Mockingbird Hill Cottage
As I was walking down the back road to the theater the other day (that is the rear of the outdoor Festival Stage at the end of the road – see the stage lights?), I came upon this:
These hang outside the rear of the Art Museum. I’ve seen hummingbirds and other little birds dining there. Look closely. How many bird feeders do you count?
One of my favorite trees back at Mockingbird Hill Cottage is blooming. My husband sent me some more photos of our garden and this tree – the Catalpa. We have 4 Catalpas on the property, but this one is right by our driveway, overlooking our shed. You can see it in the picture of the cottage on my sidebar. We can see it from our living room. It blooms in June with gorgeous, fragrant blossoms. Later the tree grows large bean pods, which drop to the ground in Autumn. We are fortunate because our neighbors have one, too, and I can see it while I am standing at the kitchen sink. Unfortuately, I have missed this beautiful blooming for two years in a row. Next year – I think I am staying home! Here is a close-up of the lovely blossoms.
The quilts are coming along. I am going to baste the smaller one together with the batting and the backing tomorrow. I have been sewing squares together and then sewing rows together on the larger quilt. It is slow going. I am determined to have the quilt top finished before I leave, since that was the goal I set for myself.
All three plays I am working on are in various stages of dress rehearsal and audience previews. Cyrano de Bergerac had its first preview on Saturday night and it was magical. There is nothing like sitting out under the stars, with a soft breeze blowing, watching a wonderful production. It makes it all worth it.
Look what I found! I have mentioned wanting a dollhouse several times in the past…you remember, right? During one of my every-once-in-a-while searches on Craigslist, I found this. I was searching in the area of New York state surrounding Mockingbird Hill Cottage. (For those of you who are not regular readers of this blog, I am working in San Diego temporarily and my home is in New York.) After researching this style, I realized it was a dollhouse manufactured by Real Good Toys – they make high quality dollhouse kits. But – lucky for me – it was already assembled and the ad said it just needed some TLC. And even more lucky for me, it was $30. The unfinished kit alone is just under two hundred dollars!
So, I contacted the woman selling this and after peppering her with questions, asked her to hold on to it until I spoke with my husband. Would he do me a big favor and drive to a neighboring town to pick up a dollhouse? The first words out of his mouth were “Where are we going to put it?” It was a valid question. Our cottage is small, small, small. I said I didn’t know, but how could I pass this up, and you know I’ve been wanting a dollhouse, and please, please, please?
I even went on Mapquest and printed out the driving directions and emailed them to him.
Bless his heart, he drove out there the next day and loaded it into the car. He even called me after he got it and said that he thought it was really cool. Yippee! It needs some repair and of course, the inside is totally undecorated. That gives me the chance to wire it, paint, make and buy furniture….I get excited just thinking about it.
$30? I mean, I would have to be crazy to pass that up.
(Pardon the photo quality – I took this photo from the Craigslist post.)
