Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Heading Home

November 7, 2015 at 8:14 am by Claudia

11-7sunset

Florida has some spectacular sunsets. I’ve seen more than a few since I first arrived over a week ago. I’ll miss them, but I remind myself that the winter skies in my neck of the woods also bring gorgeous sunsets.

11-7sunsetplane

That black speck is a plane.

This morning we will send off some of my dad’s paintings (he loved to paint in oils) to my brother’s children and my cousin. I’ve packed up a box to send to the cottage of pictures and items that remind me of my parents; wind chimes, three of my mother’s crosses (she collected them), my dad’s golf hat, some tools that my dad used, bits and bobs. I’m also sending home a small painting that my dad did fairly recently and an oil painting that I’ve always loved that was painted by my great-aunt Ruth, my maternal grandmother’s sister. I have one of Ruth’s paintings on the wall at home – it’s the small painting of the farmhouse in Canada where they lived as children.

We’ll also do a bit more sorting today. Then it’s off to the airport to fly home. I’ll miss my family here, there has been enormous comfort in being with them for ten days. But it’s time to be comforted by my husband and my little furry girl, to be enveloped in a big husbandly hug, to have some quiet time in which I can come to terms with the death of my father.

I finished the first obsession scarf and have started on the second.

 

11-7newscarf

This one is a bit heavier in weight and is a mix of lovely blues and turquoises and greens. I will be listing both of them – and maybe more, if I keep this up – on Etsy. I’ll get a better picture of these colors when I get back home and can use my big girl camera.

I’m so glad I stayed down here. Meredith and I needed to be with each other. I was able to take care of a lot of necessary tasks while Mer was at work. We drew strength from each other when we were sorting through things at the condo. We were able to make decisions more efficiently.

Yesterday, after more errands, Meredith said, “Do you want to go out to lunch?” I had been thinking the same thing. We haven’t had time to just be, the two of us. It was so nice to stop and breathe and do something, anything, that wasn’t a task that had to be done. I suspect my dad’s death will hit us both in ways we can’t imagine in the coming weeks.

There is a lot more to be done with Dad’s estate, but that will take time. In the meantime, we need to breathe and think and remember.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

 

Filed Under: Dad, life, Meredith 23 Comments

Office Space

November 6, 2015 at 7:59 am by Claudia

11-6 laptop and crochet

While I’ve been here at my sister’s house and have had to make a lot of phone calls and do a lot of paperwork, I’ve been setting up my computer in her office/studio. An office/studio that I encouraged her to set up, by the way. She did a beautiful job and it’s lovely. She has space for all of her yarn and a work table for looms and sewing machines, bookcases, and, of course, this desk space.

If you remember, we had a little discussion in my comments section recently about my lack of any sort of usable work space. The fact is, I have a little desk downstairs that isn’t at all practical; try though I might, it’s too small and I never use it except to store paperwork. I have my sewing table upstairs in my little studio niche, but again – very small and not practical.

Our guest room/studio/office at home has a large bed that is used approximately 3 times a year. If that. So I took my plight to Don and asked if we can finally get rid of the bed and change the room into a joint office space. We have an Aero bed that is fine for one person (but not so comfortable for two). We have a sofa in the den that is very comfortable.

He’s on board. We just have to get rid of the bed and then I can save up my pennies for a desk. I’d move my hall cupboard in there and move the linen cupboard out into the hall. My grandmother’s trunk – which takes up a large chunk of space – would be moved into the niche in the hallway or downstairs where the little white desk is. The sewing table would be an extension of my desk, making it an L shape. And I could work on my minis there, as well.

The fact is, I have a lot of paperwork that needs to be filed and available in one place – receipts for work out of town, files for my coaching work, blog receipts, dialect sheets – and it’s spread out all over the house.

Frankly, I’m sick of it.

I’m a girl without an office. I’m a nomad.

Don and I will share that space, so it will include several guitars, speakers and amps. Hopefully, I’ll find a way to make that work.

11-6 desk

Working in this little office has only confirmed the fact that it’s time to make a change. (Yes, I was munching on some chips.) And since Don and I will rarely be in that space at the same time, it should all work out beautifully.

Today, more phone calls and paperwork. I can’t believe it’s already been one week since my father died. It doesn’t seem real to me yet.

You do know, don’t you, that I write in this space because it’s important to me? Because it can be cathartic? Because the routine of it is comforting? Trust me, if I just can’t post one day, I won’t. Okay? When I wrote about blogging yesterday, I was speaking of reading other  blogs. Just as it’s hard for me to concentrate on a novel at the moment, it’s hard for me to concentrate on blogs.

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: life 42 Comments

I Can’t Quite Partake

November 5, 2015 at 8:46 am by Claudia

10-3 pottery in hutch

I’m resorting to already-seen photos of the dollhouse. There isn’t much time in my days here in which to take pictures and I’ve only got my iPhone with me.

I had so wanted to drive down to the big miniatures show in Philadelphia this coming weekend. It’s called Philadelphia Miniaturia. I’ve never been to a miniature show and I’ve always wanted to attend one. Now that I have a reliable car, I was all set to go. But life intervenes and I just can’t do it. Maybe next year?

I see so many wonderful posts from my fellow dollhouse lovers that chronicle the amazing mini treasures they find at these shows. I, in fact, have been the lucky recipient of several miniature show treasures – gifts from my blog readers.

Waaah.

Patience is a virtue, Claudia. Patience.

I’ve been canceling accounts, finding out what bills my Dad had on Auto-Pay, making all sorts of inquiries and sorting pictures and memories into three piles for my brother’s children. We found a lot of pictures of my brother when he was a little boy, along with letters and cards he sent to my mom and dad, and we thought they would like them. My brother died in 1991, when his eldest child was 16. They’ve been without a dad for a long, long time.

We’ll be doing more work at my dad’s condo this afternoon. It’s very hard being there – it’s very hard seeing the cats waiting for him. It’s very hard seeing my dad’s oil paintings hanging on the wall. Let’s face it, it’s just plain hard being in a place that, not all that long ago, was a haven for both of my parents.

Life continues on, but I find I have very little desire to read blogs right now. I’m trying, and I do read some posts, but I have no interest in the latest fall mantels, if you know what I mean. I’m reading some blogs but I haven’t left any comments. I’ll get back in the swing of things, but it will take a while.

You know how it is; you’re aware that life is going on around you, but you can’t quite partake in it. That’s how it is right now.

I had a little boy sitting on my lap this morning and that sure helps.

Happy Thursday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: Dad, dollhouse, miniatures 54 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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The Dogs

The Dogs

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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