I've been busy...and then I got sick

But today, I am feeling much better. I am hoping to be completely back to normal by the weekend but the garden won't wait that long...

Hubby made a quick trip to the garden that didn't turn out to be quite so quick. ;-) Tomorrow after school I will be freezing corn and the next day I will need to can green beans. We are at well over 100 pints now.

I spent some time in the yard while the chickens got some time to roam this evening. The ladies thought I should have come prepared with a treat.

We started getting eggs a couple of weeks ago and we were up to four eggs a day yesterday. Today four more hens joined the Crooked House Layers Club! All three Easter Eggers gifted us with eggs. We now have tan, brown, sky blue, and pale olive eggs. I love the color range. I had no idea how much fun raising chickens could be.

This was part of today's egg collection. We found three more eggs before the day was over. As my daughter says, "it's like Christmas" to check the nesting boxes now. We are very blessed with both garden produce and eggs. :-)

I hope you've had a wonderful day, wherever you are!

Our chickens are earning their keep!

As of today, we have three layers in the Crooked House Layers' Club. Fred, the rooster, is so proud. ;-) One of our Red Stars started laying 5 days ago and two of her sisters joined the club today. Woo hoo! I can't wait until our three Easter Egger pullets start laying. Then we'll have pretty blue and green eggs along with our brown ones. If you've never had any eggs other than store bought ones, I encourage you to find a local farmer with eggs to sell. The difference in taste is incredible.

I'm working extra hours at school this week so I'm not making any progress on the French country house. I'm leaving it in the living room on a card table, though, so any time I have a free period of time I can do something. Updates will be coming!

Have a wonderful day and/or evening, wherever you are!

I like it!

 The nightstand is across the room rather than by the bed but I am happy with the room. I love the beamed ceiling. I decided to stain the floor to match the beams to tie it all together. The bed canopy hides the fact that the headboard doesn't go all the way to the floor. I guess I could have just put legs on the headboard to make it look finished but the canopy suits the rustic meets romance feel of the room.

Update: I adjusted the pleats and gathers and added a piece of paper doily as the centerpiece on the canopy frame. I like the little added touches. The bedroom is beginning to look like I had hoped it would. It needs accessorizing but it already looks cozy and romantic. :-)

I just don't know but let's make it a contest

Usually when I work on a doll house project, by the time I've started I know how I want both the interior and the exterior to look. I had no trouble envisioning a French country look for the interior of this house but I'm just not sure what I want to do with the exterior. The previous owner had purchased a lot of the plastic "wrought iron" railing so I plan to use that on the balconies. But where is this house located? I thought of New Orleans as a possibility but I'm not completely sold on that idea. What do you all think? Here's the box photo so to give you a better idea of the style. All opinions will be considered. Whoever has the idea that speaks to me will get some sort of a prize - yet to be determined. Good luck!

It's a date!

 My wonderful husband and I had a date today. We explored some of our favorite antique/vintage shops and had dinner. One of my finds was this two door console table. I don't know if it will fit under the stairs but that's my hope.

 I also found fabric for the master bedroom. The "sort of toile like" floral fabric and the sheet fabric were purchased today. I made the upholstered headboard from balsa and fun foam and tufted it. The bed itself is two layers of styrofoam. I am a bit disappointed in the layout of the bedroom. There is no good place for a double bed. This is the best option and I have blocked the French doors. I may turn the doors into a large arched window or leave them as doors that open out so they are still usable from the back side of the bed. In either case, I plan to make full length drapes that hang to the sides of the doors.

 Here's a closer view of the tufting and the different fabrics I used.

An overall view - my current plan is to make the ceiling beamed since I have all that upward space. Too bad I can't convert a bit of that to usable wall and floor space. ;-)