Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1142 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Outside: Deer, Birds & A Groundhog

May 20, 2015 at 8:34 am by Claudia

5-20 deer damage

Apparently the deer that share our property aren’t satisfied with the abundance of green things to eat elsewhere on the property. Their palates tend toward young green things in my big garden bed. Honestly, they snack a little every year, but this year…they are doing major damage.

Is this the thanks you give me for all I’ve done for you, ungrateful deer?

Why can’t you be like our groundhog, Henry, who dines on green grass and other things that have nothing to do with the garden?

You could learn from him.

I’ve been spraying a home-made concoction on the plants, but every time I spray everything, it rains.

5-20 poppy bud

Meanwhile, the prickly poppy seems to be safe from the deer. And soon we will have beautiful orange-red, paper-thin flowers.

Kiss Me Kate was simply glorious. What a treat it was to watch it! I found myself whooping out loud after certain numbers like “Too Darn Hot” and “Tom, Dick, and Harry.” Witty, at times hilarious, touching, beautiful, with dancing and singing that knocks your socks off, it’s a treasure. Darko wasn’t at the matinée on Sunday, so I came home and wrote him a love letter via email. His work, along with the incredible choreography of Peggy Hickey, is superb. I took a few notes, but the actors are very good and they were very coachable, so most everything I had given them had been taken to heart and fully realized.

I’ll miss seeing it. Even now, three days later, the songs and images from the show are still vivid. Snatches of songs are running through my brain. Sigh.

The birdbath has been quite active this spring – much earlier than usual. Perhaps it’s due to the unseasonably warm temperatures we’ve been having. Yesterday, I happened to look out the window as a robin plopped himself down in the center of the birdbath. A catbird (they love taking baths) was just about to head into the water when he saw the robin.

5-20 robin & catbird

He tried an end run around the robin, coming in from behind the birdbath, but the robin turned and gave him a ‘look’ and the catbird backed off. He tried the bench. The robin wasn’t budging.

5-20 robin & catbird 2

He tried the planter. Mr. Robin wasn’t moving.

5-20 robin & catbird 3

He tried the chair. And….no movement from the robin. The catbird finally gave up and flew off right after I took this picture.

The photos are a little blurry as I took them through the window and I don’t have a telephoto lens (on my wish list) but gosh, I love taking pictures of the birds and the birdbath. I find them so fascinating! Yesterday, we had the bunny rabbit doing his thing outside the kitchen window, the birds taking baths, and Henry chomping on grass by the shed.

The deer were nowhere to be seen as they like to do their thing before I get up. I love them but they are in deep trouble!

I posted a book review yesterday and I’m giving away a copy. Don’t forget to enter! Just scroll down one post.

And there’s a new post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page: Thoughts on Book Reviews & Some Links For You.

Happy Wednesday.

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Book Review: The Dismantling by Brian DeLeeuw

May 19, 2015 at 9:12 am by Claudia

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Today I am reviewing The Dismantling by Brian DeLeeuw for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

About the Book (from the publisher): Troubled med school dropout Simon Worth is faced with the grim reality of failure and massive student loans. Haunted by the accidental death of his sister, he accepts a lucrative job at Health Solutions as a black market organ broker, arranging the sales of kidneys and livers from donors who need the money to recipients whose time on the transport list is running out.

Eight months into the job, Simon is tasked with finding a match for Lenny Pellegrini, a severely depressed ex-NFL player with a serious drinking problem and a failing liver. When Simon is contacted by Maria Campos, he believes he’s found the perfect donor. The surgery goes according to plan, but soon afterward Lenny makes a cruel and destructive decision, while startling secrets from Maria’s past further complicate the situation. Under tremendous pressure to keep the media and authorities from exposing Health Solutions, both Simon and Maria find themselves the targets of Peter DaSilva, Simon’s boss, who is desperate to protect himself and his organization at all costs. Backed into a corner, Simon is forced to decide that, against his better moral judgment, the only way to survive is to put his trust into Maria.

My review: This novel is a very compelling read. Murky moral lines are drawn – and not drawn – as the protagonist, Simon, comes face-to-face with the ramifications of his decision to work at Health Solutions. Exploring the black market organ trade as well as the very-much-in-the-news stories of ex-football players who are suffering from the effects of too many concussions, too many injuries, and the resulting brain trauma, this story is a reflection of part of our world today.

What I loved about the book – and what I found troubling as well – are those murky moral lines I mentioned. How do we validate our decisions? Where do we draw the line? When do we say ‘No?’ At what point do we take responsibility for our actions and try to atone for them? DeLeeuw has written a very good thriller. He isn’t afraid to take on these moral dilemmas and even though the characters are flawed, he has fleshed them out so fully that we understand them. We identify with them. And that’s the hook, isn’t it? We identify with them. so there is a certain logic and inevitability to their choices. On a certain level, they make sense. That’s what DeLeeuw has done so well.

The back stories of Simon and Maria allow us to discover what haunts them and what has shaped them into who they are today. And, as is the case in so many good novels, the need for redemption, though not always consciously realized by the characters, fuels much of the action.

This is a very good thriller that explores moral issues more deeply than most books in this genre. I really liked it. DeLeeuw is a talented writer who has created a riveting and unsettling read.

A very good book, indeed.

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About the author: Brian DeLeeuw is an author and screenwriter living in Los Angeles. His first novel, In This Way I Was Saved, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2009 and long-listed for the Dylan Thomas prize, with editions published in the U.K., Germany, and France. “Some Kind of Hate,” an independent horror movie he co-wrote, is currently in post-production. He is a graduate of Princeton University and received his MFA in Fiction from the New School.

Good news! One of you will win a copy of The Dismantling. Just leave a comment on this post and I will choose a winner on Friday evening. Good luck!

For those of you who have always wondered what I sound like: Visit yesterday’s post about Enabling the Change. I took part in a video hangout with 4 other bloggers and, for better or worse, there I am. It’s a short video and it’s pretty entertaining. This is your chance to hear my voice. You may not have another one! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Happy Tuesday.

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Hanging Out With Bloggers: Enabling The Change

May 18, 2015 at 9:13 am by Claudia

I was recently invited by BlogHer and Replens Long-Lasting Vaginal Moisturizer* to take part in a Google Hangout. At first I didn’t know what a Hangout was, but I quickly learned it uses your computer’s camera to capture you on video, along with everyone else in the Hangout. You can see each other and have a conversation. In this case, a wonderfully lively and rich conversation.
The theme of the discussion was Enabling the Change.
What change, you ask? Oh, that thing we call Menopause.

I’m proud to say I’ve been through menopause and have emerged triumphant on the other side. I well remember the challenges of perimenopause and menopause: the mood swings, the hot flashes, the night sweats, the dryness… everything. Back in the day – for example, when my mother went through menopause – it wasn’t discussed as openly. Menopause was “The Change.” Spoken in a whisper. Just as when I was a teenager, a period was my “Time of the Month.” Now, we call it what it is and there is much more of an opportunity to discuss it frankly and openly.

In that vein, Replens wanted to create a place where we could have a conversation about this transition and the challenges and evolutions women face in their lifetime. Five bloggers took part in the conversation: Parri from Her Royal Thighness, Judi from A Baby Boomer Woman’s Life After 50, Laura from Simple and Serene Living, Shannon from The Woman Formerly Known as Beautiful, and me.

We were blessed to have Dr. Mary Jane Minkin on hand to answer our questions. Some information on Dr. Minkin:

Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., F.A.C.O.G. is a partner in the practice Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Menopause Physicians, P.C. in Connecticut, and is also Clinical Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale University School of Medicine. She has written several books for women, focusing on reproductive health and menopause, including A Woman’s Guide to Sexual Health and A Woman’s Guide to Menopause and Perimenopause (Yale University Press, 2005). Dr. Minkin is also the women’s health advisor to Prevention Magazine.

Her qualifications speak for themselves. Let me also add that she was, and is, delightful. Funny, irreverent (in the best possible way,) frank, open, and honest, she was simply wonderful. I learned so much from her.

The bloggers involved were at different stages of the process, which led to a spirited, serious, yet laugh-filled discussion. How often do we bloggers get to meet and hear each other online? For me, it is a rarity, and I was completely enchanted by the whole process, from sound and video check the week before to the actual hangout.

The video is here for you to watch for yourselves. I think you’ll like it. I also think you’ll learn a lot.

I want to thank BlogHer and Replens for giving me the chance to take part in this terrific discussion. Ask my husband; I came downstairs after the Hangout and said, “I had the best time!” And I did.

Enjoy the conversation!

The opinions expressed in this video are those of the participants and are not those of Church & Dwight Co., Inc.

*Replens is the clinically tested, doctor recommended brand of long-lasting vaginal moisturizer. As with dry skin that you experience on your face and hands, regular moisturizing treatment with Replens Long-Lasting vaginal moisturizer may be necessary to prevent dryness from recurring. Replens Long-Lasting vaginal moisturizer is different from most other lotions or lubricants because it contains a patented bio-adhesive ingredient that allows it to attach to dry vaginal cells and deliver continuous moisture for up to three days. Click here to learn more.

You also have a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card! To enter for a chance to win, leave a comment below letting me know what changes have surprised you as you get older? What helps you enable the change?

Entry Instructions:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: #SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 5/18/15 – 7/31/15.
Be sure to visit the Replens brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

Outside: Deer, Birds & A Groundhog

Book Review: The Dismantling by Brian DeLeeuw

Hanging Out With Bloggers: Enabling The Change

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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