Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Day Three Hundred Five

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Not much to report, my friends.

I worked a bit of the puzzle yesterday, though it’s slow going as the edge pieces are all a solid off-white with no real distinguishing marks. But I don’t mind slow. I sit down at the table and add a few more pieces, and for a while I’ve escaped the madness.

I find that both Don and I nod off rather easily. I nodded off in my chair during the day and later, we both fell asleep while watching Rachel Maddow. I think it is a normal reaction to everything that is going on. We need rest. We need a brief respite. Even after the brief naps, I still slept my full 7 hours last night.

Some of the books I ordered arrived.

I supposed that only one of these would be classified as ‘comfort reading.’ That would be Winter Solstice  by Rosamunde Pilcher. I read a lot of Pilcher a few decades ago, so I can’t remember whether I read this one. I don’t think I did. Either way, she wrote beautifully and I know I’ll enjoy it. Jane Casey writes great police procedural mysteries – I have read all of the books in her Maeve Kerrigan series save two. One of them is Cruel Acts, which you see here. And then there is part three of Stephen Fry’s memoirs, More Fool Me.

I have two more arriving today; two classic ‘village life’ novels by Miss Read and D. E. Stevenson.

I don’t know about you, but I need to escape – at least for a few hours a day.

Still waiting on my dollhouse wallpaper which is taking a meandering path to my mailbox. So I can’t do anything on that project.

We decided to order our groceries this week, as COVID is spiking in New York state. We just placed that order this morning and we’ll pick it up tomorrow morning.

That’s it. Routine, everyday things like cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, reading, chatting with Don – the stuff that keeps me sane. Oh hey, I found a recipe for sugar-free cocoa/hot chocolate, which uses Monk’s Fruit sweetener, pure cocoa, and milk. I ordered the sweetener from Amazon and bought the cocoa (a mix of regular cocoa and dutch process dark cocoa) from our local supermarket. I treat myself to it once a week and it’s really good! Don likes it, too. I had some yesterday around 4 pm and it was perfect.

All part of my Must Have Comfort initiative.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Comments

  1. Good Morning Claudia,
    The books sound interesting. I thought I had Winter Solstice. Instead I have September by the author. I saw the movie “The Shell Seekers”. Right now I am reading “Strangers At the Gate” by Catriona McPherson. Have you ever found yourself angry with an author? That was my response to the last book I read “Choppy Water” by Stuart Woods. The description in the jacket and the picture on the cover did not match what I thought was going to be the story line. I guess the reason for the title is that there are troublesome times ahead for the characters in the story.

    • Yes! I’ve found myself angry with an author many times. But remember, the book jacket and the blurbs are the fault of the publisher, not the author.

      Stay safe!

    • Trina- it’s funny you mentioned getting angry at an author. I’d never experienced this in my life until Louise Penny. The first book was wonderful and I was thrilled to have found a series I’d never heard of, so I immediately grabbed the next 3. Whichever one it was with the shitty mother killed by the fat child had me flinging the thing across the room in rage. The woman clearly loathes overweight females and her descriptions of people are abusive to say the least. And it’s not just the ‘bad guys’ but even the characters she (or her hero) ostensibly like, like the woman who ran the vacation lodge, or the bookshop owner. This struck me as intrusive, wildly distracting, and plain old weird. I mean, why would anyone creating an imaginary world fill it with fat people just to keep using words like waddling when describing an elderly fat woman’s movements? When you’re the writer you’re god. If you don’t like fat people why put them in? Anyway, shortly into maybe the third book I fired her, and I’m still bitter about it and I’ve never been overweight in my life. I’m pissed because the first book was so good but then her unrelenting meanness disappointed the hell out of me. Sorry about the random rant :-( but these days I find I am just thoroughly sick of being disappointed.

      • Wow. It’s funny how you can get two very different – or maybe, many – reactions to a book. I didn’t get any of that from that book and I just reread it about a month ago. I don’t think the descriptions were abusive, and in fact, I thought it was written with compassion for a child who never stood a chance having been raised by the mother she had. If anything, the writing clearly described an abusive and hateful mother and spoke of a daughter who had shut down because of the abuse. Authors write about all sorts of body types, all the time. And they write about flawed human beings – of all body types.

        Can’t say I understand this reaction at all, Kathy! But of course, that’s how you feel and it’s certainly valid.
        xo

  2. Winter Solstice is one of my favorite Pilcher books! I have been re-reading books for comfort too. It’s too hard to concentrate on anything new, and I can’t get through any non-fiction books right now at all. I’ve been trying to read The Future We Choose since last March. Needing lots of sleep now too; the last 11 days have been emotionally exhausting. Enjoy your hot chocolate!

  3. Pilcher’s “Shell Seekers” is on my all time favorite list. If you haven’t read her “Coming Home”, I’d also recommend it. Enjoyable comfort reads – just what we need right now.

  4. Pilcher’s, The Shell Seekers was one of my favorite books many years ago. I have Winter Solstice on my shelves somewhere. I should go dig it out and put it in my January reading pile. I just started one of the “Moth Presents” series – All These Wonders.

    I’m not a hot cocoa fan (which is surprising, seeing I love chocolate), but I do love hot tea in the winter. I’ve been drinking a cup of green jasmine every morning and sometimes in the late afternoon, I’ll have a cup of herbal tea while I’m journaling. So relaxing.

    Brian’s off work today and we have no plans. I just finished my yoga and breakfast and B’s on the couch, reading. I think we’ll bundle up and go for a walk.

    I hope you and Don have a relaxing, stress-free day!

  5. I have also been reading comfort books. In fact, I am thinking about re-reading the Trixie Belden books that I read as a child. I had all of them and read them over and over. Then our four daughters read them over and over. By that time, they were falling apart with some of the pages missing. I ordered all of the original ones new a few years ago and read them then. I also read a lot of Nancy Drew books and still have some of those. I have a stack of books on my table to be read but I just can’t seem to get started on any of them. I guess it’s time to go to my “childhood comfort books”.

    Ed and I are trying to stay busy . Right now we are processing black walnuts and getting those in the freezer. We have lots of black walnut trees around our farm and although lots of folks don’t like them, we love them. It’s a lot of work but for us, well worth it.

    I also received a beacon hill dollhouse for Christmas. I have always wanted to do a dollhouse but never have. So far I have opened the box. It’s a bit terrifying but exciting too. Ed has promised to help me build it but we are waiting until it’s more safe to go and buy some of the things we will need to get started. You are part of the reason I wanted to do a dollhouse and that particular one (which may well be a little too ambitious since I have never done one before!!). There is a long and very sweet story as to how I ended up with this dollhouse for Christmas.

    Take care……I hope you and Don have a nice and relaxing day.

    • We have tons of black walnut trees here, Lorinda.

      You should share your story about the Beacon Hill! We’d love to read it.

      Stay safe!

      • I had been looking at different dollhouses but my eye kept coming back to the Beacon Hill. I thought that probably wouldn’t be a wise choice for my first one but I just couldn’t get past it. I had talked to my second daughter, who had done a house years ago, if she enjoyed it and I mentioned the Beacon Hill. I told her I’d really love to have it but didn’t think I should start with it. Then I stopped talking about it. After a good long time had passed, you started talking about it on your blog and then said you ordered it. Of course that got me thinking about it again and I mentioned it to my husband and all four of my daughters.

        During this same time Ed (my husband) overheard me talking on the phone with a friend. I was telling my friend that even thought I am 68 years old, I still believe in Santa Claus. I told her, and this is the truth, that every Christmas morning the first thing I do is go down the hall and into the living room to look under the tree. Since we do our Christmas on Christmas Eve (with all the kids and grandkids…..except for this year), there is never any gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. But, I always look. And although there is never a gift, I am not disappointed at all…….but the little girl that is still in me just has to look.

        I was still thinking about the Beacon Hill but hadn’t any idea that I would get it anytime soon, if ever. On Christmas Eve, almost all of our kids (youngest lives in AZ with her husband and son…….and one grandson is in the AF in OK) came for a quick gift exchange in our garage. Both large doors were opened and we stayed a good distance from each other. I had their gifts on a large table….each family’s gifts together so they picked up their gifts, left ours, said “Merry Christmas” and went home to open gifts later. It was certainly different . On Christmas morning I did my usual walk down the hall to look under the tree and although there wasn’t a wrapped package, there was a note with large printed words. It said, One dollhouse, your choice………Love, Santa. Well, of course, Santa was my sweet Ed (he really is the sweetest husband ever……this year in Oct. is our 50th anniversary!).

        I took a picture of the note and sent it to all four of our daughters. A little later I got a message from our second daughter. All it said was “Mom” so I answered back “What”. She then said, “Tell Dad you have a Beacon Hill house on the way…….it will be there Dec. 29. She was afraid he’d be upset but of course he wasn’t. He just told me I’d have extra money to buy things I needed to get it done.

        So that is my story. I have the Beacon Hill and I hope to start on it soon. Right now, I just look in the box, do research online, read about your experience on dollhouses and wonder if I’ll ever get it done!

        Oh……just in case you all think I might be some kind of a kook, I really don’t believe that on Christmas Eve a fat guy in a red suit comes down our chimney and puts presents under the tree. Hah…..but I do believe in the magic.

        Right now Ed is calling for help with the walnuts.

        Stay safe.

        • Wonderful, wonderful story!

          And what a lovely family you have. They get it, don’t they? I’m 68 as well and I completely believe in the magic of Christmas.

          Congratulations!
          xoxo

        • hej, lorinda …

          that is a very sweet story. your family’s collaboration with each other sounds very sweet, too.

          i’m not sitting here thinking you’re “some kind of a kook” at all. i’m sitting here happy that you have your beacon hill. enjoy!

          and stay safe!

          kathy in iowa

        • Oh, how wonderful! You’re not a kook…I believe in the magic of Christmas, too! Stay safe! ;)

          • Thank you Donnamae! So many still believe in the magic of Christmas…….I’m not alone! Stay safe!!

        • What a great story! It’s nice to meet a kindred spirit…I still believe in Santa too and I check my stocking every Christmas morning. Frequently it’s Mrs. Santa who stuffs it, but I have to say she really knows what I like! This year it was a Reese’s Peanut Butter tree. There’s nothing better than something seasonal from Reese’s because it’s always fresh!

          Trixie Belden was always a favorite of mine. I wish I still had them so I could share with my grand-daughter. I am having a ball making doll clothes and furniture for her American Girl doll though!

          I remember my dad’s advice on any DIY project: “don’t let your head get ahead of your hands”. LOL, good for dollhouses and plumbing both!

          Stay safe and have fun, from yet another 68 year old who needs her sweetie to get cracking on the walnuts sitting patiently in a cold garage.

          • Thanks Roxie! Your dad gave good advice. :) We still have more walnuts in our cold garage too but are slowly making progress. Stay safe!

        • I love your doll house story! How blessed are you to have a family that really listens when you speak. Enjoy every moment working on it.

    • Trixie Belden! I loved those. In fact, I’ve thought about re-reading, too. I have two here (the rest are at the cottage with most of my early teen year books.) She started me on a long journey of mysteries (as did Nancy Drew!). I rarely hear of others who read and loved them. I think you may have given me a grand idea for comfort reading!

  6. Coming Home is my favorite Rosamunde Pilcher book. I have read all of her books and they are so comforting. I think it’s time to reread them. Thank you Claudia for reminding me of her books.

  7. routines can bring such comfort … just like that sofa and those pillows. :) glad you have them, along with puzzles, dollhouse plans, new books, naps and especially don.

    happy, safe tuesday!

    kathy in iowa

  8. I was trying to get into a book I just got from the library but it hasn’t pulled me in yet – my mind wanders so much! I am thinking of picking up my old Nancy Drew’s – just reverting to the simpler days of my childhood, I guess! I am starting with the first The Secret of the Old Clock so I will see if I still enjoy them as much as I did years ago!

  9. I have a dear friend who is a retired United Methodist pastor. She wrote this prayer on Monday. It has brought me comfort and I hope it does the same for you.

    Holy God, you are a rock of strength and power in the midst of the chaos of this past week.
    And so we turn to you this day, grateful for each other, grateful that we can together turn to you for assurance, for a knowing that in all evil and brokenness, you will overcome.
    We are grateful that in the midst of our alarm, and feelings of displacement, and threat – we can turn to you and remember your promise to overcome injustice and oppression. We remember in our baptism that you call us to stand with you for truth and mercy and justice and peace.
    And so on this day, we thank you for a community of faith where every week, we are reminded that we are your beloved sons and daughters. Together we pray for healing for those who are sick; we pray for comfort for those who mourn in grief; and we pray for the mending of our broken nation – that we might find ways to be united.
    Be with us this day as we remember who we are called to be – faithful people – faithful to you and to each other. We pray in the name of Jesus – who showed us how to live. Amen.

    • Thank you.
      It is so nice to have a prayer of reminder, and comfort.
      I have one on my bedside table, and I will add this one.

    • amen!

      thanks forsharing this prayer, caroline … and to the umc minister, too.

      stay safe and well!

      kathy in iowa

  10. My comfort reading is mysteries and I’m deep into Susan Hill’s fourth book in the Serrallier series. Small, English town. I’m comfy! All the books in your pile look like good ones to add to the list — although now I’m counting my TBR pile — just a sec — well, I stopped at 80. They are taking up all the shelves on the desk and in a tall triple stack beside it. I don’t need to buy another book ever again (although to be honest, a few of these are ones sent to me by friends purging books and I suspect I will send them off elsewhere unread. I’m not terribly big on what I call the murdered girl mysteries — Gone Girl, Lisa Jewell books. We’ll see!

    I did a major kitchen clean this morning and felt somewhat productive and now need to strip the lights from the big tree and get that put away. I love those darned lights so much I can hardly bear to lose it. But it’s time to go. I need the real estate on the floor!

    Have a lovely day. Bracing myself for a rough week (I finally had to post on all the events of last week, personal and collective — I just was keeping too much bottled inside. So far comments have been civilized!) When MSNBC starts reporting hourly from Lansing, I start to get anxious.

    • I’ve read all the Susan Hills. It’s a great series!

      I feel the same way about the murdered girl mysteries – very formulaic with no real substance.

      Hang in there, Jeanie.

      Stay safe.

    • Love Winter Solstice with her amazing description. Also,, I have all of the Miss Read books and want to re-read them again. Enjoy.

  11. Rosamund Pilcher is a very comforting author in times like these. I read Coming Home last fall, and just got Winter Solstice. I’m also re-reading a lot of Agatha Christie that I haven’t read since high school, so like 40+ years ago. I’ve also read some by Sophie Hannah, the writer authorized by the Christie estate to start writing Hercule Poirot mysteries again. She does a decent job. Reading definitely counteracts what’s going on around us. I hope and pray our country gets back a more even keel in the coming months. You and Don take care.

  12. I think of Winter Solstice as a Christmas story and often reread it during the holidays, as I did this year. The British expressions and turns of phrase are fun.

    • I should have started reading it in December, Lynda. But someone was talking about it on Instagram and that’s what got the idea going.

      Stay safe!

  13. I’ve never read any Rosamunde Pilcher, I may have to remedy that. Have just started ‘Hamnet’ and I can’t put it down, I love it. Thank you for telling us about your reading, I’ve read so many books that I’ve seen on your blog. I recently read a Miss Read and also a few D.E. Stevenson books, perfect, undemanding reading, just right for this time in our lives.

  14. I am so envious of anyone reading Winter Solstice for the first time. Oh, how I love that book. I know I am in the minority, but I love it more than The Shell Seekers. And I have read several D.E. Stevenson’s over the past 4 months. I want to do a re-read of The Mitford series, also. All are the very best of comfort reads for me. And comfort is desperately needed!

    I heard Gov Cuomo has announced anyone over 65 can now get the shot!! Yay! I am sure our Gov will follow soon. The idiot is still at it today with his rhetoric. I just want it over. Take care.

    • Yes, we’re currently trying to find out where we can get vaccinated. Our local pharmacy is awaiting more doses – and they give out conflicting information as to where to sign up. I registered with our county health department, so we’ll see what happend.

      Stay safe, Chris.

  16. So good to see what you and others are reading these days. I have not been reading nearly enough, Napping, yes, reading , no. I think Jan Karon’s Mitford series would be just right for winter evenings. Along with hot chocolate and cinnamon toast. A lovely flickering candle or two and being snugged up with one of the kitties will certainly add to the comfort.
    Thank you for the inspiration as I go and locate that book for tonight.
    Stay safe and warm.

    • Oh, the Miford series is just wonderful. I don’t have a lot of the books on hand because my mom and I would share them. Maybe I should start buying them in order.

      Say safe, Joan.

  17. I came here today looking to be inspired…and I am. I’ve been so tired lately….easily falling asleep any old time it seems. Don’t know if it’s our gloomy weather, or the gloom of these past few days, but it’s all exhausting. But, between the lovely Lorinda story about the Beacon Hill, and all the great comments about books to read…I am refreshed, I am happy to say!

    Stay safe! ;)

  18. You will love the Miss Read books! She has two series – one of Fairacre where Miss Read is the schoolmistress of a grammar school and the other is about the village of Thrush Green. I have all of her books and read them over and over. She is excellent at village description and building wonderful characters. Look out for Miss Pringle! I think I had to be English in another life since I love all things British. Enjoy the books! You will truly find comfort in doing so. Here is a list of all her books in order. She also has some stand alone books. https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/miss-read/

    • I’ve read one of the Fairacre books – long ago. Thanks so much for the list, Sharon!

      Stay safe.

  19. I’m imaging the adventures your wallpaper is having as it meanders thru the postal system. Gosh, meandering is such an evocative word!

    Stay safe and keep believing in the good.

  20. Indiana isn’t let us register unless 80…alas…isn’t it sweet how so many of us are wanting escape literature or sweet books from our childhood right now?.. prayers

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