Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Floods, Books & Movies

September 30, 2023 at 8:27 am by Claudia

It’s raining again this morning, but I won’t complain. Yesterday’s rain was less than expected but areas closer to the coast were flooding, including New York City. The film I watched of the flooding in Manhattan and Brooklyn was shocking. I remember this happening a couple of years ago, not long after I’d been living temporarily in Brooklyn. Some of the film showed an area relatively close to where I was living in Park Slope, near the Gowanus Canal. Not that flooding like this hasn’t happened before, but it seems to be happening more frequently. Subways flooded, streets flooded, basements flooded – many apartments are in basements. It’s dangerous. I haven’t checked on the weather in NYC this morning, but I hope the amount of water has receded.

We did have flood watches up here and I’m sure our rivers are way too high at the moment, but all is well.

Our repair work on the refrigerator seems to have done the trick. No water leaking! Every time I walk by, I stop to open the door and check the refrigerator ‘status’ but so far, so good. Hey, I think we did it! Thank heavens for YouTube, which has the provided many answers and how-tos over the years.

A stack of books from the library. Unfortunately, the large print Lisa Jewell smells of cigarette smoke, so we’ll have to see whether I’m willing to deal with that. Probably not. I’m reading The Secret Hours  at the moment and I’m more than halfway through. Excellent, excellent.

Late in the afternoon yesterday, I checked TCM’s schedule and saw that Cinema Paradiso  was the prime-time offering. I was thrilled and couldn’t wait to tell Don. We love, love, love that movie. I have Don to thank for introducing me to it many years ago. It certainly is in my top five best movies ever. If you haven’t seen it, you should. It’s a love letter to the magic of the cinema. It’s an Italian movie, and it takes place in Sicily. The cast is brilliant, especially the young actor who plays the main character, Toto, as a young boy. I’ve never seen a better performance from a child. But every performance is spot on, the score by Ennio Morricone is unbelievably beautiful – it’s a treasure. And it is beautifully directed. We cried at the end as we always do, and we’ve been talking about it this morning. It stays with us, lingering, bathing us in its warmth. I’ve written about it before on this blog. I always feel better for having seen it. I’ll carry it with me throughout the day.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: books, movies 26 Comments

It’s Friday

September 29, 2023 at 9:09 am by Claudia

Well, it’s raining. Heavily. Again. And it will rain tomorrow, too,

As I said in the comments the other day: Cue Claudia’s scream.

I managed to grab some time to mow the lilac side of the lawn yesterday afternoon, right after we spent 3 hours dealing with a refrigerator problem. Water has been leaking inside the fridge and we did some research that showed it was a blocked drain line, which seems to be very common. After watching several YouTube videos, we tackled the problem but it involved unscrewing panels and taking things apart and we’re not sure, in the end, whether we fixed it. Fingers crossed. This is an old GE refrigerator that was made in 2000, but it’s been working just fine until recently and we certainly don’t want to have to buy a new one.

It was a crazy sort of day,

But I did get in some reading to help balance the stress and it sure helps. I’m loving Mick Herron’s newest book, The Secret Hours. He is such an excellent writer and I’m riveted to the story. Two more books that I had on hold came in at my local library, so I’m feeling a bit of pressure as, since they’re new, I have them for a limited amount of time. As pressure goes, that’s the best kind to have!

I hear my little Carolina wren chirping away. I’m not sure where he is, but he’s somewhere in the vicinity of the porch.

Comfort doll. There’s something about that face and the sweetness of her expression.

Rest in peace to Michael Gambon, who has was one of my favorite actors. I was able to see him onstage 20 years ago. I was in London and he was in a production of The Caretaker   by Harold Pinter. His performance was extraordinary and it’s seared in my memory. He was blessed with an incredible voice and I could have happily spent several hours listening to him read the phone book. He will be deeply missed.

Yesterday was my dad’s birthday. He would have been 100 years old, had he stayed with us a bit longer.

Happy Birthday, Dad.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Filed Under: life 18 Comments

Plants, Books & Birds

September 27, 2023 at 8:57 am by Claudia

Yesterday, I noticed that most of the petals have fallen off my brown-eyed susans. Sigh. I’m sure that was partly due to the rain, but also to the change of seasons. They hang in there for so long that it almost seems like they’ll be there forever. So now, I have a few roses that bloom again late in September, the hydrangeas, the giant zinnias, and the geraniums that are in tubs by the funky patio. And the porch plants, of course.

But growing season is definitely coming to an end.

This is the pot that holds the geranium. (The frog is not real.) Since it sits next to some potted impatiens, they kindly decided to self-seed in the geranium pot. Not only that, they bloomed! I love little surprises like that.

We’ve had three days of rain and I’m over it. It rained again overnight. I need to mow the lilac side of the lawn, but it looks like that will have to be delayed until tomorrow. Too wet.

I finished the The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons  the day before yesterday. And I’ve started on the newest Mick Herron: The Secret Hours. As always with Herron, I am never disappointed. He writes intricate plots about British spies, with intelligence and a good deal of dry humor. To be honest, I haven’t been motivated to do anything other than reading. Maybe it’s the nesting instinct that comes with the seasonal change?

Although I did clean the bathroom yesterday.

Today, we go grocery shopping, so at the very least, I’ll get out of the house.

This is blurry because I shot it through the picture window in the den. This is the little Carolina wren who hangs out here and periodically perches on the porch railing, chirping repeatedly. With each chirp, his/her head goes to the right and then to the left. I researched it and it’s a definitely a call – either of danger (not in this case) or simply a form of communication. I’ve always felt that this little guy is calling for his mate. Since they mate for life, let’s hope the other little one is okay. He doesn’t call out every day, but at least once or twice a week he lands on the railing and chirps for about 3 minutes.

I think he’s the bird that sleeps on top of the porch light. We’re very happy that he likes to hang out here.

Question: my Rose of Sharons have tons of buds on them but nothing has opened recently. I’m wondering if they stop opening when it gets colder at night? Does anyone know?

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: life 25 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.

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