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
    • The Beacon Hill 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

Introverts, Unite!

May 11, 2021 at 9:43 am by Claudia

The hanging plants that I get every year – scaevola. I love the flowers, but even more importantly, they last from spring to the first frost. So I don’t have to invest in more flowers if spring blossoms die out.

Today is sunny. Thank goodness. Yesterday was very cloudy and gray and rather depressing. Both Don and I ran errands – he in the morning, me in the afternoon. I found it all exhausting. I went to another nursery south of us where I get my mulch. I also dropped into Barnes & Noble to buy a couple of magazines (it was deserted) and then quickly into Michael’s to grab a couple of items. All three stores are within a hundred feet of each other. Just down the street is Target and a new BJs (our Costco equivalent) which just opened this year. I plan on joining BJs but I didn’t have it in me to do it yesterday. Anyway, that was the first time I visited that area in over a year!

Don’s errand involved this:

He got his first haircut that didn’t require my services, thank heavens. His hair was really long and he looks so much lighter (and younger) this way. Whoo hoo! His stylist’s salon (she owns it) requires masks, they take your temperature before you come in – they have a good protocol in place.

Right after I finish this, we have to tape two auditions. Then I’ll go outside and start sowing seeds.

Thanks so much for your comments on yesterday’s post! I read many of them to Don. He is becoming more comfortable with the knowledge that he is much more of an introvert than we thought. We are both in the theater. We have spent our lives surrounded by lots of people, lots of activity, with people who are ‘on’ much of the time. We have been those people who are ‘on,’ as we’re both performers at heart. Every day and night involved rehearsals and performances and audiences and crew members and required so much energy and so much social interaction – constantly. And we’ve been doing it for over 50 years. Yes, it’s wonderful and stimulating and we both dealt with it much more easily when we were younger and full of piss and vinegar. Both of us are known for being funny. And we are. We’re also witty. So we can juggle that kind of repartee with the best of them. But being on all the time takes its toll.

Now? Quiet. Peace. Working on our terms. We talked about it again this morning. Where do we draw the line going forward?

For those of you who are introverts: There is nothing ‘wrong’ with you. You don’t have to apologize for anything. If someone else doesn’t get it, that’s his/her problem, not yours. You set your boundaries and if those boundaries are scoffed at…don’t let yourself feel one iota of guilt. I say this to myself as much as to you.

If you haven’t read all the comments, I urge you to.

I’m so happy you’re here.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: Don, flowers, introvert 29 Comments

Hitting the Wall

May 8, 2021 at 10:04 am by Claudia

• We have one tulip. It was planted by a previous owner. At times, it only develops leaves, but for the past two years, it’s flowered beautifully. A thank you to the previous custodian of this house for planting this beauty.

• Friends, I hit a wall last night. We have been working so hard outside, running errands, mowing the entire property, and the wall was a combination of exhaustion and allergies. Today, a day we had already decided would be a day off, I feel like I’m in a fog. Thankfully, it’s raining gently right now so Mother Nature has decided that it’s a day to stay inside.

So what did I do yesterday? I went to the nursery, where I saw one of the owners carrying the exact hanging plant that I wanted. He said it was already sold but that he might have one left. He did. Someone had just purchased 13 of them! The good news? More were expected later in the day and I should come back after 3 pm. Okay.

Then I drove to the grocery store to get a few things that we needed.

Came home, hung the plant, got out the weed whacker and went all around the property, cleaning things up. Then we mowed the back forty. Then we raked all the bare spots left over from taking down the corral fence, as well as from all the machinery that was used to remove our trees, and applied grass seed, in hope that we can get something going there before the birds eat the seed.

Then I had some lunch and drove back to the nursery and purchased the other two hanging plants. Early in the morning, there were a few people there. By the end of the day, all the weekenders had shown up and I could barely find a place to park. A pox on those city people!

My allergies are very bad this year and I just plow ahead and do things because if I let allergies stop me I would never get anything done. But boy oh boy, do I need to sit it out this weekend!

Still to do: sow seeds for zinnias, morning glory, and moonflowers. And mulch the big garden bed which I haven’t done for a couple of years.

• I was reading a book on oil painting and quickly realized that though there is a lot of helpful information, I couldn’t linger there too long or I would be thoroughly intimidated. I may be too tired today to attempt anything, but maybe tomorrow…

• Yesterday when I was going in and out of the shed, two robins, perched in trees on either side of the shed, started chirping at me. I suspected that they might have moved into that nest that is nestled in the climbing hydrangea. And then, as the day went on, I kept seeing two robins in the corral area (eating the grass seed!) This morning, I saw them again and one flew into the nest. Aha! I love it when birds nest there. I think we’ve had three different sets of nesters over the past four years, which is why I’m glad I never took it down. It really is a piece of art, that nest.

• A conversation for another day: what Don and I have been discussing about reentry into the world and the fears we have about that, as well as what we realize we don’t want as we move forward. I’ve addressed this a bit before, but as an introvert, I’m determined to reenter on my terms. I’m too tired to write more than that today. Maybe tomorrow.

• A sad note. Meredith called me to tell me that fellow blogger, Theresa Kasner, had died suddenly. Theresa was a lovely person and Meredith was very good friends with her. Theresa also visited my blog occasionally and I loved her personality, her joy in life, her beautiful photography and the life she shared with her husband, Dayle, on their farm. Rest in peace, Theresa. You will be greatly missed.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: birds, Don, flowers 29 Comments

Day Four Hundred Sixteen

May 3, 2021 at 10:06 am by Claudia

I planted this lilac bush several years ago and it’s been growing steadily. I find it’s impossible to get a good photo of it, but I will say we have more blooms this year than ever before. I took the advice written in a comment here a few years back; cut off the dead blooms sometime in June and the bush will bloom profusely the next year. It’s actually taller than it looks here, but I was shooting uphill.

And so starts my daily visit to the bush, stopping to inhale that incredible scent.

Oh my heavens.

I took a trip to the nursery yesterday – foolish me. It’s the weekend and I knew better. We live in an area where city dwellers have weekend homes. So…the weekend brings an influx of people and on a gorgeous day like yesterday, a place like the nursery is flooded with people, ready to beautify their properties. Nevertheless, I was there, so I bought a few things; some topsoil, some more geraniums, some more lobelia to fill another pot. My hanging plants are not in yet, darn it! Now I’m afraid they didn’t order them, but truth be told, I think that this delay is normal – they aren’t in stock until the first or second week of May.

I wasn’t going to drop by the antique barn, but the traffic was so heavy, that it was easier to turn in that direction and I was able to get a parking space, so I stopped in. The antique barn is in a complex with other shops and it was crowded there, too. As was the barn. I walked through both floors and was intrigued by some items, but not enough to buy them. I stopped in my friend Sidney’s space, which is always lovely (that’s where I found the egg cup cubby.) She has such a great eye. There’s a photo of her space in my IG Stories. Sidney has recently moved to New Hampshire and spends most of her time there, so she is only going to have a booth in one space, which is another antique shop that I frequent. Though I’ll miss her at the antique barn, I’m glad she will remain at the other shop, where she has more square footage.

When I got back, I potted the flowers – again, in the wind – and cleaned up the porch. I swear, every day becomes windy lately, and pollen is everywhere.

Today, our big event will be stopping by the post office, the little hardware shop in town, and grocery shopping. And getting gas. (Don’t be jealous.)

I’ve started The Cutting Place, a mystery by Jane Casey, an excellent author. She writes police procedurals.

Don and Dan are working on an album – their new name is All the Way to Redding, which celebrates their long distance collaboration. Dan lives in Redding, CT. Anyway, I’m quite enamored of one of their newest endeavors, a piece called Starry Eyed in Nova Scotia. If you’re interested, here is the link. Words and music by Don; Vocals, ukelele, guitar – Don; bass and lap steel – Dan; produced, arranged and mixed by Dan. And the cover art is by our friend Jeff McCarthy. Jeff is a well known actor and he’s also a wonderful artist. When Don told him what he envisioned for the album cover, Jeff created a wonderful painting. Side note: Don knows Jeff because they were in a production of The Front Page  together. I worked with Jeff several years before at the Huntington Theater in a production of Arms and the Man. Theater is a small world.

Okay. Have to get going.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: antiques, Don, flowers, garden 28 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • …
  • 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 - 2026 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in