Bundy Mini Break comes to an end - and after my return home....

An end to my Mini Break .......

Unfotunately Day 10 was an early start for the drive to Hervey Bay to catch the plane home to Sydney.  Bundaberg does have an airport but it doesn't take the large jets, so to fly direct there costs three times as much.  Jan was generous and offered to collect me from Hervey Bay and also drive me back there for the return flight.

a mini disaster.......

You will have noticed a distinct lack of photos of the lovely Tuscan Villa lately.  Well, unfortunately there was a construction disaster with the roof.  Jan has been waiting for some replacement tiles to arrive, and they haven't as yet so things have ground to a standstill.  .  To further compound the situation the furniture kits that Jan has ordered haven't arrived either because poor Karen Carey is very ill.  So the whole project  has been put aside until such time as everything arrives, which is unlikely to be in time for everything to be done in time for the Fair.  That is just 4 weeks away now, so Jan is going to finish off a project that she has been working on and display that instead.  Of course she is very disappointed not to be able to continue with the Villa but philosophical too.  And I was keen for her to exhibit Sea Cliff anyway, so I am pleased about that aspect of it all.

& a change of name for the cottage .......

I don't know why but my feet and ankles swelled terribly on the flight home, and were very painful indeed.  Note to self: do not ever take only brand new, unbroken-in sandals away next time I go away.  My left ear also blocked totally with the change in pressure and won't unblock, even a full week later.  Go figure. 

So I haven't been feeling wonderful.  And I've been spending time making flowers for the garden around the cottage.  I remembered all too well the patience required to make clematis vines - and the experience of making another one over a good three days has shown me that my recollection is quite accurate. I think I have used a full sheet of flowers and another of leaves to make this climbing vine.  That's probably equivalent to two kits.

 I changed the garden arch to a wider one, but made the mistake of leaving it the brown colour instead of painting it white or pale green.  The white flowers at the base do brighten it up a bit but unfortunately the lovely bright clematis flowers don't show to their best advantage on the brown.  And there is no way at all that I am even considering removing the stems to re-paint the arch, even if I could - which I doubt.

As for the change of name, it could hardly continue to be called 'The English Cottage', could it?  So Miss Emmaline and I put our heads together and decided that since the garden will feature lots of hollyhocks (which I've also been making, samples below) - that would be a perfect name: Hollyhock Cottage.

Of course these are just the first of several that will be in the garden - when I became tired of gluing tiny little clematis leaves (around 1/16" )  onto the stems I changed to doing some of the hollyhocks.  I am still waiting for my flower kits to arrive; I ordered a whole pile more of them about 2 weeks before I left for Bundaberg and they still haven't arrived, which is most unusual.   And I know Susan posted them the day after I ordered them, so there is something strange going on with the mail from the US.

Now if only I could find the shutters for the cottage I could make them up and attach them and get on with the window boxes and climbing vines!  I was sure that I had packed them in the kit, along with the quilling paper strips for the skirting boards (baseboards) - but neither were there when I arrived and I have been unable to locate them since I've been home.  When I took things out to check the kit before I left (I had planned to do the plastic with primer but ran out of time) they must have been left out.  Very careless of me.

Now I need to make lots more flowers from kits  for the garden at the front and the side with the birdhouse..  For the other  sides I will probably use landscaping shrubbery and floral foam,but the cottage cannot be attached to the base properly until my LED lights arrive and the wiring is completed.  Hopefully it will be in time for the Fair - or else I will have to fudge by adding greenery  to cover the join and leave the cottage loose.

And of course there are all those extras still to add to the interior.  That is always enjoyable.  Hope you noticed the book on the tray - it is a scanned copy of the one I am reading at the moment.  And I have the pictures selected to hang on the wall.  I'm looking for some ornaments, and waiting for some oddments to arrive in the post.

So as usual - keep posted.......

Bundy Mini Break - Days 8 & 9 Pt 2

Last minute work on Cottage......

First let me welcome the two new followers.  Thank you so much for visiting here.  It would be lovely if you could  leave a comment about how you found my blog (and other followers too) and please feel free to leave lots of other comments as well - I truly appreciate any feedback and love sharing my mini obsession with other lovers of this fascinating hobby.

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Miss Emmaline was busy in her garden, weeding and planting.  She removed her gardening gloves and brushed the hair back from her damp  forehead as she paused to admire the nicely-flowering gerberas around the birdhouse - pink gerberas of course.

and the pink hydrangeas near the front of the house.   

 'Yes, the garden is looking very nice indeed', she decided.

A spot of yellow behind the garden bench caught her eye as she walked across the lawn carrying a watering can to fill the birdbath. 

She stopped, memories of a special little friend Nathan who, quite a few years ago (for he is now a young man) regularly brought her bunches of bright yellow dandelions.

'Miss Emmaline, aren't they pretty?  They're so bright and cheerful'

"Yes, Nathan', she mused, 'they are bright and cheerful.  And after all, what is a weed but a plant growing in a place the gardener doesn't want it to?' 

 That plant can stay there until it's ready to go to seed, she decided, and continued on her way.

Miss Emmaline put the tools away and left her dirty shoes neatly beside the back door.  Immersing three pink (of course) roses in water and placing them on the kitchen bench, she went upstairs to her pretty bathroom for a good soak after her exertions in the garden. 

Returning to her bedroom - also pretty in pink and white - to dress in fresh clothes, she gave thought to the type of rug she'd like in there.
'So nice to freshen things up,' she said to Timkins who was cosily asleep on the bed.  He briefly opened one eye to peer at her.

'Yes, Tim it is nice' she nodded at him. 'And what a lazy pair you are, Tom on the garden seat and you up here.'
Tim yawned and closing his eye again, curled into an even tighter ball and went back to sleep.  Miss Emmaline laughed softy.

A nice cup of tea seemed in order now so returning to the kitchen Miss Emmaline put the kettle on to boil and while waiting for it to do so, arranged the roses into a gold vase, placing them on the dining room table with a sweet doily underneat..

She looked around the kitchen with it's new wallpaper and fresh new coat of paint.on the cupboards.  
'Yes, the green certainly shows off my pretty china,' she thought with satisfaction.

'Now the next step is a rug for under the table, and to decide whether to have curtains at this window or blinds?  Or both? Hmmmmm.'
Carrying the tray with her tea, two biscuits and the latest Kathy Reichs book on it into the living room, she continued to consider the matter of curtains and rugs.

'Yes, I really like the new rug under the table and chairs......and the new one in here too. 

And new curtains throughout will finish things off beautifully.  Blinds throughout too?  Or no blinds?  Blinds....or none....blinds...or...zzzz.......' And after a busy day Miss Emmaline dozed off for a well-deserved nap.

Bundy Mini Break - Days 8 & 9 Part 1

An Experience of a Lifetime

The last two days of my lovely Bundy break included lots of sightseeing.  We had been shopping and visiting places before, looking at the lovely scenery up here.  But we wanted to make the most of the last two days before I leave so concentrated efforts more in these two days.

Jan and Jim sit on their lovely wide verandah and look out over the view below.  This was taken at low tide unfortunately and shows how the last cyclone reomoved the sand from a large part of the beach, leaving rocks exposed.  Hopefully the sand will gradually be washed back over the next year.  What a view!  And such a lovely cool sea breeze on the hottest of days as well.

I was also keen to take a photo of a classic 'Queenslander', a type of house traditional in Queensland in previous times.  Raised up high to allow cool breezes underneath, often with lattice or decorative open strips of timber on parts of the lower area; lovely wide verandahs on several sides if not all round.  Beautiful, beautiful houses.  I have happy memories of playing with my cousins in the cool downstairs as a child visiting Bundaberg, and of the lovely high-ceilinged, large rooms upstairs as well. 

We found several Queenslanders, now a dying breed.  Most of them are well hidden by shrubbery unless they have been physically moved out of town.  Here is one that has been renovated really beautifully and I was able to take some photos to give an idea of what they are like - for those of you who aren't Aussies.  First, here's a (sort of) front view:

And now, to show you the space underneath:

Of course a lot of owners can't resist the temptation to close in all that lovely space underneath the house - and instead of just the traditional laundry under there they can double the house area.  That defeats the cooling purpose of the raised house but in these days of air conditioning, that can be overcome I guess.

A major event that both Jan and I were eagerly anticipating was a visit to Mon Repos, a turtle rookery located close to Jan's place.  Jan and Jim have turtles come up on their beach to lay their eggs and have actually had baby turtles hatch out from right beside the steps to their verandah but Mon Repos has guided tours and supports the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the Eastern Australian mainland.  It is also one of the two largest Loggerhead turtle rookeries in the South Pacific Ocean.

Mon Repos has been conducting a major research program since the 70's, tagging over 100,000 hatchlings and examining reproductive and migration, nesting and behaviour, incubation and genetics. 

And yes, these are stock photos I googled from the net.  Why?  You may well ask!  I downloaded lots - and I do mean lots - of wonderful photos of this truly amazing experience.  I had photos of everything we were permitted to photograph.  There were photos of me beside a cast of a fully-grown loggerhead turtle in the Visitors Centre.  There were photos of the life cycle of turtles and their migration patterns in the Visitors Centre.  There were photos and photos and more photos of the tiny hatchlings being shown around the group after they had all emerged from the nest.  Of Jan holding one.  Of me touching and holding one.  Of other people holding one. 

There were photos of the eggs being removed from the nest after the turtles had made their way down to the water There were lots of other photos.  So where are they? Of  course I never format my memory card until I check the photos on the computer.  So why did I do it this time, when the camera moved during downloading and the download was interrupted?  Why did I just think that it would all have been okay?  Why.........

One of the things that we weren't permitted to photograph was the babies emerging from the nest - swarming like ants from a hole.  I counted them as they came, difficult as it was to do so - 121 of them.  I will never forget that mental picture - much better than this stock photo below.

 

As they emerged they were put in a sort of holdingpen made of plastic mesh until they were all out of the nest, then some of them were shown around the group by the two Rangers. They are so sweet - the size of the palm of your hand.  And when I held one, they are so strong, their little flippers flying through the air or against your hand.  Gorgeous.

Then we stood along two lines marked in the sand almost down to the water, with some people holding torches in the middle to guide the hatchlings to the water.  We watched, literally moved and with wonder as they scurried down, following the light and as they reached the water they were tossed around a bit until they were washed out. 

Of course we weren't permitted to take a photo of this stage either, because the flash would have distracted the babies.  They can also see infra-red so even night-vision cameras are not allowed.  So I don't feel so bad that I use a stock photo for this one vbg.

After this we were given a chance to either return to the Visitors Centre with one of the Rangers or stay with the other one while he did the rest of the checking back at the nest.  Jan and I chose to stay.  He dug out all the eggs - in the process finding 5 more live babies that hadn't dug their way out of the nest yet.  These he gave to various people to take halfway down the beach to release.  The journey to the water is important for the turtles to imprint the location of the beach for when they return to lay their eggs in around 30 years' time.

I counted the empty shells as he dug them out, and counted 126 of them.  The Ranger asked how many I counted and I told him.  There were four unhatched eggs and he had to check to see why they hadn't hatched.  Then he counted the shells, putting them in groups of 10.  There were 126.  He was really surprised, and said that he had never had anyone else who had counted them accurately.  He called me 'Rainman' LOL.  I'm not sure whether that is a compliment or not.  But I am a compulsive counter. 

Then it was time for our return along the beach - escorted of course.  We had to stay together behind the Ranger, who had a torch and checked that the way was clear of  little hatchlings from other nests making their way to the water.  Each and every one of this endangered species is precious.  Fortunately the temperature of the sand at Mon Repos means that the hatchlings are pretty well all female which augers well for the future of the Loggerheads even though only 1 in 1,000 will reach maturity.

So that is a brief overview of the highlights of our sightseeing - of course we did more.  Part 2 will be the mini side of the last two days.

Bundy Mini Break - Tuesday, Day 7

Famous last words....

Last thing I said to Jan last night was 'I'm not going to bed until I shingle this roof'.  I set about sanding and shaping it as per instructions.  Boy, did that take some work!  By the time I was finished I knew that those were famous last words indeed.  So - first thing this morning, I decided.  And off to the shower and bed I went.  And proceeded to read for far too long I might add vbg.

This morning I was up at 6am, and after the usual preliminaries I was ready to shingle that roof.  Or not.  I noticed that there was more work needed underneath the eaves.  My inner self said - 'Why bother? No-one will see it.'

''I  will see it ' I replied.

'Not unless you stand on your head' said my inner self.

'Well, I'll know it's there and I won't be happy.  I want to know that it's nice'.

My inner self sniggered.  'Easy to see you are related to Miss Emmaline!'

'Shhhhh!; No-one is supposed to know that!  And anyway, I'm not related, I just based her loosely on the stories Mum tells about my great grandmother.  Emmaline wasn't even her name, and she wouldn't have been caught dead reading a detective story!'

My inner self giggled.  'Well, after telling Chris that Miss Emmaline reminded you of your Great Grandmother I'm sure people guessed anyway.  And now they know, don't they?'  And my inner self whisked off before I could respond.

By now the eaves were smoothed, filled, and repainted, so I left them to dry and went off to do some washing and other chores.

By 10am I was ready to start.  The shingles that come with the kit are a joy to work with and Debbie's instructions say to make sure that you do not put them on even - that is really fun to do!  I used the photos of the cottage as a rough guide as suggested,  and was finished the marathon task by 6pm.  That included breaks for more washing, some ironing, other house-keeping, and lunch as well as general breaks to keep from stiffening up too much. 

And here it is.  The brown of the shingles really sets it off beautifully.

There are still bits to do to the house of course - the shingles need trimming a bit more, the shutters need to be added (I think I left them behind in Sydney); the skirting boards (also left behind) need to be put along the bottom of all the walls.


And the landscaping has a long way to go as well. Tonight I painted lots of leaves and petals, ready to start on those tomorrow before we go out.,.


Miss Emmaline appeared just at the right moment, as she tends to do, and beamed at me. "oh, it looks lovely!' she enthused. 'Yes, very nice indeed. And the eaves look really neat and nice too. Detail is important, you know.'

'Yes, Miss Emmaline, I agree' I smiled.

Bundy Mini Break - Monday, Day 6

Jan had to work today, although it was a short day, so she didn't have as long to spend on the Tuscan Villa (as yet to be named).  A couple more walls spackled, templates fitted for brickwork and doors ready to be stained when the stain pens arrive - we have been eagerly awaiting the mail each day, but so far they are conspicuous by their absence!  Way, way overdue.  And the lack of them is holding things up, which is frustrating. 

In spite of this  the Villa is certainly looking good!  Here is a birds'-eye view of the court-yard. 

Those sweeping stairs are exactly the same as some we saw in a photo of an actual villa in Italy on the internet today.  You can also see the three small niches clearly, on the wall beside the stairs.  They will look really super with greenery and bright flowers tumbling out of containers set in there.

On the left wall of the courtyard you can see the large alcove that will house the fountain.  And of course the whole courtyard will be paved with tiles.

Now let's have a look from the front.  This gives a better view of the entrance archway.

The wall is so nicely textured, and extra interest to a lot of the walls is given with the sand sprinkled over the spackle.  The white paint that will go over the top of it all will show the texture up really well.

And here are some views from the rear, showing the rooms of the house.  First, the ground floor with the dividng wall in place.

This provides a separate kitchen and living area.

Next here is Jan holding the 1st floor with its diving wall, temporarily in place to show how it will fit when the time comes.  This provides for a bathroom on the right and a bedroom on the left.

Jan is doing more searching tonight for tiles, and is making a bath to her own specifications.  Clever lady!  She had lots of tiles saved on her old computer, which is in for repair - isn't that always the way?  And the sites can rately be found again.

Miss Emmaline came to see what was happening and exclaimed 'Tuscan Villa?: What Tuscan Villa? There's no Tuscan Villa around here in Ferny Creek!'

'No, Miss Emmaline, it's in Tuscany, Italy.'

'Ah, Italy.  I love Italy!'  A soft, dreamy, far away look came into  her eyes and I wondered what secrets lay there.  'But if it's in Italy, how can Jan be working on it here with you?'

'That's the magic of miniatures, Miss Emmaline, I smiled.

She gave me a long, considering look over her glasses, then disappeared while I put another coat of paint on the cottage. 

It wasn't long before she was back though, beaming with approval and pleasure. 

'Why, my dear, it looks lovely!' she exclaimed 'So much better to show off my pretty garden!'

She gave a nod of approval for the new colour and hurried off happily to deliver a cake to the ladies in Toadstool Cottage.  Chocolate, judging from the delicious smell wafting from her basket.  My tummy rumbled.

Time to get working!  There were windows to finish installing:

a garden bench to construct

as well as the birdhouse

and the birdbath.

And of course the yard to lay out

The grass to lay and the planting to begin, and the roof to prepare for shingling.

Well, the day goes quickly when one is busy, and dear Miss Emmaline is a pleasure to work for.  Tomorrow is the big day -I will be shingling the roof..

Bundy Mini Break - Day 5

Welcome Sherry!  It is just so lovely to see the number of people following the blog growing bit by bit - I really do appreciate the interest and the fact that you have taken the time to have a look.  Thank you very much indeed.

Yesterday I introduced you to Miss Emmaline Brennan.  Well, today Miss Emmaline is not happy.  Indeed she is not. We had quite a discussion, Miss Emmaline and I.  Of course, she is such a lady that she was perfectly pleasant about it all, but she made her point perfectly clear.  And of course she won the day.  She always does.

It was the colour of the cottage, you see.  Miss Emmaline pointed out that the colour did nothing - absolutely nothing - for the pretty flowers in her garden.  And I must admit  - I had to agree.  And Miss Emmaline is proud of her garden.  With good reason, too.  Her parents were wonderful gardeners.  Her grandparents were wonderful gardeners.  And Miss Emmaline is a wonderful gardener.  She can be found tending her garden most days, and it shows.

'How about pale pink? She suggested.

But Miss Emmaline', I objected, 'I will be getting Rosebud Cottage as soon as Petite Properties releases it, and that is pink.  You don't want to be the same colour, do you?'

'I don't care' she sniffed 'I am here first.  You don't even have Rosebud Cottage yet, it hasn't even been released yet and won't be for who knows how long?  You can paint that one another colour'
. 
'Miss Emmaline, it is Rosebud Cottage, it needs to be pink.  Your furnishings are pink and green.'  I crossed my fingers behind my back.

'Hmmmm' Miss Emmaline thought for a moment. 'That's very true.  And I don't really want to be the same as that other cottage.  It would probably look like a hunk of fairy floss anyway.  I think - I think pale green would be much better!'

And so the cottage has undergone a change of colour and it really does look quite charming.  The addition of the internal windows makes it come even more alive - it's starting to look like a cottage rather than a shell of one.

The window boxes are painted a darker green, as are a couple of pots and  the trellised arch.for the front of the pathway. 

The furniture is ready to be installed into the kitchen once the benchtops receive yet another coat of white - will it ever cover?

The base for the house is shaped and ready to have the garden put in place.

All in all a very productive day. 

And it was on Jan's side as well.  Walls are going together.  For some of them this means two layers being joined for part of their length.  The interior has been spackled and sand added for extra texture in some places.

Tiling is on the appropriate walls and stairs are completed ready to be glued into place too.

An extra wall has been added on both the ground floor to make a kitchen area. And an extra wall now makes a bathroom area on the first floor.

The outer wall is done on both sides with spackle, with sand added for texture.  Don;t you love the three little niches on the interior of the courtyard wall? And there's a large niche for a fountain that is on the interior of the wall opposite.  This really is a lovely Villa.

Here are th epieces laid out for the last lot of spackly to finish drying overnight - as you can imagine, it takes time and planning to let each stage dry before you can go on with the next stage or other side of each piece.  The blue tape is painters' tape, put over the flooring to protect it while the interior is being done. 

Sorry - as I keep saying, white does not photograph well!
Tomorrow we will organise some lovely Tuscan tiles hopefully, to go on with the next stage.

A busy few days is showing great results for Jan and the Tuscan Villa.  Things are humming along nicely for both of us!

So please do keep tuned - Miss Emmaline is just counting the days now to the finish deadline!

Bundy mini Break - Day 4

Another case of mice and miniaturists making plans........ I had intended to go to church today and started to get ready, only to find that I had acute problems with my feet after our shopping yesterday.  Too swollen to get either of my pairs of sandals on (I didn't bring my usual dress shoes with me) and too painful to walk around on after an afternoon walking in new sandals yesterday! So I lay down with the feet elevated for a while and before I knew it, the phone was ringing.  It was Peter and it was several hours later lol. 

So a shower and lunch, then dress and off to see whetherJan would like a walk (I did bring my sneakers with me) to work out some of the kinks from lying around so much.  We walked along the beach, with Zoe, Jan's little princess dog inspecting every interesting smell along the way while we looked for some driftwood that would be suitable for quarter scale or tiny shells or such.  There were lots of lovely smells for Zoe and lots of debris for us, since everything that was washed down in the floods is still being deposited on the beach.  And the sand that was removed by the cyclones hasn't been redeposited yet  .It was a lovely walk, followed later by a delicious tea.

Jan had been busy during the day and all the preparation work is finally completed and she is starting to do the first of the walls with the spackle mixture.  I love the plans she has for this Tuscany Villa - it's going to look great.

Tonight I did yet more coats of paint on the bedroom furniture (white does take a lot to cover properly), and did some other bits and pieces - nothing exciting.  No photos today I'm, sorry, it was dark by the time I even started on doing anything.  However I will take some tomorrow.

Miss Emmaline Brennan, who has lived in the cottage all her life, wants a new bench for the garden, so that has been added to the list of things to do.  She would also like the dresser in the kitchen painted green to match the kitchen cupboards please.  The dark brown really doesn't show to advantage in that room.  Very kind of you dear, I do appreciate it.

You haven't met Miss Emmaline? She's a real character in the village of Ferny Creek.  Her plans long ago to emigrate to Australia as the bride of her tall, handsome Aussie soldier fiance were dashed when he went off to war and never returned, like so many other brave young men.  Now all these years later she is a well-loved personage in the village, living with her beloved cats Timkins and Tomkins, and her equally beloved spaniel, Lady.

Being a devoted gardener, Miss Emmaline has always flowers to decorate the church for services or special occasions, or to take to cheer others, along with her cheery smile and friendly talk.

Miss Emmaline is also a voracious reader, particularly enjoying Agatha Christie, Kathy Reichs and Arthur Upfield's Aboriginal detective, Bony (Napoleon Bonaparte).  With her sharp intellect and bright eyes behind her glasses, indeed Miss Emmaline does in fact bear somewhat of a resemblance to the intrepid Miss Marple and often works out the solution to crimes in the books before the authors reveal it.

She also gives a sentimental sight and smile at the romantic complications in the stories and gets a delicious shiver from the forensic details in all their gory realism in the Kathy Reichs novels.  She hopes eagerly that the romantic element in those novels will have a happy ending as well.

So you see, when such a sweet lady twinkles those eyes at you and requests that a new seat for the garden is assembled and the dresser is painted to match the cupboards - what can one do?  Besides, she makes a chocolate cake that is to die for!

Bundy Mini Break - Day 3

Here is the next installment vbg.  And welcome to Petra - are you our Petra from Petitpointers? Thank you for signing on as a follower - I do hope you enjoy my mini world and please feel free to offer lots of comments and suggestions.  It is wonderful to have interaction with other mini addicts.  And I know someone (Elga? Lisa?) on PPers suggested that all my new houses needed rugs - but at the moment it's not in the picture LOL.

Jan had some business to attend to this morning and we planned (again) to go shopping this afternoon, so I knew I just had this morning to work on the English Cottage. 
So up bright and early (6am) and the first thing I did - yes, even before coffee and breakfast - was to add the ceiling of the ground floor.  Bless Debbie Young, she has provided 3 spacers on which to place the floor so it is even.  I love it when that happens!  Here it is with the spacers in strategic places:

She's even labelled them 'spacer' with an arrow showing the direction so that a clutz like me doesn't put them the wrong way around.  And believe me, that is easy to do.  Please don't ask me how I know this vbg.

Then I went ahead and did the roof and wallpapered.  I had planned, as I said yesterday, to wait for the wallpapers to arrive but I decided to go ahead with the 'Plan 2' wallpapers that I brought with me instead so I did the kitchen in a green trellis-type pattern and the living area in a pink floral.  It picks up the pink highlights in the bedroom and bathroom wallpaper.

Here is the roof on, held in place with blue painters' tape to dry thoroughly while we went shopping:

Front of main house and wing (on left)

Looking at the roof on the wing in the photo I see that it has slipped out of place in one section.  I will need to address that tomorrow night.  And a wedge-shaped piece from beside the front rounded bit has fallen off too.  Never mind, easily put right again.

Rear (on left) and rear of wing

Here is a look at the wallpaper in the different rooms - now I feel that it is nearly there.  My apologies once again for the washed out appearance from the flash downstairs, I will take photos in better light on Sunday.

You will also see that the wallpaper has not been trimmed - that is because the photos are taken just as I left it all to dry thoroughly while we went shopping for the afternoon.

On one part of the house is the bathroom upstairs and kitchen downstairs.  Here is the bathroom:

And downstairs is the kitchen.  Both floors are L-shaped.  Upstairs the roof divides the space into two rooms, and there is a false wall across the lower part of the bedroom wall and another on the right side of the bathroom as seen above.  In the kitchen and living area this whole L-shape is left open, with a beam to define the two areas a bit.  I have not put that beam in yet. .

As I mentioned before, the kitchen is papered in a green trellis pattern, which to me is quite appropriate for the room.  It looks fresh and pretty.

This shows the living room, papered in a pale pink floral on a white background.  Again, it is soft and fresh and echoes the pink touches in the upstairs wallpapers.  You can look through to the kitchen at the end.

The living room is  a good sized room, it lends itself to more than just a sofa and chairs when decorating.  I might even put a small dining area at one end, if it doesn't make it too crowded.  I have some nice furniture that would just be perfect.....

And below is the bedroom, showing the wallpaper and the short wall at the rear that gives a bit of usable space against which to place things - always useful when there is a sloping roof.

And I have placed some different bedroom furniture in there to judge its suitability. I've realised that with the dark flooring, not only is the other furniture a bit 'posh' for this cottage but it would not show to advantage because it is quite dark as well.

Debbie has provided quilling paper for the skirting boards all through.  I have either left it at home or just overlooked it in the box.  I will have another good look for it.  If it is not there that part will have to wait until I get home.

So there it is for now.  Tomorrow night I will trim the wallpaper, inset windows and doors and perhaps decide on the finish for the bedroom furniture.  Or finish off the kitchen furniture.  And I need to finalise my plans to light the cottage (decide whether that needs to be done before the shingles go on or not).  And dress the bed and the windows......Who knows?  We'll see what the morrow brings vbg. 



Bundy mini break - day 2

After an early night and a great night's sleep I woke ready to go at 6am.  First thing I did was to paint another coat on the ground floor ceiling.  Then I tidied up, did the usual - made  bed, shower, breakfast etc.  When I went to wash up, I moved a bread board that had been draining in the sink overnight and there was this lovely little green tree frog hiding under it.  He was  only about 2 1/2 - 3 inches long, and very sweet. I didn't think to take a photo of him but here's one that I googled.  Though I don't think ours had the white bits on him - there are different kinds I guess but ours was just as cute.

 I was so pleased that when I washed my brush and water jar in the other sink I hadn't used warm water and detergent because the froth comes up in the plug hole of the larger sink as well, and it would not have been at all healthy for little froggie!  I wasn't sure of the safest way of moving him outdoors or the best place to put him so I left him until Jan came over.  We let him stay there all day and he slept in the cool and damp of the sink, under the shelter of the cutting board.  Then come dark Jan took him outside well away from an ugly old cane toad that was lurking out the back (they eat our native tree frogs), with a saucer of water and near some shrubbery to hide in.  Hopefully he will catch a good meal out there and go on his happy way.

It was productive for both of us today.  We had planned to go shopping this afternoon but as they say, the plans of mice and men...... and of miniaturists too, it seems.

Jan constructed her steps - not an inconsiderable task in itself, and filled the fronts with yet more paperclay 'sausages'..  It was a huge job sanding and smoothing the windows and arches that she had done with paperclay yesterday, it is a harder type of air drying clay than Creative Paper Clay and took ages to sand and smooth.

She prepared flooring, sprayed plastic bits with several coats: primer and paint.  Did templates, painted bits as instructed and in general did heaps of preparation work.

I didn't have much preparation work to do so the results look more dramatic at this stage.  I spray painted 3 coats of white on the 20 windows.  No, there are not 20 windows in the cottage - there are doubles and triples of window panes in most window openings.  And since Debbie doesn't like doing internal trims she always provides a set of windows (and doors) for inside as well as for the exterior.

I did the flooring paper on both floors and also did the first coat of paint on the spackle.  It isn't supposed to be painted  (or spackled) yet because there is more spackling to be done, but I wanted to see whether I liked the colour or not.  The jury is still out on that one. Here it is:

The wallpaper I have ordered to replace the wallpaper supplied for the ground floor hasn't arrived yet so I had gone as far as I could because the next step is to wallpaper downstairs.  So I went on with assembling the kitchen kit that I bought from Debbie.  It is designed to go in the cottage so it fits perfectly.

Then I assembled the bedroom furniture for upstairs and it is ready for me to dress the bed.

This lovely suite of furniture is called 'The Cottage Bedroom' or something similar, but it looks rather elegant for the cottagey feeling I want.  It will quite probably be put aside for one of the bedrooms in the swish John F. Craig mansion.

Thinking things over tthis evening, if the wallpaper doesn't arrive tomorrow I am going to go ahead and just put in the next floor and wallpaper upstairs then finish constructing the cottage.  I think that the cottage is open enough that I will be able to wallpaper with the floor in place.

And I will experiment with another colour for the cottage - 'Bisque' and see whether I prefer that.

Roll on day 3!