As a child I loved loved LOVED playing in my Wendy house. It was
in very bad shape - a big hole in the roof and a door that wouldn't close and a
sand floor. The asbestos (wheeze) walls which
had never been painted, made the inside very dark but I didn’t care, I had my
dishcloth and my dolls and I played house with my one old wire chair. It
was my own private space where nobody would disturb me (this may have had
something to do with the massive spider population with which I shared the
place) and quite honestly, as the fourth child, if I was busy playing and out
of everyone’s hair, everyone was pretty happy. Seriously I had an awesome and imaginative childhood.
Whenever we go to friends or to a play area that has a little house my 2
chicks are drawn like moths to a flame and I end up having to drag them out
kicking and screaming when it's time to go home. So when a friend of
mine, Yvonne said she had a little house that her kids had finished playing
with, I jumped at the opportunity to bring the little house home.
It was a surprise for the girls, so when they saw it for the first time,
set up in the corner of the garden, they went berserk with excitement! Both of them
started emitting high-pitched sounds (that only neighborhood dogs could hear)
and they ran around in circles in the garden, too excited to go near it.
 |
| BEFORE |
Some of the items that they had received for inside the house were a bit
dusty and needed a wipe so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to teach
the girls to clean their own stuff before arranging it as they saw fit.
They were only too happy to jump in and help, especially when the bucket of
warm soapy water arrived, fun fun fun. I didn't help at all, I just wiped
the remaining water off because their idea of wipe the item vs. bath the item, are
very similar. I arrived with refreshments (after 5 minutes of cleaning)
and Tomato, panting from the massive exertion of cleaning for 5 minutes, wipes
her brow with her arm and says "Mommy, I feel just like
Cinderella!" I'm assuming this is Cinderella before the invite to the Ball, but she was just thrilled to be able
to relate to her favorite character that she didn't mind cleaning at all.
Bacon lost a bit of interest and just wanted to get into the house but Tomato
finished off and before long was ready to move the furniture in.
I gave them a few minutes to decide where the furniture should go and
then I helped move it in for them and then left again while they packed their
shelves and the lighter stuff into the house. When they were settled in I
was invited for tea. There was a big cordoned off space in the one
corner. In response to my puzzled expression, Tomato matter-of-factly
pointed out that this was, of course, the naughty corner for her sister.
No house is complete without a naughty corner apparently. Anyway my tea was a bit muddy and leafy but
all-in-all it was a good cuppa made with love by Tomato and Bacon.
Well the house was in good nick but needed a little bit of freshening up
so Dad set off with the girls to Builder’s Warehouse. Even though he only needed to replace a few
rotting planks on the patio (yes they even have a patio) they came back with
everything bar the kitchen sink (and that was only because they already have
one from Aunty Yvonne) and paint swatches (pink and purple – duh!) Excitement
was running high.
The renovation plan read as follows:
Objective: Restore Fairy Cottage for new owners
1.
Remove and replace rotting wood on
patio floor - Dad
2.
Sand and adjust door to close
properly - Dad
3.
Install new door latches and hooks:
a.
to hook open - Dad
b.
to hook closed - Dad
c.
to hang pretty things on outside -
Dad
d.
to hang pretty things on inside -
Dad
4.
Install ceiling board with Think
Pink Aerolite (I kid you not!) - Dad
5.
Fit wall-to-wall carpeting (with 2
loose triangle carpets as requested by owners) - Dad
6.
Installation of solar powered baby Chinese
hanging lanterns inside and outside to gain maximum evening use - Dad
7.
Sand and paint exterior in pastel
pink with lavender detail – Cosmos (painter extraordinaire)
8.
Decorate interior with bunnies and
flowers - owners
9.
Custom made curtains with matching
tie backs, scatter cushions and aprons - Meema
Well I am pleased to say that all the items have been completed and the
owners moved into their Fairy Cottage on Sunday.
They managed to sleep in the house until 12am when they needed to be
moved back to the main house.
I would have given anything to have had a Wendy house like this - this is truly every little girl’s dream :-) |
| AFTER |
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| HAPPY OWNER |
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