Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Random on Tuesday

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• As I work on this quilt, ensconced in my chair, I often channel surf. Since Don isn’t here, I sometimes stop and see what’s happening on HGTV.

Sigh.

I find very little of interest there. I really used to like HGTV, especially in its early days. There were shows about quirky and interesting homes. There was content based on actual real life decorating. Now, ever since they hit on their formula for House Hunters, it seems as if every show is just another variation. Formula: Find 2 or 3 properties, pretend the ‘buyer’ is actually making their decision in real time, though we now know they’ve already made the decision before filming begins, then show a lot of construction shots, problems that crop up that are magnified to hold the viewer’s interest through the ensuing commercial, and staged scenes of the private life of the buyers and/or flippers, i.e., a scene of Chip and Joanna doing something with their kids or the Property Brothers  or the sweet blogging couple in Home Town  bowling with friends to coordinate with a visit to a bowling alley to get old floors for a countertop. It’s all so predictable. I find I can’t get past it. I tuned into Home Town  because it’s a new show and I know of the blogger and her husband who are behind it. I’m cheering them on, of course, but I was so disappointed – not in their work – but in HGTV’s choice to do more of the same. Same formula as every other show. I think they deserve better.

Yesterday there was show based on the House Hunters  formula – called House Hunters Renovation. When I saw a scene (obviously staged) where a couple walked into a beautiful Craftsman home, looked at the stunningly beautiful original tiles(!)  surrounding the fireplace and basically said they were ‘too vintage’ and needed to be ripped out, I screamed at the television and turned it off.

Okay. End of my rant about HGTV, which used to be really neat (to yours truly) but is now bland and boring (and sometimes enraging.)

• I received another Nancy Drew in yesterday’s mail. If this one looks different to you, you’re right. It is. Russell H. Tandy designed four covers (#23 – #26) that were done in the forties and were obviously part of one of the many changes in design over the years. The font at the top is different, no longer in script form.

The spine has also changed. Numbers 1 through 22 have a white spine. Starting with #23, the illustration wraps around the spine.

I must confess I like the white spine versions the best, but since I’m collecting all of Tandy’s cover illustrations, I am making an effort to find #23 – 26. The Mystery of the Tolling Bell  is #23. It’s in great condition.

• I’m watching Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, reading updates on Twitter. To me, there is nothing more important right now than what is happening with Trump/Russia and the changes he is making to all those programs that were Obama’s legacy – laws that protect our water, air, land, children, education, health, quality of life.

I trust that, in the end, the whole lot of them will be brought down. I’m already planning my celebration party.

• Don messaged me a photo last night. He was standing in front of the end of Route 66 sign in Santa Monica. Congratulations, husband – You did it!

Happy Tuesday.

 

 

Catching Up On Saturday

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There’s a lot of snow on the ground here at the cottage and a bit more came down during the night. This reminds me of – was it last year? – when December and January were relatively snow free, and then February came along, and pow! Snow, and lots of it.

Unfortunately, it’s coming at a time when I will need to get into the city fairly frequently. Ah, well.

My homeward bound bus arrived at our bus station around noon yesterday and Don whisked me home. We watched some episodes of our new favorite television series, Schitt’s Creek, last night. Have you seen it? The first two seasons are on Netflix and the third season is now airing on a cable station called Pop. It stars Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara (two of the funniest people on the planet) as well as Levy’s son Daniel and a host of other wonderfully talented actors. It’s filmed in Canada. We are completely besotted.

It was rather heavenly to be tucked into the sofa next to my husband once more. And I was only gone two days. What will we do when he’s on the West Coast for at least three months?

This life of ours is topsy-turvy sometimes. Long periods of togetherness and no separations and then, suddenly, I’m away. Then I’m back. Then I’m in NYC. Then Don goes away. Then I go away. And our heads are spinning.

I’m going to have to figure out how to post next week. I’ll be going back and forth to the city a lot, and those days usually end up being 12 hour days, so there won’t be time to post – only to eat, sleep, and repeat. I’m not sure yet how many days are involved, but I might pre-write some posts and schedule them.

This arrived in the mail yesterday. I pre-ordered it from Amazon. It should have arrived on Thursday but the snowfall was so intense that there was no mail delivery. That rarely happens. I started it last night. Crombie is a wonderful writer and I love her recurring cast of characters. But, it’s been at least two years since her last book and I’m having trouble remembering the details of that story – and she refers to it in this book. The fog is gradually lifting as chunks of it come back to me. I could pull that book off the shelf and re-read the ending, but I want to sort out this little puzzle for myself.

I missed my Peet’s French Roast while I was gone. There was a mini-Keurig in the room with some dark roast pods, which was helpful. But the creamer was that powdered stuff that comes in a packet that has – to me – an awful, almost chemical-like taste. Once I was able to grab breakfast downstairs, I had another cup with actual half and half. (My one vegan fail – I can’t give up half and half. I’ve tried vegan versions and I just don’t like the taste.)

This morning? Back to Peet’s, with the first cup served by my husband, bless his heart.

Happy Saturday.

A Little Bit of Everything

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On our second gloomy day in a row, I thought a sunny picture would be in order. Hard to believe, but I just took this about 3 days ago.

Low-key is a perfect description for life here in the cottage these days. After my spurt of energy sorting and purging the closet on Thanksgiving, I have reverted to my inclination to be lazy. I did rouse myself to drive to our local jeweler yesterday to get the battery in my watch replaced – a favorite watch that I had lost track of, but found – you guessed it – in the midst of my cleaning and sorting on Thursday.

And, on high alert, I stopped at the grocery store to get some more Peet’s French Roast. I’m not exaggerating when I say we go into a mild panic at the thought of running out and finding that our closest store is also out.  And that has happened, my friends. It isn’t pretty. We’ve tried just about every other French Roast out there, most often when we have no other choice, and while some are okay, none equal Peet’s.

Don’t you think Peet’s should hire me as a ‘brand ambassador?’

I’ve been reading the latest Lee Child, but – and I’m going to be frank here – I’m just not that into it. That is the first and only time I have ever said that about one of his thrillers. This one takes place in the past, when Reacher was still an enlisted man, and the premise is intriguing, but for some reason this one just seems too formulaic. Maybe it’s my mood, maybe because I’ve read all of the Reacher series, but I’m having to force myself to finish. I will finish, if only because I bought the darned book, but it is definitely not my favorite.

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The latest SquintBox, which arrived in yesterday’s mail. The theme is ‘Good Cheer.’ Christmas presents, holiday cards, a shopping bag and box from Paris, a Plum Pudding Cake, and a glass bowl of holiday candies. My stash is growing monthly due to this neat subscription service!

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Mini Pottery collection update. I’ve had to move some of the pieces to the top of this shadow box because I’m running out of room! (I’m not complaining.)

We watched Top Hat  on TCM yesterday. As the world’s biggest Fred Astaire fan – really, I am! – I’ve seen this movie many, many times. But I never tire of it. I’ve been an Astaire fan since I was a kid. There’s not much I don’t know about him. My dorm room and student apartments were dominated by a huge poster of Fred and Ginger dancing Cheek to Cheek, Ginger’s infamous feather dress looking gorgeous (and somewhat dangerous for Fred, as feathers flew everywhere.)

In times of stress and worry, which, let’s face it, this particular time is, a Fred and Ginger movie is the perfect prescription. There’s a reason their movies were such a hit during a time when the country reeled from The Depression.

Another movie that makes me happy? Tootsie. And that’s on TCM tonight at 8.

Another happy thing: our new weekend home delivery of the New York Times. I signed up for it at the beginning of the week. We now get the Friday – Sunday editions delivered to our little cottage. And they’re out there on the driveway early! We get up around 5:30 or 6 and the paper is already there.

I’m making good on my promise to subscribe to a newspaper or two as well as magazines that feature investigative journalism. Supporting a free press is imperative.

Happy Saturday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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