Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Day Three Hundred Eighty-Six

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Sun.

And a bit warmer. It went down to 23 degrees  last night.

I am ready for warmer spring weather. For buying seeds and potting plants. For clearing out the garden beds – but now you understand why I don’t do that until at least mid-April,  all those plants would have lost the protection of the leaf mulch if I had done it earlier.

I’m hoping the yet-to-open daffodil buds are okay.

This puzzle has been slow going. I put the bottom edge pieces together, but haven’t done that for the other three sides. Instead, I decided to assemble the flowers and leaves. I’ll fill in the rest of the pieces after I finish the leaves on the flowers in the upper right hand corner.

John Derian posted today that he has three new puzzles coming out! If you remember, I assembled that old map of Manhattan and the butterflies – both of which were Derian puzzles. I love his style, his sensibility, and his love of old images.

A couple of questions for you:

We ordered some new face masks today and I also want to order some disposable medical grade masks, as recommended for double masking by the CDC – but it’s hard to know which are the best or are from legitimate sellers. Do any of you have suggestions? Do you have a medical grade mask (doesn’t need to be N95, just a medical mask) that you would recommend?

I was informed by USPS that I have a package coming to my post office box. Since I didn’t order anything, if you’re the sender can you let me know? I’m wary of just stopping in to our little post office (only because of COVID) and it helps me to know if there is a specific sender. Then I’m more likely to go pick it up. Hope that makes sense.

I was still quite tired yesterday, but I slept a long time last night and feel better today. Don is feeling better today, too. Our reactions were quite mild, so we’re not complaining!

It feels so good to know that we’re fully vaccinated. That, combined, with the onset of gardening and outdoor work and sitting on the porch – all of that will be coming soon – feels like a big light at the end of the tunnel.

In the meantime, I’ve been watching Gardeners’ World on BritBox. It’s good for my soul.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Day Three Hundred Eighty

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Heavens, was this one fun! I really loved working on it. There’s so much activity going on, so many wonderful characters. I was sad to see it end.

I’ve ordered another one, as this next week’s temperatures are going to be on the cold side so that means no work outside. But it doesn’t arrive until tomorrow, so I’m starting another one – a botanical chart – that I already had in my puzzle stash.

It’s very, very rainy today with – yes, you’ve guessed it – high winds developing later in the day and tomorrow.

Do you hear that? That was me, screaming.

Thankfully, we have a roof over our heads and lots of activities to keep us entertained. There are also, of course, chores – like washing the sheets, vacuuming, swiffering, watering the plants, etc.

The daffodils are getting ready to bloom and I hope the cold snap doesn’t mess with them. More day lilies and other plants are starting to show themselves. But I’m not clearing the leaf cover from the beds for at least a couple of weeks, if not longer.

Soon, but not yet.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Day Three Hundred Seventy-Six

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I finished this early in the afternoon. Don heard me complain about the dark pieces many times…but, as always, suddenly you insert two or three pieces and everything else goes quickly into place. This is called Three Amigos. I find it delightful. These three older guys who play guitar (Spanish guitar? Mexican? Folk songs? Flamenco? Classical?) get together at night and play music together. There’s a bottle of wine on the table, cups and saucers, a bottle of something spicy, sheet music, and several statues of women. Someone’s hat is on the table, there are two guitars in addition to the ones being played, the hanging lamp bathes the players in light, and you can see nighttime NYC out the window.

Simply wonderful.

I have another one arriving today with a completely different color scheme.

Today is going to be quite rainy. Don has to recycle and has agreed to stop at the post office to buy stamps and check the PO Box, which we haven’t checked at all in more than two months. I know I have at least two envelopes waiting for me. Tomorrow will be a ridiculously warm day for this time of year, it’s supposed to be 75 degrees! CANNOT WAIT.

I’m really enjoying the beautiful writing of John Banville. My heavens, he can write! An example:

The black-branched trees seemed to press forward with desperate eagerness, as though they might at any moment break through the barbed-wire fence that was its border and make their determined way, hobbling along with their roots dragging, across the open expanse before them, to crowd about the house and thrash their limbs furiously against its defenseless walls. – John Banville, Snow.

One sentence. There are a couple of mystery writers that I consider poetic in their prose style; James Lee Burke and John Connolly. John Banville has joined that group, though from what I can tell, he’s a novelist first and foremost, this mystery is the start of a new series. Every sentence is a treat and I find myself rereading them just to give myself a chance to stop and marvel at the beauty of his images.

I believe I’ve found another favorite writer!

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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