Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Over It

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Paris puzzle finished. Finishing off the trees was tedious. But I love this puzzle and, though I can barely imagine begin able to visit Paris again, this sure makes me want to.

I have had it with the heat. Yesterday, the heat index was 105°. Once again, I spent a long time watering everything in the morning, then I stayed inside for the rest of the day. The weather forecast was for thunderstorms in the afternoon – a 90% chance. I watched the radar and was so happy to see that we were going to get some rain. The wind kicked up, so much so, that Don went outside and took down the umbrella and I put the hanging plants on the floor of the porch. Storms were supposed to arrive by 7 pm.

Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Dumbfounded, I looked at the radar and there wasn’t a storm in sight.

This has happened EVERY TIME a major storm has been predicted. We are desperate for rain. The grass is brown, the plants are suffering. The humidity is high and my allergies are out of control.

Okay. Thanks for letting me vent. This has been a depressing summer and it looks like it’s going to continue.

Pippa and and the girls are sick of it, too.

Short of going naked, this is the coolest outfit we’ve got and Pip won out. They’d like to run in the sprinkler, but we don’t have one. Maybe we should walk over to the river?

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Sunsets, Trees, & Flowers

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Last night.

This morning. The David phlox are blooming. They have a pretty heavenly scent.

We’re definitely at peak garden level. After this, everything will start to fade away. Slowly, but it will happen. That makes me feel sad. It goes so quickly, doesn’t it? And once I hit August, I’m less apt to weed or clean out the beds.

I start work on one show in August and another in September, so my gardening time will be limited. The second production is a musical version of A Man of No Importance. It was originally a movie, starring the great Albert Finney and it’s one of my favorites. It’s being done at Classic Stage in NYC and will star Jim Parsons – which is why I’m a part of it. He recommended me and after some negotiations, I think all is set to go. I’ve zoomed with the Director, chatted with the new Artistic Director and done some research. Their budget is limited, so my days of work will also be limited.  In the ‘small world’ category, the music and lyrics are by Lynn Ahrens and Steven Flaherty who wrote the glorious music for Anastasia. So, Jane Eyre  in August and into the beginning of September, and A Man of No Importance  in September and October.

Finished tree puzzle. This one was difficult, but it’s so beautiful that it was worth it.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Flowers, Puzzles, And Some Thoughts

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These day lilies just started opening. There would have been ten times more of them but the deer ate the buds before I could spray them. Still, I’m grateful that at least some of them survived.

After all the dire severe thunderstorm warnings and radar pictures that looked increasingly ominous throughout the day, we didn’t get a single drop of rain. And we really need some! This morning was foggy and beautiful and a bunny has been chomping on clover just outside the kitchen door.

The finished Alice’s Wonderland puzzle. I really loved this one. It was a little less complicated than normal because of the way it is designed. Everyone is there; the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, the March Hare, the Mad Hatter. It’s beautifully illustrated.

The puzzles I’ve been working on this year are published by Lawrence King. You can find them on Amazon by searching for his name. I’m a big fan.

Don and I have had several conversations lately about how exhausted we feel. He was speaking to some friends who also feel exhausted. Now, I have terrible allergies and that doesn’t help, but it’s more than that. We both nap in the afternoon lately – something I never did until now. And we’re not sick. We even did a self-test for Covid. Negative.

We think this has to do with everything we’ve been through, and are still going through, over the past 6 years. Trump, a pandemic, mass shootings, the assault on our democracy, a whole chunk of our population believing in conspiracy theories, the war in Ukraine, the loss of Roe v. Wade, a corrupt Supreme Court which has been bought and paid for – I could go on and on. Every day brings some new atrocity or assault. It’s never ending. More strains of Covid to worry about. Our lives have changed dramatically and we fight to keep some semblance of normalcy. But that requires – at least for us – deliberately shutting out the world.  And we cannot do that all of the time. Nor should we.

I think we are suffering from a collective depression and exhaustion. I usually have a ‘can do’ kind of attitude, but some days it’s hard to summon up that energy.

There’s no answer but to do what we are already doing; find time to escape, meditate, spend time in the outdoors, work on things that bring us joy.

Just some thoughts this morning.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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