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
    • 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

I Detest Shopping

March 2, 2024 at 9:04 am by Claudia

This is how all of us coped with the winds the other day. Sometimes you just need to burrow down under the covers.

Now, we have rain. And more rain for several days next week. Pardon me while I groan.

I ended up running a few errands yesterday. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I absolutely abhor shopping in stores these days, the only exceptions being bookstores and antique stores. I needed to buy a few things, so I had to drive south to a town that has a Home Goods and a Michaels. Trying to find my way to this particular shopping center via a strip of nothing but shopping centers drove me nuts. I finally figured it out with the help of GPS. Then, into the stores where I didn’t find what I really wanted, but did find two inexpensive bath towels, which we definitely needed. Then I visited Michaels, where I again didn’t find what I wanted, but did find a bathroom, which I desperately needed. Had to use GPS again to find my way out of the warren of shops and roads and drove to a grocery store to pick up a few things that we needed. Then home. This took about 3 hours. I was a bit dehydrated as well, but was able to grab a bottle of water at the grocery store to drink on the way home.

Honestly, I detest shopping. Years ago, I loved  it; I spent hours in the mall, and thought nothing of driving a long distance to ‘go shopping.’ Those days are over. Fortunately, Don likes grocery shopping so he takes care of it most of the time, but I wanted to give him a break yesterday as he had to perform last night and tonight.

And, in each and every store I entered, I was the only one with a mask on. And yet, I keep reading of people who are vaccinated getting Covid for the first time. Sigh. I guess they have decided that it’s no big deal now, but facts tell me otherwise.

I’m becoming a reclusive senior citizen. I’m actually okay with that.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: life 50 Comments

Early Morning Moon

March 1, 2024 at 8:56 am by Claudia

Taken yesterday morning when I woke up a wee bit too early, but it was worth it to get this shot.

Welcome, March!

Today is sunny, but cold. We had relentless winds on Wednesday and Thursday. Even Don – who usually doesn’t mind them – was saying “Enough, already!” As happened to some of you a day or two earlier, the temperatures plummeted. It’s still cold out there, but the we should be getting back to the low fifties soon.

Last night when I was headed to bed, I took one look at the Olga Tokarczuk book (which is at least 800 pages long) and decided to go with the newish mystery instead. I need a ‘very long book’ palate cleanser. But I’ll take a peek at the opening pages later today.

We watched The Holdovers  last night. Have you seen it yet? We are big fans of Paul Giamatti and Alexander Payne, the movie’s director. It’s simply wonderful. Giamatti gives an amazing, nuanced, and profound performance. Payne tells the story beautifully. It’s not rushed, there’s no high-tech action assaulting the viewer. Just a story that takes place in the 70s. Character development is everything here and boy, do I recommend it. I’m still thinking about it this morning. Giamatti is nominated for an Oscar, as is Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who is also quite wonderful. And newcome Dominic Sessa is wonderful as one of the students.

Don has a gig tonight and one tomorrow night as well. Good for him, of course, but I’ll miss him.

I’m in the middle of a Stella deep cleaning. Because we use propane gas, she gets greasy, and, although I clean the surface every night, it’s time to get into every nook and cranny. It’s yucky but it must be done.

Exciting times, right?

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Filed Under: life 26 Comments

Books and the Change in Winter

February 28, 2024 at 8:14 am by Claudia

Another library walk yesterday. After we had finished, I ran in to return The Year of the Locust and checked out the New Books on the shelves. I knew of Olga Tokarczuk’s book, The Books of Jacob. It has been written about a great deal on my IG book feed, so I grabbed it. She wrote it in 2014, but it didn’t get translated into English until 2021. From Penguin Random House’s site: The Nobel Prize–winner’s richest, most sweeping and ambitious novel yet follows the comet-like rise and fall of a mysterious, messianic religious leader as he blazes his way across eighteenth-century Europe.

Sounds fascinating!

Also on the shelf: Everyone on this Train is a Suspect  by Benjamin Stevenson, an Australian author. The blurb said that fans of Anthony Horowitz and Richard Osman would love it. Sounds like a nice palate cleanser.

Our library is so small that I rarely check out a book there, anything I see there that I find interesting I’ve usually already read. I get books through the inter-library system instead. So it was refreshing to come up these books.

I’m reading Wolf Hall, of course, and caught up on my assigned reading yesterday. It’s fascinating, but at heart, I’m not a fan of historical fiction, so I’m never fully on board, if you know what I mean. I know a lot about the Tudors already, through my education and a lifetime of immersion in Shakespeare – they sort of go hand in hand. I’m on the fence as to whether I’ll read the other books in the trilogy. As I’m going to read more at a time (ignoring the schedule for the readalong) I might end up feeling differently.

Today is rainy so a walk might not be on the docket.

It’s very warm out there, unseasonably so. And it looks like it will continue, save for a couple days here and there. It’s rather eerie. Both Don and I have wondered if  “Winter” has changed forever. Yes, we still get snow, but not that much. It’s the end of February and my day lilies are emerging, as well as the daffodils. At the library, we saw new growth everywhere. Is this the new winter? On one hand, it’s nice not to have deal with so much snow and ice. On the other hand, we need winter and we miss it. We may still get some snow in March, but it will be short-lived.

What has this winter been like where you live?

Okay. Have to make our second cup of coffee.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

 

Filed Under: books, winter 34 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • …
  • 1775
  • 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 - 2025 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in