Tulips are so darned beautiful. I’m enjoying watching the flowers scattered around our house slowly open and reveal themselves. I’m one who thinks flowers are beautiful in all their stages, even when they’re withering and drying out. This little show they’re putting on for us is standing ovation worthy.
Still battling insomnia. I can’t keep my eyes open when I’m sitting downstairs on the sofa with Don. Then I get in bed and am wide awake for hours. It’s very frustrating. But I did sleep and I feel fairly good this morning. I am pulling away from all news (I can’t help thinking that is a major contributor to my erratic sleep) and I’m going to concentrate on all that’s beautiful and good and positive. I have to.
I stopped at another Michaels on my way home from TJs and found something miniature. I’d seen a few pictures on IG, but hadn’t been able find them at my local Michaels.
Miniature jadeite.
They’re hanging in the fairy garden section, and as are all things fairy garden, they’re not quite to scale. The plate and bowls are pretty close to scale but the glasses are huge – big, big, big gulp size. They’re made of lightweight plastic, so picture my frustration as I tried to get them to stand up in this cabinet without being knocked down again as I tried to maneuver another plate into position. Many swear words were heard in the office. I finally resorted to the tacky wax I use for other items in my dollhouses and that did the trick.
I love jadeite, though for some reason I don’t own any. The manufacturer did a great job with the color.
Anyway, if you’re interested, go to Michaels and make sure you visit the section where they have the fairy garden stuff.
Have I told you how much I love this hutch? One of my best miniature investments.
And have I told you how much I appreciate you? I do. Thank you for your support and the wonderful community we have created here.
Happy Wednesday.
Lovely flowers! Tulips are fun to sketch and paint. The miniature jadeite is so pretty. Now that the roads are passable here, I’ll have to try for a Michaels run this weekend. I’ve found suitable items in the fairy garden section in the past, although be warned if you buy ornaments with “picks”. I wanted some statues for the dollhouse conservatory, but removing the metal picks caused a severe finger injury. My daughter’s cat turned a paler shade of orange at the word I said – not one of my prouder moments.
Thanks for the warning! No metal picks for me! Hope all is well with you, Barbara, and that the signs of spring are on the horizon.
Claudia,
Thank you for the flower inspiration! Here in N. California the daffodils are past “peak” and the trees have been flowering for a week BUT, because of you, I have flower inside my house :)
Have you thought of any yoga poses before bed too? It might or might not help your sleep issues. It helps me, calm my inner thoughts, at bed time.
Happy Hump Day!
Deb
I try to meditate – it hasn’t really helped! Thanks so much, Deborah.
Tulips are my favorite. I have the exact same sleep issues. I’ve been through so much this past year and avoid a lot of news and political discussion, so I cannot blame it on that. I know I mentioned Melatonin the other day and I may try that again.
We have some, I think. I’ll try it. Thanks, Susan.
I love looking at your dollhouse! It reminds that when I was a child in common with most children in the sixties I didn’t have many toys but I had a house. I used to make beds of out matchboxes and furniture from other bits and pieces.
One morning a few days before Christmas I awoke to find it was missing. I asked my Mum where was it? At the time she worked in the evenings cleaning offices and told me one of the other ladies had been crying because her little girl wanted a dollshouse for Christmas and she couldn’t afford to buy her one. Mum had told her not to worry she could have mine (Thanks, Mum!).
My Mother then gave me a crumpled piece of newspaper and as I unwrapped it, there was a paste jewellery diamante bracelet this lady had given to me in exchange (completely inappropriate for a nine year old!) It’s still in my jewellery box to this day.
Happy Wednesday
Hmmm…I’m not sure I would have been happy about that! My mom, though, did things like that. She’d suddenly give away something of mine without consulting me! It made me crazy, but, in the end, it doesn’t really matter does it? Glad you still have that bracelet, Dee Dee, and it’s touching that the woman wanted to give something to you in exchange. xo
Yes, it was my first lesson in humility and the older I became the more I appreciated the gesture of the bracelet xx
Understandable! xo
I love the jadeite but I especially love the stoneware crock! Where did you find it? I enjoy your posts very much.
I bought it at a miniature show last fall. It’s made by miniaturist Jane Graber.
Claudia, Some lucky doll house resident will have some nice jadeite dinnerware! Even though it is plastic, they look pretty good in the hutch, which I do remember you buying.
I love tulips! And yours are especially pretty. I can get one blooming for tulips, but they never come back. However, my daffodils and crocuses came up like gang busters after all the rains this past winter, but the blooms are all gone now. I still see clumps of naturalized daffodils, especially along the suburban road to my daughter’s college, which is situated pretty much what seems like the middle of no where. And seemingly overnight, the leaf buds on my Japanese maple and California redbud have unfurled and I have baby leaves!
We have one tulip on the property and it’s been here for decades. It hasn’t bloomed in the last couple of years – just leaves.
I love Jadeite and have a few pieces that I bought before it became too expensive. I love the miniature pieces! Have you tried poster tack? I use it a lot at Christmas time and like it better than the tacky wax, it’s not as messy. They carry the poster tack at Micheals, Target, WalMarts, etc. it’s great for holding things in place and comes off clean with no residue and you can reuse it. Perfect for hanging little pictures on the doll house wall too. Great stuff!
I’ll check that out, Kathleen! Thank you!
NO news for us today!! What a better way to start the day! Your hutch is so cute!
You might want to consider having your thryoid checked. I’m on that issue now & part of the insomnia is due to low thryoid. Ugh! I have used Melotonin in the past & even that doesn’t work for very long. Good luck. We’re driving up the 101 to Santa Barbara to see the wonderful flowers along the roads….it’s always a thrill!!
I think it has a lot to do with the state of the world and the state of my mind, Priscilla. I go through periods of insomnia, then I sleep just fine for long periods. Have fun looking at the flowers.
Your tulips are gorgeous. That color goes so well with your McCoy…and in your cottage in general. Bowser (our grand cat) loves flowers too…and that’s a problem. He likes them so much…he knocks vases over. He doesn’t eat them….but he loves to sniff and lick. So…I’ll just have to live vicariously through you, and appreciate yours.
I’ve replaced the news with Spring cleaning. A little each day should do it. I figure I’ll have a much brighter disposition and a much cleaner house! Enjoy your day! ;)
It’s still cool outside but in a couple of days I’ll be able to get outside for extended periods and do some cleanup. That will help!
Thanks for the heads up! Someone just have me a Michael’s gift card last week and I didn’t know what to do with it. I have so many craft supplies, I cut myself off! They have really cute fairy garden things. I have bought several things the last couple years that work for miniatures.
Go for it, Kimberly!
I am very, very slowly renovating a dollhouse that I found at a thrift store about a year ago. It’s not photo worthy yet, but the jadite would be lovely in the kitchen. It’s fun collecting all the furnishings, now I have to get back to the renovations.
I love tulips, too. Maybe the fact that they are so fleeting makes them even more beautiful.
The furnishings are the best part. I have to make myself do the less exciting stuff!
Pretty! Love your hutch and Jadeite. I will have to take a peek next time I am out. Our local Michaels is right next door to Trader Joes.
Years ago I went to a miniatures show that featured many beautiful handmade collectibles, baskets, paintings, furniture, beautiful dolls, so many things! There was one artist that especially stood out to me. She made miniature pottery. I kept her info and will share it when I find it.
As for sleep, I find walking really helps. Walking is simple and easy for most anyone to do. Outdoors or on a treadmill, even around the house…anywhere, anytime, it works like a charm! Expending excess energy is key. If you are interested, google the merits of walking. An average sedentary person takes 2,000 steps a day. A low active lifestyle is about 5,000-7,500 steps, somewhat active people are at about 7,500-10,000 steps and an active lifestyle is considered 10,000+ steps per day. I have found that I average about 1,000 steps per ten minutes of walking. Hope that helps :)
Christy
Here are a few links to some of the lovely artists at the miniature show:
1.) Pottery by Jane Graber: http://www.foundgoshen.com/jane-graber-pottery
2.) Shaker Works West featured BEAUTIFUL furnishings http://www.shakerworkswest.com/
3.) http://www.williamson-walton-marble.com featured nicely detailed furniture
Enjoy!
Yes, Jane Graber is the woman who made the crock in the picture. I met her last year. Thanks, Christy!
After I posted the link, I looked at your picture again and wondered if that might be one of Jane Grabers pieces. Lucky you, her work is amazing & she was lovely as well!
xoxo
to christy …
thanks for the breakdown about counting steps. i try to walk/run every day, mostly because i love it, but also to balance out a very sedentary and stressful job. i pay attention to time and distance, but your info is encouraging me to get a really good pedometer. might you have a good pedometer worth recommending?
thank you!
kathy in iowa
Hi Kathy,
You’re welcome! I am glad it helped. I learned more about walking and its benefits last year and have been fascinated ever since. I use a Fitbit Alta, however, I am sure if you do a bit of searching on Google or Amazon you will find a whole range of pedometers to choose from!
We’re going to start walking again – it’s very hard to walk here in the winter, as there are no sidewalks and it gets very icy.
Oh, I can imagine that outdoor walks would need to be planned for during the winter, maybe a frequently used nature trail, etc? I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to inclement weather so I do most of my walking in my livingroom, haha! I used to have a home with stairs and would walk up and down the stairs, too!
The nature trails are also rather dicey in the winter! But now? We need to get walking!
The Jadeites are so pretty. They look lovely the way you have them displayed. Sorry about your insomnia. I hate it when I can’t sleep. It is so frustrating.
Marilyn
It really is! Thanks, Marilyn!
I’m so sorry you’re struggling with insomnia. I know it to be a factor (the twists & turns) of menopause in several of my gal pals but, with my husband, I really think it has to do with increasingly-severe allergies which causes restless sleep (and, lately, breathlessness; he’s been all checked by a cardiologist, though); true, even though he’s supposed to be retired now, still busy part-time with paid work, and the nature of his occupation has him on info-overload.
Me? I’ve been unplugging big-time, since last Nov-Dec; I know my limits. I just can’t take the chaos of headlines and 24/7 news although I also don’t want to be ignorant of important things going on; we’ve all been suffering with that since 2016, right? Balance, balance, balance; it ain’t so easy to achieve in a modern world with everything else each of has going on in personal life, work life, community life, church life, school life, the larger planet; sometimes just want to go run to a remote mountain cabin, or an isolated island in a big ocean. (Watched a riveting movie I’d had on DVR for a LONG time but just now got to it, based on the book “The Light Between Oceans” with a setting in early-20th century New Zealand [main male character is a lightkeeper; the actor Michael Fassbender, who I have always REALLY liked] and the remote locale of a lighthouse was appealing to me although the film itself was a romantic tragedy. I liked it, though. I’m gonna watch it again.)
The miniatures are darling; I’m totally into fairy gardens and any kind of miniatures now (thanks to you, dearest-blog owner-you!). I think a trip to Michael’s may definitely be in order.
In the meantime, take care, Claudia. My husband’s friend told him the other day, “I haven’t slept since 1987.” But he soldiers on. I read once that homekeeping guru Martha Stewart only sleeps four hours per night, like I guess most of her adult life. I had a patch of insomnia myself, pretty bad, about 18 years ago and the one thing I wish I hadn’t done was go on prescription meds for insomnia…just didn’t work for me although I know they’re beneficial and highly-effective for others. My husband is currently trying white noise and pink noise; there are a lot of apps; I bought a machine for him I’m about to unpack. I sleep soundly in summer without the weight of heavy blankets and with the background hum of a standing room fan on low despite what can be uncomfortably warm nights when we don’t run the a/c due to the noise of our unit.
Hey, saw my first poppy sighting near to town today! What a wonder, with the near hillsides just a mile from my house, newly-ablaze with purple and blue, yellow and orange – – amid green, green, green, green, green. This is SoCalif? It is! Magnificent!
By the way, I visit ‘way fewer blogs these days, maybe 2-3 now, but yours is always there; you have a beautiful community of readers (I enjoy their comments) but that’s because you are a beautiful soul, Claudia. Kindred spirits congregate! I’ve learned a lot here; your blog is informative, timely and often very comforting to me. We’ll probably never any of us meet in the flesh, but we connect soul-to-soul at MHC, and I’m grateful for it. (Love Don, too!!)
Well, I’m beyond menopause. I have a feeling it has to do with two years of horror from the Oval Office. It certainly contributes to my stress – and I’m not alone. We always have a white noise machine on. Don went through a very bad bout of insomnia a few years ago. I go through them periodically. I think we’re no different than most people. I don’t want to take prescription meds. That’s not my thing. So I’ll just deal with it, knowing the tide will turn.
So glad you’re back, my friend. I missed reading your comments!
You know, Claudia, as soon as you can get back out there and mow & weed & plant, as long as you can control the allergies, you’ll probably get your rhythm back. Being outside like that is your thing! You do a lot of hard work out there; it’ll probably happily exhaust you to where you’ll fall into sleep deeply like you’re not able to do now (just pace yourself; don’t get too sore). I think you’re an extremely active person as a rule. Yes, you read; you create the doll houses (the indoor stuff). But, generally, weather-permitting, you always seem to be up and about with excursions here & there, errands, shopping, recycling.
I went to Michael’s. Got the green plates. Thanx again for the tip. Good selection on fairy garden stuff – – but going-gone fast; most everything was 50 percent off, so I really feel I got good bang for my buck. I could drop a lot of money in there so I have to be very careful; so much tempting stuff for crafters (not calling myself one, but…). I got some nice ribbon for under a buck. It was chilly out there (we had a lot of stops to make today) although the ocean really didn’t have any significant waves, but our whole area (here in SoCalif where I am) was whipped with a pretty strong west wind off that water; sunny but brrrr!
Ah, the Fiesta; beautiful compote, beautiful color! Love all the colors of Fiesta. Yellow of anything always seems cheery.
We hit the garden center today, too (in another town; bigger, and more competitive prices) and I bought a new geranium to replace one in the pot that perished at nearly age 15; found the same color of a vivid orange, so that felt good. I sure noticed a lot of dogs on the leash today – – inside Michael’s(?), at this big-box garden center, at the pet food store of course; but they weren’t service dogs. Maybe store personnel are getting more relaxed about canine shoppers! It’s nice to see people making dogs a part of their life. I had to laugh; I was, at one point, in a drive-thru behind a car which had two very-large dogs in the backseat. They sat there calmly the whole time, no restless energy. Looked like two people sitting there – – with big ears. Extremely well-behaved dogs!
Our garden center won’t be stocked for a couple more weeks – we are still in the midst of the transition from winter to spring. I have a strict budget this year, so I’ll have to frugal. But I’ll make it work somehow.
We took a trail walk yesterday and the exercise was good for both of us. Felt better.
It seems like every woman I know has sleep issues. If not every night then frequently. Some worse than others. I am sleeping good right now but I frequently do what you do, be sleepy, go to bed and be wide awake. Grace and Frankie are my go to for sleepless nights. I don’t know what I will do when the season is over.
I have been mostly off the grid so that may help. I can’t stand to see much news right now. I read a short CNN good morning so I keep up but that is enough.
Enjoy your projects. We need to be engaged.
Kay
Don and I often wish we were off the grid, Kay! Much love xoxo
Those tulips are so pretty…I can hardly wait for mine outside to bloom!
They’re really lovely, Nancy.
too bad it’s not more convenient for you, but i love that you drove a long, long way to buy all those bouquets for you and don! hope they help tide you over until you can get outside and do some gardening. they are beautiful!
hope you get to sleeping better soon!
kathy in iowa
I think the drive was worth it and I’ve vowed to start doing it once a month. Thanks, Kathy!
I am also on a no-news diet. It makes me kind of angry, because I love to watch and keep up with what is going on in this world. One more reason for my hatred of that “man”.
It got up to 61* here today. It was lovely, but sooo windy!! It seems that the wind is always there.
I just don’t remember the constant wind we seem to have ~ year round. I guess getting old will do that to us.
That jadeite is so pretty!! I do have 2 or 3 pieces of it and love it dearly. Hope you had a good day and that you can get some sleep.
We’re going to reach the sixties tomorrow! Huzzah!
You know, we get a lot more wind than we used to, as well! It drives me crazy. Thanks, Chris.
Claudia,
You are right, that hutch is fantastic, as is the crock. I enjoy seeing you play with your doll house and the little vignettes you come up with – it all puts a smile on my face.
It’s fun and I need to have some fun right now, Tisha!
The jadeite would be great for any dollhouse but especially perfect for you! A wonderful find!
Thanks so much, Jeanie!