Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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She Has a Fan Club

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Off to NYC again this morning for an hour or so of coaching. Of course, an hour of coaching involves about 4 hours of travel roundtrip, so it makes for a full day. I will only have time to meet Don for a minute or two to get the recycling tickets that he still had in his car and surprise him with some homemade chocolate chip cookies and cloud biscuits. Yes, I was busy baking yesterday.

Yesterday, a guy came to put a new timer in our washer/dryer and, as he was getting ready to leave, he asked me about the stove. He wanted to know if it was really old or just new, made to look old. Next thing I knew, I was showing him all of Stella’s features and he took a picture of her, saying she was the coolest thing he’d seen all day. He was a young man, but a young man who appreciates old things. We had a great conversation.

Stella may have been blushing, I’m not sure. She has a fan club.

He also gave me a tip about our washer/dryer combination. The company is still making them, he said, but the new models aren’t nearly as solid as our 12 year old one. Why, I wonder? Cheaper parts? Labor? I don’t know. Anyway, he told me it would be worth it to pay for repairs on this one, rather than to buy the newer version. Good to know!

It continues to be hot and humid here – I think it will be 86 today. What the ????

So far, the air conditioning has been running every day this week.

More of the wildflowers that are blooming all over the property. They really are beautiful.

Yesterday’s morning glory.

I have to run. I overslept this morning – a rare, rare occasion – and I’ve got to get moving.

Happy Thursday.

 

A Foggy Saturday Morning

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Good morning!

It’s another deliciously foggy morning. I love the mystery of fog, the soft edges. I guess it’s not at all surprising that I love mysteries, is it?

Taken just a couple of minutes ago: the living room in the early morning light. I love the different wood finishes, the textures, the color of that blue table and chartreuse piece of Russel Wright pottery, the Roseville and the Guy Wolff pottery, and a splash of green in the shefflera. Oh, and the dried hydrangea in the corner.

Shadows and light.

I finished totaling and sorting through all our receipts, typed up the deductions, and sent them off to our accountant in Los Angeles. Sigh of relief.

Today I will study the script for Shadowlands. I’m doing some dialect coaching on a production in New York and that starts (for me) on Monday. As soon as this post is finished, I plan to make my second cup of coffee and sit on the porch. I must take advantage of it while I can!

Don smelled gas in his apartment yesterday and sure enough, there is a leak. So they turned off the gas. It will take a couple of days to fix – luckily he’s coming home for a day. The furniture was temporarily rented by the management company and, except for the bed, it’s ridiculously uncomfortable. The sofa is the kind you might find in a dorm room – in fact, only someone 18 or younger could lounge on it without his/her back going out. Don had a discussion with management and they agreed to find replacements. Yesterday, they brought a different chair which is definitely more comfortable (update: Nope. It’s not, per Don), but for some reason, they attempted to replace the sofa with a sofa bed (???) and it was so awkward and big that they couldn’t get it up the stairs. Why a sofa bed when he has a bed already, I don’t know. There’s been a lot of traffic in and out of his apartment this week – I know he’s looking forward to some peace and quiet.

Thought for the day – As a baked potato lover – truly, it’s one of my favorite foods – I’m going to say it: A potato baked in Stella’s oven puts all others to shame. It’s changed my potato-eating-life.

I’ve reached nirvana.

Happy Saturday.

Fog, Paths, Pottery & Hartford

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This is the view I woke up to – one of my favorites:

Fall and fog.

Sigh. I have to drive back to Hartford today. I’ve been nestling in here at the cottage and it’s been a joy. I don’t want to exaggerate, however. I’m only going back for 2 days – maybe 3 – and then I’m home for good. I packed up quite a few things last Sunday and hauled them home. Hopefully, this will make the rest of the packing easier. Fingers crossed.

Don made this path with some pavers he found at Lowes – it’s behind the kitchen. You can see our rain barrel, which handles overflow from our wonky gutters. There is a flat grassy area behind the kitchen that gets very wet as it’s at the bottom of a small hill. We’d like to do more with it next year. Anyway, this little path is the start. (Don was very busy while I was away!)

I made biscuits last night. Yes, I’m the only one here, but…Stella. And biscuits.

Note baking chart inside oven door: Biscuits – 450. Check. 12 -15 minutes. Check, although I tend to go for 11 or 12 minutes at max.

Made a jelly roll lately? 400 degrees, 12 -15 minutes.

They get so poufy that they sometimes fall over. That’s because they’re Cloud Biscuits. I’m taking some back with me. Comfort food.

I’ve been noticing a line of pottery on Instagram, greatly favored by much younger bloggers, some of them fanatic collectors. It’s made by potter Rae Dunn and it’s sold at Home Goods, T J Maxx and Marshalls. She has other lines, as well, that are sold elsewhere. The appeal of this particular line centers on the use of words in a engaging font, along with the slightly irregular shape of the mugs. I’m not about to be a big collector, but I did buy a few pieces, drawn, in part, by this one:

Why Chill? Well, besides the obvious good advice, Chill is me. C. Hill. As I said on Instagram, this was embroidered on every item of clothing I wore in gym class or took to camp. It was written inside all my book covers.

I’m C. Hill. And I remain a Hill legally. Even though I go by Hill-Sparks professionally, I never changed my name when I married Don. I had no desire to shed what had been my legal surname for over 40 years. Don was completely fine with that.

So. Long story, but that’s why I love this mug!

Some more pieces. I love the bowls. We always need bowls around here. I’ve always been drawn to words on things – I’ve had some of the Emma Bridgewater Toast and Marmalade pieces for years. The lettering on the Rae Dunn pieces is very like the font I chose for my blog; another reason I’m enamored.

The mug behind Chill says Play.

And then there’s this one, which was in yesterday’s post. I found it at Home Goods. Also Rae Dunn.

Luckily, I don’t have a lot of extra room around here. Maybe a few pieces, but that’s it.

Some of you wrote to me when Irma was on the way to the Tampa area and I’d love to hear how you’re doing. When you have a moment, please leave a comment. Mere and her family are okay. Exhausted, but okay. Little Z declared on his own last night that it was time to go to bed. He was tuckered out.

Happy Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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