Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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A Perfect Autumn Monday

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It’s a beautiful day today – sunny and cool. I just might do a bit of raking.

Don had a good day at the Farmer’s Market yesterday and then we met up with Rick and Doug for dinner. Our neighborhood restaurant, which is a favorite, was extremely busy yesterday – I guess because the fall colors are bringing people up to our area and it’s a three day weekend – so we put our names in and went back to Rick and Doug’s to wait an hour or so. That meant we got to spend some time with Sam, so…bonus.

We finally got our meal, which was delicious. This is a German restaurant and there’s a lot of meat on the menu, but they always have at least three vegan/vegetarian options and I’ve never had better vegetarian food. This was a big birthday for Rick, so I think our time spent laughing and having great discussions, as we always do, helped him to weather the tiny ‘storm’ that big birthdays can sometimes bring.

I finished A Bitter Feast. Reading one of Deborah Crombie’s books is like getting to spend time with old friends. The same feeling you have with a new Louise Penny. It was simply splendid and I recommend it highly. I just finished it this morning, so I haven’t decided what I’m going to start in on next. We’ll see.

Today is grocery shopping day – I know, too exciting for words! But we’re out of almost everything so it’s the first thing we’re going to do after I finish this post.

Thought you might like to see the photo of us that Rick took yesterday:

Happy Monday.

Back in the Blogging Saddle

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I’m back. I called my internet provider on Tuesday and the tech said that the signals coming from our modem were very weak and he scheduled an appointment with another tech yesterday afternoon.

In the meantime, the modem was in and out all morning long yesterday, so each time I started to write a post, the wifi/modem would go out. I finally gave up, posted on IG that we had internet problems, and hoped you all would check there. If I can’t post and I can get to my IG account, I’ll always let you know what’s going on.

The tech arrived, couldn’t find anything wrong with the modem (though we agreed that it’s probably time for a new router) and he went outside and checked the cable going into our house and then drove down to the road and climbed a huge ladder. At one point I heard voices and realized my neighbor was out there talking to him. I ran outside to chat with her and, sure enough, they were having problems, as well. Then, as I was headed back inside, my other neighbor walked down her driveway and talked to the tech. Clearly, it was a neighborhood thing – which the tech confirmed. He found out there had been a crew working all morning elsewhere in the neighborhood and everything looks okay now. A day or so before I called them, I noticed them working at another neighbor’s house. So it’s been ongoing for a week or so. More info than you really needed, but there you go.

Leaves and more leaves. Today it’s supposed to be a bit windy…so more leaves. But it’s awfully pretty out there.

I’ve started reading Gaudy Night  by Dorothy L. Sayers. I’m not too far into the book yet, because my time has been taken up by wifi/internet. But I like it so far. Oh, forgot to say, yesterday’s impending visit by the tech necessitated a major desk cleanup by my husband because that’s where the modem and router are. I had been gently asking him to clean up his part of the office for quite some time – to no avail. It was a MESS of stacks of paper, photos, mail, files, memorabilia from the run of Escape to Margaritaville, camera stuff, etc. With a deadline, Don had no choice but to go through everything with a ruthless hand. Huzzah! It looks much better now.

I’ve never seen the limelight hydrangeas look as spectacular as they do this year. That color is so intense! Gorgeous.

We’re into Season 2 of Goliath  on Amazon Prime. We really love it. I’m partial to Billy Bob Thornton, who is one of the most honest actors I’ve ever seen. Not a false move. And Tony Award winner Nina Arianda, his costar, is the same. She is simply wonderful. (Don’s crazy about her.)

I just finished Paris to the Moon  by Adam Gopnick, a series of essays he wrote for The New Yorker, when he and his family lived in Paris 20 years ago. I recommend it highly if you’re at all interested in Paris, Parisians and the differences in our cultures. Gopnick still writes for The New Yorker and I’ve been a fan for a long time.

A reminder that I’ve disabled my comment reply plugin, so you’ll need to check back if you want to read my reply and the comments of your fellow readers. Thank you!

Okay. Glad to be back!

Happy Thursday.

 

No Frost, Please, and No to The Politician

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A pretty scene, but we have a Frost Advisory for tonight.

I’m not ready, thank you very much. I’m especially not ready to haul my plants inside or try to protect all the porch plants with tarps. I’ll keep an eye on the weather forecast as the day goes on. Hopefully, it will change.

That being said, sometimes I think: Just let them be. What happens, happens. But so many of the porch plants, including the hanging plants are so healthy right now and I know they have at least a few more weeks of warmish weather ahead of them. So, I’ll cave, I’m sure.

This little zinnia, though a bit ragged, is so adorable! Completely unexpected and a delight.

Warning: Spoiler alert. If you’ve at all interesting in watching The Politician  on Netflix, skip ahead.

We gave up on The Politician  last night. I almost threw a shoe at the screen (but I’m not that crazy. I did, however, throw Gone Girl  across the room in disgust.) It’s done by the same guys who masterminded Glee  and the only thing, in my opinion, that Glee  had going for it were the musical talents of the actors. It’s done in a highly stylized manner and it’s a parody of politics today. I get that, but it involves high school students who speak in a rapid-fire, very adult manner that I’ve never seen from anyone that age, including myself (and I was known for speaking way too fast). Most of the characters are unlikeable, save one. They’re self-absorbed to an intolerable degree.

When a show becomes all about the self-perceived cleverness of the writers and loses any depth of character and heart, I’m gone.

And there you have it. There’s only one actor who is completely real on the screen. Maybe it’s written that way. Ironically, it’s the role of the student who commits suicide, and keeps reappearing in the story.

Our quotes about it this morning:

Don: It’s not as good as it thinks it is.

Claudia: It’s too full of itself.

End of sort-of review.

It’s sunny and windy today. I may clean the windows. I may not. I find it a frustrating task around here, because no matter what method I use, there are always streaks. And the weather is so windy when it rains that they get dirty again almost immediately.

I finished Down in the Woods. It was very good. I’ve now started The Treatment  by Mo Hayder, the second in the Jack Caffery series, checked out from my local library. I also spent several hours looking at miniatures on eBay and Etsy yesterday, so there’s that.

Happy Friday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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