Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Tuesday Thoughts From the Heart

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What a great discussion we had yesterday! Thank you for your wise words and perspective. I am blessed with wonderful readers.

Oh boy, is it cold here! It’s 9:30 and it still ‘feels like’ -3°. It’s also quite windy. Needless to say, we’re going to hunker down here today, only venturing out to run the cars for a few minutes and get the mail.

That jigsaw puzzle I’m working on is hard! Jeanie mentioned that she did it last winter and she had issues with it, too. Yesterday, I sat at the table and though I did add some pieces here and there, I was stumped (I was also sort of out of it yesterday) so I walked away for a while. Don was upstairs recording, so I didn’t have the opportunity to do any work on the Beacon Hill. Today, I’ll be in the office/studio starting to prime the red room.

But I did sneak up there to play with my dolls for a bit.

Livvy and Zoe offering their thoughts on wallpaper samples. From their reaction, I don’t think either of these are on the table.

Okay, girls! I’ll keep looking!

I cannot express how much I love these dolls. They’ve brought such joy into my life. And the Blythe community on Instagram is pretty darned wonderful and supportive.

My thought for today: do whatever brings you joy. I worked in offices for years and I was very unhappy. I’ve temped, I’ve worked for a ‘biological media and reagents’ company – both in Detroit and in Philadelphia. I worked at an animal hospital. I worked as a receptionist. I did makeup for productions at the Philadelphia Opera Company. I worked 40 hours a week in an office and then worked an additional 30 hours doing theater. I did whatever I had to do to pay rent and put food on the table and for many, many years – well into my thirties – that’s all  I did. I couldn’t afford to indulge in anything other than the basic necessities. So I know what it’s like to live frugally, to sacrifice. And when I decided to freelance after we moved to the east coast, I was back doing fill-in work between coaching jobs. It isn’t an easy life, but it’s the life I chose –  that we chose – and I have absolutely no regrets.

Creativity – whether in my work in the theater or elsewhere – brings me joy. Collecting things I love brings me joy. Reading and books bring me joy. Looking around my house at the things Don and I have found and purchased – at the egg cups in the cubby, the Roseville in the china cabinets, the McCoy pottery everywhere, the books on shelves in the den and in the bedroom, the dollhouses, both newer and vintage, the dollhouses in progress in the office, Don’s guitars, his Big Boys on his desk, his speakers and microphones and other paraphernalia, his journals and notebooks, his awards, our mementos from the theater, paintings we love on the walls, the quilts I’ve made and the throws I’ve knitted and crocheted, Stella, my grandmother’s piano, my great-grandmother’s china, my dad’s Model T car made of lead, his paintings, my mom’s Shirley Temple doll, and the Blythe dolls – all of that brings me joy. It makes our house a home, it reflects just who Don and I are. I have no regrets about any of the things I love and collect for they tell a story. Minimalism has no appeal for me, though I certainly understand why others like it. But it’s not for me. I love vintage and used. I love color. And I love to collect things I am drawn to, that make me want to research them, to know more about them, to discover over time. In the end, it’s what I’m surrounded by that stimulates me.

I’m so grateful to be have had a career in the theater – something I’ve sustained over 40 years. To do what you love is priceless and I never take it for granted.

But to live a life of kindness and compassion – for other humans and for animals, bugs, birds, bees, trees, plants – all  living things, is my ultimate goal. And The Golden Rule is my guide.

I really went off on a tangent there, didn’t I?  Sometimes – quite often, in fact – writing a post brings clarity to who I am and what I believe and want in my life. Thanks, friends, for reading and caring enough to read this blog.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Day Seventy-One

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Yesterday was a busy day – 80 degrees and very humid. We tag-team mowed the front lawn, then dragged four tarps-full of debris across the property to that place near the shed that I never photograph. Then we donned masks, etc., and drove to the post office where I had two packages to pick up – dear friends who sent me packages, I now have them, though I haven’t opened them yet as I usually wait a couple of days to open them in these times. Then we drove to Lowes where I had to pick up an online order of a new watering can and two pruners. Lowes was incredibly busy; in fact, I heard an employee say it was the busiest it has been since lockdown started. Then we drove to the shop where we order chocolates – slightly decadent, though to us, an essential item. The only sweet I eat is this shop’s sugar-free chocolates. We had ordered via the phone. When you arrive, you call them and let them know you’re outside and they put the bag on a bench outside the door. No contact.

The only snag was this. There is only one person allowed in the counter area of our post office at a time. Somehow, though I was initially the only person in the post office box area which is a separate room, there ended up being three of us in there at one time. Thankfully, we were all masked and the brief moment when we numbered three was just that, about two seconds. Our little post office is incredibly small as this is a very small town. That’s why I avoid going there for long periods of time during this lockdown. Still and all, everyone in Lowes was wearing a mask. Everyone at the post office was wearing a mask. I did see some young idiots walking around town maskless, and – get this – a young father pushing a stroller down the street and neither father or child were wearing masks. But the vast majority of people I saw were wearing masks.

Anyway, at the end of it all we were exhausted; physically because of the outdoor work, emotionally because of the stress involved with running any kind of errand these days. Once again, washing hands, disinfecting doorknobs and purchases, washing hands again, showering.

Today it is supposed to rain and we’re staying home. Unfortunately, Don has just talked me in to cutting his hair with a pair of clippers he is borrowing from Rick. I told him he can’t blame me for whatever the end result is. The exchange? He will trim my hair – and by that I mean whack about four inches off – when I order a pair of hair cutting scissors. I cannot abide how long my hair is!

Let’s hope this doesn’t send us to Divorce Court.

Okay. This arrived the other day:

One of my bookseller contacts (via Instagram) has a bookshop in Ironbridge, Shropshire, England, and she sells a lot of vintage Penguins. I knew there was a vintage Penguin edition of To Kill a Mockingbird   that was issued within a a few years of its first publication in 1960 and I asked her to keep an eye out for it. Sure enough, a copy came into her hands and she messaged me. And here it is! This fits in two collections, my collection of various editions of my favorite novel and in my Penguin collection, as well!

Then, another bookseller – Maureen of Fine Preservers Books in Ithaca, NY – sent me a message. She remembered that I had asked her to let me know of any Tri Band Penguin editions of P. G. Wodehouse that might come into her possession. Sure enough, one had. And here it is:

Wodehouse is truly the funniest writer that ever lived. Don and I sat on the sofa this morning and I read a few pages aloud and we couldn’t stop laughing. Don knows far more about Wodehouse than I do, but I’m going to remedy that.

Wish me luck on the – gulp – haircut.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Day Thirty-Nine

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The day dawned with sunshine all around and now it’s cloudy. Apparently, we’re getting thunderstorms this afternoon. Darn it. I was all set to do some work outside. I did get out yesterday afternoon to clear some more garden beds. I have a long list of things to do out there. I’ll run outside after I post this to try to get some of it done before the rains come.

Then it will be puzzle time.

The flowering quince is in bloom.

And the lilac buds are coming along. Some sun would help! I can see the peony shoots coming out of the ground, as well. And the clematis is leafing out.

Spring – you’ve been very slow this year. You seem to be taking your own sweet time. I can’t wait to smell those lilacs!

I worked a lot on the puzzle yesterday. I started A Gentleman in Moscow. And what a sweet sigh of happiness it brings. It’s such a joy to read Amor Towle’s words again. I’m taking my time, savoring each and every page. Maybe I should just read it over and over until this pandemic is no more?

One of the vintage Penguins I ordered arrived yesterday – it took three weeks to get here from England – as well as a John Prine T-shirt that Don ordered, but both things are currently inside the red bench in the kitchen where all mail sits for 24 hours. It forces us to delay gratification. Let’s hope it’s character building.

We also had to order coffee directly from Peet’s because it was inevitably out of stock on our grocery orders and we couldn’t risk running out. That arrived via UPS late in the afternoon. We had to wipe it down, of course, and then wash and rewash our hands. I know it’s the new normal and most days, I’m fine with it. Yesterday was not one of those days.

Once again, we fell asleep while watching Cheers – that makes three nights in a row. Lately, it seems we can’t make it past 9:30 pm!

Stay safe. Stay home.

Happy Tuesday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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