Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Early Sunday Morning

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Another porch plant brought in for the winter, this one gracing us with delicate little purple flowers.

I sit here in the early morning lamplight – I seem to be waking up rather early these days – sipping coffee, while Don plays his guitar quietly in the living room, Scoutie sleeping by his side.

I’d say that’s a nice way to begin the day.

Speaking of coffee, our neighborhood market ran out of Peet’s French Roast and we were forced to try another brand until new stock came in. The brand, which shall be nameless, was okay. But just okay. When I went to Target on Friday, the very first thing I did was run for the coffee aisle and replenish my stock of Peet’s. Since it was on sale, I grabbed two.

I didn’t actually ‘run’ for the coffee aisle. A better description would be ‘walked briskly.’

There’s everything else and then there’s Peet’s.

We got about six inches of heavy, wet snow yesterday with big, fat flakes falling during the night and well into the day. Drum roll: Don got to use the snow blower. He was very happy. I shoveled Scout’s small corral and all the paths to the house and shed. All in all, I got some good exercise and, in terms of yesterday’s post, I felt better because of it. Just enough shoveling. But not shoveling to the point of exhaustion which would have been the case pre-snow blower.

Then we had some frozen pizza.

Then, to test out the effects of the snow blower on the long, uphill driveway, Don got in the car and went to the store to buy some Vitamin D, per your advice.

Then we watched Coal Miner’s Daughter  on TCM. I hadn’t seen it since it first came out in 1980, so it was like watching it for the first time. Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones were wonderful. Last Sunday we watched To Kill a Mockingbird. Thursday we watched Singin’ In The Rain. All in all, a great week for movies on TCM. Do I even need to say that both Don and I cried when Scout said “Hey, Boo” in TKAM?

No, of course I don’t.

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I’m almost finished with John Connolly’s The Reapers. (Goodness, I love his books.) Then I have to take a break from all things Connolly and start reading some books scheduled for review.

Remember the quilt I pieced when I was working in Hartford a couple of years ago? I started hand quilting it at the time, then I lost interest and put it away. I hauled it downstairs the other day and it now sits on top of the basket across the room from me here in the den – taunting me. I do believe I’m going to get back into the hand quilting, which will take a long while to finish as I apparently decided to quilt overlapping circles that are dense and close together. That means the amount of quilting per square is on the heavy side. That also means that I have continue that pattern or it will look bizarre, so it will take a lot of time. This is the kind of project where I have to erase the enormity of the whole picture from my mind and truly do it ‘one day at a time.’

How is your Sunday shaping up? I hope you are having a relaxing, happy, wonderful day.

Happy Sunday.

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Random Thoughts: Sunday Edition

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I do love fall colors, don’t you?

• Why, oh why do we keep having to change the time twice a year? It drives me nuts. I’ve read all the reasons behind the original idea and they seem entirely outmoded now. Now I have an entire winter of darkness arriving at 4 or 4:30 to look forward to. Thanks a bunch.

• I’m still making coffee the new way. I really love it. The coffee maker hasn’t been used once since I returned home. What I find amazing is that the taste is so much better and the ultimate cost is so much less. Filters and coffee. That’s it. And I find myself really looking forward to the ritual of pouring the water into the filter, bit by bit, until I have a full, aromatic mug of coffee.

It’s the little things that can turn out to be big things in the end.

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• I caved yesterday and ordered one more Emmie Blind from someone on eBay. It was more expensive than the ones I previously ordered, but there seem to be only a couple of them left out there in the width I need, and as I walked into the bathroom and saw the same dreaded tie-up blind that I had in the living room, I knew I had to do it. I’ve searched and searched for something comparable on the internet and haven’t found it. And interestingly, the fabric blinds I did find were all more expensive than the one I was dithering about on eBay, so what the heck? I did it. By the end of this week, Emmie should be happily established on all the living room and bathroom windows.

• Goodness, am I enjoying watching Netflix on the new television! We all know there is a dearth of quality programming on most of the networks, so having the option of watching Netflix on a big screen rather than my 13″ laptop is greatly appreciated. I’ve been watching the BBC series Luther, starring the amazing Idris Elba. Have you seen it? It’s a gritty cop series that takes place in London. Excellent writing, acting and direction. I can’t wait for Don to get back home and see our new television. I envision many cozy evenings ahead.

• I’m not watching Death Comes to Pemberley on PBS. Not because I don’t want to, but because I want to read the book first. I usually avoid all those Pride and Prejudice take-offs like the plague (why mess with the best?) so I avoided this one. But I am a huge fan of P.D. James (I met her once!) and I know anything she writes is of the highest quality. I was having a conversation with Darko’s assistant, Sarah, when I was in Hartford. She’s a fellow book lover and her mother is a librarian, so we loved talking books. She raved about it, which was enough for me. It’s now on my list. A list, by the way, that is so long I could easily be daunted if I thought about it for any length of time. So I won’t.

• Missing my mom. I had a hard day yesterday in that regard.

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• Scoutie slipped off the loveseat and fell yesterday. She usually jumps up there and looks out the window before she lays down and her two rear feet are on the outside edge of the cushion. Sometimes she slips because she her feet are too close to the edge. I heard a thud from the living room and ran in there to help her up. I think she must have really bruised herself as she was definitely in pain last night. Today, she’s a bit better. Poor girl. We will take it easy today and I’ll give her some more Rimadyl, which seems to be the only medication she can tolerate. I worry about my baby girl so much.

• I drive to New Haven on Friday to bring Don home. It’s been way too long. Our pack needs to be back together in our little cottage. It can’t come soon enough.

Happy Sunday.

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Coffee and Reading

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This is my new favorite way to brew coffee. Funnily enough, we’ve had this filter holder (maybe made by Melitta?) for a long time. It usually sits in a cupboard at home. I brought it with me, along with some individual filters. When I was in Chautauqua earlier this summer, Andrea, one of my roommates, showed me a collapsible filter holder (I’m including the link because it’s such a neat idea) that she took with her on the road. She is a costume designer and she travels a lot. She also likes strong coffee and this way of making coffee results in a good, strong cup. (I still want to get that collapsible holder!) She made me a cup and I was sold.

I suppose it’s the same idea as a Keurig, but much less expensive. Just the holder, a filter and however much coffee you want to use. I am a Peets French Roast fan, so that’s what I spoon into the filter. I’ve been using the teakettle here to boil water, add it slowly to the filter in a swirling motion and voilà! Great, great coffee. It takes more time, but I’ve been thinking about that. Just as making tea can be a sort of ritual, I think making a cup of coffee should be as well. It’s one of my favorite things about the morning, so why not honor that ritual?

When Don was here, I made his coffee this way and he really loved it. I think we’re sold. I don’t know when I bought this filter holder, but it was years ago and it probably cost $5.00 or less. Can’t beat the price.

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I finished this book yesterday.

I miss my friends in Mitford. Jan Karon has such a gift for creating a small town and all its inhabitants. It was over 500 pages long and I couldn’t put it down. Now I’m sad. Where are all my friends in Mitford, North Carolina? It’s a great gift when you can read a book and feel surrounded by friends. A great gift.

My mother loved these books and I would always let her know when a new one was coming out. I miss talking to her about them. Love you, Mom.

I’ll review it either tomorrow or Monday, depending on my schedule. But I’ll give you a heads up: it’s wonderful.

The show is going very well. Scout is doing well. She greeted me last night full of hyper energy. She ran a bit in the park (just a bit) and she ran down the street back to the apartment. I had to rein her in! She was hungry – so far, so good with the food staying down – and she doesn’t like me being away at night, so she was glad I was home. In fact, she had that slightly crazed look in her eyes that only Scout can get. I shake my head in amazement. Now, she’ll sleep through most of the day.

So I’m staying for at least one more night, and will most likely stay through Opening Night tomorrow, although I have nothing to wear. Then we’ll pack up early in the morning and head home.

More on all of that tomorrow: living in an apartment away from home and why I will miss it.

Happy Thursday.

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