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

A Little of This, A Little of That

March 14, 2013 at 9:25 am by Claudia

scoutie

• Don’s been back home for almost a month now and I’ve noticed a change in Scout. She’s been with us over 13 years and has lived through the prolonged absence of one or the other of us many times. It comes along with working in theater and film. She doesn’t like it when one of us is gone, but she’s pretty resilient. This time, however, when Don leaves the house to run an errand or go into the city for an audition, she goes into a funk. Though she hangs out with me for a little while, mostly she waits for Don. She goes into the living room and stares out the window. She parks herself on the floor of the kitchen facing the door. She starts at every noise, thinking it’s him. I will call out to her and ask her to come in the den with me, but she won’t. She never used to be that way.

More evidence that she’s getting older, that these things aren’t as easy for her anymore. She lost her brother recently, then Don went away for a long time. It’s too much for my little girl. Now I will be going away in a month. We really have to take her into account now as we make decisions as to who’s working where and for how long. We always have, of course, but now she is more needy, more vulnerable than ever. She’s our child and her comfort and peace of mind has to be a top priority.

• I’m finishing up an Obsession Scarf which will soon be on its way to a customer. Then I will start on more banners as they are currently sold out! Wow. I’m so glad you like them. Thank you to everyone who purchased one. Meredith and I just made our 99th sale on Etsy! How can that be possible?

hydrangea

(I just realized that the color of this vase matches the color that’s used in my menu and the titles on the sidebar.)

• I want to steer you toward one of my favorite blogs – that of my friend, Martha. It’s called Poetry and a Cup of Tea and it is simply wonderful. Martha loves poetry and literature and all sorts of other  things. She writes beautifully and shares her heart in every post. She also has a great sense of humor.

I think we were separated at birth. I cannot tell you how many times she has written about something that I remember from my childhood, or an author that I was sure no one else loved as much as me. Yesterday she wrote about The Fighting Prince of Donegal, a Disney movie from our youth, and the Scholastic paperback version of Disney’s story that she still has.

I had that book, too. And I watched that movie countless times when I was a kid. I had a huge crush on Peter McEnery, who played the lead.

And I thought I was the only one.

She’s written about The Barbie Game (yes, I had one) and The Girl of the Limberlost (one of my very favorite books ever.) She tells a great story and she always shares a poem with her readers.

Stop in and say hello. I’m crazy about her.

• I often talk about my grandmother and her skill as a needlewoman. She was a strong influence in my life and the life of my siblings. My sister, Meredith, just wrote a post about her. Click here to see some of my grandmother’s incredible handwork.

• Did you know I almost always respond to your comments? Yep. Right there under your comment. If you’re interested, you can either check back here or you can put a check in that little box that says you want to see the response via email. Then, as if by magic, my response is sent to your inbox. I can’t guarantee something profound every time, but I do my best!

• Today is your last chance to be entered in the giveaway for a copy of Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright. Just scroll down and leave a comment on that post, if you are interested. I’m picking the winner this evening.

Happy Thursday.

signature2

 

 

Filed Under: books, crochet, Don, etsy, Fellow bloggers, Scout 41 Comments

Mabel On The Road

March 13, 2013 at 9:03 am by Claudia

I leave in just over 4 weeks to work on Twelfth Night in Hartford. Lots to do between now and then: prepping the garden, prepping the script (when I get it) and researching everything that needs to be researched, more items to be finished for the Etsy shop, perhaps finishing my bed quilt. There are other projects that I might not be able to work on here, but perhaps I could take them with me? Which brings me to my lightbulb moment:

featherweight

Miss Mabel, the ultimate in lightweight portable sewing machines, can go with me! After all, she is a Featherweight. I spoke to her about it and she seems excited. What girl doesn’t like to travel?

When I’m on the road working there are days that are packed and busy with no time for anything but work. But there are also days, depending on the rehearsal schedule, where I have big chunks of free time. I’d much rather be doing something productive than simply killing time or surfing endlessly on the web.

Featherweightmoda

I found these charm packs of Moda fabric in a box in my Craft Closet. I’d completely forgotten about their existence. I bought two of these packs when I was in San Diego 4 years ago, no doubt planning to do something with them while I was there. Since I made two quilt tops during that 6 month period, I was on a roll. Anyway, I obviously didn’t get to them, so I’m thinking I’ll take them with me.

designwall

I put some of them up on the mini design wall the other day. Hmmm. Any ideas?

sunmaggierabbit-670x446

I’m also taking this project with me.

I’m excited at the thought of traveling with my Mabel! Her lovely presence will instantly warm up any temporary housing. She’ll bring a touch of class to the most mundane of spaces.

Laptop. Camera with lenses. Books to read. Mabel. Check.

Wait a minute. I haven’t named my camera. Suggestions?

Gosh, I haven’t received my emails of this post – Feedburner seems to be acting up again.

Happy Wednesday.

signature2

Filed Under: camera, crafts, Hartford, On The Road, quilting, sewing, singer featherweight 53 Comments

Signifying Nothing

March 12, 2013 at 10:05 am by Claudia

keyboardphone

Gray. Rainy. So dark when I got up this morning I thought it was much earlier than it actually was.

Is anyone on LinkedIn? I am, and for the life of me, I can’t see that it has done or will do anything for my career. The same people link up with me there as do on Facebook. They already know about me. And why does anyone have to ‘endorse’ my skills? What is that all about? I’ve listed my skills on my profile, I’ve linked to my professional website, my resume speaks for itself. In fact, it looks to be just another thing in a series of things I have to maintain…this blog, my website, MHC’s Facebook Page, LinkedIn…Oy.

It reminds me of those assignments that teachers used to give us that we would call busywork. Remember? You knew it accomplished nothing and you certainly weren’t going to learn anything new – the teacher just wanted a time filler. Heck, I’ve done that as a teacher. LinkedIn seems like busywork that accomplishes nothing.

Another in a series of activities that can make us seem busy and productive but are really time suckers.

And what about this sort of thing: close family members informing you of life-changing news (like a pregnancy) or asking something very important of you via Facebook? I speak from experience on this one. It has happened to us. I love my nephew but the only way I found out that they were going to have another baby was because I happened to be on FB that day. My sister doesn’t go on Facebook very often, so she had no idea. What if you don’t follow Facebook every day?  What if you aren’t on Facebook at all – like my father? What ever happened to a personal phone call? Or a handwritten letter? Lord knows, I am not a great letter writer, so I would most likely use the phone, but if I was sharing BIG news with my immediate family, I sure as shootin’ wouldn’t do it via a status update on FB. Now, I’m talking about life changing news here – not everyday kind of news.

Emily Post would be rolling over in her grave.

I’m not a stickler for etiquette, by any means. But everything is getting so depersonalized in this world that I am getting increasingly more concerned about a younger generation who seemingly doesn’t get it. They are so attached to their cell phones and their texts and their hash tags that they know of no other way to communicate.

Am I the only one that finds hash tags (#) annoying and, frankly, silly? They look ridiculous to me.

Don’t get me started on those who must tweet throughout the experience they are having instead of actually having the experience. How can they possibly be in the moment? Please don’t write a status update about where you are, with all sorts of hash tags added for your tweet, and expect that to substitute for the real thing. And DO NOT TEXT DURING A LIVE PERFORMANCE. Beside the obvious fact that texting pulls you out of the moment, it is rude. When I’m standing in the back of the house and I see little blue screens lit up, you can guarantee that your fellow audience members can see them. As can the performers.There’s more than one theatergoer who has had to deal with me on that one. I will stop you.

There is so much that is valuable and wonderful about the Internet and cell phones and all that kind of thing. I wouldn’t have this blog without the Internet. I wouldn’t know all of you. I experience its value on a daily basis. But they cannot take up every waking moment of our lives or the lives of the younger generation. Lots of texts. Lots of tweets. Lots of FB Status Updates. It all equals a lot of “sound and fury, signifying nothing.” They are artificial ways of filling a day. Walking down a street with one’s head down, constantly checking the cell phone or texting – I see it all the time. It makes one seem to be important and busy and have a lot of friends. But if you can’t look up and meet someone’s eyes who’s passing you on the street, or notice a striking bit of architecture on the building you’re passing, or hear the sounds of the city or simply stop and have a conversation with someone face to face, you’re not really there. You’re in a bubble.

I’m convinced this is the reason there has been a resurgence in handcrafts of all kinds. Doing anything by hand requires time; time not tethered to a computer or a phone, time with one’s thoughts, time. You can’t rush it. You can’t really multi-task. You just have to work on your project and be. And lots and lots of younger-than-I-am people are doing it. Thank goodness. That gives me hope.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Speaking of handwork, I’ve been quietly adding garlands to the Etsy shop. I don’t always have the opportunity to post about them, so if you’re at all interested, keep your eye on the Etsy widget in my sidebar. I’ve added 3 garlands in the past few days and two of them have already sold.

Happy Tuesday.

signature2

 

Filed Under: cell phones, internet, life 57 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 1409
  • 1410
  • 1411
  • 1412
  • 1413
  • …
  • 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