Review - Rolife Miniature House Kit - Corner Bookstore

I was sent this kit in exchange for a review

I love working on Rolife miniature kits, and when I was given the chance to choose another kit to complete I knew straightaway which one I would like to try. The Corner Bookstore miniature house kit is a tiny bookstore, crammed with books and other knick-knacks along with cosy corners and intriguing little nooks. 

This kit is perfect for book lovers, and just like the Silent Corner Study it's a great model to display on a bookshelf. I really like the muted colours, and I love the piles of books and plants.  

The miniature kit comes with everything that you need for assembly, you just need to add two AAA batteries for the lighting kit. Small strips of double sided tape are provided, but I found that it was helpful to have glue on hand, just to make sure that everything was stuck down firmly enough to withstand slight knocks. 

The Corner Bookstore kit has a difficulty rating of 2 1/2 stars and I assembled it in a few hours over about a week. It's always worth checking the difficulty rating of Rolife kits as they do vary, and this is a medium difficulty kit. There are a lot of tiny wooden and cardboard components to slot together and some gentle force was required to get everything into place, there is also a small amount of measuring and modification of parts.

I felt that this was one of the more open-ended kits that I've worked on - you can move away from the instructions a little and really make it your own by arranging the pieces to suit you. Although there is some plastic in the kit, many of the components are made with more natural materials like wood and paper.

The first step is to lay out all the pieces, but don't remove items from the bags as you will use the bag number to find a piece. If you do this by accident there is a materials list and part guide to identify similar looking pieces.

The instructions are really easy to follow and guide you through the assembly process. Each section has a clearly labelled list of the parts required and step-by-step directions. I found it helpful to set aside an area for components after I had finished them - the box works well for this. I also removed rubbish as I went along to keep my workspace clear.

With these kits I try to make sure that I don't rush, I slow down and enjoy the process of putting them together. It's a very meditative activity, and a wonderful way to switch off as you concentrate on what you are doing.

It's a great moment when you can fix the walls in place and the whole thing begins to take its final shape. I really like the way that this kit fits into a corner, and all the tiny props are really imaginative and full of detail.

As you would expect, even a miniature bookstore is going to be filled with books, and I had a lot of fun making the heaps of tiny books to stock the store. This is just a handful of them! They are made by covering a tiny wooden piece with a printed sticker - these books each measure around 1cm across. There are many familiar titles - Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre and The Old Man and the Sea - as well as non-fiction books and a variety of interesting and attractive covers. It seems such a shame that when assembled many of the covers are hidden! 

There is a suggested way to arrange the books, but I found it much easier to just work it out for myself, especially making sure that my favourite books had more prominent positions. But one tip for this kit in particular - take care to keep the different sized books separately as they can appear quite similar.

When the assembly is complete, it's lovely to take a step back and have a proper look at what you've just built - sometimes it's difficult to appreciate the whole when you've been concentrating hard on all the tiny details! I loved assembling the Corner Bookstore kit, and it is a wonderful addition to my miniature house kit collection.

You may like to see my other Rolife Miniature Craft Kit reviews:

Super Creator Kits - Fascinating Bookstore, Lovely Pink Bedroom and Sweet Sips Tea

Cathy's Flower House

Silent Corner Study

Elsa's Tailoring

Gingerbread House

Christmas 3D Frames

Double-sided Impossipuzzle - Golf Balls and Tees - Solving tips

Having enjoyed The World's Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle - Kittens edition so much, I enlisted my Mum to help me search for similar puzzles on our charity shop trawls. 

I was delighted when she recently found this one for me - Impossipuzzle - Golf Balls and Tees!

This jigsaw puzzle has 550 pieces. The pieces are large, so when assembled it is almost the same size as a standard 1000 piece puzzle. It's double-sided with a different image on each side - one side has repeating rows of layered golf balls, the other a scattering of different coloured tees. It seemed pretty obvious to me that the golf balls would be the easiest side, so this is where I started.

It was very easy to sort the pieces and assemble the edges, but this is when I got stuck. I just didn't know where to start! I spent several sessions just sitting and staring at the pieces trying to work out a strategy. I was initially thinking that I was going to have to do the whole puzzle just by piece shape.

But then I realised that you can use the shadows on the balls to work out which way many of the pieces should go. There are also white diamonds in the spaces between balls, and these always the same way up. I also noticed that many of the individual pieces had the same design on them, and I think this is the key thing to notice when it comes to solving jigsaws with a repeating pattern.

I began to group together pieces which looked the same, in particular those that formed the bottoms of the golf balls, using the dark shadow at the bottom to help. I was able to match up centre, left and right side pieces to make blocks of three which formed the base of a ball. These could then be linked to form an entire row across the puzzle.

I used the same strategy to add in a few more rows, sorting the pieces by the height of the black shadow on the piece. Each ball fits neatly across three pieces.

Once I had worked out this strategy I was flying! As you can see from the picture above, every remaining piece will attach to a piece of the puzzle that is already in position. It was pretty quick to solve the puzzle from here, using a mixture of shape sorting the pieces and the knowledge of the puzzle that I'd acquired so far.

There were very few false fits, and these were easily checked by flipping the pieces over and checking that they line up on the other side. Because of course the puzzle has another side, which to my eyes looks much more tricky! 

I flipped the puzzle over to take this picture, but I'm not sure I'll be attempting it from scratch any time soon!

There is a repeating pattern, with clumps of tees that are the same colour. But although the pattern is obvious when you see the completed image, it's much more difficult to see when you are looking at the individual pieces. I'll be hanging on to this jigsaw with the intention of giving it a go at some point in the future!

The most dramatic thing that happened on Mount Everest this 2026 Season

I've mentioned a few times about my somewhat niche and unusual (for someone in my demographic at least!) interest in Mount Everest. I've been reading about it on and off over the years, but this year I've really grown my interest. I've built a collection of new and second-hand books, I've watched documentaries, I've listed to podcasts, and this year I followed along with the 2026 Everest climbing season.

There is a very short window for an Everest summit attempt. The main route (on the South/Nepal side) only opens once a team of local climbers have cleared a path and fixed ropes to the camps and summit. This year it was delayed, with the first Nepali climbers on the rope fixing team only reaching the summit on 13th May. Then the ropes and ladders were removed on the 29th May, meaning that everyone had to be down from the mountain by this date. With frequent periods of bad weather on the mountain, there are only a few days during this already short period when a safe summit can be attempted.

The reason that the mountain closes around this date every year is because this is when the monsoon arrives, and conditions because extremely dangerous. There have been a few risky summits later in the year in September or October time after the monsoon when it is less crowded, but it's not something that is undertaken by many climbers.

I spent a month following along with the season, in particular watching a daily dispatch video from Everest Live, reading articles, and making some notes in my Everest notebook. I enjoyed learning more about the different people attempting the summit this year, and marvelling at the sheer numbers of people that were on the mountain. I love finding out about the logistics of an expedition.

Photo credit Tom Cleary via Unsplash

The 2026 season came to a particularly dramatic end this year with the story of Hillary Dawa Sherpa. A local guide, he was part of a small team attempting a very late summit just before the mountain closed on the 29th May accompanying British climber Chris Thrall and a Polish climber. The information is sketchy, but it looks as though they were descending when they all got into difficulties. Chris Thrall went ahead to help the struggling Polish climber, leaving Dawa Sherpa lying high up on the mountain.

Thrall believed that the sherpa was dead, or very close, and knew that if he attempted to rescue him there was a very high chance that all three would die. They would all have been aware that the chances of a descent would be next to impossible once the mountain closed and the ropes and ladders through the icefall were removed. He had to make an impossible decision, affected of course also by his own deteriorating condition.

Dawa Sherpa was presumed dead and his family had begun funeral rites when he was spotted crawling down the base of the icefall. Miraculously he survived six days on the mountain, much of it in the 'death zone' without sufficient oxygen. He spent two days trapped in a crevasse and was only able to escape after an avalanche brought enough snow down to enable him to climb out. He had very little food, and only ice for water. 

This is a story that I'm definitely going to be following over the next weeks and months as more information is released. As well as the story of his survival there are many questions to be answered, not least why a helicopter rescue wasn't implemented and whether the rescue efforts would have been more efficient for a foreign climber. He was involved with two expedition companies, neither of which seemed prepared to take any responsibility for him when it came to paying for a rescue. 

Disclaimer - I'm in no way an expert on this subject. If you are looking for more detailed information I'd definitely recommend doing some further reading from people that are far more knowledgeable!

Find out more:

BBC News - Watch: Guide stranded on Everest for six days rescued

BBC News - Everest guide survived six-day ordeal by eating chocolate and 'chewing ice'

Everest Live - Hillary Dawa Update (video)

The Tourism Times - Everest survivor Dawa Sherpa stable as HAMS Hospital confirms frostbite, fracture and severe dehydration

Everest Chronicle - Miracle and Shame: The two faces of Everest

From me:

Five excellent long-form Everest documentaries on YouTube

My "Odd Shelf', inspired by Anne Fadiman - my growing collection of Everest themed books

The things that I've been doing instead of blogging

It's been ages since I wrote a proper blog post, so here's a quick look at what has been keeping me busy:

Gardening

I love this time of year, when the garden starts to take off. We had our garden landscaped last year and it was still looking bare at the start of the year. We've added a few new plants, and I'm really enjoying seeing the things that we planted last year come back to life. One area of the garden that we had neglected was at the front where we had removed a large, overgrown hedge. We intended to replant it last year, and then decided that actually we preferred the more open plan look. But the long border that we had left for the hedge was filled with knee high weeds, and it looked terrible.

So I spent a long day giving it a thorough weed, and I cut the grass on the council owned patch at the front. Then I took a trip to the garden centre and stocked up on trays of bedding plants which I've planted all the way along, as well as uncovering some gorgeous poppies which had self-seeded. It looks so much better now, and I'm sure that our neighbours will appreciate having something prettier to look at as it all fills out!

Enjoying being outside

I always try to make the most of good weather, and it was so lovely that this year we were treated to hot sunshine over the Bank Holiday weekend. I stocked up on ice creams for the freezer, then every morning I got the garden ready with our garden furniture. I moved chairs around during the day, starting off in the sun and then moving to the shade mid-morning and afternoon. We had a barbecue every day, and spent the evening around the fire pit with marshmallows.

Following the Everest climbing season

I've written several times about my niche interest in Everest, and this was the first year that I followed along in real time. I found Everest Live on YouTube which produced daily video dispatches throughout the climbing season from around the beginning of May. I sat down every evening to watch the latest dispatch and make notes in my Everest journal. I also enjoyed reading the less frequent but detailed articles from the Alan Arnette Blog like this Everest 2026 Season Summary. 

It was really exciting, the season started later than usual with a few problems but it was a record year for summits, with 274 on a single day! I even found a live Everest webcam, and on one clear evening at the height of the season I was watching rivers of torches make their way up the mountain in the early hours in Nepal. Now the climbing is over for another year, but I have a playlist of long Everest documentaries to work through which always give me something new to research.

Photo credit Rajan Dahal via Unsplash

Hosting tradesmen

For the last couple of months we have been having our ancient bathrooms replaced, and the work is nearly finished. They look amazing! But it's been quite disruptive, and I don't cope well when there are people in the house. Having to park the car down the road, worrying about the neighbours being annoyed, wondering whether I'm offering enough drinks and being constantly available in the house in case I'm needed to check something. I find it difficult to focus on anything too complicated.

Reading

However I have been doing very well lately at working through my to be read list, even the hidden one on my Kindle! I've been going through some of the 'filler' books, which are the ones that I download for free on to my Kindle. They are usually quick reads and not that memorable, although I've found a few that stood out - I recently really enjoyed Follow Her by Anna Stothard. 

I have a long Everest book which I'm finding a bit of a slog - Into the Silence by Wade Davis. It's always named as being one of the best on the subject, but I'm finding it hard going. I bought it as a cheap second hand copy so I think I'm going to do some annotating and sticky labelling to make it more like a reference book that I can dip in and out of.

How to Find Urgent Care Wait Times Before Leaving the House?

This is a collaborative post

Nobody wants to drive across town, drag a sick child through the parking lot, and then sit in a waiting room for two hours. The good news? It's not some secret. Most people just don't know where to look. Wait times at urgent care centers are more accessible now than they've ever been.

This article covers exactly how to find urgent care wait times before you leave home, which tools actually work, and what to do if the numbers aren't posted anywhere.

Where to Check Urgent Care Wait Times Online

Urgent Care hours and locations are a natural starting point when you're planning a visit, since many clinic pages now list current or estimated wait times alongside their address and hours. Here's the thing: you need to know which sources give you real-time data versus rough estimates from a week ago.

The Clinic's Own Website

Most regional and national urgent care groups publish live wait times on their own websites. Look for a "Current Wait" or "Hold My Spot" button near the location finder. If you see a number that updates as you refresh the page, that's a live feed tied to the clinic's check-in system. A flat "typically 15 minutes" message, though? That's static; useful, but not accurate right now.

Symptom Checker Tools That Surface Nearby Clinics

Platforms like Ubie Health let you check your symptoms first, then connect you to nearby care options with availability information. This two-step approach actually saves time. You confirm the right level of care before you commit to a location, so you're not showing up to urgent care for something the ER should handle, or paying urgent care prices for a problem your doctor could handle tomorrow.

Search Engines and Map Apps

A Google search for "urgent care near me" pulls up a local pack that sometimes shows estimated wait times pulled directly from clinic systems. Apple Maps does the same. These figures aren't always current, treat them as a ballpark, but they're fast to check and require no app download.

How to Reserve Your Spot Before You Arrive

Checking wait times is half the battle. The smarter move? Reserve your spot in line while you're still at home.

Online Check-In Systems

Many urgent care groups now run online check-in through their own websites or through third-party scheduling platforms. You pick a time window, enter your information, and the clinic holds a spot in the queue. Your actual wait drops to almost nothing. Look for this feature on the clinic's homepage, usually labeled "Save My Spot" or "Online Check-In."

Phone-Based Queue Options

And don't overlook the phone. Calling the clinic directly takes about 90 seconds and gets you a real wait estimate from staff who can see the current room status. Some clinics will take your name over the phone and add you to the queue before you even get in the car. Low-tech, yes, but it works better than staring at a static webpage.

Timing Your Visit Around Peak Hours

Urgent care centers see the most traffic on Monday mornings, weekend afternoons, and the two hours after most offices close on weekdays (roughly 5 PM to 7 PM). The 2023 industry report from the Urgent Care Association found that midday Tuesday through Thursday consistently shows the shortest wait times nationally. If your situation isn't time-sensitive? A midweek morning visit reduces your wait without any app or reservation.

What to Do When Wait Times Aren't Listed

Not every clinic posts wait data online. Frustrating, yes. But you've still got options.

Call and Ask a Specific Question

Don't ask "how busy are you?" Ask "how many patients are currently ahead of a walk-in?" That specific question gets a more honest, useful answer from whoever picks up the phone. Front desk staff know the room count. They just don't always volunteer it unprompted.

Use a Symptom Checker to Weigh Your Options

If you can't get a read on wait times, use that gap to run a quick symptom check. Ubie Health's free symptom checker takes about three minutes and tells you whether your symptoms point toward urgent care, the ER, or a telehealth visit. That context changes the decision entirely. You might not need urgent care at all.

Consider Telehealth for Lower-Acuity Issues

Telehealth visits have no waiting room. For non-emergency issues like rashes, minor infections, sinus symptoms, or prescription refills, a same-day telehealth appointment is often faster than any in-person option. Most major insurers cover telehealth at the same rate as an in-office visit, so cost usually isn't the barrier people expect.

Conclusion

The fastest way to find urgent care wait times before leaving the house is to check the clinic's website for a live queue; use a symptom checker platform to match your care level to the right location; and call the front desk if nothing is posted online. You'll save yourself from wasted trips and long waits. Reserve your spot online where possible, aim for midweek mornings, and don't rule out telehealth for minor issues; it's often the fastest option of all.

How mission style furniture fits into modern interior design

This is a collaborative post

Modern interior design has shifted toward cleaner and less cluttered spaces because many homeowners want their homes to feel calmer and easier to live in. But minimalism today no longer means cold white rooms with barely any personality. More people now prefer spaces that still feel simple while also looking warm, welcoming, and comfortable enough for everyday living.

That shift has also changed how many homeowners view furniture. Pieces once seen as too traditional for modern interiors are now finding unexpected places in minimalist homes. Mission-style furniture is one of them.

So why does furniture inspired by traditional craftsmanship work so well inside today's modern minimalist homes?

What Defines Mission Style Furniture?

Mission-style furniture is known for its straight lines, solid wood construction, and simple handcrafted appearance. Instead of heavy ornamentation or decorative details, it focuses on practical design and clean structure. Many mission furniture pieces also highlight natural wood grain, sturdy frames, and functional craftsmanship, which is why the style remains timeless in modern homes.

That simplicity is also why mission furniture fits naturally into today's warm minimalist interiors. Modern minimalism now leans more toward comfort and balance than toward cold, overly sleek spaces. Neutral colors, natural materials, and less visual clutter have become more common in modern homes. According to The Spruce, warm minimalism "instantly warms any space, making it comforting and welcoming without losing a sense of simplicity." Mission furniture supports that look by adding warmth and texture without making your space feel crowded.

Why Mission Style Works in Modern Homes

The physical attributes of mission-style furniture mentioned earlier match the clean look many modern homeowners prefer today. Even though this style dates back to the late 19th century, it doesn't feel old-fashioned when paired with modern interiors.

Wood furniture also helps soften minimalist spaces that use a lot of metal, glass, and white surfaces. A mission dining table can make a modern dining area feel warmer and more inviting without adding unnecessary decoration. The same goes for a mission bed frame with neutral bedding or a mission sideboard placed below a wall-mounted TV. These pieces add texture and balance while still keeping the room open and visually clean.

Best Mission Style Furniture Pieces for Minimalist Homes

These mission furniture pieces work especially well in minimalist homes because they add function and warmth without making the space feel crowded:

Dining Tables

A mission-style dining table can easily become the focal point of a minimalist dining area without looking too decorative. Its clean shape keeps the room feeling well-organized, while the natural wood prevents the space from looking too cold. This works especially well in open layouts where you want the dining area to feel connected to the rest of the home.

Bed Frames

Mission bed frames work well in minimalist bedrooms because they keep the space looking clean without feeling empty. The slatted headboard adds just enough detail to break up plain walls. Since the design is simple, your bedroom projects a relaxing and easy-on-the-eye atmosphere.

Sideboards and Cabinets

Storage matters in minimalist homes because too many items lying around can instantly make any room look messy. Mission sideboards and cabinets give you a place to keep everyday things tucked away while keeping the room neat and organized. Their clean wood design also works easily with modern living rooms and dining areas without looking too formal or heavy.

Photo credit Alberto Bigoni via Unsplash

Coffee Tables and Accent Pieces

Smaller mission-craftsman furniture pieces can make any modern room feel more welcoming without modifying the home's overall minimalist look. A coffee table or accent piece made from solid wood adds warmth and texture, while the whole space still exudes a contemporary feel.

How to Blend Mission Furniture Into a Modern Minimalist Home

If you want mission furniture to work in a minimalist home, keep the rest of the space clean and simple. Neutral wall colors and softer lighting help solid wood furniture feel lighter and more natural inside the room. It also helps to avoid placing too many wood pieces together. A single mission dining table, cabinet, or bed frame usually creates a stronger look than an entire matching furniture set.

Mixing and matching different materials can also keep the space from feeling too outdated. Linen fabrics, matte black accessories, soft textiles, or even glass accents pair well with mission-style furniture. They add contrast without making the room's overall design feel off. Lastly, leave an open space around the furniture. When everything is not placed too closely together, the room feels brighter.

Conclusion: Traditional Furniture Can Still Feel Modern

Mission-style furniture works well in modern minimalist homes because it helps your space feel simple without an empty feel. The clean lines and solid wood construction fit naturally into modern interiors, while the wood adds warmth and texture that many minimalist homes lack.

Your home doesn't need glossy finishes or overly modern furniture to feel contemporary. Sometimes, a well-made wood dining table, bed frame, or cabinet can make your space feel more comfortable and lived in. If you want that kind of warmth in your modern home, Amish Furniture Factory offers handcrafted mission-style furniture that blends naturally into beautiful, minimalist spaces.

Why I've fallen out of love with Goodreads

I've been using Goodreads to track my reading for years now. Not for community aspect or for the book recommendations - it's purely a way to keep track of the books that I've read. It has come in useful - a couple of times I've logged a 'new' book only to discover that I've already read it, and several times it has helped me to notice when I've enjoyed several books by the same author.

But I've always had one big problem with it. Once I log a book as finished, I can't help myself swiping down to read the reviews. Not only does that send me into an unwanted scroll fest, it can also really colour my thoughts about the book that I've just read. Many times I've loved a book, only to see that most of Goodreads apparently hated it.

I understand that people write negative reviews on Goodreads for attention - and attracting a lot of comments on a long and provocative review pushes it well up the rankings. Similarly, books that receive a lot of positive reviews are often labelled as having been review copies which is bound to have affected the score.

So I do understand that the review system is skewed and I shouldn't place too much faith in it, especially for more recently published or controversial books.

Photo credit NegiPho via Unsplash

But I really hate having the way that I feel about a book being tampered with by the reviews. It leaves me thinking - am I somehow inferior to other readers because I missed all the shortcomings of this terrible book? Or am I a superior reader when I don't enjoy a book that is loved by the masses, because of course my own tastes are much more highbrow?

So I'm going to take a step back from Goodreads. I still want to track the books that I've read, and so I've been looking into some other options. I recently wrote about how terrible I am at remembering the books that I've read and so I would like to come up with a solution that somehow helps the basic information about a book stick in my head. I don't want to commit to writing long reviews in a journal, but just writing down the author, title and a few notes might be the way to go.

I'll share what I come up with!