Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

  • About MHC
    • Disclosure
  • Dollhouses/Minis
    • Hummingbird Cottage
    • The Studio (Formerly TSP)
    • Dove Cottage
    • The Lake House
    • The Folk Art Dollhouse
    • The Modern Dollhouse
    • Dollhouse Source List, Information and Tutorials
  • On the Road
  • Collecting
    • Roseville Pottery
    • McCoy Pottery
    • Egg Cups
    • Bakelite
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Archives for coaching

This and That

November 14, 2018 at 8:58 am by Claudia

Not only are we getting a lot of snow tomorrow, we’re also getting ice Thursday night.

Apparently, our first snowfall won’t be pretty event. I’m already sick of winter and it hasn’t officially begun!

Today will find us moving the A/C units out of the windows, cleaning up the porch, buying salt and getting the snow shovels out of the shed. I have a lot to do today!

This little mustard pot/crock arrived yesterday. It was an impulse buy, but I’m glad I went for it. It’s probably from the late 1800s – early 1900s and it’s got great graphics and an appropriate amount of rust. They don’t make packaging like this anymore, do they?

Since I have a marmalade crock from the British Isles, I figured I needed some sort of crock from France, too.

What else is new? Don is singing in a concert in Manhattan on Sunday evening. It’s to be a concert version of new musical that is in development called Johnny and the Devil’s Box. The music is bluegrass. One of the music directors from Margaritaville  is working on it and recommended Don, as well as Don’s co-star, Rema Webb. It’s being done live with an audience with the intention of getting a good recording of the entire score.

I’m still working on Anastasia, but won’t be back there until November 20th. A young Australian pop star is coming in to replace the male lead and we’re working together to get him ready to take over the role at the end of November. Then I have another project starting up in December, a bit of work on a production of A Man for All Seasons. It’s all good.

Okay. Have to get moving. Time for work outside and it’s cold out there!

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: cleaning, coaching, collecting, snow 18 Comments

Countdown

September 26, 2018 at 9:57 am by Claudia

Oh my heavens, yesterday was a pain in the tush! We had torrential rain ALL day long, both here and in NYC. I left the house around 7:15 am and didn’t return until 9 pm. Walking anywhere in the city – and I had to walk 12 blocks to rehearsal – was treacherous. Puddles everywhere, umbrellas banging into each other, me constantly hiking my handbag and a tote bag with my script in it back onto my shoulder while juggling an umbrella. Then doing it all again at a fast clip as I made my way back to the bus station. The bus ride home was much longer than usual because of the rain.

As Don said, “Our routine is off!” And it was.

I’m happy to be home and I’m really tuckered out. I seem to go from peaceful daily living to, suddenly, a day packed full of exhausting activity, then back to normal.

Speaking of Don, I took this picture of him the other day:

Pretty dreamy. My crush continues.

And here’s a photo of my other guy:

Mr. Henry. I love that boy.

We’re are suddenly panicked because we’re leaving for our trip in a week and a half, and we have a lot to do before then! How can it be only a week and a half away? So we spent the morning with this little book:

It’s pocket-sized and will definitely be accompanying us on our trip.

We’re supposed to get even more rain and thunderstorms this afternoon. I am so over rain. It seems like we’ve had nothing but rain this summer and fall. One of my readers mentioned that she had read that morning glories don’t like too much water. I think that’s why they haven’t bloomed. That’s the one difference this year from every other year. Way too much rain. Dang it!

Anyway, have to go pay some bills and practice French and start making lists of everything I have to get done, including buying some good walking shoes and a fall jacket/coat.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: coaching, Don, Henry, New York City, our trip to Europe 23 Comments

Storms (of Different Varieties)

May 19, 2017 at 8:16 am by Claudia

This is a Martha Washington geranium that I purchased the other day. I repotted it and placed it on the bench on the Funky Patio.

Last night, we had a rip-roaring thunder storm with high winds. I was reading in bed and the wind kept hitting the windows in the bedroom, so I got up to see what was going on. Opening the window nearly knocked me over! So, I guess it wasn’t much of a surprise when I went outside this morning and saw the geranium and another plant on the ground. The wind was too much. So there I was, in my pajamas, no garden gloves on, shoveling potting soil from the ground back into the pot. I’ll have to add some more later. Then I checked out the porch and the calibrachoa had tipped over as well, but it had remained on the table, so that wasn’t so bad.

Yikes. I’m just glad there wasn’t more damage. No tree branches down, thank goodness.

The grass is very wet, so I may have to table mowing until tomorrow.

The fight against the ‘glamping’ developer continues. My neighbor went to a Planning Board meeting the other day and she was alarmed by how gung-ho they seemed to be about the project. Last night I went to the zoning board meeting (we’re appealing a decision to classify it as a lodge and trying to get it classified as a camp – because that’s what it really is. As one guy said, no one  is going to stay there in the winter.) We were instructed at the last meeting to send any letters in support of our plea to the zoning board, with a deadline of May 12th. So, when the head of the board read just three letters last night, our hands shot up. It turns out many, many of us sent letters that they never saw because of a glitch in the email address. The town’s website has an email address listed that the zoning board is apparently not using anymore.

Don’t get me started.

So, we’re resending our letters/emails, which have a time stamp, of course, proving that we sent them by the deadline, and the meeting adjourned early and the next time we meet will be next month. As it was extremely hot in the room (no a/c) I was quite happy to leave.

I figure the more delays, the better.

Then there’s the story about a possible coaching job that I was in negotiations for. My day rate was okayed, I asked to see the script before I made the final decision, and then I found out (the next day) that while the person I was in contact with was sending me the email saying they’d agreed to the rate, they hired someone else because of a ‘time crunch’ they had never once mentioned to me.

I was not happy and I let them know that. Completely unprofessional. It wasn’t a big job, in fact, it was only a couple of days, so it’s okay in the long run, but it certainly has given me pause. I don’t think I’d welcome any future offers from this company. And I’ve worked with them before. (And no, it wasn’t Hartford Stage. Never!)

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: coaching, flowers, rain 22 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • …
  • 35
  • Next Page »
  • Email
  • Instagram

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.

Thanks for stopping by.

Searching?

The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

Archives

All Content © 2008 - 2026 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in