Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for china and pottery

Shelf Tour

June 18, 2023 at 9:03 am by Claudia

Another shelf tour today.

Since I was feeling lazy, I simply got up from my chair and took a picture of one of the shelves in the china cabinet.


Back row from left to right:

My great-grandmother’s syrup pitcher. It has a pewter lid. It’s simply gorgeous and was always one of my favorite things in my grandmother’s china cabinet. Thanks to Grandma, it’s been well taken care of. I’ll try to pull it out one day and highlight it on a post.

Next to that, a vase in one of my all-time favorite Roseville patterns, Ixia. It comes in yellow as well, but I really love the green. It’s 8 inches tall.

Next: a blue vase in the Freesia pattern. This was one of the first pieces I purchased when prices became much more affordable. You might recall that I did an oil painting of this one.

Next: my heart went pitter-patter when I discovered the Water Lily pattern, especially in this color combination. I distinctly remember a bidding war on this one. It’s gorgeous.

Front row, left to right:

A double bud vase in the Clematis pattern. Stunning.

The little dog is from Germany and it is one of a only a couple of things I have that belonged to my dad’s mother, who died before I was born. I wish I’d had the chance to meet her. I have my cousin Eileen to thank for this.

Next, slightly to the rear, a green flower frog in the Clematis pattern. It was a gift from reader Barbara. I really love it, especially the shape.

In front of that, a window box in the Magnolia pattern. Love, love, love this, especially the color combination.

Next, a miniature Eiffel Tower found at Vignettes in San Diego,

And, drum roll please, the big kahuna and I’ll definitely take a better picture soon, a Columbine vase. It’s 10 inches tall and seems a lot taller than that. It’s photographing darker than it is. I purchased it two years ago on a whim. It’s in perfect condition and the price was very, very low. I remember pulling it out of the box and how shocked I was by the size. I let out a sigh of relief when I discovered it would fit in the cabinet. Ten years ago, this would have been several hundred dollars.

And next to that you can see two of my Susie Cooper demitasse cups. I found them in a local antique shop and couldn’t resist as I’m a big fan of her designs.

It’s Sunday, Father’s Day. These parental holidays are hard for me now so I end up blocking them out of my mind.  We saw a couple of baby bunnies this morning, running right in front of the kitchen door. Don immediately wanted to keep one for a pet. Ummmm….no. We also saw a stunningly beautiful, almost golden-coated, deer standing between our cars.

I didn’t see my little baby groundhog, who stops by for a couple of hours every afternoon. It was raining off and on yesterday so maybe that’s why. The rain didn’t stop the big groundhog who lives under the shed, however. I found him inside one of beds, chewing on a tall weed. I opened the door and said “No!” and he ran off.

Not for the first time, we mentioned our Henry, who was the Gentleman of All Groundhogs. He always dined on grass, which is plentiful. He never went in the gardens. He was polite. He would lie on the shed ramp in the sun. He respected us and we definitely respected him.

Henry, these young whippersnappers could use your guidance.

We miss you.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: china and pottery, groundhogs, Roseville pottery 18 Comments

Battery and Deer

February 6, 2023 at 9:46 am by Claudia

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.

 

Filed Under: china and pottery, deer 24 Comments

The Dude and a Special Painting

June 6, 2021 at 9:23 am by Claudia

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.

Filed Under: china and pottery, life, oil painting, secret garden 77 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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