Just A Little Gift...

The Tiniest Ceramic Dishes Ever......

While I was visiting my Mother, Dear Readers, she gave me a few "little things" she had come across at the Thrift Shop where she volunteers. One of these "little things" was a plastic envelope with some Teeny tiny ceramic items inside. They were so small that it wasn't even clear What they were until I looked Really REALLY closely! Here you can see them in the bag.... I didn't even open it until I was home because I didn't want to risk losing any pieces.

They are So much More Beautiful than I even thought possible... 

and tiny beyond belief!

Can you see all those little jugs with Handles???

Only two of the dishes had broken handles....

I am sure I can glue them together again.

As soon as I had spread them out, Anna Maria came to inspect them....

She thinks they are Perfect for the Tree House!

Samuel Whiskers was very impressed... 

and decided to start to carry them back to the Folly.

They could only carry a few pieces at a time.....

And all that rustling woke up the little dolls in the Book Nook.

Little Rose thought she better go see what was happening....

She went to the top of the stairs, but she couldn't see anything....

so she carefully lowered herself backwards over the stair edge....

One step at a time, she thought she could make it all the way down the stairs!

And sure enough, she made it safely all the way to the bottom!

She was only a little Surprised to see Samuel Whiskers in the Kitchen.

He didn't notice Little Rose at first, he was so intent on the ceramic dishes!

About that time, Sweet Pea decided 

(as little sisters will...) 

that she didn't want to be left behind!

If Little Rose could make it down the stairs, then so could she!

And so she did!

Little Rose was asking Samuel Whiskers where he was taking the dishes...

She was feeling hungry and thought they looked just the Perfect size to eat from!

Samuel was explaining that they were newly Imported

and he was carrying them to the Tree House.

When Little Rose noticed Sweet Pea, 

she ran over to her and they decided to ask if they could help.

They had never been to the Tree House before.

Samuel Whiskers tried to tell them they should stay at home and not bother him...

He didn't think they could help much, being so little.

But when they stood there looking hungry, he relented and said

"Very well, you can come to the Tree House. Anna Maria will feed you..."

So they followed him out to the Huge Old Tree beside the Folly.....

Where there was a door tucked between the roots.....

 And Samuel Whiskers suddenly Disappeared inside!

They followed as quickly as they could!

It led them into a snug little kitchen tucked under the Tree!

Anna Maria was rather surprised to see the Little Dolls following Samuel Whiskers!

"We have guests, Anna Maria," he announced.

"They seem to be hungry," he added, a trifle apologetic.

"Perhaps we can try the new dishes..."

Anna Maria had already placed several on the table, 

where they did indeed look Absolutely Perfect!!

These may be just a tiny little gift, Dear Readers,

But I think they are Treasures beyond compare....

And the Tiniest ceramic dishes I've ever seen!

(Thank you, Mom!)

Intermission!

Getting Away.......

I hope you will not mind too much, Dear Readers, if I don't continue with Daphne's Story this week! I have been so absorbed with the Drama of this Tale... creating the Park, the birds, the clothes, the settings and taking all those photos..... that I sometimes almost forget there are other things to do! I am going to be Traveling to visit my Mother who lives thousands of miles away! So the real life adventures are going to be taking all my mini time for the next week or two! But rather than leave you "hanging on that cliff" with Nothing to do.... I thought I would fill this Intermission (every Loooonnng Story should have an intermission!) with a small update on the Tree House Nursery! Because, In spite of my obsession with the Story Telling... I have found moments in which I have worked on my other projects. 

Above you can see the Tree House as it currently stands.... 

with all the doors closed.

And here you can see all the doors open! 

The rooms are (from the bottom) 

the Kitchen, 

the Salon, 

the Library, 

the Chinoiserie Master Bedroom, 

the Abalone Shell Bathroom,

 and the Nursery, just being started.

Here you are a bit closer.... 

it is so hard to show any of the details this way!

But you get a good sense of its scale beside The Folly!

This time, the progress I wanted to show you was to the Nanny's room. 

But first, I have to show you the newest "extension" of the Tree Framework....

I needed to add another solid post at the side 

for the Nanny's Door to hinge upon!

You can see it at the right in the above photo.

And then I needed to add the Nanny's door.....

And it needed to have Tiny shutters in the window......

 

With Hinges!!!

So they can be opened.....

And closed!!!

(I LOVE Tiny Hinges!!!)

Here you can see I have stained the door and am adding the paper twist trim.....

using my trusty clothespins for clamps! :)

Here you can see the door with the Inner Framework for the room wall... 

so you can tell where the sections will abut when the door is closed.....

and I am adding the match stick paneling in the side sections.

Here you see the Nanny's Room door from the outside....

hinged on that new post!

Here you can see the Tree House exterior on the upper corner.....

With the doors all closed.....

And here you can see the side doors all open.....

Here you see the Nursery and Nanny's Room  

looking down from above!

And a view of the Nursery again....

before the match stick wainscoting was stained...

And with the Inner Door frame in place but not yet stained....

(sorry about the terrible lighting... it was late at night!)

And another glimpse of the bed alcove......

still waiting for the pillows and bed covers!

And in the back corridor..... 

more stairs spiraling upward.....!

What? Another level?????

Well, we will see when we get there, Dear Readers!

But for now....

We are just Getting Away with

A Little Intermission!

Be Back Soon!

Telling Tales....

Breaking The News.....

I am sure you can Imagine, Dear Readers, the Excitement with which Renee ran to her Grandfather to tell him all about her visit to the Park! She Rushed into his room exclaiming "Grandpere, Grandpere, you will never guess what Happened!" She had his full attention as always, but she could barely get her words out in her hurry to tell him everything! "Hibou Flew!" she exclaimed.

"He flew right into the fountain and he got all wet" she added

"And THAT Man was there..." she said

"And he Saved Hibou!" she exclaimed.

Guillaume could not help but wish he was at the Park with Renee... 

he was sure he would have rescued Hibou himself if he could....

He wished he could be her hero too!

Jean Paul, Guillaume's Aide, was also listening to all that Renee had to say.

But he was surprised that Gabrielle was obviously meeting someone at the Park while she was with Renee.  He was certain that Madame would not be happy to hear about that! Gabrielle had better watch her step, the thought to himself.

"Come away now, Renee" called Gabrielle. 

"You do not want to tire your Grandpere..." she added, 

although she knew he loved to hear Renee's stories. 

She was ever mindful of the instructions she had been given 

to keep the child occupied and not let her bother Monsieur.

But I know that you are Really Impatient, Dear Readers, 

to hear what Will and Daphne had to say to each other upon discovering that they were both at the Park that same day, when each had thought the other to be on another continent entirely!

"Daphne...?" said Will, incredulously. 

"What are you doing here?"

But Daphne had been watching the scene unfold in front of her for a while....

she had already gotten over the shock of seeing Will with her Child....

" I would ask the same of You, Will... " she said, 

as she marched in through the side gate.

"I can't believe you would come here without telling me 

and spy on my Child!" she said angrily.

"And don't you dare try to tell me you didn't know who she is!"

"No, it isn't like that at all, Daphne..." said Will,

even though it did sound exactly like that....

now that he saw it from her point of view.

"I just wanted to see if she was okay...." he added.

 "And were you going to tell me what you found out...?" demanded Daphne.

"Uh...." said Will, not sure what to say.

"And what if I Didn't want to know what you found out?" she added angrily.

"Don't you see, I don't want you to do this for me!" she cried.

"I don't want you snooping around and making people suspicious!"

"You can't fix this for me Will..." she added sadly.

"She's My child. This is something I need to figure out by myself!"

"I'm not trying to do it for you...." he said, reaching out to her.

"But I really want to help."

"Will....." said Daphne on a sigh.

"I'm not going back" she said resolutely.

"I'm staying here and I'm going to find a way to be a part of her life."

"I can't stay with you any more. It's not fair to you." she said sadly.

"I saw you with that woman..." she added.

"What woman...?" said Will, startled.

"I wasn't with a woman....!" he added defensively.

"Well, I saw the way she looked at you...." said Daphne.

"Like you were everything she ever wanted...."

"I just can't love you that way, Will"

"You deserve someone who can love you like that."

Will cleared his throat. "You sound like this is 'good-bye'..." he said.

"I think it has to be...." said Daphne firmly.

"I need to find my own way and you deserve more than I can give you."

"I'm sorry. Good-bye Will."

And she turned and walked resolutely away.

 

Will stood and watched her go. 

He tried to remember why he had felt so good such a short time ago. 

Or was it ages ago.... it almost felt like a different lifetime now.

 One minute he felt like a hero, the next he felt like such a fool.

But I cannot leave you there, Dear Readers, 

because just at that moment on the other side of Town

Will's gregarious friend Mr. Louis Davenant was sitting down to

morning coffee in his garden. 

And he had a guest with him, his cousin on his Mother's side, 

Yvonne deMontaigne.

While they did not visit terribly often, 

they were close enough that they enjoyed an occasional get together.

Louis was sure that Yvonne would be "interested" to hear 

that there was someone in town making inquiries about adopting a child 

who had been left with it's Grandparents upon the Father's death.

He was very curious to see her reaction to this news!

He did not feel at all disloyal to his friend, 

because no names would pass his lips!

And besides, he thought it only fair that his cousin should be aware....

just in case the matter pertained to her Grandchild. 

He thought the circumstances too similar to ignore!

She tried not to look upset, but he could tell she was startled by the news!

"Is there anything else I can get you..." 

he asked as Yvonne got up to leave.

"Nothing at all, my dear Louis" Yvonne replied.

But clearly, her mind was already racing ahead.... 

she would need some answers!

As for the rest of us, Dear Readers, 

I hate to break the news to you 

that we will have to be patient once again,

with the Telling of this Tale!

(to be continued....)