Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Green Things

August 3, 2023 at 9:28 am by Claudia

Before I forget, two things I’ve been forgetting to mention:

Don chopped off almost 4 inches of my hair the other day. (He had my permission, of course.) It looks so much better.

And my monstera plant, which had been in a darkish corner for quite a while until I switched out the table with Don’s studio on it with the monstera so that it could be in front of the window, has given me two new leaves and they are notched! When a monstera doesn’t get enough light, the leaves tend to just be regular old leaves with no notches.

See? The leaf in the lower right hand corner is one that developed when it wasn’t getting enough light. The big leaf is new and beautifully notched. I don’t know what the official term for that is, I just say ‘notched.’ Monsteras are also called ‘Swiss Cheese Plants’ because of those cut-out areas of the leaf.

Anyway, I can’t tell you how excited I am to see it come back strong. Two new leaves have just appeared but they haven’t unfurled yet, so whatever happens will be a surprise. I’m sure there will be a notch or two.

I got this Monstera at a shop where it had been ignored and was dying. It needed to be repotted and given some TLC. It’s beautiful now.

I weed whacked yesterday and helped mow part of the front lawn, but Don did most of the mowing because my muscles were sore from carrying around the whacker.

I had to trim the weeds that come up between the rocks in the rock garden, as well as around the path to the upper level of the yard. The stepping stones had become hidden and covered with slippery moss because of all the rain we’ve had, so I cleared the moss as well.

Also trimmed around the path to The Dude and cleaned off the stepping stones there.

I always say that we are on the ‘edge of wild’ and this picture is a perfect illustration of that.

I read four chapters of War and Peace  yesterday. I was playing catchup but now I’m ahead. A big battle – the Battle of Borodino – is happening and I’m totally into it. I will say once more that Tolstoy is second only to Shakespeare in my estimation. My heavens, he was a brilliant writer.

I’m also reading The Thursday Night Murder Club  by Richard Osman, which is making me laugh out loud. I’m completely charmed by the cast of characters and the dry wit of Osman – who/whom (I’m never sure and don’t bother explaining it to me because I’ll never retain it) I’ve seen a few times on the Graham Norton show from England. I can see why everyone loves this series.

Don is making an apple pie today. Huzzah!

The lilac side of the front lawn will be mowed today – by me. Don’s knees are bothering him a bit and that side of the lawn is fairly easy to deal with. We have rain and storms coming tomorrow, so I want to get that done today.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: books, houseplants, reading, secret garden 26 Comments

Book Juggling and What are you Reading?

July 27, 2023 at 9:12 am by Claudia

It seems that everything has bloomed earlier than usual this year. Black/brown-eyed Susans usually bloom in August and they first flowered a couple of weeks ago. Same with the David Phlox. Today’s weather will do them no favors, so I’m going to go out and water this morning before the worst of the heat sets in. We have a heat advisory today and this will be the forecast through Saturday. Thank goodness for air conditioning.

We might get a severe thunderstorm around noon. Sigh. Yet another torrential rain.

Because I’ve been stuck inside, I’ve been playing with the girls.

I placed them on the ottoman for a moment and was taken with the way they looked together.

Believe me, playing with dolls at this age is a truly wonderful thing – something I had never even entertained! They have truly enhanced the quality of my life. Magic and wonder are in short supply these days, so why not grab them while you can?

I’ve been reading a lot. Reading War and Peace first thing in the morning is key. My brain is more open to all the details.  Later in the day, there are too many distractions. (Right now, we’re in the midst of a big battle in the War of 1812.) Then I usually follow with The Deptford Trilogy. I should be more specific about that: I’m reading the first book in the trilogy – Fifth Business. When I finish that, I’ll switch books in order to read Demon Copperhead  by Barbara Kingsolver. I got it from the library, so I have it for a limited amount of time. After that, it will be back to the Trilogy.

Unless another book that I forgot I reserved arrives at the library.

I feel like a juggler!

What are you reading?

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

 

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, books, flowers, garden, reading 41 Comments

Mowing, Reading, and Soon-to-be-Raining

July 20, 2023 at 8:53 am by Claudia

Over in the garden on the other side of the house.

Today? Mowing. Without a working front-wheel drive, it is truly a pain in the tush. We can’t send the mower to the shop right now because we simply can’t be without it during this unbelievably rainy summer. The grass grows very quickly, it gets way too long, and we can’t mow when it’s raining every day. So we have to be ready to mow when we can and – you guessed it – we’re supposed to have another deluge tomorrow, so today is the day.

I guess the positive, if there is one, is that I’m getting some muscles in my arms.

We have a hilly, uneven lawn, so that makes it harder.

What else? Not a whole lot. I have about 4 books here from the library that I can’t get into. I’ve tried, but they’re just not clicking with me. So I pulled out The Deptford Trilogy  by Robertson Davies. I have a new copy from Penguin Books and I’ve had it on my TBR pile for a while. I read everything by Davies about 40 years ago and I think he’s one of the finest writers ever. This is a reread and it’s obviously been long enough since I read it the first time to make it seem entirely new. I’ve written before on this blog about my love for his writing. And I’ve been slowly gathering copies of his books as somehow mine went missing over a lifetime of moves from this apartment to apartment, city to city to country. Plus, he’s Canadian and my Canadian roots are very strong. Three out of four of my grandparents were born in Canada, as well as my mom.

Speaking of Canada, I found my photo cube (remember those??) with photos of Gordon Lightfoot in concert. My friend Scott gave it to me long, long ago. I’ll try to take pictures of it when the light is good.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: books, flowers, garden, reading 16 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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