Ground Goop and Families for the Mill Village

Always good to have grands visit, including the opportunity to have some fun with the layout.  We had two granddaughters visiting again and they responded well to the challenge of more Lou Sassi ground goop for scenes on the layout.  They seemed pleased with the results of the tobacco farm, so we picked the mill hill as the next scene.  My son was in the habit of calling the Styrofoam insulation we used to make a "hill" strawberry ice cream, so we really did need to do something.  This time we even had help from the DIL.

Granddaughter #1 was a little concerned with Granddaughter #2 using power sander to adjust the pink ice cream!

But there was little problem applying the goop.

Mom was a strong contributor, too!

We let the goop sit overnight after I added a little gravel for the drive up to the mill village.  Then we had to come up with the story behind the houses.  We had placed the "scene" of junked car in the goop, so it only seemed right that the closest house was owned by the father of one of the greasers -- haven't decided whether the kid drives the black '55 or the deuce coupe.  But we're pretty sure he's a high school dropout.  His dad is single and works at the textile mile.

We looked at the far house next and wanted to put up the close line.  The girls inspected what was on the line and determined the family consisted of father, mother, and two daughters.  We'll add some outdoor activities for them.  Maybe even tie a tire swing to a local tree WHEN we plant the tree.  Dad, of course, is at the mill; Mom is a nurse at the local Doctors' Office.

Then we had the middle house to worry about.  A slightly older couple lives here.  They worked hard to raise their children and saved as much as they could.  Their young folks are at college in hopes of a better life.  Now that they are empty-nesters, the couple have time to keep their lawn looking nice, feed a dog, and plant some flowers.  They are NOT pleased with the next door neighbor and have installed a hedge a few years back

Well, the hedge and lawn and flowers and tree swing need to be installed permanently, and a good bit more work is still needed. . . .