Monday, September 26, 2016

Thrifts and Gifts




High and Dry In The Desert.....

I could not help but Wonder, Dear Readers, how a tiny sailboat came to be resting in the Desert Mountains of Southwestern New Mexico, where water is scarce, rivers are small and sporadic, and the very air pulls moisture from your skin! But there it was, on the shelf in the back room of the Thrift Shop where my Mother volunteers, and the minute I saw it I knew it had to come home with me. I could not promise it the wide Oceans, but I could imagine it on the shores of a gentle stream.... or fishing on a pond... or the shores of a lake... so many possibilities to Dream of, and all so tricky to build in miniature! Perhaps I felt a kindred spirit, having spent so much time in my youth sailing small boats and frolicking in the sea.... I always feel a little high and dry in the Desert lands! So it came home with me!  And that was not the only Treasure I found on my Travels.... there were several other small items in the Thrift Shop.....

The most noticeable being the bright red basket Baby Carriage 
which is actually a Christmas ornament!
And the cutest being the goggle-eyed Pup made from seashells......

Or maybe the flocked Moose key-ring.....
And the black Fraidy-cat!

But that was just the beginning, Dear Readers, 
because I was also Given a whole pile of Gifts
by a friend of my Mother's who used to make 
miniature dolls a number of years ago and had
 a whole collection of supplies to donate to me!

Everything from wooden horses and Christmas trees.....

To buckles and tiny buttons....
 
To a hand made hobby horse....


and a collection of old metal Monopoly pieces! 

Not to mention a Beautiful little Native American ceramic pot.....

And a gorgeous Guatamalan woven piece of cloth!
What a Treasure Trove of gifts!
Thank you Sarah!
I will have a lot of fun playing with these!
 
And once I was back home, Dear Readers, 
you can imagine how eager I was 
to visit all my projects with "New" eyes... 
a fresh perspective .... a renewed eagerness...

And with little time and even less effort.....
Brought water to the Folly Glass House....

Pieces that have been waiting for ages.....
and "say" so much!

And with the first frost of the season last night,
 it might be time to turn up the heat in the Glass House...
So the plants won't freeze!
(Every Glass house needs a good thermometer!)

Well, Dear Readers, I had a Wonderful visit with Family 
and safe travels there and back again.
And Between the Thrifts and the Gifts 
I am not at all High and Dry, 
But enriched with Treasured memories 
and renewed Spirit!

Monday, September 12, 2016

It's The Tiny Things.....




How Long Does It Take....?

I Hope you can Remember, Dear Readers, where it was in the story that we last saw Daphne, because some of you may have hoped that the next morning would come sooner! Alas, Time does not always follow the rules in my mini worlds.... and so it was a very long time before the morning light crept in through the tiny window in the Nanny's bedroom. Could it be the first night she had slept in this tiny garret room? She did not think she had slept at all after Renee had joined her in her bed. How could she sleep with the warm little body of her daughter curled beside her, breathing gently once the hiccups had gone away. She had so many questions. Nothing was what she had expected.
 She watched the first rays of Dawn chase the shadows from the corners and wondered about her child's world.
And yet, she must have fallen asleep at some point 
because the next thing she knew, 
Renee was standing quietly beside the bed gazing at her.

"Good morning, Little Sunshine..." she said.

"When are we going to write a letter to Gabrielle?" asked Renee.
 
"Well, first let's get dressed and see about breakfast..." replied Daphne.

As soon as Daphne was dressed, she followed Renee to the Nursery.
 "Let's find you some clean clothes" she said.
She began to search through the wardrobe, but it was empty.

Renee set Hibou carefully on her table.
He promised to stay put while Renee got dressed.

Renee went to her dresser where her shirts were kept.

Daphne could see that Renee knew where her clothes were kept.
But there didn't seem to be many at all. 
She made a mental note that she would need to go shopping.

"I can dress myself" said Renee.

"You're not supposed to watch!" she declared.
"I'll close my eyes," said Daphne.


"Now where do these go...?" asked Daphne,
 holding the dirty clothes from the day before.

"I forget...." said Renee. "Gabrielle knew where to put them."
"Can we write to Gabrielle now?" she asked.
But before Daphne could even think to answer, 
Cook arrived with a breakfast tray.

Daphne was glad to see it arriving. 
She still had no idea what to expect!
Cook set the tray on the table.
"All you have to do is text me" he said.
"I brought it up this morning. I knew she would be awake."
"Whenever you are ready to eat 
or need something... just text 'cookie'."
"Thank you" said Daphne. 
"Renee, say thank you to Cook" she prompted. 
"Thank you" said Renee cheerfully.
"Hibou can't say 'thank you'" she added. 
"He doesn't know how to talk yet."

Daphne pulled up the tall stool and took some 
bread and jam to go with her coffee.
Renee had cereal and milk.
"Hibou likes my milk" she said. 
"It will make him grow big and strong so he can fly.
 He is just a baby.." she added.

"He only flew once, but he landed in the Fountain!" she said.
"And That Man pulled him out!"
"Can we write to Gabrielle now? she asked.
"As soon as we are done with eating" Daphne replied.
Once the breakfast things were cleared away,
 she went to fetch her paper and pencils.

She spread them out on the table. 
Daphne was surprised to discover that
Renee had never seen paint and crayons.
"What do you want to say to Gabrielle?" 
asked Daphne, pulling out her pencils.


"I will start the letter with 'Dear Gabrielle'' said Daphne...
 "Then what do you want to tell her?"
"Hibou is safe" said Renee. 
"He got lost, but Mademoiselle O'Malley found him."
She watched as Daphne wrote the letters.
"I am learning letters." she said. 
"I am going to teach them to Hibou." she added.

"See you soon" she said. Daphne carefully wrote every word.
"Would you like to draw a picture for Gabrielle?" asked Daphne.

"I will Draw Hibou!" declared Renee excitedly.
Daphne spread the pencils out and gave her some paper.

"He's playing with the birds in the Park!" she said 
after a minute of careful pencil work.
Soon she needed another piece of paper....

"Hibou likes the birds in the Park.." she added.

"Can we go to the Park now?" she asked.

But before Daphne could answer, the door opened 
and the Young Lawyer, Raymond, stepped in.

"Ray Ray...!" cried Renee. "We are writing a letter to Gabrielle 
because Hibou got lost and Mademoiselle O'Malley found him!"

"And I am drawing a picture of Hibou at the Park!" she added excitedly.

"So I see, Sunshine." he said fondly. 
Then he turned to Daphne and said 
"I've come to give you a break."

"A break..." said Daphne...."Why would I need a break? 
"You are supposed to have regular breaks" 
explained Raymond. "I fill in."
"Don't you have other things you need to do... 
like shopping?" he added.

"I don't need to go shopping" declared Daphne, 
even though she had been thinking of things they needed.
"Besides, I have a phone, I can order what I need."
She was just starting to get comfortable with Renee. 
The last thing she wanted was to have a break!

"But you could give us Gabrielle's address..." she stated.
"Then we could mail this letter right away on our way to the Park."

"I'll take it and mail it for you" said Raymond. 

"No, thank you. I'd much rather have the address" said Daphne. 
"I'm sure there will be other letters, 
and we wouldn't want to have to bother you every time."

"Besides, I think Renee might enjoy mailing it herself..." said Daphne.
 
"Would you like that?" she asked Renee.

"I want to go to the Park And mail the letter..." declared Renee.

"And I want to go with Hibou And Ray Ray... 
And Mademoiselle O'Malley!"

And there, My Dear Readers, is where I must leave you for now, 
once again at the edge of the cliff!
And who knows how long it will take for this short "break"?
I will be traveling to visit my Mother and my Father out West 
and so will have little time for minis for the next few weeks.
But Rest assured, however Long it takes, 
It is All those Tiny things that count!




Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Glass House Glass....




Invisible Progress.....

Have I mentioned, Dear Readers, How much I Love it when the sun comes to play in my mini worlds? Sometimes it seems as though I can barely catch the brief moments when it illuminates my little worlds so brilliantly! Saturday was just such a morning and here you can see The Folly fully lit in the morning sun! But it was moving fast! I had to be quick with the camera!

Here you can see the Glass House fully lit by the sun... 
Before any glass was added to the windows!
I was able to get some glass panes cut on Saturday 
and immediately started fitting them to the window openings.
It is not as easy as it sounds! 
If the glass pane is just a fraction too large,
 you have to carve away the wood frame to make it fit.
But it really went very well.

I was easily able to cut and install the front windows.
Can you see the glass panes? No? 

How about now?
At least you can see the reflections in the windows! 

Here you can see the Glass House framework is removed from The Folly base 
so I can attach the glass to one of the window openings.
The window frame on the exterior is made a little smaller than 
the opening in the wall so it holds the glass pane in place on one side.
Once the glass pane is inserted in the opening, 
I add interior trim inside the window opening, 
which holds the pane securely in the wall.
In the above picture you can see the interior trim 
has been added to the rectangular window, 
while the triangular one still has not been fitted with glass.

Here we are on a sunny Sunday morning, 
and you can see I have drilled the screw holes for the roof sections
 so they can be firmly attached once the glass panes are added.

And here you can see the interior from above... 
with the rear glass pane being tested for fit.
Yes, there is already an old workbench in place, 
and an antique stove for heating the Glass House in winter!

Here you can see the roof panels removed for
 painting the trim edges prior to adding the glass.
Because the glass is "see through" you need to paint 
the inside of all the openings because they will be 
visible through the edge of the glass!
You can see the opening side of the roof is smaller than the front side.... 
this is so it can swing open past the roof eaves of The Folly!

Here you can see the roof panels in place..... 
with the glass installed!
Can you see the glass? No?

And here you can sort of see the end triangular window also in place!
Or you can see the window frames.... if not the glass!

There is only the tiny back wall window 
still in need of getting the window pane installed...

Here you can just see the opening through the doorway....
I will have fun cutting that window glass!
And then all the muntins need to be cut and fitted to each window.
So it is still a while before the Glass House will be finished.

But the sun came to play again, Dear Readers!
Just before sunset it reached into my work room from the west.....

Shining on The Folly Tree House in such a way.... 
I almost never see this!

Shining into the Salon through the tiny window in the stairwell....

Where there is a flower vase on the window sill.....

And shining through the dressing room window.... 
glimpsed from the Chinoiserie bedroom....

Shining through the lost marble window....
I know, it is hard to see these tiny rays of light....

And even shining into the bath chamber
 through the window in the toilet stall....!

And lighting the Dressing Room with the door opened....
Catch it before it is gone!

And glancing through The Folly bay window......
showing off the details we usually can barely see!

Well, Dear Readers, there really is not much to show 
for my three day weekend of work!
That's the problem with glass....
Invisible Progress!