Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for movies

A Crazy Day, a Baby, and a Documentary

September 4, 2018 at 8:16 am by Claudia

Early morning in the casa. One day I sleep in, the next? Up really early after a restless night. Go figure.

Boy, is it hot out there! It may be September, but in these parts the temperatures are in the nineties. I won’t complain because school starts this week and I can’t imagine how miserable the students and teachers will be. Schools don’t have air conditioning here! At least I can stay in the air conditioned cottage.

Do you ever have a day when everything goes wrong and the simplest of tasks become difficult? That was my day yesterday. I got a late start, which threw me off (see yesterday’s post about routines) and then, after taking my shower, I decided to clean the hair out of the drain, which involves removing the cover by unscrewing it, getting all the hair out (yuck) and screwing it back in. While I was finishing up, the shower curtain and rod fell on my head.

Lest you think it’s a heavy metal rod, it isn’t. Whoever flipped this house neglected to put in a permanent rod, so we have one of those adjustable vinyl/plastic rods. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to get it back up, dragging a chair into the bathroom, cursing up a storm, until I finally realized the rod was shot – the spring tension was kaput. In the meantime, I had to sit down at my desk and write up all the deductions, scan them, and send them off to our accountant. That took longer than I had planned. In the middle of it all, I called Lowe’s to make sure they had the shower curtain rods in stock, drove there, came back, put up the rod, cleaned the bathtub, went back to the computer, finished everything up and then I collapsed in my chair.

Later, I heard a noise. The rod had fallen. Back up again, tightening it even more. When Don came home from taking photos, he said, “I’ve got to take a shower!” And I said “BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THAT ROD!!” He was. So far, so good.

I’m thrown off, I tell you. I have to get back into my routine!

Early morning Stella.

We have to sit down this week and figure out where we’re staying in London and Paris (and Edinburgh) and make our reservations. It’s just a little over a month away.

Rick and Doug are traveling this month (they’re going to London and Rome) and we’re traveling next month. This makes it sound as if Don and I travel all the time, but you know that’s not true. Rick and Doug, however, travel frequently. By the way, one of Doug’s daughters just had a baby! Doug and Rick are grandfathers. The baby is a girl and she’s absolutely beautiful! His daughter lives in Hong Kong so he’ll will be traveling there later this month to see his new (and first) grandchild.

Early morning plants.

If you’re not interested in the resistance, skip this next section and have a lovely day xo.

There is a new documentary out called Active Measures. It was just released to the public on August 31st. If you are trying to make sense of everything Trump/Russia, I urge you to see it. It’s extraordinary. It’s terrifying. But we have to know all of the facts and this lays it all out in a way that makes perfect sense, tracking the Russian Mob and Putin and Trump’s mob ties and suddenly you find yourself seeing how all the puzzle pieces fit together. It’s playing in select theaters and is also available on Hulu and iTunes. I don’t get Hulu, but there’s a month long free trial available right now. I do have iTunes. You can rent it on iTunes or buy it. I bought it because I want Don to see it as well.

All I can say is that I had to take several breaks while watching it on Sunday afternoon because the evidence was so overwhelming and alarming. The filmmaker interviews John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Clint Watts, Michael McFaul, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Eric Swalwell and countless experts on Russia, as well as members of the Intelligence Community. It also touches on the same active measures being used in the Brexit campaign and in the Ukraine. No conspiracy theories here, just facts.

Just wanted to let you know about it.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: media, movies 34 Comments

Hazy, Hot and Humid

August 29, 2018 at 8:59 am by Claudia

This says it all; a surprise day lily and fallen leaves right next to each other. Every day I see more leaves on the ground. The leaves from our big maple tend to fall first. It’s a very old tree and I wonder if that is part of the reason. But maples in general, especially on our windy property, shed their leaves before the other trees, with the oaks and catalpas waiting until well into autumn.

Lord, is it hot here! The heat index had us well over 100 degrees yesterday and it was just plain awful to be outside for more than a few minutes. I watered everything in the morning, then stayed inside the rest of the day. More of the same, with even higher temps, today. It will break tomorrow.

Don, as luck would have it, has to go into the city today for an audition. The audition is no big deal – just one line in a tv series – but it’s going to be 96 degrees there today and you know that means the heat index will be off the charts. Better him than me, but I hope he gets in and out of the city quickly. I’ll be happy when he’s safely home.

I’m almost done with my deductions. Don has yet to do his, but he’ll be starting today. Might I add that he’ll be starting today because I have had to bug him about it for several days, several times a day. Sigh.

We watched La Strada  last night, Fellini’s masterpiece. I had never seen it. A couple of years ago we saw Nights of Cabiria with Giulietta Masina, Fellini’s wife, in the lead role and I was utterly enchanted with her performance. I think I wrote about it on the blog. She was the kind of actress that had a face for film and you could not take your eyes off her. Still can’t. The same thing happened in La Strada. But what was revelatory about this film for me was Anthony Quinn’s performance. I’ve never been a big fan of Quinn. He was a good actor and I certainly saw my share of his films. But this! He is amazing, playing a brutish character with such nuance that in the end, despite his actions, he breaks your heart. Wow. Add to that a young Richard Basehart in a role so much more interesting than anything he was saddled with in later years. It made me see him with fresh eyes. Quinn, too.

You can tell I’m still thinking about it this morning, can’t you?

Most of the coneflowers are still hanging in there after having opened quite a while ago, but here and there I see some that have just opened, like this one.

I’m sad that we’re coming up on Labor Day and the unofficial end of summer.

I’m not ready yet.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Filed Under: autumn, flowers, movies 18 Comments

Monday, Monday

August 20, 2018 at 7:17 am by Claudia

I have to be honest here. Sometimes I can’t remember whether I’ve already used a photo in another post. I suspect I might have posted these two photos of the living room recently. But I’m not in the mood to look back through my posts, so here they are again because that’s all I’ve got for you today!

Some days I just forget to take pictures and yesterday was one of them. I’ll do better today.

We had a nice time with our pals yesterday and then Don took off to do his thing and I took off to do mine. Nothing momentous.

We’ve been waking up at 5 or 5:30 every morning for the longest time! Too early! I seem to have moved from a routine 7 hours of sleep to 6 or 6½. I have no idea why. It’s not ideal, that’s for sure, because I always feel like I didn’t get quite enough sleep. Sleep patterns are fascinating. What makes them change? What throws us off?

We watched Network  the other night. It was on TCM On Demand. I hadn’t seen it since it first came out in 1976. Let me tell you, I was stunned by how prescient screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky was about media, news as entertainment and reality television. He saw it all way back then. I kept gasping as I listened, immediately looking at Don for confirmation of what I’d just heard. It’s stunning, really. Peter Finch has a big speech – several really – that just blew me away. The movie is a satire, but the satire has come true.

If you can, watch it again. 42 years later, it has come true. And that’s not a good thing.

Happy Monday.

 

Filed Under: living room, media, movies 29 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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