Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Wildflowers & Sophie Questions

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We always have the most beautiful wildflowers pop up in the fall. These beauties are right next to the top of the big garden bed. I pass them as I walk to my car. These wildflowers are one of my favorite parts of the seasonal change. Some of them are very colorful. I took some photos the other day and I’ll share them with you over the next few days.

The latest: I got the PCR Covid test yesterday. When I turned in my swab, the technician said “You should have results within 2 to 4 days.” Ummm….I said I had to have them by Monday morning at the latest because I needed the test done for a job. She responded that “they” tell them to say that but that the test results have been coming through more quickly of late. Well. That’s all I could do. Later in the day, I received an email from the Covid testing czar for the touring company reminding me to get my test yesterday and to submit the results by today at the latest. Ummmm….that ain’t gonna happen.

I wrote back saying that I had the test at 12:30 pm yesterday. I didn’t think it likely that I would have my results by today, since it can take 24 – 48 hours, sometimes more. Since they had insisted I couldn’t do it before yesterday, my hands were tied. Then the guy actually said that some people get several tests at several locations so that one result might come through sooner. My response: I don’t live in a city. I live in the country. I’m not sick, so I can’t get it done at one of the labs around here. They will only do a test upon a doctor’s recommendation for those who have symptoms. So my only option is to have it done at a drive-though pharmacy, which is what I did. (I am not about to drive all over the place trying to coordinate Covid tests at various locations.)

So the end result is that I don’t have a frigging clue if I’ll get the results in time. The language used by the touring company is that results have to be submitted before the first day of work/travel. Well, I’m traveling tomorrow. I’m working on Monday.

I told the guy I’d keep him posted and that if by early afternoon tomorrow, I had not received the results, I would let them know and we could maybe try to rearrange the schedule.

Too much work and stress. I can’t be the only person going through this waiting game with work/employment dependent on the timing of the results.

I warned Sophie about wet leaves and here she is, slipping on one.

I just want to take a moment to address some questions that came up in yesterday’s comments. The sweater and skirt are made by AnnaMargoeva on Etsy. She is Russian, as are so many Blythe customizers/creators. And Sophie is a customized Blythe doll done by a woman who lives in England, you can find her at Candyflossbyrose on Etsy. Her prices are quite reasonable, as well, and she couldn’t have been kinder. She took the time to answer all my questions. She carved the nose and lips, did the makeup and freckles, changed out the eye chips (the 4 colors that show when you pull the pull ring to change eye positions), added new eyelashes, pull rings, and sleepy eyes (which is accomplished by adding an additional pull ring to shut the eyes.) She may have changed out the hair as well.

I’ve dipped into this particular rabbit hole because I’m so fascinated by it. I’ve watched videos of customizers carving the details on a face, adding makeup, weaving hair into the scalp, changing out the bodies – it’s all fascinating. No, I have no desire to try that myself! I am in awe of the artistry that goes into customizing a doll and I am content to reap the benefits.

I think Rose did a beautiful job on her. She has such a sweet face. I’ve found that choosing one of these girls is very much dependent on your emotional response to a particular doll – and in my case, my pocketbook! Sophie’s face elicited a strong response in me and that’s why I chose her. A hint of vulnerability, seriousness, trepidation…I guess I saw myself in her. And except for the blond color, my hair was worn exactly the same way when I was a little girl – bangs and long, straight hair.

Hope this answers some questions!

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Friday

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Today is the day I get my PCR test and let’s all cross our fingers that the results are sent to me in time to work on Monday morning. It’s not like I can get the test any earlier. It has to be done three days before the job starts. The feeling of being overwhelmed is still with me and to top it all off, I lost part of a tooth this morning – I think it will have to be pulled – and my dentist is retiring as of today. So we’ve been referred to a new dentist to whom I will have to explain all over again by phobia-level fear of dentists. Thankfully, the tooth isn’t hurting and I have an appointment for next Wednesday morning.

Anyway, travel plans have been made by the touring company. I’ve worked with this company before and they are very efficient and extremely helpful, so that’s a plus. I’ll take Amtrak into the city on Sunday afternoon, then hop on the subway and head over to Queens. Monday and Tuesday will be filled with individual coaching sessions and I’ll head back home Tuesday night.

In the meantime, here’s little Sophie wandering around outdoors:

She reminds me of myself as a girl. My hair was brown and long and I wore bangs and I often wore a serious/worried expression. And I had freckles.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Blessed and Stressed

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My limelight hydrangeas looking very autumnal.

Thanks for understanding about my taking a break, though I knew you would. Honestly, this is a stressful time for me. There’s a lot on my plate. A lot of that involves change. I have to take the train to NYC on Sunday for the first time in a year and a half. I’ll be staying in a hotel. I’ll be working with lots of different people on Monday and Tuesday, then returning home on the train. Then I’ll be doing it all over again late in the week. I have to get a COVID test tomorrow and pray that results get back in time for me to work on Monday – something I have absolutely no control over.

I’m coaching via Zoom. I’m constantly making lists in my head about what I need to take to Brooklyn when I move there for six weeks. It’s very exciting and, at the same time, very nervous-making. Don and I have been together every day since February of 2020. I’ll be apart from him. It’s strange, all of this. While I’m enormously grateful for the work opportunities, I’m also reluctant to leave our nest.

Yet, I’m determined to do my best to live in the moment during the next few months. I have the opportunity to work on a film – something I’ve never done before. I am going to work alongside my dear Jim Parsons, and Ben, who I’m coaching via Zoom, and Sally Field(!) who is playing Ben’s mother. Very exciting stuff at this point in my life, and certainly something I never thought would happen.

But change is hard for me. As you know, I’ve been suffering from anxiety over the past two years and though there are stretches where it doesn’t make its presence known, there are also times that it does.

Anyway. I’m blessed and I know I’m blessed. But I’m also stressed. That’s the reality of it. A new phrase for me “Blessed and Stressed.”

Then there’s the world outside my door and the pain, death, inequities, willful ignorance, anger, climate change, and on and on.

I have to take a break at times.

We’ll take it as it comes, but there will be certainly be times in the next few months where I won’t have the time to blog. Days on the set are usually a minimum of 12 hours and that doesn’t include commuting back and forth from my apartment. There will be times when I just can’t  blog. Once I get some sort of rhythm going, I’ll know more.

Love you all.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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