Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Imogen

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Yesterday, my server/host was apparently migrating accounts to a new system or something or other (after a bit, my brain shuts down all technical info.) That caused the blog to be down for some of you, which happened west to east through several time zones, which is why some of you saw “This account has been suspended” messages before I did. Not a good choice as it made us all look like we had done something wrong. I was also – and still am – dealing with a problem with the email associated with this blog. I’m not getting any of your comments sent to me, my replies aren’t being sent to you, and I’m not receiving warnings about attempts to hack the blog. That is still a problem and I have to call someone and deal with it today, though the tech I spoke to yesterday suspected it had to do with the migration. But, the blog is back up and running, and the other problem still exists.

The tech aspects of this blog can be exhausting. Anyway. I don’t think you’ll be receiving my replies in the near future until this gets ironed out, so just check back in later in the day to join in the conversation. Thanks for your patience!

I coached Ben yesterday and dealt with all the blog craziness, and in the middle of it all, this package arrived from Minsk, in Belarus. For quite a while, I was worried whether it would actually get here! What do you think was inside?

Meet Imogen! I’m besotted, my friends. I first saw her on Etsy and I fell in love with her gamine look. I couldn’t get her out of my mind. She has the most beautiful eyes, though I’m only showing you one set today. This is exactly how she came to me – in this outfit, with the bunny in her arms. The seller also included another dress, a hat, and a chocolate bar from Belarus with all the text in Russian.

I’ve always loved the name Imogen. She’s a character in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, which is where I first fell in love with the name. And there are actresses and famous photographers with that name. Truth be told, when I looked at her on Etsy, I knew that would be her name.

I’m so glad she’s here!

Sophie, ever cautious and shy, watched me unwrap her. And then they met.

Sophie seems to be saying “Who IS this?”

But soon enough, I could hear laughter from the den.

Imogen has faint freckles on her forehead.

There’s a whole world of “Blythe” body adaptions out there. Sophie has the standard body and her head doesn’t tilt at all. So that makes photographing her somewhat challenging, as her head tilts down a bit. Imogen came with what is called a neck adapter or neck joint, which is added to the original neck to brace the head and make it possible for the head to tilt forward, back and to the sides.

I have plans to adapt Sophie’s body and neck in the future. That’s a whole other conversation: what bodies to use, what neck adapters. Some of the videos I’ve watched are very helpful, but I’m also a bit wary of trying anything too risky. But, then again, I am used to cutting and building and adapting, so I suspect I’ll be fine.

It’s fun to have two of them to play with. Part of the fun is dressing them in the scads of clothes available out there and posing them for photographs. Some Blythe owners take such inventive photographs.

Okay. I have to coach Ben at one, have to figure out the situation with the email on my blog, blah, blah, blah.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Back for a Bit

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This is Moynihan Train Hall, newly opened. It’s the Amtrak hub of Penn Station and it’s really gorgeous and efficient. There’s a nice waiting room with furniture designed in what is clearly an homage to old train stations. There will be a food hall, but nothing has opened yet, except for a Starbucks and a Magnolia Bakery, and since I’m off sugar, that ain’t happening.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time here this past week and as much as I like it, I’m glad it’s over.

Sunday afternoon, just about an hour before we were to leave for the train station, I got an email from the stage manager, asking if I’d told the Covid Safety guy that I was going to be at rehearsal Monday. Ummm…no. Since the company contracted me for Monday and since all those in charge knew I was coming, why would I tell him? He would know, right? I assumed that since he hadn’t contacted me, I didn’t need another test. The next hour or so – even after I’d left the house – was a back and forth with him about whether I needed a test. The Amtrak train ran late, so there was no way I was going to be able to get one on Sunday. Long story short, I had to get one on Monday morning, which – again – I had to pay for. He admitted it was his fault and that he had dropped the ball – I could have had one done here for free on Friday had I known.

I got one. It was negative. But I let him know I was angry that I’d had to pay nearly $400 for Covid tests and that, in the future, this company – in situations where they require a quick turnaround PCR test – needs to make the appointment for the employee/contractor and pay upfront. Between cabs, ubers, and covid tests, I’m out more than $600. I’ll be reimbursed, but in the meantime, we have bills to pay. To assume that anyone coming in for a rehearsal, especially young actors, and this cast is full of them, has money on hand to pay for these tests is wrong.

I swear, the logistics of these three days in NYC were the hardest. Rehearsals were good, they were productive and satisfying. But getting into the city, trying to find a cab to take me to Queens (finding a cab in Queens is even harder,) grabbing another cab to go back into Manhattan for the test, trying to find food to eat in the Queens neighborhood I was in, trying to grab an Uber that would get me to Penn Station in the rush hour pouring rain…I’m exhausted. I have a love/hate relationship with the city. We live in the country and the contrast couldn’t be more stark. It’s so crowded. Traffic jams everywhere. Horns honking repeatedly. Exciting if you’re a first-time visitor, not at all exciting when you’ve spent a lot of time there.

Today, I’m back to working with Ben on the newly revised script. And I’m panicked because in 20 days or so I’m off to Brooklyn/NYC for 6 weeks.

Let’s have some Sophie fun. I posted this on Sunday, right before I left, based on a suggestion from Don.

Sophie is having none of Big Boy’s flirting. None of it.

I will quote Don: “How can she resist him? Seriously, how can she resist him???”

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Wildflowers, Booster Shots, & Sophie

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It is so cold here this morning that the heat kicked on! We always wait as long as we can before we turn it on for the season, but I guess the boiler decided for us this morning. And it’s still cold! I just made our second cup of coffee as we need to get going this morning. Booster shot time!

After that, grocery shopping and then we do another self-tape audition for Don.

We finished Goliath’s  fourth and final season last night and let me tell you, we were blown away. It is brilliant on every level. Completely brilliant. I haven’t seen anything this good come out of American television/streaming in years. We’re going to watch it again in a week or two. I don’t know what we’ll watch tonight – Goliath  is an impossible act to follow.

Yesterday, a little parcel arrived in the mail with some new shoes for Sophie.  Of course, I had to find an outfit to match them.

Adorable.

The dress is by Moshi Moshi Studio. Hilary lives in England and has her own website.

The shoes were made by Crafty Cora, who is on Etsy and lives right next door in Connecticut. I say this because much of what I order for Sophie, in fact, 98% of it, is from Europe or Asia. The shoes are leather. This is the second pair I’ve purchased from her and her work is amazingly detailed.

You’ve seen the tights before. They’re from PommePomme on Etsy – based in Ohio.

Gosh, I love dressing her up!

Sophie, by the way, is half English, half French. Her dad is from Great Britain and her mom is from France. She lives in England during the school year, but she spends summers at her family’s home in Provence.

Lucky girl!

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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