Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Ice Palace

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Ice crystals everywhere. The views are stunning. For a few days, a magical world. We’re living in an ice palace.

We did lose a bit of ice yesterday, simply because the sun was shining. I suspect the same thing will happen today.

But the real thaw will be tomorrow.

With all this ice, I haven’t been able to get out to get the boxes, bubble wrap and tape that I need to send the egg cups to Country Living’s headquarters in Birmingham, AL. I’ll do that tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll wash the cups today.

I’ve started a new puzzle. It’s from the same makers of the Shakespeare and Jane Austen puzzles. This time it’s Dickens. All I can say is: Thank God for jigsaw puzzles. Especially when you’re encased in ice.

I’ve been meaning to recommend a movie to you for several weeks. It’s on Amazon Prime and it’s called The Tender Bar.  It’s a coming of age movie and it’s beautifully done. Usually, I find Ben Affleck’s work good but not necessarily inspiring, but I have to tell you, his work in this movie is powerful and beautiful. I’m so impressed. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it highly. He is gaining gravitas and depth as he gets older. It shows in this performance. Very inspiring.

Okay. I’m off to wash the sheets and work on the puzzle and read. But first, some oatmeal.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

 

Snow, Puzzle, and a Movie Recommendation

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First real snow of the year. I think we might have an inch and a half so far. It’s still snowing, but it will be tapering off soon. Don is out there shoveling as I write this. We have an oil delivery coming today and we want the drive to be clear for the truck. (There’s a story about this delivery and our soon-to-be-former oil company that I’ll share another time. Or not. Let’s just say it was a stressful afternoon yesterday.)

We did get out to the grocery store and then took a long walk, so I got some exercise in before the snow came.

And this morning, I put the last few pieces in place.

The World of Jane Austen. Very satisfying!

If you can, please watch Mass, a new movie that is streaming at the moment. It’s brilliant, unbelievably gut-wrenching, and superbly done. It stars Ann Dowd, Reed Birney, Jason Isaacs, and Martha Plimpton. It’s about a meeting between two sets of parents who have lost children to gun violence. I won’t say more because what I love about this movie is the slow, thoughtful pace. No rush to reveal plot points. All of that is rolled out slowly and realistically. (I want you to have that experience, too.) The performances are superb, the best I’ve seen in years. Don and I sat together on the sofa, neither of us moving an inch throughout the movie, completely riveted. It’s brave work on the part of every person involved. Bravo.

It’s the best thing I’ve seen in years.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

 

Sunday

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Every time I think I should go here or there, I end up staying home. I am so, so tired and I have to listen to my body and rest. I often fall asleep sitting up on the sofa. Last night I went to bed early and slept 8 hours. I imagine it will be much the same when I go back home – several days to recover.

Anyway, I stayed home yesterday. I worked on the puzzle that I started when I first moved here and that I’ve barely had time to touch since. And I finished it!

It’s called “At the Strand” as in The Strand bookstore, a beloved shop in NYC, just south of Union Square. It’s the one bookstore I haven’t made it to this trip. Jigsaw puzzles are very zen-like for me and having the luxury of time to work on it this weekend is just what the doctor ordered. Today, I may pop over to a toy store I visited a couple of weeks ago – they have New Yorker puzzles in stock.

So far this weekend, I’ve watched movies that make me happy. I’ve watched Charade  twice, How to Steal a Million (with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole), and Casablanca. Today might be You’ve Got Mail  and tonight on TCM?  One of my all-time favorites – Pillow Talk, with Doris Day and Rock Hudson.

Seen on a walk past a restaurant on the corner:

What the heck happened here? Sad.

You know that I brought a stack of books with me, and have purchased even more since I’ve been here. I have yet to finish one. All my visions of reading time have gone up in smoke. When I do have time, I’m just too tired to concentrate. This experience has been exhilarating, inspiring, fun and grueling. Right now, all I can remember is the ‘grueling’ part of it, but soon those memories will fade away and I will remember only the good things – and there are many, many good things.

I have to drop my laundry off today and run an errand or two here in the neighborhood. Mostly, I’m going to take it easy as I have to be on the set by 6:30 am tomorrow and it’s way up on the Upper West Side.

And so it begins again!

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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