Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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In Remembrance: Working on the Memorial Garden

June 10, 2016 at 9:16 am by Claudia

Thank you so much for your happy-for-us comments yesterday! They brought a huge smile to our faces. Today, I will endeavor to get a refund from my healthcare provider of eight days. I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to. Fingers crossed!

Yesterday, we worked in the Memorial Garden. I added topsoil and then realized I hadn’t bought enough whereupon I ran to the store and bought some more, as well as some compost. Lots of shoveling and turning. Don came home early from a meeting because he said he wanted to be a part of the planting process. Good thing! I needed his help digging some holes.

This will be an ongoing project. We don’t have a lot of spare cash at the moment, but even more importantly, we want to take our time choosing plants. We want to find plants that we associate with the dogs, whether it is because of the name of the plant, or a quality of the plant. For example, we chose this little plant yesterday because of its name.

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Sentimental Balloon Flower.

‘Sentimental’ works, don’t you think?

Dear reader Martha, who sent me a rose bush two summers ago in memory of my mother, also sent me a gift certificate to White Flower Farm so that I could choose a rose in memory of my dad. I chose a new floribunda, ‘At Last.’ I chose it because it’s hardy and disease resistant and the flowers are a pretty salmon color. But now that I think of it, ‘At Last’ is a perfect name. Dad so wanted to be with my mother again, and I imagine that he was saying those very words when he was reunited with her.

The roses arrived on Wednesday and we planted them yesterday.

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It was extraordinarily windy yesterday, but I didn’t want to wait another day to get them in the ground. Insert much cursing from yours truly as the relentless wind knocked some small branches off trees and made it necessary to stake the roses until they had a chance to acclimate.

I felt like King Lear raging at the winds! Don started laughing at me as I shouted curses at the wind (quite creatively, if I say so myself!) All that voice training pays off, you know, I have a powerful voice!

I even rolled my little wheelbarrow up onto the garden bed to block some of the wind coming from the northwest. Yikes. We happen to live on a very windy stretch of road, for whatever reason, and so when it’s windy out there, it’s like we’re in a wind tunnel.

Exhausting! But I checked on the plants this morning and they all seem to be doing well.

Isn’t that a beautiful rose? Thank you, Martha. Much love and appreciation are being sent your way. The rose bush that is in memory of my mom is called “Remembrance.”

I like that. “Remembrance” and “At Last.”

I also planted some Forget-Me-Not seeds sent to me by Martha and by Sheila. I’m presently soaking some Moonflower and Morning Glory seeds to add to the garden as well. Martha also sent me some Rosemary seeds, which shall go in the ground today. Rosemary is for remembrance.

Happy Friday.

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Filed Under: Dad, flowers, garden, mom 34 Comments

A Treasure Trove: Mini Gifts and Peonies

June 1, 2016 at 9:12 am by Claudia

I’m about to launch into a little story about some gifts that arrived in my mailbox. But first, let’s just stop for a moment.

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Yes, it’s the first week of June and my peonies are ready to open. Like clockwork. This one will fully open later today.

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My favorite flower. You’ll get more photos this week, you can count on it.

My friend Susi lives in Amsterdam. She is the miniaturist who built the amazing record shop that deservedly won an award this year. I still go back and look at those photos; her work is simply extraordinary.

Building a record shop means stocking lots of records and Susi eventually wrote a tutorial about making mini albums. Fully prepared to tackle that task, I wrote to Susi to ask her about the kind of paper she used. She wrote back, giving me all the information I needed, but in addition, she offered to send me the leftover albums she didn’t use in her project. I offered to pay for them, but she would have none of it. I’ve not yet ‘met’ a miniaturist who isn’t generous, whether it is with information, advice, or minis.

They arrived in my post office box over the weekend. At the same time, my blogging friend Heidi sent me some album covers that she thought I might be able to use. (I love them, but they may be a bit too small for this project, so I’m keeping them for a future project, Heidi. Thank you!)

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Stacks of albums! Whoo hoo!

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Susi also sent some printables that I will be able to use in my projects. She uses a laser printer. Note to self: Your printer stinks, so maybe when you replace it, you should go with a laser printer.

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Also included were these two lovely gifts: a thimble with a cow on top and ‘wooden’ shoes in a beautiful delft pattern with a windmill in the center. I love them. Oh, Susi! Thank you so much! What a sweetheart you are!

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Look, it’s full!

I was so sick of pulling this shelf unit out from the wall only to have the records fall out the back, that I made a back out of mat board yesterday. Much better!

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The extras are over by the turntable.

I’m so excited! 23 days and counting until someone’s big birthday celebration.

Today would have been my parents’ 70th anniversary. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! I trust you’re uncorking the bubbly and celebrating your incredible love story. We miss you every day.

Happy Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: Dad, dollhouse, flowers, garden, miniatures, mom 47 Comments

Two Years

April 24, 2016 at 8:51 am by Claudia

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My mom at age sixteen.

Today marks two years since I got the phone call from my father in the middle of the night telling me my mother had passed away.

I miss her terribly.

She was a wonderful mother. She was funny. She was smart. She was kind. I want to call her, tell her of some news, share an update about a childhood friend, make her laugh. I loved, loved, loved making my mother laugh. I had a whole bunch of little routines I would perform for her that made her giggle or, even better, got her laughing so hard she would cry.

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That’s Mere looking up at me. She was adorable. And that’s my grandmother – Mom’s mother – and my other sister. (Recognize that painting? It’s hanging on my staircase wall.)

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I look very much like her, so when I look in the mirror – I see her. Same chin, same heart-shaped face, same eyebrows, same cheekbones, same nose, same widow’s peak.

Meredith and I spoke last night, both of us aware that today would be a sad anniversary.

I’ve lit a candle in remembrance.

I love you Mom. Don loves you.

In a few short days, it will be exactly six months since my father died.

A bittersweet week: full of sadness, but full of loving memories, as well.

Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

 

Filed Under: mom 54 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

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