Simply Curious

Yet another photo altering attempt.

1. Oh good, it's not as heavy as I expected.
2. So that's what new sewing machine smells like. It's not at all like that new computer smell.
3. Ooh, shiny. Ooh, accessories! Wow. Lots of accessories. Look at all the feet! and needles! and bobbins! And what the heck is this? And that? Oh boy, a seam ripper!
4. Instruction book! Nice instruction book. Impressive. In order, from diagrams to threading to troubleshooting. Well laid out. I am in awe. Someone, somewhere, knows how to write a manual!
5. OMG IT HAS A NEEDLE THREADER! That is so . . . so. . . cheating. But clever! Look how it works! I push this and that moves down and this tiny metal bit actually goes through the eye and then the thread goes this way and you let go . . .*pushes lever over and over*
6. *Tucks accessories neatly away in the storage compartment and tries the cover on for size*
7. OK, must attempt first project. I've got an apron pattern and some fabric for it. Can't get much easier than that, right? It's mostly straight lines!
8. Crap, I need to iron the fabric. *long interlude of dealing with iron, ironing board, and a stubborn crease*
9. Wow, pattern pieces are huge. I'm used to miniature clothing!
10. Whoever folds up patterns and puts them in the envelope is sadistic and twisted.
11. I wonder if you get a special prize for successfully returning a pattern back to its envelope?
12. Uhh. I need one of those cardboard thingies. This piece of foamboard will do for now.
13. Selvage edge. . . selvage edge . . . I KNOW this, I swear I do. But am I right?
14. Fabric Grain. That aligns with the selvage, right?
15. Why am I questioning all this? Go grab your iPod touch and look it up on the internet!
16. Rock on. I was right both times.
17. Wow. pins certainly expand when you open the box.
18. So . . . when it doesn't specify on the layout map which side is up, is it automatically right side up? Considering everything is pretty much symmetrical I don't think it matters in this case. I'll research next time.
19. *pin pin pin* Is it still flat? *smooth smooth smooth*
20. OK. Cutting time! These scissors are awkward.
21. I appear to be unable to cut in a straight line.
22. Yes, I KNOW I intentionally picked fabric with too big a pattern to be useful for miniatures. Stop trying to reuse the scraps for once!
23. OK, step 1! pocket!
24. Wait, must thread machine first.
25. No, must plug machine IN first.
26. Ok, we have power! Right? The light came on, but no other noise? Where's all the . . . oh, maybe it's just Mom's fancy machine that does all the extra self checks. Ok, it works, I'm good!
27. Is the bobbin winder going to stop on its own? Is it? Is it? That's looking pretty full . . . whew!
28. Yes, I cheated and used the needle threader, just for the novelty, I swear!
29. I need sharper thread snips.
30. DO NOT THROW THREAD ON THE FLOOR! That's Mom's bad habit, don't make it yours!
31. Am I channeling my mother? *eyes the floor warily for pins*
32. OK, next step, make the pocket. Edge stitch? Edge stich? *grabs iPod* see topstitching. Oooh. ok.
33. Crap, I have to iron AGAIN? Maybe I'll finish this tomorrow.
34. *goes to bed*

This bears investigating.

A few years ago, Brian, in a fit of creativity, built a storage ottoman out of plywood. He wanted it padded and covered in navy blue canvas, with a big padded lid. We accomplished both, eventually, but a slight miscalculation led to the bottom of the ottoman slightly wider all around than the lid. (he forgot to allow for padding in the dimensions between the lid and the box.) Another miscalculation in the thickness of the foam padding for the lid meant that it was too tall to comfortably use when sitting on the sofa. We ended up buying a leather ottoman for that spot, and the poor blue ottoman was banished to odd corners of the house.

I felt bad. I WANTED to make it work and look good, so I sat and thought about how I could go about fixing it without taking the thing apart. I finally came up with a cover, somewhat like a tablecloth, out of a heavy enough fabric that it would fall evenly over the lid to the edges of the box. Coming up with a proper look took a little longer, but I decided to make it look like a map, and rim the edges with a ropelike trim. I set about looking for the right kind of fabric. The closest I could find was almost perfect, except for the fact that it was emblazoned with words like "Tommy Bahama" and "Couch Potato Bay" and suchlike. So I turned to the next best thing and bought plain tannish canvas fabric. I'll draw my OWN map on it.

Mom and I got the cover made, and it works! The ottoman looks, well, normal. I just need to decorate it now. Fun new creative project!



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Dandyism.net

I'm not sure what to make of this site, but what an awesome resource!

I've always struggled with learning languages. Sure, I can count to ten in french and spanish, and say hello and goodbye and thank you and other basics, but my brain freezes after that. I am in awe of polyglots like my husband, who randomly interjects foreign words into his sentences and doesn't even realize it. I laughed when my french teacher expressed surprise when I said I struggled with language. School language courses are easy. Show up, pay attention, do the work, and if you get confused, do a web search for exercises in the topic and practice. Fake the rest. I managed to get through my french oral presentation by creating a complicated powerpoint presentation that was so detailed that it was all the teacher could talk about for the next ten minutes. (I'm sure she never noticed I was shaking, stuttering, and reading off the cards because she was watching my hot air balloon graphic bouncing around the screen.)

I've completed the language requirements for my program, and feel disappointed. I haven't learned enough! Things haven't sunk in. I'm missing bits. I am not the least bit confident of being able to carry out a conversation in french. (Granted, it's possible this is entirely due to my inability to carry out a conversation in english.) It all went by so fast. I would have preferred more time to work it out and try to get that last bit to click.

I don't have to even worry about it any more. It bothers me. I took these courses and I didn't learn how to speak french! I acknowledge that there was always more I could have done. There's more I could still do, I suppose. X, Y, or even Z would make it easier, I just know it. Ah, well. I did the best I could, given the situation.

Drift� Ground Cover Roses — The Next Big Thing for Small Gardens

These are the roses we planted in our front yard. They're supposed to be REALLY hardy. We'll have to see if we can kill them.

HAH! Found the lyrics again, finally. Posting them here so I don't lose them again.

Lyrics to La Ziguezon (AKA Hero):
M'en va t'à la fontaine
Pour y pêcher du poisson
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
La fontaine est profonde
Je m'suis coulé au fond
La ziguezon zin zon

Refrain
Fille en haut, fille en bas
Fille, fille, fille, femme
Femme, femme, femme aussi!
Pis la bottine - tine - tine
Pis le rigolet ha! ha!
| Son p'tit porte-clé tout rouillé, tout rouillé
| Son p'tit porte-clé tout rouillé gaiement (bis)

La fontaine est profonde
Je m'suis coulé au fond
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Par icitte il y passe
Trois cavaliers barons
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Par icitte il y passe
Trois cavaliers barons
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Que m'donneriez-vous belle
Si j'vous tirais du fond?
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Que m'donneriez-vous belle
Si j'vous tirais du fond?
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Tirez, tirez dit-elle
Après ça nous verrons
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Tirez, tirez dit-elle
Après ça nous verrons
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Quand la belle fut à terre
Se sauve à la maison
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Quand la belle fut à terre
Se sauve à la maison
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
S'assoit à la fenêtre
Compose une chanson
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

S'assoit à la fenêtre
Compose une chanson
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Mon petit coeur en gage
N'est pas pour un baron
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Mon petit coeur en gage
N'est pas pour un baron
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Mais pour un homme de guerre
Qui a du pouel' au menton
La Ziguezon zin zon

I never expected to be married, so wedding gowns were never anything I paid attention to. All I knew was that I wanted my mother to make it, and it would probably have to be white and long. When the time came, I found myself doing a mad research rush on wedding dresses in order to figure out what I wanted. SO many gowns. So many websites. SO many ugly dresses. So few patterns.

In the end, we took my favorite, the Grace Kelly style gown by Maggie Sottero, found a similar pattern, and revamped it to our liking. Away went the odd sleeves and the awful victorian corset lacing, to eventually be replaced with translucent bell sleeves and rosettes. I found a rose embossed white fabric and borrowed a beautiful antique brooch. I left out the train so I would be able to dance with no problems. The bouquet was a rather large wrist corsage around my dedication bible.

A Paper Craft Castle On the Ocean � Tokyobling’s Blog

Reminiscent of TIM. Prepare to waste your afternoon!

Happy birthday to me. I'm exhausted.

For my birthday this year, I celebrated by considering alternate modes of transportation. This was not my original plan but Brian's, who kept me in the dark til the last possible second.

We first drove out to Edinburg, where I had a blast cruising at high speeds with no stoplights and light traffic bordering down to minimal traffic. It was a wrench coming back, let me tell you! At one point we passed a big tank being hauled on a trailer. Yes, a tank. The destructive kind Made up in desert camo, as far as I know. Alas, I didn't get to drive it. Not even sure if it was real, but it was definitely tanklike in appearance. We checked in to a little B&B that had a darling little cupola on top - or belvedere, as the owner called it. The stairs to it were in the bathroom in the hall - I would have gone back up to take pictures but I was afraid someone would come in to use it while I was up there!

Right after that we proceeded to the Wal-Mart in Woodstock, where we waited until someone arrived and I found out what my present was - a hot air balloon ride! (check out my picasa album for pictures.) Me and my big mouth had, a few months back, facetiously told Brian that I wanted a hot air balloon ride for my birthday. He takes me seriously . . .

Being up in a hot air balloon is the most beautiful and frightening thing I've experienced. Getting it up and getting it down is scary, but once up there . . . wow. So many senses at work! The heat from the gas keeps your head warm. The basket is quite stable so long as everybody shifts properly when moving from one side to another. There's plenty of room for 3 people, I'd have been ok with four, but more than that, too tight a squeeze for me! There were no noises and no smells (my sinuses felt pretty good up there!) but we could hear the dogs barking at us as we passed, and cows mooing in the fields below. Some of them actually noticed we were up there and moved about uncomfortably. (I've never thought about cows looking at the sky . . . ) And the view . . . oh, the view! The valley lay spread below like an extremely clear google map. We could see for miles, yet still be able to discern sheep and goats and dogs. Too bad we couldn't read the street signs! We got to watch the sun set behind the mountains, and then when the balloonist took us higher, we got to watch the sun set again. My hands and legs were shaking so bad that I finally handed the camera over to Brian, but it looks like my anti-shake button took care of that problem - pretty much all of my pictures came out.
See the map below to see what area we were in!
View Larger Map

The next day we ended up considering a second form of transportation that has long been neglected. We went horseback riding at Fort Valley. Having thoroughly enjoyed Biltmore's horse tour, we felt we were ready for a four hour mountain guided trail. We're still trying to decide if we overreached. Four hours on a horse is a very long time. Certain body parts are STILL complaining. And the trail! Up the mountain and back down. Like the rest of the valley, rocks all over the place. Goats would have had a better time of it. I'd just like to state that going down a steep hill covered with loose rocks on the back of a horse is extremely unpleasant, and closing your eyes doesn't help. And I don't think my horse liked me. He kept walking under low hanging branches and near trees. The guide had told us to let the horse pick their own path on the rough patches (most of the trail for that matter) but the horse and I had differing opinions about what was the easiest way to get down. Towards the end he also kept turning his head and trying to bite my ankle - not sure if I was tickling him or if he was tired of me. (I was certainly tired of him! He was a very bouncy horse - I was suffering from motion sickness when we stopped for lunch!) We kept having to stop and let people on ATVs or dirtbikes go by. They were very courteous and went by slowly, and for the most part the horses took no notice of the machines.

As I got back in my car, wincing, I couldn't help but appreciate how smooth it rode and how well it handled. It stopped and started on my power alone and didn't try to eat tree leaves or take a side route without my permission. (granted, this was before I noticed that my dials were out of whack again - the gas gauge was pointing to places that didn't exist! I think there's a problem with leaving things charging in the cigarette lighter when I turn the car off.) I could park almost anywhere without worrying about power lines and travel without being concerned about darkness.

It was a perfect weekend - little wind, no haze, nice temperatures . . . ideal for a trip to the mountains. We found a tea house in Edinburg and had an enjoyable lunch, and a nice supper at an italian restaurant. After we got back we treated ourselves to DQ - a perfect ending to a fantastic weekend.

I'm not sure which is cooler, the artistic talent and creativity of Kratzer, or the 3D image that rotates around the room.

I'd totally be drawing on my walls if I could just figure out WHAT to draw on them . . .

Hey, it beats climbing them.

I want this. I wish I had the room for it.

And here's me thinking our family rabbit cake was cheesy . . . .

Movie Review: Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army

Worthy, beautiful, interesting bad guys pitted against our misfit heroes. The resolution was far too quick and simple. Liz's angst continued. Abe demonstrated what happens when a brain falls in love and does stupid things. Laughed my head off at the Barry Manilow scene and the fight scene in the locker room.

This was a no-brainer movie, but I do like Hellboy himself. Easy going, likes a good laugh, but always ready to kick some ass. The odds against him never deter him. Great character.

Movie Review: Batman - Dark Knight

Creepy and depressing.
I hate downer movies, because they send me plunging down into gloomy blahs, and it takes a while to recover. While this movie was creepy gloom, it was SUPPOSED to be creepy gloom, so they hit their mark beautifully. Heath Ledger's final role was a masterpiece of insanity. I was highly impressed and repulsed by the character, and by myself, as my thoughts of what I would do if I wanted to cause extreme mayhem were along similar lines of what he was actually doing. Not that I ever think about plotting things like that, just a 'what's the worst thing terrorists could do?' kind of thought.
There are a few amusing moments to provide audience relief from the gloom. My favorite line of the movie . . . a Wayne accountant has discovered discrepancies in the accounts, and found out that Fox (Morgan Freeman) has been designing the batmobile and other items. The accountant approaches Fox and states that he knows who Batman is and wants 10 million a year to keep quiet about it. Freeman stares at him in that wonderful way of his and quietly says: "Let me get this straight. You think that your employer, one of the richest men in the world, is spending his nights running around the city beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands? And your plan is to blackmail this person? Good luck."

I was kind of disappointed in the messiah-like role they gave Batman. (What's up with the superhero-in-a-negative-light movies lately?) He is being persecuted and hunted for his crime-fighting deeds, even taking the blame for some things that he didn't do just to save the reputation of another. Accepting punishment for the sins of Gotham . . . what happened to plain old crime-fighting?

The acting is incredible and the special effects breathtaking. Just don't go see it if you're feeling the teensiest bit blue, because it's not meant to be a cheerful film.

Because I am a geek.

Um. Live action hamster video game. It can't be explained. Just watch.

You've got to admit it's a unique way to remember your journeys . . . and a great way to bond with the natives!

Movie Review: Hancock

Will Smith is awesome. This movie . . . wasn't. It was more of a biography with some bits exaggerated more than others. It's not your typical superhero movie, because for most of the film Hancock is the anti-hero. There's no villain. Or rather, they had a hint of a villain, but compared to the hero he was just a blip on the screen, a nothing. There was NO POINT to him. I felt as if a large part of the story was being left out, and perhaps it was, considering the short length of the film.

There were good points. The character itself was fairly well developed. While he had all the super qualities, bulletproof, able to leap tall buildings, etc . . . he also had his unusual form of kryptonite that weakened him and made him mortal. The storyline surrounding him might have made a good tv series in a Highlander sort of way.

Bits were missing, that's all I can say. If they weren't there at all, then they should have been developed. But hey, it's Will Smith!

Ian's Shoelace Site

Because I am a geek. And I use the Straight(Bar) lacing method for my shoes.

Movie Review: Wall-e

Pixar does it again! They have the amazing ability to tell a story with minimal dialog. The captain of the Axiom spoke the most, but I noticed they managed to sneak John Ratzenberger into the film as a minor character. Lots of good details. Strong messages about taking care of the planet, and not letting yourself become a fat useless slug constantly being fed useless information and liquid diets. (and Elaine should spend less time on the Internet!) Yes, cockroaches DO survive everything, and it's ALWAYS a good idea to have a manual override button for the autopilot.

Great, positive film.

Movie Review: Wanted

Wanted: Angelina Jolie, tattooed, with a gun. Lots of guns, in fact. And not so much attitude as smirky mystery. Y'know, standard Angelina. Clothing optional. Blood, gore, and CGI package included. Oh, and give her a nerd to play with. So's movie goers can pretend they're him.

Um, were there other actors in this movie? Yeah. Wesley Gibson was played by the same actor who played Mr. Tumnus in the Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. (Talk about a wide range of roles!) And the plot . . . the plot? Things were left out. But there were guns. And explosions. And rats.

Really, we all know we go to see Angelina beat people up.

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda

The typical story of a bumbling nobody becoming a hero. Very well done, the plot simple but sincere.

Excellent casting. I was only vaguely aware of who the voices were, but when I saw the credits at the end I kept nodding. Jackie Chan as a monkey? I can totally see that. Angelina Jolie as a tigress? Definitely. Lucy Liu a snake? Oh yeah. Master Shifu was a red panda, although I had to find that out for certain on Wikipedia. Fortunately I had recently seen pictures of red pandas so I was fairly certain while watching the film.

Awesome graphics. There's a fight scene on a bridge, fully animated, that just would be impossible to do in a live action film, no matter how many wires you used.

So go and enjoy. Definitely a fun no-brainer. No toilet humor, just a bit of slapstick. Might be a little scary at times for little little kids (honestly, why take a 3 year old to the movies anyway? They're not going to remember!) This one's going on my wish list.

Impressive work by David Malcolm Rose!

"Photorealistic scale models." Gotta remember that one.

Indiana Jones Addendum

I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark last night, and had a realization. They're action films with an archaeological veneer, not archaeological films with some action. (you're thinking, well duh! aren't you?)

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a simple film with a simple plot. Lots of fights and a few surreal special effects. Very little brain power is involved. Indy already knows about the Ark's history, the staff of Ra, Tanis, and the Well of Souls. He quickly finds someone to translate the headpiece. The second half of the movie is simple chases and fights and a dramatic ending involving why you shouldn't open the Ark.

The Temple of Doom was a dark action film, involving a simple search for a sacred stone and kidnapped children. (Frankly, he didn't need to be intelligent or an archaeologist to do either!)

The Last Crusade gets much more interesting and involved. There are lots of puzzles to solve. Who are these men, why are they trying to kill Indy? Where's Dr. Jones, Sr? What do the puzzles mean to get safely to the grail, and which is the grail? It's not solely an action film.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull reverts back to being an action film. There are a few riddles left behind by mad Oxley, and a few physical puzzles to solve onsite (mostly door openers). The mad pace and the bizarre elements of the film keep you on your toes the entire movie, but it just doesn't have that intellectual edge The Last Crusade had.

Having stated the obvious, I realize I prefer movies like National Treasure, with their intricate puzzles and clues and riddles. The Last Crusade will still remain my favorite Indiana Jones film.

I am a geek. I can't help it if I like brainy men who can think their way out of problems and outwit their enemies.

And then easily revert to "Plan B: kick ass" if they have to.

Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I somehow didn't think that they could do it and have it be as good as the others, but I was proven wrong. An excellent, fun film. Very 1950's, with hints of the cold war, McCarthyism, Roswell, and greasers. Suitable crypt creepiness. Capoeira style fighting. Other movies crept in - Stargate, Star Wars, Raiders, even a little National Treasure. (I about laughed my head off when Ford said "I have a bad feeling about this.") I was only disappointed that Short Round didn't make a cameo appearance. Classic snakes, bugs, whips, Ark reference, and a fantastic car chase scene. Two, actually!

Go see it. This is a definite purchase for me!

Movie Review: Prince Caspian

Love love love the costumes. and the scenery. And architecture. And Aslan's mane. I want to bury my face in that mane. Music was good too. It's the reason I go to these movies. The costumes and Aslan's incredible CGI-ness. I really don't like the Narnia stories. Yes, I know they're supposed to be very moral, and I do admire the strong female roles, but it just seems so . . . unfair. Having to grow up twice is horrifying to me. Being forbidden from ever visiting Narnia again just because you learned everything you were supposed to from it is WRONG. I protest. But the movies are well done.

This poor 14 year old boy is suffering exactly what happened to my grandfather (except his wasn't caused by a baseball.) I wish the family the best, they're in for some rough times.

Tylenol Cold Medicine.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee for the way you make my head
stop feeling like it's about to explode,
filling the surrounding area with the mucus
that was constantly pouring from my nose.

I love thee for the amusing way you advertise
that you can be a cough expectorant and suppressant
at the same time.

I love thee for your timely appearance
after two days of extreme misery.
Your foe, Sudafed, merely mocked me
and did nothing to prevent
the deep coughing and constant running
of my nose. The Kleenex company
must be in league with them.

I love thee for fighting off my fever
and my aches and pains, and at the same time
turning off the faucet that I couldn't reach.
While I know I am still ill, I can now function
and no longer have to force myself to breathe.

And while you have earned my loyalty
for all future (curse them!) colds, I must decry
your small box with only 12 doses
and your ability to stop up my ears so badly
that I can't help but think I've shifted altitude.

Thank you for the rest, Dear Tylenol Cold. You
came to my rescue when I needed you most. I shall
sleep well tonight.

Loved the piano solo in The Corpse Bride, but was always extremely irritated by the lack of ending. Apparently I'm not the only one - check out this guy's rendition. Beautifully done!

More steampunk stuff. I need to go back and explore more later.

Oak Island Treasure - home of the Oak Island Money Pit mystery - Home

Looks like they're going to start digging again in the near future. I find it fascinating - hope they're able to solve the mystery!

I have been incredibly slow in updating the miniatures section of my web site. The problem is mainly that I want all new pictures of my dolls, using a similar 'professional' background.

First, I have to learn how to do that. This is time consuming, because I seem to want to do it the hard way - try various things until I get a result I like.

Second, I have to drag all my dolls out and set them up. This has proven difficult. While I hate to admit it, I have never entirely finished a doll - with the exception of Pearl, and even then, I can think of accessories I'd like to add to her. Parts aren't glued on, fabric hasn't been draped and set, etc. Plus, over time, the dolls get dusty, bits come unglued, I've discovered my holeless beads are turning colors, hair comes off, things unravel. I have to fix these things, or at least position the doll so they're not noticeable. So, yes, it's taking me some time. I'm starting with the dolls with the worst pictures. Here's before and after shots of Matilde:





Matilde has always been awkward - there's very few pretty patterns for chubby dolls, so I had to improvise as best I could. I also had to do some leg reinforcing because she was so top-heavy. Finally, for some bizarre reason, her left eye tends to reflect the light back - it's worse than red-eye! You can see it in the first picture. It took me quite a bit of angling with the doll and the light to get rid of that problem.

It's about time! I'll have to check it out and see how it differs from my current Photoshop version. Free Web version of Photoshop launches - Yahoo! News

someecards.com | ecards for when you care enough to hit send | home

Definitely not your average smarmy, flash filled e-cards. Prepare to laugh or be offended.

(I fixed my blogThis! feature!)

Thought I'd abandoned this, did you? Sort of did, I guess. I've been busy. Sorry.

Because it doesn't seem likely that I'll be able to do lots of updates, I figured I should just do one major update so that I can leave it for ages and not worry about rushing to update the sidebar girl. It was fun while it lasted, though!

This is your sneak peak at the latest design. It's by Andrew Strojny, called Mint Chocolate Chip. A free download! The code is as neat and clean as the design, unlike my old code. Sadly, it means I get to do what I was trying to avoid doing in the first place - go through and update every. single. page. with the new CSS stuff. *sigh* It also means I'll be cleaning up some of my pages and adding new stuff. At least I hope that's what it means. Way to get myself started!

I was planning on holding out and updating all the pages at once, but you know me. I get impatient to see what it looks like and start doing them live, one at a time. So bear with me! Soon it will be neat and sparkly.

The Automata / Automaton Blog

And thus, with a single click, I destroy whatever plans you had for the next hour or so. Because you'll be reading this.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I just popped in to show off my sister's birthday present to me - a handmade set of stained glass bookends. (Yes, a bit belated, but well worth the time!)



Thank you!

Now this . . . THIS is the type of bathroom I'd like.
PictureTrail - Half Scale Bathroom by Sandra Manring

I've been quietly planning a new roombox. I seem to have temporarily given up on refinishing that dollhouse. (sigh).

I wanted to do something with a distinct steampunk flair. I have a doll that has a rather young face, I think would look fantastic dressed up in that style. Obviously she needs a setting. For both, I'm having a terrible time coming up with images online, so I've been floating, trying to get ideas. What type of room? A lab? Another study? Inside a metal ship?

Today I came across this image, heliosphan. I like it. I want it. Is it suitable? I know orrerys were very popular among miniaturists a few months ago, but the fad seems to have run its course.

In either case, it'd mean a lot more books.

So after a month of hard work and bouts of cluelessness and genius, my birthday challenge is completed. I realize I'm doing this totally backwards, but I'll post a page about it and write it up properly. In the meantime, I'm sharing my totally awesome handmade present.



Yes, it's a one inch scale katana. The impossible-to-find-in-miniature sword. I couldn't figure out how to make it myself, and gave up some time ago, but Brian took up the challenge and succeeded. I'm SO impressed. Awestruck, even. Fantastic work for a non-miniaturist!

Thank you sooo much!

Part one of my birthday challenge showed up - a gift. A book. THIS book, in fact. Should I be afraid?

It's definitely ominous.

*note* I realize this posts backwards, so scroll down to Friday and read up!

An unexpected side effect of traveling without family is that, when you get back, they all want to know every detail of your trip. Even relatives I rarely talk to anymore insist on seeing all the pictures! (If you were really that interested you would have gone with me when I asked!) As an appeasement, I'm posting a play by play.

Sunday morning we went to breakfast. The lady who runs the place went all out - this is possibly the first time I've ever eaten breakfast in courses! Granted, my idea of breakfast is generally: "what can I eat that doesn't assault my taste buds at this ungodly hour and won't make a mess?"

Course 1 was fruit (bananas, raspberries, strawberries, etc) and yogurt and chocolate sauce (NOT syrup) and whipped cream, and possibly grape nuts or other crunchy things. Taste buds said, "oooh, yum. I can handle this." Mind said, "whoa, chocolate at breakfast? I like this lady."

Course 2 was a frittata? or possibly a quiche? It was mostly egg, which means I know nothing about it. Growing up with a mother who was deathly allergic to eggs means that I never acquired a taste for them, and generally avoid. I was willing to try it, though, since there was bacon and spinach and tomatoes in it that would offset the texture. It was also very good, but rather rich, so I only had about half.

We shared a table with a couple from South Carolina. We had interesting conversations with them about politics, family, and travel. He was in the military, and since we were from a very political/military/world oriented area, we got along quite well.

After breakfast, it was time to get on the road again and head to our final destination - Chimney Rock Park!

We tried to take the scenic route, but missed the turn due to the area's bizarre lack of road signs. Sure, eventually there was a road sign, but it would be blocked by other random signs, or so small that you couldn't see or read it from the 3-lanes-in-each-direction highway. So we took the interstate to another scenic route (there's no lack of scenic down there). As I stared out the window I realized that the carpets of healthy green draped along the sides of the road (in some places right TO the road) was kudzu! It waved prettily in the breeze caused by the cars, and I tried to shut my mind to the internal lecture about invasive species.

We drove through what I call one road towns - towns that hug the main thoroughfare and don't branch off onto side streets. They couldn't, there was rocky mountains on one side, and a river on the other. We saw the town of Bat Cave, but alas, there was no place to stop and take pictures of any signs. All too soon we came to the town of Chimney Rock, and it's Rocky Broad River. The round rocks in the river were awesome - it looked like you could rock hop across the whole thing. The rocky part of the name was certainly accurate, but broad - not a chance. Here, buildings hung out over the river, almost desperately, trying to be a part of the Chimney Rock allure.

We crossed on a narrow wooden bridge and drove up to the admissions gate, and then on up farther to park near the famous elevator. Scary, wild trip up a narrow road with sharp turns, no markings, lots of trees and picnic areas in places I would never want to picnic for fear of a car crashing the party. We made it safely to the top, Brian enjoying the nice turning radius of the rental.

To get to the elevator, we walked up a long, cool tunnel that had been blasted out of solid rock. It was slow going, as every few feet there were signs telling about the creation of the elevator and the work done to make Chimney Rock a tourist attraction. There were also signs that told you how long your wait would be if you were in line there, and more signs explaining about the rock types.

The elevator itself was sleek, and modern, designed to withstand moisture and operate quickly and smoothly. I found this disappointing in comparison to the creaky, old fashioned elevator in Shenandoah Caverns, which was open so you could see the rock as you descended. Up we went as the elevator operator gave us a short intro speech to Chimney Rock. Then the door opened to reveal . . . a gift shop! Farther on was a snack bar, where I decided it was lunch time, and no way was I going to climb about on an empty stomach! I got a ham sandwich, which was on a roll of bread which was incredibly good. Then, cold water in backpack and camera in hand, we set out.

Brian had been here before, and had taken a personalized do-or-die tour of what sounded like the entire park, twice, backwards, barefoot and carrying grandma on his back. I requested a short, simplified version of just the most interesting route - Chimney Rock itself, then down to the routes with names like Subway, Needle's Eye, Rock Pile, Grotto, etc.

Such views! All over. And such paths! And such lack of safety? The top of the actual chimney rock was encircled with a metal fence, in many places the rocks were higher than the fence. Not a place to take little kids or clumsy people.

The pathways were wooden walkways with railings on each side - very sturdy, although one staircase was warped and awkward to maneuver. It snaked down along the edge of the cliff, causing you to lean and duck, and step carefully, because the stair treads were leaning and ducking, too! The railings were smooth to the touch - not a splinter among them, and trustworthy. We climbed down staircases and across bridges, rarely touching bare rock except in one or two places. We came to the 'Rock Pile' which looked exactly like it sounds. On the far side of that was a spiral staircase going straight down. At the bottom of that we encountered a wide eyed, sweating and gasping middle aged woman making her way towards us. I tried to console her that she was nearly there, but instead had to warn her to take it easy and enjoy the views before tackling all the stairs! Little did I realize that this was an excellent example of foreshadowing.

The Subway was a low hole in the ground, but wide and easy to get through. Lots of rock and crevices. Beyond that was the Grotto - a nice flat shady spot that looked rather like the Opera Box. They had put benches there so you could sit and admire the view. We went on past, down more stairs and paths, and passed, to my surprise, a food and souvenir kiosk, complete with employee and cold drinks.

Around the corner beyond that was the beginning of the Needle's Eye, staircases built into a crevice that ran up the rock. Rock climbers would consider this the easy way up, even without the stairs! Just wedge and brace your way along. Instead, we took another spiral staircase. Then it stopped, and I found myself staring up a long, narrow flight of stairs into rock and darkness. We waited for another couple to come down the stairs from above, listening to Brian gleefully whisper about the long staircase and hobbitses. Curse those hobbitses. If it weren't for them I would have been able to descend this flight instead of start an ascending reenactment. I think I took the stairs too fast, for by the time I got to the top, I had begun wheezing and gasping for breath. Before that I had been fine. (before that, it had all been downhill!) My legs were still fine, though, so I pushed on back the way we had come at a slower pace. (This had all been a circular route, we came out of the Eye near the Subway entrance.) Back past the Rock Pile, across the bridge, around and up . . . and up . . . and my legs began wheezing, too. Brian was ahead of me, taunting me with the promise of sorbet at the top of the stairs. Somehow I made it, but that was apparently the last of my energy. I wandered in a numb, fried daze the rest of the day. Sorbet ended up being ice cream, and 1 scoop was measured as 1 very tall cardboard cup. I could barely finish a quarter of it. I took two Dramamine in anticipation of the scary ride back down, and discovered that while 1 pill worked without affecting me, 2 contributed to my slumpish fog. I know we drove towards Charlotte, behind several Sunday driver motorcyclists, and that I actually spotted our turnoff sign at one point, and that Eminem was playing on the radio (and has been stuck in my head ever since, argh!), but other details are a blur. We waited in a long security line at the airport, and I struggled to get my hiking boots off, and back on. (really, they ought to just run everybody through that conveyor belt.) Then we wandered about looking for food, and also found rocking chairs.

Once on the plane, I found I just couldn't stomach the thought of eating, and held a sub in my lap the whole way home. (at one point, Brian leans over and asks me how my pet sandwich is doing.) I dozed and no longer cared, just wanting my quiet bedroom and a shower.

We began descending, and I stared out the window at all the sparkly yellow lights in the darkness below us, awed by my first nighttime flight. Then I became aware of a bright spotlight shining in from the other side of the plane. I continued staring at the tiny lights, thinking that was an awfully high spotlight, and we couldn't be that low yet, could we? So I turned and looked. It was the moon, almost full, gliding gracefully by. Oooh.

On the shuttle back to the main terminal Brian produces Biltmore chocolate from the depths of his carry-on and hands me a small piece of heaven. Other women on the shuttle stare at me in envy as I sleepily nibble on my chocolate coated rice krispy treat, chocolate so creamy I thought it was peanut butter.

We find the neglected yellow mustang and Brian drops me off at our house (at a more sedate speed), and we give my mother a random, disjointed summary of the weekend before he heads home. I finally unwrap my pet sandwich, zap it in the microwave, and managed to eat half. I gave my parents souvenirs (a thimble and a coffee mug - boring, but hey! that's them) and tried to disentangle myself from the dog, who, once Brian had left, ceased barking and instead attempted to permanently attach himself to my leg. He had his front paws wrapped around my leg and was alternately licking and bopping me with his head. Not sure if he was happy to see me again or not. I finally got upstairs and stayed up long enough to download over 200 photos. Then I crashed. And woke up the next morning grateful that I had taken an extra day off.

An unexpected side effect of traveling without family is that, when you get back, they all want to know every detail of your trip. Even relatives I rarely talk to anymore insist on seeing all the pictures! (If you were really that interested you would have gone with me when I asked!) As an appeasement, I'm posting a play by play.

Saturday

Tour #1
Or, OMG, poniezz!!!11!!

Saturday we were up bright and early and out the door, reluctantly missing breakfast being served in the two dining rooms. Once again we meandered down miles of estate roads, this time to a new destination - the stables. Yup. I was going to ride a horse across estate grounds.

I think I have been on a horse once. possibly as a five year old at a church fair, sitting on a pony that was being led around in circles. I have no actual memory of this event, but I've seen pictures. I used to talk to horses and pet them when I was waiting for my mom back when I took ballet in junior high. (the dance studio was in a converted barn, with one section still functional, for rescued horses.) So, first time riding for me.

We checked in, got weighed (apparently a requirement, fortunately she didn't announce the number out loud) and went out back to where the horses were idly standing. The people who had signed up for the ride were split up into two groups of four, each with a guide. We were in the first group, and I was given the first horse - Apache, a white quarter horse, covered with tiny black specks, rather like Snoopy's coat. Rather embarrassing to have to try to mount a horse without the benefit of watching anybody else do it first, but I did just fine, under their instruction and having a mounting stand to start from. It was like sitting on a canoe in the water! I briefly worried about whether I should have taken motion sickness pills. Brian ended up on a brown quarter horse named Cowboy, which naturally prompted one or two jokes. The guide adjusted our stirrups and taught us how to use the controls. Erm. Taught us how to hold the reins and use them to control the horse. The guides were great working with beginners. We had total control of the horse, and after a few minutes I was completely comfortable in knowing that Apache was listening to me and willing to do what I wanted.

And then . . . we were off! Over gently rolling hills at a sedate pace, the horses having done it so often that they often started or stopped before we could tell them to. The guide was very personable, and spent half her time twisting backwards, talking to us. Hers was a draft horse named Pudge, who was lovingly teased the entire trip about his personality and antics.

That particular day there was a horse event of some sort taking place, so we would pass groups of women on their own horses, wearing special riding gear and helmets. Our horses were very interested in them (particularly Cowboy), as there were very few female horses on the grounds. The trip was great, with no problems, except the occasional halt to allow a horse to do its business, which appeared to be contagious among the other horses. We were able to stop at one point and take pictures of the chateau, high up on a hill. Definitely a fun tour, and one I would readily sign up for again. (as in, where's the local VA tours?)

Tour #2
Or, What's this button do? and this one? How about this one?

Once we had disentangled ourselves from the saddle and remembered how to walk again, we went to have lunch at the restaurant in the creamery, and then head out for tour number two - behind the scenes!
We soon discovered that we were supposed to have actual tickets for each of these tours, and had to go track them down before we could follow. This tour took us around all the not-elegant parts of the building. Not pretty, but impressive in their bulk and function in trying to run a house of that size. We saw boilers bigger than the living room, a marble and gold trimmed electrical switch board that looked like something out of a mad scientist movie, the impressive butler's pantry, a room where they made ice using ammonia, a cabinet that stood 10 feet high and held nothing but the leaves of the big dining table in the gallery, the servant's elevator, which ran 6 stories up, the kitchen courtyard, and so forth.

Brian pounded the guide with questions about functionality, materials, statistics, and the inner workings of all and sundry. She readily answered every one, or for a few, admitted that they had never found information regarding the query. We learned about water pressure, the various ways the house had been heated over the years, servant routines, seemingly random holes in the floor, the cost of installing a six floor elevator that functions perfectly over 100 years later, electrical production, and stuff I can no longer remember because my brain couldn't hold it all. (We also learned that Anthony Hopkins couldn't get into the building without a pass when they were filming Hannibal there.) I ended that tour with a sense of awe about how much it took to run one house, and the examples of changing technology over time. (one of the amusing parts of the tour was seeing the modern wires and CAT5 cable - or possibly T1 - strung everywhere.)

Tour #3
or, I can't see ANYONE's house from up here!

The rooftop tour. Awesome. This was my first chance to take pictures of the house, since photography wasn't allowed inside, but was allowed and encouraged outside. The tour included unfinished parts of the house, where we learned about the time consuming efforts of period restoration, and some the innovative designs that were incorporated in the building. Seeing the rooms unfinished was just as great to me as seeing them pristine. So big and bright on the upper floors! We got to go out on various balconies and rooftops, where I snapped madly with my camera, taking closeups of the many, many architectural details on the building, or shots of the horizon, where you saw nothing but trees, soft rolling hills (I've been using that phrase a lot, but really, it's what they were!) and, well, more trees and a tourist or two. The guide pointed to a mountain peak way, way off in the foggy distance and said that Vanderbilt owned land all the way to there. It was hard to comprehend having that much space; so very much space that it dwarfed the huge building that one easily got lost in.

By the time the third tour finished, it was late in the afternoon. We grabbed more ice cream, and wandered around the shops in the stableyard, trying to see what we could learn about its original workings. I wandered around a gift shop while Brian sampled wines, weaving my way among cheerful Red Hat Society ladies - most of which looked too young to belong. I bought a book of old Vanderbilt photos and a miniature rug that would fit perfectly in my archaeologist's study. Then we headed to the far side of the building to admire the arbor and the bowling green, and continued to wander down towards the gardens. By this time, we were pretty worn out, and there were still more stairs. I took some garden photos, but never made it as far as the beautiful brick greenhouse. I shouldn't have looked behind me at all the stairs I needed to climb back up!

An unexpected side effect of traveling without family is that, when you get back, they all want to know every detail of your trip. Even relatives I rarely talk to anymore insist on seeing all the pictures! (If you were really that interested you would have gone with me when I asked!) As an appeasement, I'm posting a play by play.

Friday, part 2

I nearly forgot about the wine and chocolate tour! We went on Friday evening. I was expecting to see how wine was made, how chocolate was made, or at a least a tour of the wine facilities, etc . . .

What we got was a short trip into the bowels of the old creamery, a big stone room with gothic decorations and a lot of chairs. We were seated and given sample glasses of two different Biltmore produced wines, and a brief talk on how to admire the wine with all the senses, not just taste buds. For each wine we were given a small handful of chocolate drops, and told to sample each wine again, with the chocolate in our mouths, and sense how the chocolate changed the effect of the wine in your mouth. It was a bit disappointing, really, and did nothing but encourage my opinion of wine as a pretentious art form. It's meant to stimulate thought and conversation; it's not actually functional on its own, and, in fact, should not be drunk by itself.

An unexpected side effect of traveling without family is that, when you get back, they all want to know every detail of your trip. Even relatives I rarely talk to anymore insist on seeing all the pictures! (If you were really that interested you would have gone with me when I asked!) As an appeasement, I'm posting a play by play.

Friday

Someone (not me) was running behind, and showed up after 8 am, requiring a mad rush to the airport. Apologies to anyone on Dulles access road or the Parkway who got cut off by a yellow mustang. I was not driving. I, in fact, had my eyes shut the whole 10 minute ride.

Dashed from valet parking to United check in, envying children who could wear those wheely shoes. Fortunately no one was in line. The airport, in fact, looked deserted. Checked in and checked luggage with about 2 minutes to spare.

On the plane. Shocked by its lack of size. Felt like walking into a cave. (It was better once seated.) Wished I could understand what the pilot and stewardess were saying. Compared the takeoff to Brian's driving (very similar). Made a fool of myself by leaning over to the window and exclaiming "It looks just like Google maps!" (my last flight was, unfortunately, long before Google or online satellite maps were around.) We tried to guess what roads/buildings we were looking at before we got too high up to see. Entertained myself with Sudoku puzzles and the sky mall catalogs. Up in the air for less than an hour, apparently, and then we were in Charlotte. The stewardess excitedly announces that we had a 'perfect landing.' Wander off to grab our luggage, and then to get a rental car. Oddly enough . . . it's a mustang that's been reserved! Terry behind the counter proceeds to inform us that since I'm an insignificant other, I can't drive the car without paying them more money. (ok, so different wording, but still!) Go outside, admire bizarre floating woman holding a crown, and hop on the shuttle. Find bright red mustang. Argue about driving. Win shotgun. Sit down and realize I can't see over the bare, square, flat dashboard.

We stop in a town named Shelby for lunch, at a Cleveland Mall. (boy, do I feel lost.) Bought the proper cable for the MP3 player hookup, and set off again, this time with me at the wheel. Yes. I'm a bad girl. MP3 player has lots of European techno. After a while I comment on this and the fact that I can't sing along. Apparently the music choice was intentional. *grumble* The ride is fairly easy, once I get my seat in the right position (it was awkward, the headrest was in the way most of the time). I also realize that this car has more power than mine and I can pass people. Or not. It's a fair, calm drive, beautiful weather, not too many hills or curves or big trucks, except at one point where three of them decided to pass me.
Eventually we leave the interstate, I get a quick refresher course in left vs right, and then somehow manage to get to the inn.

The inn is located in a shady lot in a quiet section of town. Beautiful stonework with a lovely front porch and round windows in the attic. I drooled a bit. Inside was wonderfully decorated with antiques and bright colors. A wonderful staircase that split in four different directions. And the ceilings! A good 12 feet high. Such open space! The house felt bigger on the inside than outside. The guest room was full of antique quilts. Strangely, there were no light switches.

After turning off all the lamps, we headed back out and went up to Biltmore. Crept through a construction zone that later turned out to be Biltmore Village. (bah.) Drove through the entrance gate. Kept driving. and driving. and driving. Pretty fields, elegant woods, a babbling brook or two. Oh, a vistor's center? Show our tickets. Drive some more. You're sure there's a really big house here, right? I mean, c'mon . . . really big house must be visible from far away, right?

And then we come to . . . a parking lot. Ok. Park. Follow a footpath. Glance up, and wow, there's a chateau! It DOES exist!

We took the self guided tour, sans earphones. I was surprised at how dark it was in the downstairs rooms, although it was well past 3 pm by that time. We wandered in and out among people standing still, staring dumbly ahead, earphones on their ears. I gaped at chairs and windows and floors and fireplaces and walls. I was also amazed at the friendly, intelligent attendants in each room, able to answer almost any question Brian could put to them, and providing even more information, or joking with us. The tour flow was well planned; the house seemed to go on forever, right up to the observatory, which was the only place where we had to turn back and start heading back down . . . through a completely different section of the house. At one point we were in the basement (or somewhere near it) where I completely didn't see the bowling alley. Sure, I looked that direction, but my mind said: "no way is there a bowling alley there." We rounded a corner and came across a group of girls, softly singing "Spanish Ladies." I started laughing, and Brian promptly started singing the next lines. (strangely, the girls seemed to think the song came from the Master and Commander movie.) We wandered down towards the pool room, Brian still singing merrily, with their laughter (and mine) echoing after us.
hmm, other highlights from the first tour? I had read and drooled over the pictures in the Biltmore book I owned, so everything looked familiar to me. I accidentally pulled a Marylin Monroe in front of an oversized fan (darn those skirts!) I got to see an actual, functioning gargoyle (granted, it was at the end of a drain pipe.) I wished I had brought a pedometer to see how much ground we covered going up and down and around the building. We paused to get ice cream and peer into the stable cafe, before heading out to dinner.

Dinner was at a german restaurant, where I finally got to meet the waiter Brian had been going on about for months, to the point of becoming a running joke. He had the most beautiful blue eyes, and was completely himself, cynical and (flamboyantly) expressive. Poor guy had been having a rough time the past month. I enjoyed talking with him. Pity we didn't get time to meet up with him again.

To be continued . . .

I'm going to Asheville, NC for a few days. This is my first vacation in five years. My first vacation without a relative along. My first time on a plane in over 8 years. The first time I ever got to PICK where I wanted to go. (I know. I am SO far behind everyone else.)

Now that I realize that yes, this is actually happening, I'm excited. The only proper way to express my excitement is in squealy girl L33t speak, and I shall spare you that.

time to stop goofing off and go!

Random doll I will someday get around to making a page for . . .

I bought this little boy a few years ago from a lady's web site. He'd been there a while, and I felt rather sorry for him, so he came home with me. He still moped a bit, even after I gave him a haircut. Possibly the scar across his face made him self conscious? He was rather flamboyantly dressed in bright gypsy fabrics and a sash, and I could tell it just wasn't him. A few weeks ago I came across this lovely striped cotton and immediately thought of him. Without any remorse, I ripped off his costume and redressed him. Do you know how hard it is to find pictures of desert clothing? I finally just improvised, and named him after the little boy at the beginning of the movie the Fifth Element. (I probably should have watched that scene BEFORE making the outfit, but oh well.) I see from my new camera that it's crooked and the iron did not do any good, so I may have to redo. Fortunately you can't see the gash across his eye and nose in this shot!

Also check out my Knight - I finally got his surcoat made!

Captain George Robinson House

I like authentic reproductions!

The process of making a mini doll can be a long one. Often there's long periods of just waiting for stuff to dry. My trim arrived, so I was able to go on to the shaping part of the skirt.

Thought you might like to see the process. Involves lots of pins and cheap hairspray.

Yes, go ahead and make jokes about voodoo, dolls, and pins. That's why I posted this particular photo.

You're welcome.

No, I didn't forget. Yes, I know it's been a while. I just didn't feel like I had the right fabric. I found an interesting piece at G Street fabrics yesterday, and settled down to try and finish this doll before Halloween.

No, it's not done. I still have to do the sleeves and add some details. (trim and accessories. Need to find some chenille trim.) I will admit I'm slightly stuck on the sleeves and shoulders, but I can always give her a cloak if I don't figure it out. Every time I look at the original dress I notice new things. Today I noticed it looks as though she's wearing a robe. That would be FOUR layers of fabric. I don't know that I can get away with that. I can barely get away with three. And I have some shaping to do so the fabric will lay properly.

The eyes. I need to paint the eyes.

On Saturday, in the wee sma's of the morning, a butterfly landed on my nose. I brushed my hand at it, but it wouldn't go away. I tried batting at it again, but it was determined to hold its position. I sat up, annoyed, determined to do battle.

Finally, beating frantically at my nose and lower face, I managed to wake myself up from a really weird dream. Obviously, there was no butterfly in my room in the middle of the night. There, was, however one of those breathe right nasal strips across my nose. (they work beautifully when they're not pretending to be butterflies!) I pulled it off and went back to sleep. When I got up the next morning and looked in the mirror, there, along one side of my nose, was a nice heavy red scratch.

Beautiful. I battered my face battling a bogus butterfly!

Erin and Andrew arrived later on to take me to Calvert for the weekend. It was fun, as usual. We visited Flag Ponds park again and collected shark teeth. We also went to historic St Mary's City and Sotterley Plantation.

There were monarch butterflies everywhere.

Case Closed!

The Mystery of the Missing Deerstalker is now solved.

I found it in an envelope in a plastic container under my bed, with a whole bunch of old miniature magazines and catalogs. It's, um, squished flat, but totally recognizable. No charges will be made.

Project bouncing again. (It keeps my increasingly insane mind occupied.)

I bounced back to my big dollhouse. I admit to being disgusted with it and wishing I could just get rid of it. I can't. It's special. It's mine. It's practically one of a kind.

I almost wish it WERE one of a kind, but there's another one out there. Mom has been going through my great-grandparent's old photos and slides, and brought me one of Gran next to a dollhouse. "Here hon, do you want this photo of Gran with your dollhouse?" I looked at it. "That's not my dollhouse." Same shape, same spacing of doors and windows. But the door is different, the siding is a different shade, and the window mullions are spaced a different way. I have a vague memory of a second dollhouse being in their basement when I went to visit, and I remember poking about in it, comparing the differences between mine and that one. It's been a LONG time though. I want to know where the second one is!

Mine is 21 years old. It has endured 10 years of active playtime by two siblings, dusty basement storage, carting up and down stairs, and then me being creative in it and then changing my mind. Repeatedly. As I stared in it forlornly the other night, it suddenly hit my why I wasn't able to continue working on it.

The walls. 3/8ths inch plywood. It has splintered and cracked along the edge of the opening outer wall (fell off years ago and floated around until I found enough screws to reattach it). There are cracks and splinters from where I forcefully removed the moulding. The wallpaper was poorly applied. The grain in the wood was very heavy, and acrylic paint couldn't hide it. The wall colors I had chosen were dark and rather ugly. (what was I thinking?) The ceilings weren't as bad, but had a definite unfinished look.

I realized I would have to do two definite things.

1. Strip off the old wallpaper.
2. Find a way to fill in the cracks and grain and basically smooth out and/or prime the walls.

I whined to my miniatures list about my inability to remove the wallpaper. It was attached with watered down Elmer's glue, for heaven's sake! I should be able to sneeze and have it come off! Fortunately, lots of replies and suggestions shot back to me, so #1. is now finished. (WARM water, not cold, and a sponge brush, not a regular kitchen sponge. didn't feel like trying vinegar.)

Now I have to do #2. The suggestions weren't QUITE as helpful. Many people suggested matte board, but I feel it will be too thick. (I'm considering bristol board, but I don't know if it will hold paint without wrinkling up. Must test.) A few suggested spackling, which I had somewhere (can't find it at the moment) and may work. I know it'll be difficult to apply evenly, but it will hide a multitude of sins. (I just have to think of it as lathe and plaster.) I thought about using a primer like Kilz, but I really don't know how well it will hide the grain. I don't know if there's anything thicker that's still paint. I really don't want to use something smelly. Wallpaper would solve my grain problems, but I have specific plans, and don't want patterned paper in all the rooms.

The kitchen is complete, save for minor details. I have everything I need for the living room. I know how I want the nursery to look. I know what color I want the dining room to be. I know what details I want in the bathroom. (romanesque look, detailed tile floors, a large statue of a roman woman carrying a jug, etc. . .) I have a vague idea about details for the little girl's room. I decided to leave the paper up in the master bedroom, although it's a bit Victorian. I plan to add to it to deaccent the busy pattern. I also need to make a custom sized bed so it fits properly in the room. (I think it will end up wider than it is long, but so long as the illusion is correct, it doesn't matter.) No idea what to do in the halls or the back parlor. (well, lots of ideas for back parlor, I just need to pick one!)

It's a great mental exercise, I suppose. I want historically accurate, or as close as I can get to it. Turn of the century! Edwardian! Art Nouveau! Craftsman! (I know, I probably shouldn't combine them.) Lots of new things coming in, most important being electricity and indoor bathrooms. I pulled the idea for the nursery straight from a book, and the kitchen sort of did itself. I made the living room wallpaper from a pattern I found on a web site specializing in period prints. I copied the sofa from one I found on eBay. I feel like a scavenger at times, but it's fun. Next on my list is a phonograph player, also found on eBay. Simple design, the audio horn is hidden under the turntable. I'm still looking for a chandelier for the dining room. It has to be electric, but not TOO fancy. I found one design I liked but it was black. I think brass would work better.

Yeah, you see? I want to go on to making the fun little stuff, but the crappy walls are holding me back.

Stupid walls.

They're almost fixed.

I am SUCH a geek.

I've been doing a little miniaturing, nothing fancy, just adding the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson dolls I made years ago to my web page.

Today I decided to move my archeologist's study from one shelf to another, where it could be better seen. Along the way I had the idea of building a custom shelf to display all the miniature books, 'antiques' and unusual items that I had collected. This of course, takes a little planning. What do I need to store? How much room will it need? A lot of the stuff I hadn't seen in a while. I dumped all the books out of the shelf and started sorting through them, and noticed I had books labeled 'Sherlock Holmes' along the spine. I assumed they were the Arthur Conan Doyle stories.

This is why I am a geek. They turned out not to be Doyle's stories. They were the monographs Sherlock Holmes had written IN the stories. 'On Dating Documents.' 'On Secret Writings'. 'On Tobacco Ash'. 'On Tattoos'. 'On The Shape of Ears'.

I laughed. And you know they're going right back up on the shelf.

Yeah, so you think I have nothing better to do. I know I have plenty of other projects without starting something new, but I just can't help it sometimes. And this one hasn't been easy.

Mom and I experimented last night with the tea dye. Four bags to a bowl full of water, heated for five minutes in the microwave, then soaked til I got bored. Immediately we discovered something interesting with two of the fabrics. The pattern on them had been printed with some sort of ink. The fabric was changing color, but the ink wasn't! I stood there with my stirring spoon, poking at the fabric and chanting, "Dye! Dye! Dye!" It didn't help. While it had an interesting effect on the striped fabric, the beautiful lacy print didn't really do all that much. We couldn't believe it. Next time, a different fabric, and perhaps more tea.

I had bought about 6 different fabrics on Friday, trying to decide which to use for the skirt. Today I chose the three in the picture. (None of these are the weird fabrics from the tea dye experiment.) I rather wish I could have gotten the garments grungier looking with the tea, but I'm not done yet! I may try spraying a solution on with a water bottle, and experiment with ripping the fabric or adding patches.

I also sculpted her hands and feet and face and shoulderplate. Then I ran out of clay. I had to mix the color to get the effect I wanted, and didn't make enough. I DID, however, make enough for the parts that would show, so it really doesn't matter what goes underneath. The hair is embroidery floss (obviously not in its final shape yet). I was hoping to imitate dreadlocks, although later it occured to me that cornrows or even a kerchief or turban would do just as well. I rather like the idea of a turbanish type hat. I will experiment and see!

While Tia Dalma inspired me to create the doll, I still have a strong impression in my mind of Queen Mousette in Blues Brothers 2000. I know I have stills of her costume somewhere, but I remember it as being very shiny. I think I prefer the earthy bajou look. Again, I still have to experiment. But first, I need a body to dress.

The clay kept getting too warm, and too soft. I had a hard time preventing everything from shifting the wrong way, and I can never see my mistakes til I take a picture, at which point, it's too late! I tell myself that real faces are rarely perfectly symmetrical, anyway. Just please remind me not to forget to paint her eyes!

I forgot the penny again. For scale, a penny is the size of her head. I just measured.

Item Four of Very-Hard-To- Find-In-One-Inch-Scale items: swords.



Attempt at a Katana. Roughly four inches long, so it's just a little bit too long for true one inch scale. (that'll teach me to eyeball things.) The silver and gold clay by Premo has a really great effect to it, doesn't it?

However, I'm having a problem. I'm not sure if it's the clay or the way I'm baking it. While this sword may LOOK halfway decent, it, well, it's a bit . . . floppy. Admire it all you want, but take it in your hand and it will allow you to perform daring feats of strength and skill by bending it almost in a circle. On letting go, it will slowly begin returning to its original position. It's basically a miniature rubber sword.

That wasn't exactly the effect I was going for.

Stop laughing.

2 am, and I'm making miniature canopic jars.

Worried. DEFINITELY worried.

I think they turned out well. I really like that 'gold' clay. Took quite a bit of research to figure out just what canopic jars traditionally looked like. It boiled down to a figures of a human, a jackal, a baboon, and a bird (falcon? hawk?). The baboon proved to be the hardest to sculpt. I realize there should be writing on the jar, but I'm not sure how to go about it. Hieroglyphs are a lot more complicated to do when they're that small!



Go ahead and add THESE to my list of things not available in one inch scale!

I'd like to rant a bit at the miniatures world for their lack of certain items. One inch scale cameras are very hard to find (at least realistic looking ones) and video cameras next to impossible. (I've only seen ONE, and it looks very old.) Most of what IS available are modeled after antiques. Come to the 21st century, my fellow miniaturists! I'm willing to give you money for what you can produce!

In the meantime, I have to make do with my own sorry attempts at digital equipment. Two attempts at digital cameras, one at a MiniDV camcorder. Really,they're very SIMPLE designs! I need a bit more practice.




Oh yes, and one last attempt. I wanted lots of pieces from around the world, and thought Sake flasks, or Tokkuri, would be appropriate for Japan. Here's attempt number one. (definitely needs a second try!)

Bag End in One Inch Scale

Fantastic job! It'd be a cool project to try someday. I think I have floor plans somewhere, too . . .

I've gone from having a creative streak to being a creative freak.

This is actually an old project, but I was never happy with the heaviness of cardstock. Today I thought I'd give it a try with the leftover Bristol Board from my interior decorating project. Perfection. They even SOUND like composition notebooks. I'm quite pleased. I also had to print a page of them, so there will be lots! The whole thing was designed in Photoshop. I did try to use images of real composition books, but it just didn't work out the way I liked it.

I also uploaded the original image for other miniaturists to try and print out. I have no idea how well that will work. I may try to create a PDF file once I get to work.

I failed to resist. I bought Stikfas.

They came in nice neat packaging, but I still hate flash. It took me over an hour to remove, trim and assemble these lil fellas. My fingers hurt! And I'm a bit disappointed with the white showing underneath the darker colored pieces. I guess I'll try painting over them and seeing what happens. The kitty and the brown girl are part of the Jungle Adventure theme. She came with lots of stickers that seem to be repositionable. So I gave everybody eyes (or sunglasses) and the white dude a tattoo. They were a bit goofy, but I liked the variety of items. There was also a HUGE variety of accessories. Guns, whips, dynamite, backpack, canteen, telescope, shoes, hats . . . Very amusing.

Robert gave me a weird answer when I asked how to pose them for the shot. Fingers! So I did. The box in the background says Stikfas on it, but obviously it didn't show up.

I'm going to take a few to work, just to have something mentally relaxing to concentrate on once in a while.

I may possibly stick one in the car. Merlin could use some company.

I've been trying to keep myself amused while waiting for the postman to bring me stuff. (Hurry up! Creative urges don't last long!)

Amusement 1 was borrowing the Da Vinci Code from the library. Probably a bad idea. The historian in me says, oh, wow, what? And then I run off to look up Da Vinci and Mona Lisa and the Knights Templar and Paris and cryptography and special encoded keys and it'll be a while before I finish this book.

As for Amusement 2, I went to Miniatures in the Attic today - possibly for the last time. In the back of my mind are all my projects and the specific items I want/need for them. Because of the book, I'm thinking about history and archeology, and because of the miniature shop, I'm thinking of my Archeologist's Study.


I'm planning to create a web page for the room, but I keep thinking, "I want to add THIS first before I take a picture." There's a lot of THIS going on. More furniture to display things on, more things to display on the furniture. It's hard to find 'just the right thing.' I started thinking about how it needed more books, and started looking around at books, and then started looking at the really NICE miniature books and then, while looking at those, up popped "I can do that."

Well, what else have you got to do? Dig under the bed for an old leather purse. Find a little detachable mirror inside with a perfect small leathery grain inside. Get the X-Acto knife. Take mirror apart. Find parchment paper that doesn't seem to end. Measure and cut. Remember old envelopes with really shiny pretty insides. By some small miracle, go right to them and pull them out. Cut apart, measure, cut. Get glue everywhere. Mess with metal bits until you decide not to bother. Find some bunka and tie. Say "whoa, I did that."

Run tell the world.



Plan the next book, and how to make it better.

*UPDATE, a few hours later*

and here's the next book. This time I used a block of balsa to represent the pages. Turned out better, at least they cooperated by staying in place! I scored the page edges with a knife and painted it gold.

I really lucked out with the leather for this one. I had an old wallet that was apparently really good quality. It had the flower embossed on the outside, and on the inside had ridged leather for where the wallet bent as it opened and closed. I used the ridged for the side of the book, although it's a bit hard to see in this picture. (had a hard time with reflections, may try again later.)

I still need to figure what to do about the edge of the leather so the white doesn't show. Perhaps a little paint?

I'm pleased with the results. And since I've run out of purses and wallets for the moment, I think I'll stop for the evening.

Creativity's flowing out of nowhere.

The picture here is what I'm using as inspiration for Rána's lantern. I found it at Alley Cat Scratch in her Lord of the Rings Section, apparently it was a display at Neiman Marcus?

That part was free. The rest is going to be testing and spending money. I purchased a frosted shade that I think will work well (don't want the bulb to show!) and several types of 3 volt miniature bulbs. Remember, this is an experiment! I also bought a 3 volt battery holder that runs on 2 AAA's, in case I panic about using electrical tape and a coin battery. If there's an on/off switch, all the better! I forgot to check about that. Hope to soon find out!

Now I need to get to sculpting.

My search for something plausible to light the lantern took me all over the place. I found a web site for a cute little something they just called Throwies, a very basic design of an LED light attached to a battery and a magnet. (sounded rather fun for parties!) Didn't need the magnet, but obviously I could go a lot more basic than the necklaces I had been looking at! (and make sure it didn't flash.)

In the end, all I really needed was a 3 volt battery and an LED light. A bit of research and discussion lead me to believe I could use dollhouse conductor wire so I could seperate the battery from the light. While looking at the conductor wire I discovered that Cir-Kit Concepts made 3 volt grain of wheat bulbs on an 8" wire.

**insert stunned, shocked and 'doh!' expression here: 0.o **

So technically, I should be able to run that light on a 3 volt battery. (if not, I know there's 3 volt battery packs available. I can work around the fact it's made to look like a dresser.) I made the staff hollow so I could run fiber optic wires (my previous option) through it, and it should feed the regular wires through just fine.

Now to design the lantern!

Started thinking about that lantern for my miniature elf again. My experiments with the fiber optic wire did what I expected, but it seemed to be a lot more effort than it was worth. So it was back to the drawing board.

Glow in the dark paint could be an option, although I'd prefer to be able to see that it was lit without the lights being out.

LED lights just might work. There's quite a few available as jewelry - pendants and such. The main problem is that most of them have flashing lights. It'll take a lot of digging to find one that doesn't.

Speaking of miniatures, I realized I'd never taken a picture of my Alice Zinn cat.

So, um, I took a picture. It looks much sleeker in person, I guess the hair got lit up by the flash.

Chicago International Show - Hogwart's

I love Rik Pierce's work. I'd love to take one of his classes, but I just don't have the space for the finished products. (I'd certainly be willing to spend the money!)

Showing off my recent creative streak.

This is my new Obitsu doll I was talking about, with the many many joints and poses. I painted her face, created her wig, and made the shiny red shirt. I haven't gotten any farther with the clothes, which is why I haven't taken any photos demonstrating the incredible range of motion. She's currently wearing Barbie's capris. (They're too big. I used a fashion doll pattern for the shirt, and found I had to shrink it about 15% to get it right. Hooray for scanners!)

I find when I make dolls, they tend to take on their own personalities. I was hoping to create bigger versions of the 1/12th historic costumes I love copying, but discovered that, once I painted her face, it just wouldn't work. She seems to have attitude issues. So the hair became short, wild, and multicolored, and the clothes decisively modern.

It's actually a refreshing change. Modern's so much easier to do! I have a much broader reference base for clothing ideas - pretty much every catalog that comes in the mail. Now I can find a good use for the Victoria's Secret catalogs that seem to arrive every week. (Just how many ways can you organize the same clothes in a catalog, anyway?)

One challenge I want to tackle is her feet. I like the fact that they have magnets in the sole so that she can stand on a magnetic base, but they're so small! They're practically the size of the feet of my one inch scale dolls, and have the look and shape of the feet you'd see on antique Jumeau type dolls. They aren't shaped for high heels and other fun shoes. I have a couple of experiments in mind for making them seem more realistic, I just need to get the FIMO clay to cooperate.

Hey, it's a challenge. Keeps the mind active. If I'm good, I can create and sell patterns or clothes. Probably patterns. I hate sewing on the machine, and prefer to do things by hand. It's time consuming and a little inconsistent.

THE DOLLHOUSE CASTLE

*Drooool*

This site is for all those people who think that dollhouses are toys for children. I'd like to see it in person, and I understand that it's on display - but it's closed! Time for some window peeping . . .

Have I mentioned Puzzle Pirates?

It's got repetitive, addicting games. It's got a pirate theme. It's got a very complex economy and a lot of things to do. You can run a shop, sail the seven seas, work in town, work for the Navy, play card games, participate in brawls and tournaments, etc, etc . . . I've only explored one small portion of it, and am amazed at how BIG this game feels to me. And there's updates. And when you read their message boards it's not full of posts from players complaining about the game and its owners. It's full of useful information!

I fear for Realm. I really do. It got hacked again, and now there's 'major security issues' that have forced the owners to physically remove the server from its normal location (as well as take it offline) so that they can try to address them. Or so they claim. The last update they tried to implement a few weeks ago (the first in many months) proved to be buggy and they took it down. The code is so old that hardly anyone knows how to write it. Not to mention the many, many patches that have been added to it over the years. It was one of the first online role playing games, released when Sierra was in its heyday in the mid 90's.

So, while waiting for it to come back up, I've been indulging my pirate fetish. And working a bit on my miniatures. Soon I'll be posting about my new shrinkray!

This is my Christmas present to my grandparents. This kitchen island came with the house, and my grandmother's been wanting it tiled ever since she found out it wasn't a true butcher block surface.

With the right tools, tiling is really very easy. The hardest part was figuring out which pieces needed to be cut to make everything fit. Fortunately, my brother-in-law's best friend owns a tile cutter. (how's that for bizarre relations?) I took the tiles up to my sister's house over the weekend and he cut them for me. Everything fits perfectly! I have to wait 24 hours before I can add the grout, and then I'll be done.

She had asked other relatives to do it, and they all hemmed and hawwed and found excuses not to. She finally complained to me, and, well, you see the results above.
Sometimes, the best gift you can give someone is your time. I have plenty of that to give away.

Oh yeah. Happy Halloween. This year's pumpkin is based on the rare "worth 5 million on the Trading Channel" shocked face pumpkin on the Realm. It was a good, easy face to do, and I get to make jokes about it on Channel 1. The realm graphic was blatantly stolen from Bored's web site.

If you're easily grossed out by medical photos, don't look. If you've put up with me and my braces for the past year and are curious to see what changes have occured, well then, by all means, take a look!

The Willowcrest is now back in the basement, where it was born. It was a high school graduation present, and I spent the following summer and part of the fall down there, putting it together and doing my first kit-bash when I enlarged the kitchen and bathroom. I had just joined my first miniature online group - Small Stuff, I think it was, and had been learning a LOT about different techniques for decorating.

I had wanted a house that looked like the beautiful victorians we drove by on our way to Harrisburg, PA, but with decorated in a contemporary style. It was going to be MY house, no dolls in this one, just stuff that I wanted to own life size. Of course, I dressed a modern doll, and then she took over the house, and both wove themselves into one of my stories. I'm not sure if I've forgiven her yet for that.

My favorite part of the house is the brick facade. The siding that came with the house warped horribly when I painted it, so I smeared wood putty all over the side of the house and drew lines in it to resemble bricks. Then I painted it. I was incredibly pleased with the results.

I wanted a big stained glass window over the tub in the bathroom. The first one was ok, but I wanted a bay window, and had to wait a few years before I felt confident enough to try it. It was only recently that I was finished that section of the house.

I had too many ideas, and only one house. The bedroom turned into a Pool room, and then a study. The attic went from an attic to a guest room to an office to a bedroom to a, well, you get the idea. I feel I'll be much better off sticking to room boxes. For now, I will finish the house, empty. Perhaps give it to my cousins, or to some neighbors. Possibly donate it to charity? Who knows. My other dollhouse will not leave my possession - it means too much to me. There's so much work to be done on it! At least this one has a definite theme! I've only one room completely finished in there - the kitchen. And considering I just stole the kitchen table for the shelf and haven't installed the doors on the bottom of the pantry, it isn't finished after all.

My room looks so bare now. I'm painfully aware that the only things hanging on the wall are a mirror and my Middle Earth Tapestry. I was thinking of using floating shelves to display the dolls I've finished. Now to go and find some . . .