Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for A favorite thing

Scout: Who The Heck Is In My Corral? (And Other Things)

March 25, 2013 at 8:08 am by Claudia

The other evening, around dusk, Scout started barking while looking out the window. There was, shall we say, an extra urgency to her barks which brought me to the window to see just what the heck was going on.

An intruder was in her dog corral:

deer

deereating

The nerve! At the end of a tough winter, that grass must have been enticing. Scout, of course, kept up her outraged barking. When I knocked on the window (these photos were all taken through the kitchen windows) the deer calmly looked at me and then resumed eating.

deerstaring2

My initial response was that I’d never seen a deer inside of the corral before. And Don remarked dryly that he would bet they were in there more than we knew. He’s probably right. Eventually, Don gently opened the door and the deer took off over the fence.

One early morning when Don was away in California – it must have been around 4 am or so – I got up to go to the bathroom and I could see the silhouettes of deer moving quietly through the back yard. I remember it distinctly because I was half asleep and the movements of the deer seemed other-worldly and almost magical – where you’re left wondering if you dreamed the whole thing. It was real and it was indeed magical. A vivid, wonderful memory.

I love deer. They are beautiful, gentle creatures. They share this land with us.

On this Monday? Snow showers. Oh Spring, where the heck are you? I’ve been feeling the blues lately and I know it’s because I need to get outside, feel the sun and start working in the garden. This winter has seemingly gone on forever. There is much I have to do before I leave for Hartford and the lingering winter is not helping things.

Ah, well.

1000gifts

I won this book in a giveaway from Mary at Ms. Redo. I’ve seen it mentioned on many blogs and I must admit I’m intrigued. I look forward to exploring it. Thank you, Mary!

The crochet you see in this photo? It’s my experiment in crocheting with thread, like my grandmother used to. The problem is that the hook I am using is too big. I’ll have to buy a smaller one. Nevertheless, it’s awfully delicate and pretty.

Today’s egg cups:

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Egg cups with feet. The one on the left is the real deal – made by Carlton Ware of England and called Walking Ware. Such silliness!

The one on the right is not marked as Carlton Ware, but it’s pretty cute, nonetheless.

And for those of you who read my guidelines for posting on A Favorite Thing, the part about leaving a comment was only about that particular meme. Not about my other posts! I love your comments and they make me happy, but this is pressure-free commenting zone, my friends.

Happy Monday.

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Filed Under: A favorite thing, animals, crochet, egg cups, Fellow bloggers, giveaway 50 Comments

A Favorite Thing #29

March 22, 2013 at 8:00 pm by Claudia

afavoritething

Welcome to A Favorite Thing #29. I’m so glad you’re here.

Before we start, I want to remind you that being a part of this weekly get together doesn’t entail a lot, but it does require a few things of you.

  1. Your post has to be about a Favorite Thing.
  2. You need to link back to this blog.
  3. It’s only polite to leave a comment on this post. If you were at a real party, you would certainly thank the hostess, right? I’ve been guilty on this point a few times myself, as I was linking to a party, usually because I was in a hurry. I won’t make that mistake again. So leave a comment. I don’t want this to become a place where people simply link up to get hits and never stop to say thank you.
  4. I also fervently hope that you will visit everyone taking part, as best you can, on any given week. I know that it takes time. You have a whole week. I visit everyone and I have a good idea of who is commenting and who isn’t. If you want people to visit your link and comment, then you should return the favor.
  5. And finally, this is a way to meet new and old blogging friends and share our stories. I have always wanted this party to be small and intimate. I do not mean this to be an impersonal way to get hits on your blog. There are already enough parties like that out there in blog land.

Most of you, bless you, are really wonderful about visiting everyone and I thank you for that. Your generous spirit makes this a lovely weekly event. I aim to keep it that way! Okay, end of not-so-gentle reminders.

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Highlights from last week:

easter and chloche 063

Ann, of A Sentimental Life, shared some beautiful vintage Easter cards and her lovely cloche and vignette with us. Ann loves McCoy Pottery as much as I do and I love seeing hers on display.

mini baking love7

Susan, of Ash Tree Cottage, has been making miniatures for her dollhouse. Look at her wonderful minis!

Pastel-Eggs-Burlap-Grapevine-Easter-Wreath-AnExtraordinaryDay.net_

Diane of An Extraordinary Day, shared an easy Grapevine and Burlap Easter Egg Wreath Tutorial. Isn’t it lovely?

As always, thank you for sharing your favorite things with us every week.

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I’ve been sharing my Vintage Egg Cup collection with my readers this week. Each day I’ve chosen 2 or 3 egg cups to highlight. So, in keeping with that, my favorite thing this week is:

eggcups7

Left: A bunny on a pretty blue egg cup.

Center: One of my absolute favorites, a Painter Bunny with palette and paintbrush. painting an egg.

Right: A sweet white bunny holding an orange egg cup.

Now it’s your turn.

You can link up anytime from this evening through Sunday. Make sure you enter the URL of your post. If you’re unsure how to do that, just click on your post title after you’ve published it and copy the information in your browser address window. Come back here, paste the URL into your link entry and there you go! If you have any problems, drop me an email and I’ll help you out. Please link back to this blog on your post. That way, those that read your post and are interested in reading more can do so.

One of my concerns about link parties is that the very reason for them has somewhat gone by the wayside. They’ve become so big and there are so many of them that many bloggers don’t take the time to visit any of the other participants. Link parties are a way to meet new bloggers and share with each other and the only way to do that is to visit each other. So, please, take some time to visit everyone over the next few days. No rush. Stop by, introduce yourself, and leave a comment. It’s the neighborly thing to do. It’s also nice if you leave a comment here, as well.

Enjoy!


Filed Under: A favorite thing 46 Comments

A Favorite Thing #28

March 15, 2013 at 8:00 pm by Claudia

afavoritething

It’s time for A Favorite Thing again – week number 28. How nice to visit each other and read about our favorite things – especially at the end of a somewhat dreary and cold week here in the Northeast! Before we begin, I want to say that I’m perfectly happy if you link to more than one post for this party, as some of you are doing. No problem! But I will only comment on one of the posts. Since I visit everyone who takes part and leave a comment, I think one comment per participant is fair. I hope you don’t mind!

Let’s look at some highlights from last week:

Book Post collage 2

Roses, Lace and Brocante shared a post with the title A Home Needs Books. I couldn’t agree more. Shane has inherited some beautiful vintage books from her father, including The History of England, published in 1870. Simply gorgeous.

2013-03-08tulips

Lucy of Heart and Hearth, shared several spring-type things, including this project, made while a child was sick at home for the day – tulips made out of egg cartons. Adorable.

DSC04637

Tammy, of T’s Daily Treasures, shared another favorite thing – magazines! Yes, we all love magazines, but you have to take into consideration that Tammy lives in Kuwait, where there are no libraries and where bookstores are subject to censorship. That makes this find, discovered in a stationary shop, all the more precious!

Thank you all for sharing your treasures with us last week.

lampandphoto

My favorite thing this week is really two things, though it was meant to be one. I started with the lamp on the right, which has been a favorite of mine since we found it in a little antique shop several years ago. It came with a shade that really didn’t match and it took a while until I found this little red shade. I love quirky little lamps and this one makes me smile. It’s on the desk at the bottom of the staircase and provides a warm light in the evenings.

But hey, on the left is a treasured photo of Don and me taken on the beach in San Diego. There’s a long story about it  that you can find elsewhere on this blog. Short version: we had been dating about 8 months and were at our favorite beach. (I can’t even begin to dwell on how much younger we look here. Or how much skinnier.) A photographer from the San Diego Union Tribune took our photo and wanted to use it in an article for Valentine’s Day. Since we were keeping our romance quiet at that point – we worked at the same theater and I also had students working there – I decided that it wasn’t a good idea to have our photo splashed on the front page of the paper. We wanted a copy of the photo but the photographer said that he couldn’t legally give us a copy if we didn’t consent to having our names published in the paper. Oh well. I left town to audition students for the program and when I came back (on Valentine’s Day) Don surprised me with this photo. In his oh so charming way, he had managed to cajole the photo out of the nice photographer. It’s priceless to me.

Okay! Your turn.

You can link up anytime from this evening through Sunday. Make sure you enter the URL of your post. If you’re unsure how to do that, just click on your post title after you’ve published it and copy the information in your browser address window. Come back here, paste the URL into your link entry and there you go! If you have any problems, drop me an email and I’ll help you out. Please link back to this blog on your post. That way, those that read your post and are interested in reading more can do so.

One of my concerns about link parties is that the very reason for them has somewhat gone by the wayside. They’ve become so big and there are so many of them that many bloggers don’t take the time to visit any of the other participants. Link parties are a way to meet new bloggers and share with each other and the only way to do that is to visit each other. So, please, take some time to visit everyone over the next few days. No rush. Stop by, introduce yourself, and leave a comment. It’s the neighborly thing to do. It’s also nice if you leave a comment here, as well.

Enjoy, my friends!


Filed Under: A favorite thing 31 Comments

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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.

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Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

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