Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1379 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

A Blast from the Past

July 1, 2013 at 8:54 am by Claudia

Don’t you love talking books and book recommendations? There were such great comments and suggestions on yesterday’s post. Thanks so much!

I walked down to the mailbox the other day and saw something on the ground. As I looked more closely, I saw this:

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I couldn’t quite believe my eyes. Do you remember these? You fold the paper over and over until you get this, stick your fingers inside and hold it like this:

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Then you move it into this configuration:

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I can’t quite remember how you end up having to pick one number or the other, but after you choose a number, you lift it up and your fortune is told.

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Nice dreams.

Still working on tenses, I see. The teacher in me wants to add a little red e at the end of ‘millionair.’

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Bad luck. Oooh – you’ll kiss a boy! Note the Don’t pick written in pencil on the number eight slot. There’s also a number that has Pick written on it.

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A tad ghoulish, don’t you think?

I was immediately plunged back in time to elementary school, when we young girls made fortune tellers exactly like these. I find it comforting that girls still do this sort of thing. In this computer-driven, high tech world, young girls still pull out a piece of paper and fold it over and over, writing down numbers and fortunes. It’s as if I saw some young kids playing Jacks. Or jumping rope.

Sigh.

Young girl, I’m sorry you lost your fortune teller, but I’m happy you lost it right near my mailbox.

I’ve been trying to get Scout to ‘pounce’ on cue so I could make a little movie of it on my iPhone. That girl! The minute I hold up the phone, she refuses to pounce. I did manage to grab one quick pounce, which you’ll see at the very start of this little video. Don’t blink.

Trying to get Scoutie to pounce from Claudia Hill on Vimeo.

Happy Monday.

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What I’ve Been Up To

June 30, 2013 at 8:24 am by Claudia

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• Reading the next to the last Deborah Crombie mystery. Only one more to go. Say it isn’t so! I did the same thing with Lee Child’s mysteries two summers ago – I read every one of his books over the course of the summer. As I near the end of the books, I get sad.

I also ordered some books through my local library. Susan Branch speaks so highly of all the books by Gladys Taber and I seem to share Susan’s sensibility. So I’ve started in on Stillmeadow Seasons. As to the other book, I read one of Miss Read’s wonderful books while in Hartford and I fell in love with her cozy and funny stories of English small town life. She was a prolific author, so I will have plenty of books to explore.

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• Dusting, swiffering and vacuuming. I’m not a big fan of dusting since I’m allergic to house dust, but when I’m in the mood to do it, I suddenly see dust where I previously hadn’t noticed it at all. Selective sight, I suppose. These books of poetry by Edgar Guest got some attention and now they look beautiful once more. By the way, did you know that Edgar Guest was my dad’s godfather? Yep. He and my grandfather were very close friends – Dad remembers them playing cards at his house. According to my dad, Edgar Guest was a great guy.

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• Adding to my collection of natural wonders. Remember the flicker feather I found in Hartford? There it is on the left. I just added half of a walnut shell from our black walnut tree. And that splash of yellow? Part of a bird’s egg that had fallen onto the funky patio. Does anyone know what bird lays yellow eggs? I’ve searched online but have been unable to come up with a definitive answer.

shakespeare&fruit

• Preparing for two coaching jobs – a two day job in the middle of July and the next gig in Hartford starting at the end of July. By the way, I just realized I will be gone for nearly two months this time around. I was expecting six weeks. Yikes. I can’t think about that too much or I get really sad.

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• Getting a package in the mail. My blogging friend Cindy, of Cottage Instincts, sent me four bars of her amazing homemade soap. After my post the other day about The Struggle, she thought I could use some pampering. They smell heavenly.

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Cindy mentioned that Lemon Poppyseed was especially nice to use after some gardening, so I’ve put it in the soap dish by the kitchen sink. Thank you, dear Cindy, for your sweet and thoughtful gift!

• Mowing. No picture necessary. Just take my word for it.

• Getting the car fixed: new radiator and new something or other bolt that had deteriorated. causing my right front tire to wear more quickly than the other tires. It was, according to my mechanic, ‘becoming a safety issue.’ No picture necessary.

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• Spending time with this girl. She’s still full of spunk and is doing well. She misses her dad, of course, and he misses her. (Her allergies are troubling her, hence the red, weepy eye.)

Oh, let’s look at her again.

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She’s gorgeous. And smart. And funny. That’s a good combination.

Happy Sunday.

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A Favorite Thing #43

June 28, 2013 at 8:00 pm by Claudia

Welcome to week number 43 of A Favorite Thing! I’m waterlogged from all the rain we’ve had; when it hasn’t been raining, I’ve been just as waterlogged from the humidity. Nevertheless, I’ve been trying to grab some time to mow the lawn. Rain = grass too long. Anyway, let’s look at some highlights from last week:

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Virginia Retro shared a visit to the Flea Market and this beautiful vintage tablecloth she found there. Yep, she brought it home with her. I love vintage tablecloths.

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We Call It Junkin shared a tutorial on how to make this punch bowl ring. Isn’t it gorgeous? This is the kind of thing I never think to make!

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And Lorrie of Fabric Paper Thread shared the bouquet she made simply by strolling through her garden with her clippers. So lovely!

My favorite thing this week is this:

wroughtironthingy

I have unimaginatively named it The Wrought Iron Thingy. Shameful, I know. I found it four years ago at a flea market in Southern California. I was working out there for an extended period of time and found quite a few little treasures at my favorite haunts. I think this is from Mexico. I just fell for the rusty-but-once-white wrought iron and the shape of it. I knew I could use it in many ways. At the end of my stay, I had it packed in a big old box and shipped it home. At first, I placed it on the kitchen table and decorated it for the seasons. But then I painted my kitchen table white and I didn’t want The Wrought Iron Thingy to scratch the paint. Plus, it’s big and takes up a lot of room. So now it lives on the porch and I like it there. I think I’ve found the perfect place for it.

Now it’s your turn.

You can link up anytime from this evening through Sunday. Make sure you enter the URL of your post. If you’re unsure how to do that, just click on your post title after you’ve published it and copy the information in your browser address window. Come back here, paste the URL into your link entry and there you go! If you have any problems, drop me an email and I’ll help you out. Please link back to this blog on your post. That way, those that read your post and are interested in reading more can do so.

One of my concerns about link parties is that the very reason for them has somewhat gone by the wayside. They’ve become so big and there are so many of them that many bloggers don’t take the time to visit any of the other participants. Link parties are a way to meet new bloggers and share with each other and the only way to do that is to visit each other. So, please, take some time to visit everyone over the next few days. No rush. Stop by, introduce yourself, and leave a comment. It’s the neighborly thing to do. It’s also nice if you leave a comment here, as well.

Enjoy!

A Blast from the Past

What I’ve Been Up To

A Favorite Thing #43

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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