Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Day Four Hundred Eleven

April 28, 2021 at 8:23 am by Claudia

Just beginning to open. The lilac bush has more flowers than ever and I’m thrilled. I can’t remember how many years ago I planted it; it’s a modest size and it’s full of buds, which, after an 80 degree day today, should be opening pretty quickly.

I bought a lot of plants at the nursery yesterday. My preferred hanging plants aren’t in yet, and I want to add some perennials to the garden beds, but I got most of the plants for the porch and secret garden pots. While I was gone, Don mowed the front lawn. I wasn’t gone all that long, but he challenged himself to get it all done while I was away and surprise me.

Needless to say, he was pretty darned tired last night.

I’ll start potting some of the flowers after I finish this post and have a second cup of coffee with Don.

I just finished The Glass Hotel. Such a satisfying read by a truly excellent writer! I think I’ll start The Paris Library  later today. We were reading a poem by J. R. R. Tolkien yesterday, the one with the line “Not all who wander are lost,” and we started talking about The Hobbit, etc. and the fact that neither of us have read anything by Tolkien. I was never all that into fantasy of the kind that he wrote. My best friend in high school was very into Tolkien and I remember her devouring the books. Anyway, this leads me to wonder if I should try reading The Hobbit. Is it one of those books that everyone should read? Am I missing out on a modern day classic? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Okay. Time to make that cup of coffee and get cracking.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: books, flowers, garden 37 Comments

Day Four Hundred Ten

April 27, 2021 at 10:10 am by Claudia

It’s staring to take shape. Minus plants, of course, but that will begin to change after my visit to the nursery today. I don’t expect to get everything, but I should be able to fill some pots by the end of the day.

I’m excited!

We finished the fifth season of The Bureau  last night. It’s simply one of the best series I’ve ever seen. I’m so sad that it’s over, therefore, I’m suffering a bit of withdrawal today. For all of you who don’t like subtitles, my humble advice: it just takes practice. You have to get into the rhythm of it. Frankly, we aren’t even aware of them after about two minutes. Of course, to each his/her own, but I will say that some of the best things I have ever seen, including La Strada, Cinema Paradiso, Amélie, A French Village, and The Bureau, are subtitled and what a loss it would be never to have seen and experienced them. Don makes the point that he likes foreign movies and series because he doesn’t know the actors, so he is able to completely lose himself in the story without the back story of the actors themselves entering his consciousness. Anyway, for what it’s worth, I highly recommend it and I thank Darko for his initial recommendation.

I worked outside for a bit yesterday but, like clockwork, it became windy almost the moment I stepped outside. I think Mother Nature likes to taunt me. So I didn’t last long. I also started the new John Derian puzzle, but was too tired to stay with it very long.

I’m reading The Glass Hotel  by Emily St. John Mandel. Lord, she’s a good writer! I’m about ¾ of the way through it and I had to force myself to put it down this morning. I highly recommend both this novel and her first best seller, Station Eleven, which stays with me to this day. I don’t have a copy (I read a library copy) and I’ve often meant to buy one for my shelves because it’s that good. Note to self: BUY IT.

Okay. Time to get a move on. Don will get a little time to himself this morning as I go off to explore the nursery. We’re rarely apart these days, but if there are errands to be run, it’s usually Don that runs them so I’m the one that gets to experience the solitude. We are crazy about each other, but a little breather is a good thing!

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: books, movies, porch, television 29 Comments

Day Four Hundred Four

April 21, 2021 at 10:00 am by Claudia

Because I couldn’t figure out what photo to post.

We are due for thunderstorms, winds, a low of 29 degrees tonight and a low of 31 tomorrow. I’m worried, obviously, about all the plants coming out of the ground, about the lilacs, which are in bud, the crabapple trees, all of it. Our gardens cover a lot of ground so there’s no way to cover everything, and since we’re getting high winds and rain, any attempt to protect them would be fruitless.

This happened last year as well – during the first week of May. The boxwoods turned brown because of it, though I briefly worried about boxwood blight.

I know that many of you have had snow over the past couple of days as this weather front has crossed the country. I stress about these things, because they’re totally out of my control. Right now, it’s sunny, but that will change soon.

I’ll share more of my ‘career story’ soon, but I needed to take a break from it today.

Let’s see…the new puzzle is quite challenging. Nevertheless, it’s beautiful and a lot of fun. And you know I like a challenge. Amazon updated the delivery on that John Derian puzzle, first, to the end of next week, which I was very happy about. Then, this morning, I got an email saying it will be here on Friday. Good news all around.

Except for the damn weather.

Today was going to be our ‘car rider to the antique shop day’ but there’s no point in going during a storm, so we’ll delay that little trip.

We stopped everything to wait out the announcement of yesterday’s verdict and were enormously relieved to know that, in this case, justice was served. We have a long, long way to go, but this victory is a ray of hope.

I haven’t asked this for a while. What are you reading?

I’m reading The Glass Hotel  by Emily St. John Mandel. I’m about 30 pages into it. I loved Station Eleven, and am a big fan of both her imagination and her beautiful use of words.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: books, weather 27 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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