Mockingbird Hill Cottage

The first Rose of Sharon bloom in the early Sunday morning light. As I look outside today, there are 3 or 4 more.  I’m sure they’ve been helped along by the extreme heat we’ve been having. That heat continues today and tomorrow.

This will be brief, as I’ve had 2 – count ’em – 2 hours of sleep. Our bedroom a/c unit started making a strange noise and it woke me up around 1:30. I turned it on and off a few times, but I could never get back to sleep, probably because I was worried the noise would start again. That it did. So we have to buy a new unit today because we cannot go without one in this heat.

Sigh.

Anyway, I’m already barely functioning because of the humidity and now we can the strange sounds to the mix. And no, I’m not going to see if someone can repair it – what would we do in the meantime?  By the way, speaking of repairs, the mechanics who service Don’s car told him about a month ago that Hondas, especially Honda Pilots, are known for engine lights going on when there’s nothing wrong, as well as a blinking drive light – also other lights as well. As they couldn’t get to his car that day, they suggested he drive it around and see if it worked okay. And it does. Sometimes all the lights on the dashboard go on, Sometimes, 1 or 2. Sometimes – none. I think it’s a computer problem. For example the oil light went on but Don had it changed not all that long ago and he checked the oil – he has plenty. I know I sound like an old fart, but I wish cars weren’t dependent on computers. Mine is pretty basic and I’m quite happy with it.

Just thought I’d show you how the Elizabeth Jane Howard Cazalet Chronicles look when lined up in order. Isn’t that lovely?

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

The hostas just started to bloom. Those little flowers are so delicate. They don’t last long, so I’m going to enjoy them while I can.

We’ve had horrendous humidity the last couple of days. Yesterday was unbearable and today? The heat index will reach 100°. Weather like this really affects my respiratory system. We have yet to turn the A/C on this morning, but we will soon. We had a very early thunderstorm around 5 am. Quite spectacular!

We’ve had the adult male gypsy moths flying around here for a week or so. Did you know that the females (who are white) do not fly? I guess they just hang out waiting to lay eggs. The males – who are a tan/brown – do not eat, but they do fly. And they only live for a week. There are so many of them around here, but they were gentle. We even rescued some who accidentally  got inside. I figure if they only get to live for a week, they deserve to fly as much as they can. In the past couple of days, the numbers have greatly decreased, and it has been about a week since we first saw them.

Ella showing off one of three t-shirts in different colors with this message. Cute as f____. I know some of you don’t use that word, but I sure do. It’s the perfect word to use as an invective because it starts with a fricative (f) and ends with a plosive (k). Also, my mother’s favorite word, sh___t, has the same combination. There’s a reason people like those words. If you were here with me, I’d speak Mom’s word in the way that only she could. I still imitate her!

Anyway, on we go. Hot, hot, hot today so I’ll be staying indoors,

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

The coneflowers are opening and, boy, do they make me happy! It’s my favorite time in the garden because I like a cottage garden look and, to me, coneflowers are a cottage garden. And, since they’re self-seeding, the bang you get for your buck is fabulous.

Thank you so much for your best wishes on our 30th anniversary! We had a lovely day yesterday and we’ve decided that we’re celebrating through the weekend. We want to continue our celebration. We received so many well wishes here on the blog, as well as on Facebook and Instagram. We heard from actors and designers who were at that party, childhood friends, and a host of other friends and acquaintances from our lives in theater and music, my colleagues from the veterinary hospital, former students, and social media friends. All in all, it was very moving.

We had this idea earlier in the year and weren’t sure we would go through with it, but we did. It took a long time.

Then and now:

Don kept this shirt that he happened to purchase on that Fourth of July and he only pulls it out once a year. I kept my sweatshirt because I loved it, eventually using it while painting, as you can see. It’s still my comfort sweatshirt and I wear it when I’m not feeling well. So – both of us had our shirts from 30 years ago.

As best we could, we tried to recreate the look of the original photo, though I have no idea what I was doing with my hand in the original and every time we tried it, it looked like a fist, so I modified the pose. And the slightly shy look I had 30 years ago only served to highlight my double chins, so that got altered quickly.

Goal: lose some weight. I was too skinny in those days and Don prefers me this way; nevertheless, some dieting is in order.

We did all this while shooting a video and then we froze the frames when we found a good shot. Consequently, there was a lot of back and forth between us on the videos. Watching them made us laugh out loud. Boy, we sure are a longtime married couple!

Anyway, we are proud of us. Don had been married twice before and I was deathly afraid of any sort of commitment. Yet, here we are, 30 years later.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.