The Eye of the Storm

The Day After

Dear Readers, In case you were wondering, the Eye of the Storm DID go over us, here in Western Massachusetts. Rest assured I am fine! Let me tell you how it was!
Sunday morning when I awoke early because I could NOT sleep when a Hurricane was on the way, the rain was already falling in earnest and the sky was Dark. Hurricane Irene was making landfall in New York City and was still headed our way. We still had power and the winds were barely noticeable, so I settled in for a day of working on the Dollhouses, drinking tea and waiting! By ten AM the Storm was downgraded to a Tropical Storm, so the Winds when they came would be less strong. But the RAIN continued to pour down heavily.

I was working on the Ceiling of the Dining Room of the Cupboard House. This is where it was at the beginning of the morning.... the ornate ceiling trim was stained and I was planning to add gold paint to the details. Of course, I forgot to take pictures of some of the progress.... but I DID add the gold paint!

And the floor of the Kitchen in the Cupboard House was partly done.... so all I needed to do was cut more sticks, glue them in and stain it....... a Perfect project for a day that is so Gloomy and you are WAITING for Disaster to Come Calling at ANY Moment.......

At Noon, the Skies were still DARK and the RAIN was still POURING down,

But the WIND was Nowhere to be found!

The Little people were all happily entertaining themselves while they WAITED......

And I went back to work on the Dining Room Ceiling. I wanted to paint a cloud-filled skyscape... in the Grand Baroque tradition. Even though this house is Victorian in Era, the Victorians were very enthralled with the Grand Homes and History of Europe.... and they Borrowed shamelessly from EVERY period of Design.... so I can be forgiven for painting this ceiling this way!

Here you can see a picture of the progress.... NOT complete yet......

At Three PM the skies are STILL Dark and the Rain is STILL Pouring down. And the Wind has been fitful at most and barely noticeable the rest of the time! But the Eye of the Storm was Still supposed to go over us! Can you see how Dreary it looks?

I continued working on the Kitchen Floor...... here you can see all the boards are in place and I have started staining it.... and Remembered to take a picture!

And here is the staining finished.... I used a Colonial American stain.... I think it is supposed to look like a dark maple flooring...... I didn't want the floor to be the Walnut stain as that would be too dark in this tiny room!

And THEN... sometime around Four PM... the Sun broke through the clouds!

I went outside and the sky above was as Clear and Blue as any Summer sky can be!
There was a fringe of clouds to the East......

And a Swirl of clouds to the West.....

And a Remnant of clouds to the South....... behind the trees in my backyard!

But above me the SKY was as Blue as Blue can Be!

And NOW the winds had arrived, blowing from the West instead of the East!
Truly, this MUST be the EYE of the Storm, thought I ..... so I rushed for my camera!

And took these photos of the Eye of the Storm!

Only to Realize later, when I was assembling the Dining Room Ceiling pieces I had worked on all Day... that it looked just a tiny Bit like the Eye of the Hurricane!
This picture shows the painted and gilded coving and the painted ceiling in the center, all propped against the wallpaper I have chosen for this room.... an ornate plum colored Rosy pattern... and an elaborate border too......

This picture shows me Testing the effect of Gold Paper in the bands between the border and the coving.....

Oh, and I mustn't forget the gilt central Rosette which will have the Light fixture attached at the center........ You don't think it will be a bit too much? Well, this is the VICTORIAN Era! They were all about Too Much!

Here you can see the ceiling mostly assembled and temporarily in place in the Dining Room....

And a Little bit closer.... I am thinking of painting Bacchus looking down from the clouds.....!

As for the Eye of the Storm.... we had Much more wind on the Back side of the storm.... but never lost our Power here where I live.
And when I got up this morning to a Beautiful Summer Day, I had a look around to assess possible damage. All was quiet in the Castle Great Hall.

The sun was shining once more on the Mini Rose Garden by the Folly.

Will and Daphne were exchanging stories and opinions about the Hurricane....

The Sun was Streaming into the Beautiful and still unfurnished Chinoiserie Bedroom of the Lovely Old Dollhouse.... so I HAD to share this photo......

Cousin Kitty and ALL EIGHT of her cats were still on the Hall Settee where they landed late yesterday when the FLOOD Waters began to rise and chased them from their apartment. Poor Cousin Kitty STILL looks Petrified!

Pollyanna and Arthur are happily entertaining Victor and Joanna.

It seems they did not need the Hurricane Lantern after all!

And Helen and Charles are in their favorite spot....

the Kitchen of the Lovely Old Dollhouse......

recounting the many Storms they have lived through together......

And the sun peeks into the Kitchen of the Cupboard House.........
Lighting up that new Old floor in such a beautiful way.......

And strikes the still unfinished Brownstone exterior.......

as if to say "It's a New Day... Get Busy!"

Dear Readers, I am SO Thankful for your concern for my Wellbeing! I am Happy to report that we are Fine. But ALL Morning the sky has been filled with Helicopters going by and the NEWS is filled with reports of DEVASTATING Flooding and Roads are closed all around us. This region got between five and eight inches of Rain in the twenty four hour period, and the ground was saturated and Rivers were already full because of the wet Summer we have had. The Nearby Connecticut River (NOT near enough to be a danger to me!) is a Large River draining the greater portion of New England. This water is still rising and will for days to come..... this IS a story that is still unfolding. The Hill Towns just to the West of us have been overwhelmed with the amount of rain and many of the major roads are washed away. This will take some time to repair and return to normal.

But Today the Sun is shining

and I am Thankful that we are fine and we survived

The Eye of the Storm