Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Day Twenty-Two

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Whoo hoo! I had signed into the blog and was waiting for the security check (I do this every time I sign in) so I thought I’d give a try at the old grocery delivery. I thought it might be fruitless as nothing shows as available during the day, but my goodness, there were a few openings! We will get another delivery this Tuesday – all the things we forgot the first time!

The sun is shining and I am once again amazed by my luck. A good start to this Saturday.

I thought that this Fiesta compote would be the perfect home for my fabric easter eggs. The kitchen suddenly looks very Spring-y, doesn’t it?

I made these about 11 years ago when I was away from home, working in San Diego. I used fat quarters from my favorite local quilt shop – Rosie’s – and with a Featherweight borrowed from my friend Ingrid, sewed them up. I used a pattern I found online. I have a lot of memories of that spring when I was far away from my husband and my dogs. I had big chunks of free time and that sewing machine was a godsend. I really wanted my own Featherweight and that was the perfect opportunity to test one out. I made a quilt top, as well. Eventually, I did get my own Featherweight. Still love it, though I have to fix the tension!

I finished Wildfire at Midnight  this morning. One of my friends on IG told me that Stewart’s novels have recently been reissued – a British publisher I believe – so I’m going to get them all. I had such a good time rereading this gem. Next up: my copy of This Rough Magic. Stewart frequently used literary references and This Rough Magic  is full of Shakespearean references, specifically, The Tempest. I have since worked with that text and know it well, so this time will be much different than when I was a young teenager.

I haven’t seen any activity from our pair of nuthatches, so I assume the nest has been finished and is either occupied or about to be occupied. How lovely it is to hear birdsong every morning. And what a difference it makes in my waking up process. Even in the fog of waiting for my coffee to brew, I hear those birds and am happy.

Hope you’re all well.

Happy Saturday.

More Egg Cups & A Special Delivery

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Today – Double Egg Cups. Double egg cups are made with two cups; the smaller one is for eating a soft boiled egg out of the shell, the larger for eating an egg in the shell.

Back row, left: an egg cup from Hankscraft, a glass egg cup I found this year, a brown transferware cup by Mason’s Vista/England (one of the first egg cups I purchased), a flow blue egg cup.

Front row, left: a lovely egg cup from France that I found in San Diego, a flowered egg cup (reminds me of Clarice Cliff designs) that I found in a local shop, a rooster egg cup made by Holt Howard in 1961, and another transferware egg cup with no mark – maybe Johnson Brothers? I’m not sure.

We have a new member of the egg cup family. It arrived in yesterday’s mail:

You’re not seeing things. It’s Sleepy!!

He’s in perfect condition. That red dot on the cup is paint under the glaze, so it’s original.

Remember that auction where the price for Sleepy was way over the top? About $350 or more, if I remember correctly. I watched that auction daily and, of course, there were no bids. The auction ended. The next day, it was back up, this time with an opening price of $75.00 American. (A Canadian seller.) I watched it every day for 6 days. There were others watching, as well. On the final day, which was last Wednesday, I made sure I was home in time to watch the last hour of bidding. I waited until the last minute to bid, and, since there were no other bidders (what?) I won! Couldn’t believe it. Truly, I thought I’d be in some sort of bidding war because this dwarf is the hardest to find. In 17 years of watching eBay – 17 years! – this is the only time I’ve seen it up for auction.

Also, there are two different Sleepys out there.  There’s this one, which is the right one, the accurate Sleepy, and another one that looks exactly like Sneezy down to the hand to the nose. The only difference is the name. I don’t know why that happened. Did they break the mold and have to resort to using Sneezy’s mold? Anyway, that one is more common. So, to have the real deal is just thrilling! I’m going to keep my eye out for the faux-Sleepy, as well, because it would be fun to include it in my collection.

This is the most I’ve paid for a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs egg cup. Previously, I think I paid $55.00 for Snow White – also hard to find. But it was worth it. If I hadn’t grabbed the chance I might not have had another opportunity.

Huzzah! After 17 years of searching, I have them all! A photo of the whole gang will be forthcoming.

That delivery yesterday and the news that Gardener’s World (with Monty Don) is again available on BritBox made my day. Thank you to reader Lani for alerting me! Watching Gardener’s Diary  is like meditation for me. I immediately feel my shoulders dropping. It helped relax me in the midst of all the coverup activity coming from the WH and the Attorney General yesterday, so that’s saying something!

More tomorrow when we’ll be winding down our little egg cup tour.

Happy Friday.

Garden Cleanup, Egg Cups & A Gift

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Now that the endless wind has died down, I’m going to work outside today and tomorrow. Rain is coming on Friday and throughout the weekend, so I have to grab some time while I can.

Meanwhile, in the yet uncovered big garden bed:

The hyacinths are blooming.

I’m tackling that bed today. Wish me luck.

Egg cups for today: Four double egg cups in the Harlequin pattern by Homer Laughlin. (Apparently, I forgot to remove the price tag on one of them!)

I received a lovely package in the mail from Kate, a reader of this blog. Kate asked me if she could send me two egg cups that she had in her home. Of course, I said yes. When the package arrived there were additional surprises!

First of all, two lovely lustreware egg cups.

Then two beautiful knives – my grandparents had a set of flatware like this.

And 4 cups/saucers made by Arabia in Finland. Are they demitasse? They’re on the small side. And this photo isn’t capturing the color, which leans a bit more toward green/yellow. They’re lovely – such simple and beautiful design. (I’ll try to capture the color in a future photo.)

Thank you so much, Kate! I’ve already made room in the kitchen china cabinet for the cups and saucers! The egg cups are in the cubby cabinet. And the knives have joined my stash of bakelite.

I’m blessed.

The winner of a copy of The Eighth Sister  is Marilyn! Marilyn, I’ve already sent you an email. Just send me your mailing address and I’ll forward it on to the publisher.

Happy Wednesday.

 

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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