Traveling In The Time of Covid....

 

It's A Long Long Way To Go.....

I Took a Trip, Dear Readers, to visit my family in the Southwest of the USA. It takes four airports, three different planes, two car rides and fifteen hours give or take a few, over two time zones, to travel the 2,412 miles from my corner of the country to theirs! Sure beats a covered wagon train, but boy, it isn't a hop and a skip! And in the difficult times of the Pandemic, you need to get tested first and keep your mask on at all times except for brief moments to eat or sip a beverage. And then, when you get there.... stay outdoors and keep a distance from your loved ones! They rented a house for me to stay in and we ate meals on the porch! Lots of porches. But Oh boy it was Wonderful to see them all in person!

The view from my Mom's back yard dining terrace...

they had just finished their Monsoon Season

 and had abundant water this year.

It was as green as it gets out there.

This is the desert southwest, after all!

The early mornings are brisk....

we are waiting for breakfast,

prepared faithfully by my brother

 so I didn't have to go in their house.

Sorry Mom, I had to include a picture of you!

A few years ago when I visited, 

we painted her kitchen cabinets a lovely turquoise blue.

(This reminds me of a certain miniature kitchen...!)

By mid-day it is too hot on everybody's porch to enjoy a meal outdoors...

That's when I got to enjoy my solo lunch at the rental....

Yes, that is my apple....

(I avoid cooking whenever possible!)

There were some crackers and cheese to go with it.

I did not starve!

This is the porch at the rental house.

We all had a pizza lunch out here one day....

A vigorous dust devil nearly spoiled the meal

 as it went right over us blowing dust everywhere!

And another morning we had a pancake breakfast out here

 cooked by my other brother who also came down for a visit.

And up at my Dad's house, high up in the hills...

(they are on the continental divide above 6000 feet elevation here)

Afternoon tea in the shade...

Where lizards come to call....

yes, that is a living specimen!

 

 And yours truly touring the garden of a friend of a friend of my Mom's....

It was an amazing place for a desert!

They had a good monsoon season and the plants were sky high!

 

Yes, Dear Readers, it's a Long Long way to go,

 and over far too soon...

And it's four airports, three airplanes, two car rides

 and maybe only a dozen hours...

Because I am heading east over two time zones 

and we lose a couple hours...

Looking down from above the clouds!

Yes, it's a Long long way to go, Dear Readers,

Masked and distant and just not the same...

But I'm so glad I went

And saw my family again!

The Jewels In The Crown...

Or Dew On The Vines....

Can you Believe there is More that I have added to this ceiling, Dear Readers? One thing is a practical necessity, because as careful as I was during construction, with each layer added, the dome became less and less flexible and I must finally admit that it is Warped! This meant that the ends of the dividers between the coffers did not align correctly with the corners of the walls.... and there were noticeable Gaps between the ceiling and the tops of the walls.... on the ends more than on the sides. To Disguise this failing, I have added another layer to the gilded coving at the top of the walls.... really just a layer of cardboard Carefully cut to fit the opening and in effect extending the top of the coving further over the open area of the room.... 

If you look carefully you will see the detail below.....

See? there is an additional layer to the gilded coving at the base of the ceiling!

It hides a World of imperfections!

And the Other detail I have added to this impossibly ornate ceiling is some glittering jewels....

Did you notice them?

Here you can see the ceiling with the "final touches" added.....

I did not have the skills to add tendrils of vine or minute blossoms...

but I thought the vines should culminate with Something....

Perhaps just glittering dew drops...?

So I added the tiny "gems" ..... 

really just scrapbook rhinestones!

Oh, and a little more was added to the stitching on the bed curtain....

A flower and a half to be precise!

Other than that, nothing was accomplished  this past week in the Tree House..... 

Because I spent so much time on RL Gardening and House projects!

But rather than leave you there.... with a very short post....

I am reminded that I started this Tree House just a year ago,

So I thought it would be fun to have a Review!

I hope you will bear with me....

It began with a Dream I had....

I Dreamed there was a large Tree in the Garden of The Folly....

Moss covered and ancient....

And inside it were tiny Rooms....

The Dream was SO Compelling that I had to start right away...!

This was the start of the Kitchen.... 

carved into the foam base layers.....

with the door attached to the main support post 

and the walls just rough cardboard...

Here the hearth and the cupboard are begun.... and the stairs.....

(I spent HOURS going through all the old pictures trying to cull this down to a few....!)

It is not possible to show all the steps....

So here we have the Kitchen nearly done.....

Only the tea kettle and teapot are missing....

(Do you remember that wonderful chair...???!)

And here you see the door open with the beautiful window seat......

And the start of the exterior structure made of cardboard.....

And the next floor.....

Which would be The Salon....

It is now mid June.... the Kitchen took six weeks....

I Thought I would possibly be Done by Christmas....!

 

Here I have begun the paper mache structure of the roots....

and the walls of the Salon....

With the beginnings of the Fireplace and niches.....

And then the Painting added.....

And trim around the doors.....

And more Enchanting Tiny Furniture.....!

And a Tiny Chandelier....

And a ceiling Fit for Gods!!!

Here... you must come closer....

 

It is almost Impossible to see!

(Please note the glittering candle flames!)

And the entire room.... with the Lunette window....

By now it is the end of July.... 

six more weeks have passed....

And we are at the Beginning of the next room....

The Library!

With the Gothic cabinets and Doors that must open and close....!

A huge stone hearth....

The Chairs....

And Books! Gorgeous, Tiny Books!

But Time is passing.... 

it is the end of September and we are only just begun....!

There is still the Secretary.....

Ancestral Portraits and Tiffany Lamp.....

And a Brilliant Blue Ceiling.....

A Sparkling Candelabra.....

And an Insane amount of Collections...

In Bell-Jars...!

By now it is becoming clear that I will not be done by Christmas!

The Christmas Season is upon us....

Our Tiny Friends have arrived to supervise the Construction....

And Decorate for the Holidays!

But construction resumes in January....

Ready or Not, we have moved on to the Bedroom....

With it's Roccocco Fireplace and Juliet Balcony.....

In February I painted the Chinoiserie walls....

And made the Pagoda Bed...!

Dressed in the Finest Lace and Velvet.....

And the Dressing Room that was just an Afterthought...!

(Consumed a good part of March)

With Rose Arbors and Wardrobe.....

and that UnForgettable Recamier....

And the Ceiling.... the Domed Ceiling.....

 Bejeweled and Begilt....

Did it use up ALL of April....?

 And where do we go from here, Dear Readers...?

The Tree House as it now stands.... 

Next to the Folly....

Not even Half finished!!!

DARE we say it Might be done by Next Christmas?

And could I even Imagine where the next rooms will take us...?

THAT remains to be seen! 

But Meanwhile, we will Dream of the next rooms... 

Perhaps while lying in the Chinoiserie Room....

gazing up at the Ceiling... 

wondering whether those glittering drops are Jewels in the Crown.....

or just Dewdrops in the Ivy....

Visitors

Once I had started down the path of electrifying the Lovely Old Dollhouse, it was not long before I was a regular visitor at that miniature store in the nearby town. I had to have lights for every room! It was easy to decide that the lighting needed to be relatively old fashioned because the old house would have had lights added to it as soon as they were invented! Besides, most of the old houses I have lived in had old lights and not very many electrical outlets in each room. So that was what felt "right" to me. I chose a pair of sconces in candle style for the parlor. And, of course, I had to start putting some of my old furniture and paintings in the room just to see how they would look! If you look carefully at the window in the above picture you will see the glass window frame that I constructed when I was in my teens and kept safely for all these years. The wood is still unfinished but the glass panes are still in place!

This is a view looking in that (very dirty!) old window!

The next picture shows the new ceiling light in the kitchen, just like the one we had in our kitchen when I was growing up! Perhaps this house is going to end up being decorated from the time period of my childhood? We shall see....

And here is another picture of the kitchen.... this time with the porcelain sink that I just HAD to buy on one of my excursions to that (very dangerous to the pocket book) miniatures store! It looks exactly like the sink in my very first apartment......

And yet another item I had to have because it was EXACTLY like the old radiators in my childhood home! I came home with one of these and had to go back for another one because there has to be one in the bathroom too! I just LOVE these old radiators!

Pretty soon I was pulling out more old treasures I had saved for years.... here are some antique books - the large one is actually a thumbnail bible printed in 1811.....perhaps left in the old house by one of its earliest owners?

Oh, and who is this?

A beautiful young lady visiting the Lovely Old Dollhouse?

And her sister too?

She seems a little worried......or maybe she is searching for something.....or someone?

Perhaps they are "time travelers" visiting from another time and place......because didn't I just decide that the Lovely Old Dollhouse was more modern than they seem to be....with electric lights and plumbing and all that modern stuff?
Or perhaps they are modern girls all dressed up for a historical costume ball?

What am I to do with them? They are much too pretty to ignore! Perhaps I will just HAVE to build them a house from the right historical era to match their costumes......1811 does look about right! Do you suppose they knew the original owner of that old bible and they are searching for him and some how they got caught in a time warp and ended up here now?

What do you think?


Oh, and look again!

I think this must be their distant cousin from Italy come to visit! She looks so elegant and sophisticated! She is certainly not American!
She looks like she just might have some answers to their questions!

This week has been all about visitors in my life too!

My Mother is visiting me from her home in New Mexico. We went to visit my niece and her beautiful baby. And my sister was also visiting so we had a whole family gathering!

Fortunately none of us are lost in the warps of time searching for missing persons or things.......or perhaps we are......perhaps that is what this dollhouse obsession is really about.......

So what do you think?