Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

  • About MHC
    • Disclosure
  • Dollhouses/Minis
    • Hummingbird Cottage
    • The Studio (Formerly TSP)
    • Dove Cottage
    • The Lake House
    • The Folk Art Dollhouse
    • The Modern Dollhouse
    • Dollhouse Source List, Information and Tutorials
  • On the Road
  • Collecting
    • Roseville Pottery
    • McCoy Pottery
    • Egg Cups
    • Bakelite
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Archives for Don

A Potpourri on Monday

February 25, 2013 at 9:30 am by Claudia

littlepinkchair

The past week or so has brought the usual adventures and misadventures.

• One morning found me filling up the glass coffee carafe with water, then dropping it on the wood floor where it shattered in a zillion pieces. Not a good thing for a girl who needs her coffee in the morning. I figured out how to insert a bowl where the carafe should be and catch the coffee. (Where there’s a will there’s a way.) Once that bowl was full, I had to insert another. And another. Then I poured it all into a thermos. The sad thing was that I had to do this for two days as I was snowed in and couldn’t get to the store to buy a new coffeemaker. Must have coffee. Peets French Roast.

scout7

• Right before I was to leave to get Don at the bus station (after 2 months apart) I was trying to wipe Scout’s dirty paws, as she had just come in from outside. Scout does not like me wiping her paws and she is very impatient. By the time I’m working on the third or fourth paw, she manages to elude my grasp and I have to chase after her as she trails water or mud all over the kitchen. This time, I happened to be near one of the kitchen chairs and as she squirmed out of my grasp, my head went down, meeting the chair. Result? Stinging pain and a gash in my forehead. As you can imagine, I was not looking my best for the reunion.

New nickname for Scout: Bronco Scout. She bucks her way out of my grasp like we’re at a rodeo.

bride&groom

• Now that my husband’s back home, I’m being treated to far tastier dinners than I managed to put together in his absence. Don’s the cook in this house. I’m the baker. Cooking bores me. Thankfully, it doesn’t bore Don and he’s been whipping up all sorts of appetizing meals. Heaven.

He even made a special dinner to commemorate my Five Years of Blogging! How’s that for a good guy?

guitar

• I’ve also been treated to the sound of my husband’s voice and his new guitar.  For those of you who missed it, Don’s childhood friend Rob, who lives in San Diego, is a wonderful musician who has his own recording studio. The two of them just might have recorded a CD of Don’s music while Don was in town. Rob has lots of guitars and he lent this one to Don to use during his stay. It worked so well for Don’s voice and the kind of songs he writes that Rob gave it to him. Rob is one of the most generous guys I know.

Don is over the moon and loves this guitar. It’s a Martin. Named Maggie. (Have you noticed that we tend to name things around here?) Now we have two Martins in the cottage. The other one doesn’t have a name. Get going, Don!

• I have a couple of blogs to recommend to you.

First up: Heart Handmade UK. Claire, who I believe lives in Ireland, gathers the most gorgeous design posts from the web – most of them in beautiful pastel hues.  She manages to find blogs and sites that are absolutely beautiful. When I first discovered her, I was so enthralled that I went back through most of her archives. She’s on my blog roll now and I look forward to her daily posts. And she has a sense of humor. Always a good thing.

Next: This blog is written by my friend Lynn. When I first moved out east, I worked part-time for a Veterinarian. Lynn was also working part-time at the same animal hospital as she pursued a post-graduate degree. She is a great girl; funny, kind, compassionate and talented. Fast forward a few years: I no longer work there because the commute was too long when we moved to the cottage and Lynn no longer works there because she got married, moved to a farm in Virginia and had a little boy. We are friends on Facebook and I was thrilled when I discovered Lynn has a blog! It’s called Kid and Goat. Lynn’s personality shines through on her blog, with pictures of life on the farm and of her house and her darling little boy. And wait until you see her goat, Sarah. Sigh. Stop by and visit her.

pjparty

• Don’t forget our Flannel Pajama Party next Monday! We’re going to share our pajamas, adventures in our pajamas, thoughts on pajamas…be there or be square.

scarfgiveaway

And finally:

The winner of the Obsession Scarf Giveaway is Debbie Hibbert! Debbie, I sent you an email last night. Pick one of these colors for your scarf and I will merrily crochet one for you. Thanks to everyone who left such lovely and kind comments on that post. They warmed my heart.

Happy Monday.

signature2

 

Filed Under: anniversary, blog, Don, flannel pajamas club, giveaway, Scout 35 Comments

And Now We Are Three Again

February 20, 2013 at 8:26 am by Claudia

aguyandhisdog

Don and Scout just after his arrival home. She had been sleeping and was groggy. It took her a while to realize that her dad was actually in the room with her.

aguyandhisdog2

Right after this moment in time, she gave him a big old kiss.

Then she started dancing around.

He’s home. More than 24 hours after he left San Diego, his bus pulled into our local station. Poor Don.

We still don’t have his suitcase. Oh yes, the saga continues. Since his connecting flight was canceled, he was assured his luggage would be on the next flight. 3 or 4 flights later – no luggage. Isn’t US Air merging with American Airlines? One can only hope that it will be for the better. Because, let me tell you, they’ve managed to screw up just about everything.

Now we go through the re-entry phase. The one where two married people who have been separated for 2 months and are used to their own particular routines have to adjust and move and get used to another human being sharing their space. Always happens. It takes a while.

Don was depressed by the gray, wintry and rainy day he came home to – quite a difference from San Diego. Here’s hoping for some sun to help brighten the gloomy landscape.

In the evening, the three of us nestled into our usual positions on the sofa and watched Skyfall. We love Daniel Craig as James Bond. The movie did not disappoint – great plot and beautifully filmed. And Javier Bardem – he’s such a good actor and such an interesting villain. He is amazing. As is one of my all-time favorite actresses, Judi Dench. I just found the second volume of her autobiography at our local library.

Since we have it for 48 hours via pay-per-view, we’re going to watch it again tonight. And Don is going to watch the movies I’ve already seen, the ones that were sent to us by the Screen Actors Guild, in preparation for the Oscars on Sunday.

Don got rave reviews for his performance as Doolittle in Pygmalion. He thinks it was one of the best things he’s ever done.  Everywhere he went, people who had seen him in the show came up to him to tell him how much they loved his performance. Even in the airport! I’m so proud of him.

I say this with all honesty. He is one of the best actors I’ve ever seen. I first saw him onstage at the Globe when I had flown out to San Diego to interview for the teaching job I would eventually be hired for. He was performing in the play, Morning’s at Seven. I remember thinking what an interesting and wonderful actor he was. The next summer, after I’d been working there for the school year, he came to the Globe to play Malvolio in Twelfth Night. It was one of the most amazing performances I have ever seen. Brilliant, funny, touching. So I’d already seen him perform when I finally met him. I’m a sucker for talent. Then I found out he was not only talented, but funny and kind and compassionate and smart. I was a goner.

pjparty

Okay. Change of subject. A while back, I promised some sort of Flannel Pajamas Party this year. I still want to do it. Do you? I was thinking March 4th, which is a Monday. It will be a one-time only party and each of you can link up with a post about your flannel pajamas. Or nightgown. Or even your favorite cotton pajamas if you live in a warmer climate. Tell us how much you love your PJs. Do you, like me, use any excuse you can to wear them? Have you ever thrown a coat over them to run an errand? Guilty as charged. Have you gardened in them? Guilty. Painted? Guilty. Had hot chocolate? Guilty. Do tell.

I vow to use a photo of me wearing my flannel pajamas. Will you?

What do you say? Let’s toast our flannel pajamas and the comfort and warmth they provide.

So put the date on your calendar. I’ll remind you of the party as we draw closer to March 4th.

Happy Wednesday.

signature2

 

Filed Under: Don, flannel pajamas club, Scout 65 Comments

A Message from Scout

February 19, 2013 at 7:54 am by Claudia

scoutina

My dad isn’t home yet.

All I heard from my mom yesterday was “Daddy’s going to be home tonight!”

Over and over.

Then, around 7:30, the phone rang and I heard curse words coming from Mom. Something about Daddy’s connecting flight from Philadelphia being canceled. Mom said some bad things about US Air. She’s had trouble with that very same connecting flight before. She doesn’t like flying US Air. So Daddy was trying to figure out if he should take the train from Philadelphia to NYC  and then take the bus from there to home or if if he should stay at a hotel and go through some weird flight connections again this morning. He decided to stay at the hotel.

So Mom got up this morning thinking he would be getting in around 12:30.

But he just called. And now, he’s taking the train! I can’t make sense of it all. He got worried about flying with his guitar. His childhood friend in San Diego, who’s a musician, gave him a beautiful guitar. Rob has lots and lots of guitars. Dad got worried about trying to get it on board the two separate flights he would have to take this morning on a totally different airline (Delta).

Mom sighed.

She’s too groggy to keep track of it all.

She doesn’t know when the heck he’ll be home. Sometime today.

Meanwhile, I had to go to that doctor yesterday and they took off my sore nail. Then they did a little poking and prodding and I don’t like it when they do that. I was shaking. That place makes me scared.

Then they cut all my nails.

It seemed to go on forever.

I was exhausted.

Now Mom is making me wear a danged sock on my sore paw every time I go outside.

I hate it when she does that.

But I don’t feel as sore as I did. That’s good.

I tell you, you have no idea the indignities I have to suffer.

Happy Tuesday (I know Mom always writes that.)

Scout

Filed Under: Don, Scout 82 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 199
  • 200
  • 201
  • 202
  • 203
  • …
  • 218
  • Next Page »
  • Email
  • Instagram

Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

Thanks for stopping by.

Searching?

The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

Archives

All Content © 2008 - 2025 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in