Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Clarifying Thoughts in my Cold-Ridden Brain on a Saturday

September 27, 2014 at 8:08 am by Claudia

That little cold/sinus thing became rather a big thing and I’ve been very much under the weather. I even had to miss the last day of table work yesterday. To be perfectly honest, I’d love to stay home today but I just can’t. Since I’m usually suffering from some sinus/allergy thing on a daily basis, when a cold arrives, it hits me smack upside the head and I go down for the count.

As I said on Facebook yesterday, being sick is crappy but being sick when you’re away from home is even crappier. I know that is not the most elegant use of language, but I feel far from elegant. I am grateful for a rather large suite here at the hotel. I think if I was in a small room, I would feel very confined and want to climb the walls, especially because I was room-bound yesterday. I wanted Don to be here and he couldn’t be here. I needed a cuddle.

You understand.

I’m supposed to drive home tomorrow night in order to spend Monday mowing the lawn, etc., but we’ll see about that. Right now, it’s the last thing I want to do.

thistle - fuzzy

A thistle turned silky.

I’ve been pondering something for a while now. I’m just going to say it: I’m really tired of decorating blogs. I find myself reading them less and less. Why is that? This is purely from my particular point of view, of course, and I’m sure many of you feel the exact opposite. And, let me hasten to assure you, I still read the blogs of my blogging friends – I don’t count them in this equation.

But in general? I’m over them.

Now, I’ve loved decorating from my childhood days of wallpapering my Barbie case to the present. I’ve spent who-knows-how-many dollars on decorating magazines over the course of my lifetime. I love to see unique and striking rooms. And I like decorating my little cottage. I’m a nester, for sure. So, it’s not as if I’m a person who just doesn’t care about that sort of thing.

I used to love reading them. But, there is such a glut of decorating/diy blogs now – so, so many that it makes my head spin. And quite frankly, there aren’t a whole lot of new ideas out there, just variations on the same theme. To be fair, I suppose that’s the way it is with most things, not just decorating.

Is this just a phase I’m in? Maybe. I do tend to do things in phases; for example, crochet. How many scarves and throws did I crochet? Over a hundred. And I haven’t picked up a crochet hook in about a year. Been there, done that. So, you see, I do tend to be that way about things.

But, further examination brings me to the realization that there is just too much out there in this virtual world. Too many decorating blogs, too many photos on Pinterest, too many faux animal heads, too many vignettes, too many, too many. I suppose I can be included in that: too many garden and flower photos. Maybe even too many decorating photos, though I haven’t really posted anything of that nature for a while now. I mean, you’ve seen my house. If something changes, I’ll share it with you, but in the meantime, nothing’s new. You may get a shot of the living room every once in a while, but that’s about it.

Your response to this might well be: “Well, Claudia, if you’re tired of all that, don’t visit those blogs. You have control over where you go on the Internet.”

And you’re right. I do have control and I haven’t been clicking on those sites lately. I’ve stayed away. I’d much rather read about a good book or a social issue or see someone blog from the heart or, if we are talking about decorating, see a room that has been decorated in such a purely individual and quirky way that it doesn’t look like anything else I’m seeing on the Web. That takes some digging, of course, but to me, it’s worth it.

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I get bored too easily. Maybe writing the book blog has sent me in a new direction, has solidified what I am truly interested in. I’m not sure.

Anyway, when I’m wrestling with some realization, I generally try to put it in words in this online journal of mine. The process of writing about it always helps me come to terms with whatever change is on my particular horizon.

New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

 

Filed Under: blogging, decorating, life, On The Road 50 Comments

A Little Break

September 25, 2014 at 7:51 am by Claudia

z bud

My friends, I’m going to take the next couple of days off. We are in the middle of what is called Table Work, where we analyze every scene with the actors, directors, coaches, etc. The actors come in and out, depending on what scene is being done. But I have to be there the whole time. Don’t get me wrong, I love that work, but it adds up to 10+ hour days. I have to race back to the hotel on lunch break to walk Scout and end up eating something on the fly.

I’m also coming down with a cold/sinus thing. The director has it, too.

So I’m just plain tired and I really don’t have any time to compose a post.

I’ll be back on Saturday.

Thanks for understanding.

Happy Thursday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: blog, On The Road 20 Comments

Scout Blogs: Street Life!

September 24, 2014 at 8:45 am by Claudia

I don’t get it.

I like my house. I like my dog corral.

I like to sleep on the loveseat.

I like knowing where everything is.

But what the heck?

Let me tell you what has been happening: A few weeks ago, Dad and Mom put me in the car. There was a lot of other stuff there, too. We drove a long time. Then we stopped and all the stuff in the car was moved to another place. So was I. The floors were slippery and I felt like I might fall. We went to a park.

Then, we spent the night. The next morning, Mom and I left that place. But Dad didn’t.

Huh?

We went back home. Everything was okay for a week or so. Then Mom started making piles of things and she started packing. She tries to pack upstairs so I can’t see her, but I know what’s going on. I mean, really, does she think I’m that dense?

Then she piled all that stuff in the car and we drove again. For a long time.

Then we ended up in a big building with lots of people. Mom says it’s a hotel. And that we’re in a Suite. But let me tell you, the first ‘suite’ we were in bothered me a lot. It was small, and something didn’t seem right. I couldn’t settle down. I had to keep sniffing and checking things out and I DIDN’T LIKE IT IN THERE.

So we moved again. This place is nicer. There’s more room. I can stretch out. And the smells are okay.

But I don’t get why we’re here.

Sometimes Mom leaves for a long time. Then she comes back for a bit. Then she leaves again.

I DON’T LIKE IT.

But I do like this place she takes me to, which is the only reason I’m putting up with being far away from home stuff.

scout on the road 1

There’s lots of grass and smells and poop and leaves and boy, do I like it! It’s called a park.

Mom usually takes me there a couple of times a day.

Yesterday, we went at lunchtime and there were people everywhere.

scout on the road 2

I mean, everywhere! And there are lots of people on the streets, too. Some of them stop to pet me. Everyone thinks I’m cute. And they all ask about my limp. (Mom gets tired of having to answer that question all the time. She tells them I have something called Arthritis – Mom spelled that out for me.)

I like people. I stop when they walk toward me. I wait for them to admire me.

Sometimes, they just keep going.

What??

Poop on them.

We go up and down in an elevator. I like that.

Everyone likes me here at the hotel.

They think I’m pretty. And they can’t believe I’m 15½.

Neither can I. I know I look good for my age.

scout on the road 3

I have to say that I’m liking this change of scene.

I don’t understand it, but I like it.

I miss my Dad.

He misses me, too. He talks to me on some thing that Mom holds up to my ear.

Can I let you in on a secret? I try to con Mom into taking me outside. I act like I have to take care of business, but I really just want to explore the street and the smells and the cars and the people. Sometimes, she’s on to me and she tells me to lay down.

But other times? I win and we go outside.

Ha!

Have to start bugging Mom again. I haven’t been to the park yet this morning. And I have to poop.

Bye.

Scout

Filed Under: Scout 48 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

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