February 27th - Day 58/307 days to go!

Wow....I think I solved a minor disaster. Not a global disaster or anything of that sort but rather a dollhouse disaster. When I was trimming the wallpaper pages I noticed that the paper that I'd picked for the master bedroom didn't colour copy as I'd liked it. The yellow background had now become a shade of...greenish-yellow....and ugly shade at that. Even a trip to a different store to try their copy machine didn't solve the problem, in fact, the colour was worse. Soooooooo, after much searching, I think I found an acceptable wallpaper alternative. It's not as nice as the original that I liked so much, and there isn't the yellow in it that I wanted....but I think it might have to do. I don't see any way around this switch in paper.

I'm going to spend some time tomorrow searching for a better alternative....hopefully I'll find one, but if not at least I have one option available.

It's Murphy's Law......there is always a bump in the road somewhere along the journey.

February 25 & 26 - Day 56 & 57/308 days to go!

Finally, all the wallpaper I photocopied has been trimmed to....perfection! I realize that I've been obsessive in this task but that is the nature of the beast...yes, I'm the beast. I'm a perfectionist and my own worst critic. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've done something, thrown it out and started all over until I finally end up with a finished result that I'm pleased with. A curse for sure.

I have also come to realize that I'm a shopaholic. Not for most things, in fact, just when it comes to minis. One of the members of an online mini group that I believe to has a home-based miniature business and each year at this time she has an anniversary sale where each day she posts special just for our group at 3 pm. During her sale I become a clock watcher and at exactly 3pm, I run to my computer to see what the deal of the day is. I've already bought  some Chrysnbon dishes which I'm going to paint to go on the dining room table, some Chrysnbon bathroom accessories, an old fashioned phone, fireplace coals and some bookcases for the library. Yes, all for the Beacon Hill. My thoughts seem to be consumed with this project so much so that I've been neglecting my other miniature projects. I still have a stack of books to make that are waiting patiently, my sculpting of miniature dogs has come to a complete stand still, and the local club that I belong to has a project this year that is to be displayed at the show at the end of April and I haven't even started it yet....and I may not either. Oh well, that is the nice thing about projects, they will always wait for you....much like housework.

And speaking of housework, I notice that darn dog dust bunnies have moved into my kitchen again and are hiding under the table....time to pull out the vacuum cleaner and evict them. Thankfully this new dollhouse hasn't had time to collect dust and in order to avoid that in the future, I will definately have to come up with a solution to that potential problem. Perhaps a plexiglass back will do the trick.

So.....tomorrow, after I spend some time being a Domestic Goddess, I will spend some time working on the dollhouse and get cracking on some wallpapering.

February 22 & 23rd - Day 53 & 54/311 days to go!

What can I say....more wallpaper trimming and a little bit of painting.

The wallpaper trimming is tedious....and I'm taking my time. The time spent now will pay off in the end when I go to install the wallpaper and all the seams bit like a glove.

Thursday is mini day with my friends so I will be working on my little books in preparation for our upcoming show and sale at the end of April. Yes, I make little books. Something I started a few years ago when I was making my Sherlock Holmes Library....I got hooked on after I'd made over 400 little books to fill the shelves. And....since my Beacon Hill will also have a library, I'll need books to fill those shelves too!

February 20 & 21 - Day 51 & 52/313 days to go!

The last few days have been tedious but necessary.

I picked up my wallpaper copies from Staples. OMG I didn't realize there were so many sheets that they actually put them in a box! But all the wallpaper is now copied. I do need to trim all the sheets....one by one....to ensure that all the seams will be smooth and fit together just like real wallpaper with the pattern matching at each seam. So that is what I've been doing for the past two days with the help of my trusty little paper clipper.

Time to unveil the whole wallpaper plan:

I'll post a larger picture of each wallpaper sample as I do each individual room. Because the dollhouse is open at the back and each room is seen as part of the whole picture, I think it is important that all the wallpapers....blend together. I think I've accomplished this....at least I hope so.

I have also been taking a break from the paper trimming job from time to time to work on a bed for the master bedroom. I made a headboard from Model Magic and when it was done.....I hated it! So back to the drawing board and now I have a new bed.....and I'm not sure I like it either.

I still have to add pillows of course and fold down the cover.....but it is coming along.

The bed looks huge to me....too huge. But when I measure it....it is only 4 1/2" wide by 6 1/2" long....not that big really. Then why does it look so big! I'll make my final decision about whether or not to use it once I'm at that decorating stage.

February 19th - Day 50/315 days to go!

I had a 20% off your entire order coupon for Michaels....I love those! I bought 2 more sheets of matte board for the floors and I also bought some embroidery floss to make a welcome mat for the front porch (something to work on while I'm watching tv).

Since Saturday is usually the day that I go out with a friend (dinner and a movie), I decided that I'd play and not work on something dollhouse related.

I decided to paint that huge armoir that I bought last year....or was it the year before....at our miniature show. It was one of those purchases that....seemed like a good idea at the time. I loved the style of it, hated the finish on it.....and the price was right since it was on the club "garage sale" table.

So....three coats of white paint later....and some distressing.....and I think I have an antique looking french white armoir.

In comparison to its former self....I like the new look much better....and it will no longer be in the "maybe" stash and will have a home in the Beacon Hill.

Oh...I also bought some Model Magic at Michaels and tried an experiment on making a headboard.

It isn't finished yet....still have to paint it....and then try another experiment with it.

I dropped off my wallpaper sheets for photcopying at Staples and will pick them tomorrow morning.

And that's what I did today :-)

February 18th - Day 49/316 days to go!

I've been working on painting around the openings inside and outside the house in preparation for wallpapering. Once I have my wallpaper ready, I'll measure it off and also paint a white stripe where the wallpaper will join. I know this may sound tedious....and it is....but it will make sure that any seams will be invisible once the wallpaper is installed since all my paper is lightish in colour.

Yes that is hardwood floor that you see.....two down and 7 more to go!

I was also digging around in my "maybe" stash and found an armoir that I'll refinish for the master bedroom and there was also a broken bed frame that I'm going to fix and redesign into a bed as well. Yes that armoir is as shiny as it looks.

Tomorrow I'm off to Michaels for a few things then to Staples for some colour photocopying.

February 17th - Day 48/317 days to go!

I have been painting the window openings (and door openings too) and also around them to ensure that no unpainted wood will show once the windows are installed. Unlike....good quality.....dollhouse windows, these windows are not inset into the wall but appear to come in two parts....interior trim and exterior trim with a piece of acrylic glued between them. I can't imagine how the wall structure won't show....but time will tell and I'm not going to take any chances.

You can also see where I changed the size of the kitchen window so that I can put the sinker underneath it.

I also installed the first floor false wall that will hide some of the wiring. It didn't need to be a huge space since it will only be hiding a small part of the wires....and I also decided to put it on the staircase wall since that is the least visible wall once the house is finished.

This pictures shows the front right side of the house without the centre panel installed yet.

I also got a little carried away with painting and decided to paint the porch floor since it was going to need painting sooner or later....and I was in a painting frenzy LOL.

Thankfully the exterior siding will cover up all the joints and glue glops because the house is looking rather....ugly right now.

Tomorrow I think it is time to take a trip to Staples and get the rest of my wallpaper copied.

February 16th - Day 47/318 days to go!

I have just one word for today.....painting!

I'm working on that "to do" list so I can install the front panel and get back to the roof.

February 15th - Day 46/319 days to go!

I'm still working on the list I made up on Friday....it is going slowly but steadily.

I did get the little kitchen wall installed and it will solve that empty space problem. But it is time to get back to some painting and a little more wallpapering so I can install that front panel.

I'm fighting a lung infection so I'm not feeling much like doing anything....or at least not anything that requires a thought process. Perhaps I'll do a little flooring since it is always a rather mindless task but will still need to be done either now or later.

February 14th - Day 45/320 days to go!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today I solved the dead space in the kitchen problem. Where the bay sits in the kitchen there is a small space on the back end....just under 1 1/2 inches wide X 10 inches tall X 5/16 inch deep.

Since I am going to hang upper cabinets and have lower cabinets in this bay area, there would be this little tiny dead space beside the base cabinets that....you know....things are going to fall into....and once the cabinets are installed there would be no way to get them out.

So, I build a small wall to fill in that space.

Once the glue has dried that is laminating the two pieces, I can glue it into the dollhouse. This will make the wallpaper wrap around that corner smoothly without having to try to fit it into a blind space.

February 13th - Day 44/321 days to go!

Construction on the house has come to a complete halt....at least until some painting is done.

I suppose it should have been obvious to me that doing some of the painting before the wallpaper was installed and some of the construction was completed would have just made sense....and it does. Where was my brain???

I think the problem arose because this is my first....tab dollhouse. I've built other dollhouses before but hindsight has made me realize that quality will always rule over all considerations during construction. I also realize that this is the first dollhouse that I have built that I will not be upgrading the doors or windows and that in itself requires an adjustment in my thinking when it comes to the end result.

For example, when upgrading to good quality windows, I never had to worry about the finished look because the windows always looked very realistic when installed. With this construction, the inside and outside window framing are two totally separate pieces so much so that they almost look like they don't even have any relation to each other except that they are on opposite side of the same opening. The dollhouse walls will show between the interior and exterior trim.....not a very realistic look. But, since I have....vowed....to do the kit "as is" then I will have to accept that it will have limitations....and apparently drawbacks....and little disappointments.

Sometimes I wonder....is there a person sitting somewhere in an office who all of a sudden wonders why their ears are burning? Do they know how often someone building one of their dollhouses is.....frustrated....disappointed.....annoyed....by what seems to be imperfections that could easily be overcome yet never seem to be addressed? Do they even care?

If business is about making money you have to stop and wonder....wouldn't they make more money spending a little more on better quality wood.....charging a little more for the kits....wouldn't they, in the long run, sell more kits because people who have avoided them because of those obvious reasons would now buy them because those reasons would no longer exist.

I'm having one of those....hummmmmm, moments LOL.

February 12th - Day 43/322 days to go!

Today was still a painting day. I'm not painting the whole interior of the house....though maybe I should. I'm painting around the edges of each room so that should there be any gaps where the wallpaper or the flooring meet the walls there will only be white seen. The whole house has already been sealed and to reseal it with white paint seems a waste of time.

Tomorrow I'm going to install the wallpaper on the stair wall on the third floor and install the wiring. I'm also hoping to get the front  panel done and installed. Good intentions yes and hopefully I'll get time to do a lot more work on the house.

Funny how life sometimes seems to get in the way of having fun.

February 11th - Day 42/323 days to go!

Ah....no sanding today! It was a good day.

I started painting the interior today. A tedious job but the white paint will hide a multitude of...sins. It will finish off the edges, fill in any gaps and will tie the whole house together.

I did remember one more thing that I had to add to the "to do" list....I need to make a partial wall and door way for the third floor bathroom. I know that there may be those that could live without a door on the bathroom, but I'm not one of them. I like the idea of my little people having some privacy when they are....indisposed in the washroom.

So....the weekend will be spent....painting!

February 10th - Day 41/324 days to go!

Well, I....think....I have finished all the sanding on the roof supports. Yes, I did say...I think. One interesting point about the wood they use is that you are never really sure whether the sanding is finished or not. Just when you thought it was safe....poof, another splinter pops up and out comes the sandpaper again. If nothing else, it keeps me on my toes and paying attention to what I'm doing.

Before I can install the roof supports, I have a few things that I'd like to do....and I've made a list to make sure that I don't miss anything:

(1)  paint the interior of the house white including the door and window openings. Since all the trim both inside and outside are white, the wood openings may still be visible once all the trim has been added. Much easier to paint it now when there is no wallpaper to worry about.

(2)  since the cardstock template is made for the second and third floor hallway, make a matte board base for the flooring before installing the front piece. This way I can make sure that it fits nicely from both the back and front. It will also be easier to make any adjustments to the base around the staircases.

(3) Install the wallpaper on the third floor staircase wall and glue the last piece of staircase trim in.

(4)  dry fit the false walls to hide the wiring. Some adjustment may need to be made taking into account the thickness of the matte board floor base.

(5) Install the first part of the wiring.

(6) Paint the front wall white and install the wallpaper. Then glue it onto the house.

I think that is it......unless something else comes to mind while I am working on this list.

This should keep me busy over the weekend, but tomorrow I will need to spend some time playing Domestic Goddess in my own house before I can start checking things off the above list.

February 9th - Day 40/325 days to go!

I'd make you guess what I did today but that would be too easy. Yup, more sanding! I'm surprised I don't dream....or should I say have nighmares....about sanding. I think my fingers are starting to twitch when they realize that my hand is reaching for my sanding block or file.

I also spent some time reading over the instructions for Step H...aka Step 8. Wow, I guess I've been so busy sanding that I really didn't realize that I'm already on the 8th step. I felt good for a moment then realized that the time has come to go back a bit and put the front wall on. I'd left it for a while in order to finalize my wiring plan but I can't wait any longer.....no front panel....no roof supports can be installed.

Since tomorrow is "Mini Day", I'm not sure how much I'll get done on the house, but I will have to organize the wallpaper for the front panel, dig out part of the lighting plan (ahhhhhhh I bet that has you wondering what I've got up my sleeve)....and make sure that my false wall that will hid the wiring fit well.

The wiring "secret" shall be revealed....but....in the meantime....I'm going to let you wait....in eager anticipation....for the unveiling of my wiring light bulb moment!

February 8th - Day 39/326 days to go!

As I watch the numbers go down to my expected finish deadline, I realized that when I hit the end of each hundredth section....I'm going to panic. I have 26 days left in that 300 group and though I know it's only been 39 days of working on this dollhouse, I look at it and wonder.....what have you really gotten done? The house still doesn't have an actual third floor since the ceiling/roof part isn't on.....and the whole dollhouse doesn't have the mansard roof yet. I know, I'm obsessing and worrying, just a little bit, for nothing and maybe the sanding has gotten me bogged down a bit because I'm being too picky with it....but....am I as far along as I thought I'd be by now? Actually the answer to that is....yes. I was well aware before I started that the sanding time was going to be huge.....and it is.

As I was sanding the mansard roof parts today I couldn't help but wonder....is all this sanding really necessary? These supports will be hidden under the roof sheeting so no one will see whether I sanded or not. I quickly realized that the sanding is the key to good glue joints and since those glue joints are what holds this whole project together.....the time spent sanding is almost mandatory if the job is to be done satisfactorily.....and stay held together at the seams. I do know that I've gone a tad overboard with reinforceing each seam with extra glue but I can't even begin to imagine the horror of months or years down the road that my dollhouse starts to fall part because I didn't take the little extra time to glue the life out of it.

So....today....and likely tomorrow will be.....sanding.....and glueing days! Boring as that may sound. At least I have a few other projects that are going to become part of this dollhouse to work on when I need a break, or rather my fingers need a break from their time with the sandpaper.....or instead of sitting watching glue dry. I have kitchen cupboards to paint and backs to put on them, poster board flooring templates to make, matte board sub-floors completed and waiting for flooring to be glued on, lighting to install on the first and second floor, the front section to paper and then install. Wow, I didn't realize the list was that long! I need to get cracking here!

February 7th - Day 38/327 days to go!

Another glorious day of....sanding! I think I might actually be able to do some gluing tomorrow.....YIPPY!

I'm trying to find creative ways to fill my time when I take a break from sanding. I know I have white painting to do on the house....and that will have to started shortly....but...I still need to find some creative outlet. I'm working on a vision in my mind of just how I want the house to look....and what I will need to get it to that point....or at least close to that point.

I also need to go through the boxes on my storage shelves and see what I can find in them for this dollhouse as well, and it is a good excuse to do some "cleaning out" of things that I know I'll just never use. Our local club has a show/sale coming up at the end of April and that is always a good time to have a mini garage sale table and with the money from selling those un-usable items.....I can buy new ones!!!

February 6th - Day 37/328 days to go!

I spent the morning sanding more roof part and by noon....I'd had it. I just couldn't do anymore sanding for a while. Talk about....boring!!!!

So, I spent the afternoon bashing the stove. I needed it to be less deep by at least an inch, and narrower by at least 1/2 an inch.

Since I have been asked, I will tell you how I did it and let you decide if it is something you want to try...and also how the final result turned out.

This is a picture of the original and it is about 2 1/2 inches deep which takes up far too much room in the Beacon Hill kitchen. It was also too wide for the wall that I wanted to put it on.

In the second part of the picture you can see the white shelf that comes out of the lower side and also the white piece that is used for the stove top....both were removed (they are not glued to the stove at all). I also removed the legs so that they wouldn't get broken. I scored where they met the stove bottom and carefully wiggled them out. They were pegged in and I sanded the edge so that I'd have a smooth surface when I glued them back on. Since I was making the stove narrower, I removed the left oven door. I did have to cut the metal pegs but they can easily be replaced later with new ones cut from dressmaker pins. I then carefully cut off the back wall behind the stovetop section. I used an ink pen to mark the back of the stove with the cut lines to ensure that I kept my sawing edge straight. A fine toothed saw blade worked well. After that back section was cut off, I cut the stove in half.....one half was the whole right hand side with the two ovens and warming drawer....and the other half was the cooktop and lower oven. The easiest way to make the stove narrower was to cut the excess off the stovetop side. I marked my 1/2" line with pen on the back and underside, turned it over....and cut it off with a saw. I also cut 1/2" off the shelf that I'd removed earlier so that they would be the same width when glued back together. Now for the fun part! I wanted to make the stove less deep by about 1".....so, with an ink pen, I marked my cut line 1" in from the back of the stove. This eliminated any reconstruction of the right side ovens and warming drawer. I used a fine toothed saw to cut off the back 1" of the stove. After I had done both sections of the stove, I dry to fit to make sure they were the same depth....and glued them back together, and glued the back shelf on. Now time to tackle the stove top. Since I didn't like the stove top itself since it was just holes in a piece of wood, I used the lower shelf that I'd removed from the lower left side to make the new stovetop. I cut it to fit and then glued it on. The old stovetop is now a leftover piece that I didn't use. I printed off some burners from the internet, sized then down to fit and glued them on. I also made a tile printout that will match the tile wall that will be on the opposite side of the kitchen, under the upper cabinets....and glued it onto the backsplash of the stove (to add some colour and detail).  Since I had made the left side of the stove narrower, I had to trim down the oven door that I had removed and then I put it back into place.  I filled in any cracks with glue, touched up the stove with black paint, when the paint was dry I painted the whole thing with varathene to match the shine on the whole stove, then I drilled new hole for the back legs....and then glued all the legs back on. The stove is done....and it fits the spot I want to put it in.

I'm not sure if I would have bashed the stove if it had been an expensive one....but for $10...it was worth the try....and I'm actually pleased with how it turned out.

Once I have added food cooking on the stove top and dressed up the shelf....you won't even notice that it was bashed (and no hammer used either).

As you can see by the pictures of two stove tops done by Betsy Niederer, the detail is in the accessories and the stove itself becomes secondary. Betsy's work is amazing and I was fortunate to be able to purchase a few items from her last year at the Guild School. In fact, in the picture on the right, at the back, is a huge pot of stew....I bought one exactly like that from her and it will be in the Beacon Hill kitchen. If you ever get a chance to pick up any of her food items....run, do not walk to her table.....with your wallet out ready to buy (and her prices are really good too)!

February 5th - Day 36/329 days to go!

I got home earlier than I thought yesterday and while I didn't do too much on the dollhouse, I did do a little sanding on the mansard roof supports. I can see that this is going to be anything but fun. I will, however, while I am sanding, try to remember that this is just a small part of the project and that it will take me one step closer to the finished result. I will keep saying to myself...."this is one less piece I have to sand" and hopefully brain wash myself into happy thoughts.

I don't remember if I mentioned it or not, but when I ordered my lights for the dollhouse, I also order a stove. I knew that it would need a little....help....once it got here since the cooking surface is too toy like and not realistic enough but I was a little shocked when I took the stove out of the box. It is like a stove on steriods! It's huge! So between sanding tomorrow, I'm going to....bash it. No, not with a hammer though that is also a possibility depending on how things go. But I'm going to make it less deep, narrower....and change the colour. This huge black stove isn't what I have in mind for the kitchen. I love the design of the stove just not the size, colour, or cook top area.

And that brings me to scale size. Over the years I have noticed that 1/12th scale comes in a range of sizes. There is small one inch and there is big one inch. I tend to try to stay in the smaller end of the scale. I've also noticed that the bigger one inch scale seems to be getting even bigger that it used to be. This stove that I bought is a perfect example of that.

February 4th - Day 35/330 days to go!

I spent almost two hours carefully cutting out the roof supports for the mansard roof this afternoon. What a job....I had to cut all the pieces out with an xacto knife because the wood was disintegrating and most of the pieces have small rounded pointed corners. But it will be well worth the time in the end to get a great looking roof.

After looking at the wood pieces, I've decided to give the next few days a name or theme...."Sand Your Hands Off". Even with the pieces cut out and not punched out, there will still be lots....and lots....of sanding to be done. I find that because the wood is laminated, the glue doesn't seem to be sufficient to actually hold it together and give it strength, and when sanding, it needs to be held together with my fingers as I sand while trying to keep the skin on my fingertips.

This particular sanding job will also require that my vacuum cleaner be readily available to pick up all the little splinters of wood. I don't remember seeing a vacuum cleaner listed in the "Supplies Needed" list but one is definately a necessity with this dollhouse.

The highlight of the day was the arrival of the postal carrier. I ordered lights on Tuesday....and they arrived today!!! I now have all the lights I need for the dollhouse.

I also ordered a bathroom set.....some of it will go into the bathroom but because the room is so small, I'll try and find a home for a few of the other pieces. There is a towel/quilt looking rack and a wash basin stand that might not look too bad in the bedroom.

I doubt I'll have time to do anything on the dollhouse tomorrow since I'm heading out to Vancouver late this evening and won't be home until late tomorrow night.....but perhaps maybe a little dollhouse time will appear tomorrow night before bed depending on how tired I am when I get home.

Sadly, I won't have any time for shopping when I am away, but I'm sure thoughts of the Beacon Hill will creap into my mind during my meeting.

February 3rd - Day 34/331 days to go!

Today was mini day with two of my mini friends. I have to say that I love these days....good company, good food, good conversation and we even manage to squeeze getting some minis done.

I ordered some more flooring material from Lee Valley Tools since I don't want to run out when I'm working on the floors for the dollhouse. I also ordered some wood veneer business cards which I think I'll use to make some wainscotting.

I did some more sanding on the chimney pieces and hopefully will get them glued into place tomorrow.

I did some more reinforcing gluing on the third floor.

And once the chimney is glued in.....time to start with the white paint!

February 2nd - Day 33/332 days to go!

Since today was a busy day in my personal life, my mini life had to take a back seat.....but....I did find some time to contemplate the dollhouse's future electrical needs.

I spent a while staring into the dollhouse and determining where I am going to put the ceiling lights....and how I am going to hide their wires. Since I will have the cardstock templates of each rooms floor space, I can use that to work out just where the ceiling fixtures need to be. One might think that simply putting them in the middle of the ceiling would be the obvious choice, and in some rooms that might work, but in others it won't.

For example, the dining room. It is an odd shaped room to begin with and since I have decided to put a buffet in the room, the position of the table now shifts to the left of where it would have been if it were the only furnishing in the room. If I were to centre the light fixture on the ceiling, then it wouldn't be centered over the table....which is what I would like.

One of my little pet peeves is the misplacement of ceiling fixtures that one often sees in real homes. How often have you looked up, particularly in a dining room and the chandelier is wired to the middle of the ceiling and then a hook has been placed about a foot or two over so that the chandelier can be swagged over the centre of the table. There will be no swagging of light fixtures in my little house! So even at this early stage of construction, plans must still take into account future furniture placement.

Even in the kitchen, placing the ceiling fixture in the middle may not work. I have cabinets on both sides and the ceiling fixtures should be in the middle of them and not the walls. Since the cabinets on the left are in the bay area this may change where the centering point really is.

Because of the quality of the wood, I don't want to risk making grooves in the floor to conceal the wires but I think the wiring can be taped down under the flooring and still be unnoticeable. It is thin enough and if I make sure that it is absolutely flat there shouldn't be any....bumps in the hardwood floors. I've made the flooring removable so that if need be in the future, I can still get to the wiring.

I still have time to figure out all the little lighting details before my final fixtures arrive.....and I still have to paint the house white yet!

February 1st - Day 32/333 days to go!

Today I glued the right side third floor walls in....lots of glue just in case of that mini earthquake. I will need to do a little more gluing to make sure it is fully re-inforced after this round of glue has had a chance to dry. I guess I'm just going to have to do the chimney according to the direction since I have re-read the instructions and there just doesn't seem to be any way around it. I think I've decided to do a stone chimney....something that will blend the colours into the exterior colours....but I can decide that at a later date when I see how things develop. This is after all a work in progress and one of the advantages is that I can change my mind right up until I actually have to do the work.

I'm undecided about the dining room buffet.....doors on the hutch....or no doors on the hutch....I like it both ways. Darn, I hate when that happens....decision....decision. Thankfully, I don't have to rush to make that decision either. So....what do you think? I'm open to suggestions or opinions.

I also did some work on the little bench for the first floor hallway....white paint, yellow paint, and some pink fabric...and it doesn't look too bad if I do say so myself....and I even managed to not have another piece to put back into that "maybe" box.

I'm not sure what I'll get to tomorrow. I have two meetings....one in the afternoon and one in the evening, but after that, I might just need something mindless to do....like....flooring! Nothing is more mindless than gluing strips of wood onto matte board. It's definately a no-brainer.

I did take time today to order some light fixtures. I need 10 in total and I had 5 that matched, so I order another 5 to go with them. They should be here either Friday or early next week since I did get confirmation that they are....in the mail. Wow, that's a scary thing sometimes..."in the mail"...because there is no way of knowing what's happening to it. I've received parcels that look like they were used for football practice and I've received packages that looked like.....virgins...untouched by human hands. Canada Post....or Snail Mail...as I call it, is a strange system. It takes less time for things to go from east to west than it does from west to east even if the distance is the same. I've never understood it but I guess that doesn't really matter....it is....what it is....and we just have to accept it. I even received a package from Australia once that took less time than it did to get a package from Toronto. On well, I've vented about the postal service enough for now. I'll just be thrilled when my lights arrive.

I've been so focused on this dollhouse that I think I've neglected my own home. I'm going to have to spend some time, hum not tomorrow, but the next day, playing Domestic Goddess. I noticed when I was coming in with the dog this evening that I have some doggy dust bunnies taking up residence under my kitchen table. The nice thing about housework is that it will always wait for you and if I eat in the living room in front of the television, I don't even notice those pesky kitchen furballs forming either.

January 31st - Day 31/334 days to go!

Today was another gluing day. I glued and reinforced with glue the third floor left side. I know it may seem like I'm doing lots of gluing....and I am. I want this dollhouse to be strong, strong enough to withstand a California earthquake if need be....or at least a dollhouse miniature version of an earthquake. If I'm going to have it mobile, then it needs to be glued to the max so it will withstand all the tremors during a move.

I made a template for the first floor dining room floor from matte board and also one for the bathroom on the third floor.

I spent some time in my "maybe" box again. I have two buffets that I thought might be good in the dining room but both were just a little too wide. But.....I found a worktable with two drawers and a shelf below that fit perfectly. I also found a Michaels bookcase.....hum, time for a little bashing. I took the shelf part off the bookcase and it will make an excellent hutch for the worktable. Then....all of a sudden I realized....that bookcase used to have doors on it.....doors I removed and used in the kitchen. I returned the doors to the little hutch and.....Voila....a dining room buffet!

I bought the Michaels hutchs a long time ago when they were on sale of 50 cents each....and I had a 25% off your entire coupon as well. I think I bought 10 of them. I had no idea what I was going to do with them at the time, but they have come in handy now. The doors have been used on the upper kitchen cabinets and now one of them has been bashed to make two new pieces of furniture.

The bottom of the Michaels hutch fits exactly beside the first floor staircase and I will turn it into a bench seat. Those little dollhouse people need some place to sit while they put on their boots.

I was thrilled with the outcome of the buffet transformation today. Wow, it really is true....sometimes the most pleasure can be found in the simple things....either that or....I need to get out more and get a life in the big world LOL.

I also decided that I really need to paint the house white....at least inside before I do any more wallpapering. Since all the trim is going to be white, it will make it much easier to paint everything white now and not have to worry about painting little spaces after the wallpaper is up.

One more side of the third floor to attack with glue to reinforce it and I can start painting!

I'd like to thank those who have sent me their comments. I really do appreciate it. It's nice to know that I'm not alone here, talking to myself....again, and also the words of encouragement help to keep me motivated and usually arrive on a day when I've endured too much sanding and thoughts of tossing the dollhouse out the window have crossed my mind. Truth be told, I'm far too...stubborn to let this dollhouse win....I will conquor it and not give up!