Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Battery and Deer

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I don’t think it’s possible to cram anything else into this cabinet, though I did add a silver candlestick which you can’t see because it’s on the left in a corner.

Success! We went outside yesterday around 1 pm with our new jumper cables in hand. After watching a couple of YouTube videos because it had been so long since either of us had jumped a battery ourselves, we carefully attached the clamps. We spent the most time trying to find the recommended ‘unpainted metal’ in my car that we were supposed to use as a ground for the negative clamp. (Drawings in manuals are always hard to figure out. And I mean – ANY manual.) Don started his car, I waited about 5 minutes, then I turned the key and….huzzah! It started right away. Then we took off the clamps and I drove around for about half an hour.

When I returned, I pulled up to the shed next to Don’s car (which is more protected from the wind – more on that later) and I saw a few deer up in our woods, so I stayed in the car. Wait a minute…I kept seeing more deer…there were 13 or 14 of them! I’ve never seen that many deer on our property at the same time. Maybe 6 at most. I waited and then I couldn’t wait any longer so I exited the car as quietly as possible but they heard me, of course. I went in the house, alerted Don, and we looked out the window and were able to see all of them run off in a long line, flicking their white tails.

It was glorious to see.

Anyway, Don said he read a lot about frozen/cold batteries and that’s what happened to mine. The wind on Friday was so extreme and it came from different directions throughout the day. The wind chill was way below zero. My car, parked near the funky patio, was unprotected. Don’s was parked facing the shed. So his battery was fine, but mine froze.

Last night, I went out to make sure I had completely shut the door of the car when I was trying to quietly exit earlier in the day. I had, but I took the opportunity to start it – just to check that all was well – and it started immediately.

Weather: no snow on the horizon except the occasional snow shower (that means nothing sticks or stays) at least through February 20th. I don’t see any snow on the mountains either – at least the portion of the ridge that I see out my front window.

I cannot remember this happening before. It’s a bit alarming.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

The Dude and a Special Painting

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I was shooting the wild roses that frame the entrance to one of the paths and this happened.

Magic.

We had our second cup of coffee out in the Secret Garden. With all of the wild roses and wild phlox blooming, the birds singing, and the relative quiet on a Sunday morning, we felt very blessed indeed.

Oh, and The Dude:

He hangs out at the end of this little group of stepping stones, directly under the crabapple.

An homage to The Big Lebowski, a movie that Don loves. I love this little guy (he’s very heavy!) and he is the perfect addition to this little area of the Secret Garden. Don found him at our neighbor’s yard sale, which he only happened upon because he was coming back from a morning walk. Fate. And only ten bucks.

I like the idea that he used to live just a few doors down.

Okay. This next painting has stunned me. I can’t believe I painted this, that I got it right. I had an idea to paint one of my Roseville vases. I painted the background a few days ago and let it dry. Then I decided to jump in yesterday and see if I came up with anything remotely like the actual vase. It took a couple of hours, but here it is:

I can’t believe I did it!

I was very relaxed, in a kind of zone, if you will, and this was the end result. I sat with it for a while and then I called upstairs to Don and asked him if he could come downstairs and look at something.

He was stunned. He kept saying “How did you do  that? How did you DO that?”

The answer: “I don’t know.”

I am so proud of this. I mean, I’ve only been dabbing in this for a few weeks and I don’t paint every day. Painting an actual object seemed quite daunting, something I did not have in my skill set. I sketched the flowers on a piece of paper a few days ago, but the actual painting was done freehand, without any guiding lines.

This vase is in the Magnolia pattern, and it’s one of the first vases I purchased. It’s always been a favorite of mine. Now I’m thinking, maybe a series of Roseville paintings?

My friends: I never thought I could draw a straight line, let alone paint something. I knew I was blessed with other talents, but not this kind of thing – not at all. Nevertheless, I kept having this thought about painting over the past two years. An urging. I noted it, but moved on. One day I stopped and considered this strange idea. I believe that kind of consistent urge is guidance from a Higher Power. It just took me a while to acknowledge it, then confide it to Don, and you, and finally, to take action.

I’m not saying I’m the next big artist. Far from it. But, my goodness, I never thought I could paint a vase that actually looked like a vase, one with flowers and texture. Not possible.

I was on a high the rest of the day yesterday and it continues today. I’m so grateful for the prompting that led me to embark on a new adventure.

Is it okay to say “I’m proud of me?”

Because I am.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

The Pink Cabinet

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I know I’ve mentioned this before, but you do know that emails of the blog posts come from a separate email address, and that I have no way of responding to you when you choose to comment via a response to the email? I still get a lot of comments that way – and I read them – but I can’t respond to them. So, if you really want a direct response, come to the blog and comment here. If you simply want to write to me and don’t care whether I respond or not, then have at it.

I say this today because I got a response like that from Claudia in Oklahoma about a month ago. I came across it the other day, when I was cleaning out my inbox. Claudia was responding to a post about Vintage by Crystal; she had fallen in love with Crystal’s whimsical spun cotton creations. And she asked how I displayed them. (I hope you’ve found a piece that you love, Claudia!)

So I went upstairs and took some photos for you. Keep in mind that my Santa that sits on a bell and my Butterfly Rider are displayed right here in the den. But everything else is upstairs in the office.

They’re in my pink cabinet in my little hideaway at the top of the stairs.

I’ll take you on a little tour.

The top shelf holds several pieces of Roseville Pottery, including a child’s plate. On the right is an antique napkin holder inscribed with “Claudia.” My friend Lynne gave that to me.

The middle shelf holds several pieces of cream-colored McCoy Pottery, as well as a pottery deer (maker unknown). In the back is a pink cardboard candy box that holds letters my grandmother exchanged with her youngest sister, Rhoda, when Gram was attending nursing school in Barrie, Ontario. I’ve read many of them. Rhoda died at the age of 15 in the flu epidemic of 1918, along with an older sister, Maggie. Grandma never got over that. And from what I’ve read, Rhoda sounded delightful – full of life, funny, and kind. I wish I’d known her. And Maggie. Both gone long before I was born.

The Friends framed motto was a gift from my friend Lori, who owns Vignettes in San Diego. The pink powder puff was hand made by a blogging friend from long ago, who, sadly, no longer blogs. The Swarovski crystal bunnies came from Barbara. On the left, a Vintage by Crystal creation that looks like my mom when she was a little girl. On the right, a Valentine girl.

The bottom shelf holds copies of the magazines and book in which I was published. On top are little trinket holders that I love. Next to them are two chocolate boxes; one from Harrods in London and one from Laduree in Paris. And a little Paris/Eiffel Tower medallion I bought several years ago from Vignettes. Another piece of Roseville (the hard to find, an even harder to afford Cherry Blossom). Behind it, four vintage glove boxes. And then more Vintage by Crystal.

The elf is a Christmas ornament and not from Vintage by Crystal, but everything else here is. The two bunnies were my very first purchases.

So, that’s how I display them. I don’t do seasonal displays as a rule; rather, I prefer to have things out where I can see them all year long.

I have eight pieces by Crystal and – yes – I succumbed once more during yesterday’s blog sale. I’ll show you that when it arrives. I hope this helps, Claudia! I hope you see this post.

I love all the pieces I have displayed in my three china cabinets, but I must admit, this one is my favorite. It’s my ‘private’ cabinet, tucked away in our office. It’s painted a pale pink, it sits perpendicular to my desk, and I can see some of my favorite treasures when I’m working there. On top of the cabinet are my dolls and a poster for Anastasia. In fact, I went upstairs yesterday to work on the dollhouse and take these pictures, however, I ended up simply faffing the inside of the cabinet. I added that paper that backs the bottom shelf.

I’ll go stare at it some more today. It makes me happy. And I’ll share some more views of my little corner of our office in the next couple of days.

It’s Easter time. Yesterday, I started to post a little round-up of egg cups on Instagram. The first? Bunny-themed egg cups.

Adorable.

Happy Friday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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