Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Morning Glory

September 13, 2019 at 11:31 am by Claudia

Well, lookee here! Despite the assault by the deer, we have a morning glory!

It hadn’t completely opened when I took this photo. I’ve seen a few buds on this segment of morning glories – these are the plants that the deer dined upon. The other morning glories are nearer to the kitchen door and they have quite a few buds. It rained yesterday, so I’ll spray them with the natural deer repellent again today.

A happy sight to see as I looked outside this morning.

We spent a fair amount of time this morning watching the light show on the kitchen ceiling. We figured out that it was coming from the chrome on Stella. The sunlight was hitting the corner of the stove. It was rather amazing.

I doesn’t take much to entertain us.

It’s quite cool this morning, but sunny. I am this  close to finishing The Book of Bones  by John Connolly. I’ll probably finish it after I write this post. It’s excellent, as I’ve come to expect from this writer. But it’s not for the faint of heart. Connolly’s books are always intense and a wee bit gory.

Not sure what I’ll pick next, but I look forward to seeing what it will be.

I’m running late this morning, so I’ll close on that note.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: books, flowers, garden, morning glory 32 Comments

Saturday Thoughts: Decorating

September 7, 2019 at 11:20 am by Claudia

Another beautiful morning. Another great walk with my husband.

It’s beautiful here.

We’ve walked six days in a row and we’ll probably take tomorrow off as it’s Farmers Market day and Don has to get going early in the morning. I’ll probably mow the lilac side of the front lawn, so that will give me some exercise.

There’s much I could and should be doing around here, but all I want to do is sit on the porch and read. Maybe I’ll clean somewhere in the house this morning so I’ll feel as if I’ve earned my reading time – maybe the bathroom – my least favorite thing to do around here.

I’ve been thinking about decorating and the continual emphasis on defining one’s style. I’ve never understood this need to categorize something. Is it that it makes one feel secure in a style choice? Like, “country” or “mid-century modern” or “boho?” Does it bring comfort to conform to one style? Or maybe it’s simply that the home/apartment owner likes that style exclusively?

As you know, I like things eclectic and undefined. I think it’s much more interesting, because that lack of confinement within just one style allows the owner’s personality and passions to shine through. We’ve definitely become more eclectic in the past several years. Almost everything here is vintage/used; different time periods, different styles. We have an overall color scheme and I think I have a pretty good eye for pulling it all together. You can’t look around our house and say that it is anything  definitively. It’s just us.

You could say it’s funky, I guess. I’m fine with that.

And hopefully, cozy. I’m fine with that, too.

I’m always bemused by the whole ‘boho’ craze. I’m of an age, you know, and boho is basically the way everyone decorated their dorm rooms and apartments when I was in college. It was an inexpensive way to adorn a space. Been there, done that. And I have a confession to make: I was never a fan of macrame, except when necessary as a plant hanger. Macrame wall hangings? No. Houseplants, yes. But houseplants are eternal and are not defined by ‘bohemian’ or ‘boho’ even though we see a lot of them in those spaces.

But we know that decorating styles recycle and eventually become the hot ‘new’ look.

Except they aren’t.

It’s all personal taste, of course, and that particular look was never my taste even when I was living it in the seventies. Neither was mid-century modern, because my parents decorated in that style. And just as my mom eschewed her mother’s style, I’ve apparently done the same. The difference being that I admire the lines of certain mid-century furniture and like to see how homeowners use it in their living spaces. (And I like decorating my modern dollhouse in miniature versions of mid-century furniture, but that’s another story.)

Anyway, I’ve always tried to dodge any sort of label, whether it’s about me, my personality, my reading choices, my political beliefs, my spirituality, or my home. I think labels are limiting and we’re all much more complex and interesting than that.

Just a little of what I’ve been thinking about on a Saturday.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: decorating, flowers, garden 30 Comments

Walking Around, Camera in Hand

September 5, 2019 at 10:31 am by Claudia

The Secret Garden in September: rather wild and overgrown, even with freshly mown grass. It was a strange day yesterday, some rain in the early afternoon, then it suddenly turned unbelievably humid. Walking outside was like being hit smack in the face with a mass of wet air. There was a severe thunderstorm watch, but nothing came of it here. It’s much cooler this morning, thank goodness.

We took our walk under blue, blue skies and wispy clouds. Perfect September weather.

And we caught a quick glimpse of Henry this morning before he scurried off, frightened by some noise. We’re always happy to see him.

Yesterday afternoon, I went outside with my big girl camera and took some pictures. I find the gardens beautiful in their slow decay. I also love discovering insects on flowers and I saw a lot of them yesterday. Like this guy.

I could have spent a big chunk of time out there with my camera, but the humidity and some dark, threatening clouds eventually moved me back inside the house.

I took this picture of the front of the house so you could see how big the limelight hydrangeas are this year. It’s all due to our very wet spring. Some plants didn’t like the excess wet, but the hydrangeas thrived on it.

I’m just about to finish Shakespeare and Company Paris  and then I’ll have to decide what to start next. I have a couple of tall stacks of books on the den floor; my To Be Read stacks. (That’s not even including the TBR stacks on the bookshelves.) Nonfiction or fiction? I have no idea at the moment. And no, not Louise Penny. I’m saving that pleasure for later, as I always do.

What are you reading?

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: books, flowers, garden, insects 40 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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