Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for On The Road

Garden Gone Ga-Ga

July 1, 2009 at 6:47 pm by Claudia

You are looking at part of my overgrown-garden-gone-wild back at Mockingbird Hill Cottage. Unless you have been ignoring all talk of weather, you know that June was one of the rainiest months on record back East. This has resulted in lush growth. However, that growth along with the fact that my husband has left the gardens alone because he is afraid to pull a viable plant rather than a weed has resulted in a lollapalooza of plants. Don has said to me more than once, “You’ll have a lot of work to do when you get home.” Sounds ominous, doesn’t it?

I will be so happy to get my hands in the dirt again. Of course, I will probably let loose with some bad words when I see it in person. But mostly, I will be happy to trim, snip, pull, yank, and shear back.


I see some bee balm, some coreopsis, some catmint. I’m not sure about the rest. There are also garden beds in front of the shed, on all sides of the porch, on the side of the house and by the kitchen. Oh boy.


No, this is not in my garden. This is in front of the San Diego Zoo. I walk right by these elephants (there are two of them) every day. This guy on the right is obviously tired from a day of walking around the zoo. Good place to rest.

Tonight is opening night for Twelfth Night (my favorite Shakespeare play.) It will be fun to watch it without taking notes – just as an audience member.

Filed Under: garden, On The Road, theater 15 Comments

A Visit to Christie’s Shop

June 30, 2009 at 2:35 pm by Claudia

Okay, enough of packing. It is ongoing – we are all aware of that. I will now let it go.

A while back, I drove up to Laguna and dropped by Christie Repasy’s shop. It was lovely to see more of her art and see her in that environment. I kept forgetting to post about the visit, so here are some photos.

Sorry about the reflection in the glass – I think it is from Christie’s front window. Does the painting in the lower right hand corner look familiar? Yep, that’s the one I bought at the Barn Sale.
Speaking of reflections, there I am with Christie in the mirror. I think that is Alice, her assistant, behind us.

Would you like this mantel that Christie painted? Of course you would.

This is Christie’s adorable dog. His name is Jack.
Christie sent me on to Country Roads Antiques in the town of Orange with the assurance that I would go nuts. I did. It is the most amazing shop I have ever been in. It is huge with fabulous dealers (Christie is one of them) and displays. You will be proud of me. I bought nothing. But that is because I bought a vintage lampshade from Christie – that is now on its way home. I will post photos of it when it is happily home at MHC.

Filed Under: antiques, On The Road 14 Comments

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words (But You Know I Will Talk Anyway)

June 29, 2009 at 8:51 pm by Claudia

This says it all. Pack, pack and, oh, pack some more. I can’t remember how many boxes I sent out this way in January – 6 or 7, I think. I have easily more than doubled that amount. Since I decided not to drive back, I am faced with sending all this stuff. Last week, the first things to go were the white flower basket (continually photographed with flowers in it during my stay), the wrought iron piece I also bought at the Barn Sale, and my dream Cherub painting. They were all awkward sizes and, in the case of the painting, precious cargo. So I had some lovely people recommended to me by Lori at Vignettes pack them. They should arrive at MHC tomorrow. In the meantime, I have packed books and more books, fabric, yarn, clothes, files, and stuff. Today I spent a lovely 45 minutes running up and down the three flights of stairs (on a humid San Diego day) and loading the car with 9 boxes. I drove out to the same shipping place and lugged them all inside. And now they are on their way.

There is still more. I had to buy a printer when I came out here, my little vintage birdcage needs to be packed, along with my Christie Repasy painting, all the pillows I bought in an attempt to make the furniture in this apartment even slightly comfortable (they are pretty and I don’t want to leave them behind), the two lamps from IKEA that I want to use on our bedside tables back home, and a few other pieces of china, etc. Oh, and my husband bought me a guitar. That has to get home.

I am overwhelmed but have made a good dent in the whole thing. The rest of the stuff can’t go until the end of the week because I still need it here. It will still cost much less than the cheapest car rental quote, and that doesn’t even count motels, meals, and gas.

Do I ever want to go away for 6 months again? No. No. No. Especially not to a place where there are so many wonderful shops and barn sales with tempting treasures to buy. Because then I have to pack them. Oh, and where I need so many supplies in order to work – books, printer, paper, scripts. No, I think I will stay home at the Cottage for a good, long while.

I’m off to sit on the sofa and do some hand quilting.

Filed Under: On The Road 13 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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