Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1224 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Pacing

September 19, 2014 at 8:11 am by Claudia

Scout is driving me nuts.

She paces. She pants. She can’t relax. I had to wrestle her to the ground a couple of times to get her to go to sleep. She walks to the bathroom. She looks in the closet. She paces. She paces. And she paces some more.

She usually adjusts more easily and quickly than this. She’s clearly stressed and unsure about what is going on.

I’m trying to be patient.

She does love the park, however.

scout in hartford 1

That part of the whole thing is cool. She sniffs. She explores. She loves it.

It’s just the hotel that she’s unsure of.

And to complicate things, and what about this isn’t complicated, I didn’t get the room I requested, but it will be available later today. So after rehearsal, we have to move again. Then, in two weeks, we have to move again – into the apartment.

I don’t remember her being this crazy when she stayed at an apartment here a year ago. Or when we stayed overnight at Don’s apartment in New Haven. She just can’t relax.

This is hard on her. Consequently, it’s hard on me.

I have to leave her to go to rehearsal today, so I hope she can finally relax. At the very least, all this anxiety should tire her out, don’t you think?

scout in hartford 2

I’m more than a bit frazzled myself.

New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page.

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Travel Day

September 18, 2014 at 8:00 am by Claudia

Oh boy. What a day we have ahead of us!

I still have to finish packing this morning and take care of what seems like a hundred things around here. There are at least 10 different lists sitting on the kitchen island.

travel day morning glory 1

That’s a bee diving down head-first into the morning glory.

I hope that the walk to the park from the hotel isn’t too far for Scout. That’s what I worried about last night. She limps because of the arthritis in her front leg. She’s a trooper, of course, but it would be so much easier if the apartment was available. So much easier. A quick walk across the street and we’re in the park. It’s more than a few blocks from the hotel.

travel day morning glory 3

This morning glory vine looks like a question mark.

Question of the day: Will Scout adapt to her new surroundings? Will she be able to handle the long walks? Or will I have to take her to Don’s place in New Haven?

This will be a short post, my friends. Too much to do before we head out around noon.

travel day morning glory 2

We won’t even mention how I’ve looked over the weather forecast for the next ten days and the lack of rain makes me concerned for my garden. Or how impossibly beautiful it looks right now as I prepare to leave and how sad that makes me.

It ain’t easy, this living and working away from home.

In fact, it gets harder, not easier.

Sorry for what seems like an excessive amount of in-post ads today. I’m looking into it.

Happy Thursday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Dreams, Lists, and Noise

September 17, 2014 at 8:35 am by Claudia

I don’t often remember my dreams, but I did remember a scrap of one yesterday. What it was about, I’m not sure. I don’t remember any details except for the fact that I was a younger version of my current self and my mom was there. The dream wasn’t about my mom, specifically. But she was there hanging out and talking with me, much as we interacted in my teens and early twenties.

That’s all I remember. But it was lovely. I woke up with a strong sense of my mother and a sadness and happiness for days gone by…I miss her.

I probably dream of her more than I know. Many years after my brother died – he’s been gone for 23 years now – I had a vivid dream in which he and I were dancing together. The dance, as I remember, was a waltz. It was joyous and happy. I woke up with a smile on my face. That dream was so powerful that I knew he’d been with me, as sure as I knew my name. I take comfort in that dream even now.

Ah, well.

from the rear rose

Thank goodness for a second round of blooms on my rose bushes. Every year, long after I’ve given up on them, they sneak back in for an encore presentation. Very welcome, indeed.

I ran a few errands yesterday, made more lists, and in a spurt of energy, mowed the entire front lawn. It’s big, my friends. I should have stopped much earlier than I did, but I kept at it, knowing my back would be shouting in protest at the end of the day. It did.

On the other hand, that’s one of the things on my list for today that I don’t have to do. I like that.

And in the same vein of planned obsolescence as the breakdown of the washing machine, the television is now acting up. We’ve been babying it for quite a while now – the sound has a background of crackles and pops. We would turn on the television, then immediately turn down the volume for about 10 minutes, then slowly increase the volume and all would be okay. No longer. Crackles, snaps, and pops are there no matter what I do. And a new wrinkle: the sound cuts out here and there.

I remember asking the cable guy about it and he asked me how long we’d had the TV. I said about 8 years. Yep, he said, that’s about as long as you can expect it to last. Then things start happening.

Planned obsolescence.

It isn’t so bad if I’m watching something with a lot of music and sound effects, but anything quiet, i.e., The Roosevelts, is not at all fun. I end up turning it off.

After we get back: dealing with the washing machine and a new television.

Shiny new pencils for my work in Hartford:

for the trip pencils

I bought a box of Blackwings. The 602. Our local used bookstore is so cool. I told the owner I loved these pencils and he nodded. They are the best, he said.

Yep.

Pacing

Travel Day

Dreams, Lists, and Noise

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives