Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Cue Maurice Chevalier

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I posted this photo on Instagram yesterday because the sun flooding into the kitchen was amazing.

I hear that we’re not supposed to post the same photos on Instagram that we post on our blogs. And then I roll my eyes because who made up that rule and how did he/she become an “expert?” I am reminded of one of my favorite movies, Gigi, and one of my favorite songs in that movie, sung by Maurice Chevalier: I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore.

And I am. By ‘young’ I mean my chronological age and also my blogging age. I’m coming up on 10 years as a blogger and I’ve reached that happy place where I simply don’t care what should and shouldn’t be done. I don’t care about followers and numbers and my brand, because I don’t have a brand and don’t want one. I will leave all of that to the younger and more energetic, bless them.

I’ve really been thinking about this a lot lately, both in terms of blogging and my professional work as a coach. And I’ve had talks about it with my best friend, Laural, and my husband. We’ve all reached that point in our professional lives where we’ve accomplished a great deal and are proud of our work. We no longer feel competitive. We don’t need to grab another rung on the ladder. We’re not retired, we’re all still working, so this isn’t about that. But we are  accepting of who and what we are and, boy, is that a peaceful and wonderful feeling.

It took a while to get here but it was worth the wait.

Look! My parents’ sansevieria is going to flower again! There’s another budding stalk on the other side of the plant. Hello Mom and Dad. I know you’re here.

And I have a succulent baby. This one will take a while, but I’m cultivating patience.

The kitchen table has morphed from being a mail catch-all (still is) to a conservatory for some of my plants. I posted this on IG so that Don would see it and therefore have some warning before he arrives home on Sunday. Yes, Sunday. He thought he had shows on Sunday and was coming home on Monday until he learned differently yesterday.

His second recording session went well and he felt better about his voice. There will be some overdubbing done on all the vocals this week, but other than that, the cast album has been recorded. Everyone is now packing up their trunks (which will be picked up on Friday) and sending boxes home.

I, on the other hand, am dealing with the mundane: recycling and taking things to the dump. And running to the grocery store.

Happy Wednesday.

A Fond Farewell to Chicago

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I have had the best time here in Chicago. From start to (almost) finish, it’s been simply lovely. Family, friends, seeing the sights, my birthday, Thanksgiving with the cast of Escape to Margaritaville – my cup runneth over.

I’ve always loved Chicago and now I love it even more.

A christmas tree in Grant Park.

This building, which sets my architectural loving heart aflutter.

This Art Deco-y font on the marquee.

My best friend of 53 years. Laural and I are true-blue; we know each other on a deep level that transcends time. We met at Macy’s (which I keep referring to as Marshall Fields – wishful thinking,) had lunch in the Walnut Room (she treated for my birthday) and talked for 5 hours. We could have continued but she had to get home. A perfect day with my dearest friend. She and her family are coming to the show tonight.

A low-key day yesterday, with an afternoon walk, and then dinner with the cast of Escape to Margaritaville. Dinner was at a local restaurant, where we dined at beautifully set round tables in a private room. I cannot say enough about the beautiful souls that are part of this production. Kind, funny, talented, good – there is no drama, only love.

On our way to the restaurant, we noticed Chicago was getting its red and green on:

Alison Luff, the female lead, took this candid picture of us.

It might be my favorite picture of Don and me. Alison is incredibly talented and a beautiful person inside and out. Thank you, Alison.

Oh, Chicago, thank you for your hospitality and the chance to explore you. Thanks for housing my family and best friend, so that I could spend time with them. Thanks for your soaring, gorgeous architecture and your Art Institute, for your park, for your bridges, for your great restaurants and theaters. I’ve had a wondrous time.

My friends, I have an early flight tomorrow, so I most likely won’t post. We’ll get back to normal posting on Sunday.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Happy Friday.

 

 

 

More at the Art Institute, Family & Margaritaville

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The other day, I stopped by the Art Institute to see the Paperweights and The Thorne Rooms. I used to collect glass paperweights many moons ago and this collection is stunning. Simply stunning.

Always a collector: I started contemplating the potential expansion of my collection.

I’m going to share some of the Thorne Rooms with you. The level of detail is astounding. Everything is made by hand.

Each room not only has the main room box, but there are always scenes outside windows and through doorways. Extraordinary.

Love this Art Deco room.

See what I mean about rooms through doorways?

I could go on and on. If you’ve never seen them and you find yourself in Chicago, please do yourself a favor and visit the Art Institute.

I also made a quick trip to see this, one of my favorite paintings.

Nighthawks  by Edward Hopper. I don’t know of another painting that is, to me, so evocative, so mesmerizing.

Frustrated by the lack of WiFi, I wrote to one of the managers and he said I could use the communal WiFi in the ‘lounge’ upstairs.

Lucky me, because I can write this post and schedule it for Monday, and I got to see this view from the 28th floor:

Not too shabby.

Don and the cast of Escape to Margaritaville performed yesterday in the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival parade. What actually happened was that they waited for a bus to pick them up between shows and the bus was late because there were traffic jams everywhere. When they finally got on the bus, they went to the site, accompanied by a police escort. They rehearsed for about five minutes instead of the fifteen that had been planned and then they pre-taped their segment just in the nick of time. It was cold out there!

Next Monday, they record the cast album! That, my friends, is very, very exciting.

And my niece, Elizabeth and her husband Steve, along with two of their three children, (the eldest is away at school; my old stomping grounds, Boston University) went to see the show yesterday and they had the best time! I was so touched that they came. I ran over there at the end of the show and took them backstage so they could see Don before he was whisked away on that bus.

My cousin and her husband are coming all the way from Michigan to see the show on the 29th!

Yay for the Hill family! I love them all so much.

I’m going to grab this chance to respond to your comments and schedule Tuesday’s post – just in case this problem continues.

Funny, how dependent I’ve become on a WiFi signal!

Happy Monday.

 

 

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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