Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1234 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Rays of Light

September 14, 2014 at 9:00 am by Claudia

It rained all day yesterday; a quiet, steady rain that we very much needed. The rivers are low here. Our cottage is just a short walk away from two rivers and I’ve been shocked lately at how low the water level is.

The gardens are loving it. I’m hoping that it rains every few days while I’m gone so my gardens can thrive in between visits home.

This is what it looked like outside this morning:

rays of light

Sunlight peeking through the trees.

This photo rather reminds me of one I took last year in the summer of 2013. While I was out of town working in Hartford, (sound familiar?) I used it to illustrate a Leonard Cohen lyric. That photo had such pretty bokeh! You can see that particular post here.

But I digress. I say all that only because I seem to be captivated by rays of light coming through the trees. Today’s photo was taken while it was still a bit foggy out, with drops of rain still hanging from all the plants. It’s all rather magical and you have to run outside and try to capture it before the light changes. That kind of light always seems to transport me to another world; a world of beauty and spirit and possibilities.

But, brrrr! It was nippy outside this morning. Autumn is definitely in the air. Along with my non-flannel pajamas, I’m wearing my shawl and a pair of socks. However, I refuse to turn the heat on this early. I simply can’t.

candy stripes & mg

Back to yesterday. Scout and I tucked ourselves in for the day. I finished Act Four of Hamlet and I sent off our tax deductions. I was quite pleased with myself. Then I read and read and read some more: Deborah Crombie’s newest, To Dwell in Darkness. How lovely it is to read a new book by a favorite author, but what a double edged sword it is. I become happily immersed in the writing and the plot, while at the same time, I try to stretch the experience out as long as possible. However, it can’t be too long, because I have other books to read and review.

A quality problem, that’s for sure.

sunlit zinnia

Today: Act Five and then I’ll be done with my Hamlet prep. I’m also doing a load or two of laundry over at my neighbor’s while they are away for the afternoon. Bless them. I will take advantage of the opportunity to play with their adorable cats.

It’s time to start making lists of all the things I have to take with me as I prepare to leave for Hartford. And lists of all the things I have to do before I leave. Then the inevitable worry: what the heck will I blog about? This is my sixth go-round in Hartford, which is a nice city, yes, but not very lively. I feel like I’ve completely plumbed the depths of that experience.

Ah well.

Happy Sunday.

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Rinsing, Wringing and Bailing

September 13, 2014 at 9:01 am by Claudia

Do you remember my words in yesterday’s post? I was going to ‘lay low’ for the day.

The gods heard that and laughed out loud.

I was working on Hamlet and stopped to throw some sheets in the washer. After some time, I went to the bathroom (where our stacked one-piece washer and dryer lives in a closet) to throw them in the dryer. But the load wasn’t done. The cycle had stopped midway through the wash. Thinking it might just be a problem with the permanent press cycle, I moved the dial to Normal. Nothing. I tried Rinse. Nothing. I tried Spin. I tried Gentle. I tried everything. For a moment or two, Normal worked. Then it stopped.

The only thing the washer would do was fill with water, which I certainly didn’t need as it was already full of water. Soapy water.

The damn thing was broken.

So this is how I spent my morning and much of the afternoon: pulling out wet sheets (which, of course, spilled water onto the floor) and then holding them under the bathtub faucet as I rinsed them out by hand. Then I wrung them out and dried them. One by one. There were wet sheets in the bathtub. There were wet sheets in the bathroom sink. There were wet sheets in the washer.

And then, joy of joys, I methodically bailed out the washer – scoop by scoop.

Guess how long that took?

There is still some water in the bottom of the washer that I just can’t get out of there, so I’m trusting it will eventually evaporate.

The bathroom was a mess. I ended up washing the floor. The rugs dried outside on the Funky Patio chairs.

In this time of planned obsolescence, I wonder if nine years is the most we can expect from a washer? (The dryer still works.)

Since I’m leaving town in about five days, I am going to hold off on calling in someone to look at it. We’ll deal with that when we get back. Why do I have this sinking feeling the whole darn thing is going to have to be replaced?

And that’s a whole other kettle of fish. Getting that washer and dryer in there involved taking off the door to the bathroom, taking off the door to the closet, and removing the molding.

Crap.

Let’s change the subject and look at a neat picture of Scout.

scoutie & orb

I was shooting into the sun and this orb appeared on the image. Reminds me of Glinda, the Good Witch, in The Wizard of Oz.

And to further take my mind off the washer, how about some pretty morning glories?

morning gs & rusty wire

morning gs & leaves

Sigh. That helps.

Act Three? Check. Today I work on Act Four.

By the way, I’ve been hit with a ton of spam in the last 24 hours that looks like a legitimate comment, but isn’t. It will take a bit of time for my spam plug-in to identify and filter this stuff, so I am temporarily moderating comments. I check in all the time, however, so your comment will be approved rather quickly.

Don’t people have anything better to do than this? Really? They can’t do something more constructive with their time?

Happy Saturday.

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Back Home, Gifts and Scout

September 12, 2014 at 8:29 am by Claudia

Left the house at 9:30 am. Pulled up in the driveway at 7:15 pm, with Scout’s face visible in the window as she kept one eye pealed for the car from her “Where’s Mom?” perch on the loveseat. Thank goodness for my neighbor who cheerfully dropped by a couple of times to let her outside. I’d left food out in her dish, which my neighbor informed me had been ‘nosed’ by Miss Scout to a spot under the kitchen island.

That scamp.

I asked my neighbor to please put the food back in its original position on the rug. When I got home to an ecstatic, jumpy, pouncey Scout, I discovered she’d eaten it all. Good girl!

We had a loving reunion with lots of “I missed you!” and “What a good girl you were!” and then it was time for more food. For Scout, first.

Then I ordered a pizza. Just for me. It was 8 pm and I was starving.

Scout was like a hyped-up little kid for the next 3 hours until she finally crashed.

I’ve been in Efficient Mode for a few days now, but I think today I’m going to be in Lay Low Mode. Especially since I woke up at 5:30.

Nevertheless, I have to finish Act Three of Hamlet. I’m on a schedule. Here’s the current view of the kitchen table:

FRIDAY Current state of kitchen table

Filled with research books and scripts and notes for our taxes and books due back at the library and some mail.

Attractive, isn’t it? And not at all pin-worthy.

I want to share a few surprises that have arrived in my mailbox lately – all from generous and lovely readers of this blog.

FRIDAY crochet

Tammy sent me this lovely crocheted mat. I love, love the colors, which are not quite true in this photo. That’s because it’s early in the morning here and the lights are on. The bookmark was also in the package – those are pressed flowers. Thank you so much, Tammy!

Yesterday I stopped off at the post office to mail something and check the contents of my post office box. Whoo hoo! There were three packages waiting for me. One was a book for a future review.

FRIDAY eggcups

One was a box that contained these. Oh my! Generous reader Sandra sent these vintage egg cups that are also salt and pepper shakers. Sandra said that one of the things she loved about my egg cup collection is that each one of them has a story. Then she went on to say that this set wouldn’t have a wonderful story like the others, but that they were ‘sent fondly.’ Hold on there, Sandra! They do have a wonderful story: they were sent to me by you. You discovered them at an estate sale and you took the time to package them up, along with a lovely note, and send them to me.

I’d say that’s a pretty neat story. Thank you, Sandra!

And the other box contained these:

FRIDAY minis

Oh my! Lovely reader Lee sent me these minis. They were given to the attendees of a NAME convention (National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts.) That’s a beautiful tray with letters, a letter opener, pen and ink, books, and a cup of tea on a doily. And a tin of Earl Grey. Beautifully done. Yes, my friends, it will definitely be going in the dollhouse, which has been untouched for a while now. That happens every summer, as my thoughts turn to gardening and the great outdoors. Soon enough, I will be finding myself back in the thick of it.

Thank you, Lee!

I am continually amazed by the thoughtful and generous gifts that are sent to me by you, my readers and friends. I don’t think I am nearly that thoughtful or generous, to be perfectly honest. I wish I was more like you. You set the bar pretty high, my friends.

Bless your hearts!

A new post with some interesting links is up at Just Let Me Finish This Page.

Adding to The List: Forgot about Hilary Swank in P.S. I Love You (movie) and Robert Sean Leonard in Pygmalion. Oops!

Oh, and if you’re occasionally not getting a post in your email, it most likely has to do with your email provider and there’s really not a thing I can do about it. I subscribe to this blog through AOL, Gmail, and Yahoo and I’ve been getting every post. Remember: you can bookmark the site and visit it directly. You know that I post every day.

And one more thing: I’m getting a lot of spam today – somehow it’s getting past my filter, so for the time being I am moderating comments.

Happy Friday.

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Rays of Light

Rinsing, Wringing and Bailing

Back Home, Gifts and Scout

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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