Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Scout on Christmas Morning

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Amidst the whirlwind that is Scout when presents are involved, Don took these photos with my iPhone.

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Eyes on the treats inside of that new water bowl. Bowl = boring. Treats = OMG!

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She can’t contain her excitement. (She has a new collar. Pink with hearts. And a matching leash.)

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The whole thing was exhausting. I mean, all those presents and treats and mom and dad singing and dancing?

It’s almost too much for a girl!

I hope you had a wonderful day. We sure did. We took the day at our own pace, drank some coffee, ate a leisurely breakfast, opened presents, played around with said presents, took a walk in the very cold afternoon,  drank some hot chocolate, made a wonderful dinner, slow danced, and then topped it all off with Top Hat on TCM. Fred Astaire has long been my favorite dancer/actor/singer (I think I just might know everything there is to know about him) so that particular movie was the icing on a wonderful Christmas cake of a day.

Today will be slow-paced, full of books and reading and coffee and hot chocolate and leftovers and that pleasant relaxed feeling that comes after a lovely holiday. We are blessed.

How was your Christmas?

Happy Thursday.

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A Christmas Surprise

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We took a walk late yesterday afternoon. After a week that started with 63 degree temperatures, all the snow had melted, save for a few mounds here and there. When we returned to the house it was about 5 pm. Don went out to the car around 6 to grab a present that he needed to wrap. A bit of time passed as we ate dinner and got ready to watch It’s a Wonderful Life. Around 8 o’clock, Scout needed to go outside, so I opened the kitchen door to let her out and stood there for a minute, not believing my eyes. Somehow, in that little pocket of time, with no warning, snow had fallen and covered the ground. Light, fluffy, about half an inch or so.

I shouted to Don, “Don! Come Here!”

I wouldn’t tell him why.

He arrived at the door, did a double take, and shouted “Snow!”

Then we cheered and hugged and said “It’s a White Christmas!”

A wonderful Christmas Eve surprise.

We ran outside to take these pictures:

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The perfect amount of snow. We have a White Christmas.

Your last Holiday Bokeh shot:

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Merry Christmas to you and yours

from Claudia, Don and Scout

Visions of Sugarplums

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The puppies were nestled all snug in their beds…..

I’m afraid that ‘Santa’ will be spoiling a little girl this Christmas. I know for a fact that he visited a local pet shop and went a little crazy. Santa knows that Scout loves nothing more that sniffing and opening presents, whether they are meant for her or for her mom and dad. Doesn’t matter. She loves presents. Her excitement level jumps off the charts.

As Don said, “I’m almost more excited to watch her open her presents than I am to open mine.” Spoken like a devoted father.

I have a few last-minute errands to run this morning. And some wrapping to do.

Having been off sugar for a month now, Don and I made the rather tough decision to forego our annual Christmas Coffee Cake. We love it. We’ll miss it. But we don’t want to start those cravings up again. It was close, though. I had the recipe out and was about to shop for the ingredients when we came to our senses. We’re losing weight and the cravings are gone, so we’re going to stick with our plan.

I woke up this morning with that feeling I had when I was a kid. Excited about Christmas, yes, but already sad that it’s almost over. Do you ever feel that way? I looked around at our simple, beautiful decorations and felt a wave of sadness come over me. Isn’t that silly? I feel the same way on my birthday. It’s finally here and it’s almost over. I must work on being present in the moment.

We’ve been dealing with some issues with my dad for the past day or so. And we’re realizing that he isn’t doing as well on his own as we had thought. He’s also getting more angry and argumentative and just plain mean with people other than his daughters. (We are battle scarred veterans of these wars.) But he’s in his right mind, so we really can’t make any changes without his permission. I’m already dreading the confrontations that I can guarantee you are coming. I know many of you have dealt with this sort of thing. Wish us luck.

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But back to happy things: I hope your Christmas Eve is wonderful and magical and peaceful. We’re watching  It’s a Wonderful Life this evening. George Bailey, Clarence, angels and wings….heaven.

Scoutie has visions of sugarplums dancing in her head. We love our girl.

I’ll be back with Christmas greetings tomorrow.

Happy Tuesday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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