Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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A Strange Day

June 14, 2013 at 8:36 am by Claudia

impatiens

Was it a full moon yesterday? Was it the incessant rain? I don’t know, but it was a strange day. We were trapped in the house all day with sheets of rain coming down. I worked on two more acts of Much Ado (only one more to go) and then there was the weird spam thing that happened to one of my readers. Thanks to those of you who responded to my previous post, which asked if any of you had received a Comment Reply email from this blog with some offensive spam on it. I trust you know that I would never send that kind of thing. When the reader wrote me about it, I went into panic mode and tried to figure out what the problem was. I’m pretty sure now that the site is secure and I’ve also added another level of security.

Why is my initial response to this kind of thing always “I’ll just stop blogging?” That only lasts a minute or two and then I move on.

I deleted the plugin that allows me to notify you if I respond to your comments. This will be problematic, as I respond to most comments on a daily basis and now that box you used to check that enables an email to be sent to you if I reply won’t be there. I’ll look for a better plugin but, in the meantime, you’ll just have to check back to see the replies. So sorry.

I like responding to comments, darn it! I like the conversation we have. So if you have time in your busy days to check back, I would love that. I tend to think, since no one else has written me complaining of a spammy reply being sent to them, that this might have been limited to that one response….hopefully. Meanwhile, I’ll keep investigating.

Ah, the internet. Wonderful and, at the same time, a pain in the tush. I’d use another word and do on a daily basis, but I try to maintain a certain level of decorum here. Ahem.

hydrangeas

Right now, the entire property looks water logged, as if it was dunked under water for several days. And, it sort of was. I have no idea what’s blooming or attempting to bloom or bent over from the force of the rain. I’ll have to make a little tour of the grounds and investigate. Better put on my muck boots.

We watched an Austin Powers movie last night (we also watched it last week) and laughed ourselves silly. Yay for laughter. I needed it. Don, who is so patient when I go into blog worry mode, needed it. Laughter is the best medicine, for sure. It pulls me out of my head and into the present. Thank goodness.

I’ll leave you with a glimpse of Scout’s white eyelashes. And the freckles on her nose.

scouteyelashes

Pretty, pretty girl.

Happy Friday.

signature2

Filed Under: life 40 Comments

Important

June 13, 2013 at 3:58 pm by Claudia

Hi everyone,

Sheila emailed me today to say she was getting offensive spam from my blog – through the comment email address. I also got this same spam today. Can you let me know if you received this? I’m trying to track down the source of it. I apologize if you have received it. For the time being, I’m going to approve all comments that come through the blog.

To clarify, I have a spam plugin on this blog that takes care of spam sent to this blog, this is spam sent to people who have commented on my blog – it looks like a legitimate reply to a comment that is coming from me.

It may have been sent to those of you who check the comment reply box on the comment page.

Not sure whether the blog has been hacked or my email account has been hacked. I’ve deleted Comment Reply.

 

Filed Under: life 14 Comments

Memo to Rain: Please Leave

June 13, 2013 at 8:38 am by Claudia

thurs-sky

I’m leading with this shot of the beautiful, fluffy cloud-filled sky I took yesterday because today we are getting heavy rain.

Again.

All day.

All night.

thurs-creek

(the creek across the street from our cottage)

I’m sick of it. Our overloaded creeks and rivers are sick of it. My peonies, who have been rudely snipped, taken from their home and brought inside because of the rain are sick of it. My catalpa that keeps losing flowers because of the heavy downpours is sick of it. Scout, who has to have her paws wiped every time she comes in from the rain, is sick of it. And mostly, the ceiling in our bedroom, where there is a leak, is sick of it.

Okay. I got that out. Now if I can just scream a few times, I’ll feel better. But Don’s still sleeping, so that’s a no-no.

We mowed yesterday in anticipation of the coming rain.

thurs-agirl&herdad

Here’s Scout greeting her dad after watching him mow through the openings in the porch railing.

Most of the time she likes the porch. But when she is there alone and we are on the other side of the railing doing something or other, well, that’s another story. She barks.

thurs-bark

Outraged barks. I mean, why would we even consider doing something without including her?

thurs-cutie

She’s thinking: maybe I should use my abundant charm…

daylily

My first batch of daylilies has opened. This particular plant always blooms first. Lots of blooms for a day or two, then nothing else the rest of the summer.

Thurs-daylilies

Our little kissing boy and girl seem to be hiding behind the plants, hoping they can’t be seen.

Thurs-rose

thurs-newdawnbud

Is that a New Dawn rose bud I see? Only one of the buds has opened and I decided not to include it in a post. Why? Because it opened during another in a series of torrential downpours. It wasn’t as pretty as it was meant to be.

Rain, rain, go away. Don’t come again another day.

So, it’s dark and gloomy and here we be. I suppose I can get through two acts of Much Ado today. Might as well take advantage of being stuck inside.

What’s the weather like where you live? And if it’s sunny and beautiful, please be kind.

Happy Thursday.

signature2

Filed Under: Don, garden, rain, Scout 32 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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