Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1198 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

The Story Behind the Print & Aussie Additions

December 3, 2014 at 8:46 am by Claudia

When I posted about the new bookshelves, I mentioned the print that is on the wall and how much we love it. Trudy, a faithful reader, asked me if I’d told the picture’s story. Well, I have, but it was a while ago, so I’ll share it with you again.

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There it is.

Several years ago, I was at an auction with my friend Heidi. This particular auction took place once a month and it inevitably went on to the wee hours because the man who ran the auction was the slowest auctioneer I’ve ever seen. I spotted this print as it leaned against a wall on the far side of the room. I fell in love with the flowers (love flower paintings) but I really fell in love with the frame. The scalloped edges of the wooden frame were so charming and, to me, cottage-like.

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There’s a thin line of green paint along the edge. (I am crazy for this frame.)

Anyway, I waited and waited for this framed beauty to come up for auction. Ten o’clock. Eleven o’clock. Midnight. Nothing. And then the auctioneer decided to call it a night.

Oh no.

Several of us shouted out about various items – what about this? what about that?

It was very late and everyone was very tired. When I mentioned the print, he said, “Is anyone else interested in it?” No one was.

I got it for $15.

A steal. The piece is large and very heavy and that frame is worth much, much more than $15. I briefly considered hanging it over the piano, but it looked much better in the den. So there it stays. When designing the placement of the bookshelves, it was always a given that the print would remain where it was. The stain on the frame also matches the stain on the little shelf in the den that holds some of my egg cups. Meant to be.

A little package from Australia arrived in the mail yesterday. I ordered four things for the dollhouse from my favorite Etsy seller Carrie Lavender. It’s funny, but while you’re waiting for a package of minis to arrive, you keep thinking of the items and where you’ll put them and they almost become real-sized in your imagination. Then the package actually arrives and it’s tiny. And the items are tiny. And you remember – oh yeah, this is for my dollhouse!

The past couple of days have been dark and dreary, so photos are tricky.

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This lovely Aubusson pillow is a new addition to the living room. It’s in a shade of coral that is picked up in the rug.

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Two editions of Jane Austen.

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New French-inspired house numbers.

And, though I love everything, my favorite:

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This “vintage” French shoe store sign. I’ve wanted it for about a year now and I finally got around to ordering it. Don’s first response? “I want one for our house!” (We love signs here at MHC. So, apparently, does Caroline.)

Thank you, Carrie!

I’ll be reviewing The Burning Room by Michael Connelly on Just Let Me Finish This Page today. Stop by!

Happy Wednesday.

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Chicken Wire Capital of the World

December 2, 2014 at 8:32 am by Claudia

Welcome to Mockingbird Hill Cottage, chicken wire capital of the world.

Working with chicken wire is not one of my favorite things to do. But that’s what we did yesterday when we took advantage of warmer temperatures to construct a temporary corral for Scout. We’ve worked with chicken wire before – the large corral is also made out of chicken wire and stakes.

But we must have been younger when we put that together. About nine years younger.

And now we have even more chicken wire on the property.

My patience was put to the test. Unrolling the chicken wire was a feat in itself. But gradually we found a kind of rhythm and work progressed, along with muddy jeans and misplaced tools. Why can’t I keep track of screwdrivers and wire cutters? Same thing with my scissors when I’m sewing.

Many curse words, of course. That’s a given.

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Finito. It ain’t a beauty but who cares?

Don is helping Scout get acclimated. She’s curious about it and clearly is wondering what the heck her wacky parents are up to now. We’ve decided that when the snow and ice accumulate, we’ll close off the entrance to the corral with a garden bench that can be easily moved into place. We’ve moved the little gate to a new position and now, when she can’t get to the big corral, she will have to go to the right to do her business. On flat ground. We can still exit from the side door via the gate. We’re not blocking the oil delivery path.

Roger. Over and out.

It’s small, but it will do. We can keep it snow and ice free. It’s doable. And that, my friends, is a huge relief. Because that means life will be easier for our girl.

Those benches are covering my newish hydrangea and rose bush. They serve as a reminder not to dump too much snow on the plants, as well as protection from winter winds.

Scout has also developed a fascination for cards.

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Very grainy – captured with my iPhone at night – but you get the picture. She loves watching Don shuffle the cards.

And yes, those are Mallomars, one of man’s greatest inventions, in the background.

Let’s close with a recent sunset. This beauty happened the night before the Nor’easter. I just now noticed that little sliver of the moon on the left.

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Winter sunsets are spectacular. Maybe it’s Mother Nature’s way of helping us through the cold and snow and ice and dark skies at 4 pm. It’s the least she can do.

Happy Tuesday.

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Monday Morning (For Lack of a Better Title)

December 1, 2014 at 8:51 am by Claudia

Don and I have lost two friends recently. Both of them lived in our area of the Hudson Valley.

Bob, who was about as good as they come, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) several months ago. It was quite advanced at the time of diagnosis and within a couple of months he was gone. It hit Don especially hard. Bob was always there for us, bringing his chainsaw to help us deal with a fallen tree, checking the brake line on Don’s now-gone car, one winter he helped Don unfreeze a pipe in the basement. Always giving, always kind. We can’t believe he’s gone; here one day and gone the next, much too quickly to take in.

Mery, who was diagnosed with Breast Cancer a few months ago, died on Thanksgiving. Mery owned and ran a café in Saugerties, NY called Café Mezzaluna. Don played there for Sunday Brunch many times, as have most of our musician friends. Mery was a great supporter of musicians, visual artists and writers. There were art exhibits on the wall. Poets read their work. Musicians played their music.

Mery was a force of nature and her spirit was pure and loving. Cheri, Mery’s partner in life, was by Mery’s side during her illness, all the while continuing to cook the delicious meals that came out of Café Mezzaluna’s kitchen. Needless to say, the community is reeling. Cheri is trying to buy the café so that it can continue to be a haven and joyful gathering place for everyone and there’s a fund in place to try to raise the money. If it fails, this wonderful place will be no more.

Cheri decided to open up the restaurant for brunch yesterday, so we drove up to Saugerties. I’m so glad we were there; to hug Cherie, to be a source of support, to mourn, to witness, to celebrate Meri and the business into which she poured her heart.

Bittersweet and very sad, yet beautiful.

We grabbed a few minutes after brunch and visited the wonderful used bookstore that is in Saugerties, Our Bookshop. I wrote about it in August on Just Let Me Finish This Page. I wanted to look at the vintage children’s books. I’m trying to gather some of my personal favorites from childhood. My mom had some lovely books that she read as a girl, then passed on to us to read, and somehow our estranged sister ended up with them. Mom had all the Anne of Green Gables series, all the Louisa May Alcott books, Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster, and more titles I can’t remember. All from the thirties. All lovely editions.

So I try to buy them when I can.

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I came home with Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery and The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion (A Nancy Drew Mystery) by Carolyn Keene. Don grabbed King Kong. (That’s my signed edition of To Kill a Mockingbird on the left.) There was a newer set of the Nancy Drew books in the shop but I didn’t like the binding or the look of them. The one that I bought yesterday is lovely.

And, on Saturday, some carpeting arrived for the dollhouse.

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Actually, two runners. I got them from a wonderful Etsy seller, Maison de Petite. The runner that she was selling came in a wider width than my narrow stairs could accommodate, so she kindly reduced the size for me. But I underestimated the length, so I’m ordering 3 more – one that will cover the remaining steps and, since I like the look so much, two more for the stairs leading to the bedroom from the den.

Isn’t it beautiful?

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Dollhouses become special worlds, don’t they? No sickness, no sadness, no too-young deaths, no heartbreak. They’re happy, carefree little worlds. I think that’s why so many of us love our little miniature havens.

New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page.

Happy Monday.

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The Story Behind the Print & Aussie Additions

Chicken Wire Capital of the World

Monday Morning (For Lack of a Better Title)

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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