Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for movies

Potting

May 5, 2019 at 10:36 am by Claudia

It’s rainy today, but I find I’m not minding it at all. I’m sure this is because I got a lot done yesterday and the day before, and though there is more to do, I don’t feel so desperate for a rainless day.

It’s a gentle type of rain today; Don’s playing the guitar in the living room, we’ve had our second cup of coffee together on the sofa, I finished the Donna Leon this morning, and I meditated.

We watched Marty  last night on TCM. Don hadn’t seen the movie version, just the live television version that aired in the early fifties with Rod Steiger. All I said to Don before the movie started – which I’ve seen – is that it will change the way in which you see Ernest Borgnine. If your experience of him is only that of McHale’s Navy, well then… But if you see his beautiful performance in Marty, well, that’s another story.

What a wonderful actor he was, pitch perfect in this role. And much better than Steiger, in my humble opinion. Steiger was a method actor and it sometimes showed in a bit or more than a bit of self-indulgence. Don’t get me wrong, Steiger was a fine actor. But I can tell the difference. Anyway, method acting is a topic for another day.

Betsy Blair, in the female lead, is also wonderful. It’s not an easy role to play; it requires no artifice, no excess. She is also pitch perfect.

It’s only about 90 minutes long and if you haven’t seen it, I hope you can someday.

I worked outside yesterday potting plants.

Eventually, the impatiens will fill out these pots and last until the first frost. I don’t have quite enough, so I’ll have to buy some more.

I also potted the coleus and vines in the antique pots I have out back in the Secret Garden, but it’s so wet back there with this rain we’ve been having, that I can’t get a good shot at the moment. Later this week, fingers crossed.

Nothing here yet; the plants I want for these pots aren’t yet in stock at the nursery.

There’s more weeding and mulching to be done, more pots to fill, more potting soil to purchase, as well as top soil. I will plant my seeds sometime this week. When all of that is done, I will sit on the glider and relax.

Happy Sunday.

 

Filed Under: flowers, garden, movies, porch 25 Comments

Saturday Rambling

May 4, 2019 at 10:38 am by Claudia

Sick of the endless gray and rainy days, I headed off to our local nursery to buy some plants. Weather: You’re not going to stop me any longer! I need to pretty up my porch!

You can see just how gray the skies were, but the plants on display everywhere are lovely! This is my favorite nursery and it’s a straight shot down the road from us. Ten minutes at the most.

I bought coleus and vines for the vintage pots out in the Secret Garden, two hanging plants (not the usual three – trying to save a bit of money,) impatiens, some calibrachoa, and a hollyhock. I’ve no idea where I’m going to plant the hollyhock as we’ve dismantled the raised bed that was just outside our kitchen door. That area gets a lot of sun, so hollyhocks do well there. I have to find some sort of planter.

But it was cold and rainy, so I held off planting anything until today. It rained all last night here but the day itself will be rain free. Cloudy, but no rain.

We watched the end of the movie version of Our Town as we were eating dinner last night. It brought forth groans from both of us. Our Town (one of my favorite plays) was – more than most any play I can think of – written for the stage. Not film. The sets are suggested with a chair or a table. The Stage Manager breaks the Fourth Wall to tell us the story. None of that transmits well to the screen, so filling out the story with real sets just looks silly.

Both of us know this play well, as Don has been in it and I’ve coached it.

And…our mouths dropped open as we gasped in disbelief when we realized they had changed the ending of the play so that Emily lives, rather than dies. Are you kidding me? That’s the most important and heartbreaking scene in the play! Unbelievable!

I’m sure the producers decided the audience needed a happy ending. Oh, for heaven’s sake, give the audience some credit! Plus, Martha Scott and an almost unrecognizable William Holden are too old to play George and Emily. When we watch whatever is playing on TCM while we eat dinner, we get a glimpse of movies that we might not watch otherwise and sometimes we make sure to watch the entire movie after that. This one? No. Way.

This is the month in which our new sofa will be delivered. We’re excited. It probably won’t be here until the end of the month, but it’s coming. And every time I sit on the loveseat and feel it sinking a bit more (broken wood brace in the front) I cross my fingers, willing it to hang in there until the new loveseat arrives.

Don’s been working on his guitar playing, teaching himself via a well-known guitarist’s videos. I am fortunate to have Don playing in the background as I write this. Beautiful.

Four of the actors nominated for a Tony Award are actors I have worked with and coached. All of them are incredibly talented. I’m so happy for them. And for everyone else, including some designers I have worked alongside on various productions. And Terrence McNally, the writer of Anastasia  as well as many other plays, is getting a special Tony this year.

Okay. Have to get a move on!

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: Don, flowers, garden, guitar, movies, theater 28 Comments

Green, Mulch & Books

April 25, 2019 at 10:02 am by Claudia

Photo taken from the porch this morning. (It was cold, I was in my pajamas, so I shot it quickly.) An impressionistic view of the big garden bed which has been almost completely mulched. Just a bit more to add today or on the weekend.

I not only mulched this bed yesterday, I also took a break to buy more  mulch. It was very windy yesterday, much windier than I thought, and it was just plain hard working outside. The wind and all the pollen flying around are not a good combination for yours truly. I’m trying to pace myself – but I’m not always good at it. Anyway, today is lovely so far – tonight and tomorrow will bring heavy rain so I’m going to try and accomplish a bit more today before I am forced to take a day off tomorrow.

At the nursery where I buy my mulch, I explored the plant selection. Nothing was inspiring me. I think I’m a bit overwhelmed at trying to fill in the gaps in the big garden bed. This garden has been 13 years in the making, and since I favor perennials, I have to remind myself that patience is key. I’ll add a few plants this year and few next year. Preferably self-seeders. My favorite self-seeders around here are coneflowers, which, since I planted them many years ago, have spread and spread some more. So: they might be my first additions. Besides, I love the look of them, they are so evocative of a cottage garden. And they stay in bloom for a long time.

This is the bed right next to the porch. You can see sedum, day lilies, hostas, coneflowers and some Star of Bethlehem. Eventually, the hostas will be so big and wide that they’ll cover those stepping stones.

We watched Random Harvest  a couple of days ago. I’d only seen portions of it before. What a beautiful film! Based on a story by James Hilton, who wrote Lost Horizon, it stars Greer Garson and Ronald Colman. Their work is exquisite. I’ve long been a fan of Colman – I think he is one of the finest actors ever to grace the screen. And Garson is luminous. I could watch it again and again. If you’ve not seen it – I’m rather late to the game on this one – I urge you to watch it. Impeccably directed and acted.

I’m reading one of Donna Leon’s mysteries. I’m having a somewhat difficult time getting into it; I don’t think that has anything to do with the story, but more to do with my attention being diverted to the outdoors. I got a couple of her books from our local library. I also ordered a couple of Ian Rankins, which just came in. So now I am faced with the dilemma of trying to read all of these books in record time. This is what happens almost every time I check books out from the library. I run up against that darned deadline!

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: books, garden, movies, reading 30 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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