Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1065 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

A Mini Saturday

January 9, 2016 at 9:41 am by Claudia

Don: Stop here. Do not read!

A package from England arrived in the mail yesterday, just in time for me to spirit it away from Don’s curious eyes and open it up in my office. I ordered two small appliances from Elf Miniatures for the Top Secret Project.

1-9 minifridge

This under counter Miele refrigerator, which opens:

1-9 minifridgeopen

The shelves are removable, the crispers slide in and out, and it came with some rather bizarre plastic food. It was made in Korea. Maybe for little kids playing with minis? Anyway, I won’t be using that particular selection of food, but it’s fun!

1-9 minimicrowave

Also in the package – a Miele microwave oven.

1-9 minimicrowaveopen

It also opens and has a turntable. Apparently, I mistakenly ordered two of these, so Hummingbird Cottage has a new microwave, as well!

1-9 inthecorner

My idea is to build a little counter that has the microwave and a coffee maker on top, the fridge on the bottom, and maybe a stool that Don would perch on when having a snack. The whole thing would go along the same wall I have the fridge and microwave on in this photo.

When I get back. No time now.

I woke up way too early this morning and could never get back to sleep, so I’m pretty tired today. I have to get my hair trimmed, run a few more errands, and do some laundry.

Yesterday, I spent a few hours looking for a new pair of jeans. A very frustrating few hours. Here’s my question for you. Where do you get your jeans? Where does a tall woman (I’m 5′9″) with a curvy tush and hips find a good pair of jeans? Keep in mind that I don’t have a lot of money to blow on jeans. Any suggestions would be welcome!

Can I just say that I hate dressing rooms, fluorescent lighting and the mirrors in those dressing rooms? I felt fat and pale when I was in there. Well, I am pale as a rule, but I’m not fat! But my formerly angular body is definitely curvy.

Two thank yous to share:

1-9 scout's gift

Kathy from Iowa sent Scout a birthday present! Two bags of her favorite treats (she really loves them and they’re nice and soft for chewing) and some chocolate treats for her parents. Kathy, Scout hasn’t had time to send you a thank you email yet, but she will. I’ve taught her good manners.

And Nancy sent me these Christmas minis:

1-9 minigift

Thank you, Nancy! Nancy, I lost your email address. Can you message me with it, so I can write a proper thank you?

It’s clearly a Mini Saturday!

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

In My Efficient Mode

January 8, 2016 at 9:48 am by Claudia

1-8 livingroom

Here I was, ready to share a shot of the living room with you, a pretty view of the sunlight pouring into the room…and then I saw a pair of Don’s socks on the red chair.

Real life, my friends, real life.

This will be a short one, as I have to get going and run lots of errands today. I finished the script yesterday and now everything is about doing laundry, buying what I need, gathering all the bits and bobs that I need for my five weeks in Hartford.

Good news: I don’t have to live in the hotel for the first week and then move everything over to the apartments on my day off. I will be in an apartment from the start. Yay! One less hassle, especially since I’m still being careful with my ankle. The less hauling things around, the better.

Though I hate the thought of leaving my family, I find myself moving into my efficient ‘let’s do it’ mode, something I always do when I have to leave town. It’s the only way I can manage the separation and the tasks that have to be done.

Once again, I’ll take along a quilt for the bed and a quilt to hang on the wall and some pieces of pottery. I’ll buy fresh flowers and put them in a pretty vase and do everything I can to make my little apartment my own. And I’m buying a small humidifier, because those apartments get really dry in the winter.

More later – have to get a move on!

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Thursday Thoughts

January 7, 2016 at 9:33 am by Claudia

1-7 piano

This was my view as I sat in Don’s chair watching over this girl:

1-7 scout

Worn and scuffed up wide plank pine floors courtesy of Riley and Scout. Thank you very much.

Even with moving back and forth from the office to the living room, I managed to finish my work on Act 4. One more to go.

The sheets arrived. Check. The books and a few other things from Amazon arrived. Check. The hose for the vacuum is still on its way. I have a lot of things to gather together and/or buy before I leave on Monday. Oy. It’s always exhausting, this prep for an extended stay away from home.

Did you see the Sherlock special on PBS on New Year’s Day? Brilliant, as always. We really loved it. Did you see The Kennedy Center Honors earlier that week? It’s always our favorite television show of the year. This year did not disappoint and if you missed Aretha Franklin’s performance of (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, get Googling and find it on YouTube. Now. It was simply extraordinary. I’m not exaggerating when I say my mouth literally dropped open as I watched her sing.

Darko Tresnjak, my friend and the director of Romeo and Juliet, was in the audience that night and he said that as stunning as it was on television, her voice was even more powerful live – it rocked the entire theater. She puts all those singers who rely on auto-tune to shame. All she has to do is stand there and let it rip. She’s the real deal.

Last night’s sky was truly a Maxfield Parrish sky:

1-7 parrishsky

Beautiful.

New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page: On the Simon Serrailler Series by Susan Hill.

Happy Thursday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

A Mini Saturday

In My Efficient Mode

Thursday Thoughts

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives