Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Beat the Snow

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Three to five inches of snow is headed toward Hartford this morning, but not, supposedly, toward my home in the Hudson Valley, so I’m going to try to get out of here early and beat the snow. Fingers crossed. The weather is unpredictable, and if I feel like it might be more trouble than it’s worth, I’ll wait until tomorrow.

But I’d really like to get home for a couple of days, starting today. I need to see my husband. And my new chair, which Don picked up for me the other day, bless him!

So, this will be quick, then I’ll jump in the shower and start to ‘assess the situation.’

Don likes cigar boxes and wanted me to stop by a local cigar shop here in downtown Hartford to see if they had any empty boxes for sale. On the way home from rehearsal, I peered in the window and saw that they did. So, I pulled open the door and walked right into a cloud of cigar smoke courtesy of a guy who was standing at the counter, talking to the owner. To his credit, as soon as he saw me, he moved away, but the damage was done. Plus, I quickly realized that there was a smoking lounge in the back of the shop! Yikes.

I picked out three boxes (only $2 a piece!) and hightailed it out of there. But the smell of cigar smoke surrounded me. I had to open the windows in the apartment and air out my clothing!

They’re neat looking, aren’t they?

We had our final run-through in the rehearsal space yesterday and, boy, was it fun! Darko’s vision for a production never fails to astound me. I wasn’t sure how this was all going to come together, but I’ve learned to trust Darko and on Thursday, I could really see it coming together. Yesterday – perfection! And it’s hilarious, as well!

Can’t wait to see it with costumes, lighting, set, and sound on Tuesday. We have an extremely talented cast and they are having a lot of fun, as are we.

A cheery view of the yellow alstroemeria for you today.

Wish me luck with my ‘beat the snow’ journey home!

Happy Saturday.

 

Flowers, Reading & Run-Throughs

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The afternoon sunlight was casting its glow on the flowers yesterday. Very photo-worthy. The flowers, by the way, that were purchased nearly three weeks ago and are still going strong. Alstroemeria: more bang for your buck, and very little in terms of bucks if you buy them at Trader Joe’s, than any other cut flower I can think of.

I woke up with a very stuffy head this morning. I’m not sure why. It did start to snow overnight, but very little has fallen. At 5:30 am some sort of heavy machinery woke me up (one of the drawbacks when you live downtown) and because I can’t always tell what time it is by the light that enters the apartment, I got up, looked at the clock in the kitchen, and promptly climbed back in bed. It took about an hour, but I finally went back to sleep, whereupon I was jolted from sleep at 8 am by a police siren. Ah, the joys of urban living!

Today is the very last day in the rehearsal room. We had a run-through yesterday and will have another one today. The Bollywood number is simply delightful. I was laughing and clapping and completely under its spell. My friend Peggy is the choreographer and she is simply amazing. So: another run-through today and then everyone and everything moves to the theater. Tomorrow will be what is called a spacing rehearsal, where the director goes through each scene and adjusts the positions of the actors on the set. This set, as do most, has levels – and buildings and doorways and docks and boats…so all of that has to be dealt with. On Sunday, tech will start.

Since I’m not needed tomorrow or even Sunday, I’ll go home tomorrow morning for a couple of days. I’ll return for Tuesday’s rehearsal, which will be a continuation of Sunday’s tech, starting wherever they left off on Sunday.

I’ve reached the halfway point in Believing the Lie.  That means I’m 300 pages in. It’s quite engrossing and I’m most definitely hooked. She’s a very, very good writer. I also pre-ordered (something I never do) the upcoming new release from Deborah Crombie, Garden of Lamentations, which comes out next month. I had a very modest credit with Amazon, so I applied it to the book and I only had to pay half of the hardcover price.

It’s Friday. My head is stuffy. I’m drinking my second cup of coffee. I’m writing to you. Soon, some oatmeal and then a shower, where I’m hoping the steam will clear out my congestion. Fingers crossed.

Happy Friday.

Kisses

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The sun is out.

It came out at the very end of the day yesterday and is shining today. Of course, it’s colder. I guess that’s the price we have to pay.

I was so desperate to post some photos other than the many I’ve taken of this apartment, that I ran outside yesterday after rehearsal and went to the park. I came up with these. Goodness, it was gloomy out there.

The city sets up an ice skating rink that lasts through the holidays and a bit beyond.

As I walked back toward the apartment, I saw the grassy areas where Scout loved to go when she stayed with me here in the apartment in the autumn of 2014. I must admit, I got very, very sad and that feeling stayed with me the rest of the day. I miss her. I wrote about it on Facebook and Instagram, so I won’t repeat myself here. Hartford is full of memories for me, and many of them – in the apartments, the hotel and the park – revolve around my girl.

The sun came out late in the day (after I’d taken these pictures, of course) and we were treated to a lovely sunset.

That’s the gold dome of the Capitol in the distance and the pond that’s in the park.

I saw two birds flying toward the sunset:

If you look closely, you can see them.

My little nephew, Z, called last night. He cannot figure out why I am here and not at home with Don. So he always says “Hi!” and then immediately follows with  “Is Uncle Don there?” I explain that Uncle Don is back home and this statement is greeted with “Why?” And then another “Why?”

Meredith has Z alternating his nightly calls between his Uncle Don and Aunt Claudia. He is fascinated with other languages at the moment. He said “Talk to me.” So I started yammering on about my day and he quickly interrupted with “No. Talk to me in a language.” So I said a few words in French, which he repeated and he offered some words in Spanish that he’d learned in school and we discussed how to say hello in Italian.

He is very smart.

Then, the best part of the call. He gave me butterfly kisses on the phone. He even took off his glasses to make it easier. Mere said he’s never done that before. Can you tell this Aunt was positively glowing? Yep. I sent some butterfly kisses his way, as well.

Hearing that voice on the phone makes my day.

Happy Thursday.

 

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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