New Toy

Friends had this dollhouse sitting in their basement for a long time and decided to get rid of it. It needs a good cleaning, some repairs, and parts put back on. It's real sturdy. Appears to be 3/8 " plywood. Whoever started it had put some money into it because it's got some nice staircases, wiring, etc. I have several pieces that need to be put back on...some trim, the porch, a window. Also need to replace a window or two and repair/replace the door. This house is at least as large as my Bellingham.



It's built in the English style of being front-opening. Lots of pieces of furniture in it that were made from kits. One thing I like about the English style is that there is lots of wall space unbroken by windows. Easier for placing furniture. The rooms are quite deep, too.



The front of the roof opens to access three rooms upstairs.

After I get it cleaned, I plan to paint the outside, then go from there. Hmmm, I just thought...I should check the bottom to see if the builder signed & dated it and put the name of it on. (I do that to all the houses I build)

After posting the above, I had Dale help me turn it over to see whether it was signed or not. Yahoo! It was!

My Enjoyable Week

Wednesday I headed down to Muskegon for a few days. Arrived a day earlier than little Joshua and Caroline were expecting, so they were quite excited to see Grandma's car in their driveway so soon.

On Thursday, Betsy and I took the kids to the mall so they could play in the play area for a while. It was so fun watching all the kids playing. Betsy and I were noticing all the different appearances of the little ones and how they were all so cute.

That night, Betsy talked me into taking a bike ride. Something I haven't done in probably about 40 years or so. "The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be!"

The next day, my folks, Betsy and I toured some of Muskegon's historic houses that are part of the museum complex. This first is the Scolnik House, done to represent how a home would be in the Depression Era.





This is the Hume House. The home of Charles Hackley's business partner.



The house in the background is the Hackley House. You have just got to see the inside of this house to believe it. The woodwork is amazing! And the stencilling is magnificent.

If you are from Muskegon, you know what an important man Charles Hackley was to that city. He was at one time the wealthiest man in Michigan, but definitely not a miser. His belief was that it is a sin to die wealthy. He was a real giver, as can be seen by all the places in Muskegon that bear the Hackley name, including the hospital where I was born. :-) Have you ever been to the Hackley Library and walked on the glass floor?

I have posted a lot of pictures of the interiors of these houses on Facebook, if you'd like to see them.

Between some of the tours, we went to a little mom & pop Mexican restaurant. Authentic mexican restaurant. It was good. :-)

When I arrived home Friday night, there was the rest of the driveway done!

Today we went to a going-away party for our choir director. After we ate too much, we had a little singspiration. It was a nice afternoon.

Wow! I almost feel like I've had a mini vacation!

A Most Welcome Visitor!

Look who came today!


I am so excited! I didn't know until yesterday they were going to put in a cement drive. They poured half of it today.

Now for a tour around the parsonage so you can see the progress. This is the most unfinished part (obviously!)

Here's the end of the garage:

The south side with its new half of the drive poured:

Another view: (My poor flowers really suffered here this year because of the scaffolding and weather.)

Here's the west side (the actual front, although the south side is more often considered the front). Has a bit more to do here yet--under the door, for example. I'm thinking that maybe I'll paint all that old green concrete a nice gray, and maybe put gray stone flower beds in front to match the church, now that the siding matches. Also, I need to get some kind of decoration to hang next to the door on the left side to balance it. Maybe a nice address sign or something.

Looks pretty bare along the bottom. All the growing stuff was removed before they worked on this side. I'm glad to have those forsythia bushes out of there. They are only pretty about 2 weeks out of the year.