Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Shades of Blue

December 3, 2008 at 11:56 am by Claudia

Scout is “resting” on her new dog bed courtesy of Home Goods. Pretty, don’t you think? And much nicer than the ratty old bed we’ve had for years.

Spare your worries about where Riley’s dog bed is. We’ve tried repeatedly to get him to lie on a nice soft bed. No dice. He likes the couch. He likes the chair in the den. But no bed for that boy. I’m not sure why, maybe it has to do with the fact that he had very little comfort as a young dog. He was, and is, a little wild.

Anyway, the interesting thing here is the fact that I am not a blue person. In the past, you would have been hard pressed to find much blue in my house except in my jeans. Then I started collecting these:

And these:

Then I crocheted my ripple throw, and bought the coverlet to match:


And, there you have it…blue, preferably aqua, is appearing throughout the house. Funny how certain colors, previously ignored, can suddenly have a great appeal. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Filed Under: china and pottery, decorating, McCoy pottery, Scout 2 Comments

Sunday

November 30, 2008 at 10:59 am by Claudia

Okay, its 10:00 am and I am still in my flannel pajamas reading blogs, playing with my new phone, and generally being lazy. We’ve had a few snow flakes this morning but much to my disappointment, they seem to have stopped. I am ready for a little snow on the ground. Today will be a day of chores: doing laundry, cleaning up around the house, doing some work outside (if it doesn’t rain), organizing.

I’m starting to get in the Christmas spirit. I work part-time in my friend’s store which is fully decorated for Christmas and has been since early November. Christmas music is playing, loads of shoppers are stopping in and it all brings a smile to my face. I love how cheery everyone is at this time of year – even with frightening news about the economy at every turn. My husband and I plan to cut back on our Christmas present spending – just a few little gifts for each other. The real joy for me is the way the house looks, the sound of Christmas carols, and sharing our time with family and friends. I’m looking forward to a little Christmas decorating in the week ahead.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Filed Under: decorating, McCoy pottery 2 Comments

The End of Autumn

November 25, 2008 at 6:36 pm by Claudia


Oh, I know – Winter isn’t officially here until December. Nevertheless, it looks more and more like winter around here. There are still some leaves on the ground, but as I sat in our den this morning talking with my husband, I noticed that every tree that I could see was leafless. There is a certain beauty in their silhouettes against the gray sky. I have been very slow this year in putting things away that were on the porch all spring and summer. Every day I say, “Today I will pack up the cushions, take down the last of the plants, stack everything up and put it in the shed.” But I don’t. I’m not sure why, but I think it has to do with my reluctance to acknowledge the end of the porch season. Truly, it would only take me about half an hour to clean up. I could have done it today. I didn’t. I am usually very impatient with any lingering mess, in the house or out of the house. So I am enjoying watching myself from afar and learning to be patient with myself.

My little gazing globe, for example, pictured above, is usually packed away in the shed by now. But if I had packed it away, how would I have taken this photo with my new camera? You see, there’s a reason for my slow pace.

My wandering camera and I encountered these beautiful rose hips on the edge of our woods. They are on the wild rose bushes that surround our property and grow so freely everywhere. They look so lovely against the bare branches of the surrounding trees and bushes.

On another note, I feel increasingly high-tech. You’ll remember that I got a laptop in September, then I got my new camera for my birthday, and today we got new cell phones so that we can text message when necessary. What’s next??? I do remember a time when I went to a pay phone, put a dime in (or quarter) and made a call, when I went to the library to look up information that I routinely google now, and took photos with any number of low-tech cameras. It seems so distant now. It wasn’t that many years ago that I was on the faculty at Boston University and none of us had a computer in our offices. Very few of us (I certainly didn’t) had one at home. Those that did were considered wealthy and very high-tech. It is amazing how far we’ve come and how affordable these items have become. I’m grateful for all my toys but have to guard against being overly dependent on them. They are wonderful, but are no substitute for conversation, reading a book, knitting, quilting or any number of things.

That’s all for now. More later.

Filed Under: autumn, camera, winter 2 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

Thanks for stopping by.

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The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

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