Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

  • About MHC
    • Disclosure
  • Dollhouses/Minis
    • Hummingbird Cottage
    • The Studio (Formerly TSP)
    • Dove Cottage
    • The Lake House
    • The Folk Art Dollhouse
    • The Modern Dollhouse
    • The Beacon Hill Dollhouse
    • Dollhouse Source List, Information and Tutorials
  • On the Road
  • Collecting
    • Roseville Pottery
    • McCoy Pottery
    • Egg Cups
    • Bakelite
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Archives for Claudia

Snow, A Table & A Party

January 3, 2014 at 8:20 am by Claudia

snowymorning

Brrrr. There’s nothing like waking up at 6 am, grabbing a coat, hat and gloves and shoveling a path for Scout. Up the little hill, all the way around the dog corral and back down the hill again. Barely awake, coffee yet to be consumed, no bodily strength whatsoever. Like a wet noodle.

I came back in the door, ordered Scout outside, and collapsed in the chair.

I am just now coherent enough to start to write a post. There’s clearly a lot of shoveling on the docket for the day. I have no idea how much snow fell – several inches, for sure – but thank goodness it’s powdery. It wasn’t the heavy, wet kind that is so tough to shovel. It’s windy and cold here, with a wind chill that is taking the temp down to the zero mark. Tonight’s low will be 7 below zero. Yikes.

This is the time of year that I go into my fantasy world and pretend I’m back in Southern California with the warm sun on my face. A girl can dream, can’t she?

dhworktable

This arrived yesterday. It’s my work table for the Craft/Studio/Office room in the dollhouse. Isn’t it perfect? I haven’t decided whether I’m going to stain it or paint it. I may stain it, simply because so many pieces of furniture in the dollhouse are painted. Then again, I may paint it.

Christmas-Ornament-Party-Button

I want to tell you about two things. The first is a neat idea that my friend Dawn of Creative Cain Cabin came up with. Lucky me – Dawn asked me to co-host the party with her. It’s the Christmas Critter Felt Along. We’re going to be making 2 felt Christmas ornaments each month. Early in the month, we will post photos of the two ornaments, along with patterns and directions and a list of materials and then later in the month we will host a linky party where we can share our creations. So, by next Christmas, you can have 24 new ornaments. You can give them as gifts, or save them for your own tree. Here’s the neat thing: these are so quick and easy to make that you will be able to put them together in no time at all.

And you can make each one for about 20 cents. It’s that inexpensive. Dawn has written a great post about it today. Go on over and visit her post, and you’ll get an idea of what we will be making. So simple, yet so adorable. We will be posting the first two ornaments on January 8th, with directions and a list of materials, along with our own versions of each ornament.

I’d love to have you join in. I think it will be fun. And it takes very little time, which is a big plus for me!

I’m extremely late in posting this, blame it on the holidays, but the winner of a copy of The Seduction of Miriam Cross is Gina! I’ve already contacted Gina. I have some more reviews coming up in February, so there will be more opportunities to win.

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: Christmas Critter Felt Along, dollhouse, snow 53 Comments

Friends, Gifts and a Gift to Ourselves

January 2, 2014 at 9:34 am by Claudia

We’re watching snow fall, waiting for the big wallop of a storm that is going to hit us later today and into tomorrow. All sorts of warnings, wind chills of 20 – 30 below zero expected, blizzard-like conditions overnight.

Oh boy.

I had a sleepless night. Why, I don’t know. Just one of those things that happens occasionally.

tiredscoutie

Thank you, Scout. You’ve managed to capture the exact way I feel this morning.

Our friends, Tina and Noble, stopped by yesterday afternoon. Tina made the lamb costume and party hats for Scout and is immensely talented in all sorts of ways and Noble is a colleague of mine, a wonderful actor who I’ve worked with at Hartford Stage twice now. We had such a lovely time with them.

Tina, who is the one of the most thoughtful and loving people I know, brought gifts.

tinagift1

A beautiful piece of vintage Pfaltzgraff pottery. I love this design and the color of the glaze.

tinagift2

And this beautiful aqua pitcher, filled with flowers. I’m thinking Tina knows my favorite colors.

I was completely surprised by these lovely gifts. Thank you, dear Tina.

Tina brought two more items that won’t be revealed until Sunday. You’ll have to wait.

In other news, and this item is a biggie for us, we bought a new bed! We have a list of things that need to be fixed and/or taken care of around here. It’s sort of a Wish/Must Be Done List, which we’ve written on the kitchen blackboard. One of those wishes has become a necessity and that’s a new bed. We’ve had our queen-sized bed for almost 18 years. It’s been uncomfortable for about 5 years now and we wake up with sore hips, sore backs, sore everything. Plus, it’s too gosh-darned small for the two of us. Don is almost 6′5″ – I am just under 5′9″ –  Don’s feet touch the very end of the mattress and I constantly complain about being pushed to the edge of my side of the bed.

We have a small bedroom. But, I think we can rearrange things to accommodate a California King-sized mattress. It will take some creative thinking, but we really need a bigger bed. King-sized won’t do it, because the length of the bed is the same as a queen. But a California King is four inches longer, so that’s the ticket for us. And it’s not as wide as a king, but it is 12 inches wider than a queen, that’s 6 for me and 6 for Don.

That means we have to buy a new bed frame and linens and a headboard, a necessity because of the slanted walls. We went back and forth on this purchase but, in the end, we realized that the quality of our sleep is important and that the investment will pay off over time. It will probably arrive towards the end of the month. Good luck to the guys who have to get it up the stairs. I’ll have to clear a lot of things out of the hallway studio before the delivery – as always in a small house, space is at a premium, including the space in which to maneuver a mattress.

Cannot wait.

Happy Thursday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: friends, gifts, snow 62 Comments

Thoughts on a New Year

January 1, 2014 at 9:10 am by Claudia

coffee

Did I ever share this with you? Don gave this piece, made by a local artist, for my birthday.

He knows me very well. Just this morning, he tried to initiate a conversation before I’d had my coffee. He quickly realized his mistake with the words, “We’ll talk later.” Wise man. (I have this hanging on the side of the cupboard by the kitchen window.)

Anyway, happy 2014 and all that. We were reading in bed by 10:00, asleep by 11:00. Yes, what wild partiers we are!

We had a dusting a snow yesterday afternoon, in preparation for the big storm that is going to hit us tomorrow and Friday. I haven’t checked the updated weather forecast, but I’ve heard anywhere from six inches to over a foot of snow is on its way. Oh boy.

Thoughts on the New Year:

I’m not one for choosing a word for the year. There are too many words going on in my head at any given moment and I’m not about to lock on to just one. Doing that would eliminate too many exciting possibilities for the days ahead.

I’m not one for making New Year’s Resolutions. I move forward with the same thought in mind that I had the previous year, and the year before that: to be a better person. That’s it. It I can accomplish that to a small degree, I’m very happy.

I’m also not one to look back with regret or to ruminate about things that have happened or not happened or choices that I’ve made or not made. Whatever choice, I made it. It took me a while but I’ve learned an important truth. I take responsibility for all my choices, good and bad, knowing full well that I shape my life. It’s no one else’s responsibility to make me happy, including Don. It’s my responsibility. Though I try to do my best, I make mistakes often. I’m a work in progress.

Anyway, I refuse to be a victim. I am the author of my life and the lessons I have to learn and re-learn can be painful, but are ultimately freeing and will help me to do that very thing I wrote of earlier: be a better person. And I have much, much more to learn – I need to break some patterns of thought that keep me from moving forward in certain areas of my life. I need to change those thoughts to positive, empowering ones.

It’s a challenge I embrace.

I plan to write more on this subject in the near future. It’s something that’s been on my mind lately.

Housekeeping:

I was busy doing other things yesterday, so I had no idea that my host, Bluehost, was down for a few hours until Dawn called me in the early evening to tell me. So if you tried to get to the blog and couldn’t, that’s why. It happens with every host at some time or another, including Blogger. It’s back up now and I was probably better off being blissfully ignorant of the whole thing!

I wish for all of you a very Happy New Year, with blessings and joy and love and happiness and everything good for you and yours.

Happy Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: life 37 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 1310
  • 1311
  • 1312
  • 1313
  • 1314
  • …
  • 1845
  • Next Page »
  • Email
  • Instagram

Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

Thanks for stopping by.

Searching?

The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

Archives

All Content © 2008 - 2026 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in