When I look at this pic it doesn't seem like I've done that much, but these are the fussy bits of architecture that take time to paint. Painting over that dark green meant about five coats of ivory over all the porch pieces and of course, my OCD went into overdrive when I painted the green on the porch trim so that took some time to get perfectly straight. But all things considered, I think I'm making good progress.

I'm very twitterpated with this screen door. I've used them on Greenleaf houses in the past and fell in love a little more each time so when I built a house for myself, it had to have one. They're about half an inch shorter than GL door openings so I'll need to patch in a piece of filler but that's no big deal. I didn't turn on the true-lights for this pic so it's hard to see the contrast between the dark sage trim and the lighter sage of the wall, but it's really pretty.

I decided to replace the front doors with french doors. Why? Because I like them better than other door options for this house. It's almost a novelty to build a house just for myself and this may be the last big one I can do so it's go to be special and have the elements that I want to enjoy. So french doors at the front entry it is! I thought about putting a door with side lights on the front and cutting out a doorway on the side for the french doors but I don't want to lose that much wall space inside.

I added the darker shade of sage for the barely-there detailing around the doors and windows. It's not meant to pop, but rather to add depth to the overall look. I'm finding this scheme to be one of the most soothing and relaxing that I've ever done and that really adds to the joy of building.

I ordered what I'd hoped would be a large octagon window for the third floor to match this smaller one. <sigh> I do wish that retailers would specify if their measurements are for the window opening or the window frame. It turned out to be a smaller window and that had me stumped for a few minutes. Then I remembered that the Orchid has a large octagon window in the center dormer. And I just happen to have my witch's Orchid in the closet in several pieces after it met with a "cat-astrophe". (Frankie crawled inside and got stuck, then he panicked and fought his way out, resulting in a lot of crying on my part about my very first dollhouse in ruins) Anyway, I carefully removed the large octagon window frame and discovered that the small Houseworks window fits perfectly inside it. So I painted them up and set the small window into the large frame, giving it an extra dimension that is visually appealing as well as making it a perfect fit for the large window of the Tennyson. I did a little happy dance and was grateful to my brain for remembering the Orchid. Yay!! It's the little victories that mean so much. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to leave the cross bars on the window or not. It's a simple matter to cut away parts of the window frame to accommodate them but I'm not ready to decide on that until I have more of the house assembled.

I'm afraid I have to stop work for a few days. Both my arthritis and fibro are in flare and I'm losing feeling in my hands and feet. I can feel the pain settling in between my shoulder blades and lower back so nerves are being pinched somewhere in there. It's bitter to know that I can't keep even a slower pace for any length of time and I don't do well with enforced captivity and being stuck in bed but hopefully it'll pass quickly and things will work again.