Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Monday Morning Potpourri

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I have lots to talk about this morning – this will be one of my Potpourri Posts.

Do you see that stainless steel trash can next to the stove? We love this trashcan and paid a hefty amount for it several years ago. The lid is air tight and all you have to do to open it is lightly touch a piece of plastic at the front of the can. It’s made by OXO. We’ve had a few problems with the lid over the years. Most of it is solid stainless steel, but the edges are made of some sort of plastic. Over time, we’ve found the plastic sometimes splits, throwing off the functionality of the lid.

Each time this happened, I had visions of having to spend a lot of money for a new trash can. I wrote to OXO telling them of the problem and asked if we could just get a lid replacement, which we would be happy to pay for, hoping we could do that rather than replace the whole can. And each time, OXO has graciously FedExed a new lid to us. Three times. For free.

You read that right. For free. This company has the best customer service I have ever encountered and I wanted you to know about it. They make all sorts of things, including utensils and items for the kitchen. They are simply fantastic. So, a big hurrah for OXO!! And no, I’m not being paid for this. I just want to share some stellar customer service with you in an age where it can be sadly lacking.

Last night, we watched The Best of the Andy Williams Christmas Show on PBS.

I miss him.

I’ve always been a fan of his beautiful voice. And all those Henry Mancini songs sung by Andy Williams; Moon River, Charade, The Days of Wine and Roses, were a part of my youth and are even now on my playlist. I love them. But the Christmas specials – they were something I looked forward to every year. The extended Williams family looked so happy, so together, so free from care. Of course, as an adult, I know that it was staged for television – but I wanted to be a part of that happy glow, singing carols around a piano with everyone taking part, no Christmas day arguments, no hurt feelings. Just happy.

Watching these specials took me back in time once more. Don and I were both smiling, remembering a seemingly gentler time. Thank you, Andy Williams. It doesn’t seem possible that you are not here with us this Christmas.

If you’ve read this blog for a while, you know I have a rule about Christmas decorating. No decorations until the second week of December. This snow globe is the only thing on display here at the moment and that’s only because I never took it off display. I realize that this is a personal choice. Many of you have already started decorating. But for me, if I have decorations on display from the moment Thanksgiving ends until after the first of the year, the holiday loses its magic. I get used to seeing everything and I don’t really ‘see’ it anymore, if you know what I mean.

I see all sorts of holiday decorating linkups happening in blogland. But I almost never take part, because it would involve moving my decorating up on the calendar and I’m just not going to do that. It’s December 3rd and for me that’s too early. But I sure love seeing what everyone else is doing and I’m enjoying all the beauty around blogland. Note: Since Don is leaving in mid-December to work in California, I may move it up a few days. But only a few.

When do you decorate?

And finally:

A new scarf in the shop. I listed another one over the weekend and it sold before I could show it to you. Here are the Obsession Scarves currently available:

On the left, the Obsession Scarf in Claret. This is a rich burgundy color and it’s in silk and bamboo. Soft and silky.

Center, Obsession Scarf in Rainforest. Beautiful colors in wool and acrylic. Very soft.

Right, Obsession Scarf in Tutti Frutti. Wool and acrylic. Very soft.

There are also shawls (beautifully woven by my sister, Meredith) in the shop. And Meredith has crocheted some wonderful Granny Chic scarves which I love, love, love. Stop by for a visit.

Happy Monday.

Adventures in Flannel Pajamas

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A weekend devoted to flannel pajamas. Yes, that’s what we’ve had here at the cottage. Yesterday a very rare thing happened. Don and I stayed in our pajamas all day long. It just happened. I got obsessed with deleting lots of old emails that were clogging up my in box, so I sat in my chair in the den for hours, reading each email and hitting ‘delete.’ Before I knew it, mid-afternoon had arrived and I looked at Don, who was also still in his pajamas (not flannel), and we made the decision to wear our pajamas all day long. Oh, rest assured, we took showers and brushed our teeth, but afterwards it was right back into our pajamas.

This morning? Another adventure.

I am not a morning person. When I come downstairs in the morning, I greet Scout while thinking the whole time that I must have some coffee and walk toward the kitchen door where I let her out into the ‘dog corral’ to do her thing. This morning, I let her out, watched her walk outside and then suddenly tear off in the direction of the back corral fence. Usually when she does this, there is something (rabbit, deer, squirrel) on the other side of the fence. I quickly realized, however, that this time that ‘something’ (a squirrel) was on the inside of the fence. And Scout was chasing after him, as Mr. Squirrel frantically and unsuccessfully tried to climb up the chicken wire to freedom. I was out there in a flash in my white socks and flannel pajamas screaming at Scout to stop. Of course, she was obsessed and not at all interested in listening to me and the squirrel was more and more panicked. Finally, I was able to wrestle Scout to the muddy ground and turn her back toward the house and, amazingly, she docilely went inside. I then put my muck shoes on over my wet and muddy socks and tried to help the squirrel escape. In the meantime, Don was shouting out the  bedroom window, “What’s wrong?!?”  Perhaps he was alerted by my shrill screams? After the squirrel made many frantic attempts to run up the side of the chicken wire, I managed to steer him toward a narrow opening between the fence and the house. He squeezed through the opening and stopped for a moment trying to catch his breath. I could see the panic in his eyes, poor thing. Wanting to make sure he exited all the way out of the corral to freedom, I walked toward him and he took off like a bat out of hell.

Lord knows what the neighbors thought. Thankfully, we don’t live right on top of our neighbors, so I’m hoping this little madcap adventure went unnoticed.

And, believe me, I am fully aware of the irony that my pjs have squirrels on them.

Mr. Squirrel was safe. Scout was muddy. My socks were ruined. All three of us were exhausted. And all I could think about was that I really needed that first cup of coffee.

Have you had any madcap adventures in your flannel pajamas? Or in your nightgown or non-flannel pajamas? Please share.

I’m still catching my breath.

Happy Sunday.

 

A Favorite Thing #14

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Welcome to the fourteenth week of A Favorite Thing! I’m writing this as fast as I can because we’ve been having trouble with the internet all day long and I’m afraid to wait until the last minute to write this! I was so flummoxed by my slow connection – especially when trying to do anything with this blog – that I called my server (all was okay there) and finally my cable company. They said there were problems with the internet in my area so, though I can get online, I don’t have 100% of it working. Okay. Hopefully, all will be fixed soon.

Let’s look at some highlights from last week.

Gardenbug World’s son had returned home with his friends to spend some time working on enhancing the software on the One Laptop Per Child computers that are used all over the world. How neat! This is such an honorable endeavor and they are to be applauded.

Cozy Little House shared the little Sugar House she found at Pier One – for $5. It looks right at home near her coffeemaker.

Olive Out shared her beautiful wax ornaments made from German molds. They are truly lovely and remind me of some wax ornaments that were on our Christmas tree when I was a child.

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My favorite thing this week is:

Mabel, my gorgeous Featherweight. Mabel was my birthday present this year, delivered two months before the actual day. One day I was antiquing with my husband and, recognizing the familiar Featherweight case, zeroed in on her. After careful examination and several minutes of  ‘should we?’ Don and I decided timing is everything and that she should be my 60th birthday present. I love her. I have waited many years for my own Featherweight. The only frustration is that with all my necessary crocheting, I haven’t had much time to spend with her yet. Soon, Mabel, soon.

Now it’s your turn! Share a favorite thing of yours with us!

By the way, the December 21/22 edition of A Favorite Thing will be all about favorite Holiday (Christmas or Hannukah) things. I’ll remind you again as we draw nearer to that date.

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.

I’m sorry but I had to remove a link from this post as every time I tried to visit it came up as a Web Threat in my Virus Protection software. I want this party to be safe for all those involved.

Have fun!



Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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