In the words of Marianne Williamson...

... author of 'Everyday Grace: Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness and Making Miracles', "Every ending is a new beginning. Through the grace of God, we can always start again."

Thus we arrive at the ending of the Remembrance Day room box project and move on to a new beginning.

The only thing left for the Remembrance Day project is to add a beret for our elderly veteran but everything else is ready to go.

The remains of a time most of us were fortunate not to experience. We remain forever grateful to those who did. From the weathered canteen hanging from a post, to the forgotten binoculars, the Bible, and even the old photo a loved one, every item holds a story.

And so we move to the outside of the bunker where Marijke used her substantial talent to add the details necessary to show the passage of time. The sand bags become darkened with age and weather, dirt builds up in every available crevice which, in turn, allows the sprouting of grasses and weeds. I think Marijke has done a beautiful job of depicting this.

And above, as we've seen in previous posts, our elderly veteran walks the fields of distant memory, oblivious to the bunker lying beneath his feet.

With a poppy on his lapel, and the crest of the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment on his pocket...

... our hero turns his back and moves on...

... leaving the secrets for another day.

And now we too move on, to our new beginning: Dorothy's Corner.

Here, in New Brunswick, The Moncton Dollhouse Miniatures Show and Sale is coming up the first weekend in May. Our little group from Fredericton will have a display table there and the Moncton Club has also invited us to join their members in entering a small item to be judged in a competition for visitors' "favourite" of the day. This year's theme for the judging is "hobbies". And so, Dorothy's Corner was born in my mind.

I started with a few small pieces of 1/4" MDF: an 8x10" base, a 6x8" side wall, a 2" wide front wall and a piece for the roof that would allow a small overhang. I bevelled the top of the side wall to accommodate the slant of the roof, and one edge of the roof to accept fascia boards along the roof line.

The intent is that these pieces will make a simple cross-section of a building to act as a backdrop for my little scene. Once I glued the front and side walls together, I applied boards and stud walls to the inside.

Then I painted the outside black, in case there were spots where the wall might peek through, and I started applying stones.

Once the rocks were complete, I realized I had taken them a little too far up the wall because the angle of the roof line would make the roof piece hit the rocks. So, plan B, I added a few wood pieces to the top edge to raise it a bit. Now the roof will fit fine. And so, it was on to the shingles!

I love the look of brown cedar shingle against rock walls so this is what I chose for Dorothy's Corner.

After the first two days, I have the wall and roof built.

But here's the thing - of course you knew there'd be a "thing", didn't you????

I have a birthday coming up next month, so I thought perhaps I could celebrate by having a little contest. I haven't decided yet exactly what the prize will be, but I will reveal it as soon as I have made up my mind. *smile* Actually - I think we should have two prizes and two winners.

One winner will be chosen from each person who leaves a comment on anything I post between now and my birthday (May 15th). I won't post everyday but, for each day I post and you leave a comment, your name will be entered one time.

The 2nd winner will be the first person who figures out why I have called this project "Dorothy's Corner" And no, I have never had a relative, loved one or pet named Dorothy so that eliminates those guesses. The answer is probably pretty obscure but I have faith that someone will figure it out before the end of the contest.

The contest will close on May 14th and I will announce the winners on May 15th. Good luck to all! TTFN!! - Marilyn