Summertime.......

 

And Sister Visit......!

We are at the beginning of a Heat Wave, Dear Readers, with temperatures to soar into the high nineties today and even top 100 degrees tomorrow and the next day, which is not at all the normal pattern for this region. Yes, Summertime is here with a vengeance! So after taking an early morning visit to my RL garden (a daily ritual) I have retreated inside for the duration. The Roses, foxgloves and lilies are all blooming furiously outside, and as I pass the Folly Garden in all it's Green Glory.... I am reminded (and tempted) to leap into the next installment of 1000 days of making the ______ (you pick the plant) for I am just overwhelmed by the options! Yes the Rose is high on that list.... but the list is long, and because the garden was also full of tiny clover blossoms and mushrooms... the tiniest little Fairy Mushrooms... I thought to visit the Fairy Garden at the Folly on my way by. Do You remember that tiny spot tucked in under the Summer Lilac shrub?

 

A Tiny sliver of summer morning sunlight

 sneaks in through a gap in my shades, 

lighting that dark forgotten corner beside The Folly Porch...

 

Where Queen Mab and her Minions 

might have partied the night away when we were not looking... 

teasing the fireflies and flirting with the crickets, 

casting spells on the unwary spiders....

 

Who have no choice but to spin Fairy Blankets

 in the grass 'til dawn...

 

When the Fairies disappear..... 

leaving behind the evidence of their revels 

for any who care to notice... 

 

Did you happen to notice....?

 

Or were you too busy dashing on by as I was the other day

 on my way to pick up my Sister for a brief visit!

 She was in the area visiting her grandchildren 

and as always I borrowed her for an overnight at my house. 

And I am sure you can imagine that we took advantage 

of the opportunity to pull out the needles and thread

 and play with the tiny dolls...

 

 

You might recall that we had begun these little ones on her last visit... 

so they were already wearing their petticoats and shoes... 

and they finally got their names... 

This is "Grace"...

 

 

And this one is "Dolly"... she is a bit shy...!

We had decided we wanted their dresses to be all lace... 

like an Edwardian Summer Tea gown....

it was just a matter of choosing the right pieces of lace... 

 

My sister chose this piece to make their cuffs... 

so we attached those first.

And we were a little concerned that their 

underpants were too visible... 

requiring more layers of "Something"...

 underskirts...? Pleated overskirts...?

 

 

I guess they are showing off their new cuffs!

 

Can you believe that was all we accomplished on the first day...?

 Well, there had been the car trip to go get her... 

and we had to stop for dinner... 

(working here on the dining table!) 

 

Next morning we started in again.... 

aware of the too short visit and not enough time....

 

And just as I was getting going.... 

look who stopped by.....!?!

"Excuse me," said Lady Arabella Rat... 

"Could I have a moment of your time?" she added politely. 

"Who are you...?" asked Dolly, clearly fascinated. 

"I am Lady Arabella," said Lady Arabella, 

"but I was speaking to your human, if you don't mind."

 "Oh!" said Dolly. "Of course not..." she added self-consciously. 

 

"If you are going to be doing a little sewing..." 

said Lady Arabella, speaking directly to me,

 "Would you mind adding a little bit to my gown 

while you are at it? 

I am rather tired of waiting..." she added pointedly.

 

"I thought you would have at least 

embroidered the skirt by now..." she added chidingly. 

"Ahem..." I replied, a touch embarrassed, 

but truly intrigued at the possibilities...

 "I am so sorry to have been so lax... " I said. 

"And I suppose I could make a small contribution now... 

since we are in the process of making some tiny gowns.... 

it really would be no problem...!" I added,

 getting excited at the possibilities!

 

And really, in almost no time at all,

 Lady Arabella got her pink gauze crinoline petticoat!

 

"It will do for a start..." she declared huffily. 

But I know in secret she was vastly relieved 

to have even gotten this far! 

Sometimes it does pay to be presuming!

 

Of course, Dolly took one look at the lovely pink crinoline

 and said "Can I have one too....?" 

And I had to agree, it seemed the perfect solution 

to her lacy dress... a lovely pink underskirt!

 

And even though we wished we could just carry on

 and stitch through the night.... 

I had to take my Sister back to her family. 

The dresses were all still a long way from finished...

 

But Grace got a pleated lace overskirt, 

Dolly got a lovely pink underskirt.... 

and Lady Arabella got her crinoline..... 

and my Sister and I got to spend time together

 sewing tiny things!

 What, Dear Readers, could possibly 

be better than that? 

Summertime and A Sister visit!

 

 

 

Summertime.....

 

Reruns.....

You Might recall, Dear Readers, that the Lilac beside the Folly door only blooms briefly in the Springtime. The rest of the Summer it is clad all in green and goes largely unremarked as it stands in quiet leafy abundance beside the tiny patio. The morning sunshine fills this corner early on sunny days and often Will and Gabrielle sit outside for a few minutes at the start of their days. 

Their lives are often too busy to linger, 

so they try to grab the minutes they can.

They are often in too much of a hurry

 to stop and notice the little worlds they rush past...

The dew spangled summer spider webs in the bush....

Or to glance down as they step from the porch....

is that a fairy mushroom circle..... 

hiding under the lilac?

 

 Can you see them tucked in under the lilac stems...?

And is that a tiny fairy chair left under the cobwebs....?

Or has the sunlight dazzled our eyes and played tricks....?

But, lo! When a cloud momentarily blocks the sun,

 we can still see the tiny mushroom circle and the abandoned chair...!

But Will and Gabrielle have not noticed at all!

And as for the question, Dear Readers, 

of where the little TV will find a home,

 the answer to me was obvious!

You have not visited Sally May and Chip's house,

 The "Shabby Sister House" for quite some time,

 but I assure you Time has not stood still.

Sally May did a little shopping a while ago.

 She found this charming shelf with storage baskets

 which fit perfectly in her still unfinished living room.

And you can see my first "large" stitched 

petit-point carpet has found its home here.

Chip's folks, Ernie and Blanche, have been

 hanging out here since early in the pandemic... 

they are quite at home by now!

 

 

And if you look in the back corner of the room,

 you will see an old TV set.... 

well, it is supposed to be a TV set!

(This is the only one of my dollhouses to have a TV set!)

 

They only needed to rearrange things

 a little bit for better viewing!

 

Ernie doesn't like to admit how much he likes the old summer reruns!

(Do you even remember Summer Reruns?)

 

Well, Dear Readers, ready or not,

 it is Summertime....

The season of dew spangled spiderwebs,

Fungus fairy circles....

and Re-runs!