Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Random on Friday

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It was quite warm yesterday, actually a little too warm. But after a rainy morning, the skies turned blue and it was quite lovely.

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Driving home from running some errands, I passed one of the seemingly hundreds of apples orchards around here.

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Apple trees and the mountains in the distance.

It’s a good 20 degrees cooler today and – yes – I will have to bring the porch plants in tonight. It’s going down to 31. I’ll do it again on Sunday and then it looks like there will be a stretch of days where they can stay outside. If the weather pattern doesn’t indicate a long stretch of freezing temperatures, why rob myself and others of seeing pretty flowers? Right?

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The view from the hallway into the studio/office (I will never figure out what to call this space!) This cabinet serves as our linen cabinet. We got it for $20 at auction when we first moved in here. But, let’s face it, I could use a larger cabinet. Hmmmm. I’ll keep my eye out. The quilts are stacked on top – not very elegantly, I’m afraid. Most, but not all, of them were made by yours truly.

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On the door leading into the studio/office: a chalkboard with a quote from Leonard Cohen, and my dad’s golf hat. It was hanging on a hat rack in the entrance hall of their condo. I like it here. It’s as if he’s guarding my space.

A big story today in Newsweek, by respected journalist Kurt Eichenwald: Why Vladimir Putin’s Russia is Backing Donald Trump. This is about as alarming as it gets.

Oh, except for the rogue faction in the FBI getting involved as well.

And Wikileaks and Julian Assange.

How can this election be any more insane?

The stress level in the Hill-Sparks household is through the roof. To be fair, the stress level is a little higher with me. I am obsessed with Twitter, DailyKos, Huffington Post, MSNBC. I can’t stop. I know my sister is just as obsessed. We talk about it all the time.

I need a break. Calgon, take me away!

Happy Friday.

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Light, Baseball, Stress, and Did I Just Hear Christmas Music?

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Early morning light here at the cottage.

Well, not tremendously early, as I slept in this morning. That, my friends, is a rare thing.

Lately, I seem to be fascinated with light – the way it shifts and changes as the day goes on.

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One thing you have to say about our cottage: it’s lived in. I rarely stage a photo, though I might move a pile of laundry or do some much needed straightening up, but as a rule, we are an ‘as is’ household. What you see is what you get!

The World Series has moved on to a seventh game. Oh boy. That will be a nail biter. We’re cheering for the Cubs, but both teams have played so well and are so evenly matched, who knows what will happen? As a girl who has lived on both coasts, but is still a Midwesterner at heart, I’m thrilled that both teams are from the heart of the Midwest.

As Don said this morning, with the constant stress of the election (don’t get me started on the latest developments) do we need more  stress? I guess we do, because we will be watching the game tonight. I don’t know about you, but I am counting the days until November 8th. Time seems to move so quickly nowadays – Don and I constantly remark on how quickly a week goes by – yet the days leading up to Election Day seem to crawl. Time moving quickly, while simultaneously moving slowly. How can that be?

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I went to Michael’s yesterday to get some craft paint.

They were playing Christmas music.

As you well know if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, I have a rule: No Christmas until the second week of December. Of course, when I say that I’m referring to decorating my cottage. I do know the retail world needs to start the Christmas extravaganza earlier than that. But November 1st? Cripes, Thanksgiving isn’t until the 24th!

And it was the Jackson 5 singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

That is why I stay out of big chain stores as much as possible. For my holiday sanity.

It’s going to be 72° here today. Just the other night, the temperature dropped to 29°. My head is spinning! I think it may be a good day to clean the windows – one of my least favorite jobs in the world, second only to cleaning the bathroom. I never seem to be able to do it without streaks. I’ve tried using newspaper and all the other suggestions I see out there. Still streaks.

But, even with streaks, the windows will be clean. Hopefully.

New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page – Five Short Takes on Five Novels Recently Read.

Happy Wednesday.

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Patina, Flowers, Light & Nasty Women

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Late afternoon still life.

I am still taken by surprise when I see that table and its patina. What a treasure we found!

This is the scene in the cottage this morning:

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And they go all the way to the front door. It was to go below freezing last night and as I obsessively scan the Weather Channel app on my phone, I look ahead 15 days or so to see if it’s worth trying to save the plants. And it is.

At some point, I’ll give up. In fact, I forgot to cover the geraniums that live in the barrels last night. I could kick myself. They may be gone. I’m afraid to look.

But these beauties are still budding and blooming, so in true tag-team fashion, Don and I bring them inside around 6:00 and they’ll go back outside later this morning.

By the way, I straighten that little red lampshade about ten times a day. Oy.

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Frost is covering everything this morning, but the sunlight is warming up the living room, slowly but surely. One of my favorite things in any house I’ve lived in, but especially in this many-windowed cottage, is watching the play of light on the walls and floors and furniture. I think that’s what keeps me sane in the winter. That bright winter sun.

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved reading the Sunday New York Times. When I returned to my parents’ house to live for a couple of years after college, I would look forward to Sunday morning, when I could buy a copy of the Times and read it while sitting in my dad’s recliner. Since then, wherever I’ve lived, east coast or west coast, I’ve tried to keep that habit going. There have been times when I couldn’t get a copy or was just too busy to find the time to buy one. But lately, we’ve been grabbing a copy every Sunday.

Happiness is the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle.

I read the latest edition of Louise Penny’s newsletter this morning. She wrote about Michael. I cried.

Those of you who are friends on Facebook have already seen this photo. I want to share it with all of you today because I love this t-shirt (it came in the mail yesterday) and we had such fun taking this picture:

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Oh yes, we do.

Vote. Nasty woman or otherwise.

Happy Tuesday.

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