Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Friday Question: Do You Own a Smartphone?

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Ask me what time I got up this morning.

4 am. Yep. 4 am. And I went to bed after midnight.

Riley has had a few accidents during the night lately. I deliberately stayed up late last night in order to give him some extra time to get ‘bathroom ready.’ The problem is that he is so sleepy by that time that nothing works, if you know what I mean. So when I awoke at 4, I thought I should come downstairs to check out the situation. It wasn’t good.

After clean-up, I tried to go back to sleep but it just wasn’t working. At about 5:30 am, I heard a bark. Back downstairs again. No Riley. Where the heck was he? I found him in the bathroom. Hey, at least he was able to get up by himself! At this point, I figured I should just stay up and I made coffee. That little dickens got up twice more – one time to let me know he had to pee. Okay, Riley. You’ve atoned for your mishap in the middle of the night.

 

So, as one does in the early am, at least, as this one does, I opened the laptop and read my email. I also charged my iPhone. One of the emails concerned an app for iPhones and iPads called Shakespeare Pro.  It has everything Shakespeare wrote – including the Sonnets and a Glossary. Cost? $1.99. (It’s currently on sale.) Oh my. How perfect for this Shakespeare Voice and Text Coach.

(Please excuse photo quality. It’s not easy getting a good photo this early in the morning!)

It got me thinking about just how amazing smartphones are. I can grab my phone, open this app and find any piece of text that I need. Wow. I can take pictures. I can check the weather. I can listen to my music library. I can check my email and read your comments. I don’t use it nearly as much as some people do – I rarely text, for example – but it has been invaluable to me.

Don, who said he didn’t want a smartphone, is changing his tune. He mentioned to me that he just might need one. He’s away from home and will be again in autumn and I know first hand how helpful it is to have an iPhone when you’re away from home. I imagine I will do what I did when I purchased my phone; wait for the new iPhone to hit the stores and then buy the older version at a much cheaper price.

So here’s my question this Friday morning. Do you own a smartphone? If you do, what do you use it for? Or have you held off on this kind of purchase? Or do you simply have no desire for one?

Please share. It’s now 7:16 am and I need something to keep me awake for the rest of the day!

Life Updates

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Time for some updates about life here at the cottage;

Riley: Life revolves around my boy for the present and that’s just fine. Often, I am awakened at 4 or 5 in the morning by his bark. I run downstairs, lift him up and help him make his way outside where he takes care of business and then gets a nice drink of water. I put him back on his bed, go upstairs and usually, not always, go back to sleep for a while. Since I never had babies, I think this has become my time to experience middle-of-the-night feedings and diaper changes.

This weekend, on Saturday, he got up by himself 4 different times and walked around the room endlessly. It must have felt so wonderful to be able to walk on his own after being bed-bound for so long. On Sunday and Monday he got up one time. Today, he’s already been up twice!

This is good news. He’s still frail and needs to be carefully watched but the fact that he was able to use his weakened muscles to get up is heartening.

He’s such a stoic, determined boy and I’m proud of him.

Don: Don came home for a few days and it was so nice to have him here. He goes back to the Berkshires this morning. We had a really wonderful weekend together.

I know some people scoff at the idea of a husband also being a ‘best friend.’ Sorry. I’m here to tell you that my husband is my best friend. I’m not just repeating some Hallmark card sentiment because it sounds cute. As you know, I’m careful with my word choices. The fact is, I am extraordinarily lucky to have found a life partner who is the person I most want to be with, the person I most want to talk to and feel safe enough to confide in, the person who makes me laugh and who I trust completely. We have a really healthy, solid marriage and I don’t take it for granted. Remember, I waited until I was in my mid-forties to marry.

And, boy, did that patience pay off.

Mom: Today is my mom’s birthday. She is 85 years old. Mom, I know you’re in a nursing home, but no matter where you are or what your circumstances, you are still the same wonderful person you’ve always been. I celebrate you and all you’ve given to our family. I am grateful every day of my life for you. I love you. Happy Birthday!

Happy Tuesday.

A Storm Right Out of Shakespeare

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“Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!”
William Shakespeare, King Lear

That volatile line of thunderstorms that was all over the eastern part of the country hit us yesterday. The air was so humid all day long that I knew something was up. As the day progressed I started to hear warnings from the National Weather Service on the radio. And as we headed toward the dinner hour the sky ominously darkened, so much so that it seemed like the middle of the night. The wind was fierce, branches were flying, the sound of thunder never stopped and lightning lit up the sky. Very Shakespearean in its intensity. I usually love thunderstorms, but this one was scary, especially when I heard there was a tornado warning for our area.

I called Don. He didn’t answer. A few minutes later, he called me back and stayed on the phone with me as the storm got stronger and stronger.

We really don’t have a basement. We have a small basement that you can enter from outside and if it was only me, I’d go down there. But there is no way I could get Riley down there on my own. You have to duck when you walk down the stairs – trying to hold Riley in my arms and make my way down the stairs would be impossible, as would getting him back up the stairs.

An interior room with no windows? Nope. There are windows everywhere here at the cottage.

For an hour or so, it was pretty scary around here. The force of those winds reminded me very much of Hurricane Irene. Thankfully, this storm didn’t last nearly as long as the hurricane. After it had passed, I put on my slicker and went out to survey the damage. Lots of smallish branches down. One of my flower pots had fallen and broken. A few pots on the porch had tipped over. A large chunk of one of the deadish trees in the back forty had fallen – I’ll need Don’s help with that one. I cleaned up as much as I could and the rest I’ll tackle today.

Whew. We’re safe. The house is standing. The damage was minimal – just messy.

And how are you this Friday morning?

Don’t forget to visit my Connecticut Tourism post! You can enter a sweepstakes from BlogHer to win $1000 to help you plan your trip! It’s easy….just stop by and leave a comment.

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