Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for Riley

Pet Portraits & Mask Info

August 15, 2021 at 9:45 am by Claudia

I’m late posting these beauties to the blog as they came during the period in which I didn’t have a computer and I wanted to give them their own post. My longtime blogging friend, Grace, is a wonderful artist. She painted a beautiful picture of Scout a while back, which I have hanging over my desk.

Grace recently did portraits of all our dogs. She posted them on Instagram and soon, they were winging their way from Canada to my post office box. I was stunned when I opened the package – stunned not only by their beauty, but by their generous size. They are extraordinarily beautiful.

They made me cry.

Winston, our first baby, with his favorite ball.

Scout, pouncing, with a twinkle in her eye.

Sweet Riley. I believe he was looking up at me from the porch.

Aren’t they beautiful? I don’t know how Grace does it. There is such detail. I can ‘feel’ Riley’s coat, remember exactly how it felt under my fingers. The same with Winston and Scout.

Oh, how I miss them all.

Thank you, dear Grace, for these priceless remembrances of our babies. You’ve given us such joy. For more on Grace and her beautiful pet portraits, visit her on Instagram at this link.

One more thing for today. Don is overdue for his next visit to the eye doctor, partly because his original appointment was canceled as the doctor had a family emergency. He’s been trying to reschedule but there was no answer at the office. Well, that’s because there was someone in the office – patient or staff, I don’t know – who tested positive for COVID. The office is closed until the middle of this week. He received an update on their protocol from them today: Only medical grade masks because cloth masks do not work on this variant.

I thought I should pass this information on to all of you. We use cloth masks, sometimes double masking. But I just ordered some N95 masks because we’re not going to mess around with this virus.

And what is happening in Afghanistan is breaking my heart.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: dogs, Riley, Scout, Winston 36 Comments

Day Two Hundred Seventy

December 8, 2020 at 10:11 am by Claudia

Boy, I had a bout of sadness this morning. I’d been thinking about Scoutie and Winston and Riley. Don and I were remembering how much Scoutie loved to be in on the opening of gifts and that Winston used sit in front of our San Diego fireplace staring at his stocking because he could smell the rubber/vinyl of the toys that were hidden inside. He’d sit there for an hour – staring.

Then I thought about my parents and brother and how much I missed them.

Sometimes it comes over you in a wave.

Last week, I was chatting with my favorite dealer Sydney, of Fox Run Antiques. (Source of the egg cup cubby, the vintage dollhouse in the kitchen, many butter pats and countless other things including putz sheep.) I asked her if she had any putz sheep this year and she said she did but she wasn’t going to display them because they’re fragile and people steal them. They are indeed fragile. But stealing? So sad.

She sent me some photos of them and I picked out two, which she dropped off at a local antique barn where she has a booth. I paid for them over the phone and on Friday morning, Don waited in the car while I ran into the shop, picked up the bag, said hello to the owner, and immediately ran out again. I haven’t been in an antique shop since March and oh, how I wanted to wander and look and pick up things – especially at Christmas time!

But I didn’t stay. Because that would be foolish. Sigh. Someday.

You know I love to rescue things and both of these sheep have some damage. They needed a home.

A petite putz sheep, with a little stain on the fleece, and the ubiquitous broken ears – that happens a lot with putz sheep. They can break quite easily. My friend Helga, who lives in Germany, actually repairs and replaces parts on her putz sheep. She has a large collection of them, including putz goats and black sheep!)

The other is now the tallest sheep in my collection.

He has a wonky back leg, his fleece is stained, his ears are broken, and the beautiful eye you see has worn away on the other side of his face.

Some of my sheep are in fairly pristine condition. Others are damaged and worn.

All are welcome.

I’ll try to take a panoramic photo of all of them on the mantel above my desk.

We have to do a bit of work outside today. I’m hanging our outdoor lights, we’re storing more things in the shed, and I have to empty a few more pots that now hold dead plants.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: Christmas, dogs, putz sheep, Riley, Scout, Winston 34 Comments

Things to Do, Cars, Flowers & Mom

July 31, 2017 at 7:54 am by Claudia

Coneflowers self-seed so, over the years, they’ve spread throughout the garden, but this year! This year there are more than ever. I love it.

Every time I look at this photo, I see the reflection on the door and, for a moment, I think it’s one of the dogs. I have pictures of both Riley and Scout watching me from the other side of the glass. I catch my breath and am reminded of how much I miss them. Every day. It never stops.

We had fun at the car show yesterday. It was an absolutely beautiful day but I should have worn a sun hat. The bright sun beating down on all of us as we walked around this big, open field was sort of exhausting. There were a lot of cars, many of them of the newer variety. I really like the older cars, so I got a little bored after a while. I did see my faves: vintage Thunderbirds and mid-sixties Mustangs.

I can’t help it, I’m from Dearborn, Michigan, home of the Ford Motor Company. I grew up with test tracks, World Headquarters, manufacturing plants, and Fords everywhere. Several of the parents of my friends helped design those cars. I told Don that if we ever have mad money, I’d like a ’65 Mustang, please.

I’m leaving in a week and a half and I have so much to do. I’m rather overwhelmed at the moment, so I need to drink a second cup of coffee and start making some lists. I haven’t even seen Darko’s version of the script yet, though I know it’s on its way to me. Yikes. Too much to do, including prepping for the arrival of the stove. (It won’t be for a while yet, but our propane/boiler guy is coming a week from tomorrow to check things out.)

Today would have been my mom’s 90th birthday.  Happy Birthday, Mom. You are in my heart always. I miss you.

Happy Monday.

 

Filed Under: flowers, garden, mom, Riley, Scout 45 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.

Thanks for stopping by.

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The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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