Strategical Vision.

BEFORE: This is how the doll house looked when I  first brought it home.

AFTER: This is how it looks today. 3 coats of fresh paint and a new foundation.

     If you are reading my blog for the first time, you may not know that I took on a new project this year. It is a Second Empire styled doll house. I bought it for myself  as a Christmas Present. It was a kit, but was already assembled. It had lots of issues and needed a major over haul. I have been doing that these past weeks. It is kinda a sad look at my boring life. Living in a small town does not give you lots of options for entertainment. The nearest movie theater is miles away and for other amusements, like the Art Museum, Botanical Garden and so on, one has to drive 70 miles to St.Louis. I have a little gift/antique shop that I go to everyday. It also serves as my office. I have my computer there and do my blog and Etsy online shop there. Some days  I have no customers, on most week days, very few. Weekends are busier and during special events, we do better. Well, as I said to pass the hours away I took on the doll house project.

   I introduced you all to it at the end of December. Since then I have worked like a mad man and have made great progress.I would like to share with you some before and after pictures of the house. I hope you enjoy them, When it is all done it will go to live in the library at, My Old Historic House. Until then it is always  available for viewing at my shop, Richard's Great Stuff, in downtown Historic Clarllsville,Mo..Come anytime and we can also walk one block down the street and see the house. I always have the lights on and Sissy Dog always meets you with a big jump and a kiss. This weekend in Clarksville is Eagle days. people come from far and near to watch, count and study the American Bald Eagles, that come here every winter to fish in the Mississippi River. We hope for large crowds and I hope that some of them will stop by my shop and  spend some money. I have one bus tour of 30, signed up for a house tour on Saturday. I look forward to showing another group my old house. It is very rewarding, especially when you hear that first,"WOW!" And then there is that usual question, some one always asked."Who cleans this place?"

BEFORE: This is the attic bed room when I got the doll house. Ain't it pretty?

AFTER: This is the attic bedroom today. I made the bed spread and canapy from some old lace. All the furniture came from Nancy's shop. Kate's Attic

This fireplace mantle came with the house, it was dark mahogany and I painted it white. I wanted the attic bedroom to have a somewhat Shabby Chic look.Right in style of todays trends.

BEFORE: Library, don't you love the wallpaper job?

AFTER: The library today. I made the curtains out of an old lace handkerchief. My niece gave me the globe and it is actually a pencil sharpener.

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BEFORE: This is the entrance hall as it looked when I got the house.  Notice the awful tile floor.

AFTER: This is the first floor hall as it looks today. I removed most of the tile, wallpapered the paneling and added wall to wall carpet in a Empire style.

BEFORE: Attic room.

AFTER: Attic room now.

This dress form came from Nancy's shop. She has more in other colors. Even a wedding dress one. Very reasonable

    My friend Nancy, who I have  mentioned many time before in my blog, has a shop 9 miles up the road in Louisiana, Mo. Kate's Attic and Mini Mall. Nancy is a auction goer. I have no patients for it.  Here while back she bought a lot of doll house furniture at an auction. Must have  been a doll shop, as a lot of things were  still in packages. Most of the furniture that I have for my doll house came from her. It is very reasonably priced. Call her if you are interested.. I'm sure she would work with you and ship. 573 -754 -4544.

    I found my doll house wallpaper and carpet on line. www.dollgousecollectables.com. They have a huge selection, especially for those wanting to do a doll house of the Victorian period.

  I hand made all the curtains and bed spread that you will see today. Yes, with a needle and thread. 

  Be sure and pay special attention to the ceilings. This is very typical of ceilings you would have found in a 1870 Second Empire Victorian house. 

   I hope you enjoy my progress. Remember, I love your comments, makes my little life a whole lot better.

BEFORE: Second floor hall

AFTER: Second floor hall. I am still waiting for more of the red and gold Empire style carpet to come. I wallpapered the awful wood paneling. 

This is the formal parlor today. I am still waiting for the carpeting. I am making burgandy velvet drapes for the back bay window today.

I found these little Dresen, gold paper, pieces on line. I used them for cornices. I am wild about them.

This is the finished dining room. I have no furniture for it yet. Waiting to find a good deal on just the right pieces. Notice the ceiling. 

Dining room window, I made the lace curtains and I added the Dresden, gold paper, cornice.

 AFTER: This is the master bed room on the second floor. I still need curtains and some furniture. I bought this little love seat from Nancy's shop. It was red and I re-did it in blue. 

What's up with that?

 Well it is 19 degrees here in Missouri and I just walked Ms. Sissy Dog. We walked to the shop where it is not a lot warmer, the temperature says 44. I was closed yesterday and turned the heat off. it is going to take a few minutes to warm up, in the mean time I hope my cold, old, fingers will work,
    When I give tours at, My Old Historic House, I often have some one, usually a man, ask, "what's up with all the farm animal things here?" I guess I have a few, more than I realized till I started looking about and talking pictures for this blog. I'm not sure what gets us to collecting certain things? I am sure that we get ideals from other peoples collections, magazine articles and various other sources, like BLOGS. I grew up on a farm, around lots of real farm animals, and as an adult I have learned to love things with a farm animal theme. Lots and lots of us collect chickens. I am not sure if people even think about them being ,"farm animals." I raised chickens as a kid, they are a lot of work and we usually ended up eating them. But, to this day, I just love anything to do with a chicken. Statue, dishes, fabric,art and so on and so forth. Just about the same, I guess, goes for cows, sheep, pigs and goats. yes, I love me some pigs. They are about the dumbest animals on the farm, always in the mud, yet in art they are so darn cute.

I'm sure you remember my cow creamer collection?

   The fact is farm animals in art has been around since recorded time. We find paintings of them in caves, on costumes from the early American Indians and even in the tombs of Egypt's Kings and Queens. Animals have been the  favorite subject of many an artist paintings. We find them in needlework and carvings on our furniture.

I found these on Ebay.

This beautiful couple was made in Italy and they are larger than life size. They life on my kitchen island.

"Bessie" is in my kitchen. She is life size.

   I guess there are many different reasons why we like them, I really don't have a good one, but, I know I am crazy for them. I'd like to share some from, My Old Historic House, with you today. They range from  modest kitchen items to rare and fine porcelain. I wish you could come by someday and see them in person. I will leave the lights on and Sissy Dog will always meet you with a  jump and a kiss. Maybe you can be the next person to say,"what's up with this, all these farm animal things?"
   Stay warm, be safe and keep on Blogging. Don't forget to leave a comment, they make me happy and it will get you one in return.

I have a large collection of Mary Alice Hadley pottery, all with farm animal theme.

 

Staffordshire kids with a goat.

Early  Staffordshire cow creamer.

Staffordshire sheep, kitchen mantle

I got this hen many years ago from the Eddie Bower Home Store in St.Louis.

This little ring holder is very early,1845-1860-Old Paris 

This German Dresden piece is in my Up River Parlor. 

This was my favorite Christmas card this year, It was from my Niece, Linda.

This statue is in my shop and is for sale. It is very fine porcelain.Royal Copenhagen .I love the soft colors. Email me, cottrellprissy@aol   or call 573 242 9688 if you are interested.

This brown and white transferware plate is in my pantry/laundry room

Another brown and white transferware plate.

Eagle Watching.

   Every winter in our little town, hundreds of people come from far and near to watch the American Bald Eagles.
Our town, Clarksville,Mo,. is on the river, and the eagles come to fish. We have counted as many as 600 in a weekend. They especially come when the rivers up North are frozen. Clarksville ,Lock and Dam number 24, usually keeps the water from freezing and the eagles can fish. There are beautiful to watch and we welcome everyone.
   The Bald Eagle was officially declared the National Emblem of the United States in 1782. The American Bald Eagles scientific name is, Haliocetus Leucophalus,which literally means, "white headed sea eagle."
  These majestic birds are the largest bird of prey found in North America. Females are slightly larger than males, reaching 15 pounds, standing 3 feet tall and spreading up to 8 feet in wingspan.The females lay 1 to 3 egss in March or April. A mated pair of eagles will return to the same nest and defend a territory around that next each spring. Both eagles take turns incubating the eggs for 34 to 40 days.
  Several eagles soaring together are called, "kettles." They are able to fly up to an altitude of 10,000 feet. Males and females have the same adult plumage with white heads and tales. The juveniles are solid black/brown in color.Sometimes living 30 years, a pair mates for life, taking another partner only if one dies.
   The bald eagle has excellant vision and on a clear day, they can see a fish from nearly 2 miles away. Once spotted, they use there razor sharp talons to catch their prey.
   Before 1995-the bald eagle was considered endangered, Now there are around 4,500 pairs and 20,000 total birds in the lower 48 states. The eagles usually come to our area in late November and can stay as long as March. The number of eagles we have and the length of there stay, depends on the weather. If it is cold and there is ice, there will be eagles.
    I love to set on my front porch and watch them. They fly, dive, fish and play. It is something to see one catch a fish and another comes and takes it out of there feet. They are excellent hunters and catch a fish before you have time to blind.

  On the last weekend of January we have Eagle Days.This two day event draws large crowds. Fires are build in the city park so people can warm themselves. Local churches and clubs sell and serve food. ham and beans are a favorite as well as fish sandwiches. It is a great time in our little town. It is always fun and exciting to welcome so many to our little part of the world. A lot of our visitors come from St.Louis, but we have had people as far away as Russia.
   I hope you could come for a visit during eagle days. I would be thrilled to give you a tour of the town and open, My Old Historic House, for a tour. I will leave the lights on, have hot coffee and Sissy Dog will always meet you with a jump and a kiss. Happy Eagle Watching, where ever you are.

Power's out!

Every porch has a shelf full of barn lanterns, ready for power outage or parties.

    I live in a very rural part of Missouri, about 70 miles from a major city. Every time the wind blows or it rains, we seem to loose electric power. Sometimes it is only for a few minutes, but has been out for days. It always seems to happen in the hottest weather of summer or the coldest of winter. When ever it happens, it is not fun and you have to be prepared. I first experienced this  in the spring of 2008. You see, My Old Historic House, is about 200 feet from the Mississippi River. When I was thinking about buying my house, my sister said, "don't buy that house it floods." I answered, "well the last flood was in 1993 and they said that was a hundred year flood". Well, this was 2006, and I would be dead in  hundred years. Well, I bought it and in 2008, we had another one of those so called, "100 year floods." I was living in St.Louis at the time and spending weekends  here. I had to rush to Clarksville when the predictions were that the flood was to be as big, if not bigger, than the 1993 flood. We started sandbagging as soon as I got here and the very next day, we lost power. The electric company cut the lines for safety.I spent 6 weeks in that house with no electric, gas, water or bathroom. It was a challenge. But I soon learned, one does what they have to do.
    I  went back to the old days.Kerosene lamps and lanterns. I had a lot of them around, why not use them? My sister  bought me some lamp oil and I was in business. One lantern was hung on every porch., one in the kitchen. several in the trees and on hooks in the yard. When all these were lite, there was a pretty good lighted path around and about my house. Almost every evening, my first job was to fill all the lamps and lanterns with oil.  I seemed to get through it much better by making a game of it. It was like a scene from a movie, me walking about with my lanterns and lamps.I kinda felt like Scarlett, as she and Rhett left Atlanta and left the lamp burning at the front gate.

This blue lamp in my kitchen is the first one I go for when the power goes out.

This is a favorite,I got it  from the famous, Stark Nursery family.

   Kerosene lamps date back to about 1850. They were much like a candle. When the oil burns down so does the wick. In England these lamps were called pariffan lamps. This type of lamp was invented in America by Robert Daisy in 1853. The Abraham Gesner Kerosene Gaslight Company were the first to produce these lamps in American around 1860.This type of lighting made it much easily to light American homes. Kerosene was very cheap, easy to get and  for the first time in history, American home owners had better lighting.
   Today I have lamps scattered about the house. I try and keep one in almost every room. It is just handy when that power is lost. Matches play a big roll in these lamps and without them it is hard to use them. I discovered  waterproof matches also during the flood. They can be bought at sporting good shops and sure come in handy.I have a land line for my phone as well, as phones now days, don't seem to work with out electric. I hate anything with batteries. Sometimes there is no choice, as the only way to have certain products, like remotes, is to use a battery. I give in, but it is not my first choice.

I like to place several oil lamps by the front door when I am having parties at night. The chimneys keep the wind from blowing out the flame.

I hung them on hooks, during the flood and also  for night parties.

   I not only use the lanterns and lamps when the power goes out, I also use them for night parties and tours. I hang the lanterns on hooks in the yard, down the sidewalks and in trees in the garden. Oil lamps make a beautiful soft glow and the chimneys keep them from blowing out in the wind. I often place several on a table by the front door when having and evening party.They make such a warm welcome. Placing  lighted kerosene lamps about the house during a evening party creates a  mood that is perfect for an 1845 house. They are also much safer than candles.
  I hope you will come by sometime soon for a tour. I will leave the oil lamps burning and Sissy Dog will always meet you with a jump and a kiss.

This beautiful cranberry banquet lamp is really pretty to light for parties. It is in my middle bedroom and lights a nice path when the power is out.

This one has an unusual built in match holder and striker , makes it really handy.

Built in striker.