Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

You are here: Home / Archives for Claudia

Day Forty-Eight

at by

Rain and more rain, including very heavy rainfall overnight tonight.

As Don said this morning, “I guess I won’t be doing any work outside.” Yep. We’re stuck indoors for the day.

Almost finished. Once again, I look at the number of the remaining pieces and the empty spaces on the puzzle and worry that something is missing. I did that last time. Don kept saying he was sure I had enough. We even had a $5 bet going on the subject, which I lost, as I did have all the pieces.

It’s a very dark day here today so getting a good photo is difficult.

Thank goodness for these puzzles and for this, which arrived a day early.

These are Nancy Drews with the original cover illustrations, designed by Russell H. Tandy. They’re the ones I collect and I have all of these on my shelves. Don thinks this is one I should frame as it could hang on the wall near my children’s bookcase in the upstairs hallway; the bookcase where I have all of these, along with some Hardy Boys and childhood favorites that were my mother’s. It would be neat, wouldn’t it? Don comes up with some pretty good ideas.

Honestly, there’s not much to report. It’s dismal out there, the garden is progressing but not to the point where I would take photos. We’re currently debating when to go get fresh produce. When we do that, I’ll check to see if there are any more flowers and plants in at the nursery. Saturday we drive to the grocery store to pick up an order. Pick up seems to be more readily available than delivery.

I know this is the new normal, but the combination of worry and planning and sanitizing along with the gray and rainy weather is a bit too much for me today. It all seems a bit grim at the moment. That will change, of course, so don’t worry about my state of mind. It’s just what it is this morning.

Thankfully, the weekend weather forecast looks positively pleasant!

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

 

Day Forty-Seven

at by

I didn’t work on this until late in the afternoon yesterday, but I made a lot of progress. I guess it’s like solving a crossword puzzle, the more you do them, the sharper your skills become. I’m certainly putting this one together more quickly than the Nancy Drew. Maybe too quickly…

I do have another puzzle arriving in the mail tomorrow, but I’m worried that, since the second puzzle I ordered hasn’t even shipped yet and won’t ship until next week, I might be twiddling my thumbs for several days. I might have to order another one in the meantime – one that will ship quickly.

We worked outside yesterday. Don cleaned up an area near the shed, I worked on edging one of the garden beds, trimming brambles, cleaning up other beds, and weeding the peony beds. I was tuckered out afterward. My stamina needs improving and just like working a jigsaw puzzle, the more I do it, the stronger I’ll become. Ideally, I’d work out there several days in a row and that would help enormously, but unfortunately, we’re due for 3 or 4 more days of rain.

Enough already.

I finished A Gentleman in Moscow  this morning. Even better the second time around. I’m sad; I love the story and the characters and Amor Towles’ writing. What to read next is the question for the day. I have no idea! I keep staring at my TBR pile but nothing is calling out to me. I’ll give it time and eventually, something will.

I saw a pileated woodpecker this morning, a male cardinal, two deer, and some fat robins.

No Henry yet. No bunnies, either, though Don has seen one.

And that’s it from the cottage today.

Stay safe. Stay home.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Day Forty-Six

at by

Having been through a period of anxiety several years ago, Don understands the enormity of it. He went through a particularly tough time several years ago. One of the tips he has passed on to me is to live in each moment. Now that sounds like something in a meme, but he doesn’t mean it quite that way. No, he means it specifically. He literally would say in each moment things like “I’m pouring the coffee now.” Or, “I’m cleaning my glasses.” He’d identify the activity and stay focused on reality. He did that with everything for a long time. It helped to keep him in the NOW rather than in a non-existent and frightening other kind of world. This small (or large) task is what I am doing now.

I think that’s what working a jigsaw puzzle (or a crossword puzzle) does for me. I am totally in the now. I’m examining the photo of the puzzle. I’m looking at the words on the puzzle pieces. I’m observing color  and shape and trying to match it. I’m incredibly focused and that focus is entirely on the process. It’s also something I find to be true with working on my dollhouses. And I imagine knitting, crochet – well, actually, I don’t imagine, I know – painting, crafting; anything with a task and an activity helps with that as well. I know that knitting and crocheting do that for my sister. When I was engaging in those two activities, along with quilting, I called them my Zen. Gardening does that for me as well.

We all know this, but it’s important at any time, especially now, to have something that keeps you smack-dab in the moment and not in a place of worry or fear or what if or just plain general anxiety. Something that takes you away from those realms and grounds and centers you.

Right now, for me, it’s jigsaw puzzles. I feel my anxiety leave, my shoulders drop, and a feeling of peace comes over me. For Don, at the moment, it’s playing the guitar and writing songs and practicing his technique, as well as walking.

You all know this. I’m just putting it into words as I wrestle with my own anxiety. If I don’t have something around like a puzzle, I give myself a task. I clean the counters, for example, and stay focused on the actual activity. I don’t let my mind wander. I identify what I’m doing now.

Today, thank goodness, it’s sunny! It’s going to be in the sixties. So I’m going to engage in another anxiety reducer: gardening. Today that includes cleaning the potting table, cleaning the picnic table, working in one of the garden beds and weeding. Heaven.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

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