The Neverending Cleaning Story...

I did more work on the back porch this morning. 

Then I came in and started cleaning the Fortunetelling Emporium.

Tessie was delighted.  She seldom tells fortunes. She has the gypsy from the Witches Warehouse come and do them. 

Actually, I am not sure that she even knows how to work a Ouija Board. 

I think that Spike is more adept at that skill.

She lets him do it and then she pretends to do it herself...

Spike is pretty good at it.  He predicted rain last night and it did rain for about eight minutes at one point.  I counted!

Anyway, Tessie always takes the credit for all of the predictions.

After all, her name is on the sign.  That's what counts. Nowhere does it say Fortune telling by a dog...

This morning I added another feeder to the  bird's spot. I put one of my hand made ceramic bowls on top of the table topped trunk. Then I added three of those little blocks of fruit and nuts that you get in the bird department at Walmart.

I don't think that is going to stay there long.  I looked out and all of the suet has already melted.  I either need a tent to put over it or it is going to have to be moved under the shade of the plants.  I don't think that the birds like runny suet. I haven't had one bird on there all day.

Oh well. It was a good try. Now I will try it elsewhere.

Back to work on Walter's bracelet now.

See you tomorrow.

All's Right With the World...

They delivered the stove yesterday afternoon.  It was white, so we let them install it.

After they left, we put everything back where it belonged.

Three mini things belong in the front hall. 

The first is the music room with harpsichord. We made sure that everything was back in place and Tessie locked the door. 

Next was the Witches Warehouse on the redwood stump table.  Believe it or not, when we first got the stump, we used it for a coffee table.

Then I got the idea for the Witches Warehouse and we got a new coffee table. I needed the stump for the scene. 

That was a good thing though.  After another couple of tables, Walter got a coffee table that works for him. It pulls up to dining table level. Now he can watch golf, basket ball or football while eating dinner. It is the best coffee table that we have had so far. The redwood table just didn't move and was too low to eat dinner from. Now everybody's happy.

 The last of the three that go in the hall is Zar's den.  On the Sidebar it is listed as Bloomingdales Room box. If you want to see how it was made poke that button. This is one of my all time favorite rooms.  If it were the right size, I would happily move in there and make it a mini workshop.

The only thing that I would add to it would be a TV.  I need noise when I work.

Tessie hid in the bedroom all of the time that the delivery men were here and I let her. 

Delivery men don't usually understand when a tiny witch tries to help move things. 

The only problem with that is she refused to come out and help move things back after they left too. 

I am going back and relax and watch TV now.  I worked all morning in the garden.  Then I came in and made barbecued spareribs in the new oven. It works well!  Yummy spareribs.

As I said... I am taking the rest of the day off.

See you tomorrow.

On the Other Side....

We were to have the new stove delivered today... So we had to move all of the furniture in the front hallway.

We moved the Witches' Warehouse off of the redwood table.  As we did, I realized that I have never put any photos of the outside on the blog.

Here it is, in all it's glory!

This was made before we had a computer and printer... So the sign had to be made by hand... My hand.

This is an up close of the sign.  Not to good because my camera put a shadow on part of it.

The peak of the roof has some extra trim that is painted a rusty red and there is a stove pipe sticking out of the upstairs bedroom, where the little wood stove sits.

Not much more to be said about it.  I am going to have to dust and wash all of the cobwebs off and start over from scratch.  Or maybe I will just dust it and leave it like it is.

After all, a store for witch supplies should have some free cobwebs available to all of it's customers.

After we did all of the moving, the truck came.  On it was a black stove.  We ordered a white one.

It would have been great, but Walter wouldn't let me keep it, but it doesn't match all of the other white appliances in our kitchen. We are NOT going to get a new black refrigerator and dishwasher just because they brought the wrong color of stove. 

Therefore, they didn't even unload it from the truck and we are probably going to have to wait until Monday to get the new one.

Darn! I won't  be able to cook anything until then. Poor me!

See you tomorrow.

Introductions All Around...

Albert is no shy violet...

When I got up this morning, he was introducing himself to everybody in the neighborhood.

I caught the first photo when he was at Eakaiga's place.

He was getting permission to use the nine dollar dollhouse from the owner.  She seems to always be at Eskaiga's place.  I am not sure what is going on...

He left there and was on his way over to Zar's trailer. I caught him rescuing the cat that was about to pounce on the snake in the Archeologist's Office.

I guess that was his good deed for the day. He carefully tucked the kitty in the carpet bag and took him along on the rest of his visits.

I have the feeling that Albert has chosen his own pet.  I didn't have to encourage him at all.  He knew that the kitty was no match for the snake...

When he got to Zar's trailer, he stopped long enough for a cup of coffee.

The two of them are still negotiating over the clockwork cottage.  I don't think that Albert will have much trouble talking Zar out of it.  Zar has shown very little interest in it in the last couple of years...

Albert stopped at the Witches Warehouse. He seems to be very interested in fortune telling... Or maybe it's just Zofi, the fortune teller that he is interested in...

His last stop was at Daisy's cottage... She showed him the time machine.

For some reason, I have a feeling I should have hidden that, before he got here.

He is now asking how much Daisy would sell the cottage and the time machine for...

He wants to learn how to run the thing. I can see it now.  He is going to try to get more people to come back here and keep him entertained...

I think that the time machine is going to get a glitch in it's works very soon....

Back to work.

See you tomorrow.

No Albert Today...

I have been getting ready for the Wednesday Witches Halloween bash tomorrow.

So have Tessie and some of the others...

She and Zar moved Madam Tessie's Fortune Telling booth to the dinning room. 

They have been sitting at that table all afternoon, telling each others fortunes with the Ouija Board.

None of it makes any sense. 

Both keep getting told that they are going to be very rich...

No bad fortunes.  All good.

I took a few photos of the Witch's Warehouse.

Poor Esmeralda. She has been hanging on for dear life for many years now.  Maybe I should take her down and put her inside somewhere to rest her weary bones...

No.  I didn't dust.  I never dust the warehouse.  It has been collecting dust for about 30 years.  Once in a while I sweep the floor and use a paintbrush to get the big pieces of dirt and refuse out, but it never gets all the way clean... It just wouldn't look right if it were spick and span.

I still have a lot to do to get ready.

Maybe I should at least oil the redwood table that it sits on. Back to work. 

See you tomorrow.

Getting Ready....

 Door bell works. Check!  I am trying to get everything ready for tomorrow's Wednesday Witches' mini meeting. 

This door bell was a cheap-y plastic thing from Walmart about ten years ago...  It had a solid blue background, solid white face and hand and solid gray cloak... The lantern was plain old brown.  

I went to work with acrylic paints and "fixed" it.  The eyes and light flash.  When you push the button under the lantern, you hear a really loud banging on the door and a deep voice says..."Come in... If you dare!"  Then you hear a really loud creaking door and footsteps...

This thing is really scary... No not the flashing lights and the sound effects.... The scary part is... It has never had a battery change!  Ten years and still going strong on the original battery!  It is enchanted...

I think I bought this witch the same year.  The fiber optics in the hair broom and pumpkin change colors as long as it is plugged in...

In her case, I painted her face and re dressed her.  The apron is antique lace and she has ostrich plumes and other feathers on her hat...

I tell you, they just don't make Halloween decorations like they used to!

Now about the real Halloween.  Matilda has been hanging on the landing platform of the Witches' Warehouse for as long as there has been a Witches' Warehouse.  Maybe one day she will learn not to drink bug beer and fly...

The poster for Frog in your Throat cough medicine was a real one from the turn of the last century.  I wonder why it didn't last... I would buy it if it were still around...

The cobwebs that you see inside the Warehouse are real... I have pet spiders that live there.  They seem to like it.

The Warehouse is ready and waiting for the party..

I actually did a bit of cleaning....  Not too much.  The spiders would get in a tizzy and move out if I disturbed them too much. 

We wouldn't want that to happen...

As for the Terrible Two?  I warned them not to go into the woods...

Would they listen...?

Nope...

As far as I am concerned, they are on their own....I warned them.  I do hope that they make it out alive... It would be boring around here without them. I have work to do. 

See you tomorrow.

Cheaters Always Prosper....

 I confess.  Sometimes I cheat.  I rewired the pewter candlestick and when I did, I had to use American wiring, instead of English....Only one problem.

Our wiring is much thicker than the English kind. 

The candlestick wouldn't sit flat on the table...

This one was an easy one to cheat on.  The table is a cheap one, so I simply drilled a hole where I wanted the candle to sit and ran the line through and out the back....Which was formerly the front, but I didn't want drawers, so I turned it around.  Did you get all that?

I put a candlestick on the mantle downstairs. Oops. I forgot to add the mantle.  OK.  I will put that on my list.  I ran the wire down the back of that candlestick.  It is one of those metal miniatures that I painted brass. I then ran the cord to the back edge of the fireplace and down to the bottom.  It comes back into the back of the fireplace and out the back wall.  Well hidden.

I think that I am going to dim the candle light by painting the bulbs.  They are way brighter than the other ones were. 

Did I mention that I took the wire out upstairs?  It was simply a piece of heavier dollhouse lighting...One long piece.

No patching to do.  The hole for it was in the ceiling, behind a beam...

That piece of wire is now my lead wire from the house to the transformer.

See what I mean about the bright candles?  They drown out anything in the immediate area. 

I cut the spools apart and put them in one of the drawers that were in the table. 

We are essentially done with this except for a bit of landscaping to cover the bottom of the chimney where it floats above the ground.  Lots of bushes.  That should do it.  Maybe a few weeds.

Anyway, Nellie requested that I not tell anybody that her home was done....She saw what they did to the Witches' Warehouse yesterday....And they are still at it. 

I am NOT cleaning that up.  The witches will have to do it themselves.

 She, who shall remain nameless is still hanging from the broom landing pad.  Everybody flies in over her head and lands inside the door.. It's just a good thing that she had her share of bug juice before the party.  She seems to be hanging in there well.

See you tomorrow.

The Season of the Witch.....

For the Wednesday Witches, this is it...

As far as Tessie is concerned, this is it.  She has been buzzing around my head as I get ready.  She picked up Zar on the last cycle...Now they are doing the "top of the world" scene from Titanic.

I do wish that they would settle down and just party like regular people...I fear that is too much to ask.  They are headed to the Witch's Warehouse.  That party will last for at least three days.  They're taking the long way around...and around.

She, who shall remain nameless, started on the bug beer a bit early and missed the broom landing platform...She has been hanging there for a while now.  Maybe someone should go out and pull her inside.

Since the party hasn't started yet, Tessie's eldest sister, the spinner is still working at straw into gold spinning...

She can't be bothered to clean her room...Bug beer spilled on the floor last week is still there. It doesn't bother her a bit.

Zofi is at her fortunetelling station. No takers so far....Someone left their magic carpet in gear and it floats in place, waiting for it's owner to come and roll it up and put it in the proper basket... It's kind of a waste of magic to keep it running if you're not using it.  Oh well. 

 I think that it's about party time...Esmeralda is shooing out the last customer.  Then the party can start.... This particular customer is not in the in crowd... She just comes in and wanders around to waste time.  Never buys anything...

Anyway, the big witch party starts at noon.  They  pass the warehouse to put them in the mood for the day...

Speaking of starting at noon, I still have to make the bug beer and the swamp slime. 

Sorry about no work on the crooked house, but there are more important things to do.

Eat, Drink and be Merry!  For the Wednesday Witches, tomorrow will just be another day.  Back to work on the crooked house for me.

Happy Halloween! See you tomorrow.

A Revolting Sunday....

Tessie inspected the potion pots in her workroom and deduced what Zar had been up to for the past week....

With a little of this, a pinch of that and a smidgen of the other thing, he made a potion to spray on the Clockwork Cottage.  He wanted it facing outward so that he could get inside to work on it himself... It did work.  The front of the cottage now faces the wall...

Thank goodness, it wasn't a potion to make me work on it!  Ha!  He just made more work for himself. 

We caught him trying to get into the house...Evidently, he's not smart enough to do a zapping spell to transport himself up there...

Somehow it sparked the germ of an idea in Tessie's mind....Darn!

I tried to ignore her when she started scribbling on a scrap of paper...That worked for a little while.

I couldn't help but notice when she started carrying it from place to place and had intense conversations with the owners of said houses....

I caught her first in the embroiderer's Crooked House.  She was holding up the petition for Nellie to read, whilst embroidering. 

Nellie signed it, without hesitation, in her spidery Elizabethan script.

I was beginning to wonder what Tessie had on the page....

Next she hit the Witch's Warehouse.  Of course she started at the top of the house.  That's where the eldest of her sisters hangs out.  It was important to get her signature first.  All others would follow...

Still wondering, here.

She hit several other buildings.  I didn't bother to photograph each one.  It's pointless. 

The last person she would go to is me.  I am the worker bee.

When she was finished making the rounds, I noticed that she had not approached Zar.  It seems that whatever it is she is doing, he is not on her "friends" list right now.

I finally caught up with her in my very own Craft Cottage/Castle.

I worked up the courage to ask what she was doing...

She chewed on the corner of the VIP(Very Important Paper) and then finally handed it to me...

It said...."We, the undersigned demand that you finish, repair, remodel, fix and do whatever needs to be done to our buildings!"  At the top of the list was Tessie's name in triplicate...

I asked why.  She replied, "My hand got tired after I signed it three times.  It should have been fourteen and a half, but I will do that later.  The important part is...I am first!!!!"

Everyone else only got to sign it once. 

"Of course, I expect you to do mine ASAP.  I will give you a list in a couple of days.  This starts next Monday.  ME FIRST!"

Oh goodie!  I have a week to finish the three boxes, if I follow her rules.  Anybody got any suggestions on how I can get out of this one!

I think that I will work on the rug for MY craft cottage for the rest of the day. Or maybe I should work on a forgetful potion to pour over Tessie's head.

See you tomorrow.

Twas a Week before Christmas.....

It's official. Tessie is trying for the longest Christmas/New Year party on record.

Walter had the Christmas tree in place when I got home from shopping this morning. Between the two of us, we got it decorated in about a quarter of the time that it usually takes me to do it alone.

He went out to do some shopping and I started putting in the finishing touches. I still have two vignettes to fill, but I got a pretty good start.

I learned a lesson...Never turn your back on Tessie after keeping her locked in the workroom overnight...She retaliates....Big time.

As soon as I installed the cappuccino corner, brooms seemed to pop up out of nowhere.

At least the witches parked them where they were supposed to. So far there is no need for any toad spells.

I looked around to see where they went. The party has started.
Tessie's two older sisters brought the gypsy the tells fortunes in the Witch's Warehouse. The three of them have claimed a clearing in the branches and have settled in for the long haul. Eggnog or something stronger is being passed around...At least I think it is eggnog....

Tessie and Zar have made themselves comfortable in front of the fireplace. I keep telling them that Santa won't be able to get down that fireplace without a flu.
They insist that he will make it. Oh well...Let them sit and wait. It will keep them out of trouble for a while anyway....

There will be more to come as the other guests arrive.

Meanwhile, here's the whole tree. The only ones that you can actually see so far are Tessie and Zar.

I am sure that by tonight, there will be more friends arriving. The gargoyle isn't even here yet. He needs to be here to restore order if things get out of hand.

I have to go now and see what other things are needed for the party. This is only the second "Tessie's Tree Party", but I think that it is going to be a lot bigger and louder than last year. I will be sleeping with a pillow over my head and ear plugs to boot for the duration.

See you tomorrow.

Spooky Sunday......

It's Tessie's favorite day of the year. She informed me that she is spending the day with her sisters and does not wish to be disturbed.

She headed straight for the Witches' Warehouse, with "caution sign" in hand. I heard three of the sisters discussing where best to place the sign to keep trick or treaters from entering....Wouldn't you think that the front door would be the place for that kind of thing?

I think they are more worried about me invading than kids, although I did promise to keep out. No trust at all. What they don't understand is, I want the day off too. I am ignoring them completely after I take the photos.

The gypsy is in her usual place, prepared to read palms. She is very nervous though. Someone keeps flying a carpet through the area and they can't be seen. Very nervous.....


Tessie is in charge of refreshments. She is debating the opening of the "things that go bump in the night" compartment under the stairs. You would think that by now she would know better. Remind me to take the keys away from her. I get no sleep at all when she does that. It takes days to find those things. They make such a racket. They hide in the walls and rattle chains. She thinks it cute for about ten minutes and then she comes and begs me to help round them up. It's the same every year.

They all are waiting for Matilda, the fourth sister to arrive. The party can't start without her. Nobody checked the broom landing platform outside the second story.....Everybody knows that she is blind as a bat, drinks just a little too much before taking off, and can never make the platform on the first try. She has to buy or make a new broom every time. You can't see them, but there is a pile of broken brooms below her.

I hear Tessie yelling for help with the round up. Too bad I can't zap myself out of here. I guess I should go get the net and start hunting......There goes one now! Quick! Grab the net!

Happy Halloween! See you tomorrow.

Don't forget to poke the photos.

Getting Ready for Business....

It's Wednesday once again. When that happens, I don't seem to get a lot done.

Tessie, however, doesn't take the day off. As part owner of the Witch's Warehouse, she has to be a part of cleaning up and getting ready for Halloween business this time of year.

It was really in deplorable shape this year. The cats tried to climb the vines on the side and pulled them all down. I found out that the battery pack on the big black tree outside no longer works. I guess I will have to take care of that. Tessie is electrically challenged.

There was a year's worth of dust and cobwebs in there and it had to be mucked out with a big mop. I handed a broom to Tessie and told her to have at it.

She started at the top and worked downwards.

She shoved everything out of the top floor and gave the wood a coat of lemon oil.

As she was working, she asked me, "Where did the chair and bed come from? It seems like they have been here forever."

"The chair is the very first wicker that I ever did." I said.

She patted it and said, "It's all scratchy. I don't see how anybody could stand to sit in it for long."

I explained that I didn't know anything about mini wicker at the time and I sat and unraveled Penelope needlepoint canvas to get the thread to make it....Hey! You make do with what you have on hand. It worked. A few chairs later, it evolved to waxed linen and even later, it evolved to fine crochet thread. I kept the first one to remind me not to do that again. It makes for Very sore fingers!

"And the bed?" she asked.

"That was a kit that was supposed to be for a child's bed. I bashed it into the witch bed that you see. It is simply made of three wooden blocks and some fat wooden spindles and beads. You can still get them at Michael's."

I painted the headboard block and spindles. I covered the two wooden blocks with fabric and glued one to the other for the bed itself and then made a spider quilt and a tampon bolster.

The second floor wasn't too bad. The gypsy tends to keep it neater, because she has to live there.

This is the transportation department of the warehouse and the private parking for the Wednesday Witches. Each of them have a parking place for their brooms with their names on them....Their area is not as neat and tidy as the rest. Some of them tend to drop their brooms wherever they land.

The flying carpet is a perpetual display. Nobody can figure out how to turn it off, so it just keeps hovering a couple of feet off the floor. At least we know that it works.

Next Tessie helped Esmirelda with the ground floor. As usual, the cat food(mice) is escaping from its crate. The "Things that go bump in the night" are rattling the door under the stairs. And the poison veggies are rotting away quietly....

The store is starting to look habitable and everything seems to be under control for the time being. Poke the photos if you want to see them larger.

They just tested the lights in the rest of the store. Everything but the black tree seems to be working.

Once again, Halloween can happen. The witches are ready and all's right with the world.

See you tomorrow.