Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Officially That Age

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Thank you for all of the lovely birthday greetings yesterday. Between the blog, Instagram, and Facebook – goodness, I heard from everyone! I am blessed.

The day was low-key which was just the way I wanted it to be. Don, being Don, wanted a little celebration even though I’d said ‘no gifts.’ Bless his heart, he is such a sweetheart.

Of course, he made the dinner I requested – Crabbiless Crab cakes – and it was so delicious! We hadn’t had it in a few years, so we both really appreciated it. And then, we had a little celebration. Don managed to find a banner saying Happy 70th Birthday, and he bought crepe paper, so streamers were everywhere. I was so touched. He found sugar-free cupcakes in our health food store and we both had one. No apple pie, he said, because he makes them all the time, so he wanted something special. And I made a wish and blew out the candles.

He gave me a lovely card. And since he’s giving me the new Louise Penny, which won’t be published until a week from today, he gave me a little package and this was inside:

I love him.

Then, a little surprise that he found in an antique shop:

A little Limoges candy dish. The pink flowers are reminiscent of the Limoges I have from my great-grandmother, though I don’t think he realized that. He broke a favorite dish of mine last week and he felt very badly about it, so he searched for something he thought I would like. And I do, it’s lovely.

He’s the dearest man.

As far as the crab cake recipe goes, the last time I spoke about it here on the blog, I hesitated sharing it because it’s in a recipe book written by Deirdre Imus and the sales of that book went to her charity. As always, I suggest the book because there are lots of great vegetarian recipes there. It’s called The Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys.  But Shanna tells me that she found the recipe online, so you could probably Google the name of the author and ‘crabbiless crab cakes’ and you would find it. I’ll leave that up to you. The book might be hard to find at this point as it was published several years ago.

Thanks again, dear friends.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

A Bit of a Milestone

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Anniversary of my birth. Natal Day. Birthday.

Whatever you call it, I’m 70 years old today. Actually, not quite yet, as I was born around 5:30 pm. I like to delay the actual year count until that moment, futile as it might be.

Lucky for me, Don is always about a year and a half ahead of me, so he helps me through it. And he assures me 70 is just fine. He asked me if I wanted some sort of party or celebration, but I really want a quiet day at home with him. I used to love celebrations and lots of excitement, but that part of me has faded and the quiet, introverted Claudia has taken over. Actually, not all that quiet around here, as I’m frequently making a joke or going for a laugh. Nothing makes me happier than to say something unexpected to my husband or do a silly walk or sing a funny song I just made up, or speak in a funny voice (and I have a lot of them) to get a reaction from him. I would say that he definitely feels the same way. We laugh a lot around here and for that I’m so, so grateful.

I wish my parents were here. And my brother. Mom was 25 years older than me, so she’d be 95. Dave was 5 1/2 years older than me, so he’d be 75. And Dad would be 99! What would they think of me turning 70? Mom would have a funny and slightly sarcastic response, of that I’m sure. But I’ve already heard from my beloved sister and youngest nephew. That makes me happy.

I have much to be grateful for and believe me, I am. I’ve accomplished a lot in my life. Whatever goals I had long ago, I think I’ve surpassed. But always, always, it’s the people I’ve met and worked with and grown up with and taught and played with and have come to know online that are the best. That I’m blessed by my family is a given.

Don is making my favorite meal – crab cakes without the crab. Honestly, I can’t tell the difference! I’m sure he’s got a few things planned but, because money is rather tight, I asked for no gifts. He pressed me on that, so I said he could give me Louise Penny’s new book, which comes out a week from tomorrow. That will be the perfect gift.

Thanks, friends.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

 

Birthday Boy

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Happy Birthday to this dear, dear man.

The best man I’ve ever known, always growing, always working on himself, true blue friend to many, kind, compassionate, loving, hilarious, talented, GOOD.

Just plain good.

It goes without saying that he has made my life richer than I ever thought it could be. I don’t know what I did to deserve him but I am ever and always grateful for his presence in my life.

We’re coming up on 28 years together. Sometimes I wish we’d met sooner, but then I realize that we weren’t ready for each other until that moment of that day.

He doesn’t want anything special today, though of course he’ll open some presents and I’ll sing Happy Birthday to him. I think he just wants to hang out here in our little cottage.

Whatever you want, my love. Whatever you want.

It’s also Little Z’s 11th birthday!

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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