Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Bits of News

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• Today we start in with rain, snow, sleet and everything else under the sun. It will be dangerous out there for the next few days. Tomorrow’s high in the mid-fifties will drop almost 50 degrees overnight. High winds, also (you know how much I dislike that.) Insane. Lots of rain predicted, more than 2 inches. Yikes. And frigid temperatures on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If we get any snow, it will only be a bit. And that seems highly doubtful. I know the same storm is dumping lots of snow on many of you. I’d much rather have the snow.

I guess I’ll have to blare Christmas music to mute the sound of wind.

• We watched The Bishop’s Wife  last night. Love that movie.

• Don only needs 8 more subscribers to his YouTube channel to qualify for his own URL (a unique address on the web.) Thank you to those of you who graciously subscribed! Brenda, give a listen to “Nova Scotia” – I believe Don left you a message. He loved your comment yesterday.

• I received a lovely package from reader Kathy yesterday. In it were two lovely holiday plates from Target (we’re going to use them for the Linzer Tart Cookies I’m making this year.) And also included was this:

To Kill a Mockingbird  published in Estonia! It’s the hardcover version with a copyright of 1964, just two years after it was first published in America. This is the original dust jacket and the illustration/artwork is stunning! Oh my. Thank you so much, Kathy! This is amazing. I wrote you a note in yesterday’s comment, but my question is: Where, oh, where did you find this???

• Update on my job offer – The woman who is coordinating the workshop managed to come up with some more money from the producers, so I will be paid my normal fee with a little extra money to cover six days of commuting back and forth from here to the city. It worked out! And, once I got out of the way, it was effortless. A lesson I have to learn over and over again. It turned out better than I had even hoped. So, that’s taken care of and I can work with dear Darko again. Hurrah!

• And finally, the last sweater-ornament-turned-into-Blythe-sweater. This one is modeled by Madeleine.

It’s been fun adapting these sweaters to fit on my girls. I, of course, will be looking for even more of these next year. I have 8 of them and goodness knows, all 12 of my girls should have one.

• Okay. Don is baking a pie this morning. I am baking cookies tomorrow. I have to run to the library at noon (they don’t open until then) to pick up a book that has arrived – Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman. I could try to do it tomorrow, but the weather will be horrendous. As it is, I will be trying to get there and back before it starts snowing/sleeting/raining. The only other option is Tuesday and who knows if it will still be icy around here? This subzero weather that’s on the way is supposed to last through Tuesday or Wednesday.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Puzzles and Books

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I hoped to have updated photos of the Lake Cottage but I was waylaid by the task of chopping up ice on the parking area and driveway. Don and I happened to be out there during the sunniest time of the day. By the time I came back in and turned on the heating pad, I was tired. It was only later that I realized I’d never taken the photos.

Hopefully, today.

The latest finished puzzle. This one was all about vintage paper dolls. I really love it. It brought back memories of all the paper dolls I played with as a kid. Don really loves it, too. That’s why you see the foam board behind the puzzle. He thinks we should frame it and hang it on the wall in the upstairs bathroom. The walls in that room are a brightish green and this would look great there. Don has a good eye. So I’ll get to that in the new year.

I put the foam core there so I can safely remove it from the table without taking it apart. A new puzzle arrived yesterday and I want to get cracking.

What else? We’ve vowed to take it easy today. I’m in the middle of a book about Dorothy Kilgallen:  The Reporter Who Knew Too Much. She died at a young age and there has always been a suspicion that she was murdered. At the time of her death, she was in the middle of an investigation concerning the assassination of JFK. She disagreed with the Warren Commission report and felt there was a coverup. She covered the trial of Jack Ruby. She was a crack reporter who made a lot of enemies because she wouldn’t give up her investigation. When her body was discovered in her townhouse at the age of 52, a combination of alcohol and barbiturates was said to be the cause. However, many of her friends felt she was in danger. She felt she was in danger. Her phones were tapped. Their phones were tapped.  J. Edgar Hoover had voluminous files on her. There were several factions that had an interest in quashing her investigation.

Frankly, I’ve never fully agreed with the results of the Warren Commission. I’m not one who leans toward conspiracy theories as a rule, but in this case…

Anyway, I find it fascinating, especially since we watch old episodes of What’s My Line  every day. Who knows if it’s true? I’m more than halfway through the book. After that, I’ve got the most recent Herron waiting in the wings.

Okay.

Back to the book, back to my second cup of coffee.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

 

Sisters, Sweaters, and Snow

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I just can’t.

I’ve captioned this “Sisters in Sweaters.”

You can see the difference in body size in this photo. Holly has the standard body that comes with Blythes and Mei as an OB22 body. OB22s are more flexible, and much lighter in weight. That’s the body she came with. I have a mix of bodies on my girls, simply because I usually am fine with whatever body they have. There are plusses and minuses with both sizes. The only body I may change out someday is Olivia’s. It’s a licca body, which makes it even tinier than Mei’s. What drives me nuts about it is the fact that the legs don’t bend, so I’m limited when it comes to posing her.

But otherwise, I like the variety in height. It somehow makes them more realistic.

Okay.

Snow today. It’s already started falling but just barely. We woke up to a light dusting on the cars and the roof. We’ll get anywhere from 3 – 6 inches. I’m betting on 5 inches. We’re actually looking forward to watching it fall during the day. A little Christmas music in the background and some apple pie baking in the oven? Perfect.

Plus, the snowblower is working beautifully and I cleared off the rest of the porch yesterday. There were several pots I needed to empty and I stored them in the shed – which is so organized it makes me smile.. The cushions were brought inside, as well as my two stone doves. The Adirondack chairs were folded and stored in the shed. All of the chairs we use in the secret garden and on the funky patio are now on the porch. Don helped carry the two remaining vintage pots that were in the secret garden (they’re quite heavy and my back was complaining) onto the porch. Bags of salt leftover from last year are at the ready.

Now, we can sit back and enjoy the snow, knowing we don’t have to be anywhere today.

I’ve started the new Anthony Horowitz and I reserved the most recent Mick Herron from our library system. Miraculously, there was no one in the queue so I should received it next week sometime. Suddenly, I have a few books that have actual due dates, so I’d better get cracking.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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