Twixmas.....

Ahhh.... my favourite time of the year.  Those halcyon days between Christmas and New Year before the harsh reality of January rears its ugly head and there is still just enough festive cheer to temporarily head off the inevitable winter blues.

Lockdown Lite notwhithstanding, this festive season was always going to be more difficult.  Our first Christmas without our beloved Small Dog, who always loved every moment and threw herself wholeheartedly into everything the season has to offer.

It's also our first Christmas with cancer, and all the fear and uncertainty that brings.  PP's first treatment starts next week so we've been staying safe and minimising social contact.  The weather has been relentlessly wet and windy so we've been cosied up by the fire, eating our own bodyweight in turkey, ham and cheese.

Normally, in the Twixmas period I immerse myself in a miniature project, but as I'm working towards the Kensington Dollshouse Festival online showcase in February I'm doing something different this year.

Behold my Christmas present......

Now I know what you're thinking.  And to be fair, you're probably right.  But hear me out.

Cognitive decline.

There.  I've said it.   Taking up a new hobby is a good way of helping to halt cognitive decline. Ideally it should present a challenge, but it should also be fun.  

You will note the strategically placed headphones, which were also a Christmas gift.  These are to prevent my painfully slow, halting progress sending PP up the wall as only I can hear my repeated attempts to master the simplified version of Ode to Joy.  Beethoven is almost certainly spinning in his grave.  Although, as he was deaf, he would at least be spared my rendition of one of his most loved preludes.

I should come clean here and confess that, as a child, I endured took piano lessons for several years.  Once a week, an elderly gentleman, with a permanent drip on the end of his nose, came to our house and spent an hour teaching me to torture play our upright piano.  All of my mother's family were musical and in most of my aunt's and uncle's houses, there was a piano, so wherever the party ended up, there was always an instrument and someone who could play it.

I liked to sing, and could hold a tune, so it was assumed that like all the other Moores, I would be able to play piano.  It started off well enough.  Although it was a full sized piano and I was a pint-sized child.  I had to sit on a stack of books on the piano stool to reach the keys.  

My hands were (and still are) tiny, and couldn't span an octave.  It also didn't help that I'm left-handed, which made the twiddly bits melody more difficult to master.

I learnt scales, and the names of all the notes.  I could slowly and tortuously (with many tears and copious amounts of snot) translate the little black dots on the page into sounds, but with no fluidity, feeling or flair.   The tutor specialised in polkas and mazurkas (I think he was of Polish extraction) which are naturally light and happy pieces, with a bright and cheerful disposition.

My plodding playing reduced them to turgid dirges, peppered with bum notes and frequent false starts.  Also much muffled sobbing.  At the end of each lesson the keyboard had to be wiped down and I was released from my purgatory until the following week.  I did have to practice between lessons, but as our piano had no earphones, the whole family plus our unfortunate neighbours, were subjected to the cacophony and eventually I was judged to have no talent for the instrument and the lessons mercifully stopped.

Of course, over the years I have mourned the loss of that opportunity and wished that I had powered through the pain barrier.  I know that I can master challenging tasks requiring manual dexterity.  For example, I am a proficient touch typist, which requires the use of all my fingers, working independently, on 88 different keys.  Without looking.

I can create teeny, weeny, wee porcelain dolls from scratch which require a wide range of very delicate, precise, controlled movements.  In this instance my small hands are a definite advantage.

So I am returning to the fray.  Unlike my childhood self, I now have the determination and commitment to learn to play, at least to a reasonable standard, and produce recognisable tunes.  I've decided that I don't need to be able to sight read.  No point making it any harder than it needs to be.  So I've signed up to an online tuition course which uses patterns and chords..... apparently an unbelievable number of popular musicians use a similar method and can't actually read a note.

Who knew?! 

What is strange is that although I use my fingers every day, for typing, painting and sewing, after just a short practice session on the piano my hands end up like cramped claws.  It's obviously completely different types of movement and there's a definite time limit to the length of time I can play before I have to stop and allow my hands to slowly uncurl.

And the cognitive decline thing..... well there's a lot of memory stuff involved, plus doing several things at once.  So far it's going ok and I'm feeling the blossoming of a small sense of achievement.  The bite-sized chunks of practice are enjoyable and I feel I'm making progress. 

Sooooo......

Thinking outside the (music) box.....

During this past summer, between eye surgeries, I spent some of the downtime working on a challenging kit.  I do like a challenge.  Coming up with an idea and running with it, then working out how to get over (or around) the various obstacles which inevitably crop up along the way.

I get a LOT of ideas.  ALL the time.  They just pop unbidden into my head and take root.  Admittedly, the majority never get off the ground.... either due to their complete impracticality, or being too expensive, or too time consuming.  Or a combination of all of those things.  Or the fact that, with the best will in the world, they would NEVER work.

Over the years I've filled many notebooks with ideas for miniature projects and I'd estimate that maybe 45% have seen fruition.  For the remaining 55%, some of those I worked on for ages, before admitting defeat.  It's dispiriting and frustrating, but I've learned something new from every one.  Very occasionally, I've been able to revisit an abandoned project, when a suitable component has come to light, or an interesting workaround has presented itself. 

My most ambitious project kit to date is based on a French automaton doll and I've been working on the prototype for a while, in fits and starts.  I have to admit I'm waaaaayyyyy out of my comfort zone on this one, as I'm working with unfamiliar materials and techniques, but if I wanted a challenge I've most definitely got one!

That said, I am making progress, albeit slowly. 

This was the inspiration.... the piano-playing automaton in Lanhydrock House in Cornwall. 

Despite the whole "I relish a challenge" thing, I sensibly decided that making a doll which could actually PLAY a piano was not within my capabilities. However, making a piano that would actually play was certainly, probably, possibly achievable.

Initially I looked around for a small hand-cranked musical movement.  There were loads available but the choice of 'music' was limited and I didn't think that the tinny, plinkety plonk of a musical movement was quite what I should be aiming for.  I wanted real piano music, certainly, but music which sounded as though it might be played by a doll.

After several weeks of entertaining, but initially fruitless research, I finally found a solution, which would enable me to fill the air in a doll's house with proper music.

In addition, during my wanderings I came across a wonderful facsimile of an original catalogue by Roullet & Decamps, famous French automata makers, who almost certainly created the Lanhydrock doll.....

The whole thing is coming along nicely, although it definitely won't be finished in time to release before Christmas, which was my original intended deadline.

Regular readers will know that I'm hopeless without a deadline, plus, at the moment we have the added complication of dovetailing lengthy hospital appointments at destinations diverse and various.   So any deadlines, self-imposed or otherwise, run the risk of being derailed by circumstances outside my control.

So it was serendipity when I recently received an invitation to participate in the Kensington Dollshouse Festival Spring Showcase, which will be held online (yayyyy!) and will take place on February 4-10 2022.   Admittedly a tad early for spring but eminently doable from the point of view of my automaton kit and all the other 'works in progress' which have been languishing since early summer this year. 

I've booked my spot and have unearthed my box of notes and components for the automaton and this week I shall be cracking on.  My #3 prototype is tantalisingly close to completion.... I just need to work out a few niggly, naggly problems challenges, which have so far eluded my problem-solving skills, but I know there's a solution if I just keep at it.

Also, that wonderful facsimile catalogue I mentioned earlier.... I'm painstakingly miniaturising it to accompany the kit.  Along with a copy of an original automaton receipt, for a frankly eye-watering sum, which will also be included in a little envelope.  

See.... this is what happens.  I somehow always have to further complicate an already complicated  project.  

It's definitely one of my less useful, special skills.   

Pot Luck Fabric Boxes......

This week I've been tidying and sorting my workroom (whenever am I not?!) and came across the box of fabric packs remaining from my Super Sale.  Too many to combine into one mega pack, but not enough to go to the trouble of listing them all on the website.

So, I spent a few hours dividing all the packs between 10 boxes, counting them out so that each box had some of each pack, including plain and shot silks in pastel and jewel colours, shadow stripe silks, special patterned silks, cotton/lawn fabrics in stripes and checks, suiting fabrics and much more.  Plus assorted trimmings, including lace, braids, trimmings and ribbons, soft leather pieces.

There are a minimum of 30 pieces of fabric in each box.... mostly large squares, but also some offcuts.  Minimum value £45.

Cost per box £15, plus shipping.

Contents of one box... all are slightly different.

Several have already gone so if you fancy adding to your fabric stash just let me know and I'll put one aside for you. 😊

Nailed it.....?

One of our major preoccupations at the moment, is making sure that PP gets enough calories every day to avoid weight loss.  

Six months ago we had the opposite problem, and were waging a constant battle against weight gain, although, to be fair, PP was doing much better than I was.

Now though, she is struggling to maintain her  current weight, and each quarter pound loss is met with dismay.  So she is in the possibly unique position of her dietician advising her to eat as much  of calorie dense foods as she can manage.

In the spirit of helping her achieve her daily calorie target, I've decided to take up home baking again.  I say 'again' as I used to bake regularly.  My grandfather was an enthusiastic baker and as a child I was often propped on the end of his enamel-topped table in the kitchen to help.  It's there where I learned how to make all kinds of pastry, feather-light sponges, wonderful fruit cakes and delicious biscuits.  I baked through my teens and into my 20s and early 30s... but around 30 years ago my baking gradually tailed off until it became non-existent.

When I decided to take it up again recently, I imagined that it would be like learning to ride a bike and I'd soon find my forte again.

Not so.

My first attempt at scones a few weeks ago was disappointing as they had weight and texture of rock cakes.  I put it down to the self-raising flour being out of date, and to be fair, they did taste fine.  Not classic scones perhaps, but perfectly edible when served with clotted cream and jam.

Since then I've bought a baking recipe book and today decided to try these.....

They're bloody not!  They took almost 3 hours!!!

It all started off fine and dandy....

I'd bought new flour (won't be making THAT mistake again) and assembled all the ingredients.  I don't have a posh baking mixer thingy so it had to all be done by hand, but I've made no end of cupcakes (or as they used to be known back in the day.... fairy cakes) before and there's no crumbling or kneading so I thought it would take no time at all.

2 hours later (yes, TWO. WHOLE. HOURS) I ended up with these.....

I know what you're thinking..... what's my problem?  Well, for a start the recipe, which I followed religiously, maintained that it would make 12 cupcakes.  I ended up with 22.  Perhaps my cake cases were too small. 

Also, and I'll accept that this is no fault of the recipe, the kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it.  I used every container, bowl and spatula, all of which were covered in the chocolate mixture. When pouring it into the paper cases the mixture inevitably dripped all over the place, requiring me to wash all the worktops and mop the floor.  I honestly don't remember baking being quite so tiring or labour intensive.

While they were in the oven, I made a start on the chocolate buttercream, which I intended to pipe onto the cupcakes, in a Great British Bake Off styley.

This is sort of what I was aiming for...

I'd watched a video on how to do it, and it didn't look too tricky.  My chocolate buttercream seemed to be the right consistency.... not too stiff, not too runny.  I even managed to get most of it into the piping bag.  However my piping skills were sadly lacking and they looked way too much like a cowpat, with no definition. 

More of a splat than a swirl.

So I scraped the buttercream off and spread it on instead, aiming for an artlessly 'rustic' look, which, if I say so myself, was much more successful.  Although it took another hour to ice them all.

The final pièce de résistance was to be a scattering of assorted chocolate balls and sprinkles, which I fondly imagined would elevate them to a thing of beauty.  However, they wouldn't stick to the buttercream and rolled off the cupcakes, off the table and all over the floor.

By that time I'd definitely had enough and decided that further embellishment was unnecessary so after I'd crawled around to pick up all the renegade balls and sprinkles then tackled the veritable mountain of chocolate encrusted washing up I felt no sense of achievement or satisfaction.  Just sheer exhaustion.

Back in the day I used to have a designated 'baking day' and in the same time as I managed to turn out 22 decidedly lacklustre cupcakes I'd have created several batches of bakes, including biscuits, flapjacks, muffins and at least one larger cake.  Possibly also some bread, or focaccia. 

Either I was some sort of super-baker, or, as is more likely, in the intervening years my multi-taking skills have taken a serious downturn.

I'm not completely disenchanted though.  I just need to appreciate that my baking skills need a thorough re-training, and to set myself more achievable expectations.

In the meantime, we're going to have a cupcake each after dinner this evening.  At the very least, at probably eleventy hundred calories per cake, they should fulfil the brief of providing a calorie dense sweet treat for my ailing PP. 

EDIT:  We each had two (well... they were quite small) and they were delishus. 

Fairy Tale Phantasmagoria.......

Those of us, of a certain age, will have grown up with fairy tales, in all their wonderfully amazing, often scary, sometimes gory, always magical splendour.  As a child, I vividly remember having a favourite book of fairy tales with the most incredible illustrations. 

Published in 1967, when I was 9 years old and already a voracious reader, I spent many hours immersed in the book, spellbound by both the tales and the sumptuous illustrations.

Last summer, I inadvertently stumbled across a vintage copy on the internet, and as well as bringing memories flooding back, it rekindled my enthusiasm and seeded the idea for a kit to celebrate all things Fairy Tale-ish.

As is my wont, one thing led to another, and over the past four months I've developed not just one, not two, not even three, but a frankly astonishing nine fairy tale themed kits!

The centrepiece is a wood-framed toy theatre with a colourful proscenium featuring opulent private boxes and an orchestra pit.  It includes nine different interchangeable pieces of scenery and backdrops, as well as sixteen precision cut, double sided fairy tale characters, which are cleverly magnetised so that they stand unsupported on the stage and don't fall over!  

Miniature toy theatre

A cast of characters perform different fairy tales

Scenery and backdrops can be changed

All the characters stand unsupported and can be moved around the stage

Included is a box to store the characters

Next comes a set of two different vintage boxed fairy tale games, each featuring 40 colourful game cards which store in boxes with illustrated lids. These can be used as is, or made into a nursery frieze, or framed in sets of 4 as nursery prints.  In all, 20 different fairy tales are featured.

Each set contains 40 cards depicting scenes from 10 different fairy tales

A set of 4 game cards showing scenes from Little Red Riding Hood

Then a fairy tale board game* with box and illustrated lid. The magnetised game board uses characters from the theatre and includes game cards and dice.

*Please note that as this game uses characters from the toy theatre, it is only available as part of the complete kit

Continuing the theme....a kit to make a boxed set of 6 wooden puzzle blocks, featuring six fairy tale scenes, including cards to show the completed puzzles.

Next, the inspiration for the whole kit, a set of eight wonderful fairy tale books, each beautifully illustrated in colour throughout.  The set includes Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, Babes in the Woods, Hansel & Gretel,  Puss in Boots, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.

Not finished yet though, as I couldn't leave out my favourite fairy tale (not to mention Small Dog's) Little Red Riding Hood and a set of boxed, precision cut, story cards.

Last but not least, a set of fairy tale themed paper dolls, and a set of dressing up masks.

Paper doll with a set of 5 precision cut costumes (costumes will vary) 

Set of 8 assorted precision cut dressing up masks, scaled for doll's house children

 (designs will vary)

Although most are available individually, for the duration of the online show they will ALL be available as one mega kit at a significant discount on the prices of individual kits.

You can find it on my website.... HERE! 

 

Best laid plans......

 

The past 5 months have been a bit of a write-off workwise, due to my two eye surgeries.  I finally pick up my ‘forever’ glasses later this week so at last I’ll be able to resume micro dollmaking, which I’ve really missed.

However, just as our lives were getting back on track, we’ve been completely derailed by PP being diagnosed with a serious health condition, which will require months of debilitating treatment. 

As we wait to move into her treatment phase, all positive thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

This will have a major impact on everything, including Tower House Dolls.  I am currently up to date with orders, but going forward there will be inevitable disruption, for which I apologise.

That said, in the relative lull before treatment commences, I’ve been able to put the finishing touches to a new kit, which I started over the summer and will be unveiled at the November Mini Miniature Show which begins on Wednesday 17^th.

Well, I say unveiled…. I’ll be posting a sneaky, sneak preview here tomorrow, when I’ve finished all the photos.

Surpreyes........

So. 

I had my first cataract surgery on 19 July and in August I had my post-op check, at which the optician confirmed that I would be referred for surgery on the other eye.  At that point I anticipated a fairly lengthy wait, probably until sometime next year.

Last week I was contacted to make an appointment for a pre-op assessment, which was carried out by phone on Friday.  At that point they said that they anticipated the surgery would be scheduled within 14 weeks, so then I was cautiously hopeful that it might be done before Christmas.

Yesterday I had a phone call offering me an appointment to have the surgery..... next Monday!!!!!  I'm still in shock.  To have both eyes done within 11 weeks is frankly unbelievable!  In some areas of the UK patients are having to wait up to 2 years for cataract surgery, the delay likely exacerbated by the effects of Covid.  

We are so lucky to have a stand-alone Opthalmology unit in Bexhill, which must help.  Also their policy of doing both eyes is a factor.... in other health authorities the second eye is not treated as a matter of routine.

I also suspect, that being of working age, (while the majority of cataract sufferers will be retired) and my work being reliant on excellent binocular vision, may have helped secure me the speedy appointment.   

I was very apprehensive last time, but having experienced the surgery I'm much less nervous this time.  Also my appointment is for 8.00am so I won't have time to get worked up on the day.  I should be home by lunchtime.  

In the immediate aftermath, after a few days for my vision to stabilise, I should be able to use some cheap single vision reading glasses (unfortunately my temporary ones will no longer work for the second eye) to enable me to resume close work.  I've been driven demented by having to put them on and take them off every few minutes while working, so at the 4 week post-op check I've decided to opt for varifocals, so that I can wear them all the time I'm working without the tedious on-off-on-off mallarkey.  

All being well, I should be fully operational again by the beginning of November, which I'm so looking forward to.  In the meantime, as I'll be unable to do any tiny doll work, I'll be concentrating on my new kits, which I'm tentatively hopeful will be ready to release sometime in November *fingers firmly crossed*.

Guilty as charged.....

I am soooooo bad at sticking to one project at a time.  I invariably have at least two or three projects on the go, which I'm sure is a common issue familiar to miniaturists the world over. However, at the moment I have a grand total of six, all competing for my attention following my eye surgery lay-up.

SIX!!!!! 

Even by my standards that's quite a lot.  To be fair, it's all completely my fault, as just a few weeks ago I only had five, which, admittedly, is still quite excessive.  Then I was sorting through my ideas box and one thing led to another and now I have six.

Of course, instead of parking the sixth project, to concentrate on the others, which are all much more advanced, I did the complete opposite, and plunged head first into the sixth one and now I'm starting to panic as juggling six projects is just a one way ticket to misery and madness and the workroom is a complete mess and I'm getting all muddled up with what I should be doing......

*STOP! Calmly.... breathe*

So anyway, only two of the six projects are for myself.  Namely a 1/24th scale shop kit which PP got me for Christmas 3 years ago, and my Mignonette Doll Box which I'm doing along with members of the Mignonette Doll Club as our 2021 project.

Don't you just love a project which has a set timescale?  Back in January I was convinced that a whole year was more than enough time to complete my box, and I did get off to a flying start...

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

I have made more progress since then, including installing a musical movement plus all the layers and compartments,  and I've made a start on the 1/12th scale doll but as my eyesight has been compromised she's not quite finished.

I'm sure I could complete it in the next three months, but I'm not making any promises which I know I will probably break, even if those promises are to myself.

The other four projects are all work-related kits, and I'm tantalisingly close to completing two of them.  So it would make so much more sense to push on and get them sorted than starting a completely new one, but hey....... that's just the way I roll.

Sight for sore eyes.....

Had my post-op eye check up and sight test last Thursday.  The operated-on eye has healed nicely and the new lens is sited perfectly.  So all good there.  

The other eye however, is struggling, and as a result I have been referred back to the opthalmic surgeon to have it done too.   I will probably have to wait several months for a date for the surgery though, and in the meantime I really need to be able to work, so as an interim measure I'm having new glasses for close work, which should hopefully be ready to collect later this week.

Since the op, although I haven't been able to do anything creative,  I have been gainfully employed with general admin and website stuff, as well as sorting through my stock boxes and re-organising things.  I've made some progress on the three project kits, which I'm hoping will be ready before Christmas, and in order to kick-start my return to full-time work I've booked to exhibit at the September Mini Miniature Show, which runs from 15-19.

So... less than a fortnight to completely re-jig my dealer page.... no pressure there then. 

Selling platforms suck......

While I've been unable to do anything miniaturely creative, I've been catching up with admin and doing the eleventy billion work-related things which I don't normally have time for.

One of the outstanding items on my To Do list from last year (yes....and the award for procrastination goes to...... ) is to list my book on Amazon.  It's been available on the website since its publication last November, and since then I've had a few fruitless attempts to create an Amazon listing.  Why do they make it so damn difficult?  I only want to list ONE ITEM, but for the past few days I've been jumping through endless hoops to no avail. 

My seller account was dormant, so I re-activated it.

The credit card associated with my seller account was invalid, so I updated it.

I had to re-verify who I was, where I was and that I had a boney fido business account, so I re-verified.

However, it still won't let me create a listing and I'm all out of patience.

Back in the day, I used Amazon to sell books from my own private collection.  The process, although lengthy, was fairly straightforward.  Ditto Ebay and Etsy, where I sold my own miniature creations.   Admittedly I haven't used any of those selling platforms for several years, but exactly when in the interim did they become so impenetrably difficult to negotiate?

However the main bugbear is the fees structure, which is positively labyrinthine, and seems designed solely to strip every last penny of profit from sellers.

Here's a handy pocket guide to Amazon selling fees.

For individual sellers, they charge a flat fee of 75p per item sold,  Plus a referral fee, which varies depending on what you're selling.  For books it's 15.3% which seems a lot.

If you use Amazon Fulfillment, where the company stores your inventory and despatches it for you, they charge for those services too. 

Then there's a myriad of other charges, depending on what additional services you want or need.

As an individual seller you can't set your own shipping rates, and on checking the actual costs of shipping to each zone , I discovered that I will be losing money on every book I post.  Which means I have to increase the cost of the book simply to break even.  I don't ever make a penny on packaging/shipping charges, but I certainly don't expect to be out of pocket. 

Which just makes you wonder how on earth you're supposed to make a profit!

In any case, my seller account is currently sulking and won't let me list anything, so I'll just have to wait till it decides what to do. 

Eye rolling emoji......

Any novelty caused by not being able to work pending my eyesight disparity being resolved has waned considerably.  With two weeks still to go until my post-op assessment, I'm in a no-man's-land of wonky vision which has rendered miniature work impossible.  I have tried, but apparently, decent binocular vision is mandatory for doing really tiny stuff.

Who knew?

The best I can manage at the moment is further sorting out my workroom, and planning/making lists.  Also trying to make inroads into my admin, which is a sisyphean task.  My filing system can best be described as 'chaotic', and I rarely ever get to the bottom of the teetering pile of papers atop my desk in the office.   So while actually making anything is out of the question, I've been trying to detox my desk and generally get rid of all the extraneous clutter.  I mean, who really needs THREE pots full of pens and pencils?

Also the planning thing.  Back in spring I thought I'd be well advanced on planning for the kits I want to make.  Of course then, I didn't know that I'd be out of commission for the best part of two months while the eye thing is sorted, so I've kind of faffed about, tinkering round the edges... making progress, slowly.  But it's already August, and I should have my pre-Christmas kits underway if they're going to be completed in time.

Then there's the website which needs a thorough tidy up and re-organisation.  I'm always blaming lack of time for tackling that, but suddenly, although I have oceans of the stuff, I'm constantly finding reasons not to do it.

Which is obviously simply not good enough.

So today I'm absolutely, definitely going to make a start.

*sigh*

Aftermath......

I had my cataract surgery on Monday, as planned.  I have to say, although it was mostly painless (the THREE injections into my eye beforehand to paralyse it were 'uncomfortable' rather than painful) it most certainly wasn't my idea of fun.  I could 'see' the various instruments inside my eye as the surgeon was working, which was really disconcerting.  Thankfully it was over relatively quickly, and my eye was bandaged and covered with a rather fetching protective plastic guard.

After 4 hours I had to remove the eye guard and instill the steroid/antibiotic drops. The eye had been bleeding and was completely bloodshot on one side.... think zombie crossed with vampire.  Not a good look. 

I'm now three days on and slowly coming to terms with my new visual landscape.  Initially, my vision in the operated eye was very cloudy, but it's clearing now, and sure enough, for the first time in my life, I can see things in the distance without my glasses.  However, as predicted, if I wear my glasses I can't see with the new eye, and if I don't, I can't see with my old eye, although it's good for close distance.

This visual mismatch is making me feel dizzy, queasy and disorientated, and I'm alternately covering one eye or the other, depending on what I need to see.  My depth perception is all skew-whiff and flat surfaces look alternately concave or wavy/wiggly.  The surgeon had said that my brain might compensate in time, but I don't think it's got that message yet.  I suppose you need to have a reasonable degree of brain 'plasticity' to overwrite neural pathways, and knit two such different visual fields together.

The operated eye is extremely light sensitive, so I've been lurking in the twilight of darkened rooms, away from the blinding sunshine, donning sunglasses when I have to step outside into the unaccustomed heat, now that summer has finally decided to put in an appearance.

Work isn't on the agenda this week.  I was hoping to get back to it today, but after 30 minutes trying to thread a needle using only my good close vision eye I abandoned the attempt as I obviously need both eyes to work in harmony.  There are myriad other things I could be getting on with, but the heat is both searing and energy-sapping so I'm going to call it a day and retreat to the coolest spot I can find.

Thankfully the temperature is forecast to start dropping tomorrow, so I might get out of sloth mode over the weekend. 

Stay cool if you can....... 

The eyes have it.....

I'm going to be working like a demon this week, clearing my desk of all outstanding orders and one interesting commission, which is very nearly finished.

Yes, yes...... I know I said I wasn't taking any more commissions, but this one was serendipitous and interesting and, for once, I actually knew where to find all the bits I needed for it.

The reason for all this activity is that next Monday I'm having surgery to remove cataracts from my left eye.  My vision has been getting increasingly blurred and hazy over recent months and after tests and scans, I was approved for the surgery, which has been scheduled really quickly, considering the current situation.  It helps that it will be done in a dedicated specialist opthalmic department in a small local day hospital, relatively isolated and insulated from the chaos wreaked by Covid.

I've been told that it will take a few days, perhaps longer, until my vision in that eye settles down.  Having been shortsighted since childhood and having had to wear glasses since I was 5, I was amazed when told that I would likely no longer need glasses for distance, although, perversely, I would need them for reading/close work.  Four weeks post-surgery I will see an opthalmic optician, to asses the other eye and test my vision in the 'new' eye.

In recent years, as my near vision has deteriorated, I've worn varifocal lenses, with zones for far, middle and near distance.  I'm confused that post surgery, the distance vision in my left eye should be perfect, but I will still have to wear glasses for my right eye.  And my current pair won't be correct for the operated eye, so I'll be in the weird position of not being able to see properly with my glasses through the left lens.  But if I take them off, then I won't be able to see properly with my right eye.   Plus I'm also going to have to wear reading glasses for my left eye.

Nightmare! 

Hopefully,  at the subsequent optician appointment, I will be assessed as needing to have the other eye done too, despite the cataracts not being so bad, purely to balance out my vision.

Inevitably this will have a knock-on impact on my work in the intervening period, as I need good close vision.  With that in mind I may be unable to do some of the more intricate stuff... I'll just have to wait and see..... no pun intended.

Also this.....

History in print.....

As a result of my recent excavations in the workroom, I've unearthed a treasure trove of historical documents, stretching back several decades to the late 1980s.

I've always produced and printed all my own materials, from catalogues to workshop programmes and instruction booklets

Before the internet and email, I had to print my catalogues and send them in the post to customers.  These are just a few of the ones I produced over the past 30+ years.  Back in the day I made a huge variety of 1/12th dolls and kits, each one of which was described in my catalogues. 

In 208 I was accepted to teach workshops over two days at the prestigious Kensington Dollshouse Festival.  I still have the little doll I designed.... she's currently in La Migonette.

A selection of newsletter from past years. This was the only way to keep my students and customers informed about new classes, workshops and dolls.

A few of the leaflets advertising my very first workshops after moving from Tower House. Relocating the business and getting it going again was a very stressful time, but fortunately many of my students followed me from Kent to East Sussex.

Over time, my workshop projects became more and more ambitious.  This one, to make a Victorian Toy Shop was particularly elaborate and featured a wooden box which opened to reveal a toy shop setting full of toys and dolls. 

I generally taught one or two workshop sessions a month, and produced bi-annual programmes with details of the dolls and projects.

Another programme featuring a particularly ambitious doll which students completed in one day!  The amount of preparation involved was intense.... from cutting out costume pattern pieces in advance, to hand pleating miles of ribbons and lace.  Although she looked daunting to achieve in one day, I carefully worked out all the timings in advance and every student took home a finished doll!  

Latterly, my website has served as a catalogue, and I haven't produced a printed version for many years.  Similarly, workshops, projects etc have all been announced online, which has been so much easier, quicker and cheaper.

I must admit though, when looking through all the many leaflets and booklets from over so many years, I do feel nostalgic.

Looking back, I also feel very proud of my small business, which has endured for over 30 years, and which I've enjoyed enormously, despite all the hard work and occasional stress and worry involved. 

As I head towards my retirement I have so many happy memories of working in a field which I love.... from the scores of shows I've attended, to the hundreds of workshops I've taught, both in person and virtually, over three decades.  I've met lovely people, who share my passion for miniatures, and some have become firm friends over the years.  Similarly, I have known other artisans, well-known in their own fields, and collaborated in projects with several.

Quite what the lasting effect of the Covid pandemic will have on miniatures generally, remains to be seen.  In recent years, the hobby has contracted significantly.... specialist 'bricks and mortar' shops have closed in favour of selling online, shows and fairs have been badly hit, having been in decline.  Many of my artisan colleagues, of a similar vintage, have already retired, or will be retiring in the near future, and there don't seem to be enough new artisans coming in to take their place.

Ever smaller scales are becoming increasingly popular, and although I class my little dolls as 1/24th, it is incredibly difficult to scale porcelain dolls down to 1/48th or smaller.

For the remainder of my miniatures career, I plan to concentrate on dolls and projects which particularly inspire me and over the next few months I will be working on a few interesting projects, which will be hopefully be available as workshop packs later in the year. 

I also need to get back to my Mignonette Doll Club project, which has been languishing for way too long.  So I need to get out of Memory Lane and back into the present!

What a difference a few days make.....!

Happily, the shelf support plug thingys finally arrived, so I was able to re-install all the shelves after working out the exact configuration for maximising space for all the storage boxes, which flank the bureau on both sides.  

If I take all the boxes out of the bureau drawers, and put them into the bookshelves, where they fit absolutely perfectly and are immediately accessible, that will help clear a lot of the stuff which came out of the wall and base cabinets, which were sold last week. 

However, the resultant mess was a sight to behold.....

Having reached peak chaos, there was nothing else to do except work through it all and do the 'keep, recycle, sell'  thing with each item.  This starts off being difficult, and as the hours tick by, and decision fatigue sets in, it becomes much, much easier.  Lots of stuff in that pile is now in the dining room, awaiting collection by buyers and/or freecyclers.

With the space cleared, I was able to set about restoring the room to a workable state.

First we moved my cabinet bureau to the wall by the window, between the freshly painted bookshelves...

I've moved stuff into these boxes from the drawers in the base of the bureau, which are relatively inaccessible when the desk is open. 

I have installed a strip of LED lights inside the desk unit, which are powered by a USB plug and throw a lovely, bright, white light all over my working area

I treated myself to a new magnetic cutting mat, specially for the bureau desk. It will hopefully make it quicker and easier to clear off the drop-down desk by doubling as a tray! 

Elsewhere in the room, I've moved the shelves which were on the worktops into the space vacated by the cabinet, and relocated the chair.

My day nursery room box now resides on the worktop and is much easier to get to.

I've moved my table centrally between the south-facing windows, where I will get good light but not full, blinding, direct sunlight.

There are still things to sort though, and a few areas to tidy, but overall, considering how it looked a few days ago, the transformation is almost complete and I can now get back to work.

Happy days.....!