I Just Dropped In... To See What Condition My Condition was in....

To quote an old song title... I had Wednesday Witches here this week.  Then I started cleaning up the back yard.

It was a mess from all of the snow... It stayed on the ground for three days after. I have a mess in the back yard.

The orchids are the ones that I got last year at this time.  Yes.  They are re-blooming!

This is where I spent most of the morning.  I got one and a half bushes trimmed of all of the dead leaves and sticks. This is going to be a two day or maybe three day job.

I have a lot of trimming of dead wood to do.

I covered a lot of the plants and most are doing well. 

The Kumquat did well under a box and a cloth cover. I think that I am going to trim that one branch that sticks out to the right off. It looks strange to me.

Anyway, until I get the back yard back in order, I a going to keep plugging away at the yard.  It should only take a few more days. 

Tessie keeps following me around the garden and pointing out the things that I am doing wrong.  Did you know that that branch is supposed to stick out like that.  She won't let me cut it off.  I think that the next step is getting Tessie to agree that I am in charge of the back yard...

Then I will be going back in here and starting over again... It seems to get worse all by itself if I let it go for a couple of days.

I wonder if there are any professional work room cleaners? If there are, I am about to give up and hire them.  It seems to be getting worse.... Instead of better, like it should.

Hang in there.  I will be back to it soon.

See you in a few days.

Moving Right Along.....

I spent the morning in the bedroom and cleaned up the mess that you see here....

Then we went to a movie.  Big mistake! "The Favourite".  The costuming was all mixed up, the story was lame, and the background music was annoying... That's all I am going to say.  Some people evidently like it.  It is up for some awards.  I can't think of anything I would nominate it for.  Maybe for most annoying movie I have seen in a long time. 

Anyway, I think that I should have stayed home and cleaned up the rest of this table and more of the workroom...

 As you can see, I should have stayed home!

I could have had some of this cleaned up!

And some of this too!  Tessie didn't help at all whilst I was gone...

She and her pet snake stayed in bed until we got back...

This is the FIRST bed that I ever made in mini.  It is a copy of an early American rope bed.  See the ropes going in and out of the holes in the side? That's what held up the mattress in the old beds. 

Tessie seems to like it.  I am not going to argue with her.  Especially when she sleeps with the snake. My motto is never argue with "Monte Python".

Back to work. See You Tomorrow!

See You Tomorrow!

Cheating Just a Little...

I am doing just a few other things today... This sock has to be knitted to the end of the ruler and then I have to knit another one just like it. Seth's brother came back to Arizona for Christmas this year.  He is living in Michigan right now. Not a nice thing to do to an Arizonan!

Anyway, I waited to do his Christmas socks until I could measure his feet.  He and Seth are about the same. Eleven inches long!!! This could take another week or two, but I am determined. Then I will have to start on socks for everybody for next year...  I see a lot of socks in my future.  I want a few for myself too!


I also did a bit of planting this morning.  Actually, I planted this one a few days ago.  I am working on getting some roses back in the yard.  When we first moved here I had four rose bushes and lots of flowers.  Over the years they faded away.  I am starting over.

I also found this one at Walmart this AM. I think that a lot of you have been around long enough to know that I am fascinated with Euphorbias. Unfortunately, the pot that it came in just said Euphorbias/Assorted... I am going to have to see if I can find a photo on line to see if I can identify it.(more time spent out of the workroom!) Nope. I am not going to look for it now.  I am going back in the workroom and start sorting again!

Tessie is following me around with a whip and a chair.  Help! I am being harassed!

Back to work now.  See you tomorrow.

Just A Little More Time...

I miss you all.

I have decided to (once again) go through every box and drawer in the workroom. 

It may take me a week, but I am going to do it.  every time I decide to so something mini, I can't find anything!!!!

Tessie is no help at all!  She retreated to her cottage as soon as I started making lists of where things should go this time...

I may have to bake cookies to get her out of there.

This is the contents of one drawer!!!

The gem show starts Thursday... And I don't have room for more stones and beads.

 Some of it will go quickly.  George doesn't need anything but dusting.  The books just need rearranging by category. The room boxes just need a bit of sweeping up.

Once I get all of this cleaned out, I am ready to start on working every day.. Be it minis, beading, or knitting.  I just need ORDER in my world.

See you tomorrow.

Have a great day!!!

There Will Be A Slight Pause.....

 I am going to take a break from the trailer today and maybe tomorrow too...

The bedroom is almost un-walkable...

The workroom is barely walkable...  I can get from on side to the other.  I just can't find anything when I get to the other side.

The worktable in the bedroom is un-findable... You can't even see it under all the mess. I am going to work on finding the workroom and the worktable. They are both a total mess.  I will get back to work tomorrow.  That is if I can ever find the stuff I was working with and the stuff I was working on! See you tomorrow, with a new outlook on things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keeping It Clean!

Continuing the cleaning... Granted this didn't take much cleaning. I did it this morning before we went to an early movie.  We went to see Ant Man and the Wasp. Not a nominee for the Academy Awards, but a lot of fun if you like a movie where the shrink whole buildings and carry them around and hide them...

Anyway, this corner of the bathroom is now clean.  It is at one end of the tub and I have a Mesquite branch on the wall to hang necklaces on. I have had that on the wall for several years and now April is wanting to copy it.

The other two pieces with jewelry hanging from them are a rack from China.  I am not sure what the original use was, but it holds a LOT of bracelets.  The other one in the front is a large wrought iron candlestick that I found at Walmart years ago.  They were going in for all kinds of decorative items at that time.  I think that I paid about three dollars for it.  Again, it holds a LOT of jewelry.

I got the Rusty Needle cleaned out.  It is pretty easy. The whole thing is closed, so not a lot of dust gets in. 

I wish all of my minis were like that...

I wanted you to see the workroom!  I am doing what I said I would.  It is kept clean and straightened daily!

I can't believe that it has been clean for at least three weeks now!

I am really making an effort to keep it that way.

I don't let Tessie in there without supervision.

It's working!!! See you tomorrow.

This is Getting Ridiculous

I have been through every drawer and cupboard in this room TWICE!

I still haven't found the mirrors that I am looking for.  And I can't finish Tessie's dressing room until I do. 

Yes. Those are my toes at the bottom of the picture.  It looks like I am relaxing and enjoying the ride... I'm NOT!!!

There are a lot of boxes and drawers in this room and I swear that I have been through all of them.

I obviously missed one somewhere.  And it was the one with the mirrors inside!

I tried to get Tessie to help this morning. All she wants to do is play "Where's Tessie?".

She is in the last three photos.  Very easy to spot. She has Spike with her in all of them.

Here's a clue for you. In this one, she is in her latest room box.  Relaxing on the chase lounge.

Not too hard to spot. 

Anyway, I am going to give it one more try and then I am going to give up.  No mirror. No dressing table. That's all there is to it.

Then I have to find another way to go with the box.

She suggested that I take the house that she is hiding in on this wall and make her something completely new.  And different.

That makes me suspect that she knows where the darned mirrors are and is not telling.

They will probably appear, out of nowhere as soon as I am a goodly way into making her something new and different.

I am going back and look a little more. If I don't find them, I am going to make something for Zar or Spike. That will fix her.  I have the feeling that if that happens, she will suddenly come upon the missing mirrors in some out of the way place that I didn't think to look... Oh well. See you tomorrow.

Wednesday and Witches....

About twenty five or thirty years ago, I bought these eight rolls of fiber at Pic'n'Save.

They were 79 cents a roll and I bought them over a period of time(every time I went there). In those days, 79 cents was pretty expensive for mini supplies... I ran across them when I was cleaning the other day... They are great for making mini tassels.

I took them to the witchy meeting today and gave everyone some of each color. I told them if they used it up they could have more... I made holders for them to wrap the stuff on and then told them that they had to wrap it on the  holder themselves.  I started wrapping it at home and decided that it was going to take  me too long to do it. Thus the self wrapping.

As it was, it still took almost the whole meeting for me just to cut the pieces... I started a pair of socks after the cutting.  I didn't even get a whole row finished...

When I got home, I went to put the drawer of stuff back where it belonged and found another cabinet that needs cleaning out... This one is in the living room.

Here we go again.  At least Kota seems interested in helping... Actually, I think he is just hoping that I will clean it out so that he can have another place to take naps...

So much for having the workroom finished! There are other places that keep popping up to be cleaned.

Back to work.  See you tomorrow.

As Little as Possible...

We went to see "Tag" this morning.  It is about a group of men that have been playing tag for the month of May for the past 20 years.  Interesting. It is based on a true story. They showed the real people at the end. I think that they are still playing...

This photo is hard to see, but I put a bird feeder on the center log in the photo.

Tessie and Zar wanted nothing to do with helping, so I left them to their own devices.

Snakes, dogs and rubber chickens...

They ignored me totally.

I went into the workroom.  Covered the chair with a piece of zebra skin material.  Then I took the rest of the day off and watched several episodes of Supernatural. 

Bored much? Yup.  When I am I revert to watching Sam and Dean do their thing.

Then April and Amare called.  I am jealous of Amare.  They went to the zoo with his summer camp group and he got to PET a Rhino! I want to pet a Rhino!!!

Anyway, that's about all that happened here today... Not much in the way of minis.

See you tomorrow.

The Tree Is No More...

This is how the back wall is going to look until we get another tree... Maybe.  We haven't decided yet.  It's still under discussion.

I put the three lanterns in to fill the gaps for now. They will go if I decide to do either fairy stuff or birdhouses.

After I got the mess cleaned up, I came back inside and finished the drawers in the closet.  You will have to take my word.  They are as clean as they are going to be.

I can also find paint by color now. That's a great help.

 I moved the dressing room into the workroom.  I am still thinking that it needs the dressing table.  I don't think that Tessie would object to another dressing table.  The chair just somehow doesn't go. 

I am still looking for all of the missing mirrors.  They haven't turned up yet.

Meanwhile, I have these bookcases cleaned out.  No mirrors here.

I think that I will give up for the day and start again tomorrow. I have had enough fun for one day.  I want to do something more serious...

TV and a Doctor Pepper come to mind.

Back to it.  See you tomorrow.

The Monsoons Are Here!!!!!!!

This is what it looked like in the back yard about an hour a go...

We got this side of the yard pretty well cleaned up...

This is what I saved of the trunk of the tree and some of the larger branches.  As you can see, I still have a lot of branches lying on the ground...

I am NOT going out there to clean up the mess right now. It started raining again, so I opted for other activities...

I am back in the workroom doing more cleaning and straightening...

An hour after the first two photos were taken, this is what the back yard looked like... Just a bit damper than before....

Actually.  A lot damper than an hour ago! I am opting to stay in the workroom today. Thank goodness it is Saturday and that is legal.

I am going in there and keep warm.  I just looked out the window and the water is getting deeper by the minute!!!!

Now where did I put those water wings???

See you tomorrow.

New Stuff From Jeannie! Thank You Jeannie!!!

Jeannie had some more stuff that she didn't really want... I did!

Two Chrysnbon kits. Bathroom and kitchen stove. 

A desk that is beautifully done.  Signature on the bottom.  I am going to have to see if I can tell what it is.

A large block of balsa. I can always use that for overstuffed furniture.

Zar immediately grabbed the desk... He may have to fight Spike for ownership. Spike seemed to think that the top part would be a great place for him to sleep...

The last two items were something that I have wanted to make for years.  Now I don't have to.

They are a couple of Scandinavian Stoves. The real originals were ceramic and used to heat houses a couple of hundred years ago. They will have to be worked on, but that is easier than starting from scratch.

I am off now to fight Zar and Spike for possession of the desk.  Most of the other stuff, I can sneak into the workroom, before Tessie sees any of it. 

Back to hiding things from Tessie. See you tomorrow.

Is Everybody Happy?

I don't know about the rest of the crowd, but I am.  I decided(in the middle of the night) that I am going to devote Saturday and Sunday to doing things in the workroom.

I am going to clean and do projects that I can do in there. That way, maybe I can keep it clean. I started, this morning, with cleaning up a bit and then I started sorting the three drawers that were labeled "Tessie's Town House".

I dragged the little house into the bedroom and the Clockwork Cottage back to the top of the bookshelf.

 Zar immediately informed me that he was taking control of this house. It is a duplicate of Tessie's cottage that sits atop the jewelry chest.

He demanded equal space and time, since I was no longer working on his Clockwork Cottage...

I imagine that this is fair, since Tessie has a lot of real estate already.

The amazing thing is both of them are helping me sort and clean... I should say, the three of them.  Spike found his long lost dog bed from the townhouse and Zar offered him a place to keep it in the new cottage. It's better than the barrel that he has been occupying every night.

That should be an agreeable arrangement. The two of them get along well and are both willing to share...

Tessie? Not so much.  She has forgiven me for getting rid of the town house though. She found her favorite toy at the bottom of the first drawer we cleaned. She thought Super Chicken got sent off with the townhouse to a new owner...

So much for help from Tessie. She has been sitting on a table, crooning lullabies to it for the past hour...

I am about to quit sorting and throw all of them out in the back yard. It is 91 degrees right now.  I imagine it will increase a lot before noon.  That threat alone should shut them up!

I am liking the idea of doing Saturdays and Sundays in the workroom.  Maybe I can keep it straight if I do that. Wish me luck!  See you tomorrow...

Brickwork Is Finished!

Every time I finish something, the Terrible Two and friends have to make sure it is ok before I go on to another step.

I finished putting the rocks on the outside this afternoon.  They immediately climbed in with pets in tow and plopped down in the middle.

Mind you. Tessie made not one move to start filling shelves and hangers.  I am going to have to think of a bribe to get her to do her part. I ask you, is that right???

 I pulled the Christmas house down from the top shelf.

I am going to experiment on this one before I go on to the Clockwork Cottage.  If  the relief work goes well on this one, then I will try it on the larger house.

Right now, I am thinking that I will either do the relief work on the Clockwork Cottage or maybe all stone work with the DAS clay. 

For the time being, the Clockwork Cottage has gone back to the top of the bookshelf in the workroom.

And me? I am taking a couple of days vacation from minis.  I will get back to it.  Maybe tomorrow.  Maybe not. I am just enjoying a little time in a clean workroom... I don't want to mess it up. I just go in there to talk to George and watch TV.  See you tomorrow.

Time to Start Messing Things Up Again...

I tried the rooms where they are going to sit in the workroom.

They will be opposite where I sit to work. The terrible two are already in the dressing room.  They can't get in the bedroom without
Tessie zapping them.

I finished the beadwork cabinets.

Then I did a lot of relabeling drawers and boxes this morning.

Everything looks pretty good.  It won't take long to get it messy again... Thus the title for the blog today...

I do believe that I am going to have at it and try to get the Clockwork Cottage finished after a couple of days.

I still need a day or two to finish the outside of the dressing room.

Back to work.  See you tomorrow.