Claudia — Page 1296

What About The Rugs?

February 19, 2014 at 8:28 am by Claudia

viewfromthestairs

A while back, a reader asked me if I would mention where I got my rugs. I was reminded of that request when I was editing these photos this morning. When we first moved in the cottage, we only had one rug – the one that is in the den. We were on a budget (when aren’t we on a budget?) so we went for easy and relatively inexpensive. The oval rug that you see under the coffee table is from Lowe’s. I wanted something relatively light in color. With two dogs, I wanted something durable. This rug fit the bill. It was also very affordable. We found the round blue rug at Country Curtains. There is another small throw rug from Country Curtains at the base of the steps in the den.

When navigating the slippery wood floors in the rest of the living room became more and more difficult for Riley, I decided the open space between the stairs and the front door needed something more secure for my boy. I went to Lowe’s and purchased the rectangular version of the oval rug. I didn’t want three different rug patterns in the living room and decided to go for a more consistent look.

viewintotheden

The red rug in the den (you can see Scoutie in her tunnel position) is from Pottery Barn. I’m sure it’s no longer available as I saved my pennies for it when we were living in our rental. We’ve lived here for eight years and we lived in the rental for four years, so we’ve probably had it about ten years. The edges are a bit worn, but it remains a beautiful rug and I still love it after all this time.

If you look closely, you can see the Miss Keyboard’s School sign hanging above the large picture window in the den. I will try my best to get a better photo but it’s awfully tricky with the light pouring in. Trust me, it looks great there.

The upstairs has wall-to-wall Berber carpet. I’m not crazy about it and I’d love to see hardwood floors up there but Don is a “I want carpet in the bedroom” guy, so carpet it is.

As you can see from all the pots scattered around the living room, the Impatiens are still going strong. If I can keep them going, think of the money I’ll save when Spring rolls around!

Right now, that seems very, very far away.

Yesterday’s sunset:

snowysunset

Don’t forget to stop by my review post for Suave Professionals ® Moroccan Infusion Body Care and leave a comment to be entered in a $1000 gift card giveaway.

And our next Felt Ornament Party will be this Sunday, February 23rd. We’ll be sharing February’s creations.

Happy Wednesday.

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Oh So Tired

February 18, 2014 at 8:30 am by Claudia

stairs

I’m tired. I’m about as tired as I ever remember being. When I trudge up these stairs at the end of the day I am ready to sink into that new bed of ours and stay there for a week.

This bout of weather, the storms, the sheer amount of snow we have on the ground and on the roof, has been out-of-the-ordinary and almost impossible to deal with on my own. I feel like all I have been doing is shoveling, chipping away at the ice, digging to free downspouts, salting and then doing the same thing the next day. And the next.

I’ll be honest. I’ve cried on the phone to Don more than a couple of times. He is frustrated because he can’t help. I seem to be able to say only one thing, “I wish you were here.”

Anyway, it’s snowing. Again. Yes, on top of everything already on the ground, we’re getting more today. To be perfectly honest, the thought of staying here for several more winters is losing its appeal. I hate to focus on age, but I’m getting too old for this. But then again, I think everyone around here, regardless of age, feels tired and sore and achy and sick to death of winter.

With mounds of snow everywhere, this property feels like a walled compound.

In Antarctica.

wallpocketwithscissors

My newest wall pocket has been moved up to the sewing table where it is holding my scissors and invisible markers. The question now is do I actually hang it on the wall or leave it sitting on the table? The jury is still out on that one.

I finished Sycamore Row by John Grisham. Finally. It’s a good book, but the pace is too slow and I figured out the plot twist at the end long before it actually happened. That’s not good. But I finished it, as I vowed to do, and I’m on to the next book.

I’ve been watching the Olympics like everyone else; not all the time, but here and there. I find I enjoy watching events in real time during the day much more than the primetime coverage, which seems to be carefully crafted to hype certain events and ‘rivalries.’ Why oh why does NBC need to keep doing that? Just show us the competition. Ah, well. I suppose it’s the nature of primetime programming, but I try to avoid it.

I think I love Ice Dancing the most. And short track speed skating, which is thrilling. Yesterday’s Ice Dancing final was simply superb with every team skating so skillfully and beautifully. I could watch it again and again. The American gold medal winners skated to music from Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov, one of my favorite pieces. I’ve listened to it since I was a young girl. I have it on CD and I’m going to play it on this snowy day – the perfect piece to take me to another place, another world. The perfect escape.

Thank you for your comments yesterday. On a day when I was so tired that I wanted to cry, your lovely words brought a big smile to my face. Thank you, thank you.

Happy Tuesday.

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Six Years

February 17, 2014 at 8:47 am by Claudia

iloveblogging

I woke up this morning and as I was making coffee and attending to those first tasks of the morning, I looked at the date. February 17th. What was it about that date? I kept trying to grasp some memory, some thought, that was just beyond my reach.

After the first sip of coffee, it hit me. But I checked my archives to be sure.

I started this blog six years ago. Today.

After reading blogs for several months and wondering if this might be for me, I mentioned to Don that this new thing might be a way for me to indulge my love of writing. And then I mentioned it again. And again. Finally, he told me to just do it.

And I did. Here’s the first post:

Welcome to my blog, Mockingbird Hill Cottage! I have been reading and commenting on various blogs for a long time and now I have finally started my own. Believe me, I will be learning as I go. I’m looking forward to meeting new friends and sharing my thoughts, projects and experiences with you. Mockingbird Hill Cottage is so named because my favorite book of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird and my maiden name is Hill. It is also a salute to a mockingbird that serenaded us every night with the most beautiful music when we lived in California. I hope your day is a happy one.

There was no photo. I hadn’t figured out how to do that yet. All I knew was that I had to get a post on the virtual page to make it official.

Was anybody out there? Yes, there were a few people that found me in those early days, thank goodness. But there were plenty of posts over the next year that had absolutely no comments.

I just kept writing.

In those days, there were far fewer blogs out there and it was much less competitive. I miss that a bit. Yes, this is a wonderful community, but in my first year or two of blogging it was a lot more like a small town. Facebook hadn’t taken off yet. Twitter wasn’t in the picture. Neither was Instagram or any of the other sites or apps that take only a minute of one’s time and sacrifice words and story and heft for quick and light.

There are people who say that reading a blog post takes too much time, that Twitter and Facebook are becoming the preferred way to share something in this world of 30 second attention spans. That people don’t want to read a long post. I even read the occasional prediction that blogging is becoming a thing of the past.

All I can say is: If people are having trouble reading a blog post, we’re in trouble. Because if that is true, I can only assume that reading a book must be simply impossible. And that reading an in-depth article simply cannot be done.

I prefer substance.

This medium of words and images, of peeks into each other’s lives, this place where we share our sorrows and our joys, our routine and not-so-routine days, has opened up a whole new world to me. I am forever grateful for the day I hit ‘Publish’ and joined so many others who were exploring this new thing called blogging.

solitary

True. That’s why blogging is so wonderful for me. I can sit here at my laptop, house quiet, the sound of Scoutie snoring on the sofa, and I can write. I can write a journal that is not only for me – it’s for you. I can share my thoughts and fears and happiness and sorrow with you. I can take a photo and instantly share it with you along with some, hopefully, well chosen words.

Pretty gosh darned amazing, isn’t it?

Finally, thank you. Thank you for being there. Thank you for taking the time to visit my little home on the Web. Thank you for all the times you’ve commented. Thank you for all the times you have sent me a personal note or an email or a thoughtful gift. Thank you for reaching out to me in times of sorrow. Thank you for words of encouragement. Thank you for laughter. Thank you for You.

I am so very grateful for our friendship.

Happy Monday.

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What About The Rugs?

Oh So Tired

Six Years

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives