House of Miniature addiction?

*245*

  I love these little kits. They are from the 1970s-80s. They are not made anymore but so mass produced that you can find unopened kits for sale. I will never pay more than $20 for a kit. If it is super rare, than I guess I do not need to own it. I also bought a Hepplewhite Cellarette and a dumb waiter. I am saving them to use in my Pomeroy dollhouse. These kits will be cherry to build. They will look great in the house. I am actually excited about building again. Those of you that do not build dollhouses for pleasure would have to equate it to buying shoes or having another satisfying hobby. I have been on a hiatus since the banks crashed. I just did not have any extra to use. Geez. I was scared to spend $20 on something cause it could break my meager budget.  Life is not as hard as it was but it is still not easy. I can spend $20 or less here and there for goodies for the hobby that I love but abandoned.

   Last day of Winter today. I have been doing laundry plus puttering. The Man and I took another walk this morning. I want to build my stamina for when it gets warmer out. I want the walking to be an every day routine. If it is raining...I have not decided. I do not have raingear for that. We shall see. I know I will have to get a new pair of sneakers soon. You have to change them out every couple of months so you have stability.

 Gotta go...it is time to start getting dinner started. Tilapia, spanish rice, and asparagus..Yummy!

Jam and bloody fingers

*262*

  I am working on the Rosedale this morning (after two cups of coffee) and I already punctured my damn finger. It is okay. Not bleeding anymore but that is the hazard of this hobby. Burns and boo boos. I have not done a house in over a year so I am do for some pain. There is this second floor piece that will not fit no matter what I do. I think I screwed up the staircase assembly and it is making for a too tight fit. So I am slowly cutting the space bigger. I do not have proper tools so it is gonna take awhile. I want to get that piece up so that I can continue. And it has to be on there proper or the third floor wont go on correctly. Grrrr!
 It is the first day of Autumn today. I am thinking I need to start working on my jam for the winter. I have bags of frozen strawberries downstairs. I can make a shit load of jam. I also have blackberries but not as much as the strawberries. I also have some more pickling cukes to make pickles with. I am not going to over do it today because I am starting in the midst of a Fibro flare but I want to do the strawberry. We do not have anymore in the cabinet for eating so this is the perfect time to do it.
 Don't you think?

  So let us hope I get this piece fabricated to my liking without losing any fingers so that I can move onto strawberry jam. I am even going to go down in the freezer and get them. Once defrosted, I have to use them!
 I hope you have a nice first day of Fall.

I lost one but gained a ton!

*the scale died!!!* <----needs new battery. Not conventional battery. Pffffft!!

Welcome to all of you that started reading here since yesterday. I appreciate the support. I learned I truly do have some great friends out there. :)
 I am told it is chilly out there today (ummmm. 66 deg f)  but I am warm. Not hot flashes or anything but just warm. I know the humidity/dew point is non existent but I feel like I could break out in a sweat if I did anything. Is that the hormones? The water pill? Or do I have a broken thermostat? hehehe All I know is that I love it. This is my time of year! I am hoping Hubs takes the AC out of the living room window today. I want the cross breeze again before I have to seal up all the windows.
  Today I am going to work on the dollhouse and I am going to pickle the cucumbers. I was planning on doing it this past weekend but I decided against it with me being woozy and all. Hot jars of hot liquid and feeling shitty do not mix. Today I feel okay so I am going to get that shit done.  I found a jar of Ball Kosher Dill Pickle Mix. I bought it because I was curious. I do not usually use pre made stuff like that for canning. You can get all the salt and spices you need and do it yourself. But I saw it, it cost half what it cost on that link and I said What the hell? I will let you know. Lets hope it was not a colossal mistake. 
That is about it for today. I have to try to get the second floor onto this dollhouse. It is a pain that you have to twist and bend to get it to fit into this contortion. I screwed it up yesterday so I had to reglue everything. I am hoping I do it better today.
Wish me luck!

Day two is a little better

Stock photo courtesy of Greenleaf Dollhouses

I am feeling better then yesterday. I still feel loopy but not as much. Like yesterday was 100% loopy and today is like 50%..so this is a good thing. I noticed that the ringing in my ears is good but in the later evening, it comes back with a roar. I hope that is just because I started taking it. I like that it is kind of silent in my head. I am still feeling funky so that could be the inner ears or the pill or a little of both. So far, 2nd day is way better then the first.
 I have noticed that I am not very hungry. I read that loss of appetite is a side effect. I hope it is a long lasting one. I ate lunch and now i am going to eat dinner but I have had no snacks or even wanted to. Love that part of it!

 I have been working on a half scale Greenleaf Rosedale. One of my mini friends started to build one and I got the itch. Then I found out another friend is building it so I have two people to help me if I get stuck. I am at first floor and I am painting the stairs...if you have ever done and you know what I am talking about. I tried to put the 2nd floor on and that was a disaster. I hope it is better fitting tomorrow.
   Going to eat dinner and relax for the rest of the evening. Hope day three is even better.

January Snow ,12 hour shifts, and drunken sailors

Half Scale Arthur window trim

*284*

  No walking the hill today. First because it snowed and secondly..I am only working on one piston today. Right now it is 4am. The Navy dudes across the street and two houses over are dickwads. I woke up to the sound of someone`s car stuck in the snow. If you live where it snows, you know what that sound is. It is the constant revving of an engine. I tried to ignore it but it was too late. It was 2am and I was awake. I also wanted to know if the kid got home okay. Natalie went to a show (music) outside of Providence, RI last night with a bunch of friends and one Mom. Mom stayed for the show. I found out that it was not snowing in RI so I fell asleep. They had to drive on I-95 to get home and it can be mighty messy.  She got home okay. I got to let her grow up, you know?
As for the Navy dudes, after the revving of the car, they decided that they wanted to show off their sound system in their car. They had spent some money on it because the base did not vibrate the car at all. But it was 2am!! And it is snowing, so what cop is gonna want to navigate our area for them. They are true assholes. I hope they get shipped out to Timbucktoo!
Since I am not walking the hill, I will do some Just Dance. I have done the intense workout of 6 songs. It makes you sweat. But I will have to sleep first.
I have so much fat work ahead of me. I am sick of looking at myself in the mirror. It is so hard. I know it is not instant and I do not expect it to be but I do it and I see nothing. NOTHING. So it is very discouraging. I really think that I am going to have to stop eating. Not in a anorexic or bulimic sort of way. I mean my ass is so fat, my metabolism is in the dumpster, and the insulin is making life really difficult. I am going to have to just eat rice and veggies..oh wait. I cant eat the rice. Veggies and meat and beans. I have to stay away from the carbs because I am not moving anywhere.
My feet are doing amazingly well..which I am so happy about. I just have to lose weight!!!
 Fred got a call from his boss yesterday. She wants him to try out working a 12 hour shift tomorrow. 9am-9pm. She wants to implement it in the whole department but many of the nurses are saying NO. But Fred and his 1st shift counterpart are all for it. They would work three 12 hour days and have four days off..I think that is how it works. Then they would have to work four 12 hour days. It balances itself out. I say that he is going to be a royal bastard. Lack of sleep, long shifts with the bitches..Yup..I am in for some nasty attitude.

Muse! Oh where have you been???

*286*
These bits of wood on the table are the makings of my Muse coming back to live with me. She has been gone at LEAST 2 years, maybe more. I have had so much bullshit stuff go on in my life and in my family`s lives that she just left one day...Never to return. I would stare at my barren, unfinished dollhouses and wonder..WTF!
So my friend D gave me this little piece of salvation. It is a half scale Greenleaf Arthur. She is sending me a half scale Rosedale pretty soon too! Goody!! And I have half scale furniture to build also. I have so many kits stashed around. She kept sending me things to see if it would peak my interest and it never did. I have a half scale (i think) Lighthouse to build. I have a Greenleaf Village to build. I tried. It is not like I did not try.
So for some reason, this little Arthur has changed things. It is half the size of regular dollhouses. So I can store it on a shelf or on my dresser with no problems. I think I might like building these. Send me more!! LOL

 This is how far I have gotten this morning. Those two roof pieces will not line up. FUCK! I kept playing with them over and over. I just gave up and added the glue. The shingles will hide it. The trim will hide it. It will be fine. Stop being OCD about it Heidi.
She is a little beauty. Some of you are not dollhouse aficionados  like some of my friends, so you all just wont get it. And that is okay. You were`nt meant to get it. But maybe one of you still harbors the want of that dollhouse you never got as a child. Seeing me fiddle with them...you might want to build one. Just let me know. I can give you advice and I have friends that can give you advice. Very nice people.
Okay, I am going to start working on painting the porch floor today. I think I am going to repeat a diamond pattern I have done before.
Toodles!

We are gonna have a Bleezard!

12/26/10 8am

*286* It was higher but I laid off the crap

The National Weather Service has issued a Blizzard warning for my area (Southeastern Connecticut). Accumulations from 11-16 inches but if the snow bands come in just right..there could be lots more! I went out this morning and covered the motors of both lawn mowers. SOMEBODY neglected to do this in the Fall. They will be okay. After I finish up here, I have to go outside, under the front porch, and find the second shovel. That picture up top is part of my back yard. I am standing on the patio and those stairs lead up to our top yard. Pretty cool huh? Since my back is better, I think I am really going to do something with that area up there now. I wanted this to be a marker for you all. So when the dust has cleared, I will take another picture of the same area..then you will get an idea. I probably wont even go out in it..Just open the door and take a picture! LOL
We have heating oil and portable heaters. We have food and beverages. We have entertainment. Fred has to work tonight unfortunately. He is acting like it not a big deal. I hate when he does that. Big bad Fred is not afraid of some snow flakes. He is going to go in early and TRY to stay overnight at the hospital. That way I will not worry and his ass wont be trying to drive home in that shit. Mucho overtime, Mucho money to spend on oil for the tank and my birthday next week!

So I am going to start working on this half scale Arthur. I have built 3 full size Arthur dollhouses but never another scale. So I am familiar with it but it will be different. It is going to be wedgewood blue on the exterior. I think I will do that first and then I am work on painting the exterior trim. It is a laser cut kit so it should be a snap to put together! This is what I am going to do during the blizzard.
I am also going to cook. I cook when I am worried and nervous. I want to make a jambalaya. I have all the meats for it so that will be easy. Shrimp was cheap during the holidays so I bought a big bag for the freezer. It will last us for a month or two, depending on what I make.
Natalie`s bestie Raymond is going to probably stay over tonight. They are going to watch the Twilight movies that she has (all three so far), play the Just Dance 2 game, and just hang out. I love Raymond.
Okay, time for me to go. I need to dig out that shovel!
Send thoughts out for Fred tonight.

Merry Christmas!

Can you spot Perla in this mess?

 

 

 

*I am not even...*

I am awake and I am drinking my coffee. It has been a really nice Christmas. I did not want to be all braggy like on Facebook about what I received because there are probably some people that did not get much or anything at all this year. So I will talk about it on here! They got me everything that I wanted! A pair of 14 k gold hoop earrings, a replacement piggy bank for the one that we smashed open, the new version of the Wii game Just Dance (that will work some of the chunk off), those salt and pepper grinders you squeeze together and they grind over your food, my own set of gloves so I do not have to dig in the pile.

I collect Nutcrackers. I have had to toss a few over the years because the glue disolved (because they were cheap) but Fred is always good at getting me the real deal. This is a Nutcracker from the Nutcracker for 2010. Isn't he gorgeous?

I have wanted one of these photo frames for a very very long time. I just pop a digital card in the back and presto! It will work.I have to decide where I am going to put it. I want it in a place that everyone can see my goofy family. LOL This gift made me very happy!

Hamilton Beach Brew station

I am so happy about this gift! I had the first brew station when it came out like five years ago (or longer then that). Fred gave it to me for Christmas also. It kept the coffee warm for like 2 hours. It died after a long fruitful life. Today I got the updated version! I have been using a crappy coffee maker for over two years and now I have this!! I know some of you are probably laughing me but I am a coffee lover. This thing keeps coffee warm up to four hours. You can set your brew strength, you can have it brew your coffee at a specific time, it can make iced coffee! I love it!!!!!

This is from Chelsea. It may not seem like a big deal gift but to me it is. I can brew my coffee, fill up my ceramic cup with rubber top and hot hand  holder, go out the door, and save the enviroment! I am using it right now.

I received some great gifts from my friends. Miss Tia sent me a much needed 2011 calendar and a gift certificate to Starbucks! Yee Haa!
My bestie friend A. brought me over a big old tub of donut muffins (God help me!) and something called Coquito. It is like a Puerto Rican Egg Nog. At the end of this blog, I will post the recipe. It is spiked heavily with Rum and it is oh so good! Yum!
My other bestie friend D. sent me a Muse. I have been in a dollhouse building slump for over two years. I think the whirlwind that has been my life has scared the poor muse into a corner someplace. So D. sent me a half scale Greenleaf Arthur kit, with shingles and siding, and half scale furniture too!  I am going to wait until today dies down to open it up and spread out the contents!

So it has been a really good Christmas for me this year. I tried Brie cheese for the first time too. It could only get better from here!
Merry Christmas to you all. I hope you are having a wonderful day too.


Coquito is a traditional punch served at Christmas and New Years celebrations. The drink is similar to eggnog with rum. This particular recipe does not call for raw eggs. Nor does it call for you to crack open a fresh coconut. It's a very simple mixed drink.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 15-ounce cans cream of coconut
• 2 14-ounce cans condensed milk
• 6 ounces white rum (use less if you like)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon coconut (or vanilla) extract

Preparation:

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender. 2. Refrigerate for about an hour before serving. Serve cold.
Serves: This recipe makes about 36 ounces
*A. told me to keep it in the freezer. Damn thing is not frozen..more like a drunken slush...hehehe*