Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1214 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

A Tough Day

October 18, 2014 at 9:25 am by Claudia

FRI-roses

7:30 am on Saturday.

The cranes are back, people are shouting, the street is blocked off, more lifting and constructing.

It’s Saturday.

I know what’s going to happen. This whole project will be over just as I’m leaving town next Saturday.

I guarantee it.

I’m missing my little house in the country.

FRI-scout

I’m also feeling guilty because Scout seems to be very, very sore and I think it is because of her runs earlier in the week. Did I let her do too much? Should I have curtailed her activities? Was I irresponsible?

But she was so strong and happy and joyous. I could tell she was tired after the last run, so I decided she needed to stop that for a while. Today, she is clearly in pain. I’ve given her medicine. She was fairly okay last night but when she woke up this morning she was hurting. I don’t know whether it’s the way she slept or the fact that Scout has never liked it when we’re gone at night, and since I’ve been at the theater the last few nights, she gets stressed and ends up on the floor by the door to the apartment where she can’t get up. I know that is hard on her.

She finally went back to sleep just now. Oh, my girl, stay strong.

It’s been a strange 24 hours. Yesterday, I hit my head on a low ceiling near the stage in the theater, which really hurt. Then, as I was walking home, I tripped on a pipe sticking up out of the sidewalk (why it was there, I don’t know) and before I knew it, I fell into the street. There was water and muck there from the rain of the previous day. I fell on my right side, bracing myself with my right wrist. Miraculously, I didn’t break anything. I was covered in mud, my bag got dirty, I scraped my palm and bruised my elbow and hip. There was a lady walking nearby and she ran over to me, but I managed to get up right away. It could have been much worse. If there was traffic in that lane, I would have been severely injured. As it was, I am very sore and last night during the show, my wrist started hurting a great deal. Today, it’s a bit better. I don’t think it’s sprained, just sore. Thankfully, when I fell, I had no time to tense, I just went with it and I think that helped me a great deal.

I was shaken by the whole thing and told Don I felt very vulnerable.

I hope today brings some relief for both of us, especially Scout. Healing thoughts, energy, white light, prayers – whatever your preference, send some Scout’s way, okay?

Happy Saturday.

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On Living (Temporarily) With Less

October 17, 2014 at 9:54 am by Claudia

This is the end of my fourth week on the road.

What did I bring with me for this time away from home? Some books, my Kindle, my laptop, my filofax, clothes, research materials and reference books for my work here, some office supplies, some quilts, a pine-scented candle, my camera, some dog food and my dog.

That’s it.

FRI-apartment

Scout and I have been happily existing in our home away from home with just those things, along with some fresh flowers and food.

And I am once again struck by the fact that I can get along very well without a lot of ‘stuff.’ The essentials do very nicely indeed. Normally, I do this sort of thing without my dog, so Scout’s inclusion on this journey has been a wonderful addition. And, of course, we miss Don, but he’ll be here for a visit on Sunday night.

But back to the point of this post. Small living, tiny houses, minimalist settings – all of that is very big right now. I can see the appeal of that sort of living, free of excess possessions with just those necessities required to live a fairly minimalist life. It’s very doable.

I love my things. I’m a collector. I like the cozy English cottage look of my home. But I can guarantee you that when I go back home in a week, my house will look very cluttered to me. I will have a yen to purge (which isn’t a bad thing.) I will look around and see lots of ‘stuff’. I go through this every time I return back home after being on the road.

Could I get by with just a minimum of possessions? Absolutely. I prove it every time I do this sort of thing. I’m just fine without all the extras. As long as I can read and write and take photos and be with my husband and dog, it seems that I’m okay.

But what about the things I’ve inherited from my mom and my grandmother? The books I love to see displayed on my bookshelves? The china and pottery I love to collect? The furniture that Don and I have found in the years we’ve been together? The paintings and lithographs and prints that we’ve chosen? The guitars that Don loves? My piano, passed down from my grandmother and played on by aunts, uncles, grandmother, mother and siblings?

You get the picture. I’m not going to become a minimalist.

But I could, if I had to.

New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page.

Happy Friday.

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On the Road: Cupcakes on Wheels

October 16, 2014 at 9:17 am by Claudia

Last week, as I was sitting at rehearsal doing my thing, I noticed a clear plastic container next to the stage manager’s desk. It held a cupcake. The stage manager on this show is a friend of mine, so when it was time for a break, I trotted right on over there and asked her where she got it.

“The Cupcake Truck” was her matter-of-fact response.

“The what??” was mine.

Both the sound designer (who was sitting right there) and I were more excited about this piece of news than anything we could think of at the moment.

Later, I walked with Darko over to the theater to see the set and we passed the truck, but it wasn’t a good time for me to ask Darko if I could stop and buy a cupcake, since we were on a tight schedule. I’m pretty sure I would have received an eye roll in response.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago, when I went back to the same corner to buy a cupcake.

No truck.

Now I was confused. So I made a mental note to google Cupcake Truck Hartford when I got home. Sure enough, there it was. The truck, actually called The Cupcake Brake, travels to different sites in the Hartford area. The web site lists where the truck will be on any given day.

Yesterday, it was in State House Square, a few blocks away from my apartment. Bingo!

Cupcaketruck

Hello, yellow cupcake truck!

The menu varies from day to day and the truck remains at the venue from 12 – 3 or until the cupcakes run out.

Isn’t this the best idea? (And, yes, in case you’re wondering, I’ve been bad about sugar lately. I’ll do better when I get back home. Comfort food, my friends, comfort food.)

Cupcaketruck - front end

Oh. my. goodness. It is indeed a ‘Sweet Ride.’

Here’s the menu for yesterday:

I didn’t notice the Cake Pops. Next time.

I bought two: the Charter Oak Chocolate and the New England Autumn (which is a pumpkin spice). You can pick what kind of frosting you want, as well as the filling. I went with vanilla icing on the New England Autumn and no filling. The Charter Oak Chocolate? Chocolate icing and the ganache filling.

Cupcaketruck - cupcakes

Oh my.

I devoured the New England Autumn right before I had to go to the Final Tech/Dress run-through yesterday evening. I figured it might give me a boost since I was tired – and it did. Yummy, yummy, yummy.

The other cupcake is still waiting in the refrigerator. (I like my cupcakes refrigerated to keep the frosting nice and firm.) It’s a rainy, yucky day out there today so I can definitely see myself dining on a cupcake in the late afternoon. You know, to comfort myself amidst all this dampness.

Every town should have a cupcake truck, don’t you think? Actually, when I googled it, I saw cupcake trucks in other towns, as well.

My town might be a bit too little to support a cupcake truck.

Ah well.

Happy Thursday.

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A Tough Day

On Living (Temporarily) With Less

On the Road: Cupcakes on Wheels

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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