Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Confession: Remember those extra Mary Stewart books I was going to give away? I never followed through because I spilled coffee one morning and they were in the line of fire. No one asked about them here in the comments, so I assume you forgot about the giveaway. But in the interest of transparency, I’ve ‘fessed up.

I bring this up because today I am announcing another giveaway. This one is due to the kindness of reader Elaine, who lives in Toronto, Canada. She approached me about it and I thought it was a great idea. Elaine mistakenly ordered two Susan Branch 2023 wall calendars instead of one. She sent the extra calendar to me, thinking that a giveaway would be fun.

I think she’s right!

So, if you’re interested in your own copy of Susan’s newest calendar, leave a comment on this post and this post only. Only comments will be counted, so don’t email me telling me you want to be entered. I will not answer the comments because it mucks up my comment count. When the deadline has passed, I will enter all the comments in the Random Number Generator and I’ll pick a winner.

Let’s see…today is Thursday, so I’m going to make the deadline Monday evening. That gives you 5 days in which to leave your comment. Good luck, everyone!

Stay safe.

Seen when out and about yesterday.

Both Don and I had what we called a ‘spacey’ day yesterday. I was slightly off all day, so was he. I forgot that I was washing the sheets, resulting in a late finish to the drying process and me having to make up the bed at 7:30 pm. I was slightly forgetful all day. It wasn’t a bad day at all, just slightly off.

But today is another day. Hopefully, that foolishness is over.

Yesterday, Meredith and I were remembering my dad’s emails. When he was mad at one of us, the email would be in ALL CAPS!!!!!!!!! With lots of EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!!!!! If I got one, I would read it out loud to Mere in a very loud, shouting voice. She would do the same. This memory made us dissolve in laughter because at this point, several years after my dad’s death, we have perspective on it and it’s just plain funny. My father was a yeller and we were on the receiving end of in-person yelling for much of our childhood. I hated it. Much better to receive it via email.

And you know, of course, that we loved our dad and we miss him every day. Truly. I’m glad he didn’t have to see the rise of fascism in this country or witness a Trump presidency. He fought against fascism in WWII. He was also onto T well before he ran for President and couldn’t stand him. I remember having conversations with Dad about it. He would have been devastated to see what is happening right now. My dad was very smart about things. I miss talking to him about politics. I miss calling him to ask him how to fix something or other. He was the kind of guy who always knew how to fix anything. I just miss him. I miss my mom, too. I miss laughing with her. I miss her nightly scent of Oil of Olay. Even as an adult, I often sat on her lap for a moment or two. She was a great cuddler.

Sigh. Both Don and I have been missing our parents lately.

It’s a rainy and gray day today – sort of suits my mood.

And then, last night, I was remembering my brother’s kids when they were little. I was living in a house that was about 15 minutes away from his. I would visit on Halloween and help my brother take the kids trick or treating. It was such fun. Now they’re all grown up with their own kids – children my brother never got to see. I miss him, too.

But I’m so grateful for my parents and my brother and my grandparents and aunts and uncles – all of them departed now, but all of them loved.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.