Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

No Room at the Inn

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Good morning! It’s sunny right now – very cold – but sunny. We’re supposed to get mixed winter precipitation later in the day. Maybe an inch of snow? But since all of that will turn to rain overnight, the snow will disappear. This is part of the storm that has been crossing the country. I know that areas north of us will get more snow. Messy, of course. We might get some snow next Monday night, but if things go as they have been, it will be a big, fat nothing.

The strangest winter I’ve ever seen.

Meet Mabel:

Let me explain. My friend, Jutta, who lives in Toronto, put this girl up for ‘adoption,’ as they say in Blythe world. The price was really, really low or I wouldn’t have contemplated adopting her. I initially made some inquiries about her. Jutta had purchased her last year through a customizer who is no longer on Etsy, She thinks she was Russian. But that’s all we know because the back plate of the head wasn’t signed by the artist.

I was so taken by her eyebrows and intense eyes! And her freckles. A week went by. I checked in with Jutta and she was still available. Another few days went by. I just couldn’t get her out of my thoughts. You know that my favorite look is intense, almost fierce, eyes and eyebrows. Her eyebrows were beautifully painted.

Pink hair wasn’t necessarily on my list, but I find I’m liking it more and more.

Finally, I bit the bullet. I told Don and his first response was “Oh, good! Show me a picture!”

I, of course, have nowhere to put her, so he was in on this last night:

Mabel taking in the crowded conditions.

The solution. The girls look a tad overwhelmed, don’t you think?

Mabel came with a licca body. I’m not a fan. Though they’re cute, they’re not really posable. The hardcore Blythe collectors who keep the dolls on stands in protective cabinets often like licca bodies. But I pose my girls (that’s half the fun of collecting) so I will replace the body. And the neck adaptor is a little loose, too. For now, she’s fine, but she will be having surgery in the future. I’ve already trimmed some uneven ends of her hair.

Olivia also has a licca body so both girls will be scheduled for surgery in a month or two.

We’re glad she’s here.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

 

The Caulk, It is Done.

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I hope you won’t mind this announcement:

The bathroom tub has been re-caulked!!!!!

Late in the morning yesterday (should have started a little earlier) I decided that there would never be a good time to remove all the crappy caulk and re-caulk the tub, so I dove in. I just wanted to get it done. It was a mess, of course, and the hardest part was removing the caulk. I used the tool I have as well as a scraper. So, for a couple of hours, I was on my knees, hunched over the tub, constantly scraping and – let’s face it – swearing. But I finally got all of it removed and I gathered up the old sheet I had placed in the bottom of the tub to catch all the debris and threw it in a trash bag. (Unfortunately, the scraper went along with it – so I’ll be buying a new one.) I took a break to let everything dry. In the meantime, we couldn’t get the old container of caulk out of the caulk gun. It took both of us to wrestle that thing out of there – it was quite the struggle.

Then, I sat in the tub and caulked. Unfortunately, I discovered I had purchased CLEAR caulk instead of white caulk. Darn it! Don handed me my tools when I needed them – he was my assistant. Anyway, it’s done after three years of saying I needed to redo the whole thing but not doing it. We decided that we’ll buy a tube of white caulk next week and add another layer so that the tub looks “finished.”

Now we have to wait until 3 pm today to take a shower because the caulk has to cure for 24 hours.

And, as expected, my back, shoulders, neck, and right hand are very sore. But I’m so happy it’s done and it was worth it. I’m tired, so waiting for a shower will be no big deal.

Today, I rest.

This girl is one cool customer.

The coat and jeans were made by a woman in China. I love them! In fact, I’d love that coat for myself. I used to have one in gray that was very much like it. Every time I wore it, I got compliments. (I was much younger then.) Now, my girl is continuing the tradition….cue a tiny little tear rolling down my cheek.

There’s a very thin layer of snow on the ground this morning, but it will rain later and it will all go away. This promises to be a bit of a crazy weather week. Up, down, rain, ice, snow. But I’ll believe it when I see it.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Moody Monday Morning Sheep

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Moody Monday Morning Sheep for you today.

One of these sheep is a gift from Lori, the owner of Vignettes in Ocean Beach/San Diego. The last time we were out there, during Don’s run of Margaritaville, I stopped by the shop but Lori wasn’t there that day. She collected  putz sheep and she was selling some of her collection in the shop. I purchased a couple. A couple of months after I was back home, this arrived in the mail for me. She’d had it decorated. That’s an Eiffel Tower hanging from the neck.

It’s priceless.

And of course, The Lamb with the Party Hat, the symbol of this blog. I found him in an antique shop (Country Roads) in Orange, California – most likely in 2009. By the way, if I could think of one shop I’d choose to visit again, it’s that one. Simply extraordinary.

It’s darkish in the studio right now, hence the moody look of the photos.

No two of these sheep are alike. (I might need more…) I have 20 of them at the moment.

Oh, and remember the big box of putz sheep that Helga sent me from Germany? One of the biggest surprises ever! I think there were seven of them, but I could be off on the count. Helga has a very large collection of these sheep, beautifully displayed. And she has a Beacon Hill dollhouse that she has decorated beautifully. Note to self: visit Helga’s Instagram feed today.

There they are! Yes, seven.

Once again, I am captivated by the whimsical.  I can’t help it. The more whimsical, the better.

It’s a gray day here today. We’re back to the 30s and 40s for daytime highs, though today it will hit 50.

Now, after last night’s delightful and moving finale for this season of All Creatures Great and Small, we have to wait another year for more. It was beautifully done by one and all.

By the way, in rereading the blog, I am reminded that the surprise package from Helga came on the day that we received our very first Covid vaccination. What a day that was – the vaccination appointment had been so hard to get and we were so ebullient after we got our shots. Then the sheep arrived later that day!

I often do a search on this blog so that I can verify when something happened. I love writing in a journal/planner/calendar as well, but this blog has a search box and I don’t have to rifle through page after page to find the information I want. It comes up immediately. Quite handy.

Okay. I don’t know what I’m doing today. Right now, I’m going to finish my coffee.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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