Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Three Days and Counting

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I realize everyone is probably very busy with Christmas preparations. Or maybe you’re in that place where everything is done and you can relax for a couple of days. I am working again today – it was impossible to fit everyone in yesterday – so another day of coaching awaits. I forget how much energy it takes to communicate everything you want a person to learn in one hour. And zoom is not the best way in which to communicate. But, it is what it is. The actors are very nice and it’s a pleasure to work with them.

Ever since Monday, we’ve been watching a Christmas movie every night. I work around what we need to see on TCM’s schedule and fill in the rest from other streaming sources. So, Monday was White Christmas (Netflix). Tuesday – A Christmas Carol (the Alastair Sim version which is the only  version for us – we watched it on YouTube.) Wednesday – Remember the Night (Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. TCM) Thursday – Meet Me in St. Louis  which was on TCM.

Tonight will be The Bishop’s Wife  (TCM), tomorrow, The Shop Around the Corner  (TCM,) and on Christmas Eve, It’s a Wonderful Life (either Amazon Prime or Netflix.) We don’t really have any connection with contemporary Christmas-themed movies or animated movies. This “Christmas Movie Week” is one of our traditions and it’s a true highlight of the season for Don and me.

We’d already seen Christmas in Connecticut, A Holiday Affair, and a few others before the official “Week” began.

Another Santa by Vintage by Crystal.

And some very old celluloid reindeer I picked up in an antique shop many years ago.

It’s very cold right now – the temperature went down to 17 degrees overnight. I’m pretty sure the remaining potted plants on the porch have now died, so I’ll move those pots into the shed over the weekend. I have to say that the calibrachoa really hung in there until a day or so ago. Bravo!

Christmas is almost upon us!

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Puzzles, Work, and Christmas

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Finished puzzle – the title is something like 50 Plants from Around the World, It’s absolutely gorgeous with incredible detail. This one is by my favorite puzzle manufacturer – Lawrence King. That’s the same company that does all “The World of…” puzzles. They’re beautifully illustrated and the puzzle itself is very high quality.

My next will be “The World of Hercule Poirot.”

On the egg cup cubby.

In front of the putz houses.

I have a coaching job. Well, I’ve had it for a while but it doesn’t begin until tomorrow. Sadly, theaters are struggling, with many canceling seasons, or greatly cutting back, or closing altogether, and I see that in my work as well. So I have one day of Zoom coaching with the 5 actors in this play, one filmed run-through to watch and take notes on, and one visit to the theater to watch and note the first preview performance. That’s it. For the last year or two, I have found myself having to coach actors on-the-fly (that’s really what it is) and it’s very depressing. I can’t coach thoroughly, I can’t even coach somewhat thoroughly. When budgets are slashed, it’s people like me who are the first to go or, at least, the first to have their hours/days cut. I’m grateful for some work, but I never thought that after almost 40 years of coaching professionally, I would have to work this way. Believe me, I am only one of many, many theater professionals that are trying to cope with less work and less time in which to do the quality of work we’re committed to. Anyway, it’s a production of Dial M for Murder, and I’ll have one day this week to meet with all the actors and give them every possible note I can cram into an hour session per actor. Next up will be watching a run-through virtually, and then – in January – I’ll drive to Rochester to watch a preview.

So I’ve been reading the script and prepping for the coaching sessions. And sighing a lot. Today, I chat with the director (who I know from my Hartford Stage days.)

Miranda in front of the tree.

Yesterday, I worked all morning on the script, and then, worried that I would run out of free time in which to dress all the girls in the sweaters, figured that now was the time. So, I redressed all the girls in some form of a Christmas sweater and socks or pants or tights. It took FOREVER. Then I took all sorts of photos and I can only hope one turns out well. And then I shot a little video of them, which I am unable to post here. But if you want to see it, just go to Instagram and search for sophieandherpals which is the name of my Blythe account. The video is there.

Okay. We’re caught up.

I have to mail a package this morning – another Etsy sale.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

A Very Soggy Monday

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It has rained and rained and rained and is still raining this morning. We got about 3 inches overnight. It’s some storm that came up from the Gulf, but we were already drenched here and definitely did not need more.  Who would have thought that a week before Christmas we’d be getting rain instead of snow? And – at least through January 1st – there is no snow on the horizon.

I’m still a bit under the weather but I’m definitely feeling better than I was. Don is also feeling much the same. We were as sure as we could be that we didn’t have Covid, but we ran a test last night anyway. Negative.

We just feel crappy, that’s all.

I wasn’t sure where to put the putz houses this year. Their former space was on top of the music cabinet which is now upstairs, having been replaced by Blythe headquarters. I put them on the bookshelves, but their sweet colors were lost among the colorful book jackets.

So I moved some things off the little spinet desk and here you go. I’m always tempted to start looking for more of them when I see them here and on various IG accounts. But I didn’t do any antique shopping this year, so I haven’t added to the collection.

This seemd like an appropriate place for this little guy.

I’ve sold a few  smallish pieces of aqua McCoy, but only a few. It’s my favorite color and I’m going to hang on to it. Activity in the Etsy shop has stopped for the last week. I suppose no one is buying at the last minute for Christmas. Plus, my shop has less McCoy than it had. There are other beautiful pieces including an incredible Roseville vase. I’m considering adding a few more pieces of McCoy.

I’ve been working on a beautiful puzzle and expect to finish it today or tomorrow. I’ll share a picture of it then.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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