Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Shells, Music, and an Anniversary

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I don’t profess to know all of Caroline’s comings and goings. She is very independent, as you know. Yesterday, during her absence, I snuck a peak at the interior of her house.

8-30 DH shells 1

She’s clearly been to the beach. I know those seashells were not  there before.

8-30 DH shells 2

They’re pretty.

I wonder where Caroline was? California? Some Caribbean island? Hawaii? I mean, I know it’s none of my business, technically, but don’t you think letting me know when she’s going to be out of town would be the polite thing to do?

8-30 The guys-2

A wonderful performance last night by these guys.

Although there was a table of very loud patrons who were annoyingly clueless about their volume level and the fact that people were trying to listen to the words Don was singing. One woman eventually turned to them to ask them to keep it down. I walked over and stood by their table and gave them the evil eye. Twice.

There are people who travel in their own little bubbles and have no clue as to what is going on around them.

I wanted to knock their heads together.

Ah, well.

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Today, my friends, is the tenth anniversary of Mockingbird Hill Cottage. We moved in on August 30th, 2005.

Ten years!

The name Mockingbird Hill Cottage was not in existence on that day. It was just our very own house. That was enough, believe me.

Mockingbird Hill Cottage came a couple of years later. And then the blog appeared about a year after that.

Corners-kitchen 5

Yep. Ten years. See?

Does this mean we’re adults now?

Happy Sunday.

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Flowers, Shells, Scout, and Don’s New CD

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When I feel a certain level of stress, I find myself gravitating to some chore that is so all consuming that it takes me away from the endless repetition of fear thoughts in my head. Yesterday was one of those days. I yanked tons of weeds. I weed whacked. I mowed the back forty.

I guess it’s the equivalent of a good workout – I felt much more centered after all of that. Tired, but centered.

8-29 hollyhock

The hollyhock is still blooming. I love the raspberry color of the flower.

8-29 shells

I rinsed a lot of sand off a lot of sea shells.

8-29 Scoutie galloping

Though Scoutie has her share of aches and pains and has a lot of trouble getting around, the one place where she can be her old self is here. As she heads on in from the corral and reaches the little hill, she begins to gallop. I managed to catch her in mid-stride yesterday.

Tonight, Don and his pals, Dan and Dewitt, are playing a gig just down the road from our house. You might remember that they played together a few months back and it was an incredible evening. I was determined to get back from Florida in time to be a part of the audience. Can’t wait!

Don and Dan stepped into the recording studio a few months back and recorded a live album in one day. Don’s words and music, his guitar, and Dan’s incredible work on multiple instruments came together for the perfect CD. They held a fund-raising campaign on IndieGoGo to raise the  money needed to master the songs and package the CD and by the day before yesterday, they had managed to raise all the money they needed. I’m so excited for them! Soon, Don will have the CD he’s always dreamed about; a truly professional (and beautifully recorded by Rick Gedney) CD of some of his favorite songs. Whoo hoo!

I’ll tell you more about it when it’s finally packaged and ready for release. I’m thrilled for Don. He’s worked very hard on this project and witnessing his joy when he heard the recordings was a beautiful thing indeed.

This may be a day for some Top Secret Project work…

Yesterday, I realized I hadn’t picked a winner for the book giveaway of The Reinvention of Albert Paugh. Yikes! I quickly changed that little scenario and the winner is Linda. I’ve contacted her and she’s excited. Congratulations, Linda!

Happy Saturday.

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Foggy Friday

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8-27 foggy morning

Cooler nights and a foggy morning; signs that Autumn is just around the corner. There’s something wonderfully mysterious and cocoon-like about a foggy morning, don’t you think?

It’s starting to burn off as the sun takes over.

Re-entry time. After five days in Florida, two days on the road, and over 1200 miles added to the odometer, I was at sixes and sevens yesterday. Tired. Happy to be home. Worried about Scout. I decided to do  something, so I mowed part of the front lawn and pulled some weeds.

I spoke to Little Z last night when he called us to say “I pooped in the potty!” and “I’m taking a bath!” We made the appropriate cheering noises and told him how proud we were of him. When I was visiting, I was right there on the scene when another successful potty session occurred. Nothing makes me happier than to hear him say “I did  it!” when he uses his walker, or walks with his canes, or navigates the potty, or masters something or other. He is a joyful fighter and is fiercely intelligent. He is a hero.

I miss him so much it hurts.

8-27 car

The silver fox that made a 1200+ mile journey. Smooth as silk, very comfortable, and such a blessing for us.

I have a list of things to do today. One of them is to rinse off all the seashells gathered on our morning walk at the beach. I’m thinking this newest group of seashells would look nice in a glass container on our den bookshelves.

What else? I just finished The Tourist  by Olen Steinhauer and am ready to start The English Spy  by Daniel Silva. The Tourist was simply superb, by the way. Steinhauer is a master of the spy novel. He joins Graham Greene and John LeCarré as one of the best at writing that kind of secretive, maze-like plot. If you’re at all interested in that kind of thriller, I highly recommend his books. Happily, he’s written even more books that I have yet to read. Huzzah!

Happy Friday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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