Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Little Books, Tiktok, and It’s Friday

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It’s already Friday. I can’t believe how quickly we’re at the end of another week. It’s frightening, really. Especially at this age.

A few things:

♦ A friend of mine on Instagram sent me a direct message the other day (I’ve cropped out her name for the sake of privacy.)

Which she quickly amended to:

Who would have thought that I’d be seen by not only all the people who have seen the movie, but lots of people on tiktok, as well?? She said the comments are wonderful, but I don’t have the app, so I can only see one or two.

I hope you’re suitably impressed by my fame.

♦ I was moving one of these books to my side table the other day and I suddenly wondered if you were familiar with them.

These little volumes are from the Macmillan Collector’s Library. They measure about 4 x 6 inches. And they’re beautiful, with gold-tipped edges, beautiful end papers, and a satin ribbon bookmark.  I’ve decided to keep one of them on that table, so that whenever I want to read something shortish, I can simply pick up the book and dive in.

The cover art is beautiful, as well.

I’m pretty sure they’re available here, but I bought mine on our trip to Europe. Lord Peter Wimsey Investigates  was purchased at Shakespeare and Company in Paris – they stamped the title page with their wonderful logo. And the Sherlock Holmes was purchased in London. I’m pretty sure I bought it at John Sandoe Books. And they’re absolute gems.

♦ We had to mow the front lawn yesterday. I have named this chapter in our lives, “The Grass That Wouldn’t Stop Growing.”  Still green, still lush, still a pain in the tush. Too bad that “lush” and “tush” don’t rhyme. Maybe “lush” was once pronounced with a short u as in look. It certainly would be if I was speaking in certain dialects.

And that’s it for this Friday.

♦ I want to take a minute to reach out to Brenda, who is unable to comment on the blog. I don’t know the whole story – she’ll tell it when she is able.  I miss you Brenda and I miss your wonderful comments and your positive outlook on life. Just know that we’re all praying for you, my friend.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Spoiler Alert, Critters, and the Girls

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First up: Spoiler Alert  is now streaming on Amazon Prime. Hopefully, that means everywhere, but I can’t say that for sure. I had a message on Instagram the other day from my friend Kate. Kate is the daughter of my childhood friend, June. June died very suddenly when Katie was only two years old. You might remember that Kate contacted me a few years ago and we arranged a meeting in NYC. She wanted to talk to someone who had known her mother well. She started crying the moment she saw me. It was one of the most powerful and emotional experiences of my life.

Kate messaged me to say that she’d finally seen me in Spoiler Alert. She’d taken a picture of me in my scene. These messages mean so much to me, you have no idea. They touch my heart. And to have it come from June’s daughter! June was extremely talented, a gifted musician, extremely intelligent, and a true friend (she taught special needs children as an adult.) She was always a big supporter of me and my work in the theater. To know that Katie saw me act on screen is kind of a full circle moment.

I love you, June. I miss you. Your daughter is simply spectacular.

Seen yesterday in the area right outside our living room window: a rabbit, the big groundhog (unrelated to the young brood, as far as I know) who lives under the shed, one of the little ones who always visits in the late afternoon and hangs out by the tree, lots of birds (including a seldom seen thrush), and a little baby bunny. The baby’s presence scared off the big groundhog!

Girls update:

Harper in a summer dress.

Holly, who had been wearing a winter coat, insisted on wearing a summer dress, as well.

And Lily is taking a nap.

She has no eyelids, so you’ll just have to accept that she’s sleeping.

It rained a lot yesterday, which was much needed. There are catalpa flowers scattered everywhere. But there are still a lot of blossoms on the tree, so we get to see her all dressed up in white flowers for a bit longer.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Sunny Monday Egg Cups

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It’s still a degree below freezing, but it will warm up to 61 today. Quickly scanning the week ahead, it looks like this will be the last week where it goes down below freezing at night. Next week? In the forties. That means I’ll soon be able to begin garden cleanup.

But not until I’m feeling better. And I’m not feeling much better. I felt crappy most of the day yesterday and it wasn’t until about 6 pm that I began to feel human. Today? Can’t tell yet.

This group is on the petite side and not one of them has a marking. So I don’t know who made them.

• A blue and off-white egg cup, fairly heavy. I believe it was a gift. Lovely design.

• A plastic Art Deco-inspired egg cup that I found at the Paris flea market. I love all things Art Deco and this was so unlike anything I had that I grabbed it. Also: PARIS!

• Another Paris flea market find. It’s a bit battered and not in great condition, but it’s red transferware (if that is even what it’s called in France) and it’s very old. Also: PARIS!

• This is a very heavy egg cup, Asian in design. I have no idea where it came from (did I buy it?)

I’ll show you the other side of this one:

An Asian design with dragons – there’s even more, but it’s hard to get the whole picture because of the curve of the cup. It might be stoneware.

And these two:

You might remember me knitting these bunny egg cup cozies several years ago. I believe that happened when Don was away somewhere; Boston, La Jolla, somewhere. I was so charmed by this pattern that I couldn’t resist. The one on the right is Mom. The one on the left is her son. If I had eggs in the cups, they’d be sitting up higher. (Note to self: Do that.)

The son is perched on a tiny lustreware egg cup that was one of my very first purchases. Mom is perched on an egg cup from Prague – a gift from Don that he found when he was filming The Poisoner’s Handbook  for PBS.

Speaking of films, thank you to those of you who have taken the time to watch Spoiler Alert. I can’t tell you how important it is to me that you see it, and when you let me know you’ve seen it, my heart is full. I’ve had a full and rewarding life in the theater; teaching, training actors, working with all sorts of wonderful people including many, many actors who would be called ‘famous.’ I’ve worked on Broadway. Pretty much every dream has been fulfilled and I’m profoundly grateful

But this movie, such an unexpected event in the later years of my career, is the most visible and important thing I’ve done. Attending the premiere was one of the biggest things to ever happen to me. And the icing on the cake was acting in it – completely unexpected and a gift from God. I’m very, very proud of my work on this movie – Ben sounds completely American – and I think I make quite a believable nurse.

It’s available everywhere now. You can buy a DVD, you can rent it for a modest price on most all the streaming platforms. Obviously, I can’t make you watch it.  But, you know how much it means to me that you see it. It’s a beautiful movie full of wonderful, heartfelt performances. You’ll cry. You’ll laugh, You’ll get to see me in a scene with Jim, Ben, Bill Irwin, and Sally Field.

Thanks! I don’t ask much, if anything of you. It would mean a great deal to me.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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