Mockingbird Hill Cottage

An Anniversary: Seven. On to Eight.

February 17, 2015 at 9:27 am by Claudia

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Today I start my 8th year of blogging.

What??

On February 17th, 2008, I cobbled together a very rudimentary template (remember those basic templates on Blogger?) and hit publish. I’m not sure I even had a header, other than the title of this blog. In fact, my first post didn’t have a photo because I hadn’t yet figured out the mechanics of uploading one.

Thanks to a husband who encouraged me to “Just do it!” I ventured out into the fascinating world of the blog. Those were the early days, although there are many pioneer bloggers who have been around for much longer, when the community was smaller. I blogged every few days and the first time someone left a comment was so exciting!

And now, in the blink of an eye, it’s seven years later. I’ve written over 2000 posts. If I was really industrious, I’d try to put together a photo history of all the different headers and designs I’ve used for Mockingbird Hill Cottage. Actually, I think there’s a blogiversary post somewhere in the archives that does just that. So many different looks; many of them came about as the blog platform itself grew, allowing more creativity, more possibilities.

Eventually, my little lamb with the party hat turned into the ‘look’ of MHC; in blogging and/or advertising lingo: the brand. When I moved to WordPress over two and a half years ago, I designed this simple header consisting of the name of the blog and the lamb with the party hat. And there we will stay. That header shows you, the reader, where you’ve landed – at a familiar place, a place where you can stop and linger and chat, if you’re so inclined. I like that consistency. I think it matters.

The blog has always been about our life in the country. That was the original tag line, you know – Life in Our Little Cottage in the Country. Seven years later, I’m still writing about the same things I wrote about at the beginning. And I’ve even started another blog about my love of reading.

I’ve made many friends through this adventure. (That’s what it is, you know, an adventure.) You’ve come to know me. Us. The dogs. My family. You’ve been with me through the everyday, the exciting, and the heartbreaking. You were there all through our journey with Riley, with love and support and prayers. You were there as I struggled with the slow and heartbreaking loss of my mother. You were there when we lost Don’s father and you were there when I mourned the untimely loss of dear friends. You’ve listened to Don’s music, watched us dance on a home video, cheered Don on when he filmed in Prague and read his posts about the experience. You’ve come along when I’ve worked out of town, exploring new places with me. You’ve been big fans of Dame Scout’s posts (when she deigns to write) and she has become sort of the star of the blog. (Sssh! Don’t tell her that.)

You followed me when I moved the blog to WordPress (all by myself) and found a new home that I love. You stuck with me. Without you, there wouldn’t be a blog. Or, at least, the blog wouldn’t have become what it is today. Readers come and go, that’s the nature of blogging. A few of you have been with me since the very beginning – isn’t that amazing? Whether you are a longtime reader or a newish reader, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can’t imagine life without you.

Writing this blog has been, and continues to be, sheer pleasure. There’s simply no way I can adequately find words to say what it has meant to me. It’s changed my life. It’s that simple. I sit here, writing this post, and can’t imagine life without it. Someday I may decide to stop. Who knows? But for now, I move on to year number eight.

Happy Tuesday.

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Cottage-Grateful

January 3, 2015 at 9:27 am by Claudia

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We’ve been having a lot of ‘Grateful Days’ lately.

Grateful that we found this cottage, which would be considered by many to be too small, too lacking in storage, too funky. But to us? It’s simply perfect. The sunlight pours in its many windows, the open plan downstairs flows beautifully. The kitchen has a high ceiling, perfect for my over 6′4″ husband. The den, which is sunken, has become one of our favorite rooms. Somehow, the addition of the bookshelves put it over the top. Our bedroom is tucked away under the eaves. There’s a big old wrap-around porch.

We’ve been nomadic in the past. For many years, Don’s home was often on the road. When I met him, he didn’t own much, having shed a lot of his possessions. Just a few boxes. I had lived in many apartments, adding and subtracting possessions as the current living situation dictated. I’d lived in Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston and San Diego, big cities all.

We rented for years, separately and together. Not until we moved out east did we consider the possibility that we might be able to buy a house. Our mortgage payment is hefty since we bought at the height of the market, right before everything went south. As freelancers, that has been a challenge. But it’s been a challenge that we’ve met and I’m very proud of that.

To be honest, there are times we miss renting, simply because everything is the landlord’s responsibility. That was a nice little perk, although it’s easy to look back at that with rose-colored glasses, isn’t it? There were good landlords and not-so-good landlords. Repairs that were made promptly and repairs that were never made. And always, I had the niggling little fear that we might be forced to move, that the rent would increase, that the owner would sell and we’d be searching for a new place.

In the end, the challenges of owning are worth it for us – for now. This is our place. Our little haven. The little cottage in the country I dreamed of for most of my adult years. Who knows? Maybe someday we’ll want to sell and rent a little place somewhere else. Maybe we’ll want to be rid of the constraints of a mortgage.

But for now, we are grateful. Grateful that we have this roof over our heads, that we have this little cottage to fill with lots of color and collections and well-loved furniture. Grateful that our little family seems to thrive here. Grateful to have a place where guitars are strummed, where music fills the air, where books are read, where laughter is the best medicine, where sweet dogs can trust that they safe and loved.

Our little girl turns 16 tomorrow. I hope you’ll stop by then and say Happy Birthday to her.

Happy Saturday.

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Simple Holiday Decorating: In Both Cottages

December 22, 2014 at 9:14 am by Claudia

Except for the Christmas a few years ago when Don was away working in California, I don’t think I’ve ever done Christmas as simply as I have this year. I’m a great believer in trusting my instincts and they gently advised me to “Cut back.”

I’ve never been one to decorate every room of my home for the holidays. At the most, I decorate the living room and den – the two rooms we live in the most. There are always simple outdoor lights and a wreath on the door.

This year, I didn’t even put up the small white tree that is normally in the living room. Not because I’m not in the Christmas spirit – I am. I simply had no urge to. So I didn’t.

It’s enormously freeing. The den seems to be the decorated room this year and that makes perfect sense. It’s the room in which we gather every evening. It’s the room where I blog and read. So, (let’s not bother with a drumroll) here are our Christmas decorations for Mockingbird Hill Cottage.

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You’ll recognize our new bookshelves in the den. On one of the upper shelves is my Debbee Thibault wooden angel. She was recently rediscovered and now she is a part of our Christmas.

Let me stop and share my little lamp with you. I bought this over a year ago. It’s the companion lamp to the one in my studio – from Ikea’s Ranarp line. I kept it in a closet until we finally got the bookshelves up.

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I love the cloth covered cord. I love the white powder coated metal. It provides some reading light for the other end of the sofa.

Back to decorations.

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A simple bottle brush tree and two vintage putz houses on the bottom shelf.

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The Necco Snow Globe on the other side of the sofa.

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The framed photos of childhood visits to Santa are propped up on the music cabinet, along with three little bottle brush trees.

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And the Christmas Tree, a fragrant Noble Fir.

That, my friends, is it.

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Except for the beautiful putz houses given to me by Chris. They are in the living room. I love them.

I can’t tell you enough how liberating this is. No stress. No craziness. No elaborate decorations for a Christmas Blog Tour (though I probably would never be invited to take part in one, anyway!) Just simple, heartfelt decorations that we love and treasure and have the time to appreciate.

I find I am embracing simple; less rather than more. I’ll let department stores and Santa Lands and Rockefeller Center do the ‘more.’ That’s as it should be. I love seeing all of that. It’s beautiful and magical. But here, in our home, we’re going with simple. Who knows? Next year, I may put up the little white tree and the bottle brush wreaths again. But really, in the end, all I need is the real tree, beautiful and majestic, which I’m feasting my eyes on at this very moment.

Caroline seems to be on the same page as me. She does her own thing, you know that, but I’ve peeked into her home and I think you’ll notice some similarities.

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