Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Hunkering Down

February 12, 2024 at 8:45 am by Claudia

Crap. We’re supposed to get 8 – 12 inches of snow overnight and into Tuesday. This is a big storm which will have an impact on NYC and Long Island and the Hudson Valley (where we live.) So far, it looks like the Hudson Valley will get the most snow. Yippee.

Careful what you wish for…we were talking to the young man at the cash register at our local grocery store a couple of days ago and the talk turned to snow. Both Don and the young man said they’d like to see a bit more snow this winter.

Thanks, guys! You’re getting your wish.

And to my weather app: It’s not sunny outside. At all.

We watched the Super Bowl last night – a true rarity around here. I confess, I have been caught up in the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce romance and the idiot backlash from men who are apparently threatened by a successful, powerful woman – so fragile, these ‘men.’ So we decided to watch (with a wee break in the middle for All Creatures Great and Small.) What a game! We thought Kansas City was going to lose and then it all changed. I’m sorry for those who were cheering for San Francisco, but we were happy with the outcome. This, from two people who really don’t care about football.

Oh, and All Creatures…it touches my heart so deeply. It is beautifully done on every level.

So, today we prep for the storm and then, we sit back and watch the snow fall. There will be wind, as well, as this will be a nor’easter. Time to batten down the hatches, I guess.

Holly is wearing a little sweater that my friend Kathy made. I first saw it at Wonderland of Play but I was so overwhelmed by the whole thing that I didn’t buy it. But Kathy told me it was still available, so I purchased it a week or so later. I happened to have that beret already and it’s a perfect match to the sweater.

Holly was excited that she was allowed to go outside for a brief moment.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, snow 28 Comments

Saturday

February 10, 2024 at 10:02 am by Claudia

Evidence that Don had a gig last night. This one was far from us – too far – so a lot of driving was involved. He got back after I had gone to bed. We don’t have a lot of extra room around here, so he carefully stashes equipment under the piano bench and behind the sofa. He’s too tired to lug it all upstairs and, of course, he doesn’t want to wake me up.

He says it went well, with an appreciative group of listeners. I love seeing him full of that post performance energy I know so well. He’ll crash later today, but he always gets a boost from performing.

It’s still warmish here and, as I said yesterday, it’s supposed to hit 59 degrees here today. I bet it will hit 60. Snow is coming on Tuesday, but not much, thank goodness. I heard birds singing this morning when I woke up and the Carolina wren was flitting between the porch and the hydrangeas, singing away.

Yesterday we went for a walk at the library. I took along my library card and phone in case I got an email that the book I’ve been waiting for had come in. I checked my messages right after the walk. Nothing. Came home, walked down the driveway to check for the mail – nothing yet. Invariably, once I’ve walked back up the driveway after checking the mailbox, gone into the house, settled into my chair, the mail truck arrives. Yep. It happened again yesterday. So back out I went to get the mail. Within about 20 minutes of arriving back home, I checked the library online account. You guessed it, the book had arrived and was waiting for me. So I drove to the library for the second time and picked it up.

These are quality problems, of course!

Oh, friends, I am longing for spring. I try to keep myself busy during the winter months, although I often feel like I’m on sleep mode, but once spring hits, I start to come alive again. However,  it’s only early February and even if the groundhog is right and we’re in for an early spring, it’s still far off.

Books and dolls and old movies keep me going. Oh, and Don, of course.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: birds, books, Don 18 Comments

A Wee Bit of Spring Fever

February 9, 2024 at 9:01 am by Claudia

Thank you so much for your beautiful comments on Wednesday’s post. Oh, how lovely they were! Several brought tears to my eyes. You are so appreciated, my friends.

I’ve been a bit under the weather with… what? Sinus? Allergies? On Wednesday, I must have sneezed 40 times! I felt a tickle in one nostril all day long. Yesterday was a bit better, but there was still some sneezing. Anyway, the whole thing was odd and – given all the sneezing – exhausting. I hope today is sneeze-free.

Miranda was my comfort doll on Wednesday.

It’s been quite warm for this time of year – yesterday, the high was 51 degrees and today will be a bit warmer. It won’t last, of course, but yesterday was one of those days where I had a real bout of spring fever – that hopeful flutter inside that spring is on its way. That kind of ‘tease’ is wonderful, I think. Though you know spring is not on the way yet, for a moment, you allow yourself to believe it could be and everything seems hopeful and, somehow, lighter.

I just looked at the forecast and it’s going to be 59 tomorrow!

Of course, we’re due for a bit of snow on Tuesday, so there’s that.

I read first thing this morning, as I was behind on my reading of Wolf Hall. I needed a chunk of uninterrupted reading time. Now I’m all caught up. Hilary Mantel was a brilliant writer. I’m still reading The Poppy War  by R. F. Kuang, as well. And I have a couple of books on hold at the library – the much anticipated new book from Terry Hayes – The Year of the Locust. It’s a thriller. It was published on Tuesday and I think I’m first in the queue. And then, because we watched a documentary on fungi last night, I remembered a book that came out last year about the same subject – Entangled Life, how fungi make our worlds, change our minds, and shape our futures. I ordered that last night. I remember the author – Merlin Sheldrake – was referenced in Underland, a book I read last year.

Don has a gig this evening, north of here. He’s printing out his set list as I write this.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, books 20 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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