Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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The Tree

December 11, 2023 at 9:05 am by Claudia

Saturday ended up being about prepping for the storm. I had the thought that we should check our gutters and right after that I saw our neighbor doing just that. Confirmation from the universe. So we hauled out the ladder and Don cleaned the gutters on the porch and on the roof over the kitchen while I started to scrub greenish stuff off our aluminum siding. I’m going to do more of that later this week when the temp goes up into the 50s. All in all, that took a couple of hours (we’re glad we did it!) and we decided to decorate the tree yesterday.

The storm was quite a doozy, and there was wind, but not quite what had been predicted. Either that, or I slept through the worst of it. It rained the heaviest overnight and I suppose we got 2 – 3 inches in the end. It was already wet around here and now it’s positively sopping. As I write this, it’s tapering off and should be out of here in an hour. I looked on the weather map and the rain had turned to wet snow almost everywhere in the Hudson Valley except for a very narrow south to north strip that stayed rainy. That’s where we live. We stored the bins in the shed in the early afternoon on Sunday, it didn’t freeze, and we’re safe.

This tree is simply lovely. There are more branches than usual and I wish I had a few more ornaments. But then again, we don’t load the branches with several ornaments per branch like others do. We’re pretty spare, wanting to highlight the deep green of the tree. All in all, we’re quite pleased with it this year.

it sure lifts our spirits!

The skirt consists of three panels of vintage barkcloth. Two are from old curtain panels. I love barkcloth, as you know, so I tend to buy a panel if it’s in good shape. I have a tree skirt that I made when Don and I first moved in together and it’s sweet and very Christmas-y, but I prefer the non-traditional look of the barkcloth these days.

Everything has been done for the holiday ahead, save what we’ll prepare for breakfast and dinner on Christmas day. Now, we can sit back and relax.

I have to alter the newest ornament sweaters and I’ll do that over the next few days. And I’m going to start a puzzle.

My husband wrote a poem for me. It’s called “Where the Dimple Resides.” He kisses me on that dimple every morning when he brings me my mug of coffee. Bless his heart, I was so touched by the poem. My mom would love it. She loved that dimple so much that she prepped me on how to pose for my school pictures with the dimple facing the camera.

No, I won’t share the poem. It’s just for me.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

Filed Under: Christmas 24 Comments

Lights

December 9, 2023 at 9:52 am by Claudia

The lights are on the tree. We left just the lights until today because it’s neat to see the tree that way.

I had to explain the lack of ornaments to Pru.

Sweaters: Some already altered, some about to be altered:

We have a big rain event headed this way tomorrow. It will be unseasonably warm today as this front comes in and then 2 – 3 inches of rain, plus winds, on Sunday into Monday, with a changeover into freezing rain or snow with warnings about black ice.

Oh, goody.

So, I think we have to hang the ornaments today so I can get all the bins safely back into the shed. There are 3 huge bins in the den taking up precious space and it’s already cluttered in this house, and if it’s icy, I don’t want to have to navigate to the shed.

We’re really happy with the tree, though it’s wonky in a way that makes it hard to hang lights uniformly. We don’t care. We like wonky.

This will be short because I spent a chunk of time this morning trying to get a good shot of Pru!

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Christmas 14 Comments

The Cubbies

December 8, 2023 at 9:42 am by Claudia

Yesterday, we picked out our tree and the whole process was quick and easy. Instead of having to go to a couple of tree lots, we found ours at our favorite local nursery. The whole trip probably took 45 minutes. It’s up and the branches are settling and we’ll add lights today. Then we’ll enjoy the lights for a day and we’ll decorate tomorrow or Sunday.

Side note: Trees are incredibly expensive. Insanely expensive. This one was slightly over $100.

Yes, you’ll say ‘get an artificial tree!” But we have no room to store one and Don has absolutely nixed that idea. We had a chat about it the other day and he will not budge. A real tree means everything to him. I get it. I feel the same way. But hell’s bells, they’re expensive!

I’ve sold two more items from the Etsy shop and the second item will go out in the mail today.

Okay. Photos of the wallpapered cubbies. These are not the best pictures as shooting the interior of these spaces is like shooting a picture in a cave. I’ve tried and tried.

I used scrapbook paper that comes in a large size and pieced it together to fit the cubby. And it’s only on the back wall except for the cubby that has the bed.

Top shelf.

This was already in place – second shelf.

Third shelf.

Fourth shelf.

Fifth shelf.

Bottom shelf – which is truly the darkest and taking a picture involves lying down on the floor.

And then having to get up again.

This is blurry, but it gives you a sense of the whole thing.

I’ll try to get better pictures at some other time.

That pillow is there in case a doll falls. And that has happened. Basket of throws to the left. A very, very big McCoy vase on the right which I’m considering selling, but it’s very heavy and would cost a lot to ship.

A glimpse of the tree on the right.

The den is a notoriously hard place to get a good picture. Windows on three sides, but darkish.

Okay. I’ve messed with this enough.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls 35 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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Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

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