Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Sun, Kitchen, and Books

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We just had the nicest day yesterday. Did we go anywhere? No. Did we give each other a gift? No. We just spent time together on a perfectly sunny day. We talked a lot, we cuddled, we repeatedly said how much we love each other.

Frankly, that’s all I need.

The kitchen yesterday. This photo, however, doesn’t really show how gloriously sunny it was. But it will have to do. I quickly took the photo while Don and I were sitting on the living room sofa. (Excuse the little bag of trash on the counter! Real life.)

This book is extraordinary. It’s nonfiction, which is always slower going for me, but, oh my, is it worth it. I never quote blurbs, but I will with this one, simply because I couldn’t write anything better:

In Underland, Robert Macfarlane delivers an epic exploration of the Earth’s underworlds as they exist in myth, literature, memory, and the land itself. Traveling through the dizzying expanse of geological time – from prehistoric art in Norwegian sea caves, to the blue depths of the Greenland ice cap, to a deep-sunk “hiding place” where nuclear waste will be stored for 100,000 years to come – Underland  takes on an extraordinary journey into our relationship with darkness, burial, and what lies beneath the surface of both heart and mind.

I hear a Carolina wren as I’m writing this. I’m wondering if the birds think Spring is coming soon? Ive certainly got spring fever, but the reality is we might get some snow next week and the unseasonably warm temperatures are going to plunge for a couple of days. (Thanks, Mother Nature. With all this warmth, I’m ready for Spring!)

We have to get out there and clean out the trailer bird house to get it prepped in case they want to nest there. Right now, I can see a wren on the branches of the big maple tree that is right next to the porch. And now he/she is on the porch. And back to the tree.

Okay, my friends.

Stay safe.

 

 

The Kitchen and Our Trip to Phoenicia

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I felt the need for flowers yesterday. Two reasons come to mind; the gorgeous 61 degree weather we had yesterday, and I wanted to see a vase of flowers on the island. More expensive than Trader Joe’s, but when you figure in the money I have to pay for gas to drive an hour to get there, it all evens out.

I love our kitchen. I’m in love  with our kitchen. And I know that it doesn’t look like any other kitchen. I don’t want a space that could be anywhere. I see a lot of those in magazines and on Instagram. I want it to be our  space, unique to us. It’s a work in progress, but we’re very happy with it as it is.

A few pictures from our trip to Phoenicia.

The Phoenicia Diner, with someone you know walking to our car.

I love places that have older waitresses that have clearly worked there for a long time. This place was packed, with a 20 minute wait for a table, and they were working hard. Nevertheless, they were so friendly and helpful and down-to-earth. The food is terrific.

On the way into the little main street area.

My just under 6’5″ husband looks petite here.

Loved this charming little house. The colors used are wonderful.

Likewise here, in this bed and breakfast.

Check out that intricate detail on the trim.

We were intrigued by this theater. It’s a community theater that has its own performing space. They’re currently raising money to redo the exterior. There are a lot of New York actors who have weekend homes in this county and several of them (some of whom we know and have worked with) have participated in benefits and readings to help raise funds for the theater. We plan to go see something there whenever their next season starts.

Both of us have roots in community theater and we believe in it and what it offers to the the many people who aren’t necessarily professional actors, but have talent and a desire to perform or design or direct or run lights and sound, not to mention what it offers to the community. In some ways, it reminds me of a clear and unadulterated time in my life –  by that I mean when I worked 40 hours a week doing something I disliked, and used every bit of my spare time to do what I really loved. 40 hours in the office, an additional 20 or 30 in evening and weekend rehearsals. Driving long distances in order to act. Don had the same experience early in his career; none of the complexities and, frankly, BS, that comes with a professional career. We did it because we loved it. We met and worked with wonderful people. Becoming a professional was the goal in our case, but we now really appreciate and miss that time when we worked with no pay, just because we loved it so. I worked with some incredibly talented people, who, for whatever reason, chose to do it on the side.

Anyway, we got nostalgic. We still are, a few days later. Phoenicia is a community that has a strong artistic presence. There is some sort of society there for the voice – as in singing – and they’re going to perform Tosca! I suspect we’ll discover more when spring and summer come because it’s a tourist area as well. Lots of fly fishing and camping and tubing.

Okay, I better hit publish!

Happy Tuesday.

 

Serendipitous Finds

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What? 58 degrees today and sunny? Oh my.

We had a lovely day yesterday. We drove to Phoenicia, which is a tiny little town up in the Catskills. We took a rather hilly route and consequently learned that the CR-V doesn’t do so well anymore on that kind of terrain. Next time, either a different route or my car. But it was a lovely drive. The scenery is still winter-stark, but then again, I got to see houses that would normally be hidden by leafed out trees. Phoenicia is funky, known for its strong arts community, fly fishing, and tubing down the river.

Our first stop was at the Phoenicia Diner, which is very well known around here. This was our first time and it was packed. The food is delicious. More on all of that tomorrow.

It felt like we really got away to a completely different place. It turned out to be one of what we call our ‘road trip’ adventures, where wonderful and unexpected things happen just by our being open to the experience.

When we drove into Phoenicia proper after we ate at the Diner, one of our stops was an antique shop. To be frank, there wasn’t much there that interested us, but there was one thing. A stainless steel kitchen island that most likely came out of a restaurant. It’s definitely restaurant quality. I noticed it immediately and called Don over. He, being the cook, fell in love with it. The depth was fairly narrow and it seemed as if it would fit nicely in our kitchen. The price was great. So we measured and measured again, mostly to see if it would fit in the CR-V. It did.

Here it is:

Don loves it. The height is perfect for my very tall husband. There’s lots of prep space. We have very little counter space here. This gives us so much more! We can easily move the Fiesta compote off the top in order to use the entire length of the island. Also: much easier to clean than the first island, which periodically had to be repainted and it was a pain in the tush.

It’s also what I call “airier.” We can see through it to the cupboards. It’s not a heavy piece of furniture like the previous island, which was in reality a sideboard. And it isn’t too small to be a functional island, which our sweet French Bistro table was. It also echoes the chrome on Stella. We have to get used to it as we’ve both bumped into it this morning but we’re really happy with it. An unexpected find on our trip yesterday.

The other unexpected finds were those two vintage picnic basket tins. These were found in a shop that, again, had absolutely nothing that we found interesting but did have four of these tins stacked in the display window. I assumed they were for display purposes only, but they were for sale. We got a really good price for the two we bought and were already envisioning them on the shelf below the counter. They’ll provide much needed storage. I knew immediately that the island would need softening. Those sleek lines would need some vintage additions to fit in with our pottery and plant filled kitchen. I think we’ve managed to do that with the tins, the antique crate – which we already had – and the bright yellow compote on the top.

We were not expecting to buy anything but brunch, but we couldn’t pass these up. Serendipity!

The other side of the kitchen this morning:

Still haven’t painted the wall. Heaven knows when I will.

Yes, our kitchen is funky.

I’ll share some photos from our little journey tomorrow.

Oh, almost forgot! When Don went out to the car yesterday, he saw one of our groundhogs! Groundhogs hibernate for the winter, so this was a surprise, and it’s certainly the earliest we have ever seen one. Did he just come out to check on the weather? I don’t think it was Henry. It was the guy who lives next door and runs back and forth between our houses, because as soon as he saw Don he took off for our neighbor’s shed.

Happy Monday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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