Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Work to Do, Prague and What Makes Me Laugh

April 2, 2013 at 9:01 am by Claudia

balljars

The sun is pouring through the kitchen windows this morning. I had to get a shot of the Ball jars – so pretty. If you look closely, you can see the reflection of my flannel pajamas. Though it’s sunny and slowly getting warmer, it’s not quite warm enough yet to switch from my flannels.

It’s quite cold in Prague and there was a bit of snow falling yesterday as Don arrived. He is absolutely charmed by that beautiful city. He walked around in his jet-lagged state and took scads on pictures on his iPhone. We’ve Skyped a couple of times and I saw the view from his hotel window. Gorgeous. You can see a castle in the distance. Here’s hoping he got a good night’s sleep last night. Today he has costume fittings and will most likely be getting a hair cut. The man he is portraying had short hair. It’s been a long time since Don had short hair. It will take some getting used to!

coffeetable

Once again, the minute Don leaves, the piles on the coffee table in the den seem to magically increase. Reading material, crochet, the remote, quilting supplies. I spent the evening last night hand quilting. I want to get that done while Don is gone, so that I can maybe bind it before I leave. Maybe. I might be biting off more than I can chew. Because I also have to clean up the garden (too cold right now) and do this:

shakes

That’s on the docket for this morning. I have the finished edited version of the text and now I start the slow process of checking pronunciations, meter, stress, and word meanings. It’s a slow process on any Shakespeare text, but because I’ve coached Twelfth Night so many times, I think it will go a bit more quickly.

We’ve been watching episodes of Frazier at night on the Hallmark channel. Such smart, witty writing – the kind you have to keep up with, the kind that makes you laugh out loud. It’s such a contrast to most of the stuff on television these days. Except for maybe Modern Family, I rarely laugh out loud when I’m watching something on the tube. And even that show (written and produced by one of my former students – yay, Abe!) doesn’t make me laugh like Frazier does. When you have a combination of smart writing and wonderful actors, you get that increasingly rare phenomenon: a truly funny and witty show. Don and Kelsey Grammer have worked together a few times – onstage and on Cheers and Frazier. Cheers: that’s another show that I can watch in reruns and laugh out loud. It’s timeless, as is Frazier. Anyway, I don’t want to go on and on. I just don’t like writing that is dumbed down.

Okay. Have to get a move on here at the cottage. There’s work to be done! How are you spending your day?

Happy Tuesday.

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Filed Under: crafts, Don, quilting 53 Comments

Learning and Crafting On The Road

April 1, 2013 at 8:45 am by Claudia

yellowfabric

I’m a worrier, a be prepared type of ex-Girl Scout, always thinking ahead. I’m very seldom a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of girl. When I moved away from my home state of Michigan to attend grad school in Philadelphia, I drove out there ahead of time and found an apartment. I made lists of what I was going to take with me. I organized the move. My classmates simply came to Philadelphia and started classes while looking for a place to live. That was unthinkable to me.

When I am on a bus or a train or away from home for an extended length of time, I have to make sure I have enough reading material with me. The thought of running out of reading material leaves me more than a little panicky. So I always end up packing more than I’ll need. I’m already thinking about what to take with me to Hartford.

Likewise projects. When I went to San Diego for 6 months in 2009, I packed boxes of fabric and a rotary cutter and mat, and scissors and everything I would need for a project or two. I also sent a box of yarn.

mabelcover

So as you can imagine, I’m planning projects for Hartford. You already know that Mabel is going with me. I’m taking my smallish quilt that I made in San Diego – there’s still some hand quilting and finishing that needs to be done. I’m not sure if I’ll take any yarn. I’ve done so much crocheting this year that I need a break.

Maybe a little yarn.

But what I’m really excited about is a class I’m taking online via Craftsy. Have you ever explored that site? Lots of wonderful classes in quilting, sewing, jewelry making, knitting and more. I signed up for Craftsy long ago but just recently decided to bite the bullet and take a class. I’ve long been a fan of Camille Roskelley of the blog Simplify. That girl is amazing. She designs a fabric line along with her mother, quilts like a dream and is raising 3 young boys.

But what I especially love are her fabric designs. She uses bright, cheerful, wonderful color combinations and patterns. They make me smile. More and more as I get older, I want and need color. When I was younger, I craved darker, more dramatic tones. Perhaps because I was darker and more dramatic – and I was. Now: cheery color, whether it is pastel or bright. That’s what I want.

redfabric

I seem to craft in waves. It’s been crochet and all-crochet for a long time. Now, perhaps because I’ve been hand quilting the big bed quilt, I’m now finding myself drawn to piecing and quilting again. And maybe because of Mabel, who’s portable and likes to travel. (I know she does. She told me.)

I love fabric but I don’t have the budget to buy whatever I like and build a stash. Truth be told, I have lots of fabric from the years when I could do that. So I love the idea of using jelly rolls or layer cakes of fabric, already pre-cut and from a particular line of fabric. It’s cost effective for me.

Camille is teaching a class on Craftsy called Pre-Cut Piecing Made Simple. (I bought the class at a discount because it is my first class with Craftsy, though I don’t know whether that was a special offer or not.) She’s sharing her techniques and showing how to piece a few of her quilt designs, using jelly rolls and layer cakes and fat quarters.

I’m so excited! I took a class when I first started quilting, but have not taken one since then. My skills could definitely use some improvement. And the wonderful thing about online classes is that they are portable. The class will go with me to Hartford. Isn’t that fun?

Being away from home involves long hours of work on the play, yes, but there are also big chunks of time that I have to fill. No husband, no dog. Just me. That is sort of liberating but at the same time it can be lonely. I’d much rather fill my non-rehearsal time with something creative than sit there like a bump on a log, watching television or spending too much time on my laptop.

Hey, if you go to Camille’s blog, check out her gorgeous studio. I’d be grinning from ear-to-ear if I was working in that space.

Haven’t heard from Don yet, but I don’t expect to until he gets to his hotel and can send me a quick email. I miss him. Scoutie misses him.

Blogkeeping: I’ve been meaning to mention this for a while. I used to have a widget on my sidebar for Linky Followers. I took it off for a couple of reasons. One: It often slowed up the loading of the blog. Two: Following a blog through Linky Followers is a fine idea and I appreciate every one of you who followed me that way, however, new posts are not updated automatically. I would have to visit Linky Followers every time I wrote a new post and manually update it there. Not happening. In fact, it’s never happened. I post every day and that’s a step I just don’t have time for. So I’ve come to the conclusion that inviting readers to follow that way is misleading and not fair. That’s why it’s gone.

Update: Just heard from Don. He’s at his hotel. We skyped. He’s tired but he has to stay up until bedtime Prague time. Prague is 6 hours ahead of me, so it’s 4:30 Prague time as I type this. Hang in there, Don!

Happy Monday.

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Filed Under: Hartford, quilting 33 Comments

On This Sunday

March 31, 2013 at 8:23 am by Claudia

eggcuprabbitgirl

Good morning and happy Easter. So far, there’s not any sun in evidence, but I’m hoping that will change. Yesterday was sunny and a bit warmer and boy, did that feel good. Is it possible, just possible, that spring might be coming?

No Easter candy to be found here. When Don and I first met, I did attempt to put some baskets together, but he didn’t really care and we don’t have kids and the last thing I need are more sweets for my already over-active sweet tooth, so we didn’t do that again. And, despite my egg cup collection, no eggs have been dyed or colored or even hard boiled.

We never do a big dinner either. Just as well, as this is the day that Don leaves for Prague. A car is coming to take him to the airport in Newark, NJ around 4:30 pm. One of the perks of being part of a film: a car comes for you and your wife doesn’t have to drive you all the way to Newark. I’ve done that before and it’s a long haul. He’ll fly all night, connecting in Zurich. I’m so excited for him. He’s a bit nervous right now with all the traveling ahead, the overnight flight, will he have a seat that will accomodate his over 6 foot 4 inch frame, all the waiting and the jet lag. Things will be better once he gets there, I imagine. Both of us have been to Europe, but it has been many years since either of us has been there. Traveling overseas is not an everyday thing for us.

Speaking of Don, I added a widget to the sidebar that will lead you to some of his music on the ReverbNation site. I know I mentioned that he recorded about 14 of his favorite songs while he was in San Diego. His friend is working on them in his recording studio, mixing and mastering them. When Don receives an edited version, he adds it to his site. So far, I think there are about 6 songs available for your listening pleasure. Interestingly, he recorded all of them right after he had the flu and he’s never sounded better!

We watched a great screwball comedy last night, The Lady Eve with Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. Have I mentioned before what a huge Barbara Stanwyck fan I am? And how much I love those period movies with all the great character actors? Heaven. Today another of my favorites, Easter Parade, is on TCM. If I am a huge Barbara Stanwyck fan, I am a mega fan of Fred Astaire. I have just about every book written about him. Of course I already own a copy of Easter Parade, but somehow it’s more exciting when it happens to be on television. I don’t know why.

Opening day, Red Sox/Yankees tomorrow! Baseball is back and I’m a happy girl.

Have a wonderful day, eat lots of candy, celebrate.

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Filed Under: Don, Easter, movies 62 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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