Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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The Long Drive Home

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I’m back from Long Island, where I worked at this charming old Summer Stock theater. Yes, it is in a remodeled barn, just like in a Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney movie. This theater has been around since the 40’s. Columbia Pictures used to send their young actors out here for the summer to sharpen their skills and a young Robert Duvall (who was a friend of the owner’s children) used to perform on its stage. The playhouse is situated in the little town of Bellport.
Bellport’s main street is full of charming homes like these:




All the houses have picket fences. Sigh. I imagine the town is even more charming in the spring and summer.

However, this town isn’t that far from the exclusive and wealthy Hamptons. There was an antique shop just down the road from the theater and I stopped there on my way out of town. Most of the things were very expensive and too formal for my taste. I wandered to the back of the store and saw some McCoy. There was a sign on the display that said ‘50% off.’ Now, I don’t know if you remember this particular piece, but I have a shallow dish with a bird on it – 2 actually. One of my pieces was a gift, but the other I bought on Ebay for maybe $20.00. The shop’s display had the same dish, but in yellow/green. Imagine my shock when I looked at the original price – $150.00. Huh? I thought the sale tag said $22.00 but was informed by the owner that it was $72.00. Oh my gosh – talk about inflated prices. I wonder if anyone would actually pay that much money for a piece of McCoy? You know I love my McCoy, but not that much!

My journey home coincided with rush hour. I had to cross 2 bridges, the Throg’s Neck and the George Washington. There was bumper-to-bumper traffic for miles leading up to each bridge with a delay of about an hour to cross the George Washington. Then backups for miles in New Jersey, and more backups on the thruway. My foot ached from hitting the brake pedal and I thought I just might lose my mind. A 3 hour trip turned into about 4 1/2 hours. I was so happy to get home. Dear husband had dinner waiting, the dogs were happy to see me and we settled down to watch Medium. I think today will be a stick-around-the-house kind of day. Have a wonderful weekend!

Hanging Photos on the Line

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Remember my design wall in the upstairs hallway? I had my little quilt hanging there, but I decided to drape it over the railing. Every time I had to turn the hall light off, I had to reach under the quilt. It became slightly annoying. Unfortunately, since I am not piecing a quilt at the moment, the flannel-covered design wall is just plain boring. I got an idea and here’s what I have so far.


We have a lot of family photos and very little wall space to display them. Plus, I’m not up to getting them all framed at the moment. So, I strung some twine, got out some photos and hung them with clothespins. I’d give you a better view, but it is a work-in-progress. And taking any photos of this area is tricky – I have to go down the stairs and shoot up. Never works quite right. You can see my husband and me – side by side – at about the same age, my husband with his Dad, my Mom, my Grandfather with his horse bit collection, my Dad with his father when Dad was serving in WWII, our dear dog Winston with his favorite ball, my husband with our sweet friend Kelly, who was taken from us much too young.


I’ve always loved this studio portrait of my Mom pouring tea. I have that dress she has on, by the way. It is a beautiful shade of aqua. Look at her banana curls…adorable. Oh, do you recognize that pink clothespin? It is from sweet Elyse.

I am on the hunt for more photos that I will string up on a piece of twine that hangs below this one – like a necklace. Who knows how many I will end up with? I’ll keep you posted.

On my way home from Wilmington, tired and under-the-weather as I was, I stopped at Trader Joe’s for a quick shopping run. TJ’s is about an hour away from my house so we don’t get down there very often. When one of us is in the vicinity, we have to stop. I bought some essentials and these flowers. Also an essential.


Yesterday’s endless rain has turned into today’s spectacular sunny fall weather. Have a wonderful Sunday.

Coffee, Baseball, Charms & Oz

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My in-room coffee maker comes with Starbucks coffee. Yes! This is what I need. Most coffee supplied in hotel rooms is rather bland with not-quite-enough punch for me in the AM. The housekeeper cleaning my room this morning even gave me an extra pack for tomorrow morning. Her suggestion, not mine…perhaps I look slightly sleepy?

Had a good night’s sleep on this great mattress…I tried to stay awake through the end of the Phillies/Dodgers game, but in the end, I gave up. It was obvious the Phillies were going to win. I am in the midst of Philly-fan country here, so everyone is quite happy with the outcome. I must admit that I struggle a bit with this one. I lived in Philadelphia for 5 years and have fond, fond memories of that time. So my instinct is to cheer for the Phillies. However, since it looks more and more like the Yankees are going to win the AL, I had this fantasy of the Dodgers vs. the Yankees in the World Series, with Joe Torre back in Yankee Stadium (the new Yankee Stadium that is.)

Have you seen these?


They are pewter charms that are attached to your cell phone. I had no idea that these existed. My sister, being younger and therefore hipper, knew about them and bought each of us one at Rhinebeck. I let her take care of attaching it. It is a little lamb – I’ll give you a close-up.


I am now hip. And, since my husband and I have exactly the same cell phone, we will now be able to tell them apart.

Finally, for all you pink lovers – here is the pretty paper covering the toiler paper in my bathroom.


Do you think I could just slyly remove the paper and take it with me?

Last night’s performance of WOZ was delightful. Lots of kids in the audience, laughing at the Lion, oohing and aahing over Toto, and in the case of the little girl behind me, carrying her very own Glinda magic wand. Adorable. And to prove that WOZ affects people of all ages, the little girl’s Mom was sobbing during the scene where Dorothy says goodbye to the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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