Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Day Three Hundred Seventy-Five

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It’s officially Spring. That is not determined by the calendar, but by the reappearance of peepers (tiny frogs) who live in and near the pond next door. They peep throughout the night and it’s the most wondrous sound. We first heard them last night, along with the bullfrogs that also live there.

Now I start my nightly ritual; I stop by the window at the top of the stairs, listen to the peepers, and call out a hello.

The light this morning.

I received some miniature books in the mail yesterday from Landau Books on Etsy. I’ve ordered from her before.

I also ordered a pack of Arthur Ransome books (of Swallows and Amazons fame) but the photo is too blurry to post here. The shelves are gradually getting filled, but I realize that I need to order a few books from other miniaturists so that there are various book sizes. Landau Books features a lot of British authors, which fits in perfectly with my English Cottage.

The puzzle is almost done but I’m in the midst of many black and almost black pieces and distinguishing the difference requires a certain quality of light. And patience. I got a lot done yesterday and I’m thinking I’d better order another puzzle pronto.

Tonight we will finish A French Village. Sob. I’ll really miss it. I’ve also started Snow  by John Banville, an Irish writer – a mystery. I’ll just say that I’m not all that far into it and I’m already blown away by his writing. His descriptions are brilliantly written.

Okay.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

 

Day Three Hundred Seventy-Four

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Current puzzle. I know I said it was dark and moody and it is. The left hand side is where the lamplight casts its glow in this apartment. The other half is very dark, which is why I’ve worked on the more colorful sections first. They’re just easier to complete.

Gosh, I love a good jigsaw puzzle!

Sunny and warm (relatively) again today. We were going to take a drive but Don has a commitment at 3:30 and, quite frankly, we’re feeling lazy. We’re excited that we can finally say that our second shot is next week. On Monday, Don gets his shot from his eye specialist and on Wednesday, we both get our second dose of the vaccine. By the way, someone (sorry, I can’t remember who it was) mentioned that we should make sure that getting another shot around the same time as our vaccine shot is okay. Don called his eye doctor who quickly said this kind of shot has no impact on the vaccine and the vaccine has no impact on it. So, we’re fine.

We had a great FaceTime chat with Little Z and my sister yesterday. Z is into zombies at the moment, so we learned a great deal about them. Z illustrated the sounds that come from baby zombies and adult zombies and we also learned they like to chase chickens. I mentioned to him that my neighbor has chickens and we imagined what it would be like to try to chase the zombies away from the chickens. He also got to ride an elevator in the parking garage next to his doctor – as you know, Z is obsessed with elevators and COVID has kept him from exploring different elevators every weekend. He’s missed that.

I just finished The Sentence is Death  by Anthony Horowitz – he’s so darned clever! Now I have to choose my next book. I certainly have a lot of them to choose from in my TBR pile. I’m leaning toward a mystery by John Banville – a new-to-me writer. His mysteries take place in Ireland. I think I first heard about this book, Snow, through The Mysterious Bookshop’s newsletter.

Oh, I can’t wait until the day I can visit the city again, if only to visit The Mysterious Bookshop and Tiny Doll House – two shops that are on opposite ends of Manhattan – one in Tribeca, the other on the Upper East Side.

I’m off to do a little work on the puzzle.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Day Three Hundred Fifty-Eight

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It’s cold here! Two more days of this stuff and then the warming begins. At least two days of near 60 degrees are predicted and I’m very happy about that.

I straightened up the studio; though if you walked in the door, you might think I hadn’t done anything of the sort. But I assure you, I have. While I was up there, I added the putz sheep from Helga to the herd already living on the mantel/shelf. It’s hard to get a good photo (I’m going to try again later today with my big girl camera) but this is better than nothing.

I have 20 putz sheep now. The two at the far right are adorable, but they’re not putz sheep. I took photos of exactly where Helga’s sheep are in this mix, so I don’t forget. I’m tempted to find some way to mark them – hidden, of course – because unlike so many things I collect, I can’t remember where and when I found most of these sheep. I remember the details of a few, especially The Lamb with the Party Hat, the symbol of this blog. I found her in Orange, California, when I was back in San Diego to coach the Summer Shakespeare Festival about 11 years ago. And the large sheep with the hat and the pack was a gift from Lori, the owner of Vignettes in Ocean Beach.

I’d love to have scads more. Fingers crossed. The one time during this pandemic that I actually went into a store other than the grocery store was in December when my friend Sydney dropped off two sheep (she has been the source of many members of my herd) and left it at the front desk of one of my favorite antique shops. I was in and out of there in a flash! I suppose I’d only do that sort of thing for sheep and dollhouses – at least, for the time being.

Finished puzzle dismantled. New one started:

It will eventually look like this:

I’ve started A Chelsea Concerto, a nonfiction book about living in Chelsea, London during the Blitz. It was recommended by one of my favorite book bloggers, Miranda Mills. I’m really enjoying it. The series we’re watching, A French Village, is all about life in a French village that is occupied by the Nazis. I seem to be immersed in WWII these days.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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