Peril

One of the many perils of not having a room with a door to keep miniatures and pets separate.

"Aren't I simply divine?"

Make Mine Giveaway Winner

Getting Tempie interested in the bowl of names was pretty difficult.
Finally we had to scoop her up and hold the bowl in front of her nose.
And I couldn't get a picture fast enough since she immediately dropped the paper on the floor and kicked FH in the stomach. But here's the winning slip:
Congratulations, Debbie!!!

I will send you an email tonight!

Quick Tour Through the Incomplete Work Area

Pictures say it all, so I'm taking you on a virtual tour through the mini work area today. Things still need to be unpacked, sorted, and shuffled but at the moment it's usable for projects.

The desk faces the fireplace and television in the main part of the basement.
The larger dollhouse buildings on those handy counters serve as a movable wall to separate the two areas.Books and finished (mostly finished) minis.Three structures that need some work. I love putting mini scenes in old console TVs. The tall house is what will become my witchy department store. (More on that later.) The dresser along the back wall will eventually be home to several roomboxes. I need to get a shelf for the empty corner so I can move teddy bears of of it first. The drawers are filled with beads, buttons, leather, and other supplies. A handy closet for storing more supplies and unfinished roomboxes.
Maddie resting in the unfinished (read: needs major over-haul since I didn't build it) cafe'.It's really much safer for her in there while I'm sorting, etc.

That's all for today. More real life chores are calling my name and then I'm going for "coffee" (tea for me) with Holly.

Don't forget about the giveaway! There's a little over a day left.

Saturday's Work

This past Saturday I spent the whole day at workshops for Stitcher's Guild. The theme of the day was "Try Something New," and everyone had a wonderful time.

During the morning session I taught a class (with FH's help thankfully) on finger-weaving. Our students made a red and black, variegated bookmark. I took a class in the afternoon on basket weaving.

Here's Maddie holding the results.
Here's a better shot of the bookmark. It's approximately 12 inches long.

And then a better look at the basket. Unfortunately we did not learn how to make the frame for the baskets. The frame, complete with God's Eyes at the handles were supplied for us and we just filled in the weaving with waxed linen cord. But a friend of mine knows how to make basket frames so I plan on getting some #1-sized reed and learning from her.

That's all for today. I am very close to reclaiming parts of the house for everyday use and I'm desperate to be finished.

Oh and if you haven't signed up for the giveaway, you've got about two days left! :-)

"Make Mine" Giveaway

Easter is coming up soon as we know what that means!

I may have mentioned some of Tempie's story before, but in case you missed it:

Tempie was found hopping around my sister's neighborhood one summer evening. The vet said it was very likely that someone had gotten tired of their "Easter bunny" and dumped her. She's been with me ever since.

I've never been a fan of giving live animals as gifts, especially to young children. And watching the explosion of rabbits dumped outside or at local pounds a few weeks after Easter is both sad and frustrating. So I decided to start supporting the group "Make Mine Chocolate" in their efforts to educate people about living with rabbits, among other things. If you are interested in what they do, here is a link to their website.

So in the spirit of chocolate, Tempie's story, and just plain fun I'm going to have a giveaway for this chocolate, a bunny statue that looks like chocolate, and some miniature surprises.All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by 6:00pm CST on Wednesday, March 24th. If you leave a fun bunny/other pet story, I'll put your name in the hat twice. Oh and make sure I have a way to contact you, so you can get your treats! :-)

I will put everyone's name into a container and have Tempie pull out the winner that night and let everyone know. I'm hoping to have the goodies arrive in time for Easter weekend.

Good luck, everyone!

Faux Stained Glass

There's a lovely window in my miniature area that looks out onto the garden. However the height of the window allows for a good deal of sunlight coming in all day... and it's aimed right at my painted dollhouses.
So I fixed it.It took one and two thirds panels of "Wisteria" by Art Glass to do it, but I am in love with the result. The light still pours in at the bottom for kitties to nap in and my miniatures are protected more from fading.

I'm heading back to work now! :-)

Keeping Busy

FH and I are doing our best to stay busy while we "wait and see" how the medicine works. Six months is going to be grueling, at least in the beginning.

Cleaning, sorting, and maybe some painting today until FH comes home. It's too chilly to have the windows open, but the sun is shining beautifully.

I want to take this opportunity the thank everyone for the prayers and well wishes for Castor. He's eating better (apparently salmon cooked with Cajun seasoning is a good thing) and enjoying the sunlight right now. For the moment he seems content with life and we're trying to follow his lead.

Also if anyone has the time to think good thoughts for another sick kitty, please visit our friend, Rascal. His mom is a dear fiber friend and Rascal has always inspected her projects with a cat's-eye view. They need positive thoughts more than we do at this point.

I should be back to posting house projects sooner rather than later. I am going to try and put the fears and sadness associated with Castor's health in the back of my mind for the next several months. If there is any noticeable change for good or bad I will let you all know, but for now I think it would be best to just enjoy life and take each day with him for what it is... a gift.

Thank you again so much.

???

I'm sick. Mom and Dad are crying a lot.
-Castor

Colors In the Bedroom

Here's a quick post to show off the color palette in our bedroom. I still haven't had the time to paint the border around the room, but I really think the chocolate brown, dark plum, and the brownish-peach look nice together.

Bathroom Is Done

At least until I ever get around to gutting it and starting over. ;-)

Before: There were a total of 5 curtain rods and 4 towel bars in this bathroom. Each curtain and valance you see had it's own rod. Two of the towel bars were in the shower and were not the type that could handle getting wet. Those got removed and the screw holes were filled with caulk. Eventually I will see about popping the affected tiles out and replacing them with contrasting tiles. After: The only curtains in the room now are on a single rod. I used one of the new curved ones so the thin shower isn't as claustrophobic. The window is covered with a removable vinyl film that resembles etched glass. FH and I tested it out and the only way someone outside can see in is if they are right up against the window and then we could see them.

The paint was chosen because it went with all the pretty things I already had on hand for the room. I found the last roll of border that matched the set and used it across the lave. around to the shower stall. With the exception of the knobs and handles on the original cabinet, the hardware is all satin nickel.
There is no medicine cabinet in this room. We needed some kind of extra storage in here so a free-standing cabinet had to do.At some point I will get around to replacing the cabinet hardware. I'm also thinking about putting a frame around the mirror or replacing it with a slightly smaller one.

The space next to the window is lacking something, so I'm keeping an eye out for some type of artwork that can handle humidity. I don't think I will be putting the miniature bathroom in here because of the humidity and lack of exhaust fan. The lack of fan is grandfathered into the current code and passes because of the window. It will probably be put up in the basement bathroom since the shower in that room is not currently usable and wouldn't be used often.

Behind the Bar

Before:After:
I left the white cup in the picture so you can see that the walls behind the bar are not white. :-)

When You Need Things Done...

...ask the cat.
Pollux here. Mom's busy unpacking things so I thought I would show you the best part of the new house. The sun porch. Saturday was nice and warm so Mom and Dad opened the back door and let us explore. Here I am sniffing around the wood pile. Mom says that won't be staying long. It's supposed to be stacked neatly further away from the house so we don't get termites. Here's my brother and sister coming outside.
We aren't sure why our cat tree is out here, but Castor found it.The wood pile became uninteresting after a while, but this picture shows the plexi-glass portions of the walls really well. The upper parts of the walls are filled in with screens so there was a very nice breeze. Mom said the walls would protect us from owls, hawks, and coyotes, but still let us get fresh air and sunlight. They will also keep my brother from getting into anything that will make him sick if he eats it, so I guess they are ok.Confetti has found the blinds that are on the walls. Mom has opened most of them part-way so we can get some sun.Here's one last picture of our adventure. Castor has found where Mom put some of the plants she dug up from the old house. When the snow is all gone she will find places to put them.That's all for now. I'm going to finish my nap that was rudely interrupted.

Family Room- Before and After Paint

I mentioned before that we were going to try and paint as much as we could before we moved in. Two rooms were successfully painted, but all but two were coated in primer. Of course that made short work of the painting later on.

The biggest room to tackle with paint was the finished part of the basement. The rough measurements are 44 feet by 11 feet. (I have the exact numbers upstairs, but I'm finally sitting down for a bit and not about to go find them.) The room is divided in two parts by a change in carpeting and two short shelving units topped with counter tops.

The larger of these sections is what FH and I chose to become our "family room," where the TV lives and where we would entertain more intimate friends and family.

Here it is on the evening of our final walk-through. I'm certain you recall the retro-styled fireplace.And here is it is with the main walls painted. (I haven't painted behind the bar yet. Getting the furniture in place was a bigger priority and nothing big is going to set back there. I can paint whenever I feel like it.)
And this is also the room where 'Bert, Tempie, Ada, and Alana are residing.Once I find my really strong scissors I will be trimming that vinyl a bit so it no longer hangs over the ends of the couch.

In case it's harder to see in the other pictures, here's a close up of the colors meeting in the corners.We chose the blue and brown combination to give the space feelings of both warmth and cool. Because the room is so large, we opted to use both short walls as accent walls with the brown and that works well since the other portion is really it's own space. The blue is nice and bright in addition to being a relaxing color. The added bonus is the original window treatments match perfectly and are great now that I've cleaned them. We also opted to keep the mirror because it makes the room feel less cramped. (I loathe mirrors btw. They unnerve me to no end. So far I'm successful in ignoring the stupid thing.) And for the record, my thoughts on taking the mirror down to paint that wall are forbidden by the FCC for foulness in nature. Many unlike things were said throughout the process of taking it down and even more while putting it back up.

The other main color in this space is a medium toned cream. Currently the only place painted with that color is inside the big window. It warms up the sunlight even more than the original color did, which is good since we're in a basement room. The walls behind the bar will eventually be the same color.

I can hear some of you pondering our color choices in relation to the fireplace. The answer is simple... The fireplace is going away to be replaced with a cast iron, wood-burning stove that has the ability to heat the entire house if the power fails during the winter. The decor in this area will be more rustic, which will compliment the stove nicely and suit our tastes. Once we decide where the main piece of art (a painting my grandmother gave us) is going I will have pictures. If inquiring minds want to know, we have already found a home for the old fireplace. It will live on in an addition a friend is adding to their house which is great since it is a really fine piece.

Moving Saga

As soon as we had the keys to the new house I started cleaning, painting specific rooms, and moving minis and other fragile things. Many of my friends helped in this endeavor. Holly's Suburban carried over all the dollhouses in two trips.

Friday, the day before we were to move, FH got a phone call form UHaul. Apparently the 26 foot moving van we ordered was not to be found anywhere in the metro area and would we, "please accept a 14 foot truck for 2 days with 120 free miles for $75 instead?" Since we had no other options, we said yes. This is what we got. Please notice the precipitation in the from of snow.
So Saturday morning FH went and picked up the "tries to be a moving truck" and we got to work. For the record, Saturday was absolutely gorgeous. The sun was out in full force and most of the snow had melted away at the old house. Several of our friends showed up to help us and we made short work of the packed boxes and the majority of the furniture. Then we went back for a second load. All but five large-ish furniture pieces fit in the truck that time and I had time to throw some more boxes together while people loaded furniture.

It was turning out to be a decent day. Boxes from the first load were neatly stacked in the new garage since we had to wait on furniture to arrive in the second load. The critters were all sequestered in the office at the old house. By the time the second truck load had been emptied it had gotten colder. A friend and I went back to get all the animals and their assorted accouterments.

I installed towel bars in the bathroom and hung the shower curtain so we could wash the grit and sweat off before crawling under clean sheets. The blinds that I bought that evening for out bedroom didn't fit because they were too deep. FH rigged curtains using old towels (which ended up staying there for about a week and a half) and we collapsed for the night.

Sunday morning proved to look cloudy and cold. FH and I saddled up and took the truck and our car to the old house and threw the last of the furniture in. He then drove the car back to the new house because the cable guy was coming to hook up our internet. I stayed behind and loaded everything from the garage and whatever else I could fit into the truck. Then I packed more of the errata that had been left behind. While I was working, the rain started. I dealt with the rain by backing the truck up as far as I could to the garage's opening. It worked great and everything stayed dry.

By the time FH was able to come back he said it was snowing at the new house... which is all of a twenty-five minute drive north-east of the old place. He took the loaded truck and headed home while I stayed and loaded the car. By the time I got within three miles of home the snow fall had turned into a full winter storm.

FH had most of the truck unloaded when I got there, so I cleared the passenger seat of the car and we headed out to drop off the truck before 5pm. FH said the truck fish-tailed in the snow, but I barely noticed. We got the truck dropped off and decided we were going out for dinner since we were already out in the mess and the kitchen was still packed.

Luckily while we sat in the warmth of our favorite Mexican restaurant most of the storm cleared and we made it home safely. This is what we woke up to Monday morning.That afternoon my mother drove up from Missouri to help me finish packing up the old house and cleaning it. Since we had the little truck for two days and I was able to empty out the garage on Sunday, we had more time to relax, go shopping, and work on the new house.

The snow is just now beginning to melt away and reveal the yard.

More pictures of changes later. For now I need to get back to work.

Interlude

Yesterday afternoon a friend and I were headed out to pick up another friend and grab a quick bite of dinner. We needed a break from the shuffling of boxes and other insanity. Once we arrived at the store where our friend works we discovered she was trying to find a place for a young woman to spend the night.

Apparently the lady in question had been traveling home from a visit to a northern state and had mistakingly fallen asleep at the bus terminal while waiting for her next bus. Her purse and luggage were stolen as she slept. Through a lucky set of events between her rude awakening and the moment we walked into the store, she had traveled all over town by bus looking for someone to help her. Her mother was called and was shipping a bus ticket to the police station, but it wouldn't be there for two days (today).

The police officer gave her some money but he couldn't get her a hotel room. Instead he directed her to a local homeless shelter where the poor dear did not feel safe in the least. That night she didn't sleep. The next morning she went to the Red Cross... they couldn't help her. She tried the United Way... again no help. She was headed to the mall where she could stay warm until the shelter would let her back in for the night when she saw a church. No one answered her knocks at the door, so she wandered across the street to a pizza parlor. Nobody there would help her. Then she walked past the store where our friend works.

That's where we came into the situation, quite literally.

This young woman is from the same small town in the Missouri Ozarks where I went to university and the town where my friend's father was born. In fact we know some of the same people. Ironically I happened to be wearing a St. Patrick's sweatshirt from that campus' famous week-long celebrations. The look of relief on her face when she saw it was indescribable. In fact I almost cried. This kind of situation could happen to anyone and we weren't about to let her just float in the breeze until her bus ticket arrived.

A flurry of phone calls ensued. We managed to scrape together enough cash to get the girl a hotel room for the night and took her to dinner with us. Then we took her to the store and bought her a new bag, some toiletries, some snacks, new pajamas, and clean underwear. She was just in shock that we would appear out of no where to help and "thank you" was in at least every other sentence coming out of her mouth.

When we left her at the hotel she was going to have a warm, clean bed and be able to feel clean again for the first time in a day. By this time today she should have her tickets home.

Safe travels, Kate.