Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Thunder & Lightning & a Warbler

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This little one landed on the neglected planter hanging from the deck. I’m pretty sure it is a Yellow Warbler or a Goldfinch, as one reader suggested.  Teeny-tiny and oh, so beautiful.

As we headed into our final Tech rehearsal on Wednesday, spectacular thunderstorms were raging all over our area. Thunder, lightning, hail – it was quite the show. We had to hold curtain for a half hour but we finally got going. The evening ended up being fairly quiet with no wind (thank goodness) and occasional thunder and flashes of lightning all over the sky. It was beautiful.

Yesterday the temperature had dropped 20 degrees. Tonight we have our first preview performance with an audience. Should be interesting.

For those readers who are counting, I have 9 1/2 days left here. I can’t let myself think of the dogs or I find myself overcome with longing for their sweet faces. So I will shut the door on any such thoughts until it gets closer to Sunday, June 19th.

The winner of a copy of Unfinished Business is Kim of Bluebirds and Butterflies. Congratulations, Kim! I sent you an email. I just need your address to forward to TLC Book Tours.

Out My Car Window

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Yes, I know. Better to stop the car and take pictures. The problem lies with the narrow shoulder on the side of the road. Impossible to stop. This is what I see as I drive back and forth from my condo to the theater.

Lots of dairy farms and dairy cows. There are actually more picturesque views of the cows scattered on the hillsides. I’ll try to get one in the next week.

Pretty Wisconsin farmland.

My friend, Jim, just opened a bookstore in town. We’ve known each other since my Boston University days and he directs a production here each season. Based in Chicago, he grew to like it so much here that he bought a house nearby. It has been a dream of his to own a bookstore and it finally came true about a month ago.

He’s completely renovated the building and the bookstore is simply wonderful. He has impeccable taste and is very well read and it really shows in the books he has chosen for the store. There are old wooden tables and a sofa and the incredibly well-equipped kitchen in the back is run by a stage manager at the theater who also has a catering business.  I could spend hours in this place.

This little town is so lucky to have this bookstore. And by the amount of people I see there on any given visit, they know it.

Can I say how nice it is to see an independently owned bookstore?

What’s happening at the theater? Well, last night, in 90 degree weather, I watched a tech/dress rehearsal where I was eaten alive by mosquitos despite having put on bug spray, had several thousand gnats hovering around my face, saw a cloud of pollen float across the stage (and I wonder why my allergies are so bad) and tried to hear the actors, which is my job, when there was a gale-force wind blowing. This is the second run-through where there has been a major wind blowing and I have ended up having no idea as to the audibility of the actors. I only have one more before we start to preview. Tonight. It’s still in the nineties, it’s still humid and we are supposed to have storms.

Not good.

Vintage Sewing Basket & Peonies

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Only two more weeks far away from home. I’m counting the days. I’ve been here 5 weeks and that is more than enough. The word ‘homesick’ isn’t really adequate. Miss the husband, miss the dogs and miss beauty like this:

Since my husband took this with his cell phone, the color is off, but you get the picture. I’ve missed the peony bloom for the 4th year in a row. I do believe I mean it when I say, ‘No More.’ I said that last year, I know, but all this far away coaching is losing its appeal.

You know that I try to buy something vintage as a remembrance of time on the road. I haven’t had all that much time to explore here and the price of gas has kept me closer to the condo. I did take a little trip to a neighboring town about a week ago and found this:

I’ve always wanted one of these wicker sewing baskets. The ones I’ve found in the past were battered or missing the spindles or the decal was worn away or the cord was missing. This one is in excellent condition. And it’s pink!

Another sweet decal on the inside. And see? The spindles/thread holders are just perfect.

Isn’t it pretty? The decal is so very sweet. I’ll use this for storage of some kind. Right now I’m leaning toward using it to hold all the love letters my husband sent me when he was wooing me. Isn’t ‘woo’ a wonderful word? I think we should all resolve to use it more often.

Today is my day off. Tomorrow and Wednesday are Tech/Dress Rehearsals with our first Preview performance on Friday. I teach on Tuesday and Friday. It will be a busy week and that’s a good thing.

If you haven’t read it already, I posted a book review and I’m giving away a copy of the book. Just scroll down to the previous post.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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