Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Monday & What Are You Reading?

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Because I miss Paris and this favorite place of ours, and because this photo is currently the wallpaper on my phone.

It will be warmer for the next two days and then it will drop back into the thirties. I’ll take 50 degrees tomorrow, thank you very much! I get two new front tires put on my car on Wednesday and then, depending on the weather, I’ll either drive to Hartford Thursday or Friday to watch a run-through of Jane Eyre. There’s a run-through tomorrow as well, but I didn’t want to drive there without the new tires.

Next week, I go to Hartford on the 14th to watch the first preview, spend the night, and give notes to the actors the next day. Then I’ll be done with the show.

Today? I’m not sure. My chores are all done; I was on roll over the weekend and accomplished a lot. I think I’ll get back to the stones on the dollhouse.

We had our weekly chat with Little Z yesterday. I love that kid. There is much laughter on every call and usually a detailed description of the elevators he has visited that week. He’s extraordinary, our Z. All I know is that after each call, I am filled with joy. And he brings that joy to everyone he meets. Just as Scoutie was a magic dog and spread joy everywhere, Little Z is a magic child who does the same.

We finished Hinterland  last night. The last episode was powerful on every level. What a finish! We really loved this series. What next? I’m not sure. We’ll have to see what we discover tonight. Didn’t care one whit about the Super Bowl; in fact, it was barely on our radar.

We have established a cocoon here at the cottage. We do what we want to, when we want to (except for work responsibilities, of course.) It’s one of the joys of being semi-retired and older, isn’t it? What works for us doesn’t necessarily work for someone else. But every day, especially with the world as it is, we express gratitude for our little cottage and the life we have built here. We have our little retreat (and it’s really all we need) where we can shut the world out as best we can. It isn’t always possible, but most of the time it is.

It’s time for my favorite question: What are you reading? I’m reading Transcription  by Kate Atkinson. I just started it yesterday and I’m about 50 pages into it. She’s an excellent writer and this book is no exception.

What about you?

Happy Monday.

 

 

Sunday: The Night Circus and Hinterland

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Slice of life: Don’s glasses, some nylon guitar strings, a toleware crumber that Don gave me years ago, one of our favorite houseplants, Don’s phone and a stack of books and New Yorkers that he is reading, and my McCoy bulb planter with mahjong tiles.

It’s sunny right now but it’s going to rain this afternoon.

One more episode of Hinterland  to go and we’ll watch it tonight. Despite my complaints about the interview style, the show is truly excellent. Wonderful, rich acting by all, from the leads to the small one-time-only appearances. And a great arc of character development with the lead character that has been written and acted beautifully. I’ll miss it. I’m glad we stuck with it because it was well worth it.

I feel about Hinterland  as I do about The Night Circus  or any book, movie, series that I’ve been so caught up in that I can’t imagine it ending. And then I go through a period where I have no idea what to read or watch and everything I consider will be judged, whether fairly or unfairly, on the merits of what I’ve just finished.

I finished The Night Circus  yesterday afternoon. I loved it. It’s magical, wondrous, beautifully written and imagined. It’s a love story contained within a rich fabric of the mysterious, the imagined, shifts back and forth in time, and the relationships of all who work in or encounter this circus. The descriptions of place and time are so vivid that you feel you are there. It’s very different than most books I read and I’m so glad I pulled it off the shelf at Oblong Books a couple of months ago. I recommend it highly. In fact, I can’t recommend it enough. Be patient in the beginning as you try to sort out the movement back and forth in time. It’s well worth it.

I walked around the den, pulling this book and that book, and I finally hit on a Kate Atkinson that I’ve had in my TBR stack – Transcription. That’s what I’ll be reading next.

I didn’t get to Rick’s plants yesterday, so I’ll head on over there this morning.

Happy Sunday.

Reading, Watching, and Art

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I keep thinking it’s Friday and it’s Thursday. I’ve been like that all week. I’m also going through one of my bouts with too little sleep. I’m just trying to maintain some calm about the whole thing. I don’t have to be anywhere, I don’t have to travel to Hartford or NYC, I can fall asleep in my chair in the late afternoon (like I’ve done for the past two days.) It’s all good.

Finished The Night Watch  by Michael Connelly. Excellent, as always. And I do mean ‘as always.’ He’s one of my favorite writers. Now, on to The Night Circus  by Erin Morgenstern. Hmmm. ‘Night’ seems to be the theme in this post so far; 3 nights with too little sleep, and two books with night in the title. What is the universe trying to say to me?

We’ve also been watching Hinterland  on Netflix. It’s an excellent police/detective procedural which takes place in Wales. It’s been around for 3 seasons, so I’m sure we’re late to this party and that some of you have already seen it.

More den artwork:

A very old lithograph by Currier & Ives – a famous one at that. I don’t know how old this particular print is, but I’d hazard a guess that it’s one of the earliest printing runs. The paper is foxed, there’s quite a bit of damage near the top. I got it at an auction several years ago. I had no idea that it was this old until I looked at it more closely after having won it for $25.00. I bid on it because I love the sentiment and I absolutely love the colors, especially that vivid red. It hangs above our television set.

And this one, which you’ve seen before in my McCoy photos. Both of these shots had to be taken from strange angles because the den has windows on 3 sides, making it virtually impossible to get a shot of anything glass without a reflection appearing in it.

This is a watercolor of a winding road with a windmill in the distance. It’s signed, but I can’t quite make it out. We bought this when we were living in San Diego. We loved the watercolor, but we really loved the frame! Isn’t it gorgeous? It really makes a statement and looked great in our Craftsman house in SD with all its dark woodwork. I hung it above the sheet music cabinet here in the den because it seems to go with the dark mahogany of the cabinet. The minute I added the McCoy, the whole thing popped.

I didn’t reply to comments on yesterday’s post as I have to count them for the giveaway and adding mine in only makes it more difficult.

Some errands to run today. It’s going to be warmer, thank goodness!

Happy Thursday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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