Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Wednesday

June 26, 2019 at 9:33 am by Claudia

You can see some of the yarrow that is growing in the corral. It’s taller than this now, as this picture was taken last week. Interestingly, it has self-seeded on either side of the path that the dogs created. And that we use, as well. The path isn’t marked. It just is, and it’s as if the yarrow knew that.

Very hot and humid here in the Hudson Valley. We had very heavy rains yesterday morning (of course we did, the hydrangeas had just bloomed – another unwritten rule) but we managed to escape the thunderstorms predicted for the afternoon. I stayed indoors reading. As with the day after all ‘big events’ a slight feeling of letdown permeated the day. I was slightly irritable, my allergies were a pain in the tush, I didn’t know what to do with myself. And, most importantly, I couldn’t get those children being held in detention, aka concentration, camps at the border out of my mind. I can’t write about it. I’ll cry. It’s all I’m thinking about right now. And trying not to think about.

I was stationed on the sofa in the living room, reading The Diary of a Bookseller, which I’m really enjoying.

We installed the air conditioner in the office this morning. We’d held off on that one but it’s been really, really warm in there and I have lots of plants scattered around the room. Plus, Don keeps his guitars there. Too much heat isn’t good for them.

We’re going to take a little walk as soon as I finish this. We keep forgetting to do that and I want us to get back on track. Books, blogs, guitars, gardens – we’re quite easily distracted and, before we know it, the day has passed without a walk.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Filed Under: books, flowers, garden 30 Comments

Flowers & Celebrations

June 25, 2019 at 10:18 am by Claudia

Some garden pictures, taken on Sunday:

We had a lovely low-key celebratory day yesterday. That’s what Don wanted and I was more than happy to comply.

I found a small cake for him from a local bakery – if I was eating sugar, I would have been thrilled because it was chocolate and buttercream and hazlenuts and all things yummy. It was the perfect size, not so big that you feel you have to eat it for days, not so small that it’s all gone in one bite. (I didn’t really even have a craving for it, which is a good sign, as I’ve been off sugar for 3 weeks now.)

I sang Happy Birthday and he blew out the candles and he loved his presents. He had asked for an inexpensive watch because he was sick of checking his phone to get the time of day. I found a rather stylish Timex that I thought he would like and it was a big success. He also was the recipient of two new books.

Don is such an interesting guy. He has a thirst for knowledge that I deeply admire. He never went to college. He’s self-educated and he’s whip smart. In the past year, he has been delving into several subjects – he calls them his ‘courses.’ The non-fiction books he reads are dense – far too dense for me. He reads a lot.

And, though he’s played guitar since he was 12 years old, he is studying online with a well-known guitar player. He practices every day for hours. All of the pieces are complicated and completely instrumental.

He’s so disciplined about his reading and his guitar study. I am not nearly so disciplined about anything!

We also had a FaceTime call with our Little Z, who is not so little anymore. He was having a great birthday, but was yawning because all that celebrating is tiring! He sent a video Happy Birthday message to his Uncle Don in the morning and we sang to him on the phone until he interrupted us to tell us all about his new iPad. I love hearing him talk about pretty much anything, including an iPad.

He’s still young enough that he gives us kisses on the phone. I hope that lasts a bit longer.

A lovely day. Two lovely guys.

I finished 84, Charing Cross Road  this morning. Absolutely charming. And now, on to The Diary of a Bookseller.

We’ve got thunderstorms headed our way this afternoon and the rest of the week will have temperatures in the high eighties. I guess it’s summer.

Thank you for all the lovely birthday greetings!

Happy Tuesday.

 

Filed Under: birthday, books, Don, flowers, Little Z 18 Comments

Birds, Books & Movies

June 23, 2019 at 9:41 am by Claudia

A little photo of the living room as the sunlight poured in yesterday. Heaven.

I mowed the entire front yard yesterday. Today: the corral and the area near the shed. The back forty will have to wait. It’s been absolutely lovely around here and we have another day of it today. And it looks like tomorrow’s rain will hold off until the evening, which will be lovely for Don’s birthday. And little Z’s, as well. They share a birthday. But I’ll talk about them tomorrow.

Yesterday, we saw a bald eagle flying overhead, following the path of the river that is just across the street from us. Today, as we sat on the porch drinking coffee, we saw our lonesome dove sitting on the electrical wires. I said hello to him and invited him to drop by the birdbath. (I just cleaned it out yesterday.)

I’ll be finishing Green Grows the City  by Beverley Nichols today. These two books will be my next reads. We’ve talked about 84, Charing Cross Road  recently, so you know why it’s on my TBR list. I’ve read lots of raves about Shaun Bythell’s The Diary of a Bookseller  lately on Instagram. One of the readers of this blog also mentioned she was reading it. I love books about books and bookshops. This one is supposed to be laugh-out-loud funny, so I can’t wait. He has another one – Confessions of a Bookseller – coming out in September.

And last night we watched Dog Day Afternoon.  It was on TCM. For some reason, I’d never seen it. My heavens, Pacino is magnificent. I think it’s his best work. And the late, gone far too soon, John Cazale, is wonderful, as well as Chris Sarandon as Pacino’s lover. Unbelievably powerful. Directed by Sidney Lumet, who as far as I’m concerned, never made a false move in his long career as a director.

It’s still with me this morning as I write this.

Okay. Time to get a move on.

Happy Sunday.

 

Filed Under: books, movies 22 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.

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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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