Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Painting

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We are at the end of our first week on the new blog posting schedule. It’s worked out very well for me. Though I loved the discipline of writing every day, having three days free at this point has been very nice indeed. I still have to write ‘Blog’ and ‘No Blog’ in my planner, but it will soon become habit.

So remember (if you somehow missed my post about the change) Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday are the days I’ll be posting. I will not post on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

For the past three days, I’ve been working on a painting based on a photo I took of one of the roses in the memorial garden. I’m more pleased with it than I thought I would be! It’s still very much ‘in progress.’

Here’s what I have so far:

I’ve just sketched in the leaves as they were in the photo.

I find I love – just as I did with the Pottery series – the process of adding and subtracting and refining that comes with a little time away from the painting. I often discover that I’ve been looking at a portion of the subject the wrong way, that I’ve been missing a little detail.

A big bonus: I tend to lose myself in the process. I think there’s no better feeling than that.

I was going to paint upstairs in the office but it’s a bit too warm up there in the summertime and I find I like painting at the kitchen table. Don is usually around, often strumming his guitar, and I like knowing he’s there. There’s a shared creative energy in the space. Plus, the light is much better in the kitchen, which has windows on every wall.

I am a beginning explorer of this medium, someone who grew up feeling that my talents were focused elsewhere, that Dad and a couple of my siblings had the talent for this particular medium, not me. That was fine, because I knew I was a singer and an actor and that I would make my living in the theater someday. I knew I’d been blessed.

But I can’t help thinking how chuffed my dad would be to see me playing with paint. I often think of him during these sessions. I miss him.

And to add to that, we began watching another Nordic series last night and one of the lead actors looked so much like my brother that it momentarily took my breath away. He could be his twin.

I miss him, too.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

A Foggy Start

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Early morning fog.

It’s since burned off and the sun is shining.

I did a bit too much outside yesterday, but it was worth it. I pruned the wild roses down by the mailbox so the path for the mail truck was clear. I pruned more wild roses here and there and pruned both of our prickly bushes. I weed whacked. And I finished mowing the front lawn, then I did the corral and the secret garden. I’ll hit the back forty in a few days. Oh, and the lilac side of the front lawn. (The expected rain never came, thank goodness.)

Exhausting, but satisfying.

All day long you could hear lawn mowers starting up. Everyone was out there tackling their overly long grass after over a week of rain. I was going to wait until today to do the secret garden because it was so wet back there, but the grass was easily 8 inches long, so I mowed it.

Then I came in, took a shower, turned on the heating pad, and rested for the remainder of the day. And bonus: Don (with just a wee bit of help from me in opening packages) made both lunch and dinner.

We watched The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. This is the final season and I think it’s the best season ever. That’s saying a lot because it’s consistently brilliant. I will miss it so much that I’ve already decided I’ll watch the whole thing all over again. And most likely – again.

Two more days until –  fingers crossed – bandage removal.

Today is my beloved brother’s birthday. He passed away in 1991. Happy Birthday, Dave. I miss you.

It’s also his youngest son’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Eric.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Wednesday Thoughts

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• It rained all day yesterday and, though we’re experiencing a lull at the moment, it will rain for several hours today. It should be partly sunny tomorrow. I’m anxious to see how this has changed the water level on the river. It was shockingly low last week. Hopefully, the amount of rain we’ve had will make a difference.

• I coach today and tomorrow, most likely for several hours each day. Since my brain feels foggy today (sinus) I’m sure hoping that I sharpen up soon! Long days, and then long days on the road on Friday and Saturday. I’ll be glad when my work on Jane Eyre  is complete. I plan on relaxing for a couple of days after I return home. And then I’ll have two days of coaching next week.

• We just passed the 31st anniversary of my brother’s death. I always think of him, of course, but especially in the early days of September. He had cancer, as you know, and while I was chaperoning a group of BU students at the Edinburgh Festival, he took a turn for the worse. My mom held off telling me because she didn’t want to upset me, at least, not until they knew more. I returned home before Labor Day and mom told me what had been going on. I immediately called my brother in the hospital. He seemed to be hanging in there, but he told his girlfriend he was tired of fighting. One night, he sent her home, insisting she get some rest. He died that night. He was only 44.

I didn’t meet Don until 3 years later. I wish they had had the chance to know each other.

• More experimenting with hats for the girls; a lighter weight yarn, some tweaking of the pattern, and here is the latest version.

Zoe is wearing her back-to-school clothes. I think she looks quite fetching in that hat.

Although, I was in such a hurry to get a photo in the late afternoon that I put the right hand where the left should be, and the left hand where the right should be!

I didn’t realize until later when I was trying to figure out why her hands looked weird.

Don sometimes calls me Dr. Frankenstein when I do something like replace eye chips. I think this little error qualifies. Don’t worry, the hands are now in the right place!

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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