Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Day Six

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Mini Sheltering-in-Place.

Good morning. It’s a rainy day here in our neck of the woods. It doesn’t help that there’s no sunshine, but on the other hand, we need the rain. So I’m going to don my big girl pants and not let it get to me.

I’m currently contemplating how to structure my time. With so much home time ahead of me, should I put a loose structure in place? And if so, what would that be?  I am usually okay with letting the day unfold. Aside from blogging every single morning, the rest of any given day’s structure is relatively undefined. Obviously, at some point I eat lunch, I vacuum every other day, I do laundry. I read. But I’m thinking that I might experiment with more defined segments of the day.

Obviously, when I can finally get outside to garden and do garden clean-up, that will help. But that’s most likely a couple of weeks away.

Any thoughts on this? Are you finding the need to impose some sort of structure to your days?

Meanwhile, we watched Moonstruck  last night. We needed some happy. It’s such a gem, there’s not a false moment. Great screenplay by John Patrick Shanley, direction by Norman Jewison, and a brilliant cast. It’s on TCM On Demand, if you think you might want to watch it.

Still reading The Sisters  and I’m rather riveted. Don’s reading about the Arctic and is also reading M Train  by Patti Smith. And every afternoon I am privileged to listen to him play his guitar. It’s very calming.

I hope you’re all well and that you’re finding ways to enjoy these days at home.

Happy Thursday.

 

Books, Errands, Minis

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The teeny sofa is living temporarily on the cubby. I placed it there to take some photos and Don likes looking at it.

But I’ll move it soon. My husband, though wonderful in every way, is a big guy and has a tendency to knock into things and then those things break or fall out of their pots (an incident with potted plants a couple of days ago.) So I think I’ll move it to a more protected area. He is 6′ 4½” after all.

This will be rather short as we have some errands to run this morning and activities are often put on hold because I have a blog post to write, which always takes priority in the mornings. Nothing exciting; grocery shopping, etc., but Don woke up very, very early this morning and wants to get things done so he can home and crash. I don’t blame him.

I also cannot wait until I have some free time to finish The Night Circus. I reluctantly put it down to write this and make more coffee (Don is off doing the recycling at the moment) so we can have a cup together before we take off on our errands.

It took me a while to get into the book. I suspect that had everything to do with my state of mind, rather than the book itself, which is magical and wondrous and gut-wrenching. I’m enchanted by it. I care for the characters. Erin Morgenstern, the author, is stunningly talented. For the last two or three days, I’ve been reading it in great chunks and, if I had my druthers at the moment, would read non-stop until I finished. But that will be my afternoon treat.

I have to remember to run over to Rick and Doug’s and water their plants, as they are away for a couple of weeks. And then I have to remember to water mine!

Happy Saturday.

Miniature Mail

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A package arrived in yesterday’s mail, all the way from England.  Penzance, in fact! I’ve been waiting for this a long time. I first saw it in an Etsy shop and I kept the photo on my laptop screen for months, every once in a while checking to see if it was still in stock.

Then, one day, it wasn’t in stock. I’d left it too long. I couldn’t resign myself to losing out, so I wrote the miniaturist and asked if she might have one in stock in the future and she answered that she would make one for me. There was a queue, so I had to wait about 3  or 4 months, but it’s here and it was worth it.

Eeeeek!

She made this. The entire sofa. Even the underside is beautiful. The satiny finish on that wood is gorgeous.

What drew me initially was the combination of wood and fabric, that fabric being a William Morris design called Strawberry Thief. This particular colorway makes my heart sing – the blues, the greens, the pinks!

The detail. That green trim. The legs. Oh my heavens!

It’s simply exquisite. The miniaturist behind this creation is Arlette Shelton, who has an Etsy shop called Arlette’s Miniatures. I am in awe of her talent. I could never make something like this.

From the moment I saw it, I envisioned it on the first floor of the English Cottage, which will be a combination of living room and kitchen. It, along with my mustard colored hutch, has been a major source of inspiration for me. I’ve stopped making the stones because of various distractions and I need to get back at it. Having this beauty now in my possession has fired me up again.

It may be the most beautiful piece that I own.

I always plan on keeping these things a secret until the final reveal, but I never do! I get so excited that I have to share it with you right away. I guess I’m rather like a little kid that way. But I know you’ll love it, too, and that you’ll share my excitement.

Don was going on and on about it when I showed it to him. He loves it. And yes, I’d like a life-sized version in my home, please.

Goodness, what a treasure!

What else? Reading The Night Circus, which I’m enjoying, though it took me a while to get into it. Finished my Skype sessions yesterday. Now I have to decide whether I want to go to a run-through on Tuesday, which has an early start time, or go on Thursday, which will be much later in the day. I’d prefer Tuesday.

I have to get two new front tires for my car. January and February appear to be “Fix Our Cars” months for the two of us.

In last night’s episode of Hinterland, one of the people being questioned actually stopped and stood still for most of the questioning! But the next questionee was moving around, piling equipment in his truck, barely giving the detectives the time of day. This third and final season is really heating up, plot-wise. We’re hooked.

Happy Friday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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