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!

 

So Little Time.....

So Much To Do....

Once Again, Dear Readers, the Same Old Tree has been put up in the living room of The Lovely Old Dollhouse. It seems such a short Time ago that I promised I would show you the ornaments up close and in good light! But I fear I shall have to postpone that promise for another day. It is dark and the lighting is poor.... and the Tree has already been put up!

And Helen and Charles are enjoying the

 beautiful lights and shiny ornaments.

 It seems that no matter how many years go by, 

every year the thrill is the same,

  that burst of Joy when the little lights go on!

I will never grow tired of seeing the little Tree!

And over in The Shabby Sister House, 

Chip has put up the same silver tree.... 

Sally May Loves it, but Chip thinks it needs

 a little something this year....

His Father agrees.... 

but they have no idea what is needed!

Meanwhile over at The Cloud Palace,

Blue has lit the Same Silver Tinsel Tree...

 

And all the Fairy Bears have gathered around to admire it!

 

It looks just Perfect!

I Wish I had more to show, Dear Readers,

 but I spent the weekend rushing around

 to get ready for my Sister to visit

 and then traveling to her Grandchildren with gifts.

There is just so Little Time

 and so Much to be done...

And I haven't even started the Christmas Card!

Thanksgiving....

A Family Affair......

Sally May was Upset, Dear Readers, because the weather forecast was for bitter Cold temperatures to arrive for Thanksgiving. Sally May loved to cook and was always happiest when she shared with her whole family, and Thanksgiving was such a family affair, it was her favorite Holiday! But this year it seemed as though it would be impossible to host the family at her home. This was due to the windows in several rooms still not having been fixed!

"I'm really sorry Hon," said Chip.

 "The materials I had on order didn't arrive...." 

"I could stretch some plastic over them

 in the meantime...." he added apologetically.

"That won't be good enough..." said Sally May, annoyed.

"We can't have the Grandparents over to sit in such Cold!"

"Oh, and that reminds me" added Chip,

 "My folks decided to stay home and tend the fires.

 They're worried the pipes will freeze if they are gone too long."

"I guess I'll call Mama and tell her

 we can't have everybody here...." said Sally May.

As soon as Joanna heard from Sally May, she went to find Helen.

"Sally May and Chip will not be able to host the Dinner..." she said.

 "Their windows are still not fixed and it will be much too cold over there."

 

 

 "We can all eat over her this year...." said Helen....

 "Do we have the supplies...?" She added.

 "We'll need to get the turkey in the oven right away!

 

 "I'll run to the market... " said Charles.

 

"I'll clean the kitchen"... said Victor, 

"I know my way around the sink!"

Before long the table was cleaner than it had been in a long time!

Joanna got started with peeling the squash and potatoes....

Helen joined her as soon as she had finished her row of knitting.... 

(she didn't want to drop a stitch!)

"Let me start making the stuffing..." she said.

By the time Sally May and Chip

 and Annabelle arrived,

 the Turkey was stuffed and in the oven.

Chip and Annabelle joined Charles in the Living Room.

They knew better than to try and be in the kitchen!

Sally May didn't want to be anywhere but the kitchen....

"Tell me what needs to be done..." she said as she arrived.

"I guess I will go see if Charles needs anything..."

 said Victor, making his escape.

Charles and Chip were still just saying hello...

Victor knew just how they were feeling....

 being an in-law himself...

It was best to leave the ladies to the kitchen

 when they got started cooking!

Chip was wishing he could find a TV somewhere.... 

this was the only house he'd ever known that had no TV!

 

 

Eventually Helen came in to let them know the food was ready....!

But where was Pollyanna? 

And Arthur?

 Well, Dear Readers, Pollyanna was playing

 in her attic hideaway....

 and Arthur may have been napping!

"Did you hear someone calling..." she said?

 "Maybe we should go down now.... 

I can smell the turkey from here" said Arthur!

"Have we got everything..." said Sally May?

"I think so... " said Joanna.... 

"We can put the pies in to warm later."

 

"It sure smells good in here..." said Pollyanna....

"Wow!" said Victor.... "what a great bird!"

 

"I want some Turkey..... " said Annabelle excitedly!

"First we say Grace, darling..." said Helen.

Charles cleared his throat and said the Blessing...

"May we all give Thanks for the great blessing

 of the Bounty before us...

 And may we never forget the Great Blessing 

of a Wonderful Family to share it with!"

"Amen!" said Victor.

 "I will carve..." he added happily! 

Well, Dear Readers, I hope you all

 have a Wonderful Thanksgiving! 

And whether you are sharing it 

Early or Late, with Few or Many...

 I hope yours will be a Family Affair!

 

And I would like to add that I am Very Thankful

 for the Great Blogland Family of miniaturists out there 

All You who share so much with so many....

In a "Little" way, it touches me deeply!

Happy Thanksgiving!

And Even More.....

No End In Sight.....

I Am Certain you will get bored, Dear Readers, if all I show you are Teeny Tiny updates of the Petit-point stitching project, and endless updates on the lilac blossoms! I have managed to add a few stitches (maybe as many as 60) to the cream background, and when held in front of a dark surface, you can actually see where they are! There is a long way to go still with this project, but I enjoy working on it in little bits. And I managed to get Almost two blossoms of the lilac finished this week... I was really hoping to manage two... but real life gardening got in the way. At Last I was able to work a little more in the real garden, uncovering the beds after this very long Winter! So the mini projects were fit into the spare minutes this week, and there is not much to show! As I said, I finished one more blossom and florets for the second, but did not get it assembled.

I am gradually getting the "production line" figured out...

making the clusters all at the same time...

But still, the gluing and waiting for it to dry takes time....

 and I have yet to figure out just how much time it takes

 from beginning to end for one blossom!

So rather than Bore you with Blossom production lines....

 I thought I would "revisit" a few more of those Old Unfinished Projects.... 

because Birgit was kind enough to remind me

 that I had not mentioned ALL of them!

Well, one of them that Most of you are familiar with is Hardwick Hall....

 and my Mother mentioned that it is also

the name of an ancient House in Britain.... 

which I was aware of... 

and must say that this House is No Relation

 of That Hardwick Hall....

 or if so, is of such distant and diminished cousinship

 as not to matter at all!

 

Here it is in its current unfinished state....

But I wanted to show you more of the Kitchen.

My Mother had also recently mentioned the Fridge...

saying it was exactly like the one she remembers

 from her childhood home back in the thirties!

I wasn't sure I would be able to find a fridge

 small enough to fit in this kitchen..... 

and was prepared to try to build one...

But I really think this one is perfect!

I will need to build a small cabinet to fit in the corner beside it.

This is such a wonderfully detailed miniature... 

heavy cast metal... with working door and removable shelves!

 

And there is still room for a work table too!

(And we won't mention all the unfinished wiring

 that still needs to be done before

 the hearth wall can be fixed in place....)

And you also have recently visited Rose Thorne Cottage.....

Which sits beside my drawing table.....

(For the Winter at least....!)

Where a teeny bit of light has been

 cast into the incomplete kitchen..... 

with the discovery of the perfect hutch...!

(Who knows how long it will take to complete this...!)

And speaking of Kitchens, Dear Readers, 

perhaps the most complete kitchen I have

 is the one belonging to Sally May and Chip...

In "The Shabby Sister House"....

Which is very similar to "The Lovely Old Dollhouse"

only it needs even more work done than 

"The Lovely Old Dollhouse " ever needed!

But don't worry, Sally May's husband Chip is a builder, 

and he assures her it will not be long before it is all fixed up!

And in case you wondered, this house

 has a remarkable ability to live in two different "eras"...

 it also houses Tommy and Beatrice and Caroline's Family

 while their "Town House" (The Cupboard House) is under construction!

They are Living in 1852, in case you wondered!

I am afraid the living conditions are bit primitive....

 there is still no electric lighting and no indoor plumbing!

And let us not forget that the Glass House 

beside The folly is also still unfinished....

No hardware on the doors, no trim on the roof windows...

And I need to run the wiring for the light ....

 which is one of those after-thoughts

 that can cause all sorts of problems!

But we will leave that for another day...

Because that is not all!

Surely you remember the incomplete Gypsy Wagons!

Both still under construction.... 

because the interiors really need to be done

 before you glue them together!

 And the interiors need to be so different...

The Fortune Teller's Wagon....

And The Tinker's Wagon....

The Interiors are only just begun.... 

with the Fortune Teller's having a Night Forest

 painted on the Sleeping compartment walls.....

And The Tinker's Wagon has horses frolicking in a meadow....

Yes, there is a long way to go before these Wagons are complete!

 

And let us not forget that Pollyanna herself 

has a few unfinished projects....

Piling up in her Not Yet Finished Attic Workroom.....

And there is even a whole Wagon full 

of Teeny Tiny Ladies seeking their Homes....

They were hoping to find something suitable

 amongst Pollyanna's projects....

 but now they are not so sure...

And need I remind you that the two youngest sisters

 of Lady Evelyn de Paradise are still awaiting their gowns?

And as for forgetting (or overlooking)

 a Project or two....

 I sometimes have trouble determining

 where one project ends and the next begins.... 

So the Wizard's Cave under The Castle... 

is or is not part of The Castle Project...?

And yes... the Stories....

They seem to have No End...!

(Will Tiny Bear Ever find the Little Dolls....? 

Will the Little Dreamers Ever find their Home...? 

Will Daphne's Story Ever be finished...?....) 

(Who knows these answers...?.... Not I!)

Ah Dear Readers, I hope I have not bored you

 with this little Tour through Time!

 

And did you want to see the fourth completed lilac blossom?

 

These tiny blossoms might be taking up all my Time, Dear Readers,

But I can promise you there will be More and more... and more!

And There's no end in sight!

(Because I wouldn't want you to be Bored!)