Enough with the dollhouses already!

Would it surprise you to learn that I get a teensy bit obsessive about things some time?

I've committed a serious crime and my house is presenting me with compelling evidence of my lack of attention to house work.

The dust bunnies have joined forces and are about the size of a small dog right now. And you can't even imagine what the laundry is doing!

Guilty, as charged.

Francais Dollhouse

There's a new contractor in town trying to muscle in on my business. She's cheap, she's efficient, and she works quickly.

Check out this new infill Lizzie built this past weekend.

Two storeys, plus a basement and deck.

I love the green walls in the bedroom. Doesn't the little doll look cozy in the popsicle stick bed?

This girl likes a house with colour. The blue walls contract nicely with the green carpeting in the kitchen. Is that indoor/outdoor carpet? Bold choice.

And she has wallpaper in her living room too. Blue and orange. Lovely colours and such a fantastic pattern.

Of course every modern dollhouse needs a computer station. How did we live without computers?

The bathroom is small but functional. Maybe there's an outdoor shower?

Extra storage in the unfinished basement. I think I see some leftover popsicle sticks for future projects too. Good thinking, Lizzie.

And just like in my real house, the laundry is in the basement. How nice that a chair is provided for some comfort. Looks like there's some laundry to be folded. I always procrastinate on that part too.

This was Javier's request. A hot tub to warm the soul and soothe tired, achy muscles.

Gee, this contractor is good. I better get a move on with the Nutkin house before she comes in and pushes me out of business!

Nutkin Surprise

The Nutkin's house is really coming along. The interior walls are up and some new furniture has already arrived. Mrs. Nutkin is driving the builder crazy trying different furniture configurations before the glue (I mean, drywall paste) is even dry.

Mrs. Nutkin is a stylish young squirrel. She has fully embraced the wallpaper trend. Mr. Nutkin was hard to convince, but I think he agrees that this Orla Kiely wallpaper in the living room is delightful.

It's so exciting decorating a new home. Especially one from scratch. The new appliances have arrived.

Mr. Nutkin is thrilled to have a proper stove at last. He is rethinking all the white cupboards and appliances however. Perhaps he may swap them out for some more trendy stainless steel. They are considering cork flooring in the kitchen for comfort, plus some butcher block counter tops. I guess it depends on how creative the builder is going to get.

The walls in the bathroom are partially painted. The lower half of the walls are awaiting subway tile and tile floor. Not fans of gold fixtures, the Nutkins are hoping to resurface the taps with silver finish.

Here's a picture of the young couple. They decided to spend the afternoon doing some yard work. Mrs. Nutkin is not working too hard though, because of the surprise...

Mrs. Nutkin is expecting! The prospective parents are a little concerned because multiples run in their families and their new home may not be big enough. Hmmm. Perhaps another new house will be necessary.

Today's special at the Oliver Rain Cafe

Hello! Are you hungry? Why not come in for a bite to eat?

We serve breakfast all day. Eggs, bacon, and whole grain toast is always yummy. I think the chef may have browned the toast a little too much.

It's still pretty chilly around here. Perhaps some hot chocolate is in order? With marshmallows of course.

And if you care to stay for dinner we offer a hearty meal of turkey, baked potato (slathered in melting butter), and peas.

All food is carefully prepared by our house chef, Lizzie.

Real estate

Good news! There's a new family moving into the neighbourhood. Meet the Nutkins.

Mr. & Mrs. Nutkin are newlyweds who've been renting until now. Poor things. Their landlord hasn't been very willing to fix up the place.

Mr. Nutkin loves to bake. He's doing pretty well with this old wood stove but would prefer newer appliances.

Mrs. Nutkin wants her own home. She's sitting at the dining table, sipping hot tea and enjoying cake, while daydreaming about wallpaper and new sofas and fireplaces.

She also wishes the roof didn't leak every time it rains. The darn rental house needs a new roof pretty badly. Miserly landlord.

Mr. Nutkin wishes they had windows. It gets a bit drafty in the winter.

And of course there needs to be room for sewing in the new house. Mrs. Nutkin is very crafty, you know.

After looking around, the Nutkins decided to build their dream house.

They picked the Arthur Limited Edition by Greenleaf. What luck! We have one in stock right now. And guess what?

The Nutkins hired me to be their builder and decorator.

What fun!

10 for 2010

January 19th isn't too late for New Year's resolutions is it? I've been thinking about them since the beginning of the month. That should count for something, right?

1. Stop being guilty for doing nothing on my days off.

2. Be nice.

3. Preserve something this summer. Pickles or jam or something like that.

4. Play in the snow. Once, just once.

5. Be patient. With people. With circumstances. With myself.

6. Learn to swim.

7. Pray.

8. Accept my body.

9. Cook more meals.

10. Start running again.

So there you go. These are my promises to myself this year. I really hate the whole idea of resolutions at New Year's, but I need some goals.

Neighbours

Well, I'm being slightly more productive. Laundry was done (& mostly folded and put away). Dishes were washed. Stuff always gets done eventually around here.

I was feeling a bit sad yesterday. Board meetings can be difficult at times. Put a dozen opinionated women (plus the occasional brave man) in a room together for 2 1/2 hours and someone's feelings are bound to get hurt. Mine got bruised, which left me feeling a little wary about my fellow human being. I was pretty wired after the meeting so I couldn't sleep.

PLUS, some person complained about ice on our sidewalk, which prompted a visit from the by-law officer! In our defense, shiftwork, holidays, sickness, and the fact our sidewalk is busy with pedestrian who pack down the snow faster than we can shovel it, creates a lot of difficulty getting our sidewalk cleared of snow. We've had some above seasonal temperatures the last week or so, so the snow melts quickly but turns to ice at night. We, of course, would have felt very badly should someone have fallen and hurt themselves on our sidewalk, and will probably do everything in our power to ensure that this type of ice build up never occurs again, but still. They called by the by-law officer. A kindly worded note would have worked too.

So, our sidewalk looked a lot like this. Only worse. This is after we (meaning mostly Javier) cleared away some ice. It was back breaking and arm exhausting work.

So I was feeling a bit delicate emotionally yesterday and very, very tired.

Javier and I took turns clearing the sidewalk. I'd like to emphasize that Javier did most of the work. We got most of it done in the afternoon. I sprinkled the remaining ice with some environmentally-friendly snow melter and we planned to finish the rest after dinner.

And this is where my faith in the goodness of humanity was restored.

Our very, very kind neighbour finished clearing the ice from the rest of the sidewalk while we were both out! "It was fun", he said. How nice is that? There are still good people in my world.

And I am very happy about the sunny weather, though it makes for very messy and wet footwear and dirty cars. I'm able to go out in just a sweater instead of a heavy winter coat.

I think I may have heard the lions panting from heat exhaustion yesterday. If it gets any warmer, maybe I'll have to swap the scarves out for sun hats and SPF!