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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

That'll Do Pig......

Back to the real mini world.This morning I laid the floor in the bottom of the cottage. I dug through my wood drawers until I found the very last pieces of wooden blinds that I had. I am going to have to go on a blind search at the thrift shops. I have little hope of finding any more. They were popular in the early 80s and really scarce now.

Tessie was very helpful for once. She handed me lumber as I went. I think that she wants this cottage done now, so that I can go back to the townhouse.

Anyway, the white lines that you see on the floor are Aleene's Fast Grab. Someone taught me this method years ago and it is foolproof for getting floors laid without warping. Instead of covering the whole floor or the strip of wood with glue. You either put dots on the back at one inch intervals or do it the lazy way that I came up with. I got tired of dotting each piece and then I reasoned that lines of glue running horizontal to the wood, would have the same affect. It did, so that's how I do it now.

I do about two inches at a time because Fast Grab is also fairly fast drying. It only took me about 1/2 hour, counting cutting and laying both.

When I finished, Tessie brought Goofy Pig in for approval. He approved. Thank goodness! How would I live without mad pig approval?

Unfortunately, they didn't want me to stop. I was on a roll.

Tessie strolled around the room and complained that the window was too high, too small and it didn't match the other window above. Most of the Russian houses that I have been looking at have long narrow windows. This one was high, square and kind of fat looking.

Tessie drew lines on the front of the cottage and announced, "This is how the window should look. Do it!"

I had to agree, so I did it.It is now directly under the window on the second floor. It's the same size and shape too.

After I finished cutting I simply moved the side piece from the left to the right and glued it in place. Then I cut the bottom of the remaining window lower by an inch. Now I am going to have to pull the siding off of the window and cover the patch with longer pieces.

Tessie and mad pig stuck their heads out and Tessie murmured, "That'll do pig......". I am not sure to whom she was speaking.... She wasn't looking at the mad pig when she said it. She was looking straight at me....

I am going to sneak away for Wednesday Witches mini meeting now and think about her current attitude. I feel that she may be holding on to resentment about the chair not being hers anymore. Too bad for her....

See you tomorrow.

6 comments:

Kim said...

This little cottage is so beautiful- I've really enjoyed watching the progress so far. Thanks for the tip about the glue on the floors- sure beats weighing the strips down and still finding warped boards!

Marisa said...

That Tessie is a charactor isn't she!

Unknown said...

I love this cottage, it's coming on beautifully! And thanks for the tip with the wood flooring I'll remember that next time I do wood flooring... it'll save me digging out the heavy books!

miniacollection said...

This house is going to be wonderful, I can't wait to see more.
Geneviève

Unknown said...

Speaking about sizes of windows in Russian cottages I can say that they can't be so big because of the climate. People had to save heat(warmth) during windy rainy autumn and long severe winter. That's why they made thick walls and small windows with dauble glass.
If you look at the pictures in your books you'll see that kind of proportion.In books the houses were discraibed as "weak-sighted".

Sorry for being too serious I know you are creating this house just for fun but I feel I can make this comment having no intention to sound boring...

Send my hello to Tessie, she seems to be very enthusiastic about Russian cottage !

PS. Sorry for my poor English...

Caseymini said...

Elena, thanks for the advice. I was debating about the size of the windows. They are 2 1/2"by 4" right now. They look large because the cottage is soooo small. I was thinking of making them narrower, maybe 2 by 4? The whole cottage measures 8 by 13. I have time to decide.

If I put the extention on the side where I have cut the hole, There will be no windows there. Since I am not going to electrify this one, I don't want to make it too dark.

Tessie is thinking of changing her name to Tzarina Tessie. I am trying to talk her out of it. That would only make her think that she had more power!