Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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hartford church

The update on the Hill-Sparks girls:

I’m still sore, mostly when I try to sleep on my right side, but I feel much better. My wrist is fine now.

Scout is doing a bit better. She tried to pounce a couple of times yesterday and I had to stop her from tearing off after a squirrel when we were in the park yesterday. She also wanted to start ‘loping’ when I was walking her last night. Of course, I quickly stopped that. We’re being extra cautious.

Thank you for all that wonderful healing energy you sent our way.

I think Don will be very happy to check in on his girls tonight. I’m going to drive to New Haven to see this evening’s performance of Our Town. I cannot wait to see it! Afterward, we will drive back to Hartford and a dad will be reunited with his little girl. We’ll spend the day together on Monday and at some point on Tuesday, depending on my rehearsal schedule, I’ll drive him back to New Haven.

By the way, there is a neat video trailer with clips from the production. You can see it here.

And that church in the photo above is right across the street from the theater. It’s beautiful.

This morning I read an interview with actress Frances McDormand in the New York Times. I love her. Besides her obvious acting chops, she is as down-to-earth as they get, especially when it comes to our culture’s obsession with looking young. A quote:

We’re on red alert when it comes to how we are perceiving ourselves as a species. There’s no desire to be an adult. Adulthood is not a goal. It’s not seen as a gift. Something happened culturally: No one is supposed to age past 45 – sartorially, cosmetically, attitudinally. Everybody dresses like a teenager. Everybody dies their hair. Everybody is concerned about a smooth face. – Frances McDormand

There’s more. She is blunt and opinionated and I suppose I love it because what she has to say about aging echoes my thoughts. Indeed, you’re read them many times on this blog. And it’s so refreshing to hear those words from someone who works in film and television, where there is so much pressure to look a certain way.

It’s a wonderful interview. You should read it.

Less than seven days in Hartford. I’ll write more about Hamlet this week. It’s a wonderful production.

Happy Sunday.

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A Tough Day

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FRI-roses

7:30 am on Saturday.

The cranes are back, people are shouting, the street is blocked off, more lifting and constructing.

It’s Saturday.

I know what’s going to happen. This whole project will be over just as I’m leaving town next Saturday.

I guarantee it.

I’m missing my little house in the country.

FRI-scout

I’m also feeling guilty because Scout seems to be very, very sore and I think it is because of her runs earlier in the week. Did I let her do too much? Should I have curtailed her activities? Was I irresponsible?

But she was so strong and happy and joyous. I could tell she was tired after the last run, so I decided she needed to stop that for a while. Today, she is clearly in pain. I’ve given her medicine. She was fairly okay last night but when she woke up this morning she was hurting. I don’t know whether it’s the way she slept or the fact that Scout has never liked it when we’re gone at night, and since I’ve been at the theater the last few nights, she gets stressed and ends up on the floor by the door to the apartment where she can’t get up.  I know that is hard on her.

She finally went back to sleep just now. Oh, my girl, stay strong.

It’s been a strange 24 hours. Yesterday, I hit my head on a low ceiling near the stage in the theater, which really hurt. Then, as I was walking home, I tripped on a pipe sticking up out of the sidewalk (why it was there, I don’t know) and before I knew it, I fell into the street. There was water and muck there from the rain of the previous day. I fell on my right side, bracing myself with my right wrist. Miraculously, I didn’t break anything. I was covered in mud, my bag got dirty, I scraped my palm and bruised my elbow and hip. There was a lady walking nearby and she ran over to me, but I managed to get up right away. It could have been much worse. If there was traffic in that lane, I would have been severely injured. As it was, I am very sore and last night during the show, my wrist started hurting a great deal. Today, it’s a bit better. I don’t think it’s sprained, just sore. Thankfully, when I fell, I had no time to tense, I just went with it and I think that helped me a great deal.

I was shaken by the whole thing and told Don I felt very vulnerable.

I hope today brings some relief for both of us, especially Scout. Healing thoughts, energy, white light, prayers – whatever your preference, send some Scout’s way, okay?

Happy Saturday.

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On Living (Temporarily) With Less

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This is the end of my fourth week on the road.

What did I bring with me for this time away from home? Some books, my Kindle, my laptop, my filofax, clothes, research materials and reference books for my work here, some office supplies, some quilts, a pine-scented candle, my camera, some dog food and my dog.

That’s it.

FRI-apartment

Scout and I have been happily existing in our home away from home with just those things, along with some fresh flowers and food.

And I am once again struck by the fact that I can get along very well without a lot of ‘stuff.’ The essentials do very nicely indeed. Normally, I do this sort of thing without my dog, so Scout’s inclusion on this journey has been a wonderful addition. And, of course, we miss Don, but he’ll be here for a visit on Sunday night.

But back to the point of this post. Small living, tiny houses, minimalist settings – all of that is very big right now. I can see the appeal of that sort of living, free of excess possessions with just those necessities required to live a fairly minimalist life. It’s very doable.

I love my things. I’m a collector. I like the cozy English cottage look of my home. But I can guarantee you that when I go back home in a week, my house will look very cluttered to me. I will have a yen to purge (which isn’t a bad thing.) I will look around and see lots of ‘stuff’. I go through this every time I return back home after being on the road.

Could I get by with just a minimum of possessions? Absolutely. I prove it every time I do this sort of thing. I’m just fine without all the extras. As long as I can read and write and take photos and be with my husband and dog, it seems that I’m okay.

But what about the things I’ve inherited from my mom and my grandmother? The books I love to see displayed on my bookshelves? The china and pottery I love to collect? The furniture that Don and I have found in the years we’ve been together? The paintings and lithographs and prints that we’ve chosen? The guitars that Don loves? My piano, passed down from my grandmother and played on by aunts, uncles, grandmother, mother and siblings?

You get the picture. I’m not going to become a minimalist.

But I could, if I had to.

New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page.

Happy Friday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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