Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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On the Road and In the Garden

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Whoops! I was mistaken. I can post today. I’ve managed to make my ailing adaptor work (though it needs to be replaced and the replacement will arrive today.) It’s a temporary fix, but it has allowed me to chat with you today. I only hope that you all see it! I’m going to sprinkle this post with photos of what was blooming in my garden as I left town.

I got a glimpse of the beauty that is the Chautauqua Institution as I arrived on the grounds on Wednesday night. But I haven’t been able to explore it very much as yesterday was consumed by rehearsal. We worked until 9:30 pm. This production is being done on a Summer Stock-type schedule. Very short rehearsal period. Very short run. So I need to be there at rehearsal as much as I possibly can. This theater runs a season that revolves around a core company of acting students that are currently studying in some of the best graduate training programs in the country. They mount three productions a season with casts that consist of the students and a guest Equity actor or two. It’s a wonderful concept and this particular group of actors is very talented. Since I love working with students, I’m particularly enjoying this rehearsal process. The guest artist is playing the matriarch of the household, Lena Younger.

peony with water drops_

Yesterday we couldn’t help but feel the poignancy of the death of Ruby Dee, who originated the role of Ruth Younger on Broadway and who was a close friend of the actress playing Lena Younger in our production. May she rest in peace.

blooming ground cover

By the way, on my way into town on Wednesday night, I saw a sign for a miniatures shop! As someone who lives in an area where there’s exactly zero miniature shops, I cannot wait to go there!

peony 1

The apartment I’m in is right across the street from the theater building. It’s a condo with three bedrooms that I will eventually share with the costume designer and the lighting designer, both of whom are scheduled to be back in town on June 20th. But right now, I get it all to myself. There will be no decorating, my friends, partly because I’m sharing the space but mostly because I’m only here for a little over two weeks. Not worth it.

peony two

I’m so grateful that I got a chance to see the other peony bush in bloom before I left. I’m going to miss the Catalpas in bloom. Sob. And some of the roses. Sob again.

rose and buds

Hello, Julia Child rose that was yellow and is now a deep red. That’s okay. I still love you.

peony three

Nature: the perfect designer.

peony with water drops and ant

Lest I blow my wad by posting too many photos of the flowers blooming at MHC, I’ll stop there. There’s more to come. Hopefully, I can get Don to take some pictures with his iPhone. Speaking of which, I didn’t bring my big girl camera along with me – too cumbersome. So any and all photos I take here will be with my iPhone. Should be interesting!

Don’t forget to stop by my post on Gardening with Hydrangeas from the Endless Summer® Collection for a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card.

And don’t forget my book review. I’m giving away a copy of Moving Day by Jonathan Stone.

Happy Friday.

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I Can’t Resist Red Shoes (and Flowers)

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Remember my red shoes? The shoes I found that were unbelievably comfortable? The shoes that were so popular that several other bloggers bought them?

Not long after that post, I sent an email to Spring Step Shoes. I raved about the shoes, thanking them for creating such comfortable, yet attractive footwear. I mentioned the fact that writing about them on my blog had resulted in some readers buying them, as well. And I sent a link to my post. I just thought it would a fun post to share with Spring Step.

Imagine my surprise when I received a response from Spring Step. They loved the post and graciously offered to send me another pair of shoes of my choosing. What?? I certainly wasn’t expecting that! I was so grateful and amazed by their generous offer. Narrowing down the options was the tough part, but I finally picked a pair. I’ve been wanting to share them with you, but held off until Spring arrived, as I consider this pair to be Spring and Summer shoes.

I chose this pair, which is named Martine:

redshoes2

You’re looking at the broken-in version of Martine. I wore them all day on Friday and Saturday at the Country Living Fair. Absolutely no problem and incredibly comfortable.

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On the day of their arrival.

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They’re so cute!

A big thank you to Spring Step! I know we’re all on a budget and shoes can be pricey. But I have problems with my feet and back and support is an absolute necessity. It’s a no brainer for me. When I buy cheap shoes, I suffer. When I buy well-made shoes, I don’t. It’s a simple as that. (And that may be why I don’t buy new shoes very often!)

These shoes are very well-made and I didn’t have to break them in. Perfect from the get-go. I’m taking them with me to Chautauqua.

They make me happy. They make me smile. And they’re red.

I’m a bit crazy at the moment, trying to get ready to leave for Chautauqua. It’s all lists: lists of things I need to pack, lists of things I need to show Don, lists of errands I need to run. I’ve had to write a couple of posts ahead of time, something I almost never do. I’m not a post scheduler. I write daily. But, travel time tomorrow coincides with a book review that is scheduled for the same day and I had to write a draft of another post for BlogHer. I won’t get in until late on Wednesday and I have no idea where I’m staying or what the next day’s schedule will be, so if I miss a post on Thursday, you’ll understand, right?

Flower update: The Climbing Hydrangea, which has never bloomed in the six years I’ve had it, has given me two blooms this year. Wonder of wonders! The flowers are fascinating, which you’ll see by observing this progression:

climbinghydrangea1

climbinghydrangea2

climbinghydrangea3

climbinghydrangea4

Wow. They look like little mid-century modern designs, don’t they? Sputnik-like.

Thank you, Climbing Hydrangea, for putting on such a great show! Please provide even more of these beauties next year.

I’m off to start doing laundry.

Happy Tuesday.

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Poppy Study

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What can I say?

The Oriental Poppy is blooming.

From this:

oriental poppy bud

To this:

poppy 1

poppy 3

poppy 4

poppy 2

poppy 5

This plant has been in the garden for several years. For the past three years or so, the spring bloom has been spectacular. These flowers are short lived; they emerge in all their exotic beauty, with paper thin petals, and leave within a day or two.

Think you can’t use orange and purple together? Mother Nature begs to differ.

Simply stunning. Made for a painter to immortalize. Or for me to immortalize through the lens of my camera.

I love taking photographs of flowers. This time of year, when every day holds a new discovery, a new bloom? Heaven. I spend hours walking around the gardens, looking through my lens, trying new angles, new views, seeing the world through fresh eyes. This blog, this act of blogging, has opened up a whole new world to me. Yes, I loved taking pictures before I started blogging, but only with a small point-and-shoot. And pre-digital? I had to remember to take the film in to be developed. I wasn’t always successful on that front. Once I started blogging, which is such a visual medium, I started to observe the world around me with renewed and inspired eyes. I got a DSLR, which completely changed everything. Looking through a camera lens expands my horizons in the best possible way.

Speaking of photography, my other blog, which is called Through a Lens Daily, was started by me a few years back. My intention was to capture a single image every day and hone my photography skills and I did just that for a while. But I’ve been hit or miss the last year or so. I’m happy to say I’ve begun posting there again. The link is in my sidebar if you’re interested in stopping by. Just one image (more or less) every day. I also moved my blogroll over to Through a Lens Daily. It used to be in the navigation bar of MHC, but the plugin that I needed to use for that has been acting up. I keep up with other blogs in a variety of ways, one of which is my blogroll. So if you’ve ever used my blogroll to find new blogs, just hop on over to Through a Lens Daily. I do believe that it reflects my eclectic taste in blogs – there’s a lot of variety there.

Speaking of interesting blogs, if you dream of going to Paris as I do, you will love Paris in Four Months. Written by a Swedish photographer who moved to Paris for four months in 2012 and ended up staying, (and who can blame her?) it’s full of gorgeous images of that beautiful city.

I read her posts and I dream of going to Paris. With my husband, of course.

We will. Someday.

Today would have been my parents’ 68th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom.

Happy Sunday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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