Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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A Sickness

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I’ve written before on the subject of reading; how much I love it, how addicted I am to books and magazines. I’ve neglected to mention how often I am reading more than one thing at once. Many more. I have a lot of interests, so I often find myself starting a novel, then veering off into non-fiction while I’m still reading the novel, and then adding a magazine or two while still reading the novel and the non-fiction, and before I know it I have a pile like the one pictured above. You can ask my husband – teetering piles of reading material are on my beside table, on the table by the sofa, and on the table by my favorite chair.

You can see that I just bought the new Tess Gerritsen which I am making myself stay away from until I finish the novel Wild Designs by Katie Fford. I am immersed in The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket (a beautifully photographed and written book by a fellow blogger). I just found the first Debbie Bliss Knitting Magazine – I love her designs and got to meet her years ago in London. My younger sister sent me on a mission to find her shop – she had a shop in those days – however, I didn’t knit at that time or I would have taken photos, got her autograph, generally gone crazy. I love Somerset Life – it’s eye candy; and I always read Country Living and a host of other shelter magazines. There’s a book called Lace and Eyelets, full of beautiful knitting stitches. My sister showed this book to me when I was visiting her in Florida and urged me to get a copy. And lastly, I’m very interested in communicating with my dogs, and believe we can communicate with them on a much deeper level, so I’m reading Ask Your Animal by Marta Williams.

To be honest, there are even more than these. And then there are the books I have started but not finished yet. They are in what I call a holding pattern. It is a sickness, isn’t it?

Have a great weekend.

Crochet

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I love knitting, but crochet seems to be my favorite form of stitching for the moment. I finished the throw for my young college-bound friend. Her reaction to it was better than I could have hoped for. She loved it and I have seen a photo of it in her dorm room. Unfortunately, I neglected to take a photo of it myself. She assures me she will take the necessary photo and email it to me, but she is a busy student so I am not holding my breath. I have started another ripple stitch throw for our own bed. I also forgot about these pretty squares I started a while back. Maybe I should get back to them…I like the colors. They are all made from Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino. Such lovely colors, but not cheap. Consequently, this little project will take time simply because I can only treat myself to this yarn occasionally.

The quilt underneath the squares is one I got at auction several months back. I loved the vintage look of it, the colors, the scrappy quality. It has been washed, but has a lot of damage to the edges and some stains that I can’t seem to get out. I’ve thought of redoing the edges and may in the future, but right now I like it in this basket in our upstairs hall.

Hope your day is a happy one! More later.

Change of Season

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Even though I’ve barely taken in the fact that it is September, I see signs of Autumn approaching. More and more of the leaves on the weeping willow are turning yellow, here and there I see some red leaves among all the green in the woods, and the quality of the sunlight is changing. The daylight has a more golden tone – a subtle change that will become stronger as we move further into Fall. We had a big rainstorm last night due to Hanna coming up the East Coast. It was very windy and a hard rain fell. We needed the rain badly, but when I got up this morning there were many more leaves on the ground than there would be with a summer storm.

Autumn is my favorite season, but I also feel a touch of melancholy at this time of year. Summer is fading, my garden has started its decline, it is getting cooler at night – all signs that we are moving into a seasonal change that will eventually take us to Winter. Perhaps it is that knowledge – that Winter is closer than ever – that brings a bit of sadness. Whatever it is, I feel it today.

So I’m cleaning, doing laundry, washing floors, and thinking about getting back to my quilt-in-progress. That’s another sign of the change of seasons; after high heat and humidity all summer, I begin to feel a strong urge to quilt. My sewing machine is under our skylight – no air conditioner nearby – so I tend to stay away from it in the summer. But now? I am ready to get back at it.

More later.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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