A Doll's House

I will start by offering an apology to any of you who are seriously into the miniatures game, which I (clearly) am not. There was a time I thought I would be, circa 1992-ish (???), and that's when I bought this lovely piece of work:

I actually bought it as a kit, built it, painted it and decorated it. Then I furnished it with items I made myself from balsa wood, cardboard, foam and fabric scraps, using plans from a book I checked out of the local library. 

The wallpapers were purchased from a shop that specialized in miniatures, and the patterns are to scale for the house. 

Carpet in the living room, bedroom and sewing room are small cuts from upholstery samples I found while perusing for craft supplies, and the kitchen floor is fashioned from scraps of wallpaper, glitter and a clear-coat varnish of some sort.

The upstairs carpeting was created from 1-inch squares of felt, and that is probably one of my favorite parts of this dollhouse. I glued them down one at a time!

I made curtains for all the windows and doors, using fabric, lace and ribbon scraps I had laying around, because I have always been into all of the crafts, and sewing is no exception! All-in-all, this dollhouse was so dear to me that I never let my daughter play with it. I'm a little embarrassed about that, because she really wanted to play with it...and it is a toy...but I held fast for some reason. 

I do still have a couple of the wood pieces I made, and the original chair and sofa. But balsa wood is weak, and when I finally let a couple of kids play with the darn house, many of them bit the dust. The original beds (with their fancy, curvy, carved frames and headboards) and sewing table (with it's impossibly skinny legs) are no more. 

As I entered into my knitting years, I crafted some dolls of an almost appropriate size, 

and they did need a place to sleep, so I eventually made three beds in plastic canvas for them a few years back. The dolls have been pretty happy with those, and there have even been a couple of sleepovers with the barbies...but there is (sadly) not much photo evidence of that.

When Jess was too old to play with the dollhouse, I gave it to a friend whose daughters were also not allowed to play with it (although I told their mom that I wanted SOMEONE to play with it). Then I had my first grandchild, a girl. One of those other girls that couldn't touch the dollhouse growing up contacted me, asking if I wanted it back for this new dear girl to play with. What goes around comes around, isn't that what they say?

So I have had the dollhouse in my little house again for the past 10 years or so, and my granddaughters have LOVED playing with it! My daughter is still a little resentful, so she doesn't play with it, and she has two boys that probably won't play with it. (To be fair, the trim is splintering and falling off, and the pieces inside are probably no longer as safe as they may have once been...and the boys do have other dolls and many, many toys!)

So, in my continued Cleanout of 2021, this one will be leaving my home. Just about everyone is ready to see it go, but I blog it to hold onto the memories, and to remind myself to let the kids play with the toys already! There is nothing so precious as the heart of a child, and aren't we all kids at heart sometimes? So play with the kids, and play with the toys, and live in the moment today...because tomorrow is never guaranteed.

Do you have a favorite childhood toy memory? Drop me a comment, and tell me about it!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Cleanup Update!

The cats are super stressed out by The Great Cleanout of 2021. Or not...

They weren't even bothered when Bernie joined them!

We are making progress, and today the Mister got involved, cleaning off the shelves that used to be over the bar...you know, the one we tore out when Allen was 9 or 10... He also cleaned off the window sills down there. Busy morning!

This box now holds most of the bar paraphernalia, and a couple more things, that were gifted today to a guy who still has a bar! Perhaps we will visit The Blue Room to see our stuff sometime...and perhaps not. We gave him permission to toss what he doesn't want...lol!

Getting rid of stuff is stressful, but also freeing. I feel somehow lighter! I am not somehow lighter...not at all...but I feel lighter, and that is something!

I think I'll go sit in the sunshine with the cats and knit something. Make it a good day, friends!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

The Great Cleanout of 2021

So, last week, I introduced you to Swedish Death Cleaning , and today marks the end of week 2 in the Great Cleanout of 2021 in my home. That means I have more treasures to show you before they are relegated to charitable donations (or the trash...some of this stuff goes directly to the bin...lol!) First up is band paraphernalia!

I started in the band in 4th grade, playing the flute. In 5th grade, I tried the clarinet, which I played through the end of 6th grade. Over the summer, I learned how to play the trumpet, which I continued until I graduated high school. Along the way, I also played the trombone for a bit and the french horn for my senior year of concert band and orchestra, alongside the trumpet for marching band, jazz band and pep band. Yes, I was in all the bands! Concert uniforms included blue pants and jackets, and these beauties:

Through the years, I collected sweatshirts (see above) and jewelry and buttons representing my love of band (and music...I have always loved music!) and some other fun things, too.

See the national honor society pins?

Wow! Buttons from the 1985 inauguration
I attended with the BHS marching band!

But that's not all! No, that's not all! In the 6 boxes I took out of the attic to empty, I also found Pop Pop's old Navy uniform (look! the hat still fits! lol), a sweatshirt I made my dad when my kids were very small (December 1992) and my Girl Scout sash from Juniors! 

I'm not sure my dad ever wore this. It has been 
in a box, in my attic for 25 years.

Six boxes. That's 6 boxes my kids will not have to go through when I am gone. Allen and Jess, you're welcome! Also, there are some fun things I found that I will soon be sending your way! 

And the song that runs through my head while I have 25 years of the attic strewn about the living room starts, "From the window, to the wall! 'Til the sweat drips..." The rest of the lyrics are probably inappropriate for my family blog, so I won't post a link... (The song was released in 2002, and I can't believe it lives in my head! Maybe I can blame that on having teenagers in that time period! Lol...)

As I get ready to print my 2020 blog book, I am reminded that my blog is a great place to store my memories, and no one has to clean out the attic if I store them here! And yes, I do print my digital content...it may go up in a fire someday, or it may be something my kids fight over (No! I want Mom's Blog Books!...yeah, probably not), or it may just be a tangible reminder I can look at whenever I want. Perhaps it will give Allen and Jess a chance to do some Swedish Death Cleaning of their own in 30 or 40 years!

From the window the wall, thanks for stopping by, friends! Whatever the status of your junk, may you Knit in Good Health today and always!

Re-Evaluating

With the world in its current state, I am re-evaluating some things. I'm not offering solutions or pledging my faithfulness to anyone in particular (well, except Jesus...and Pop Pop), but all the dismay in our country has me thinking. So. Much. Thinking. It has impacted my 2021 knitting mojo, and these mitts are all that I have worked on in the last 7 days...

I also think I am stalled out because I bought a bit more yarn over the holidays than usual. I'd show you a picture, but I am a little embarrassed. This also got me to thinking, "If Jesus came back today, how would he feel about my 'treasures' here?" Because I think he could come back any time now...so I feel like I should take a hard look at my stuff...like, I found this in a closet this week...

A radio from a car that we bought when the kids were learning to drive...15 years ago. Our son took this radio out to put in a better one, and I told him to keep the old one. So there it was, in the closet of his old bedroom, with his baseball trophies (which will become his treasures the next time we see him).

In the last week, I have cleaned out 3 closets and some basement craft supplies, and I have filled the big, black trash can out back twice. This led to the finding and organizing of over 750 photos (there are more, I have to get more albums), and these great finds...

1982

1993

1997

I feel like most of my fashion and hair decisions in the 80s and 90s were made under the influence of hunger, as I was always dieting. But, looking back, I have no regerts! (Future me, this is not a typo. It is a reference to a commercial for Snickers that takes place in a tattoo parlor...ha!) In fact, it is almost my duty to share these photographic treasures. Look at all the joy and laughter that just brought to my blog friends and family! (You're laughing with me, right?)

Back to the point...I feel good about my progress, and I plan to keep going. Less junk is less to clean, and less for my kids to clean out if I leave before Jesus does come back (see Swedish Death Cleaning...which I heard about in a blog this week...lol!). And if Jesus does come back first, I will feel so much better (I hope) about the treasures that I do have left.

So, if you need me in the next couple of months, check the nooks and crannies of my house (I should be easy to find as it gets less cluttered). Or maybe check that bin of yarn over there...hopefully all this cleaning out will also lead me back to the knitting mojo. 

I hope that your knitting mojo is strong, and that you are in a relatively good head space. I am getting there, I assume!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." 

-Matthew 24:42-44

New Year, Same Pretty

It is only day two, but so far this year, I have made some accomplishments:

I finished a project I started last year (ok, on December 29th, which was last year), a pair of birthday gloves. 

I cleaned out a closet. (I know, it is still cluttered...you'll have to trust me that it is better, or ask one of my kids!) 

And I went through some old photos, uncovering this gem (which you may already have seen on Facebook or IG).

The latter was prompted by the recent loss of my mom's sister, my Aunt Mickey. 

My mom and her sisters were like those little monkeys you sometimes see in figurines depicting "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." When they were together, they had a lot of fun! Sometimes they kept each other out of trouble (I think my mom may have been the biggest troublemaker...), and I am sure that sometimes they spurred one another into mischief!

Through it all, they leaned on one another...even when they weren't always happy with each other. Their sisterhood, both literal and figurative, is what sisterhood should be. I can only imagine the heart-voids my mom and her older sister are experiencing, and I feel it too.

As I grieve with my mom and aunt, my uncle, and my cousins, I remember most that my Aunt Mickey always made me smile! A few years back, for my 50th birthday, she sent me a singing card that proclaimed "50's the New 40! At least it is on you!," and that card made my whole year! 

I remember calling my aunt to check in, while she was recovering from some procedure or other, and she lifted my spirits and told me how much she loved seeing photos of my grandchildren on Facebook. 

I remember the birthdays that were made special by a "16 box" or a "21 box," I can visualize her eyes lighting up as she counted out 16 band-aids or 21 q-tips to include.

I remember once going with her to a wedding, she had made the cake, which was "drooping" in the heat of that summer day. In the lobby of the church, I watched her stuff styrofoam plates into one of the layers to level it, then frosting over the fix and attaching sugar flowers she had made from royal icing to finish the repair. I also remember that we left that wedding long before the cake was cut! 

I remember spending a week with my cousin Mary (her only daughter, Mary had 3 brothers) at Aunt Mickey's tiny house in the summer...I was 12 or 13. One day, it was my turn to take out the trash, and I did not know how to do that. It wasn't a chore I did at home, and I was literally clueless as to how and where to take that trash bag out! She was gentle (through her laughter), and she taught me a new thing. 

My Aunt Mickey taught people to laugh by laughing...I rarely saw her without a smile close at hand.  She taught people to love by loving them well...I never have to look far to see many who were loved by her, even in their less-than-lovable moments (myself included). She taught us to cook and to bake, and she has children, grandchildren and other relatives (like me!) who will do our best to be sure her recipes go on, and that our families are loved through taste-buds and tummies as well as hearts. 

It is hard to start this new year in the knowledge that I will not see her smile again, except in pictures, so I am going to keep looking at the pictures. I will not taste her cooking, except when I follow her recipes, so I will keep cooking. I will not hear her encouragement, except in my memories, but I can keep encouraging others. 

Uncle Bill, Billy, David, Mary and Jimmy, spouses and kiddos and significant friends and family, I am so sorry for your loss, but I know she would not want us to dwell. As we grieve, let's also do all we can to spread the joy she has left behind...and let's make 2021 a good year! 

Live, Laugh and Love well, like Aunt Mickey did.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!