Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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The week ahead

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Monday morning, and rather dreary, but there’s hope for sunshine this afternoon.

We watched the first episode of All Creatures Great and Small  on PBS last night. So glad it’s back! I almost forgot about it. Except for Jeopardy, we rarely watch network television, but thankfully, I saw someone post about it on IG. It’s excellent, of course.

I found out yesterday that one of my former students is seriously ill. I have written a note to her and she is now in my daily prayers. She is one of the best people I know.

I’m prepping for my work in NYC starting on Wednesday and also trying to take care of things around here since I’ll only be here to sleep from Wed – Saturday. Then I’ll have two days off. And then two more days on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Then I’m done. Lots of rain in the forecast, always a pain when trying to navigate around the city. And the rehearsal studio is very far west – almost on the Hudson River – so it’s a long walk, as east-west blocks in Manhattan are much more lengthy than north-south blocks. It will probably take a couple of days to figure out the best route. If need be, I’ll grab an Uber because I cannot abide being late.

Thought I’d share a little Polaroid of me that Don took a couple of months ago. He was working with black and white film, light and shadow. It’s tucked away on the bulletin board in the kitchen.

I’m reading a bit more than a chapter a day of War and Peace, since I’ll not be able to read it Wed – Sat. I must say, I’m really enjoying it. It’s highly readable and the character studies are rich with detail. I’ll read a few more extra chapters today.

Okay. Not very exciting, but it is indeed a snapshot of this moment in time.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Sunday: The Sun has Come Back

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Proof.

I cleaned up the office yesterday and also dealt with the closet, which has everything under the sun in it, including our downstairs a/c unit. Lots of sorting, organizing, cleaning, and vacuuming. I also vacuumed and dusted both rooms on this floor. I tend to neglect them, as I’m usually downstairs. The closet will get an intense reorganization when the a/c unit returns to duty.

Since we share this space, I also dealt with plants, cameras, and empty boxes that need to be recycled. I’m always quite proud of myself when I do this as it’s so easy to turn it into a dumping ground. Don dealt with his desk a couple of weeks ago, so…for this moment in time…the room looks great. It’s a tiny space, shared by two tall people with lots of STUFF. We’re rarely up there at the same time, and we’re very amenable to vacating the space for the other person if necessary.

I’m still not quite ready to dive into renovating the Beacon Hill. I’m not sure why, but I have to trust that I’ll start in the near future. Last night, Don was looking at my very first oil painting and is now urging me to get back to painting. First of all, I have to deal with my coaching commitment, which starts in 3 days.

Day 8 of War and Peace  and I’m really enjoying it. Don’s copy arrived yesterday and he read Chapter 1. I spent some time this morning following the hashtag for the readalong and there are over 800 people doing this! I love that – such a sense of community, and it’s literally taking place all over the world. Some readers are sticking to a chapter a day, others are reading several chapters a day. I’m going to do that on Tuesday because I won’t have time to read chapters Wednesday – Saturday. It’s highly readable. Tolstoy is a brilliant writer.

The sun finally came out towards the end of the day yesterday and it’s already shining today. Thank goodness. It’s been so dreary around here and, as you know, I need sunlight. It’s colder now, the warm spell is over, but I’m fine with that.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

 

Wednesday

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Gray, rainy, rather depressing outside.

Inside:

My copy of War and Peace  did not arrive yesterday and being a good student type who also always arrives early, I felt a bit of panic. We’re reading a chapter a day and it was already 3 days into the year. So I downloaded it to my iPad (for $1.99) and read the first three chapters. Of course, after thinking it was lost, I just received a message that it will be delivered today. I took this picture for Brenda, who loves using a Kindle/iPad for reading. See, Brenda? I won’t be reading any more on the iPad after today, but here’s proof that I used it!

More of the girls sans Christmas sweaters and then I’ll ease up on posting photos of them.

Holly.

Maeve.

Sophie.

The sweaters have been put into ‘storage’ until next year.

I packed up all of the miniature Christmas decorations and they’re also stowed away until next year. The furniture in the dollhouses has been rearranged and all is back to normal.

Now, I have to force myself to straighten up the office. I’ve done a wee bit up there, but much more needs to be done. I tend to dump things on the desk and chair.

Okay. There is much reading to be done today and watering of houseplants and vacuuming, etc.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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