A Second Breakfast Celebration

Happy Second Breakfast! It was a wild party- all the Dwarves showed up, shedding their scarves and hats hither and yon. Even Gandalf dropped by- he left his bag by the bookcase! I hope he remembers to come by and pick it up before the movie premiers- he might need it for his opening scene…

While they were planning their route to take on the Dragon Smaug, I noticed somebody eavesdropping by the door…

Do you see him? Bilbo is such a little fellow, he fits in with the Hallway décor!

 

 

 

Thorin insisted on writing up an Itinerary for the festivities, which Bilbo updated with a few necessary items, namely the Washing Up, which any good Hobbit can tell you is Very Important for any impending adventure preparations!

I suppose you’re interested in learning what they ate whilst planning their epic journey, eh? Well, there were a few things laid out…

Bunting makes a good, cheerful atmosphere for any planning party…

 

 

 

There were Sausages, nicely plump and browned in apple cider…

There was a good dish of gruel (requested by Bombur as an appetizer), and a plate of Cheese and Pickles…

A proper pot of Tea with a plate of Scones for Gandalf- notice that rather ostentatious saque by the bookcase…

A few boiled eggs for the youngsters Fili and Kili, along with a few choice jams, jellies, and mustard …

and lastly a beautiful crusty Beer Bread set out with a full crock of butter was set out for Thorin’s enjoyment.

  Gandalfs traveling bag caused quite a stir-  everyone had to go get his to show of their skills!

 

 

 

A bit of bunting was strung up to give a bit of cheer to the grim proceedings, and Gandalf threw a bunch of maps and travelogues on top of the bookcase when he sat down..

For some reason Bilbo has a model of the tavern The Foot and Fang on his bookshelf…

 

 

 

A few hours later they all took their leave after many “thanks’”  “lovely party’s” and several suspicious lumps in their sacks. Upon closing the door I discovered every last crumb had been swept up and even the heel from the loaf had been taken. Hrrumph! I don’t know whether to be glad- no leftovers to pack away- or despondent- no leftovers for lunch tomorrow! Oh well, at least now I know to make a bit more for next year’s party.

Thank you for stopping by our little Second Breakfast celebration- have a Great Weekend everyone!

A change in the weather

Today is the first cool day we’ve had in ages! It was overcast yesterday, but still muggy and hot. Ick. Today is much nicer, so nice in fact I just had to go out in it so I reworked the entire garden this morning at dawn! It was so cool and delicious! Tasha has been bitten by something- her little cheek has swollen up, but she’s a trooper! Not a peep out of her, so I’m not sure exactly when she was bit, I do know it was yesterday evening though. But this morning she was right there at the door cheering me on as I swiped down all the cobwebs and spider egg sacks I could find. Yeck! They had to go- bugs can be beneficial, but not if they are going to attack my baby!

Once I had finished clearing out the detritus of summer from the garden, I decided to turn mine eyes to the overgrown mess that has grown up over the years here on the blog.The book is still coming along, I have to wait til we can afford to print the monster out, thought the design still needs some work. This week I am messing with the layout of the blog template itself, as well as the content a bit. Today I want to try and create a new labeling system. It is tempting to just open up a whole new blog, but I can’t bring myself to do it so it’s forward with the cleanup of this one!

And because I simply can’t leave just a blank post up, here’s a picture of my lovely little Teddy Bear sunflowers- they are so cute! And only a couple of inches high- I may do these again this fall if I can manage it…

What end of summer projects are you taking care of this month?

Summer, oh my!

Where has the time gone? It’s August already! Lots of doings around these parts:

Movies! The new Batman, Spiderman, Iceage, Brave, Snow White and the Huntsman, Men in Black 3, Dark Shadows, and the Avengers- a lot of really good movies, and some not so great, but all were enjoyed as a break from the madness of life.

Walks! Finally we have settled into the rhythm of  life in this (hotter) new climate of ours, and discovered the perfect time and place for a good walk. Early morning finds us out a Lake Murray with the ducks, bunnies and those cheeky sparrows. Bliss!

Cooking adventures! Homemade tortillas (so easy! so delicious!), lots of curried chicken salads, grilled chicken, sautéed zucchini, and I found the most yummy feta cheese this summer…

New Crafting projects! Stonework houses (from paper grocery bags!), French Knots embroideries, metal mini painting tutorials from friends, birthday presents for friends (no spoilers!), and even some knitting getting done during the early evenings!

Late evening star viewing out in the garden…

Facebooking!

Pin(terest)ing!

Photographing! (new camera= renewed interest in taking pictures again)

Early morning weekly shopping= free time the rest of the day (yaay! Time for crafting again!)

Lots of Game Days- new venues, reconnecting with old friends, leveling old toons, and even some new character builds…

It’s going fast- time speeds by so quickly these days. I’m still working on the book- but I must say the time I’ve been able to allot to it has shrunk as the summer has progressed. So glad it’s almost done, though. Soon, soon!

So enjoy the rest of your summer, friends, and I’ll meet you all back here periodically for updates, news and fun.

Summer turned out to be far more involved this year, I do apologize for being away for so long. There has been lots of crafting, though. Some sewing of curtains, plenty of dinner parties, a tea party, and a few more bits accomplished on the Fairies house. (much annoyed mutterings there, I can tell you. They are much displeased with the contractor at this point.) Two skirts made- and a few being planned as we speak:

Green seems so cool and light right about now. I like floaty, elastic waisted A-line skirts for hot summers, but the green and blue paisley might look better as a fitted pencil,. We will have to see how many I get done before school starts.The summer was mild all through July, but August is proving to be difficult to handle. Hot, muggy, dry, long- it's all there. I can see the Autumn leaves starting to turn though, and the morning light is beginning to turn that golden, brassy light colour that heralds the coming of pumpkin weather... Fall is coming. Hopefully bringing some cooler weather in her bags. And so, I must turn my attention back to house buidling, for the fairies need somewhere warm to sleep, and mantles to hang their stockings for Santa to find. I just know they are up to trouble. Two just went by, heads bent together deep in discussion. Something about "eight tiny reindeer...ya think they are small enough to fit in the stable?"

!!!

Retro...fit!

The new doorframe is completed, and just in time. I caught one of the faeries trying to move a horse into the dining room this morning, tack and all. When she saw the new doorway, she just shrugged her shoulders and disappeared- hopefully not in a huff! Here's how the new doorframe looks:

The house on the right is the new addition, it will be the back of the house. Its' front door is the modification- I filled in the holes in the corners with punch outs and wood glue, let them dry, then sanded them down with fine sandpaper. Now I'm thinking of doing it to the front doors, too. We'll see. In the meantime, I have to take the addition apart to proceed with the rest of the mods. The frameout for the french doors that will lead into the greenhouse has to be cut, the greenhouse itself also has to be made, then I have to make the staircase narrower. I actually like the stairs that come with this kit a lot, they go together quickly and are pretty sturdy little things. I am enclosing them in a wall though, so they need the outside edges taken off. I'll have pictures of that next week. For now, the faeries are happily poring over the websites I found making their choices for the interior decorating schemes. They are of two camps about the idea: one still swooning over pinks and oranges, the other demanding greens and browns. Hmm.. a creamsicle, or boys club? Choices, choices...

Goodness this is easy!

Too easy, methinks. This could get addictive... So, a new blog. What's it about? My world is a never ending round of crafting, cooking, cleaning, and reading. Oh, my yes, the reading. Words are...magic, around here, hence the Blog Title. Anything your heart desires can be found in a book, and so here we are. Dollhouse miniatures, sewing- clothes and books, darling! This book, in particular, has been seeing a lot of action around here lately- Miniatures: How to Make Them, Use Them & Sell Them by Phyllis Meras.

Crafting, Sewing, Housekeeping, Homekeeping, people keeping, cat keeping- you'll see it all here eventually. For now, I want to show you a little something I call the Lady Mages' House. Its one of the dollhouse puzzles I've found at the local craft store.

So far, so good, but needs a little something, no? Stay tuned, craft-believers, there's more to meet the eye in this saga...