Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Potpourri on Thursday

January 4, 2018 at 8:37 am by Claudia

• I’m officially ‘over’ Winter and it’s only January 4th. These sub-zero temperatures and, now, more snow, with freezing rain and ice in the forecast for the beginning of the week are too much. I’m over it. Don: “Look at the snow falling, it’s really pretty.” Me: “Don’t like it. Don’t want it.”

And we’re not even getting the brunt of this storm, which will hammer those who live nearer to or on the coast. We’re far enough inland that we’ll just get 3 to 5 inches of the white stuff.

The house is so dry that Don and I are constantly complaining about it. And before you ask, yes, we do have a humidifier and we use it every day. It isn’t making much of a difference. Rick and Doug have two of them, and they say the same thing: Nada. It’s been a tough winter so far.

Okay, enough kvetching.

• I entertained myself yesterday afternoon by taking photos with my big girl camera.

Paperwhites.

New growth.

Baby pileas. Or is it pileae?

More new growth. This schefflera has finally calmed down. For the longest time after I bought it, it kept shedding leaves, and since the previous schefflera that I had bit the dust, I was beginning to think scheffleras and I were on a collision course. I cut back on frequency of watering and it seems to have acclimated itself to the conditions in the cottage. I’m very happy about that!

• I managed to snag a copy of The Hidden Staircase, number two in the Nancy Drew series. This one is pretty hard to find, especially in fairly good condition. Once again, it was all in the timing. I happened to do a search right after someone had listed this as a Buy Now. It was a really good price, so I jumped on it.

Isn’t that a fabulous illustration? I love the clothes and the cloche hat.

Two more to go. They are from the last of the series that Tandy illustrated, with darker covers, and they’re fairly easy to find, so I should complete this collection soon.

• And finally, last night’s sunset:

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: flowers, houseplants, Nancy Drew, snow, winter 40 Comments

Basking

December 29, 2017 at 9:51 am by Claudia

I’m glad I love my little cottage because it’s so cold out there, I don’t want to leave it! I know that many of you are also living in these Arctic-like temps, so cold for a December. My weather app tells me this will be going on through next Wednesday (!) and then it will start to warm up. It’s all relative, of course, because the forecast for the ‘warm up’ is still very cold!

We braved the weather last night to meet Rick and Doug at a local Thai restaurant. I’m so glad they’re here. We have great conversations that include lots of laughter. What a blessing their presence has been in our lives.

The paperwhites are blooming and the scent is heavenly. Since the bulb is right next to my blogging chair, I get tantalizing whiffs of the scent from time to time. I bought this particular bulb at Whole Foods right before Christmas. It was an impulse buy. I’m so glad I went for it.

The new monstera leaves are slowly unfurling. They take their time, as does the new growth on the ZZ plant. I like that, as I get the pleasure of watching the unveiling progress from day to day.

I’m feeling rather ‘my cup runneth over-y’ today. It’s something about being safely ensconced in our cottage, seeing the various shades of green in the house plants, having a husband who makes my first cup of coffee and brings it to me in the den (I make our second cup), having close friends nearby (after so many years of living here) – a whole host of blessings.

We’ve been through years that were so tough we couldn’t wait for the new year This year, I’m basking in our good fortune and sending up a prayer that 2018 is a blessing for everyone, everywhere.

Happy Friday.

 

Filed Under: flowers, friends, houseplants 29 Comments

Stella, Plants, & Morning Glories

November 1, 2017 at 10:48 am by Claudia

I seem to be a little slow in posting lately. Sorry! But I have things to do first thing in the morning, not the least of which is waking up, and now that Don’s away, we tend to FaceTime in the morning. Anyway, better late then never!

Don and some of the cast are going on a tour of NASA today. I’m jealous.

Hard to believe, but there are times now where I take our Stella for granted. I don’t even think how wondrous it is that she is here. I guess that’s because she looks as if she belongs in this kitchen.

But she’s awfully pretty, isn’t she?

I rescued another plant – this time from our local grocery store.

This is a rubber plant, specifically the Black Prince, because the leaves are almost black. Rubber plants are members of the Ficus family. Anyway, it’s not in terrible shape, but it is  overcrowded in that pot and needs to be repotted, STAT.

I only have so much space in this house for plants, so I had better cool it, especially since a couple are coming in from the porch for the winter.

I’ve been watching the World Series, off and on, but you can be sure I’ll be watching the entire game tonight. Nothing better or more exciting (to me) than a 7th game in the World Series. I have no favorite this time, so may the best team – at that moment in time – win.

It was supposed to go down to 31 degrees last night, so I covered up the porch plants, but look what I saw right outside the kitchen door this morning:

The temp must have stayed above freezing. We caught another break. The rest of the week should be a bit warmer, though I am fully aware that after I leave next week, all bets are off. In fact, I think we’re supposed to have some snow showers next week. It is November, after all. It’s also my birthday month – and it’s a big one – so I’ll be celebrating it in Chicago with Don.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Filed Under: flowers, garden, morning glory, Stella 27 Comments

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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.

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

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