Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for garden

Decluttering Blog-Style & Other Tidbits

July 2, 2014 at 7:38 am by Claudia

You might have noticed that I’ve changed to a new layout here on the blog. This idea came to me yesterday and, like a dog with a bone, I spent all day on it. All day. I took a break to take a shower, water the plants and to feed Scout, of course, but the rest of the day? Lost in cyber world. Don was lost in music composing world, so it worked out well. No one felt neglected.

I’m on WordPress and I use the Genesis operating system, which uses what are called ‘child themes’ that individualize websites and blogs. So, changing the blog involved working with a new theme while my current theme was still running. I thought I had it all done but when I hit the button late in the day to change over, it looked like a mess. Back to the drawing board. I still need to tweak it a bit, but I really like the new post font and the amount of white space there is on the blog. The old theme was feeling a bit crowded and cluttery. Having ads can do that. And though I’d still love to cut down on ad clutter, I need them. So, adding some ‘air’ to this space helps a bit.

It’s a change and if you loved the other theme, it may take some getting used to. I loved the other theme, too. But a girl has to try something new every once in a while.

Here’s the one snag. I cannot get Leave a Comment to show below the post. I’ve got a support request in and hopefully will have it figured out soon. But in the meantime, you have to scroll back up to the top of the post to click on ‘Comments’, okay? Scroll back up, click, and you’ll be taken to the comment page. Update: Fixed it!

Where did this peony come from?

I strolled down to the mailbox yesterday and glanced at the peony bushes, which had long since stopped blooming. Wait a minute….what is this? A pale pink peony. Neither of the bushes has flowers in this color. I’m amazed. I wonder if it will open?

It was a nice surprise for this girl who hated leaving her cottage when the peonies had just opened.

This is what I got Don for his birthday:

don's-sign

I found it at the Country Living Fair. I saw it on my first day there, didn’t buy it, and kept thinking about it after I got home. So, the first thing I did on Saturday was find the vendor who was selling the sign and grab one.

Don loves signs. He loves the Beatles with a devotion that has never wavered over the years. What could be better than a sign with these lyrics that remind us to avoid fussing and fighting and sweating the small stuff?

Now we have to figure out where to hang it. We’ve used just about every bit of wall space in this little cottage.

tuesday-garden

The shade side of the big garden bed is full of crown vetch and ground covers and catmint and grasses and soon-to-be-blooming white coneflowers. Every bit of soil that was bare had been taken over by humongous weeds in my absence, so I had to do a lot of weeding on Monday. Everywhere.

How is the weather where you are? Boy, is it hot and humid here! It was that way when I left Chautauqua, too.

Not a fan of humidity. It makes my hair curl and my brain turn to mush.

Not a very attractive picture, is it?

The winner of a copy of Supreme Justice is Donna. Congratulations! I’m sending you an email, Donna.

Happy….wait…let me check the calendar….Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: blog, blog design., Don, flowers, garden 40 Comments

Reunited

June 30, 2014 at 9:03 am by Claudia

reunion

Photo taken by Don in the wee hours of the morning. I missed my little girl.

What a long day yesterday was! Flying across Pennsylvania in an unbelievably loud prop plane. Transferring to another flight in Philadelphia after a two and a half hour layover.

And I’m going to be frank here, trapped inside a plane with the horrendous smell of someone repeatedly passing gas. Hey, we’ve all been there, haven’t we? I don’t know what that person ate, but it definitely contained something spicy. Between trying to block out the loud drone of the prop plane and the aforementioned gas, I definitely had my work cut out for me.

Glad to be home.

A quick peek out the window this morning revealed wildly overgrown garden beds, weeds that seem to have taken over, and a lot more blooms than when I left.

reunion-rose

reunion-glider

reunion-newdawn

The first bloom of many of the roses is fading, but I see plenty of buds. The bugs have had a feeding frenzy this year, but we don’t use pesticides on this property, so it is what it is.

The impatiens that I nursed through the winter, pinched back, and despaired of ever blooming again?

reunion-impatiens

Well, they’re blooming! Yippee! Don did a good job of watering. Unfortunately, he doesn’t weed, nor would I want him to because he’s unsure just what is a weed and what is a legitimate member of the garden bed.

I have never seen so many weeds, so you can see I will be busy this week! I already yanked some when I snuck outside to take these photos.

Today, we will have a little birthday celebration for sweet Don. Maybe Don will make me some dinner (fingers crossed.) We’ll watch 24. Don will open his presents.

The week ahead? My sister’s birthday. The anniversary of the day we met. My brother-in-law’s birthday. Celebrating the blessing of family.

Happy Monday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: Don, flowers, garden, Scout 38 Comments

Back At The Ranch

June 15, 2014 at 8:48 am by Claudia

I had no idea what day of the week it was when I woke up this morning. Monday? Saturday?

I finally hit on Sunday.

Where am I?

I feel like I’m in Brigadoon. Out of the fog, a magical and utterly charming little town springs up on the shores of a lake. Since it’s very foggy this morning, I am going to go with that fantasy. Chautauqua is by far the prettiest place I’ve ever coached. No contest.

Today is my day off, so I will be walking around Chautauqua taking iPhone pictures. I am now regretting my decision not to bring my big girl camera. I keep looking for it. It feels like I’m missing an appendage. But at the last minute, with a full suitcase and a large canvas bag filled with laptop, paperwork, chargers, and back up hard drive, I just couldn’t face the task of trying to fit it in.

Live and learn.

Sunday Cottage daisies

I picked some daisies from the edge of the road and put them in a plastic glass which is now a vase. No, I’m not a member of the Chautauqua Golf Club.

How about some more pictures of what’s blooming back at the ranch? I miss my garden. But I don’t miss all the weeds that have taken up residence after all the rain we’ve had this week.

Sunday Cottage rose

Sunday Cottage Lantana

Sunday Cottage Catalpa

The catalpas are about to bloom. I won’t be there for that. Sob.

Sunday Cottage sprirea

The spirea was just starting to bloom when I left.

Sunday Cottage peony

I told Don to go cut some peonies and put them in a vase. I’m sure the rains have beaten them down to the ground and I hate to think of them lying there. If I was home, I’d have taken care of that.

Sunday Cottage rose2

Sigh. So gloriously beautiful.

It’s Father’s Day. Happy day to my dad and to the father of this one:

Sunday Cottage Scoutie

I miss that little scamp. Fortunately, the stage manager has a dog named Stella. If you can’t find me at rehearsal, I’m probably petting Stella and scratching her tummy.

A quick story: there is a scene in the play where the Younger family is packing their things, preparing for a move. The young actress who is playing Ruth Younger has a lot of stage business to do during that scene. While she’s talking, she’s constantly packing things from the living room. During the staging of the scene, she grabbed the 1950s-era phone from the table, ready to shove it in a box. The director said, “Whoa! You can’t pack that.” She looked surprised. So we proceeded to explain to her that there was a time when you didn’t own your phone, when you actually rented it from the phone company.

That was an entirely foreign concept to her.

Boy, do I feel old!

(You can follow along on my Instagram feed if you want to see the most recent photos of my adventure here in Chautauqua.

Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: Don, flowers, garden, Scout 42 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.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

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