Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Worry

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Today’s theme: Bugs in the garden. I love to take pictures of them. Some of them are deliberate, others are accidental bug discoveries, only noticed when I examine the photo.

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One of the wonderful benefits of blogging is making friends, finding people that you wouldn’t know otherwise, discovering kindred spirits. I have been blessed with many wonderful followers over the years. In the course of 11 years of blogging, some followers have moved on. Maybe they don’t read blogs anymore. Maybe this particular blog no longer interests them. Maybe I pissed them off in some way. Who knows? I do know that there’s an ebb and flow to the whole thing – just as in non-virtual life.

At some point, I will register that I haven’t heard from so-and-so. In a few cases, I’ll write that person to make sure everything is okay because the lack of contact is unlike them and I worry.

That’s happened with one longtime follower recently. A while back, I realized that I hadn’t heard from her in ages, either here or on Instagram. And she is one of those followers who always leaves a comment. That concerned me. I found her email address and wrote her, not because she needs to comment, rather because the very lack of interaction from her concerned me enough to reach out and make sure she was okay. I wrote her on June 29th. I haven’t heard a thing. This week, I sent a direct message to her on Instagram. No response. She wrote on this blog as “nancybluemoon.” When I searched the comments on the blog, I discovered that the last comment she left was on April 15th.

I’m not sure what I can do other than what I’ve done. I have no other way to get hold of her. And I’m very worried.

We’re all connected here. Even if I haven’t actually met you face-to-face, we’re friends. And Nancy has been commenting here on the blog for years. Obviously, I’m concerned that something has happened to her.

I guess I’m sharing this with you because it’s been troubling me and I feel powerless. I know her last name, but a search on Google doesn’t provide any information.

Moving on is one thing, but disappearing from both the blog and Instagram is concerning, not responding to my email is concerning. The email didn’t bounce back to me, so the address is still valid.

I know you can’t do anything. I just need to share my concern with you today.

Thanks.

Happy Saturday.

Rain, Rain, Go Away – Please

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Just add lots of rain to this picture and that’s our current situation. It’s raining very hard and as I sit here, I can see catalpa blossom after catalpa blossom float to the ground. The rain will be their undoing.

And the rain will force the finale of these:

I know all good things must come to the end, but darn it, the catalpa just bloomed! Ask me how sick of the rain I am. Go ahead. Although maybe you shouldn’t as you’re bound to hear some curse words. We have rain today through Friday. Rain, thunderstorms, blah, blah, blah. I am so, so, SO sick of it.

As I was drinking my first cup of coffee this morning, I checked my email and there was a notice from my security company that came around midnight saying my site was down. I looked at the clock and figured that since it was 7 am, it was probably back up by now. Nope. So I called my hosting company and they verified that there was a big problem with the server and my blog was one of those affected. Drat. In that kind of situation, there’s nothing I can do but wait it out. So I made our second cup of coffee, sat on the sofa with Don and chatted. I’m glad to say it’s back up now – obviously – or I wouldn’t be writing this!

I’m trying to change my reaction to these technical mishaps that are beyond my control. They tend to push my “worry” button, but in the end, all I can do is talk to my host, or in the case of other problems, talk to my security company. That’s why I have them.

Anyway, all is well, for the time being.

Edited to add: If you tried to visit the blog during that time and found a message saying it couldn’t be contacted or something like that – the exact wording depends on the browser – it doesn’t mean you were blocked. It just means the server was down and my blog was also down. If the server is down, my blog can’t be located on the web. I say this because I got an email from a reader thinking she had been blocked. If you had been blocked – which I rarely do and only if I’ve been harassed or threatened repeatedly – the message on your browser would be a different one, specific to no longer having access.

I saw Lonesome Dove perched on an electrical wire this morning. I’ve only seen him at the birdbath one time this spring and I miss him. I opened the window in the den and, sure enough, I could hear his haunting call.

What to do with all this rain this week? I tend to get stir crazy. Yes, of course, I’ll read. Maybe I’ll finally clear out and sort through the items in my dresser drawers – one of my least favorite things to do. I have to buy a birthday present for a certain someone whose birthday is next Monday. (Hint: he’s in the next room playing his guitar at the moment.)

I’m on my 11th or 12th day without sugar. I have a major sweet tooth and, even though I wasn’t eating all that much sugar, I was having some every day, and one day I just said, “Enough.”

I’ve done this before and it was time to do it again. I’m not having any major withdrawal symptoms, but I do feel more energetic and that’s good. Hopefully, I’ll lose a bit of weight in the bargain.

Okay. I’m off to figure out what I’m doing today.

Happy Tuesday.

Potpourri on Monday

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• If somehow you came to the blog during the middle of the night and saw a notice saying ‘Account Suspended’, let me assure you all is well. I had a cup of coffee this morning before I checked my email, only to find a warning from my security company that I didn’t understand, and a warning from my host – Bluehost – that I did understand. The account had been suspended because I hadn’t paid the renewal fee, which was due yesterday! In my defense, I thought the renewal wasn’t until the end of June. Ready to confront my host about this apparent discrepancy, I went back and checked my emails and realized that I had the date completely wrong. Whoops! The fee was paid, the site was immediately restored, and I learned yet another lesson.

It’s Monday, for sure.

• The first of the day lilies to open.

And the other peony bush has started to bloom. Goodness, how lovely!

Of course, as seems to be the case with peonies that have fully opened, we’re getting rain today. Thankfully, the rest of the buds aren’t open yet, so we won’t have too much drooping from heavy blossoms being pelted by the rain.

• We are off to Hartford today to be a part of their celebration of all things Darko as his time as Artistic Director ends. His last show at the theater ended its run yesterday and it’s the end of his time there. Bittersweet for everyone on staff who has worked with him for 8 years and for those of us who had the privilege of being a small part of the work he created while in Hartford. He made a lasting impact on that theater and he will be sorely missed. Two of his shows transferred to Broadway and, one of them, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, won four Tony Awards. He’s brilliant and he’s kind. That’s a good combination.

• Speaking of the Tony awards, we watched the whole thing last night. I was so happy to see my friend Fitz Patton win for Best Sound Design of a Play for Choir Boy. Fitz and I were housemates a few years back when we were working at American Players Theater in Wisconsin. He’s a great guy and extremely talented. And the great Andre De Shields was a winner, at the age of 73, of his first Tony for his performance in Hadestown. I worked with him years ago at The Old Globe, but only a little, because he’s so skilled he didn’t need my help! And two of my former students were part of the award-winning cast of Boys in the Band – Brian Hutchison and Jim Parsons. Rick and I auditioned them for the MFA program, chose them, and had a part in their training. Bravo, Brian and Jim!

Lots of other moving moments, not the least of which was seeing an actress with a disability, Ali Stroker, win the Tony for her performance in the revival of Oklahoma! Her speech was empowering and triumphant.

Broadway tickets are expensive, but if I could see anything this year it would be Oklahoma! and Hadestown.

Okay. Have to make our second cup of coffee and prepare to drive to Hartford.

Happy Monday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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