OOPS -- forgot to show you ...

... the pictures of the finished clubhouse/stable.

And all have settled in quite nicely! Since these were taken (just after the 1st of 2009), StringBean has created a wonderfully cozy home ... with spool-knitted rug, blankets, cooking items and all kinds of wonderful things for her little friends.

It came out quite nicely .... especially considering it started out as a Math project!

Christmas: on the fifth day of Christmas ...

... my true love gave to me ... morning Mass with our favorite priest ... an afternoon of "gadding about" with my teen while he and the littles played "Santa's workshop" by getting the doll club-house/Nativity stable all sanded, glued and nailed to the base ready for painting. BamBam is sanding the front ...

while LegoManiac shows the back "barn door" to allow easy access and give a "stable look" when we use this for our Nativity next year.

Yes, this project is big -- the base board is 2-feet x 3-feet and the height is just over 30-inches but isn't it marvelous? The girls (Kotch and I and maybe StringBean too) will do the painting ... barn red for the exterior and green (darkened slightly with some black) for the roof. We'll then put felt pads on the bottom corners (to protect surfaces and to allow a 1/4" lip to help with lifting and moving from spot to spot). Will post pictures of the final!

And to top off this wonderful day, and since it is the Feast of St. Thomas a Becket, the man killed through the misuse of monarchial power, our family movie: the classic Becket with Peter O'Toole as the despotic Henry II and Richard Burton as the reformed Thomas Becket. What a great movie!

Hope you had as good a Fifth Day of Christmas!

St. Thomas a Becket, pray for us!

Christmas: on the third day of Christmas ...

... my true love gave to me ... a trip to Lowe's to buy the lumber and hardware for Kit's Club House! We cut out all the pieces and then we'll sand them, paint them and put the whole thing together.

If you'll notice in our original scale-sketch, we have a huge door on the back to make it easier to get the 18" AG dolls in and out ... well, we had a brilliant-beyond-brilliant idea that String Bean thinks is a great one too (especially as it will get her house built that much faster!).

So, here's the idea: during the year, she'll use this club-house (which is 2'deep x 3'wide by 30" high) for her 18" dolls -- they'll all fit inside when not needed and she'll finally have a true dollhouse for these bigger ones. During Advent and Christmas, the family will get the "club-house", turn it around and use it for our Nativity Stable (we're planning on carving our own figures for next year's Nativity and will be able to get them to a good size to occupy this stable!).

This has become a family project for this Christmas Break -- Kotch, String Bean and I will paint it, the boys will help sand and build it, dh and I already cut it out, and we'll love every minute of it!

Happy Feast of St. John the Evangelist to one and all ... the only Apostle not martyred, who lived a good long time and was able to meditate on all that Jesus' time on earth means. Thank God, he was able to transcribe these revelations for us to read 2000 years later!