The Year of the Dollhouse

My niece has already been playing with some of the furniture that was finished.

Thanks to a very generous freecycler in my town I now possess an unfinished dollhouse kit with furniture and accessories. This is a huge blessing to me and my niece, whom I hope will enjoy playing with it. My friend from college joined a group that is focusing on playing dollhouse with their kids this year. So I wanted to try to get one for my niece and I to work on together. The dollhouse shell kit was manufactured by Houseworks (Georgia) and is called "The Brittany". It looks like a 2 story farmhouse with 6 rooms. It is currently missing a roof but I hope to get that fixed with a trip to the hardware store. I'm thinking of doing the outside a pale yellow with dark green trim and wall paper the inside. I'll post some pictures later showing before, during and after.

Finished Crochet Projects

The birthday scarf for one of my friends made with chenille yarn.
The baby blanket and hat for my unborn niece using Jiffy yarn color pistachio.

What I've learned from the chenille scarf project is many things. First, a sharp chevron pattern will result in unmatching ends. Second, it is better to carry the yarn than weave in all the ends. This scarf has taken me longer than any other I've done.

Snowy Day

K and I built some snow people who are melting away today. It was a beautiful snowy day yesterday with about 4 inches of snow falling. This snow was perfect for making snow balls and snow people.
Here is my dog Logan with K taken last week. He will be a year old in 10 days! On the couch is the first afghan I made in junior high. It was made using scraps of yarn. Speaking of blankets, I'm almost finished my surprise baby blanket for my unborn niece. I really loved using this pattern from Priscilla Hewitt with a stash of Jiffy yarn I bought a few years back.

Hiking through Little Bennett Regional Park

All the time I have lived in this area but never really ventured through Little Bennett Park. In the past month, I have hiked the Kingsley Trail which leads to a one room schoolhouse, Froggy Hollow Schoolhouse Trail and the Stony Brook Trail. The Kingsley Trail is gravel and level leading out to a small suspension bridge over Little Bennett Creek. The Schoolhouse and Stony Brook Trails are a bit more challenging but not too hard. I hope to hike all the trails this year with my trustworthy sidekick, Logan, who was not even winded after yesterday's hike. I slept so soundly after that hike that even the dogs barking in the morning didn't wake me up.

My Bucket List

Inspired by the new movie and a newspaper article, I got to thinking about what I'd like to do and accomplish before I die:

1. Visit Scotland, England, Ireland, Sweden (where my ancestors come from)
2. Travel through Europe (especially mountainous regions)
3. Own my own cottage house or bunglalow with a fenced in yard
4. Snorkel with sea horses
5. Learn how to play the harmonica, alto recorder, mandolin, drums
6. Record all my music
7. Drive cross-country through the U.S.
8. Hike part of the Appalachian trail
9. Work on The Hobbit movie set for a day
10. Work overseas helping children
11. Take dance lessons (maybe ballet)
12. Learn how to draw and paint
13. Visit Japan

That's all I could think of for now but I'll be interested to see if you have a bucket list.

Avonlea and such

I decided to finally read the first two Anne of Green Gables books which I find to be very good reading. Also, Dad signed up for Netflix and we are currently watching the Road to Avonlea television series, also very well done. One day I would like to visit Prince Edward Island. The scenery looks so beautiful on film.
I've still got to finish 2 birthday presents and then start another one, plus a baby shower gift. Found some books at the dollar bag sale while thrift shopping today including one for dad on the civil war. It's fun to get a bag of books for a dollar.
Enjoyed the park twice this week with the weather in the 60's and 70. My niece was able to play with several friends this week which is always a good thing. Hope to visit some museums in D.C. on Saturday.