Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Day Thirty-Six

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In the “What the ???” department: April 18th. Snow.

I’ve seen snow in early April before, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this late. When I got up this morning, Don was saying “Isn’t it beautiful?” My response: “No.”

I can’t see any beauty in this heavy wet snow. But my consolation is the temperature reaching 49 today, so it will melt. But right now? It’s still snowing.

The lights have flickered twice, which seems ominous, so I’m going to try to get this published before I lose the draft.

We’re still watching Cheers  on Netflix, tracking the story from the very beginning. Yesterday, we reached the end of the season, where the actor playing Coach, Nicholas Colasanto, died. We knew it was coming but it was if it was happening in real time. He was such a wonderful actor; no one but Colasanto could have played that character as real and without artifice as he did. He never commented – by that, I mean the actor never gave any indication that he was acting or that he was smarter than Coach in real life, and I’ve seen many actors fall prey to that. Actors and directors call that ‘commenting.’ No, it was from the heart, honest and beautiful and funny. Colasanto died 35 years ago, it hardly seems possible, and to us it was as if it had just happened. He was so gifted, so wonderful. Both of us were huge fans of Cheers, but we figured out that the reason we don’t always remember the earlier episodes was because we were very busy then. Don was constantly acting in plays and performing every night. I was in graduate school, attending classes during the day, rehearsing every night. Neither of us had a VCR in those days.

I’m reading Modern Nature  by Derek Jarman. And I’m determined to start a jigsaw puzzle today.

Doing our best to stay focused, happy, and to deal with all of this in a positive way.

Stay safe. Stay home.

Happy Saturday.

Thursday

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Playing around with my Nancy Drews and a photo filter. Currently, they’re on the vintage bookcase in the upstairs hallway, along with other vintage children’s books. That may change when we add bookshelves to the wall. Whenever that is…

Beautiful day out there – it’s quite sunny. I really think Spring is coming early this year. The temps in the 14 day forecast are mostly in the fifties, with a couple of days back in the forties. On Monday, we’ll hit 65. There’s always the chance of a big snowfall, but it looks increasingly like that won’t happen. I see some rain/snow showers here and there, but that’s it. I haven’t checked on the daffodils yet because they’re on the edge of the woods and I haven’t been up there, but I suspect they’re poking through the ground. I know some of my day lilies are. Since all the fallen leaves remain on the garden beds to protect the vegetation, I’m sure there is more evidence of new growth. I just can’t see it yet.

An early Spring? I’m onboard.

Today’s necessary chore: grocery shopping. We’ve put it off, but it’s time. We’re having an early dinner with Rick and Doug this evening. And that’s about it.

Don and I spent our second cup of coffee time this morning trying to keep track of the plot points in Babylon Berlin. It’s quite complex. This third season has only reinforced my feelings about this brilliant series – it’s simply the best I’ve ever seen. We watched three episodes last night – it was that good – so we’re going to slow down and watch the four remaining episodes slowly. One each evening.

Then, as we’ve done in the past, we’ll watch it all over again. It will spoil us, of course. Nothing else will look nearly as good.

Happy Thursday.

 

Sunday: The Night Circus and Hinterland

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Slice of life: Don’s glasses, some nylon guitar strings, a toleware crumber that Don gave me years ago, one of our favorite houseplants, Don’s phone and a stack of books and New Yorkers that he is reading, and my McCoy bulb planter with mahjong tiles.

It’s sunny right now but it’s going to rain this afternoon.

One more episode of Hinterland  to go and we’ll watch it tonight. Despite my complaints about the interview style, the show is truly excellent. Wonderful, rich acting by all, from the leads to the small one-time-only appearances. And a great arc of character development with the lead character that has been written and acted beautifully. I’ll miss it. I’m glad we stuck with it because it was well worth it.

I feel about Hinterland  as I do about The Night Circus  or any book, movie, series that I’ve been so caught up in that I can’t imagine it ending. And then I go through a period where I have no idea what to read or watch and everything I consider will be judged, whether fairly or unfairly, on the merits of what I’ve just finished.

I finished The Night Circus  yesterday afternoon. I loved it. It’s magical, wondrous, beautifully written and imagined. It’s a love story contained within a rich fabric of the mysterious, the imagined, shifts back and forth in time, and the relationships of all who work in or encounter this circus. The descriptions of place and time are so vivid that you feel you are there. It’s very different than most books I read and I’m so glad I pulled it off the shelf at Oblong Books a couple of months ago. I recommend it highly. In fact, I can’t recommend it enough. Be patient in the beginning as you try to sort out the movement back and forth in time. It’s well worth it.

I walked around the den, pulling this book and that book, and I finally hit on a Kate Atkinson that I’ve had in my TBR stack – Transcription. That’s what I’ll be reading next.

I didn’t get to Rick’s plants yesterday, so I’ll head on over there this morning.

Happy Sunday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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