My Healing Odyssey

No longer closed up inside its stone ridden shell, my Castle will be a home that welcomes others, inviting all to experience its inner beauty. I promptly sanded down the residue around the door that had been sealed behind plastic for the past 45 years.

Strips of “bricks” were obviously missing in places on this fortress and reapplied. Amazingly, I still had even the tiniest piece after all its many journeys…. played with 45 years ago by a special little girl; moved with her as she grew up; displayed in all its glory at the Orange County Fair after winning the “Best Craftsmanship” award; and serving as a “cat house” under her staircase for a litter of kittens.  It was finally crated to travel across the ocean to me because it was especially made to the scale of Ideal’s 1964 Petite Princess Dollhouse Furniture line and I own the Petite Princess website. Who would have thought a complete stranger would "gift" me such a treasure?

Admittedly, some of the larger patches of glue weren't as easy to remove. As I tediously scraped away at these nearly permanently affixed globs, I realized some trials in life are much more difficult than others. They are those that take courage and determination as you press forward a little to see the final product.... not an easy thing to do, but so rewarding to have persevered and met your goal! My exterior walls are now ready to be patched and painted!

It took me over 3 hours to patch in all of the many cracks that had occurred over the past 45 years. But, the end product is so worth it! I reflected back on the many many chips and cracks in my life that at times seemed hopeless to repair. Yet, in due time (with much patience and perseverance on my part) they all seemed to work out, with many in much different ways than I had hoped or expecte d.

One final obstacle remained in my path.... a huge chip of marble was missing from my Dining Room floor! As I don't have any marble, I had no other choice than to do the best I could to patch it with the same compound. I could have left it, an obvious gaping hole in the corner and allowed it to fester until I took action. But, not this time. Although imperfect, the white plaster blends in better with the marble than its wooden platform. I have completed my exterior repairs and now it is ready for a new face lift! I can't wait to paint it! The best is yet to come!        

As I began to apply pale pink paint to my Castle, I began to panic. Am I making a mistake? Should I have just left things as they were? Streaks of pale pink over the original paint looked good in places, yet awful in others. But, didn't I especially purchase this paint ten years ago for such a time as this? Why am I doubting myself? I have started something and I can't turn back now! Four days later, I am ready to apply my third and hopefully final coat of pink paint.  One thing I can say is I was much more confident painting the second coat as I could see a great improvement, but  I'm really not looking forward to this. I know it needs to be done, but I ended up with sinus headaches both nights due to breathing in the fumes. Let's face it, there are things in life we don't want to do and choose to do so because it is in our best interest. One more coat of pink paint and this Castle's black patches should be completely covered up.  I took the challenge and...

I decided not to paint the Castle's alcove off the Bathroom pink and keep it "as is." This patio will be distinctly different from the rest of the Castle and I have special plans for it. Even though I have enough pink paint to paint the entire Castle pink, I have decided to keep the beige bricks "as is" so they are more noticeable. It is also easier this way because I am still unable to match their original color after three trips to the craft store. I am learning in some cases in life, it is easier to try something completely new. I did find a similar blue tone for the Castle's roof on sale for only $1.00. As I began painting it, I realized how nicely the paint filled in the many cracks in the shingles and covered the dirt I had been unable to clean. As an added bonus, those shingles with chips seemingly disappeared when sealed by the paint. I was reminded of the roof serving as a covering for this home to protect it from the weather. So it is the sam...