the studio...

so 'tomorrow' turned into 'the day after tomorrow' due to the fact i had forgotten about the dentist appointment scheduled four months ago...not to worry though, as i was being 'worked on' it gave me plenty of time to contemplate the question "to gloss or not to gloss".

i have been mulling this over in my little head for the past few days and it concerns a wood fireplace in our family room...my decision was decided in a heady blur of breathing in latex fumes from the hygienist's gloves, mixed with 'painkillers' taken earlier for my sensitive little gums...GLOSS was the way to go...i left no time for doubting and went straight from 'dentist' to 'hardware' store to get my can of 'gloss' and straight home to 'shiny up' the fireplace...i am not going to share the results today ("booo"..."i know, i know") but save it for next week, for today is 'STUDIO REVEAL' day and i must not digress anymore...

let me set the scene for you dear readers...when you enter mossy shed by the front door you are left with the choice of turning right to the family/dinning area, go down the corridor past the 'loo' to the kitchen/nook or you can turn left...if you choose to turn left then you are choosing to enter my 'space'...the studio has been made out of a living area that you can walk through and end up in the kitchen...now normally people would put a tv in here and a couple of couches and say "done" and i do believe my man had thought this, but not me.

when i first entered 'the shed' way back, i knew that this space would be an ideal 'studio'...at that time it had 'peach' colored walls and a red brick fireplace, but with my 'rose colored' spectacles' on i saw white walls, a white brick fireplace and some 'orla goodness' (thanks for that term, maggi)...

as every wall has a doorway, window, fireplace or opens to the kitchen, there really isn't much space for furniture, so i have ended up putting my 'stash' of fabrics etc in our bedroom...as i type, my man is in 'flat pack hell' with the glass fronted cupboard i spied in Ikea, that will "do just fine" for keeping it all in...

here's a bigger pic for you that i took from the kitchen, light isn't brilliant but i think it gives you the idea, plus used dog wouldn't stay still and look lovely but insisted on walking too and fro...the 'blue tape' at the window is trying to assist me with my decision making for 'window replacing'....

Mabel has a space by the fireplace (quick, put on your 'spectacles' and think 'stove' and not 'brass and brown' when looking at fireplace)...

my lovely prints from Fran have been treated to some shop bought frames and a lick of white paint...and Miss Ethel sits waiting by the window looking pretty for any passing strangers and squirrels to admire...what more could a girl ask for...

i have lots more to show, but all in good time...at the moment i am working on disguising the 'horrible horrors' called pendant lighting in the kitchen, but once again that must wait.

right, so there you have...the studio waiting patiently for me to 'begin again with dottie angel'...

she's off to brush up on 'andy warhol' for teaching art to a bunch of twelve year olds tomorrow, see you on monday ~ Tif

mossy shed ~ the begining

the camera cable has been located (hurrah)...funny how that happens, when i needed it, no one had seen it, when it is suddenly required by one of my kids, it is found within five minutes.

but first i must say a little "thank you" for all the lovely comments from my last post, once again i find myself marvelling at the kindness of others...

so i have been a busy bee and have tried very hard to remember to capture it on camera, but a lot of the 'befores' have not been recorded and i have to tell you, my 'afters' aren't the best...i am putting it down to 'the time of year' and 'poor lighting due to low ceilings' and nothing at all to do with the fact that i should read the camera manual...

so let me tell you dear readers, we are rather futunate with mossy shed, she came with the downstairs remodelled, we have lovely new wood flooring throughout apart from a carpeted area in the family room...the walls are freshly plastered, the electrics have been updated and probably the best thing of all, new kitchen cupboards (think back to the yellow house on this one)...so all it really requires is for me to wave my 'magic paintbrush'...the upstairs is a completely different story, nothing has been changed or updated in nearly thirty years...the outside requires a lot of attention, the shingle roof is on it's last legs, most of the windows have failed and of course we have the acre of moss...all this is the very thing that excited me about mossy shed, some has been done and some hasn't...

for today, i thought i would show you a little glimpse of outside in winter...last week we had a sprinkling of snow...after i took the pictures, we had a ton more but i was distracted with the "get over your fear of hills and driving in the snow and ice" issue that arose in my 'try not to panic' little mind, that i failed to record the 'big dump of snow'...

our road has got rather a steep hill, not a problem normally but when the 'treacherous' weather hits, i am totally crap...in the end my man had to drive everywhere, i didn't leave mossy shed for two days...luckily snow and ice are not common here so i figured when such times arise i will suddenly have very important business to attend to in my house therefore eliminating the need to drive the 'oh my god i'm going to die' hill...

my pictures show the very reason why i spend most of my time day dreaming out of the window or walking used dog...the 'wild haired woman from the shed' that walks 'main street' every day with her trusty dog by her side, 'til she reaches the spot where she can see the snow capped mountains to the east and the west...i shall take my camera on the next clear day for you to see...the only problem i am anticipating is dealing with used dog and my mittens and getting a good picture. "take your mittens off"...good advice but i fear i might get all tangled up with the dog leash, my mittens, used dog pulling, a wobbly camera, passing vehicles, raccoons and the odd chicken...

she's thinking tomorrow will be the 'unveiling of the studio'...but here's a sneak peak to keep you going ~ Tif

feels like heaven...

it has been nearly a month dear readers since our paths have crossed, in that time i have done christmas, two birthdays (hard to see your first born turn sixteen), and had my lovely parents to stay.

we then packed up and moved our belongings and pets, with the help of friends, passing strangers, a nearby mule and cart, (okay that last one wasn't technically the truth but it sounded good) and a 'U-Haul' van to Mossy Shed...since then i have been distracted from 'day to day' life by one thing and one thing only...

i am in love...

yes it is true to say i have started a love affair with my lovely mock tudor number...i see nothing but good things everywhere i turn. every morning i wake up (twelve mornings to be precise) and i say to my man "i can't quite believe i am actually living here" to which he replies under the depth of the duvet and several blankets (our bedroom is not the warmest place to be) "neither can i, neither can i"

so in a space of hours, ney make that minutes, of claiming mossy shed for ourselves, i set about 'nesting'...and in between feathering our little nest, used dog and i have been rambling along the roadside, her in her collar, me in my pink knitted hat (disguising wild unkempt hair) and 'old bag lady' coat...

so that brings us up todate...i have also made a big long list of priorities for mossy, but strangely the room that is being worked on first is my little studio space..."well fancy that" i hear you say...i shall post a few pics soon (by soon i mean when i have located the relevant cord for transporting my pics from camera to computer) then you can see the new headquarters of dottie angel.

in the meantime i must tell you, we only suffered one casualty in the move...deep breaths, dear readers...i must report that Miss Josphina Lola (my beautiful door) suffered a rather nasty gashy wound to her top front half. as i lent her against the garage wall to mourn the moment of discovery (remember her beautiful granny knicker color and that 'nobody loves you like i do' moment way back when i first set eyes on her)

my man says "don't be silly Tif, it's only a chip"...

"a chip," says i "only a chip...do you realize how fantastically fantastic Miss Josphina Lola's paint color is, i do not believe you have ever stopped to think about it before"

"nope, that is very true, i do not recall ever taking time to think about the color of that old door"

gasp..."i think i need to be by myself"...

she's wishing you all a belated happy new year ~ Tif