Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Chatty on Tuesday

October 13, 2015 at 9:11 am by Claudia

 

10-13 anniversary

•  Self-portrait, shot on the porch at Cracker Barrel yesterday. Or should it be Selves-portrait? I’m trying to avoid the use of the word ‘selfie’ if at all possible.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know we went for the big bucks and celebrated at Cracker Barrel. I know, you’re thinking that we really went all out for this anniversary.

Actually, we love Cracker Barrel but go there rarely. We’re low key about celebrations, so when Don suggested CB, I was in. As it was it took us forever to get there because of all the traffic. Thousands and thousands of people head up to our neck of the woods on fall weekends and, inevitably, they have to head back home, causing traffic back-ups for miles. It’s a pain in the you-know-what. But we got there and, of course, had to wait for a table. By the time we sat down, we were starved!

Then we watched the Mets play the Dodgers. (I love the Red Sox, but I also love the Mets.) They won.

10-13 quilt on chair

•  The nights are getting very cold. Quilts and throws are making an appearance.

10-13 quilt on bed

This bed cover is very heavy, so I usually stash it on the chair in the summer months. But it’s back on the bed, keeping us snug and warm as we transition to cooler nights.

•  Here’s a random thought:

10-13 imperialstormtrooper

Every time I look at my vacuum, I think of the Imperial Stormtroopers from Star Wars.

Is it just me? I’ve thought that since the day it arrived in the mail.

It’s a Shark Navigator, by the way, and it’s fabulous. And far less expensive than the over-priced Dyson. Just as in the theater or film, we Americans seem to be taken in by a British accent.

This vacuum is a especially great with dog hair and we have a lot of it around here.

•  My dad is still in the hospital. They’ve found a fracture in his spine which needs to be treated with either injections that might be dangerous for a 92 year old man, or physical therapy. The doctor says he cannot be on his own right now and has recommended physical therapy, so that means he has to move to rehab facility after they’ve finished running tests. We thought he would go to the same rehab facility that both of my parents have spent time in, which is right next to the hospital and just a few miles from my sister.

But no. Medicaid has managed to screw everything up. Their ‘rules’ about things sometimes drive me up the wall. When my dad was admitted to the hospital, it was coded as ‘under observation.’ For some ridiculous reason, that particular code means my father will now be forced to go to one of two facilities, both of which are about 45 minutes to an hour away from home. Don’t ask me why. My sister works long hours at her job and has a four year old to take care of when she’s not at work. Driving that far will make it impossible for her to see dad more than once – maybe twice – a week. I can’t get down there right now. Needless to say, we’re very frustrated. The rehab facility where we thought he would go would have been perfect for him. Everyone knows him there – their presence would make it all so much easier for him.

• For those of you who have found that Don’s CD is temporarily out-of-stock, hang in there. CD Baby only keeps a small amount on hand because, as you can imagine, they stock CDs for thousands of musicians. We’ll be sending them more today and they should be available shortly. I’ll let you know when they’re back in stock.

Okay. Long post.

Thank you so much for the anniversary wishes yesterday. We loved reading them. You are all wonderful, a true blessing in my life.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: anniversary, baseball, bedroom, Dad, Don, life 42 Comments

Seventeen

October 12, 2015 at 8:05 am by Claudia

weddingday

And suddenly, we’ve reached 17.

It’s our seventeenth wedding anniversary today, this October 12th, Columbus Day.

Seventeen years ago, when we married, it was also Columbus Day. And it was Don’s day off. He was doing a one-man show, Jeeves Takes Charge, in Nevada City, California. Nevada City is a charming town in the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountains. Since we wanted a small wedding with no hassles, we decided to get married there.

Don did a lot of the footwork since he was already there. He found the site (The National Hotel), the man who officiated, the florist, and the photographer. My sweet sister found my dress for me and gave it to me as a gift.

I didn’t want my family to have to deal with the expenses involved in flying to California for a wedding. Whenever Don and I even started to think of the logistics of the whole thing, we got very stressed. So, with the blessing of our respective families, we did it our way. Don’s brother and sister-in-law were there. Our friends Phil and Clare were there. Phil ran the the theater where Don was performing. And that’s it.

I flew up the day before the wedding, watched a matinee of Don’s show, went to a dinner thrown for us by some friends of the theater. The next day, we got married in the parlor of the historic National Hotel.

Oh, there was one complication. I had a walking cast on my left ankle. I had fallen down our back steps in August and, though I held out hope the cast would be off by our wedding, it wasn’t. I cried and cried at the thought of going through the wedding with a huge cast on my leg, but Don said, “It will be part of our story.”

And it was. Suzie, my sister-in-law, helped me down the long stairway (which functioned like an aisle in a church). I was determined to walk down those stairs! When I saw Don, I started crying. Then Don started crying. Then Suzie, Ron, Phil and Clare joined in.

We were all crying. Through the entire ceremony.

I will say that Don and I were ‘present’ for every moment of that ceremony. I remember everything. There was none of the stress associated with a ‘big’ wedding. Afterward, we drove through the streets of Nevada City in a horse-drawn carriage. Since it was a holiday, lots of people were out and about and everybody waved at us. It was a gorgeous fall day.

It was perfect.

We won’t mention the stain that appeared on my wedding gown as we were eating dinner, when Don, who was eating spare ribs, used his napkin. It turned out he was actually using my gown. Mortified, he confessed, and after my initial shock, we all laughed. In a way, it was also perfect.

Another part of our story.

That, by the way, is my favorite picture of us from that day. It was taken by my sister-in-law.

Happy Anniversary to us.

By the way, my dad is in the hospital. He was admitted yesterday after suffering from severe back pain. There might be some kidney or bladder issues. We’re not sure. He’s in good spirits, perhaps because he was eating chocolate cake and ice cream when I called him. I’ll keep you posted.

Happy Monday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: anniversary 104 Comments

A Walk, A Butterfly, and a New CD!

October 11, 2015 at 6:40 am by Claudia

Saturday was another gorgeous fall day. Heavens, it was beautiful.

A trail walk:

10-11 trail walk

We stopped by the Vet’s to get Scout’s dog food and saw this:

10-11 monarch 1

10-11 monarch 2

He was loving that butterfly bush so much that I was able to get quite a few pictures. Sweet Monarch Butterfly….a little Saturday miracle.

Good news! Don’s CD is now available to order online. He’s done so much work getting it ready. He designed the cover and the inside of the CD. He arranged for the recording session. He sent it in to be mastered. He’s listened and listened and listened to it, making sure everything is A-OK. All that and that doesn’t include writing the words and music for each song.

Very, very proud of my talented husband.

readyfortheradio

The inside of it is also very cool!

Some of you have mentioned wanting to order it, and of course that makes us very happy, so here’s the information. It’s on a site called CD Baby – they are great, by the way – and you can order it as a digital download or as a CD in the packaging you see above.

To buy it, sample the tracks, or just see the site, click here. I’ll eventually have something on my sidebar, as well.

We’re very excited here at the Hill-Sparks household. This is something Don has wanted to do for literally (and you know I use that word ‘literally’) years: to make a professionally recorded and mastered CD.

On a personal note, to watch Don doggedly pursue this and make it happen has been a joy.

Yay Don!

Next Saturday is the CD Release Party at our local eatery. That will be a lot of fun. Don and Dan are performing, along with several of their musician friends.

They’re very, very good, you know.

I’m off to the city today.

Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Tagged With: CD, Don Sparks, Ready for the RadioFiled Under: butterfly, Don, music 32 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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