Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for porch

Simply Beautiful

May 28, 2019 at 9:39 am by Claudia

Yesterday was, to put it simply, the most beautiful Memorial Day I can remember. The skies were brilliantly sunny, the temps were in the mid-seventies with no humidity, and the gentlest of breezes was accompanied by the faint sounds of the wind chimes.

It was so, so lovely.

We sat out on the porch much of the day, trying our best to be in the present moment, relaxing together, reading, Don occasionally playing his guitar. We felt tremendous gratitude for our house (a seemingly impossible goal for many, many years,) our gardens, our porch, our relationship and marriage, for the bird song which was unceasing all day long – for everything.

And we blessed those who were lost to the unspeakable tragedy of war.

We took a walk on the rail trail later in the day.

I suppose I need not say that we stop and stare at our new sofa countless times each day. Because we do. More gratitude.

Don had expected to spend the afternoon taking portraits, just as he did on Sunday. But at the last minute, he decided he needed to rest. We’ve been awfully busy this past week and, on top of that, Don has spent several hours in the sun over the course of a few days, camped out with his table display, hoping to get some customers. And he has. But the hours spent waiting are tedious and he was just plain exhausted yesterday. I’m glad he took the day off.

I hope you had a lovely day yesterday.

From the Memorial Garden, this teeny tiny little bee on a geranium. These flowers are about an inch wide, so you can imagine how tiny the bee was. I cropped the original photo.

It’s my favorite time of the year. Speaking of that, I’ve noticed the peony buds are getting larger, which means they’ll bloom – like clockwork, it never fails – during the first week of June.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: Don, flowers, garden, porch 23 Comments

Wouldn’t You Know It?

May 12, 2019 at 10:38 am by Claudia

Well, my friends, despite all the work I’ve done outdoors, pushing, pulling, bending over, mowing, yanking, carrying heavy bags – I found myself throwing out my back by the simplest of movements; reaching for the toilet paper.

Yep. Nothing outside, nothing brought on by physical extremes, just the mundane. How un-glamorous!

It happened yesterday morning as I was getting ready to spend time on the porch. Not to be deterred, I did spend a couple of hours on the glider, sitting on two pillows, with two pillows behind my back. It was such an extraordinarily beautiful day, with sunshine and bird song all day long, that I had to be out there. The kind of day that was fairly frequent last year, but extremely rare this year.

To be sure, today it’s raining and twenty degrees colder.

Anyway, ain’t that the pits? I find that whenever my back really becomes a problem it’s most often because of some everyday movement that suddenly becomes a betrayal. Sleeping last night was not easy, but thankfully, I did sleep. We had to cancel brunch at Rick and Doug’s this morning, even though I urged Don to go without me. He won’t, darn it.

So. I’m taking it easy – I have no choice – using the heating pad, walking around fairly frequently to stay somewhat limber, you know, the usual. This too, shall pass.

I finally moved the pillows from the living room sofa to the glider and replaced them with other throw pillows. The replacements will only be there for a short while as our new sofa will be here within about 10 – 14 days.

I finished Ex Libris  yesterday afternoon and now I’m reading David Coggins’ book about the winter visits to Paris he and his family have made for years, named, appropriately, Paris in Winter. Coggins is an artist and his watercolors are sprinkled throughout the book. It’s really quite lovely.

Mother’s Day has become a not-very-good-day for me.  So I tend to ignore it. But I don’t want to ignore all of you, or my sister, who is the best mother in the world. So I wish all of you who are mothers – whether to human children or furry children, farmyard animals, nieces and nephews, students, foster children, grandchildren, neighborhood children, or to green, living things – a Happy Mothers Day.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: mothers day, porch 40 Comments

Potting

May 5, 2019 at 10:36 am by Claudia

It’s rainy today, but I find I’m not minding it at all. I’m sure this is because I got a lot done yesterday and the day before, and though there is more to do, I don’t feel so desperate for a rainless day.

It’s a gentle type of rain today; Don’s playing the guitar in the living room, we’ve had our second cup of coffee together on the sofa, I finished the Donna Leon this morning, and I meditated.

We watched Marty  last night on TCM. Don hadn’t seen the movie version, just the live television version that aired in the early fifties with Rod Steiger. All I said to Don before the movie started – which I’ve seen – is that it will change the way in which you see Ernest Borgnine. If your experience of him is only that of McHale’s Navy, well then… But if you see his beautiful performance in Marty, well, that’s another story.

What a wonderful actor he was, pitch perfect in this role. And much better than Steiger, in my humble opinion. Steiger was a method actor and it sometimes showed in a bit or more than a bit of self-indulgence. Don’t get me wrong, Steiger was a fine actor. But I can tell the difference. Anyway, method acting is a topic for another day.

Betsy Blair, in the female lead, is also wonderful. It’s not an easy role to play; it requires no artifice, no excess. She is also pitch perfect.

It’s only about 90 minutes long and if you haven’t seen it, I hope you can someday.

I worked outside yesterday potting plants.

Eventually, the impatiens will fill out these pots and last until the first frost. I don’t have quite enough, so I’ll have to buy some more.

I also potted the coleus and vines in the antique pots I have out back in the Secret Garden, but it’s so wet back there with this rain we’ve been having, that I can’t get a good shot at the moment. Later this week, fingers crossed.

Nothing here yet; the plants I want for these pots aren’t yet in stock at the nursery.

There’s more weeding and mulching to be done, more pots to fill, more potting soil to purchase, as well as top soil. I will plant my seeds sometime this week. When all of that is done, I will sit on the glider and relax.

Happy Sunday.

 

Filed Under: flowers, garden, movies, porch 25 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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