Cottage fun

I was up at my sister's cottage in Muskoka where the lake is blue, the trees are green, and the thrift shops often have better junk than those in the city. Mary was lucky enough to find an old dollhouse filled with furniture and contents at the local Goodwill. We opened a bottle of Yellow Tail Shiraz, as is our usual cottage custom, and settled down to take inventory of her find.

The dollhouse has "good bones", as they say. Four good sized rooms with

a front door and four windows. There is lots of potential here. A previous owner had painted the entire outside of the house (including the shingles) a hideous brown. It actually looks like a child did it. The inside walls have that sort of look too, but we decided to arrange the furniture in it anyway since I am too impatient to wait for the renovations.

The house came with some lovely pieces, as you can see by the living room. I recognize the upholstered furniture as kits from House of Miniatures or Realife. I love the buffet with the Marlon on top, and the fireplace is gorgeous.

The kitchen has an interesting assortment of furniture including hoosier cabinet and an ice box in wood. The iron stove is a little small, but thrift shops aren't known for their variety of choices, so you just take what you get. There are lots of other goodies, too, including a Chrysnbon table and chair set and an Irish Granny and a Guatemalan helper. One or both of them has been baking and decorating lots of lovely cakes. Maybe it's for a bake sale, or maybe it's a cottage industry.

On the second floor, the little girls have stolen one of the cakes and are plotting how to divide it up. The dog watches with interest, while the smallest child asks to be included in the group. "You're too small." they tell her to her dismay.