Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Playing Around With The TSP

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Don: Stop here. Do Not Read This Post.

Gosh, I love the fact that I can go upstairs to the office/studio, shouting to Don as I go up the stairs, “Keep out!” and then shut the door, turn on some music, and play with the Top Secret Project. That’s precisely what I did yesterday.

Although this particular addition was put together a few days ago.

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It was a frustrating day to take pictures, so this is the best of the bunch. Well, there’s another one that might be a tad clearer. Anyway, I made this counter top. I had envisioned tucking that mini refrigerator under something and this is what I came up with. It couldn’t be simpler. Simple, my friends, is my particular skill set. It’s made out of mat board. The microwave sits on top, along with a box of Pepperidge Farm cookies and a canister. I’ve ordered an espresso maker that will also sit on top of the counter and a retro looking stool, so that the guy that uses this space can sit at the counter if he has a desire to.

Musicians have to take breaks, you know.

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I’m sure there will be other snacks on the counter and in the fridge. And some mugs for coffee.

I almost tossed this little countertop because the end result wasn’t what I had envisioned. But I’ve changed my mind for the time being.

Excuse the blue painters tape, but I’ve been painting some areas that needed paint and I’m also painting the deck outside the sliding doors.

There are several things coming in the mail, some of them from across the ocean, so it will take a while for them to get here. Oh, the excitement of anticipation!

4-26 lounge TSP

I moved the stereo over to the lounge area. Most of the time, I have no patience with trying to get the perfect picture, as you can see by the evidence of Don’s guitar stand just beyond the sliding doors and the fact that it is gray and rainy out there and I had to use artificial light so the edges of everything are slightly blurred. It is what it is.

Basically, I just wanted to show you the stereo.

I also cleaned the windows in the TSP. The clock is ticking on this project and I have more coaching to do on Anastasia  as well as a couple of days on another production. Chop, chop, Claudia!

Today, more painting – I’m taking advantage of Don being in and out of the house today and also of the fact that I can’t do anything outside because of the rain.

Thank goodness for the rain! We have been in an unusually dry period here – there have been No Burn warnings for weeks. The humidity has been very low. So, the fact that the wildfire took off like it did is no surprise. Thankfully, this rain today should greatly aid the firefighters up on the Ridge.

We took a drive yesterday and could see the tall plumes of smoke coming off the mountain ridge. You could smell the fire everywhere, including here at the cottage.

Praying it will be extinguished today.

Happy Tuesday.

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A Bit of Everything on Saturday

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4-23 hartfordstage

I’m back home after a long and satisfying day working on Anastasia.

When I pulled in the driveway around 8 pm, Don had dinner waiting, bless him. What a guy! He also spent the morning putting in our new mailbox. When the guys were here working on our culvert, they had to pull the mailbox out of the ground and when they put it back in, it was too low in height. Our wonderful post person, Lori, had to lean way over to open the box. As the mailbox itself was incredibly rusty after almost 11 years of service, Don replaced the whole thing. And he mowed the lawn.

First things first: today is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. And April 23rd is also considered to be his birthdate, though we can’t know that for sure. Since a great deal of my work has to do with Shakespeare as I gradually work my way through the canon, I couldn’t let this anniversary pass without saying – once again – that I think Shakespeare was the greatest writer ever to walk this earth. I never tire of his work. No matter how many times I’ve worked on a particular play, I learn something new. He understood the human heart. He understood good, greed, temptation, passion, joy, love, jealousy, hate – everything we humans feel and fall prey to. He understood the metaphysical. He was simply a genius. Thank you, Will!

4-23 redrobinfarm

I posted this on Instagram the other day. When we were out and about on Primary Day, I saw this in our local antique barn. Oh, my heavens. It’s a dollhouse – or rather, a doll barn – called Red Robin Farm. Those doors slide open and the inside is a barn with stalls for animals. The roof lifts off.

I did a little research and this building was manufactured by an American company – Converse, based in Massachusetts – in the early part of the twentieth century. There were varying sizes of these buildings. It looks like this one was one of the largest.

If I’d had an extra $265.00 on hand, I would have seriously considered this beauty. It’s in great condition. Made of wood.

But I must tend to other things, like this little project:

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As you can see, I have yet to deal with the front porch or the trim around the bottom of the building. And I suppose I have to put a roof on, though I don’t want to.

Decisions, decisions. Will I get it done in time for Don’s birthday on June 24th? I have ordered a few more components, but I need some sort of work table that is a bit taller than the temporary farm table I have in there at the moment. I need to figure out how to make a sound board. I’m ordering a couple of stools and I need a coffee maker. What else? A large rug to absorb sound while recording. Lots and lots of vinyl records. I want to make some sort of shelf to hold the records – something I can hang on the wall.

Can I do it? Cross your fingers.

Happy Saturday.

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On the Road and Mini Roseville Pottery

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Greetings from Hartford. I headed to the city yesterday afternoon, as I have an all-day rehearsal ahead of me and trying to get here during the morning rush hour would have been a futile and frustrating endeavor. As it was it took me longer than usual to reach Hartford due to evening rush hour traffic.

I spent most of the evening watching the news coverage of the untimely death of Prince. Shocking. Much too young. And so continues a year of untimely deaths in the music world.

Before I left, Caroline asked me to take some pictures of her newest finds. As I was packing and running around the cottage, I told her I had to do it quickly. (I don’t know where her camera is, but surely she can afford one?)

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Oh my goodness!

I’m trying to curb my immediate reaction, which is pure jealousy.

On the left, Peony. On the right, Iris.

I have a few pieces of Peony, but not a one in Iris. I asked Caroline where she found them, but she refused to reveal her source. We watched the movie Spotlight  the other night – maybe she thinks she’s a reporter?

Spotlight, by the way, was excellent. The Martian, on the other hand, was not. (Why, I wonder, was every astronaut, every employee of the Johnson Space Center, and every reporter impossibly young and beautiful? And that was the least absurd aspect of the movie.)

But back to the mini Roseville.

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Caroline quickly rearranged her shelf to add the Peony piece to the mix. You can see the Blu Tack that secures each piece. That will have to remedied at a future date. I had no time to deal with that as I had to get on the road.

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She placed the Iris vase on top of the cabinet, but didn’t really like it there. She has since moved it to the mantel.

I’ll get a picture of that when I get back home.

(Thanks to reader Mickey who sent me a link to this shop, SP Miniatures, where I found more of the Jeannetta Kendall miniature Roseville pottery!)

And now it’s time to get ready for rehearsal. This will be the first time I’ve seen the cast since the announcement that Anastasia is going to go to Broadway. Very, very exciting!

Happy Friday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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