Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Tuesday Thoughts

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4-12 rosevilleincabinet

I tried. Really, I did. But it’s so dark and rainy this morning that it’s almost impossible to get a decent photo of this china cabinet.  On a good day, a photo of anything in the den is problematic, but on a rainy day? Oh my goodness, it’s frustrating.

I just wanted you to see where I decided to place the green Ixia Vase. I like it there.

Just to identify the patterns for you, from the left: a Magnolia cornucopia in green, a pink and green vase in Peony, a large vase in Zephyr Lily, a candlestick in Gardenia, the vase in Ixia, a Bleeding Heart candlestick, a vase in Snowberry, and a small bowl in Bushberry.

I tried to get a picture of the other shelf to no avail. Another day.

Yesterday’s work day in NYC went smoothly, as did the bus trip in and out of the city. But I was tired when I got home, having risen especially early so I could catch the bus and make it to rehearsal with a little time to spare. Now, I have a bit of a break before I have to work again on Anastasia. If it wasn’t raining, I’d be outside right now, starting my garden cleanup! Drat.

So I’m inside instead, reading a very good mystery (which I will soon review on Just Let Me Finish This Page,) writing this post, as well as a post celebrating Beverly Cleary’s 100th Birthday, which is on JLMFTP today, and hanging out with my husband. Not bad.

The weather report has promised sunshine for the afternoon. Seems doubtful, but I remain hopeful.

We just finished watching a six-episode series on Netflix that was simply wonderful. It was made for Netflix and filmed in Britain – it’s called River.  It’s a police procedural with a huge twist and the acting by everyone is superb, especially that of Stellen Skarsgård in the title role. He knocked our socks off. Brilliant. If you subscribe to Netflix, give it a try. It was so good, we’re sorry it’s over!

On another note: Don lost a dear friend yesterday, a lovely woman who he first met when he was 22. Joan was part of a community of actors in Omaha, Nebraska at the time – where Don lived briefly. Years earlier, she had her own television show in Britain (she was British) and eventually ended up in Omaha, along with her mother and daughter. Don always said she reminded him of Julie Andrews. Many of those Omaha actors remain friends to this day and most of them ended up moving to Los Angeles, where Joan’s home was always a welcoming place for one and all. I met Joan when Don was performing in a play in Los Angeles. Since we lived in San Diego, he needed a place to stay and Joan insisted he stay there.  She was simply lovely, kind and funny and warm and welcoming. She was a big dog lover and always had one or more dogs that she had rescued. She encouraged me to bring Winston along when I came for that visit and I did. I was utterly charmed by her. She had declined in recent months and her devoted daughter Kate nursed her through her final illness.

Don is devastated and very, very sad. She will be missed by many. Gracious and elegant are what come to mind when I think of her. Rest in Peace, Joan.

Happy Tuesday.

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Lesson Learned

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Yesterday’s rehearsal (at least my part in it) ended around 4:00, so I hightailed it to my car and headed home. Don was not expecting me until around 7 and I walked in before 6, completely surprising him. It is always so good to be home. He was sitting with his leg elevated, which is no surprise. It’s looking so much better now and I think it will only be a few more days until he can get back to normal.

He made dinner (Thank goodness I no longer have to make dinner every night as I did during his convalescence! He’s much better at it.) and we had a nice snuggle on the sofa before I fell into bed, exhausted and exhilarated. Work is a good thing for me right now. It’s something to focus on in a place I know like the back of my hand. It doesn’t matter where it is, on Broadway or off, in a regional theater or elsewhere, a rehearsal room is a rehearsal room. I remember getting ready to work on a musical headed to Broadway several years ago. I nervously walked into the rehearsal room and immediately relaxed. It was no different than any other rehearsal room. Work is work. Labels are just that – labels.

There was a package waiting for me on the kitchen table. I asked Don if he had wondered if it was more Roseville and he responded, “I don’t even think about it.” Wise, my husband, wise.

Because it was  Roseville.

4-10 Ixia 1

This is Ixia, a lovely Roseville pattern that doesn’t crop up in auctions nearly as often as some of the other patterns. First produced in 1937, the Ixia (from the Iris family) was a symbol of happiness to Victorian gardeners. I love this particular shade of green (it also comes in yellow and pink-green) and the delicate flowers. I really  love the Art Deco-style handles.

4-10 Ixia 2

The back. One of the things I love about Roseville is that front and back are always different.

And the details are always there, as in this touch:

4-10 Ixia 3

Do you see the way the stem on the left extends onto the handle and the center stem extends onto the base? I love that.

These are the little things that make this collector’s heart go pitter-pat.

This vase is 8 inches high. I’m not sure where I’m going to put it yet. Upstairs? Downstairs? Hmmm.

I learned a little eBay bidding lesson with this one. For some reason (though I think I now have an idea why) I was the only bidder. The opening bid price was a fair one and I pondered bidding for a couple of days before I finally pulled the trigger. I was very happy when I won because this vase had cast a little spell on me. I got ready to pay and I noticed the shipping charge listed was $50.

What????

Are you kidding me? Well, I thought, I’m going to have to eat that cost because I didn’t take the time to check out the shipping charge before I bid, which was unlike me. I knew it was an outrageous price for shipping – which might be why nobody other than myself bid. I took a deep breath and wrote to the seller, explaining that I was the winner and thrilled to be so (this vase had belonged to the seller’s great-aunt) but why was the shipping so high? I mentioned other shipping charges that I had paid in past Roseville transactions of similar size and weight and that they were at least 1/4 of what she was charging.

This is where I learned something new. She immediately and graciously wrote me back, explaining that eBay had figured out the charges, not her, and that she herself was shocked at the amount. She then went on to say that she would look into it and she did; boxing up the vase and taking it to the post office to get a better idea. Bless her heart, she came back and reposted the shipping charge, which was now $11 instead of $50. And I received it within 3 days.

Always check the shipping charge in the auction. And always ask the seller about it if you think it’s too much.

I’m taking it easy today, puttering around the house, taking care of some laundry, vacuuming, and maybe some wandering outside to see what’s happening in the garden.

Tomorrow I have to get going very early in order to get into Manhattan for a 10:00 rehearsal.

Happy Sunday,

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Freakish Weather, Basketball & Roseville (All in One Day)

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I bet you’re thinking I’ll go on and on about the snow which fell all day long yesterday, or the current temperature of 22° which feels like 11° which means we had a hard freeze last night or the fact that our postman almost slid into my car during the storm as he tried to back up at the top of our drive leading me to run outside and move my car forward and leading gimpy Don to come outside and move some planters and the birdbath so I could move it forward some more leading the postman to shovel out around the rear wheels of his truck, which finally got him safely out of the driveway. Or the funk that both of us were in, especially Don who has been housebound for over a week, as we watched the freakish weather happening outside our cottage.

No, I’ll show you this, instead:

4-5 grape hyacinth

Unexpected beauty in the snow: a single grape hyacinth springing up from beneath the rocks that define one of the planting areas.

Oh, and I’ll scream: Villanova won! That basketball game was incredible, right down to the wire. With 4.7 seconds left in the game, Kris Jenkins shot for 3 points. He made that shot when there was .1 second left; the ball left his hands and was in the air as the buzzer sounded. Basket. Unbelievable.

My throat is  little raw from screaming. Villanova hasn’t won since 1985, when I was in graduate school in Philadelphia. They played Georgetown in that game and since every news item in Philly was about Villanova, I watched that game in my apartment in South Philadelphia. So, when I had to choose teams for the friendly competition in my brother-in-law’s family, I chose Villanova – a salute to that time in my life 31 years ago. I still won’t win the competition, as my other 3 teams were out of the running fairly quickly, but I don’t care. Yay, Villanova!

The postman drove up our drive yesterday in order to deliver a box that contained this:

4-5 cosmos1

An eBay win. This Roseville pattern is Cosmos, made in the thirties.

4-5 cosmos2

It has a little chip inside the upper rim, which is fine by me. I got it for a great price.

I’m trying to collect all of the flower patterns, though some are quite rare and undoubtedly out of my price range.

This particular vase is diminutive at 6 inches high.

4-5 cosmosonshelf

See?

As I was waiting to grab some phone time with my Russian neighbor (it ended up having to wait until this morning) I sat up in the office and created an inventory list of all my Roseville pieces. To my surprise, I now have 25. I’m going to do that with my McCoy and egg cups, as well. It’s good to have on hand for all sorts of reasons. I remember what I have, what I paid and what it’s actually worth. Though I’ve been collecting McCoy for so long that I sincerely doubt I’ll remember what I paid for anything – likewise, the egg cups.

It was busy work, but fun busy work.

Today, Don goes back to the doctor. He is definitely getting better, but there’s still some redness and pain, so he needs more antibiotics. I will keep prepping for Anastasia. I have to drive to Hartford on Thursday for a read-through of the musical.

Happy Tuesday.

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