Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 174 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Puzzling

February 23, 2023 at 9:40 am by Claudia

Slow going. That’s fine, as I fiddle with it for an hour or so every morning and then leave it for the rest of the day. I’m trying to assemble the big flowers. I’ll have a lot of filling in to do and those little patterned pieces on the edge? There are a lot of them; both on the edges and up the middle of the puzzle. They’re very hard to figure out – I know that from my last go-round with this puzzle. Hopefully, slowly filling in the middle will help me figure out where everything else goes more easily.

It’s a messy day out there. We had a bit of snow in the late afternoon yesterday, but then, of course, the inevitable rain came and now it’s a combination of sleet and rain. But the road is wet and traffic seems fine.

Monday might bring some snow; at least, as of now. I no longer trust these forecasts. And there’s a blizzard warning in Los Angeles, of all places!

Since we’re temporarily signed up for HBO Max, we’re catching up on a few series we couldn’t see before. Hacks, with Jean Smart, was brilliant. Loved it. I’m a huge fan of Jean Smart; she can do anything. There’s a new season being filmed and I can’t wait. I’ve mentioned The Last of Us, which is being released weekly. We are hooked. And now we’re watching Chernobyl which is gut wrenching and incredibly well done. The only things we watch on traditional network television are Jeopardy and All Creatures Great and Small. That’s it. I’ve stopped watching the news for the sake of my sanity.

Don made an apple pie yesterday and you can bet we’ll have a piece this afternoon!

Edited to add: Has anyone else ever received this message when trying to leave a comment?

Not Acceptable!

An appropriate representation of the requested resource could not be found on this server. This error was generated by Mod_Security.

I’ve heard from one reader who did receive that message and I’m trying to get to the bottom of it.

Stay safe, my friends.

Happy Thursday.

No Room at the Inn

February 22, 2023 at 9:03 am by Claudia

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.

February 21, 2023 at 8:23 am by Claudia

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.

Puzzling

No Room at the Inn

The Caulk, It is Done.

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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