crochet — Page 2

Rain!

September 5, 2022 at 8:06 am by Claudia

It rained for about an hour yesterday. And, drum roll, it rained during the night for several hours. When we woke up this morning, we could hear the rain on the roof.

You know how wonderful that is after the dreadful drought we’ve been having? Oh my goodness! It’s stopped now, but more rain is due late this afternoon and, supposedly, all day tomorrow.

It’s too late for some of the already brown maples. They’re not brown because of autumn color – it’s too early for that. It’s a result of the drought. We have a lot of leaves on the ground in the back forty and it’s only September 5th.

I sat here sipping coffee in the still-dark morning, listening to the rain. Heaven.

Just one more thing on this holiday morning. Yesterday, I crocheted a hat for the girls. I was sitting with the heating pad on with nowhere to go, so I made good on my promise to try a pattern I’d seen. You remember several years ago I was crocheting throws and lots and lots of scarves, which I sold on Etsy. I eventually stopped because I had been crocheting so intensely that my wrist was impacted. So, it’s been 7 or 8 years since I’ve done any crocheting. I had to brush up on my skills. Thankfully, I have a little book that I didn’t give away, so I referred to it as I worked on this pattern.

Here it is. It’s a slouchy kind of beret. Sophie has a flair for wearing hats, so she got to model the finished creation. Plus, it coordinated with the outfit she already had on.

I ordered a bit more yarn in a different weight and I’ll play around with it this week. Wednesday and Thursday will be coaching days for the A Man of No Importance. Friday, I travel to Rochester, returning home on Saturday.

My back is sore, but it could have been much worse. I’ll feel much better in a day or two.

Don is making a sugar-free apple pie today.

I hope you have a peaceful labor day. My dad and brother were union members. My husband belongs to three unions.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Greenery, Crocheting & Remembering

March 25, 2016 at 8:59 am by Claudia

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My trip to a local nursery resulted in this: a Chinese Evergreen that doesn’t need a lot of light and is therefore perfect for the den. The den has been sadly lacking in greenery. I just plopped the pot inside the McCoy jardiniere.

It’s sitting on the floor in front of the dollhouse.

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Lovely.

I love the way the various shades of green pop against the creamy McCoy.

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I’m crocheting one last scarf for my friend, Lynn. Lynn worked at the Old Globe for years and when she asked me if I could make her a scarf from one of her favorite skeins of wool, I said yes. It’s taken me a good long while to get round to it and for that I apologize, Lynn! I had to let my hands rest after crocheting more scarves than I can count last Fall.

Cindy, if you’re reading this, I finished the other scarf you ordered and it’s listed on Etsy.

We are mourning the death of two colleagues and friends who have recently passed away. Larry Drake, a wonderfully fine actor, passed away last week at the age of 66. Larry had a long career on the stage, but you probably know him best as the character Benny on L.A. Law. I was fortunate to coach him on two different occasions; in a play at the Old Globe and in another play in NYC. He was such a kind and lovely man and he died much too soon.

And now we are reeling at the news that Garry Shandling has passed away. Garry was a friend of Don’s. They first met when Garry was a writer working on the short-lived The Harvey Korman Show. Don was a member of the cast of that show, recruited by Harvey himself. A few years later, after Garry had started working as a comedian, Don was on It’s Garry Shandling’s Show. Though many years had passed, their connection remained. Not all that long ago, Garry and Don were chatting online about their memories of the work they did together. Garry was brilliant and his shows were groundbreaking.

Don tells me that Garry was a truly nice person. Gone at 66.

Both actors were extremely gifted; both have left us much too soon.

May they rest in peace.

My mom used to make us sit quietly between the hours of 12 and 3 on Good Friday. We couldn’t go outside or talk loudly. I think this happened more to my brother and I than to my two sisters. As often seems to be the case, my parents were much more relaxed in bringing up my younger sisters than they were with the two oldest.

So, it seems strange to say Happy Friday on Good Friday, but Happy Friday nonetheless.

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Thoughts on Wednesday

February 3, 2016 at 9:26 am by Claudia

It’s February and that means my blogging anniversary is coming up. On February 17th, Mockingbird Hill Cottage (the blog, not the house) will be 8 years old. The house is 125 years old.

Blogging has changed a lot during the course of those eight years; some of it good, some of it not so good. Several bloggers have recently written posts about wanting to go back to the way they used to blog, before everything became about being bigger, better, and earning lots of income. None of that is at all bad, but along the way it’s easy to lose sight of what drew one to blogging in the first place.

Above all, what drew most of us to blogging was the desire to share our lives, our thoughts, and to connect with others (like-minded and not so like-minded.) That’s certainly what drew me to blogging – the opportunity to write, which has always been a passion of mine; and not only write, but create a visual journal by taking photographs that corresponded to the text.

Simple, right?

I’ve been posting daily for several years now. The discipline of writing every day is good for me. It anchors my mornings. I’m very proud of what I’ve created and I’m very proud of the fact that every post on this blog – and there have been 2,337 of them as of today – has been written by me. That means original content (for better or worse!) with no photos grabbed from other sites, no posts that originated elsewhere that I tweak for the blog, no guest posts (which I routinely decline.) There’s the rare sponsored post, and they are truly rare, but again; honestly and candidly written by me. It isn’t always easy to find something to write about on a daily basis, but I’ve stuck to my vision and I’m proud of that.

I guess I never had to ‘find’ what kind of blogger I was because I always intended to write about our life in the country in our little cottage. I’m comfortable with that. Luckily, when I first started, the blogging world was still a relatively small place. Now, it’s much, much bigger.

I often think about that. It must be hard to find a interesting and unique blog name nowadays. I don’t envy having to come up with something new.

Anyway, more thoughts on that coming up on February 17th.

I wanted to tell you about an item that I ordered and which just arrived yesterday. It’s from the shop, Lucy Jane. I read about it via another book blogger and promptly bookmarked the site, though I didn’t get around to ordering it until a couple of weeks ago.

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It’s the Arrow Pencil Pouch, which comes in red, navy or black. It’s made of vinyl and is beautifully lined and the reason I bought it is because it is the perfect size for a Kindle Paperwhite. I tend to throw my Kindle in my bag when I’m on the road or traveling to NYC, and I was looking for something to protect it.

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See, I’m slipping it in the pouch….

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And there it is, safely nestled inside.

I really love it. I chose this bright red because I liked it and I thought it would be easier to find in the depths of my tote bag.

You could probably do the same thing with a cosmetics bag, and I have, but this is sturdy and has some heft. And it’s cute.

I’ve no affiliation with this company – just wanted to share it with you.

I just finished this scarf, it’s a special order.

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It’s made from a yarn I got at my local yarn store – Malabrigo Pure Merino Superwash Rios in English Rose. Isn’t it beautiful?

Okay. I have to go take a shower and meet my friend Charlie for coffee.

Happy Wednesday.

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Rain!

Greenery, Crocheting & Remembering

Thoughts on Wednesday

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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