Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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And Just Like That…

May 25, 2016 at 9:09 am by Claudia

And just like that, summer is here. Today the temp is going to reach 89° and the next two or three days will reach 90°. Plus, we’re headed into about a week or so of rain and thunderstorms, starting on Friday.

Not quite ready for summer.

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We went to our local nursery yesterday to buy our hanging plants for the porch. I also bought some  geraniums for the whiskey barrels and the lantanas, sweet potato vine, and dracaena for the galvanized tub that sits on the Funky Patio.

Having gardened here since 2005, the perennial gardens are now well established and I don’t have to spend money adding plants every year (this is why I love perennial gardening.) The modest amount of money I spend is on a couple flats of impatiens for the pots (that I recycle every year) on the porch, some plants for the galvanized tub and the whiskey barrels, and a couple of hanging plants (scaevola) for the porch. I overwintered the hanging geranium from last summer, so I saved money there. I don’t change out my hanging pots during the summer – I buy plants that I know will last through the season. The scaevola is gorgeous and it lasts until the first frost, as do the impatiens, which I often overwinter.

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Getting the scaevolas from the nursery always seems to mark the beginning of porch sitting for me. They look so beautiful hanging on the porch.

Don: Stop Here.

In TSP news, a guitar that I ordered arrived in the mailbox yesterday.

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It’s the one on the right. The guitar on the left was given to me by Barbara. I liked it so much that I was determined to order another version by the same Etsy seller, LA LittleArtist, who lives in The Netherlands.

They are beautifully made.

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These look so much more realistic than any I’ve seen available commercially. And if I’m shooting for realism in the TSP, then there must be at least 3 guitars hanging around. After all, Don has about 4 or 5 of them upstairs in our office.

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We just moved this chair up to the office. We had to do some chair maneuvering when we bought the vintage chair on Sunday. At some point, we’d like an easy chair in this space, but for now, this will do. It’s actually remarkably comfortable. (The painting is an oil done by my father.)

Happy Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: dollhouse, flowers, garden, miniatures, office, Top Secret Project 32 Comments

Princess

May 17, 2016 at 9:11 am by Claudia

Wind, wind, and more wind yesterday, which kept going until around 8 pm. I had to run a quick errand, but otherwise, I stayed in. My allergies are making me a not very happy camper. Maybe it’s just me, but they seem much worse this spring. Avoiding flying pollen seemed like the wise choice for yours truly.

So, I puttered around, mostly playing with the Top Secret Project. Don: Stop Here.

Actually, nothing big happened. Just a couple of tweaks. I’m waiting on a couple deliveries and one kit that I have to put together. Otherwise, friends: it’s almost done! And I find myself dreaming of my next project, searching eBay, searching Etsy, thinking of houses, thinking of style (modern, I believe) and knowing that I have to have something to work on.

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I added a Beatles poster. Mini Don finds the Fab Four a source of inspiration.

And, because I think I’m not  adding a roof, I thought the top of the fireplace pipe needed to be finished off a bit more.

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I didn’t place it against the wall, so it’s a little crooked, but you get the idea. I painted the inside of the pipe black and I made a little bit of black trim to finish it off. That way, when someone is standing and looking down into the room, the fireplace will look ‘finished.’

Side note: Do you ever take pictures, think they look fabulous, and when it comes time to edit them you realize they don’t? That happened with both these pictures. But I’m not about to go upstairs and take them again, so I’ll just hang my head in shame and keep on going.

So, as for the TSP, I have to add some chairs to the deck/porch. I need more albums. I’ve ordered another guitar, as well as a piece of art. I’ll probably add some food to the inside of the refrigerator. And there will be a tweak here and there.

We are close to the finish line. Very close.

I need another project!

Do any of you remember the Petite Princess dollhouse furniture that was made by Ideal in the sixties? Gosh, I wanted that furniture! I remember bugging my mom about it to no avail. I never got any. The line of furniture consisted of about 30 pieces, as well as dollhouses and room boxes. It was fancy fantasy furniture done in ¾ scale, rather than the 1 inch scale most commonly found in dollhouse miniatures. That means the pieces look slightly off scale, but you can often work around that.

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That fancy dresser you can see as you enter the door of Hummingbird Cottage is Petite Princess. I found it in a local antique shop many years ago – mint and in the box. It’s on the petite side, as befits the name, but it works in the dollhouse. It’s made of plastic, but you’d never guess it, and the drawers open. I liked it so much that I found another one on eBay and it is in the bedroom.

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Along with that lamp, which is also Petite Princess. (I’ll have to take a picture of the boxes they came in.)

At the same time that I found the dresser in a local shop, I found this:

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A fancy Petite Princess chair done in brocade. See those little gold legs? I found this in one of my bins the other day and it’s now on my desk because I like looking at it.

Let’s stick it in the TSP.

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A bit too fancy for this guy’s music studio, but it does  pick up the orange, doesn’t it?

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Girly chair. Guy chair. Both of them ever-so-slightly smaller in scale.

I’m going to use that Petite Princess chair in some project. It’s in perfect condition. Maybe in a bedroom? There are people who collect this line and I, being a collector, could see myself falling down that particular rabbit hole quite easily. But I won’t.

It does, however, take me back to my youth and my ever present hope that I’d find some Petite Princess furniture under the Christmas tree. I never did. But then again, I would have probably lost track of it all as I have of so many treasures from my childhood.

At least I have some of it now. Always a little girl, no matter what my chronological age.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

 

Filed Under: dollhouse, miniatures, Top Secret Project 44 Comments

On a Windy Sunday

May 15, 2016 at 8:36 am by Claudia

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The spirea bush that is down by the road is blooming. Big, fluffy tufts of white. I have always assumed this is a bridal veil spirea, but I could be wrong. I sure love it – it’s one of the early spring delights around here.

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So pretty, so delicate. Today, that bush is being blown every which way as a cold front comes through here. The temperatures have dropped but will start to climb back up tomorrow.

I caught Henry investigating the top of the garden bed. I opened the front door and said “Hey, no garden for you.” He took off like a shot. I actually didn’t need to say a word; just opening the door is enough to send him back to his lair.

It’s so windy today that my parents’ wind chimes are constantly making beautiful sounds. Hi Mom and Dad.

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These are the albums that dear Linda sent my way. Don loves all of these artists, so they are perfect for the TSP.

Coincidentally, some albums I ordered arrived yesterday.

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Also in this particular group that arrived in yesterday’s mail? The exact same albums that Linda sent to me! Great minds think alike. They are from the Etsy shop, Petals and Brims. Again – all albums Don would love to have, including Earth Wind & Fire, though I must confess that they are a particular favorite of mine. I’m the big Earth Wind & Fire fan around here.

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We’re slowly getting there.

We watched one of our favorite movies last night, The Awful Truth. It’s a very funny screwball comedy starring Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, and Ralph Bellamy (who Don worked with many years later on LA Law.) We actually own a copy of the movie, but it’s somehow more fun to watch when it just pops up on TCM. Brilliant.

You know, Don had a recurring role as attorney Russell Spitzer on LA Law and we figured out that the episode with Ralph Bellamy aired in 1988. I remember seeing it when it first aired. It’s a very touching story about Bellamy, a legendary lawyer who, it turns out, is losing his mental faculties. Russell Spitzer (Don) was defending Bellamy’s character. They had a lot of time to talk and Bellamy told great stories about his days in Hollywood.

Anyway, in 1988, I saw Don on that episode. Little did I know I would meet him six years later!

Amazing, how these things happen.

Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

 

Filed Under: Don, flowers, gifts, miniatures, Top Secret Project 28 Comments

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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.

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