The Monk's Cell

Or Good Night Henry!



You may remember, from my earlier listing of all the rooms that would be included in the Castle, my mentioning the Monk's Cell, which would be off the back corner of the Chapel. And you may also remember me mentioning that in the early "history" of this Castle it was an Abbey built on the site of a Sacred Spring. Now, in the original Abbey there was a whole wing devoted to the sleeping quarters of the Monks. But as this was VERY long ago, the dormitories were only built of wood, not stone like the Chapel Tower and Great Hall, and so they did not survive long when the Abbey was abandonned (whether because of Viking raids or the Black Plague, I do not know). When the Castle was once again occupied and fortified, the only room left for the Monk's Cell was the tiny room beside the Chapel. As everyone knows, Monks are very humble people and do not expect roomy accommodations, so the Castle Monk was very happy to have a room to call his own! And being humble people, they rarely portrayed their sleeping cells in any of the vast number of Illuminations they painted in Medieval texts. While it is common to see pictures of them painting or writing texts in a scriptorium - we almost never see where they sleep, and really know of their cells mostly from literary references. But I have found one tiny illumination that shows Saint Alexis asleep in a cubby under a stairway! It is from "The Hours of Catherine of Cleves" and was painted in the fifteenth century.

Please excuse the blurry photo, the original is about one inch wide!

So you can see that I have little material to go by in deciding on the decor for his cell, and I must therefore make it up as best I can!

So to begin with I determined that the Cell would have a tiny window with wooden shutters but no glass panes. Glass was used only in the important rooms and only slowly became common in all windows. His bed would be a narrow wooden plank raised off the floor, allowing room to store his clothes beneath the bed. And you may also remember that the Monk's Cell is where the trap door to the Postern Door was located. And because this room would eventually be closed in and hard to access, I had to complete all of it's details before I could complete the Chapel details.

Here you can see the very beginnings of the Chapel, while the Cell has already received it's Faux Stone painting inside. You can also see the trap door open, and the bed to the left.




Here you can see the Chapel ceiling (temporarily) in place, and the front wall to the Cell as well. And you can see the beginnings of the pillars in the Chapel itself, also temporarily in place. This gives you an idea of how little access there will be when the Cell is completed.

And the part I am really proud of is the Lighted Candle I made from sculpey, perched on a stone corbel at the back of the Cell! You can also see the wooden shutters on the small window on the left wall. And the Chapel has received the first coats of paint and some of the "stone" trim around the doorway.

A closer view of the inside of the humble Cell

And looking in through the door with the wall in place......

I'm SO proud of that little lighted candle!

And of course, there is a cross hanging on the wall. I apologize for the darkness of this photo.... the candle only gives a little light! If you look closely you will see that a mattress and some woolen blankets have found there way in too.... it looks so cosy and inviting! Almost as though somebody is living here already!

Oh, but wait.... I didn't think you were a Monk!

"Most certainly NOT!" says Henry. "But while nobody else is here, why not use it myself?"

"It's not like I'm putting anyone out.... and the place looks so cosy...... for a Castle!"

"And it's getting late! I'm going to bed now."

"Put out the candle for me, would you?"

I just LOVE that little candle!

"Good Night Henry! Sleep Well!"

Good Night Henry

Making Dolls

Not A Tutorial, More of an Explorial!

It has been many years since I tried my hand at dollmaking. As you may recall me mentioning, I had tried to make dolls for my dollhouse when I was quite young but with very little success. I tried again in my teen years, wanting to make something elegant and Victorian and wishing I could do porcelain, but again, with little success. I vaguely remember a salt-dough concoction or two that just didn't work and died a natural death. I remember trying to carve a wooden peg doll and managed to make one that was very un-handsome and rather uneven in the legs. He managed to stay around for a few years, but I think I gave him into my boys' keeping and he wandered off somewhere and never made it home again. I did carve a larger scale "Penny Wooden" doll, about 16 inches tall and fully articulated joints in those teen years (her picture is my icon for this blog) but she was much too large for dollhouses. In my early twenties I made a whole series of cloth fashion dolls, again much too large for dollhouses, and in my mind they were less about the dolls and more about the costumes. I made clothespin "dolls" in elaborate costumes for Christmas Tree ornaments, and I even made a costumed "Santa Clause" figure or two for Christmas decorations. But somehow, none of those "count" in my mind as dolls! They weren't meant for playing with. They never became little people with personalities who inhabited a little house somewhere. And when I think about it, it is one of those little oddities that my dollhouse never had any dolls that really lived in it! Why that is so is a question I have not been able to answer. Perhaps because the "right" dolls never came along. Perhaps because I could never decide what the "right" dolls were supposed to look like. Perhaps because I could not possibly make "real" the hazy figures of my dreams. For whatever reason, dolls for my doll houses are an ongoing puzzle to be solved. And I have to wonder whether it will only BE solved when I CAN make the figures that I have dreamed of!

So you can see that the subject of making dolls is not a simple one for me. I am afraid my aspirations are way beyond my current skills. I simply have not practiced making dolls enough to be confident in my methods. I know there are wonderful tutorials all over the place, but even so, you kind of have to get in there and muddle around a bit with the materials until you get a "feel" for it. At least I am old enough and wise enough to know that my first attempts are going to be funny looking little people! And so, to accommodate for that, I decided to start by making funny looking "old people" dolls for the Castle Dollhouse.

Here, I'll show you what I have managed so far.

This is the Old Crone who resides in the kitchen. I don't know her name yet.

Oh, and while we are at it,

I should show you some of the improvements I have made to the kitchen!

The pottery jars I collected many years ago at a Fair held by my son's school - I have forgotten the potter's name.

And the hearth fire has lighted flames as well as the painted ones!

And the bread oven has a glowing coal fire!



I purchased a beautiful iron trivet and some fire andirons with spit hooks on them, as well as a little iron kettle which needs to have patina added to it.

I promised I would show a picture of one of the references I have used as inspiration for the Castle kitchen. This is an illumination from the one of the tales of Boccacio's "Decameron" painted around 1430, showing birds being roasted on a spit before the fire - complete with a tray for catching the juices!

Here you can see the doll in her early stages..... but because this is NOT a tutorial, I have not included pictures of all the steps to get to this point!

You can also see the lantern that hangs from the kitchen ceiling.

A close-up of her un-wigged head and partly sewn body.........

But you can see that her "character" is already showing!

Here she has her hair added - I used natural sheep wool.

Sorry the next picture is so dark, (Castle kitchens ARE dark after all) but here she has gained her under-skirt which I have made from a very fine woven wool - a material they commonly used for all ranks of society. And she has a shawl draped over her shoulders.

And standing back, you can see a larger shot of the Castle with the Great Hall starting to have some details worked on.

Oh, and another Doll-in-the-making has come into the kitchen to keep warm by the fire until they find him some clothes. I am not sure whether he is the Baker or the Butler, or someone else altogether.

Oh, dear, the fires are not lit at the moment!

And is there NO privacy for the poor half-made fellow?

That's better! She has the fire going now.

And you can see she has her gown on now, and it too, is made from very fine wool!

She's very proud of her kitchen fires!









Ah, and now he has found a wool blanket to wrap up in while he waits for the seamstresses to sew his clothes!

He just might need a haircut too, before he's ready to take up his duties!

Whatever they turn out to be!


Or maybe he will grow a beard - to look more like the reference picture.

I think he looks kind of cute for an old guy!

I think I'm making progress making Dolls!

Or are they really little people?

Folly By the Sea

Follow Me To The Sea



Every year since I can remember (with very few exceptions) I have spent at least a small amount of time at the seashore in the summertime. I know I am not alone in this ritual. The lure of the ocean is powerful at any time of the year, but particularly so in the summer. I am not sure whether this is because so much of my childhood was spent in swimming and sailing on the waters of the Cape or whether the feeling would be as strong if we hadn't had that pleasure every year. But either way, I cherish the small amount of time I can get away each year and visit the sea. I know, too, that everyone has "their" ocean. The one that speaks to them the most clearly. For some it is the rocky coast of Maine. For some it is the Islands of the Carribbean. For me it is the sandy shores of Cape Cod, in particular, the Outer Cape where the land narrows to a thin strip, embraced on both sides by the sea. I am so lucky that my Father and his Partner live there for half the year and are happy to host a never ending procession of friends and relatives! And this year was no exception!



So I went to the seashore. And while my Father and his partner Diane don't live right on the shore (which is actually a very good thing because the shore doesn't stay put very well in some places...) almost everyone I know dreams of a visit to a cottage on the shore. So you may imagine my surprise when I came across this lovely little cottage by the shore that was NOT already booked for the WHOLE summer!

It looked so familiar!

My friends and I engaged it on the spot!

Oh, did I forget to mention that besides my son, a bunch of my little friends decided to come with me to the shore this year? It was one of those last minute decisions, but they all wanted to come!

Ken has decided to go for an early walk on the beach before the crowds arrive!


Oh, and my time traveling friends are here too! I'm not sure how long they are staying.

But they wanted to check the place out.

I know they have NOT brought their bathing suits so there will be no swimming. But a walk perhaps?

But not a very long walk in those gowns!

Someone should have warned them how sandy it would be!

Charlotte and her children came too! They were very eager to spend some time at the shore!

They are VERY good children. But she did have to warn them to be careful and not stray too far. And they did NOT bring their swim suits either. It was a last minute decision to come after all. But that is just as well. I don't think she would have let them swim anyway because of the Sharks!

Maybe not any farther than this!

(Tommy is sure that sharks won't come this far ashore!)





Oh, but WHO is this? Have we even met before?
Would you care to go for a walk on the beach?

Felicity is happy to go for a walk, even though she just got home from staying out all night at a ball..... (NOT a beach ball in that gown!)

It is such a lovely view!

Or they could stay and join Charlotte and the children for a picnic breakfast!

But I am not sure if anyone remembered to pack the picnic basket..... it WAS such a last minute decision!

So you may be surprised to find out that some small improvements have been happening recently to the Folly! It has NOT been ALL fun and games! Come on in and I will show you!





The most noteworthy improvement has been the addition of a cornice trim in the parlor. I found some small scale trims in the ready-made wooden moulding sections of the local Home Depot. I painted them in the light blue with gold in the recessed parts. I think they add a good framework that was missing before with the painted ceiling.

I know you won't remember how it was before, but the fireplace has been painted to resemble black marble around the firebox. And the firebox itself has had the brickwork painted in.





This close-up just shows the rough nature of the paint job.

I think it will need a little touching up!

So far, the only improvements to the windows has been the view.......Come look!

I sure wish I could curl up and sleep by this window!

As for the outside, the missing shingles on the roof ARE slowly being completed!







I don't know about you, but I will ALWAYS dream about a cottage by the seashore.

I'm glad you could join me in a little Folly by the Sea!

Follow Me To The Sea