Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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The Unveiling of the TSP

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Before we get into yesterday’s big event, may I take a moment to share this?

6-25 hollyhock!

The hollyhock is blooming! Since it’s so much bigger this year, there are going to be a lot of blooms.

Okay. Back to the birthday. It was a fantastic day. We went out to lunch at our favorite vegetarian restaurant, which involves a beautiful trip on charming country roads. We had a piece of Mocha Java cake with a candle (I sang Happy Birthday) and a lovely trip back home. Don wanted to delay the big present until we got back from lunch.

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In its temporary new home on Don’s desk.

6-25 tsp

(In the spirit of full disclosure, you can see where I accidentally broke the cross beam when I was putting this together, which caused me to freak out until I realized I could repair it. So my first words to Don – before he even saw this – were “Don’t lean on the frame. Ever.”)

His reaction was a dream come true. He still can’t stop talking about it. Not everyone would ‘get it’, but he does. In fact, he loves it even more than I had hoped. He immediately took photos of the TSP and posted them on Facebook. That makes me so happy.

More on that in a moment.

We had a lovely dinner, I gave him two more presents and a card, we called Little Z to wish him a Happy Birthday, and then we watched a good movie. A perfect day.

So, I shot a video. I set up the tripod, started it and let it go on until Don sends a thank you to all of you at the end. So it’s a bit long, but you can get a sense of the two of us together, especially when we’re excited. (If I had known my butt would be on display a great deal of the time, I might have rethought the whole thing. But, what the hell. It’s me at the age of 63.)

Tomorrow, I’ll share photos of the TSP, which is now The Studio, and information about sources. It’s the TSP Weekend! And thank you for all the birthday wishes. Don is saving them to read today or tomorrow, so he can have a birthday weekend!

Without further ado (and there’s my butt right in the freeze frame):

The Top Secret Project is Unveiled from Claudia Hill on Vimeo.

Happy Saturday.

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His Birthday

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3-12 framed

Is that Don Sparks? Actor, Musician, and all-around wonderful guy?

It is.

And it’s his birthday today.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t utter a fervent thank you for his presence in my life. Not one. My life was happy before I met him, but it is so much happier and richer and loving since. Oh, it’s overused, I know, but he is  my soul mate.

He’s kind, courageous, intelligent, wildly funny, good, compassionate, wise, and humble. He is always trying to be a better person. He reaches out to help those in need. He has an open and giving heart.

He’s a brilliant actor. He writes beautiful music with lyrics that will break your heart and make you laugh and touch a chord deep within you. He was a wonderful father to our beloved dogs. He cooks (lucky me). He has a sense of adventure and spontaneity that I so admire and that nicely balances my more cautious nature. He has made me a better person, that’s for sure.

I won’t talk about the day we met – that anniversary is coming up in a couple of weeks – but I will say that it was the game changer, the most important day of my life.

Don Sparks, you are simply a wonderful man, the best man I have ever known.

Happy Birthday, dear one.

And Happy Birthday to our nephew, Little Z! He’s five years old today!

We love that they share the same birthday. Uncle Don and Little Z.

I’ll be back tomorrow with Don’s reaction to the TSP.

Happy Friday.

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Around the Garden And A Little Gift

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What’s up in the gardens on this first day of summer?

6-20 beebalm

The bee balm will be in bloom very soon. I can’t wait for those splashes of vivid red in the big garden bed.

6-20 beeonleaf

Bees are everywhere. This one was working very hard at something  on the end of that leaf. I was fascinated but I could never quite figure it out.

6-20 atlastrose

Roses keep blooming.

6-20 pinkspirea

The pink spirea is fully in bloom. Clouds of pink everywhere.

6-20 webonclematis

Post petals, this is what remains of the clematis bloom – along with a bug and a gossamer web.

6-20 damesrocketbug

Dame’s Rocket with little bug.

6-20 rosebuds

New Dawn Rose buds.

6-20 spiderweb

A spider web, stretching from boxwood to boxwood.

The camera becomes my third eye and I’m always surprised and delighted by what it discovers. It truly is my favorite time of year, despite being sleep deprived.

We’re on the countdown, my friends: T minus 4 days and counting. A big birthday on Friday for Don and Little Z. Oh that little boy, we love him so much. We talk to him most every evening, conversations where word games are played, giggles erupt, and a besotted aunt and uncle sigh with happiness. He’s going to be five years old, you know. Don is going to be, ahem, sixty-five.

This was waiting for Don on Father’s Day, along with a card from Winston, Riley and Scout.

6-20 scoutieinframe

I matted and framed Shanna’s sketch of Scout. Don was very pleased. Shanna managed to capture the twinkle in Scout’s eye, that look that said, “I’m game for anything!” If I had to describe Scout with just one word, it would be JOY. In caps.

We miss my dad. We miss Don’s dad. And we miss my brother, dad to three wonderful children – now adults – and the seven grandchildren he never got to know. Father’s Day is bittersweet, indeed.

Anastasia  closed its run in Hartford yesterday. Next year: Broadway. I know at least two of the readers of this blog saw it and loved it, which makes me very happy.

Happy Monday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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