À la recherche du temps perdu.....

It's just over two years since we lost Small Dog and I feel it just as keenly now as then.  She was the inspiration for many of my favourite blog posts over the years and I do miss our 'konversayshuns'.

I was thinking of her earlier as I created one unholy guddle* in my erstwhile workroom, trying to organise my closing down sale.  I think it would have gone something like this....

Scene: Sandra's workroom.  Piles of boxes litter every flat surface, including the floor. Sandra sits marooned in the middle of the chaos, staring out of the window.

A faint furry apparition appears and gradually takes a corporeal form.

SD: *tetchily* Blimee murm.... yoo wood knott bileeve the trubbl ai had getten heer.  Ai hadd too fil in a form in tripplikit.  The bewrockrassy in doggie hevven is getten ridikewluss.

Me:*surprised* Oh, hello SD!  I wasn't expecting you here today.  How lovely to see you....

SD:*impatiently* Wel no... and yess.  Of korse itt is luvly but ai wos fourst to kum.  Ai koodent jusst leev yoo in this messs.  Whott on erth is goen onn?

Me:*gratefully* Things have got out of hand I'll admit.  I think I'm going a bit mad. 

SD:*quietly* Kno chainj ther thenn....

Me:*defensively*  Look.  I know how this appears, but it will all get sorted, I can assure you.  And whe...... 

SD:*taking charge* Ai wil stopp yue ther.  Ai kno it musst be difikult fore yoo.... klosen doun yore bizniss and awl.  Plus yue doant hav me arownd to helpp.  Reemembr all thoas tymes I wun Employea of the Munth.... gude tymes.   Butt yue hav to moov onn. 

Me:*reflectively* I think you only got Employee of the Month once, but that aside, yes, you're right.  I do have to move on.  And I am, honestly.  I'm just a tad beleaguered at the moment. It's all a bit too much....

SD:*sympathetically* Aim knott surprysd.  Yuve bean poorlie and AI havent bean heer to giv you the Healen Porr and lett you stroak me for ours.  And now yuve maid a rite mess in heer and kant sea the wude fore the trees.  Yue ar ovurwhelmd with stuf.

Me:*tearfully* Yes. I've lost the plot.  I should just concentrate on one thing at a time instead of trying to do it all at once.  And now everything is such a mess I don't know how I'll ever sort it out.

SD:*calmingly* Its okai.  Aill hellp.  Jusst knosentrait on wun smol area att a tyme and kleer it.  Eithr put things to sel or bak in the bocks on the shelff.  Yue doant hav to do it orl at wuns.  Trie 30 minitts then take a brake.  Hav a kup of tee and a biskitt.  A REELI GUDE biskitt....knott the wuns we yewst to hav at manijment meetens.   Plai Wurdle.  Pik up weemails. Then go bak to itt fore anuthr 30 minitts.... and sew on. 

Me:*brightening* You're amazing SD.  Yes, break it down into bite sized chunks.

SD:*with the air of a job well done* See!  Itts knott difikult.  Yue KAN do itt.  

Me:*determinedly* Yes. I can.  Thank you SD.  How can I ever rep....

Small Dog gradually fades away... her lovely, bright eyes lingering for just a few seconds more.

Me:*resignedly* Right.  Better get on then.  Might just have a cup of tea and a biscuit first though.....

Makeover planning.....

I've lost count of how many makeovers I've carried out in my workroom.  One of the most dramatic was several years ago, when I upcycled an unloved mahogany bureau cabinet into a thing of beauty.

Since then I've posted about my lovely room several times, perhaps most memorably HERE. 

So, as the room is gradually being cleared in preparation for my final sale, I'm turning my mind to how it might look post-retirement.  I will still need a space to be creative.  I have a few boxes of undressed dolls which I'm looking forward to transforming.  In fact, while I've been poorly over recent weeks,  I started watching the BBC series Marie Antoinette, which features a range of mouthwatering costumes I'd love to recreate in micro-miniature.

But I digress....

I'd been thinking of getting rid of some of the storage, most notably the run of cupboard base units at the back of the room.  But that seems shortsighted.  I can store my sewing machine, Cricut, and other stuff in them, now that all my molds and dollmaking tools have been sold along with my kiln.  That would provide some much needed floor space.

I might also re-arrange the shelves along the wall.... I've already freed up load of space on the two shelf units which flank my bureau, so the books I want to keep might all fit on those, rendering the other shelves redundant.  I have a spot in mind for them in one of the bedrooms. 

Plans are fairly fluid.... I will probably change my mind several times over coming weeks.  But it's heartening that I now feel well enough to think about planning and re-organising.

I do love a project, but in the meantime.....

65 days and counting......

I now have just 65 days till Tower House Dolls closes its doors.  That's not much time to do everything which needs to be done, plus being so poorly for the past 6 weeks has effectively lost me the whole of January.

Needless to say I have several lists on the go, utilising my time-honoured practice of writing down stuff to do then waiting patiently for the stuff to be done.  It's never worked but I continue to live in hope.  

However the knowledge that there are just 65 days has galvanised me into something approaching action and I've made a start on my final sale list.  It's hard deciding what to keep and what has to go but with each passing day I'm sure it will get easier as I gradually lose the will to live.  In my defence, I've already gone through all my boxes of vintage lace and have now started on my trimmings and fabrics, which admittedly will be harder to whittle down.

In addition,  there are all the boxes of components and miniature bit and pieces.                          Miniature tools                                                                                                                                                Books and patterns                                                                                                                                          Miniatures from my own collection....  there's a LOT to sort out.

Also, while the next 65 days will be a whirlwind of activity I can't yet clearly see what lies beyond.  Hopefully a re-modelled hobby room, where I can be messily creative without the need to focus on what might sell.  

Whatever happens, it will definitely be strange.... I'm feeling a bit unmoored already!

Advent Box reveals.....!

Christmas may already feel like a distant memory, but in recent weeks I've been receiving emails from people who bought my Advent Boxes and who've made up all the kits!

Tanya's finished Advent Box kits from the 25 days!

Tanya even made a little video almost every day when she was opening the packs and then again after she'd made up each kit.

• The box arrives
• Day 1...   and   Finished Kit 
• Day 2...  and    Finished Kit
• Day 3...   and   Finished Kit
• Day 4...   and   Finished Kit
• Day 5...   and   Finished Kit
• Day 6...   and   Finished Kit
• Day 7...   and    Finished Kit
• Day 8...   and   Finished Kit
• Day 9...   and   Finished Kit
• Day 10... and   Finished Kit
• Day 11...  and   Finished Kit
• Day 12... and   Finished Kit
• Day 13... and   Finished Kit
• Day 14... and   Finished Kit
• Day 15... and   Finished Kit
• Day 16... and   Finished Kit
• Day 17... and   Finished Kit
• Day 18... and  Finished Kit
• Day 19... and   Finished Kit
• Day 20... and  Finished Kit
• Day 21... and  Finished Kit
• Day 22... and  Finished Kit
• Day 23... and  Finished kit
• Day 24... and  Finished Kit
• Day 25... and  Finished Kit

I also had these photos from Louise of her Marotte Toy and Noelle Toy Dolls....

Thank you so much to everyone who contacted me.... my Advent Box was truly a labour of love but seeing these wonderful results makes it all worthwhile.  😊

Eeeek.....!!!

Today marked another very important step in winding down Tower House Dolls.  A helpful 'man with a van' just turned up to collect my lovely kiln, plus several boxes of dollmaking equipment, doll moulds, porcelain slip, and assorted related items and take everything to the new owner in Cambridgeshire.

I've been feeling low-level panicky all morning as it is now the point of no return when the prospect of retirement becomes properly real and there's no going back.  I even had a dream last night where I ran down the road behind the van, screaming at it to stop as I'd changed my mind.  

I've had various kilns over the past 35 years and they've always been a sort of security blanket.  My last one has definitely been the best, with its computer controlled, programmable controller, which has ensured perfect firings time after time, and none of the guesswork of earlier, more primitive models.  

Thankfully, to avoid terminal withdrawal symptoms, I have a reasonable stock of little porcelain dolls, which I can dress as and when the fancy takes me. 

I've also liberated a lot of space in my workroom, which I suppose I should now rename.

Hobby Room sounds a bit naff.  As does Craft Room.  I'll have to give it some thought......

Meh......

Next in an occasional series titled "You Couldn't Make It Up" and I'm now two weeks into an intractable chest infection which started between Christmas and New Year.  It's been made worse by being on high dose corticosteroids to treat the colitis flare, which have suppressed my admittedly rubbish immune system, allowing the infection to take hold.  Heavy duty antibiotics have helped, but I'm still really unwell with a hacking cough, intractable nerve pain (yeah.... thanks MS) and zero energy.  Even the 10 second commute from sofa to kitchen requires a lie down to recuperate afterwards. 

And it's not just me.  PP is poorly too, with the same lurgy, although hers has manifested as as a really bad cold.  However, we both have epic coughs and are taking turns glugging double strength cough medicine, honey and lemon drinks and assorted cough pastilles.

So.... not a great start to the year, with both of us ill.  I'm unable to do anything much, apart from rest and try to limit the coughing bouts, which exhaust me even more.  With so much to do it's really frustrating but currently I've no choice but to wait it out.  

Also, despite my best efforts, I've been unable to source any of this, which looks as though it would cure just about anything.  Or at least make me not care.....

Eeeek.....!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman in possession of a good idea must be in want of a damn fine plan.

And so it is, that in recent days, from my convalescent spot on the sofa, in front of a roaring fire, plans and ideas have been flowing onto my notebook.  Having finally made the decision to wind up Tower House Dolls I now have to make it happen, and thereby hangs a curly tail.

Apparently (who knew?) you can't just close your business doors and that's that. 

No by no nonny no.

There are no end of bureaucratic hoops to jump through and it's going to be much less painless and more involved than I'd hoped.  Having perused all the information on the HMRC website about closing a business it's clear that it will take most of the remaining 110 days to sort out if I'm to get it right and not incur any financial penalties.

Things like closing the website are relatively straightforward.  It will simply disappear into the ether when my hosting package expires in April, triggering a point of no return.  At that point my Tower House Dolls email address will also expire.  That will then render my business PayPal account invalid and a cascade effect will ensue.  I will then have to close my business bank account.

To fulfil my statutory obligations to the taxman I will have to inform him/her/it in advance, of the date of closure and submit final year trading accounts.  I will need to do a final stock take of all the business assets (hopefully there won't be any left) and tie up all the loose ends. 

There's a LOT to do, on top of the practicalities of clearing my workroom.  Unbelievably, having listed my kiln and all my dollmaking equipment for sale yesterday I already have a lovely buyer, who will take possession in the New Year.  That will free up loads of space and I can then downsize my storage units.   I've also made a start on my last ever sale list which will be hopefully be ready sometime in January.  It will be a doozer.

I can't deny that I've been fantasising about what to do with the liberated space and transforming my workroom into an occasional hobby/craft room.  That's the fun part which will take some of the stress out of all the other 'stuff to do'.  I already have Pinterest on standby. 

So the plan is, by my 65th birthday in April, to have everything done and dusted and be sailing off into a well-earned retirement.  And by sailing, I'm thinking 'luxury cruise'.... 😉