Tomorrow We Decorate....

Essentially, I have finished the porch. I need to paint the inside of the windows and door, that are actually on the outside of the box....Confused yet?

This morning I got up and went to work. When I started on the roof, Tessie even joined in and handed me shingles. I hate to admit it, but sometimes she can be very useful.....When she is in the mood.

I just used about 200 of the HBS bag shingles that I had on hand. That will probably put me short when it comes to the houses that I need them for, but HBS has more.

Anyway, I glued them on with Aileene's Fast Grab white glue. Love that stuff for shingles. It sticks right away and you don't have to tape them.

While those were drying, I cut up wooden strips from one of those printed Japanese scroll calendars and painted them for the slats in the under porch area.

As you can see, I scrubbed some black over the brown to make it uneven before gluing in the slats.

That took an hour or so. It always seems like it is going to take less time than it actually does.

Then I stained the roof with Early American Minwax stain. Hey! While I am thinking of it, did you know that Minwax has a web page with lots of real sized furniture and accessories that can easily be scaled down to mini size? http://www.minwax.com/projects/ Cool stuff. There is also another site that has even more.... http://www.buildeazy.com/fp_start.html All you have to do is divide by 12. Have fun....OK back to the porch. I finished the roof by going over the edges where the shingles over lap again with the stain. That gives them depth.

I was on a roll, so I decided to keep on keepin' on. I dragged out a bunch of landscaping material. I put some white glue where I wanted the grass to be and thickly sprinkled on railroad greenery. I put some bushes in front corners with reindeer moss.

Then I found the hose that I have been saving for many years, for just the right project. It fit perfectly on the left wall.

Tessie has shut up about the swing. As long as I leave the wicker in place, I think it will be OK.

As you can see, Zar is still trying to worm an invitation to the party. And I do mean worm. He wants to be invited in the worst way. He has been hanging around for the past hour. Tessie still won't let him on the porch. I heard her say, "If I'm not welcome in your secret workroom, you're not welcome on MY porch. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, you rat. I know what you have been doing to keep me out!" It went on from there, but it got worse and I am a lady, so I shan't(one of my grandma's favorite words) repeat it.

I wonder why nobody uses "shan't" anymore? It is ever so much easier than saying "shall not". I seem to be wandering off the subject a lot today. I guess I should stop rambling and go see about decorating the porch for Halloween. Tessie has already started.

See you tomorrow.