my back fence. The trees are not the correct species to have in this environment. They were planted to show prospective homeowners a plushy landscaping. When we moved in, I couldn’t see the trees because of the fence. Now, they are at least 4-5 stories high. Maybe one or two would have been fine, but five or six in a small patch of land crowds them so they can’t spread and their roots are forever snaking around trying to compete for water.
They won’t do anything about it? I’m sorry.
I’m not a big fan of homeowners associations. They were a pain at my sister’s former house, as well. It’s probably me, but I wouldn’t be able to tolerate the rules.
Stay safe, Wendy.
I’m glad you were home so you could catch the guy before he did more damage to the property. Especially since you are trying to keep that ash tree.
Thanks for the reminder about comment replies…I had forgotten. The Beacon Hill should keep you busy for quite awhile I would think.
Enjoy your apple pie! ;)
Yes, it seems to be with a problem with all gmail accounts.
How to do the Beacon Hill on a next-to-nothing budget is my challenge.
Stay safe, Donnamae.
Lily and Pip; darling vignette, Claudia!
Oh, I feel your frustration about people doing ‘landscaping’ other than ourselves. My husband and I love our meadow patch in the front yard which gives us some curb appeal when everything else we’d invested in died in the drought. We keep it groomed for as ‘wild’ as it is; attracts butterflies and bees like nothing before. Other neighbors tell us that they love to make the curve at the cul de sac and see our all-colors meadow flowers ablaze in glory.
So what does our longtime mow&blow guy do (old dude; had been my parents’ ‘gardener’ at this house long before I ever moved in; I didn’t have the heart to let him go, and he IS helpful and he IS senior-discount cheap for us; otherwise, I’d have no one, and my husband has enough to do in just the backyard/rear-yard which this guy, curiously, doesn’t do)? This past Monday when we weren’t home, he attempts to groom the meadow patch the way we tell him to (he does NOT like the meadow patch and considers them weeds) but instead takes out good-sized swaths of it where my husband had hoped to collect the seed from the drying-out parts. Now, we have gaps at the sidewalk curbing which is just dry, plain, loose dirt and very attractive for neighborhood cats to poop in; they love to dig up the soft, ‘naked’ dirt; really makes it stink when you get out of the car; first thing you smell, the poop, not the flowers.
So, we just talked about it (husband and me), like what can we put there in the meantime, other than just this ugly dry colorless dirt. I wish the guy hadn’t taken that stuff out; I don’t even know how we’re going to talk to him about it without offending him. Every time I’m out front and see all this, I find myself gritting my teeth in frustration.
Again, I feel your pain, Claudia! Sometimes these people hired to do residential and County work are over-zealous; like somebody you hire to cut your hair and they cut it ‘way shorter than you’d described or intended, like they can’t stop cutting. As if they can’t help themselves!
I think you have to talk to him, firmly, but kindly. But like you, I hate hurting anyone’s feelings. These things are hard.
Stay safe, Vicki.
At least your county worker was cooperative; sometimes they seem power mad and insist on cutting things the homeowner wants!
ceci
They give you no warning and just show up doing their thing. If anyone happens to be away from home, the damage is done.
Stay safe, Ceci.
We’ve had the same experience with indiscriminate trimming but we wern’t there so couldn’t advert it. So let’s talk about apple pie and Lily making sure Pippa was okay. How very sweet they look together. Time to wake up Pippa and have a piece of pie. Hugs, Elaine
I’m sorry! It’s so frustrating. And they come at a different time every year. I think the county should send a notice ahead of time.
Stay safe, Elaine.
I’m glad you were able to talk to the town worker. I have a few friends who have been successful by putting up signs along the side of their property asking the mowers to not cut down or spray the lilies, shrubs and trees that are in front of their houses but still within the road right of way. It’s quite effective, especially if you have different workers mowing.
I love that adorable bed for your girls!
The problem is that we never know ahead of time when they’re coming. It’s usually a once-a-year thing. And I can’t plant signs on the edge of our property, there’s no space for them.
Stay safe, Betsy.
They are doing that same thing all up north and in the countrysides here. It shouldn’t be done. Don’t get me started. More so, don’t get Rick started. Your ears will burn with his colorful assessment of all this.
I think I’d completely agree with Rick’s assessment!
Stay safe, Jeanie.