Month: July 2008

A little world

This is the doll house my parents made together – about 15-20 years ago. 

This house started off as a big piece of plywood, a book with plans and my dad in his workshop.  Mum did most of the landscaping, she made the flowers and plants and planters…  Photos of inside coming soon…

Ooo, ahh, ohh…

These photos are from the 4th of July festivities at my cousin’s house in Rhode Island. 

The fireworks were set off from the yard of their next door neighbor’s house, you know, the Sheriff’s house (where he lives with his wife the ex-cop)!!  Okey dokey. 

Anyhow, I used the “fireworks” setting on my camera – not too bad if I say so myself…

   

Instructions…

… who needs ’em.  Well, they do help preventing the house from burning down or ingesting melted plastic…  I did read the instructions, just maybe not completely…  here’s the result…

looking over my mother’s shoulder at the toaster oven with the volcano chocolate cakes heating – I asked – “Should the side of the pan be wilting like that?”  I jumped up, turned the oven off, grabbed the box and re-read the instructions…  Remove cake from all packaging (including plastic cup).  OOOHHHHH!!!  So I popped it out of the cup, put if back in the oven and finished the heating.  The plastic near the cake had not begun to melt so I figured it was ok… 

Such excitement…

Stuff

We all have it and someday it has to be cleaned out – my advice, start now.

In MA to help my mum begin to face moving out of the house she’s lived in for 43 years.  I grew up in this house and lived here for about 25 years.  Thankfully, my mum is not a hoarder – you’ve seen the shows!  Well she is in no way, shape or form like that – but there’s a lot of stuff.

Yesterday a very nice couple came by, they are antique dealers – they assessed a bunch of stuff and while the total was not staggering – it was nice to know that there is some money to be had for things that mum no longer needs or wants.

She and I have had numerous discussions about whether or not the dolls house that she and my dad made should come with her – I say unequivocally YES!  I do not want to her to get rid of it – it’s amazing!  Maybe I can post a photo later.  The antique dealers said – do not let a mover take that, you have to move it yourself.  Woo! Ok…  ugh!  Now the logistics of the move is running thru my head.  I have to drive up here to move the dolls house and room boxes in my car, but mum will have here car – so two cars to get to Virginia.  I know that is actually the least of my worries right now, but it’s a new wrinkle that I will work out!

Today, the guy who plows the house out in the snow came by and took a bunch pf wood that she had downstairs – my dad loved to build stuff – all kinds of stuff!!  So there was tons of wood and scraps and stuff – so Bob kindly took it from here, he will use what he can and dispose of the rest.

One task I have this week is to install a programmable thermostat in her neighbors house – Cathy doesn’t know I’m doing this but she’s been so kind to my folks for years and hse said she bought one once but took it back because she didn’t know what to do with it – so I’ll buy her one and put it in for her.

Anyhow there’s lots more stuff to go thru this week and time’s a wastin’…