JUST LIKE PAINTING THE

 FORTH BRIDGE ! 

So finally the weather is lovely and it was time to get into the studio for the big clean !

This is what I am faced with, having taken this photo after I had already moved a few bags and boxes.

The other side just as you walk in.

AFTER

A start as been made and most of the boxes and bags that were covering most of the floor are now

out on the patio table.

I did manage to put a couple of items away as I worked. But there is much more to do sorting out and tiding.

Ava , who was changed the other day into this new dress from Ginny at a Passion for Sasha , which along with a few other dresses as been waiting for the days to warm up before being used.

Ava is checking out the old dresser , that I asked Dad to put some wood along the shelves , to stop the plates from falling down when standing at the back.

So it's out in the sun drying.

Now the age old idea of giving it a coat or two of paint has risen it's head again.  I believe this was

made by a dad or hobbyist, from a plan in a woodworking magazine. So if I do paint it , I am not ruining a vintage old piece. But like every time , I'm in two minds ! But I think this time I may go for it ! 

Ava say's it should be painted blue, to go with the proper vintage one that stands on the other side of the cooker, in the doll studio's doll kitchen. I think that is a good idea for the colour, but there are others who disagree ! 

A LOVELY SUNNY SUNDAY

 

So what a beautiful week we have had weather wise ! Lovely warm sunny day's , cold nights but who cares about that , by then your in bed lovely and snuggly. Yes from a plant point of view a few may have had to return to the greenhouse for the night but you believe just over the hill is that gorgeous late spring warmth.

Due to the lovely weather , it's all been about sorting the garden. With Paul carrying on with those long awaited jobs.

The long awaited wide path/paved area to my doll studio is finished ! I have only been mentioning this every so often for a few years. But now it's been done, the last of the bigger bricks have been used up.

We have brought two of the troughs round from the front garden, where over the years they have been getting overshadowed by the plants in the border.

The fight will be stopping Paul from filling the area with pots of plants!

Also his statue arrived on Friday ! 

I'm pleased to say that it's much smaller than I thought, so I'm not worried about him being in the garden. More about his placement and arrival on the garden blog on Monday.

Now Paul's finished working on the space in front of my doll studio, next week I am hoping to get out there and start clearing it out and sorting the whole space back into order. Also along the way find a couple of missing items of clothing. 

I did receive a couple of dresses that Michelle made for a couple of my Roche dolls, so that was a nice parcel to arrive.

Michelle is an excellent dress maker for the dolls and always willing to have a go at a non Sasha item if she can.

Today's headliner is Ginny again but this time she has changed into her summer outfit now it's warmed up. She wearing the new Petrana outfit that I treated myself to a couple of weeks ago.

I do think these younger looking prints work well on Ginny. She , to me , is a younger Sasha, like Toby and Zak.

On the sales front, still slow but the odd item going now and then, which is helpful as if you know anything about me , you will know that there is always another doll casting their pretty face at me and whispering about how nice it would be to come live in the village or the family of dolls !

I will sort out more un needed items to sell while cleaning the doll studio, hopefully some will not take too long to leave and so open up more space. I need to also stop knitting or find another pattern, as I keep knitting the same thing and don't really need any more at the moment. 

This coming week , along with sorting out the doll studio, I need to start changing the dolls into the summer clothing or summer will arrive and they will all be sweltering in the warm clothing.

So I wish you all a lovely happy healthy week ahead.

Dee

x

I HIVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT !

 Back in 2023 , we were rearranging things in the garden and decided to move the twins garden shed.

It's had not been 'used' for a while due to it being quite low down for an aging lady with bad knees to use.

Upon inspection , it was in need of a refurbish.

The base it was sitting on had rotten in a few places.

Also the roof needed to be removed because . . .

A mini bee hive ! 

Amazing how this little hives are formed.

c

In the apex of the roof.

z

Repaired and put back together.

Since it was repaired it's been sitting in this corner on a small raised area, but it's too low for me to use properly. I am considering getting Paul to make a wooden shelf across this area between the shed on the left,  out of view and the doll studio seen behind it. But I am off up the garden to see if it could maybe go somewhere on the raised bed on the way to the greenhouse.

Either way I need to re stain it and find it a workable place before summer, so the dolls can start using it properly.

MID APRIL SUNDAY

 

 The weather this week has been lovely, yes the odd cold night but mainly nice and bright, with a wind which helps get the washing dry. It's that sort of weather that makes you grab all those bigger items that need washing and need to get out on the washing line to get nice and dry.

I washed my second new set of bedding at the beginning of the week, so it's all ready to be used once the bedroom is finished. Although I want to buy some new sheets to go with them both.

We are still waiting on our new wallpaper to be delivered.

Now that spring has truly sprung, Paul's back outside getting some of those long awaited small jobs done.

One of them was to tidy up this edge beside the patio. When the fish pond was , were the patio now is, it didn't matter as it was hidden by the back of the fishpond and the bed holding the Magnolia, but the fish pond was removed a good few years back and the edge remained as a row of old broken bricks from were we'd removed a low wall not long after we first arrived. 

When going round the garden last week, I pointed it out to Paul and we discussed what to do, which was to add a row of the grey blocks along to the end to link in with the existing grey blocks, where we step up onto the path. We also had some pretty garden edging, that had been removed again a few years back, from another part of the garden and needed a new home. So this is now edging the new blocks. Just need the cement to dry and then the job can be finished.

I do love it when we can improve something and make it look better and at the same time use things that we already have and so it costs us either nothing or next to nothing like this little tweak. Plus it also removes them from just sitting around without a home/use.

He also started on the long awaited (by me ) paved area to lick the doll studio to the main path. When we put the studio in, we added about three to four foot to the base that already existed. But this left the door that opens into the studio with only half a step. So when leaving the studio , you need to make sure you don't fall out on one side ! So Paul will be adding that missing area of step along with putting in the paved area. It will be made up with old bricks that we have had laying around since we built the folly.

I splashed out on a Petrana outfit this week and decided that Ginny would be the perfect girl to wear it. However when I went and got her, I just loved her in what she was already wearing, so decided I'd have to find another girl to wear the new outfit first ! Or wait until it warms up a bit more then change her! 

So Ginny landed up being today's headliner. Which meant she got to enjoy today's burst of sunshine, that alas does have a chill beneath to warn us it is still April. I sometimes wonder if I should try and get her cut fringe redone but can never make up my mind. I would hate it to change how she looks.

On the doll front , just a bear went off to a new home, but I really need to get my act together and start listing those things that need to go. Also if the weather warms up towards the end of this coming week I will get out into the doll studio and empty it ! Which will also throw up things that can be sold on along with hopefully a couple of missing pieces of clothing I need to find. At the moment I am fight a head virus that makes me feel dizzy on and off ! Hopefully it will have finished by the middle of this coming week !

On that note I will wish you all a happy healthy week ahead and hope to have lots of tales to tell next week 

Dee

IN PRAISE OF DUNGAREE GIRLS

So the theme on this week's Sasha Study group on FB is Dungaree's and Ballet girl's with red hair. The Dungaree girls are one of my absolute favourites of the Sasha's especially, yes you have guessed it, the 68 girls'.

Above is sweet Paige, a dungaree's girl I saw and fell in love with on Shelly's website back in the day. I plucked up courage and asked if it was possible to do a longer than usual layaway on her ? Much to my delight , her owner, a lovely lady in the US, was happy to agree. So over several months money was gathered and passed on, a storyline built and then she arrived. 

She stayed with me for many years but then for some strange reason I put her up for adoption ! So she moved on to a new mum , I was far to fickle a doll mum back in those days.

Then it took me right up until late last year to add another to the family, Henrietta or Hettie as we call her.

Hettie came out into the garden , having been changed out of her sweater and trousers and into this lovely Ruth Hartley dress set I picked up off ebay. It came with the socks , which are a perfect match for my new Rosie Bloom shoes! 

Posing on the fish pond .

a closer look 

That bench needs painting before the garden is opened ! 

a closer view

closer still, look at that face ! 

We cannot tell the time if you stand there Hettie !

Getting some sun

Can you see the time? 

Changing sides does not help us see the time ! 

"what do you mean time for your close up Mr De Mille ? Do I look like a man ? "

" Fair enough, who can tell these days ! "

Lastly standing on the rockery near the house.

I have to say that now having spent some time with her out and about in the garden, I feel the need for another couple! A lovely set of triplets !  Only problem is I have a greater need to afford them , the money !! 

Aw well just another doll or two to add to that ever growing list . . . . .

A SUNDAY IN SPRING

 

A bright windy Sunday in April. This week seems to have galloped by partly I believe because Monday was Easter Monday, so that makes the week appear somewhat shorter. On Friday we when to West Sussex to visit with our youngest daughter , her husband and the grandchildren. Now the nights are lighter we spent longer with them. Also because Dad was required to help refit a new handle to the bathroom door with an attached lock.  The princess is growing so fast and loves of all things maths ! at which she is very good. The little prince mean while does ask during each week if school is done for the week , he goes in but he is still getting used to having to everyday ! 

He is still waiting to hear when his op will be, supposedly before summer , but with the militant doctors keep striking, who knows. 

The children are into the new Scooby Doo cartoons, so we had to play some detective games, where they were the inspectors and I played all the suspects. I have to say I could have won an academy award if it had not been a family only show ;) lol

I have to confess I fell into a few Easter sales over the weekend, nothing I didn't need, well okay I didn't need new bedding at this time, but that is only because I tend to buy quality bedding that will last twenty plus years or more. But they did have lovely bedding reduced and then with another added bonus reduction if bought over Easter. So I confess I did slip happily down that slope and bought a couple of sets.

It arrived Friday and one set washed and dried this morning, since it's a lovely windy day. Red I hear you say I thought you were doing green with pink touches. Well yes but this red has a lovely sage green edging and reverse. With the walls now in a white with green leaves, it should look fine.

Underside but due to light, it looks paler but is a lovely sage green.

Paul's eyes and feet have turned towards the garden ,now the sun is showing it's face and things are growing. We agreed last year to take part in the village garden open day this year, now we have had the paved circle done and the raised beds replaced so it's safe to walk around. But I am pleased to say he is still doing bit's and pieces in the bedroom while we wait for the wallpaper to arrive.

Paul wants to add one of these monk statues to the garden. The cowl is open and birds can use it as a nesting box. I'm in too minds. Would it give me the heebie geebies !( the empty cowl /missing face ) and therefore make the area where it stands spooky? or would it give a serene calm feel ? It stands five foot two from top to bottom and most likely place it would go is on the circle in front of the moon gate image. I am beginning to come round to the idea . . . .

I received a surprise parcel in the post, these lovely RB and mini Easter eggs, she is a very naughty but nice friend , who knows my weaknesses well ! 

Today's headliner is Cleo wearing her new mandarin collared cat dress by Ginny of A Passion for Sasha on Etsy. The raised collar is Cleo's style choice. 

On the doll/ clear out front, a couple of items have left for new homes, which is good a tiny bit more space, however I did buy from  the Rosie Bloom release of new shoes. I do find her shoes very hard to resist, it tends to be if the colours I like have already sold or if I already have them, that I manage to walk away 

I still need to get into my studio for the big clear out and put back and to find the missing outfit and also a long lost pair of VS pants . Once they say the weather is dry and warm I will be out there fighting my way through, cleaning and labelling. It will probably take me a month if I do it properly but will make a big difference to me being able to find things and use the space.

So things are happening in the house, the garden and soon the studio ! On that note I will wish you all a happy healthy week ahead, while I go see how I can pay for Paul's birds nest !!

Dee