Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Ukraine, Don, a Hat, and a Puzzle

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First of all, no news yet from the doctor. We know he has the x-ray but he hasn’t called with the results. The doctor had a similar injury in the past and felt that it probably wasn’t broken, but he sent Don over to a facility across the river to get the x-ray just to be sure. In the meantime, Don has a prescription for an anti-inflammatory med. He’s very sore today, but I reminded him that he drove a lot yesterday and stopped at the store – twice. He is now under a no physical activity  order from yours truly.

I know he had a little bit of a high going yesterday just because he was outside doing  something. I get it. I’ll update you as soon as we hear something

My longtime blogging friend Susan fell under the spell of my Blythes and proceeded to start her own doll family. At least two of them are from the same customizer who transformed my first girl, Sophie. We’ve been corresponding back and forth. Susan showed me a hat she crocheted for her girls and sent me one as well as a thank you. Isn’t that lovely? It arrived yesterday. Imogen gets to be today’s model.

So adorable! And that is my favorite shade of red. She also sent along a scarf. Thank you, Susan! As I said on Instagram, I am happy to be a Blythe enabler. Anytime.

I finished the other 500 piece puzzle – this one is of the Golden Gate Bridge:

Another relatively quick puzzle which was a lot of fun.

Next up, from my current favorite puzzle designer, “The World of the Tudors.” It arrived on Tuesday. I’ll be back to 1000 pieces.

I am heartsick about Ukraine. I try to stay aware to bear witness of a sort, but I have to be careful about how much I take in. I wish we could stop Putin. Frankly – from a strongly ‘no war’ girl – I wish we could go in there and get rid of the Russian army, though so many of them are just pawns who have been fed lies by Putin. Putin himself must be stopped – perhaps as he has stopped others who dared to disagree with him. I’ll let you fill in the lines on that one.

I know that so many countries are providing support, including ours, but Ukraine is essentially alone. NATO should have brought them in right away. But everyone is afraid of an increasingly delusional madman and his access to nuclear weapons. Both Don and I feel that Ukraine needs more help and troop support, but again, I completely understand the ramifications of that. We don’t want WWIII.

Yet again, we are being held hostage by a man ruled by his weak ego and shrinking appendage, by his now insane desire to dominate. (Sound familiar?)

Heartbreaking and so enraging.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

 

 

Hello, March

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Goodbye, February! You were a true pain in the tush.

Hello, March, you changeable month. You tease us into thinking spring is here and then, suddenly, snow. Or ice. Hopefully, not ice, as we’ve had enough of that this year, thank you very much.

The first thing I heard this morning was the song of the Carolina wren coming from somewhere on the porch. I took this as a good sign.

Unlike sunny yesterday, today is a gray sky day with rain in the forecast.

I worked on this relatively simple 500 piece puzzle while waiting for my newest puzzle to arrive. It’s a charming scene from La Jolla Cove. I spent lots of time there when I was living in San Diego.

It was fun. I have another one of San Francisco (both of these were sent to us by a fellow Old Globe alum.) Do I start that or wait for my new puzzle to arrive in today’s mail?

This is what is called a quality problem.

What else? We’re watching Stranger Things  on Netflix – a series we’ve known about but never got around to until now. I’m enjoying it. I’m still reading and loving Dead Lions, the second novel in the Slough House series. I did the grocery shopping yesterday – something Don loves to do – but needs must! I could tell he wished he was doing it instead. I mailed off some bills at the post office. I wore a mask, and even though masks are no longer required here, I saw quite a few fellow shoppers wearing them. I will continue to do so because, frankly, I don’t trust the virus not to resurface. I’m so accustomed to wearing a mask for  14 – 15 hours a day that I often forget to take my mask off when I’m back in my car. It’s no big deal. And to hear whiny truckers complain about it (though I suspect all of that is about disruption rather than an honest protest) makes my blood boil, especially when we see what Ukraine is going through each and every hour of the day.

I needed some cheering up the other day, so I grabbed one of the girls and changed her outfit. Somehow, it’s quite comforting.

Pippa says hello.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Sunday Update

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Thanks for your well wishes for Don. He is in pain, but he’s sure he didn’t break anything. If this goes on much longer, he’ll have it checked out. We’ve been icing, etc. I’m taking care of him. But keep him in your prayers, okay?

I went over to our neighbors’ property yesterday to try to shovel their driveway. Unfortunately, the snow is like a block of ice, so I had to chop at it with the shovel and then clear some of it in layers as best I could. They have a long curved driveway. Sadly, I didn’t get too far. It was too hard on my back and my neck.  I managed to clear enough so they could at least pull in off the road.

Then I texted Laura and explained what was going on – Don’s injury, my back – and she immediately responded with sympathy and a “Don’t worry! We’ll take care of it!” We have good neighbors.

I finished this yesterday. It was extremely difficult and a real challenge. I loved it. This isn’t the best photo, but it’s beautifully designed.

And, amazingly, a Blythe outfit that went missing in the post arrived yesterday. It came from Russia and arrived in the US in November, where it sat on a barge for a long time and we gave up hope. Then it showed up in Chicago, where it also sat for almost 2 months. But it dropped off the radar again, so Olga refunded my money. This past week, she wrote me saying it looked like it had resurfaced again. Go figure! This time, the delay had nothing to do with Russia but with the USPS. It took 103 days to get here.

Maeve is today’s model:

This is as close to a cat as Maeve will get since Mom is allergic. Olga – pippydolls on IG – makes beautiful clothes. And she has been such a great communicator during all of this. We became friends.

Today, we’re laying low here at the cottage. With all the melting and then temps plunging down to single digits at night, it’s slippery out there. But it’s going to reach 45 today, so once that happens, I’ll venture out to put out the trash, etc. I won’t let Don do it.

The egg cups arrived safe and sound. Country Living did a great job of packing and protecting them. They’re back home in the cubby and on the shelves.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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