Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Clean-up, Rearranging & an Anniversary

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I walked outside today and noticed this heart – made by the relentless rain hitting the gravel next to the porch. A perfect heart – isn’t that amazing? It made me smile on this day after the hurricane.

We moved into this house 6 years ago today. Part of what sold us on the house were the 4 large trees in the front of the property: a shag hickory, a weeping willow, a sugar maple and a catalpa. We deeply love these trees. To hear cracking and groaning as limbs were ripped from them on Sunday was heartbreaking. Each of the trees lost one or more branches; in some cases, large limbs. The sugar maple suffered the most. It is the tree that sits the closest to the house. You see it in every photo of the garden or the porch. We are very sad. Don was so upset last night that he had to write a song about it.

Clean up has started. We are grateful for a friend who came over with his chain saw today. That was an enormous help. There is still much to do. There has been terrible flooding in our area, with damage to crops and homes.

We are very lucky that the house was not hit by a tree. Everything seems even more precious to me. Early in the day, before all the devastation happened, we decided to rearrange the furniture in the living room. Long story short: we moved everything around in several formations but ended up putting it back in almost the same position. It really doesn’t work any other way. These little changes have made things just a bit cheerier today. We ended up moving some tables into new positions:

The dollhouse sat on this coffee table – it’s now on a smaller table and the coffee table is in front of the sofa in the den. It almost moved into the living room, but we couldn’t imagine the living room without the round oak coffee table.

We decided to take away the white table that was next to the piano, moved the piano over 6 inches, and now the yellow chair fits perfectly in the space.

On another note – the bowl on the left was in a photo a couple of posts ago. Some of you mentioned how much you liked it. It’s not McCoy. It’s a pattern called Orange Tree by Homer Laughlin. I found these at an auction a few years ago and I love them. This pattern was made in the 1930’s – 1940’s. Here’s the mark on the bottom of the bowl if you’re interested in searching for some of your very own Orange Tree bowls:

Happy Anniversary MHC.

Go hug your trees today.

Quality Time With My China

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Remember this set of china? The china I had to have and eventually found in 3 different auctions on Ebay? I wrote about them in this post and this post. Yesterday I opened the cabinet and spent some quality time with each piece. Do you ever do that? Do you ever walk around the house looking at your pottery and china with fresh eyes? I do.

They’re so beautiful.

I love them.

I don’t know whether I will ever have the occasion to use all these pieces, but if one arises…I’m ready.

In the meantime, knowing that they’re mine makes me smile.

A Little Bird & Some Roseville Pottery

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This little guy was surveying the Beacon Hill scene from his perch on this hedge. Thankfully, he stayed still long enough for me to snap this photo.

It has finally stopped raining here at MHC. Maybe I’ll get some much-needed yard work done today. The sun is out…dare I hope that Spring may finally be here? Crossing fingers. Let’s just say that I learned my lesson a week or so ago. The snow shovels are still out.

I promised to show you the contents of the other package that was waiting for me when I got home from Boston. A while back, a reader of this blog named Sonja wrote me. She noticed that I had some Roseville pottery. She was getting rid of a piece or two…would I like them? Uh…yes!

Hello, beautiful Magnolia Cornucopia! This is made doubly precious because it was passed down from Sonja’s mother. It now has a place of honor alongside some of my other pieces.

There is a lush quality to the Roseville flower designs that I love. It’s the best word I can think of to describe their look. Years ago, I remember reading an article about the actress Teri Garr’s home. She has a great decorating style. Originally from Ohio where Roseville was manufactured, she had amassed a wonderful collection. I think that was when I fell for Roseville. I kept that article for years – wish I still had it.

Sonja sent me a second piece that she suspected was a knock-off. She said something just didn’t feel right about it. I did some research yesterday and I’ve come to the conclusion it is definitely a fake. The markings are wrong, the glaze is off and one of the numbers on the bottom is reversed. Nevertheless, I really love it – I am treating it like the real thing. It’s Don’s favorite. He has a good eye and suggested I place it here on the piano:

The pattern is Fuchsia. I like the way the wood tones of the Keyboard sign are picked up by the brown color of the vase. Good call, Don.

Once again, I am overwhelmed by the generosity of one of the readers of Mockingbird Hill Cottage. Thank you, Sonja, for these wonderful additions to my little collection. Sonja doesn’t have a blog yet, but she’s thinking of starting one. Let’s encourage her!

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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