That’s all I’ll say about that.

The wood floor in the Beacon Hill living room  is kicking my  butt.

It’s almost done. I worked on it yesterday morning and later in the afternoon; in between, I had a final coaching session with Kate. I am pretty painstaking about this process, but boy, it seemed to take FOREVER.  I got stain and glue all over my hands. At one point, I got glue in my hair. And, because I was snacking on some apple pie, I got some apple pie filling in my hair as well.

Someone send help!

I have to finish this today so I can move on to the baseboards. That involves mitre cuts and I have to look up how to do those again, because I haven’t done it since Dove Cottage.

This morning, I ran upstairs to take the photo of the floor and I grabbed some shots of what looks like an abandoned house:

Do you see that second opening on the left? There’s the doorway and then there’s this closet like area. How the heck am I going to to get my hands back there and create anything? I won’t be able to see what I’m doing!

I also want to show you a piece I won on eBay. I don’t know how old it is, but it’s lovely.

Isn’t it pretty?

I’m not sure where it will end up. It looks perfect in the living room, but I don’t want that room to be too matchy-matchy. Maybe the bedroom? Or in what will be the den/library? We’ll have to see.

I have to mow the front lawn today and my allergies are objecting. But the grass is very long and it’s going to rain tonight, which will just make it all worse. So, it must be done.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

I’ve begun to lay the living room floor.  You have to be in the mood to do this because it’s tedious and exacting. That may not look like much to you, but it took about 3 hours. I stain each stick individually, let it dry, then cut it to fit into the jigsaw puzzle that is a wood floor. This room is trickier than normal because it isn’t just 4 walls. It has insets into the bay windows, and a kind of bump out on the left – all of it making this whole thing more challenging.

It’s also messy. Each piece has to be covered in glue. I usually use another clear glue, but I’m trying a white glue for part of this – just to see how it goes.

I know that other miniaturists cut a backing the size and dimensions of the room and attach the floor to it, but I don’t. This is the way I learned how to lay a wood floor many years ago when I first started on this hobby and all floors in my dollhouses are still intact and still secure. The only one that isn’t? The one in Don’s mini music studio and that floor was the kind that is made in a sheet. I had to re-glue the join recently.

I also stain each piece of wood before I attach it. I don’t wait until all of the bare wood pieces have been glued in place to stain the entire floor. I remember someone advising me that there is less chance of warp when you stain them individually.

So, we stick with what works, no matter how tedious! I’ll add some more ‘boards’ today. Then I’ll work on the baseboards – also a pain in the tush.

I’m using my favorite stain from Minwax that I’ve had for several years. It comes in a big tube. And, much to my surprise, it isn’t being made anymore! This is ‘walnut’ and I have another tube in ‘pecan.’ I must guard them with my life!

I also managed to detach the center window in the bay window and replace the acetate that had paint on it from the previous owner’s work on the dollhouse. I had to be very careful because I didn’t want to break any of the wood surround. But it worked and it’s much better for photos now.

Outside:

Those are little leaves on the big maple!

And here is the lilac update.

Heaven.

I am going to rake out a couple of small garden beds today. I want to sow my zinnia seeds and uncover the plants in the beds on the far side of the house.

It’s beautiful out there today.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Then I ate lunch and took a nap.

Today, I’m headed to the nursery as soon as I finish writing this post. I have a list of plants for the porch and the barrels, etc. Hopefully, more will have come in since I was there on Tuesday. Fingers crossed!

On the far side of the front yard, just beyond the lilac bush, the flowering quince has burst into bloom.

My favorite little crabapple, which sits just under the maple on the far side of the house. The larger crabapple just beyond this one has very few blooms. I think the unexpected frost had an impact. Darn!

Deep pink, soft pink and a pinkish white. So lovely!

So far, we’ve mowed the largest section of the front lawn and the corral, which Don mowed yesterday while I was raking out the bed. The back forty is okay for now as is the lilac side of the front lawn. Everything is so green! The maples have leaves, the shag hickory has buds, the ash has started to leaf out – the only trees not looking green at the moment are the catalpas and they are always the last to develop leaves. I guess they like to show off – after all, those heart-shaped leaves are huge!

Alas, my allergies have gone haywire with all the pollen in the air. So have Don’s, though he refuses to admit he has them. He does – they’re just not as insane as mine.

Okay, I’m going to throw on some old clothes and head to the nursery.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.