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
    • The Beacon Hill 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 anniversary

A Potpourri on Monday

February 25, 2013 at 9:30 am by Claudia

littlepinkchair

The past week or so has brought the usual adventures and misadventures.

• One morning found me filling up the glass coffee carafe with water, then dropping it on the wood floor where it shattered in a zillion pieces. Not a good thing for a girl who needs her coffee in the morning. I figured out how to insert a bowl where the carafe should be and catch the coffee. (Where there’s a will there’s a way.) Once that bowl was full, I had to insert another. And another. Then I poured it all into a thermos. The sad thing was that I had to do this for two days as I was snowed in and couldn’t get to the store to buy a new coffeemaker. Must have coffee. Peets French Roast.

scout7

• Right before I was to leave to get Don at the bus station (after 2 months apart) I was trying to wipe Scout’s dirty paws, as she had just come in from outside. Scout does not like me wiping her paws and she is very impatient. By the time I’m working on the third or fourth paw, she manages to elude my grasp and I have to chase after her as she trails water or mud all over the kitchen. This time, I happened to be near one of the kitchen chairs and as she squirmed out of my grasp, my head went down, meeting the chair. Result? Stinging pain and a gash in my forehead. As you can imagine, I was not looking my best for the reunion.

New nickname for Scout: Bronco Scout. She bucks her way out of my grasp like we’re at a rodeo.

bride&groom

• Now that my husband’s back home, I’m being treated to far tastier dinners than I managed to put together in his absence. Don’s the cook in this house. I’m the baker. Cooking bores me. Thankfully, it doesn’t bore Don and he’s been whipping up all sorts of appetizing meals. Heaven.

He even made a special dinner to commemorate my Five Years of Blogging! How’s that for a good guy?

guitar

• I’ve also been treated to the sound of my husband’s voice and his new guitar.  For those of you who missed it, Don’s childhood friend Rob, who lives in San Diego, is a wonderful musician who has his own recording studio. The two of them just might have recorded a CD of Don’s music while Don was in town. Rob has lots of guitars and he lent this one to Don to use during his stay. It worked so well for Don’s voice and the kind of songs he writes that Rob gave it to him. Rob is one of the most generous guys I know.

Don is over the moon and loves this guitar. It’s a Martin. Named Maggie. (Have you noticed that we tend to name things around here?) Now we have two Martins in the cottage. The other one doesn’t have a name. Get going, Don!

• I have a couple of blogs to recommend to you.

First up: Heart Handmade UK. Claire, who I believe lives in Ireland, gathers the most gorgeous design posts from the web – most of them in beautiful pastel hues.  She manages to find blogs and sites that are absolutely beautiful. When I first discovered her, I was so enthralled that I went back through most of her archives. She’s on my blog roll now and I look forward to her daily posts. And she has a sense of humor. Always a good thing.

Next: This blog is written by my friend Lynn. When I first moved out east, I worked part-time for a Veterinarian. Lynn was also working part-time at the same animal hospital as she pursued a post-graduate degree. She is a great girl; funny, kind, compassionate and talented. Fast forward a few years: I no longer work there because the commute was too long when we moved to the cottage and Lynn no longer works there because she got married, moved to a farm in Virginia and had a little boy. We are friends on Facebook and I was thrilled when I discovered Lynn has a blog! It’s called Kid and Goat. Lynn’s personality shines through on her blog, with pictures of life on the farm and of her house and her darling little boy. And wait until you see her goat, Sarah. Sigh. Stop by and visit her.

pjparty

• Don’t forget our Flannel Pajama Party next Monday! We’re going to share our pajamas, adventures in our pajamas, thoughts on pajamas…be there or be square.

scarfgiveaway

And finally:

The winner of the Obsession Scarf Giveaway is Debbie Hibbert! Debbie, I sent you an email last night. Pick one of these colors for your scarf and I will merrily crochet one for you. Thanks to everyone who left such lovely and kind comments on that post. They warmed my heart.

Happy Monday.

signature2

 

Filed Under: anniversary, blog, Don, flannel pajamas club, giveaway, Scout 35 Comments

Leaves, Rocks, Moss, Acorns and an Anniversary

October 12, 2012 at 8:15 am by Claudia

Yesterday, we visited a favorite spot. The car climbed up the mountain ridge to this view (The Hudson River is way off on the horizon):

In about a week, the colors should be at their peak. There’s a trail up there, where we gathered acorns and pods and heart-shaped rocks.

Don found a puzzle rock.

Oh, by the way, see that wedding ring?

It’s our 14th wedding anniversary today. (Look at that pocket bulging with acorns and rocks!)

Anyway, back to the anniversary. I’m off to spend the day with my beloved husband.

I’ll be back at 8:00 pm EST for A Favorite Thing.

Happy Friday.

P.S. The winner of  a copy of Things Your Dog Doesn’t Want You to Know is Jennifer. Congratulations!

P.P.S. Just listed another scarf on Etsy:

Filed Under: anniversary, Don, nature 34 Comments

An Anniversary

October 12, 2011 at 12:01 am by Claudia

Happy Anniversary, sweetheart. It’s been 13 years since we tied the knot in the little town of Nevada City, California. The best day of my life.

Truly, we have a happy marriage. Oh, we can argue with the best of them, but we laugh even harder. We decided at the beginning of our relationship that we were going to break our previous destructive patterns and we did. And we knew that we had to have a strong and true trust in each other. And we do.

My friends, if you want to hear my favorite of all the songs Don has written, go over to my sidebar, scroll down until you see the Don Sparks at Reverb Nation widget and click on it. When you see the list of his songs, click on ‘see all 23 songs.’ Then scroll down until you get to the second to the last: I’d Sing You. Give it a listen. It will only take a few minutes. You’ll hear and experience the depth of feeling that this man is capable of expressing. And then, if you have the time, scroll up and listen to either I’ve Got a Love or Don’t Tell Me Heart.

You just may swoon. I know I do.

So Happy Anniversary, beloved. I’ve got your back.
—————————————————————————-

Don’t forget Reality Shot Thursday! I’ll have the post and links up at midnight.

You may have noticed my new banner. My blog designer is no longer in business, so I decided to design something myself. That way I have a bit more control over the design. Hope you like it.

Whoops! Now, I’ve also changed the background. See what happens when you’re home sick?

Filed Under: anniversary, Don, husband 24 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 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 - 2026 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in