Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Day Four Hundred Ten

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It’s staring to take shape. Minus plants, of course, but that will begin to change after my visit to the nursery today. I don’t expect to get everything, but I should be able to fill some pots by the end of the day.

I’m excited!

We finished the fifth season of The Bureau  last night. It’s simply one of the best series I’ve ever seen. I’m so sad that it’s over, therefore, I’m suffering a bit of withdrawal today. For all of you who don’t like subtitles, my humble advice: it just takes practice. You have to get into the rhythm of it. Frankly, we aren’t even aware of them after about two minutes. Of course, to each his/her own, but I will say that some of the best things I have ever seen, including La Strada, Cinema Paradiso, Amélie, A French Village, and The Bureau, are subtitled and what a loss it would be never to have seen and experienced them. Don makes the point that he likes foreign movies and series because he doesn’t know the actors, so he is able to completely lose himself in the story without the back story of the actors themselves entering his consciousness. Anyway, for what it’s worth, I highly recommend it and I thank Darko for his initial recommendation.

I worked outside for a bit yesterday but, like clockwork, it became windy almost the moment I stepped outside. I think Mother Nature likes to taunt me. So I didn’t last long. I also started the new John Derian puzzle, but was too tired to stay with it very long.

I’m reading The Glass Hotel  by Emily St. John Mandel. Lord, she’s a good writer! I’m about ¾ of the way through it and I had to force myself to put it down this morning. I highly recommend both this novel and her first best seller, Station Eleven, which stays with me to this day. I don’t have a copy (I read a library copy) and I’ve often meant to buy one for my shelves because it’s that good. Note to self: BUY IT.

Okay. Time to get a move on. Don will get a little time to himself this morning as I go off to explore the nursery. We’re rarely apart these days, but if there are errands to be run, it’s usually Don that runs them so I’m the one that gets to experience the solitude. We are crazy about each other, but a little breather is a good thing!

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Day Seventy-Five

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The view on the porch this morning as I sat outside drinking my second cup of coffee. It’s going to be a hot one but this morning it is cool with a lovely, soft breeze.

We live in a beautiful part of the country.

We have to replace one of our a/c units so we’re off to Lowes to pick it up later this morning. But we did get one installed in the bedroom, thankfully. It was very hot and humid yesterday and sleeping in that cool room with the white noise of the a/c was wonderful.

We worked outside for a long time yesterday; Don doing his thing, me doing mine, which consisted of weeding and pruning, pulling up the spent forget-me-nots, and cutting back brambles. Today I’ll indulge in a little weed whacking and maybe I’ll mow the other side of the front lawn.

I’ve found that when I’ve not had enough sleep – like yesterday – I function better if I give myself lots to do and then do it. Then I have no time to indulge in ‘poor me’ thinking. That’s what I did yesterday and it really helped. Having a task to do keeps me in the present moment and I stop thinking about anything other than the matter at hand. This, of course, is the perfect time of year for that because I have all sorts of things to do outside.

I’m about to start in on a new puzzle. It’s a beauty so it should be fun. You can see a photo of it in my stories on Instagram.

And that’s about it for today. I have to get going as we’re going to head over to Lowe’s soon. We want to get back and install the new unit, so we can tackle some other chores today.

Stay safe, my friends.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Day Seventy-Three

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“Day Seventy-Three” also means seventy-three days without a speck of makeup. Normally, I only wear makeup these days when I’m going out to see friends or work and sometimes when I go out shopping. Since I’m not doing any of these things nowadays and when I shop, I have a mask on – no makeup required.

I took this just after the rain ended on Saturday. It’s so green out there!

Much more work has been done on the puzzle:

As you can see, I’m in the final stretch. This part is the most difficult because it consists of blobs of paint indicating the stones/cobblestones/tiles. Don said to me yesterday “You’ll get it.” And I will. I have another one ready to start after I finish the Van Gogh.

You might remember me saying I went to the post office the other day. I went there to pick up two packages that were waiting for me. They had been sitting there for a while but I’m sure you understand that our very small post office is not conducive to crowd control. Anyway, I waited until yesterday to open them.

The white boxes are furniture kits from the now-defunct House of Miniatures. I have several of these and I can always use more. Plus, there are a few that I’ve not seen before. These are a generous gift from a reader of the blog, Anne. Thank you so, so much, Anne! They will be put to good use.

On the bottom are five 1000-piece puzzles, courtesy of reader Terri. Having already put these together, she asked if I would like her to pass them on to me! YES! Several of them are book covers – for Pulitzer Prize winners, children’s books, C.S. Lewis, etc. That makes me happy! And the other is a New Yorker cover about books. I now have six puzzles at the ready. Thank you so much, Terri. As I wrote her this morning, she’s helping maintain my sanity!

As always, I am humbled by the generosity of my readers. Thank you for being there for me. It means more than I can say.

Today we celebrate Memorial Day; which, to my mind, should be a somewhat solemn occasion. After all, we’re honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country – which serves as a stark contrast to the pictures I’ve seen of people partying on barges and at the beach with no social distance whatsoever. Sacrifice? They don’t seem to understand the meaning of that word. Coupled with the contrast of yesterday’s front page of The New York Times, listing many of the names of those who have lost their lives in the pandemic, while That Man golfed and once again, expressed no regret or sadness or one iota of compassion, it is a sad day indeed.

I hope you find some peace and beauty today.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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