Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

In the Gutter

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(taken from my perch on the ladder)

Too many leaves in gutter + torrential rains = leak in kitchen. Yes, that’s what we dealt with yesterday. I’m sure you’ve read that the East Coast has been getting heavy, heavy rainfall over the past 24 hours. Yesterday, I looked up to see water dripping down the wall near our stove. Uh oh. We put on our grubby clothes, grabbed the ladder and up to the roof went husband. At first we thought it might be the roof itself. But we soon discovered that the gutter was completely backed up and the water had nowhere to go but into the house. Luckily, as soon as we cleared it, water flowed freely down into our rain barrel. The gutters around the porch were full as well, even though the leaves have only been falling for about 10 days.

(again, taken from my precarious perch on the ladder)

So we cleared those. Lesson learned: when rain is predicted and leaves are falling, check gutters. We love our trees, but we pay a price for their close proximity to the house. Overnight, we had more heavy rain and I’m happy to report the kitchen stayed dry. Oh, the adventures of home ownership!

In the midst of all this, my rose bush presented us with a surprise:

I thought the bloom period had long ended, but perhaps because of our recent warm weather, there are several buds ready to open. It’s going to get cold over the weekend so I am urging my little buds to open today.

B is for Bakelite

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I love bakelite. I started collecting it back when I was living in Boston. I had begun to collect the original Fiesta pottery and bakelite flatware went perfectly with it. Eventually, I amassed quite a collection of Fiesta, which I later sold. But I kept the bakelite utensils.

Bakelite was invented by Leo Baekeland, a Belgian chemist, in Yonkers, NY (not too far from MHC.)  In 1909, he patented a phenolic resin that was used in industrial applications. It eventually entered the consumer market and was used in radios, pool balls, jewelry, flatware, kitchenware –  all sorts of decorative applications.

I love the way the colors get richer with time. If I see something with even a touch of bakelite, I’m all over it.

The vintage flour canister was a retro red that I liked, but what sealed the deal was the bakelite handle. The shape and color are fabulous. The vintage napkin ring is the same color except for that wonderful green beak. Bakelite was really popular in the 1920’s and 30’s and you can see that in the deco design of both pieces.

I have a lot of flatware that I keep in an old Harlequin jug. These colors make me happy.

These pieces are in the same color family as the napkin ring and the canister handle.
Most of these handles are a dark green.
The two spoons at the bottom of the photo are red, although it’s hard to see that in this photo.
These are my favorites. I love that two-tone look.
I also have this large kitchen knife and even use it occasionally.
You’ve seen these before. The mah-jongg tiles are also made of bakelite.
I have a bangle bracelet somewhere in a wonderful blue color. And I have a sneaking suspicion that there is more bakelite around here that I am forgetting about…but that can be another post. I’d love to know if any of you have bakelite pieces?

Finished, a Cow & a Birthday

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:: The weekend here at MHC consisted of sinus congestion, a couple of headaches, baseball (Red Sox vs Yankees – we took 2 out of 3. Grin.) and embroidery. Because I was feeling a bit off, I sat around and stitched. And stitched. Reaching down into my sewing basket, I pulled one color, then another, looked up a few new-to-me stitches and, before I knew it, I was done. Yesterday afternoon, I added a few little trims and here is the finished product:

It’s so rainy and dark here today that I had to pull this chair under the skylight to grab the little natural light I could find! My initials crack me up – each one is a little higher than the next – just like I write on a blackboard.

I added some crochet edging that was on some vintage linen napkins as well as a vintage mother-of-pearl button. I wanted it to look homespun so I didn’t mind if the trim was a bit crooked or uneven.

Oh, I had such fun doing this. I have another sampler from Rebecca that I will start next. Note to Rebecca: keep ’em coming! I find this very relaxing and believe me, I can use some of that at this particular time in my life. I’m not sure what I will do with it: Hang it? Use as a pillow cover? Frame it? Right now, I’m happy simply looking at it. It makes me smile.

I’ve sent a few of you to Rebecca’s site, so I know you are having fun with this, too. If you’re thinking about trying one – go for it. The price is extremely reasonable and you’ll have such fun learning new stitches.

:: In other news, Monty the cow has been moved from his perch in the kitchen to a new spot on top of the music cabinet in the den.

We thought he felt a bit left out of family evenings in the den.  He looks happier.

:: I came back from driving husband to the station this morning to find a squirrel running around the inside of the dog corral. He was desperately trying to get out and each time he tried to climb the chicken wire, he fell down to the ground. I knew I had to get him out of there – for his safety as well as the dogs. So there I was, in the rain, trying to get the terrified squirrel to run toward the gate. He would have none of it.  He finally hid behind the planter box outside the side door and I managed to nudge him (all the while chirping frantically) toward the gate which was a few feet beyond the planter. When he saw it, he ran as fast as he could to freedom. This happened once before – with a bunny – again, in the rain. I’m grateful I saw him before I let the dogs out!

:: Finally, Happy 87th Birthday to my Dad! He’ll spend it at the Rehab Facility with my Mom. He visits twice a day, every day. And he counts the hours until she gets home. Love you, Dad.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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