Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Mom, Thoughts on Blogging, Roses

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I’ve added some dried roses to my little egg cup. When I first arrived in San Diego, I bought some roses that were so lovely that I felt compelled to save them. They are pretty fragile and won’t be able to travel home with me. In the meantime, I think they look perfect in this sweet cup.

I’ve been reading so many posts about the state of blogging lately. And one thing I keep reading is that bloggers hate word verification. To be totally honest with you, I’ve never had a problem with it. Maybe because I’m a fast typist? I have always thought if a reader can take the time to type several words for a comment, what is the problem with typing a few more characters? I’ve never let it keep me from leaving a comment on someone’s blog. Also, I’ve had spam problems in the past and having word verification really makes a difference.

But, I will bow to pressure and try….and I mean try…eliminating word verification. One caveat, however: if the spam gets out of control, it goes back on.

I am going to drive out to the beach today and do something I haven’t done since I arrived. Walk on the beach, take some photos and look for seashells. Most importantly, I am going to breathe in that salty ocean air. My Mom was admitted to the hospital yesterday because she passed out. She is being held overnight for observation. I have a feeling this is a recurrence of a blood pressure issue and I hope she is allowed to go back home today. So far, all tests have been negative. But she has been having a very hard time of it lately. I can hear it in her voice.

This distance thing is very frustrating at times.

What I Miss & Thoughts on Blogging

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Some thoughts running around in my head today:

:: I miss getting mail. I’ve always loved watching for the mailman/woman’s arrival at my mailbox. I bet you feel the same. Will something wonderful be tucked into the box? Of course, nine times out of ten, the delivery consists of bills or circulars…but the anticipation is wonderful. Here? Rehearsal schedules. Period.

:: Even though I am very busy, I miss my daily chores back at Mockingbird Hill Cottage. My husband has those responsibilities now. I miss the fluffing, the cleaning, the rearranging and of course, the gardening. Here? I make my bed, I do my dishes, I do my laundry and occasionally I vacuum. There is nothing like the comfort of taking care of your own home.

:: I’ve been thinking a lot about blogging. I tend to gravitate toward nesting, crafting, gardening, decorating type blogs. There are the big superstar blogs that get thousands of hits every day and have thousands of followers and are always being featured in some publication. I am a fan of some of these blogs and enjoy reading them. Every blog has its own growth curve. When I started out, I couldn’t imagine anyone reading my posts. I also went through a period where I really avoided adding the followers widget. Eventually, I gave in and added it and I am honored that there are other bloggers who like my blog enough to become a follower. I’m sure that in the blogging world my stats are modest, though they make me happy. I’ve had giveaways but am not comfortable with asking readers to become followers. It doesn’t sit right with me. I am a modest person. I am shy. So my followers list grows slowly but steadily.

But I do have this wish to be published. My secret dream? To be in Artful Blogging or Where Women Create. Promoting myself has never been easy for me. It is something that I have to force myself to do. Really force myself. I’d love to see my blog mentioned in a magazine or in a list of cottage blogs or (gasp) be profiled in Artful Blogging. Oh my gosh, what a thrill that would be. Maybe by confessing my secret wish, I will be compelled to take action. This has always been a challenge for me. When I was an actress, I fought that battle all the time: how could I be nicely aggressive when it went against my nature? This year, I vow to take a few steps in that direction.

Thank you, my friends, for being there – for reading this blog. Being able to share my thoughts with you is simply the best. You are the best.

Painting a Table & Missing Followers Gadget

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I see the Followers Gadget is missing again. It was there this morning but when I signed on about noon it was gone. My dashboard says I have followers, but when I click on the number the page is blank. I tried deleting the gadget and then adding it again – nothing. This seems to be an ongoing problem with Blogger and is getting very annoying. I’ve checked other blogs and their gadgets seem to be missing, too.


On to more pleasant things. I have this little table that I have had since I was teaching at Boston University. You can see a bit of it in this photo. There is a little back story on this table. When I started teaching at BU, I was very poor, having just left graduate school. My salary was not very much as I was just starting out. Boston has one of the highest costs of living in the country. Translate all this to: I didn’t have much and I could afford nothing. The Theater Department had 2 Prop Rooms – one in the main theater and a small one in the classroom building. The smaller room had all sorts of cast-offs donated by faculty and students that were used for acting projects. I needed a little table for my office and found this one in the shop. When I moved to a larger, rent-controlled apartment in Cambridge, the table somehow left my office and appeared in my apartment. And it has stayed with me ever since. (Disclaimer: I repaid that loan by donating some pieces to the prop room when I moved on to San Diego.)

Although it is a bit wobbly, I would never get rid of it because it is full of memories of that time in Boston. But I have been staring at it for a while thinking it needed something. You can see that it is tucked in right next to the piano and the piano is mahogany. Too much dark wood. As I am not about to paint the piano, I decided to paint the table.


Simple – but I think it lightens things up a bit. This part of the living room tends to be dark. Now I am going to paint two tables in the den. I keep wanting “lighter” here at MHC. By the way, this is paint I already had on hand – I used it for the kitchen island.


Speaking of the piano, it sounds so much better!

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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