Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1598 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Over the Weekend

October 3, 2011 at 4:56 pm by Claudia

Over the weekend:

I added some lace to the edge of the upper shelf in the studio cabinet. It will do for now, but I think it is too close to the color of the shelf – not enough contrast. Hello brides and grooms!

I found a place to hang the pretty embroidered guest towel from Jill:

I won that rustic hanger a while back from Jennifer at The Old Painted Cottage. Unable to decide where to hang it, I put it away until inspiration struck. It struck over the weekend. As long as Don doesn’t sleep walk out of the bathroom, which is just to the left of the cabinet, and dry his hands, it should be safe.

I looked at this and thought there must be a more attractive way to store my crocheted-throw-in-progress:

You were thinking I would follow with a photo of some beautiful container? Nope. Haven’t found one yet. Though it won’t make any design magazine spread, the box is right by my chair in the den and holds everything I need to work on this mammoth throw. Can’t use a basket – the yarn will snag. Any ideas?

I received a phone call from Don on Friday saying we were going on a ‘Mystery Date’ that night. He gave not a hint of where we were going. We ended up driving to a town that is right next to the wee hamlet we used to live in. I still had no idea what the heck was going on until we turned a corner and I saw the marquee: “Gordon Lightfoot tonight.” I was totally surprised and delighted.

I’ve been a fan for years – I saw him in concert at least 3 times when I was much younger and somehow wrangled my way backstage and got his autograph. Don saw him more recently when I was away working in California. This time we got to experience his artistry together. It was a magical evening and just what I needed.

Gordon Lightfoot and my mother were both born in the same town of Orillia, Ontario. I feel that makes him a sort of cousin. Gordon might not feel the same way.

Another scary photo of Scout. This one cracks me up.

The call of the wild.

Dollhouse: Staircase Renovation

October 2, 2011 at 11:37 am by Claudia

What to do on another in a seemingly endless series of rainy days? Work on the dollhouse.

Though I just wrote a post about my aversion to seasonal decorating, apparently my dollhouse is the exception.

I can’t help it. It’s just so much more fun with a mini.

My big (for me) project yesterday was one of the staircases. It came to me like this:

The previous owners didn’t put it in correctly, so it’s a bit off. Since I didn’t want to take it out, adding spindles, newel posts and a railing involved crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

It works for me. Each time I figure something out, like enlarging the opening for the front door, installing a new door, realigning the upstairs windows or putting in the rest of the staircase, I must admit I do a little dance.

The lighting varies according to the time of day and that is why you see such contrast. I’m basically shooting into a box! As you can see the windows need trimming. I’m going to make a wood floor, using coffee stirrers. I’m thinking about beadboard in the kitchen and maybe in the living room. Any suggestions?

Upstairs. I still have to do the other staircase but I ran out of spindles.

For me, the dollhouse is by far the most challenging thing to photograph. I spend hours trying to get the right shot. Someday, when I have wallpaper and more contrasting colors, I know it will become easier. At the moment, it’s a mass of white. Bear with me.

Have a lovely day.

Vintage Books

September 30, 2011 at 12:00 pm by Claudia

Greetings from the water-logged Northeast. The rain keeps on coming. I do spy a bit of sun at the moment, so fingers are crossed. It’s been so bad here for the past 2 months that there is a patch of our front lawn that I still haven’t been able to mow. Because it is at the bottom of our little hill, all the moisture seems to collect there. It has yet to dry out from the hurricane, much less our most recent rains.

I seem to be featuring the den lately. This little vignette sits atop my music cabinet just to the left of the stairs. Before we go any further, say hello to Monty:

How could you not love that face?

But this post is about books. To the left, you will see some vintage books.

I’ve found a few well-loved vintage books that I treasure. I don’t buy them just to buy them. I know many of you buy them for crafting purposes or for display. Try as I might, I simply cannot take a book apart and use it’s pages for something else. I’ve done it with sheet music, but that’s as far as I can go. Books are living things to me and I just can’t do it. Must be genetic.

If I buy a vintage book, it is because I love the author and it has meaning to me. That book on the left, Lyrics and Love, is full of beautiful poetry about house and home and is in near perfect condition. A Girl of the Limberlost is a favorite from childhood; I have two copies and this particular one is the oldest. Claudia has obvious meaning and was given to me by my friend Spencer. And the Jeeves books are favorites of ours – Don has played Jeeves onstage. If you have never read Wodehouse, you are missing out on some of the funniest characters ever written. You will laugh out loud.

This vintage book is priceless to me because my grandmother gave it to my great-aunt Rhoda for Christmas in 1912. Rhoda died a few short years later, a victim of the flu epidemic. The pages are so fragile that I rarely open this book. This is the color illustration inside the front cover:

And this book, equally dear, was presented to my grandmother in 1904 as a prize. She had memorized the most bible verses of anyone in her class.

I have some first editions that I love, a signed copy of To Kill a Mockingbird that I keep in a safe place and others that are dear because I’ve read and re-read them so many times.

Oh, and I have this book:

We bought it on our honeymoon. It’s been well-thumbed because it was formerly the property of Grass Valley High School

I pressed some wedding flowers in it.

And a four-leaf clover or two.

And it has some beautiful illustrations:

But I do accumulate more books than I have room for in our tiny cottage. The other day, I was in purge mode. I attacked the bookshelves that are on my side of the bed, ruthlessly pulling out books I knew I would never read and/or consult again.

Our little library has need of books for its shelves and also has a book sale every year. I will be donating these to the cause so that someone else will have the pleasure of reading them.

Long live books! And by that I mean the 3 dimensional kind.

For those of you who participated in my modest little meme, Reality Shot Thursday, my thanks. I loved your posts. I’d like to keep this going for a while and I’d be most appreciative if you’d spread the word. I don’t know about you, but I love shooting a no-pressure-real-life photo. It’s refreshing!

Beverly suggested I link with Pink Saturday since the cover of Alice in Wonderland is pink!

Over the Weekend

Dollhouse: Staircase Renovation

Vintage Books

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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