Fall is in the air

Today I spent about an hour outside.  It was a much needed break from the fumes of refinishing wood floors and I had to do something while the first coat of Poly was drying.

It was about 80F degrees outside but on the deck was a nice crisp layer of leaves and acorns. Even in the warm temperatures I could see the changes in the shadows and there was a breeze rustling through the drying leaves on the trees.

Yep, Fall is in the air and it is this time of year that I always start thinking about Halloween.  Now if you didn't know it, that is my absolute favorite holiday ever.  When else can you dress up and be as stupid looking as you want to be and nobody cares at all?

Case in point...me last year at a Halloween party.  Theme was clowns and since real clowns scary the living crud out of me, I decided on insane killer clown.  Was a hit at the party and you should have seen the looks from the customers at IHOP when we stopped for a late-night breakfast. HAHA

 

For many years I worked for a haunted house in Charlotte, NC and I really miss doing that.  It started out as a way to make a little extra money and by the time I left there I had been in a few TV commercials and even made the cover of a local newspaper.  Nothing like giving people the chills to make for a satisfying night of work. BWUHAHAHAHAHA!

 

 

Since this blog is really supposed to be about my miniatures, I thought I would toss out a few pics of a little fella I made a couple years back.  His name was Jacob and he was a troubled soul.  He is about 8" tall from the base to the top of his head.  I used plastic skeleton parts as a base, but the remainder was constructed by me, including the feathered/flocked crow.

 

You should never work with black magic if you don't know what you are doing, especially if your fellow villagers frown on that sort of activity...it can be bad for your health.

 

His name was Jacob, on a farm he did toil.
No matter his efforts nothing grew from his soil.
He was caught by the village asking aid from below.
Now he hangs in his field, just him and a crow!

 

 

 

 Till later!

New Craft Room/Office

Some of you may know this, but most probably don't.  Besides my miniatures, I'm a huge fan of Tiki and the Tiki Era. I'm not talking the brightly colored stuff that shows up in the party stores in the summer, I'm talking the old Polynesian restraunts that sprang up in the 40s and 50s and remained popular until the 70s.  I collect vintage mugs and memorabilia.  When we purchased the new home, there was a small bedroom that I quickly claimed as my office.  Not only will it be were I work on my miniatures, but it will also be my little slice of Tiki heaven.  A quiet getaway where I can relax and dream about being in a far-off land, sipping MaiTais and enjoying the tropical breezes. 

I am guessing that this small bedroom belonged to the daughter. 

 

 

With some paint on the walls, the floor redone and some creative molding to cover the horrid vinyl wallpaper trim, it is starting to get that tropical feeling.

 

 

Next came some of my vintage decor on some new shelves.

 

 

 

Hopefully it won't be long now till I'm able to sip a nice tropical drink in this chair and dream about what new minis I can create.

 

 

 

Till later!

Gosh...been a year already?

I can't believe that my last post to my blog was almost exactly a year ago on October 6th, 2011.  So much has happened since then and I felt I should come on here and tell y'all about it before you all assumed that I disappeared or was sucked into the Bermuda Triangle or something.

As most of you know, my mother passed away in April 2011.  I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase my dream home with what mom provided me and I have spent the last 9 months working on a lifesize home instead of my miniatures.

 

 

The home had been vacant for over a year and was neglected. What was advertised as an inground pool in the fenced backyard should have read "large swamp-like hole in the ground surrounded by a rickety and falling fence".   This poor beautiful house needed a new roof, new yard, new and redone flooring, all new paint, plumbing work and some electrical, and a ton of other stuff.

 

However, one of the things that we really liked was the fact that not much had been done to the home since 1964 when it was originally built.  I had always wanted a vintage home and this was the one. From the day I saw it (Christmas Eve morning, 2011) I knew I wanted it.  It would take everything I had and then some to buy it and fix it up, but there was something about the home that was calling to me.  It wasn't until after we had purchased and started fixing it up that I found out some interesting news.  I met the sister of the man who used to own the house and raised three children in it.  He was diagnosed with Leukemia and fought his cancer battle for over eight years before it finally took him.  He made sure his family was all taken care of and then in his will he asked that the house he loved for so many years was to be forclosed on. He said that he wanted to make sure that someone would be able to purchase the home and hoped it would be someone that would love it as much as he did.  Mr. Satterwhite, I can assure you that I absolutely love your home and it is truly a dream come true for me.

 

I'm still working on fixing it up so we can move into it, but that day is getting closer and closer.  I promise that one day I'll be working on miniatures again.  I'm excited about some ideas that I have been playing around with and making notes.  My brain is always going and I don't think smelling all those construction fumes and inhaling sawdust does anything to help with that. HAHA

 

In closing, here are some pics of our new home.  Sure don't look like nine months of work. Thanks for letting me share them with you and I hope you will be hearing from me again soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Till later!