Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Winding Down

June 15, 2011 at 9:10 am by Claudia

Last night, I watched this movie on my laptop. Pillow Talk has always been one of my favorites and when I saw it on sale for half off at Barnes and Noble, I snapped it up. Doris Day and Rock Hudson are such fun in this movie. Everything about Pillow Talk is retro: the shared telephone party line that is a source of conflict, the “it’s okay for a man to sleep around and use women but a good woman must remain virginal” theme, the 60’s sets, the fabulous views of Manhattan, Thelma Ritter’s repeated hangovers from drinking too much. Much of it would be considered terribly un-politically correct nowadays.

But, it’s funny. It makes me laugh. I love the split-screen technique used during all the party line phone calls. I love the sound of horse hoofs hitting the ground with a bit of old Western harmonica thrown in that plays while Rock Hudson is pretending to be a cowboy from Texas. It’s a gem of a movie.

My friend, Bob, who was my boss at Boston University and who recommended me for this job, just arrived in town. So on Monday, the Artistic Director of the theater (who is also the director of Blithe Spirit) invited me to dinner at his home. Bob is staying there while he starts his design work. It was just the four of us: David, his wife, Bob and me. Lots of great conversation and laughter. I had the best time.

Things are winding down here. Today we have an afternoon rehearsal outdoors and in true Blithe Spirit tradition, rain is pouring down at the moment. Looks like an all day rain. Uh oh. I teach this morning and tomorrow morning and then my classes are done. Thursday night we have our second preview performance of Blithe Spirit and then we open on Saturday. Sunday? I pack and fly home. I’m just now letting myself remember my home, the smell of my doggies, Scoutie sitting under my legs in her ‘tunnel,’ Riley’s sweet face, the sound of Don’s guitar, sitting on the porch glider, my (overgrown, I’m absolutely sure) garden, my studio, sitting on the sofa with Don every evening. I let myself think about these things for a brief moment in time.

Soon.

Home for a Pit Stop

March 30, 2011 at 8:11 am by Claudia

Home. Briefly.

I lead a fairly quiet life. I like that. So when I am catapulted into an intense weekend full of new people, places, lots of talk, meetings and parties, I don’t sleep very well. Sunday night I had a total of 5 hours of sleep. The grand total for Monday night? 2 hours. Yes, you read that right. I just couldn’t sleep and knowing that the alarm was going to wake me at 4 am didn’t help. I was to be picked up at 5 for the hour drive to the airport in order to catch a 7 am flight.

By the time I got home to MHC, I was a zombie. 22 hours with the family then off to Boston. So, I threw some clothes in the wash, took a nap on the sofa, cuddled my husband and dogs and went to bed early. And that was hard to do since Jean Harlow was the featured star on TCM last night. Dinner at Eight – oh, how I love that movie. I think I made it through about 3/4 of it before I had to give up and say goodnight. Platinum Blonde (my other favorite Jean Harlow movie) was on too late – 11:30. Don isn’t up yet, but I think he watched it. Harlow was so talented, so funny and brave in her work. I think she is underrated as an actress because she was so beautiful. I have become a big fan. And every time I watch her, there is a more than a tinge of sadness at the realization that she died so young.

I took these photos this morning, as the early morning sun poured into the kitchen. The vase is one of my favorite McCoy pieces. Sometimes called The Strap Vase, it’s quite tall and very heavy. A week (or two?) ago when I started to clean up the front yard, I gathered some weeping willow branches that had fallen to the ground. I like the way they look in the vase – beautiful in their spareness.

As much as I’m looking forward to my time in Boston, I would be happy to stay here in my cottage. I’d like to work outside, catch up on sleep, clean, and just be with my family. There is always a push-pull about traveling for me. I get excited about being in a different place, yet I want to stay home at the same time. I wonder if any of you feel the same way?

Ah well. More coffee. Maps to print out. Packing. Last minute check list. Rental car to pick up.

More later from Boston.

You Guessed It: More Rambling

October 28, 2010 at 5:00 pm by Claudia

:: The dogs are not happy with me. The weather has been so rainy that they haven’t had their walk in a few days. Today is much nicer. However, when we take the dogs for a walk, we have to load them in the car first. That involves helping Riley into the car by lifting his rear end up and into the car. No can do with my much-better-but-still-fragile back. Don is out right now but we’re hoping we can talk him into walking the dogs when he gets home. Update: they’ve been whisked away by their Dad and will be happily walking down a country road in a few minutes.

:: I did get out today. I was going a bit stir crazy here at MHC. I bought some more inexpensive (cheap) yarn for my crochet project.

It’s supposed to be a scrap ripple stitch afghan. However, since I donated all my extra yarn to the Salvation Army last winter as the result of a frenzied closet purge, I was sadly lacking in any yarn. And I’m on a strict budget – to put it mildly. So I trotted off to Michael’s and Hobby Lobby and bought a bunch of different colors that go with the red in our den. Crochet is a yarn eater – much more than knitting – and since we will end up tossing the afghan around the den on a regular basis, I’m fine with inexpensive yarn.

:: I brought our vintage ice cream maker in from the porch. A friend of ours gave it to us when we were living in San Diego. Now it has a new home on top of my kitchen hutch.

I love the rustiness and the chippy aqua paint. Don gave it a thumbs up saying that we needed some ‘rough edges’ in the kitchen. (He’s got style, that guy.)

:: A lovely blogging friend, Sharon of My Life at Pansy Cottage and Garden, sent me the sweetest gift.

Isn’t this pillow adorable? I was so touched by Sharon’s present. Sharon, we have it sitting on our red-checked chair in the living room. I’ll take a photo of it and post it soon. Sharon has a wonderful shop full of pillows and aprons that she has designed. Thank you, my friend.

:: Mom’s home. She’s exhausted but happy. The kittens are punishing her, of course, by ignoring her. We’re hoping that this will work out and that Assisted Living can be avoided if at all possible. I will keep you posted.

:: My annual photo of the house bathed in the autumn light:

Have a wonderful evening. I will be watching game #2 of the World Series. Don’s sister was lucky enough to be in the stands last night. I bet she had a great time!

Winding Down

Home for a Pit Stop

You Guessed It: More Rambling

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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