Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Winter Wonderland

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It’s a winter wonderland out there this morning. We had a wet snow, so it’s sticking to all the plants and branches and, though it will melt as the day progresses, it’s glorious at this moment.

During the snowfall yesterday. I’ve had that cottage sign for a while and I usually stick it in one of the garden beds, but Don put it here and I like it.

The two soldiers that Don bought last year are now on top of the overturned wheelbarrow. We keep that old wheelbarrow in place because there is an extraordinary ant colony there, complete with houses and tall buildings. We don’t want to see it destroyed, so the wheelbarrow stays. And now the soldiers are guarding it, too. (And I was able to divert Don from his desire to put them on the porch, which would have been a distraction from our simple and striking outdoor lights.)

This morning:

A lovely gift for everyone who lives in this area.

I’ll leave it at that. The photos tell the story.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Ice Palace

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Ice crystals everywhere. The views are stunning. For a few days, a magical world. We’re living in an ice palace.

We did lose a bit of ice yesterday, simply because the sun was shining. I suspect the same thing will happen today.

But the real thaw will be tomorrow.

With all this ice, I haven’t been able to get out to get the boxes, bubble wrap and tape that I need to send the egg cups to Country Living’s headquarters in Birmingham, AL. I’ll do that tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll wash the cups today.

I’ve started a new puzzle. It’s from the same makers of the Shakespeare and Jane Austen puzzles. This time it’s Dickens. All I can say is: Thank God for jigsaw puzzles. Especially when you’re encased in ice.

I’ve been meaning to recommend a movie to you for several weeks. It’s on Amazon Prime and it’s called The Tender Bar.  It’s a coming of age movie and it’s beautifully done. Usually, I find Ben Affleck’s work good but not necessarily inspiring, but I have to tell you, his work in this movie is powerful and beautiful. I’m so impressed. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it highly. He is gaining gravitas and depth as he gets older. It shows in this performance. Very inspiring.

Okay. I’m off to wash the sheets and work on the puzzle and read. But first, some oatmeal.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

 

Ice, Ice, Ice

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We are iced in until Monday – not completely iced in as Don managed to salt a bit late yesterday afternoon. The precipitation was non-stop for nearly 48 hours. One of our gutters has partially detached from the porch roof, which is another headache. But, and this is a big but…we didn’t lose power. Our county was really hit hard by this storm and over half the residents were/are without power. Over half – especially north of us. Combine no power with frigid, below zero temperatures and you can imagine how difficult this is for so many. I looked at the outage map and there was an outage just south of us and just to the east of us. We are very lucky.

It looks like a magical winter wonderland out there because none of the ice has melted, therefore every twig and branch is still encased in ice. It will stay that way until Monday, when we’ll finally go above freezing.

We were prepared. I had filled big bowls with water, we had several portable drink containers filled with water, and the tub was full. Just before I started writing this, I drained everything. And the lights flickered many times. I’m grateful for heat and power.

I used the time to finish this. Boy oh boy, that blue background drove me nuts! And, wouldn’t you know it? One piece was missing. I know I didn’t drop it but I crawled all over the floor looking for it just in case I did.

I posted this on my IG Stories, right after I finished:

Zoe speaks truth.

Finally, Sophie in new overalls which came in yesterday’s mail which Don insisted on fetching despite the slippery conditions (I would have left it there overnight.)

These are made by mamzelle.lylou on IG, aka Karine, who lives in France. I must share this detail: the overalls are lined with the print fabric used in the blouse. That kind of detail is amazing. There’s also a little green jacket which I’ll share in another post. (I already had the hat.)

Today, Don is making me sing one of his songs for a demo he’s recording. Something I did all the time when I was younger without blinking an eye – sing semi-professionally – fills me with anxiety these days. Especially now. Nonetheless, I promised I would, so I’ll go ahead with it. Wish me luck!

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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