Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Early Sunday Morning

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Another porch plant brought in for the winter, this one gracing us with delicate little purple flowers.

I sit here in the early morning lamplight – I seem to be waking up rather early these days – sipping coffee, while Don plays his guitar quietly in the living room, Scoutie sleeping by his side.

I’d say that’s a nice way to begin the day.

Speaking of coffee, our neighborhood market ran out of Peet’s French Roast and we were forced to try another brand until new stock came in. The brand, which shall be nameless, was okay. But just okay. When I went to Target on Friday, the very first thing I did was run for the coffee aisle and replenish my stock of Peet’s. Since it was on sale, I grabbed two.

I didn’t actually ‘run’ for the coffee aisle. A better description would be ‘walked briskly.’

There’s everything else and then there’s Peet’s.

We got about six inches of heavy, wet snow yesterday with big, fat flakes falling during the night and well into the day. Drum roll: Don got to use the snow blower. He was very happy. I shoveled Scout’s small corral and all the paths to the house and shed. All in all, I got some good exercise and, in terms of yesterday’s post, I felt better because of it. Just enough shoveling. But not shoveling to the point of exhaustion which would have been the case pre-snow blower.

Then we had some frozen pizza.

Then, to test out the effects of the snow blower on the long, uphill driveway, Don got in the car and went to the store to buy some Vitamin D, per your advice.

Then we watched Coal Miner’s Daughter  on TCM. I hadn’t seen it since it first came out in 1980, so it was like watching it for the first time. Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones were wonderful. Last Sunday we watched To Kill a Mockingbird. Thursday we watched Singin’ In The Rain. All in all, a great week for movies on TCM. Do I even need to say that both Don and I cried when Scout said “Hey, Boo” in TKAM?

No, of course I don’t.

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I’m almost finished with John Connolly’s The Reapers. (Goodness, I love his books.) Then I have to take a break from all things Connolly and start reading some books scheduled for review.

Remember the quilt I pieced when I was working in Hartford a couple of years ago? I started hand quilting it at the time, then I lost interest and put it away. I hauled it downstairs the other day and it now sits on top of the basket across the room from me here in the den – taunting me. I do believe I’m going to get back into the hand quilting, which will take a long while to finish as I apparently decided to quilt overlapping circles that are dense and close together. That means the amount of quilting per square is on the heavy side. That also means that I have continue that pattern or it will look bizarre, so it will take a lot of time. This is the kind of project where I have to erase the enormity of the whole picture from my mind and truly do it ‘one day at a time.’

How is your Sunday shaping up? I hope you are having a relaxing, happy, wonderful day.

Happy Sunday.

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Thursday Thoughts: On Family & Flowers

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My late brother’s eldest child, my parents’ first grandchild, turns forty today. She’s a simply wonderful person with three children of her own now. I remember the day my brother and sister-in-law told me they were expecting like it was yesterday. How can so much time have passed? I now have nieces and nephews – and I’m not talking great-nieces or great-nephews, that’s a whole other story – ranging in age from 40 to 3. Little Z, the boy my sister and brother-in-law adopted this year, is the 3 year old.

Of course, I have to acknowledge that there are five of them that I have no contact with, courtesy of my estranged and very troubled sister. That’s a loss that both Meredith and I mourn every day.

It’s a strange feeling. I grew up with an older brother and two younger sisters. My brother passed away much too young in 1991. My sister pulled away from most of the family, except for phone calls to my parents, at least ten years ago, maybe eleven. I’ve lost two siblings, even though one of them is very much alive.

Thank heaven for my beloved sister, Meredith, who is simply the best sister ever. I don’t know what I would do without her. We’ve helped each other get through the loss of our sister, through the stages of grief and anger and resentment and pain. I’ll be honest with you. I still feel a lot of anger about the situation. And if I ever have to confront her, and I hope I don’t, I’m afraid it will erupt. It won’t be pretty.

Ah well.

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So far, so good with overwintering the impatiens. I must admit, I like the dash of sweetness and color they add to the cottage. I have them everywhere; in the kitchen, in the living room, in the den, in my studio and in the bedroom.

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Impatiens sometimes get a bad rap from garden designers. I beg to differ. I find them enchanting. There’s a gentleness, for lack of a better word, about them that I love.

No Christmas decorating yet here at the cottage. My rule holds fast: the second week of December. Not before. We’ll get our tree next week. We keep it up through New Year’s Day, so I don’t want it drying out too quickly. I find I’m using far less of my Christmas decorations than I used to. There’s already quite a bit of visual stimulation here in the cottage so I’ve learned to use less.

Are you watching Peter Pan tonight? I’m so excited about it. We watched a special on the rehearsal process that aired last week and were suitably impressed by all the work that has to be done to go live with a production like this one. I remember watching the Mary Martin Peter Pan when I was little girl. It’s still very, very vivid in my memory. I can remember sitting on the bed in my parents’ bedroom after it aired, crying inconsolably because Wendy wouldn’t go back with Peter. It broke my little heart. Still does.

Linda, here’s a photo of your eggcup tray in the dollhouse kitchen:

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Of course, I’m sure I’ll move it to another position at some point. That’s the fun of having a dollhouse!

Happy Thursday.

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The Last Hurrah

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On Sunday night, temperatures will drop to 30°, surely ending the gardening season. Because I believe there is beauty in all stages of a plant’s life, here’s a little look at the fading, yet still beautiful, garden. The Last Hurrah…

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I’ll miss you, garden. Thanks for all the beauty and joy you have graced us with, for giving me the chance to see you for an entire growing season for the first time in a long time. It’s been wonderful.

Happy Saturday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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