Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

  • About MHC
    • Disclosure
  • Dollhouses/Minis
    • Hummingbird Cottage
    • The Studio (Formerly TSP)
    • Dove Cottage
    • The Lake House
    • The Folk Art Dollhouse
    • The Modern Dollhouse
    • Dollhouse Source List, Information and Tutorials
  • On the Road
  • Collecting
    • Roseville Pottery
    • McCoy Pottery
    • Egg Cups
    • Bakelite
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Archives for Scout

Chatting on Tuesday

December 3, 2013 at 8:33 am by Claudia

candleden

It’s a foggy morning here at the cottage. We woke up early, a little too early. But then again, the days are so short at this time of year that we want to grab all the daylight we can. It’s now December 3rd and I have yet to clean up the porch and stow things for the winter. Honestly, I seem to do this later and later every year. The reason? I tend to be a procrastinator about things I don’t want to do. This is one of them. It symbolizes the end of all things green and growing. Since I am about to decorate for Christmas next week, I think I’d better get a move on.

I included this photo because I have a candle burning this morning and you can see the flame reflected in the glass of vintage frame on the wall. And I didn’t have any other photo to share! Goodness, what will I do now that I can’t take endless pictures of the flowers in my garden?

You’ll notice that Scout is not in this photo. Since Don has recently started to get up at the same time as me, her ‘schedule’ has been thrown off. She goes back and forth between us. She settles on the loveseat in the living room where Don is sitting, then she comes into the den and gets in the ‘tunnel’ and, after about 5 minutes, she heads back up to the living room. She’s like the child of divorced parents, shuttling back and forth between houses. I think she’s fed up with both of us. But you know all of that, since she recently absconded with the laptop and wrote a blog post. That girl!

I’m in the midst of Daniel Silva’s newest thriller, The English Girl. He is a wonderful author that I discovered a couple of years ago and, like Lee Child, Deborah Crombie and Louise Penny, I ended up reading all of his books in chronological order. Don’t you just love it when you discover a new author and absolutely have to read all of their books? In order? Such an unexpected pleasure.

I love reading. I remember being a young girl and thinking to myself, “There are so many books to read and so much music to listen to that I will never be able to accomplish it all in my lifetime!” It was thrilling and overwhelming at the same time. While I might not say it quite as dramatically nowadays, I still feel the same way. I wish I had the foresight many years ago to record the name of every book I read and continue it right up to the present. Can you imagine how staggering it would be to see a list of every book you’ve ever read? Oh, darn it, I wish I’d done that!

Finally, a little teaser for you. The Poisoner’s Handbook (which Don filmed in Prague last winter) airs on PBS on January 7th. Just a little over a month away! Don’t worry, I’ll remind you about it. If you click on this link, you’ll see a preview!

We’re very excited.

Oh for heaven’s sake, I keep forgetting to post the winner of a copy of The Alligator Man. Missy, you are the winner. I’ll shoot an email your way.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: books, Don, Scout 62 Comments

Scout Blogs: I’m Exhausted

November 30, 2013 at 9:16 am by Claudia

scout1

I’m exhausted.

No, really. You have no idea.

Herding these two people around, making sure I get to eat when I want to, barking at strange people who come to the door, watching and waiting for my dad to come back home when he’s been out in the car, pouncing, pouncing on cue because Mom seems to think I should perform for her, waiting for food to fall to the floor when dad is cooking….the list just goes on and on.

Lately, Dad has been getting up at the same time as Mom. What?????

This is a guy who has always, always slept in. So, Mom would get up and drink her coffee and I would get in the ‘tunnel’ and spend some time with her until Dad got up and then I would dutifully switch locations and spend some time with Dad.

Everyone was happy.

Now, I have to figure out where to go and one of my parents is always disappointed. Usually, it’s Mom.

It’s too much pressure.

I can’t make everyone happy.

scout2

Let’s not even mention the recent incident with the lamb costume.

And the hats.

I know you all saw it because Mom put pictures of me wearing that darned costume on the blog. Can’t I retain some sort of dignity?

Mom put that costume on me twice. And then she dragged out that camera and took lots of pictures. I tried to walk away. I tried to not meet her eyes. Does Mom realize how silly she looks with this black box in front of her eyes? I don’t get it. And I don’t like it.

The first time Mom put me in the costume was when Tina was here. Apparently, Tina made it.

The second time Mom put me in the costume, Dad was home. And once I was in it, Mom and Dad laughed and laughed. At me.

Maybe I should put them in a costume. I have some ideas. Oh boy, what I could do with a needle and thread!

Again, exhausting.

And Dad does things like this, he covers me with some sort of throw and asks Mom to come look and then…you guessed it…out comes the camera. Again.

Do you think Mom realizes I’m sticking my tongue out? At her?

I doubt it. She’ll think I’m just licking my chops.

Which, by the way, I do a lot. That’s my cue. That’s my M.O. When I lick my chops, Mom is supposed to immediately get up and feed me. I mean, right away. But she doesn’t. She sticks to something she calls her ‘schedule.’ She says things like “It’s too early.” Or “Not yet.” Or “No, you can’t have another treat.”

Even when I resort to my brilliant lick-my-chops-and-cock-my-head-toward-the-treat-cupboard move, she will stand there, look me in the eye and say NO.

What? That is a guaranteed, no fail and, in my humble opinion, adorable move.

And to top it all off, now I have to go outside to do my business in frigid temperatures. It’s cold out there! Why can’t I use that bathroom, too? Mom and Dad do.

It seems unfair.

By the way, I’m fascinated by the bathroom. I wander in there a lot during the day. I sniff the bathtub. I sniff the toilet. I sniff the trash. It’s now part of my rounds.

scout3

Mom had a birthday last week. I got to sniff all her presents. I even licked a few. I like presents. I get excited when I see them. I gave her a sign about eating cupcakes. I know her weakness.

I didn’t get a present. That doesn’t seem fair, either.

But my birthday is coming up in January. I’ll be 15 years old.

I expect some presents. (I assume Mom and Dad will be reading this – especially Mom because she thinks this is her blog.)

It isn’t.

Happy Saturday.

Scout

Filed Under: Scout 78 Comments

Presents, Work on the Dollhouse and a Fateful Day

November 22, 2013 at 9:15 am by Claudia

Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes! You warmed my heart, but then you always do. Don had to go into the city for an audition, so I hung around the cottage with Scout and did something that makes me very happy: I worked on the dollhouse.

fridaycuttingpainting

I cut, I painted, I trotted back and forth from the dollhouse to the kitchen island. Scout didn’t quite know where to ‘settle.’ That order from Miniatures that I received the other day had several pieces of trim that I planned on using to trim out the windows in the bathroom and the office/craft room. But then I had an Aha! moment. I knew I had to do some trimming of the bits of wallpaper that extended beyond the walls, especially around the doorways. I was never happy with the way they looked. I was ready to pull out the exact knife (which I will do, eventually.)

Ummmm, Claudia? You might want to consider trimming out the doorways, just as you did the windows. Why didn’t I think of that sooner?  I grabbed the trim I had on hand to do this:

fridoor

firdoors2

Much better! There’s more on the kitchen side of the doorway and in the bedroom. I also added a lot of molding around the baseboards and ceilings. Still more to do on that front.

I cannot tell you how much I love creating this little dollhouse world. It makes me so happy!

Today I have to place an order to replenish my stock!

Don came home around 2:30 and we went out to dinner around 6-ish. We decided to go local and by local I mean just down the road. Incredibly, I’d never been in this restaurant in the 8 years we’ve lived here, even though it is local hangout. Lovely waitress…hold on a moment, is ‘serving person’ the correct way to say it nowadays? Anyway, it was Keri’s first day on the job, so we made sure to give the manager a thumbs up on her work. We had angel hair pasta with olive oil and tomatoes and onions and garlic, along with a salad and garlic bread. Keri surprised us with a mini pumpkin pie in honor of my birthday that was out-of-this-world-delicious!

Back at the ranch, I opened my presents. I like to open a wrapped present so I put the brakes on the idea of snow boots, which I would have had to select and try on, leaving the element of surprise completely out of the picture. Not that I was entirely surprised by my gifts, as I had specifically requested two of them.

fripresents

The newest Lee Child, as I have been on the waiting list for it at my local library for a few months and I’m still number 163 in the queue. And Mary Oliver’s newest book of poems, all about dogs she has known and loved. Mary Oliver is my favorite poet. She makes my heart sing. She is wise. She is a nature and animal lover. She speaks to me.

Scout’s present for me was that little Keep Calm and Eat Cupcakes sign.

Speaking of cupcakes, Don had four of them waiting for me. They were decorated with my name – in icing! I haven’t had any of them yet as I was too stuffed from dinner. But, they’re waiting for me. Yummy!

Lots of Birthday wishes on Facebook and on this blog, so my cup does indeed ‘runneth over.’

Finally, like many of you, I have been watching a lot of vintage footage from the day President Kennedy was assassinated. I remember exactly where I was. I had just turned 11 the day before. I was in art class at my school when we were ushered back to our classroom with the words “The President has just been shot.” We were sent home and by the time I reached my house, which was just two blocks from school, the world knew he had died. We sat in front of our television for the next three days. We saw Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald, as it happened. We cried and cried.

Such a terrible time, such a horrendous loss. I truly believe that everything changed from that moment. Nothing has ever been the same. Innocence was lost, hopes and dreams were crushed.

Fifty years.

Today, I’m honoring the memory of President Kennedy and of Officer Tippet, who was also gunned down by the despicable Oswald on that fateful day.

Have a good Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: birthday, books, dollhouse, Don, life, Scout 45 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • …
  • 123
  • Next Page »
  • Email
  • Instagram

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.

Searching?

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

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

Archives

All Content © 2008 - 2025 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in