Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Off to the Shops Again

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Forgot to post this photo of the girls. It was my Thanksgiving post on my IG Blythe account.

Gosh darn it, they’re cute.

Today is the dreaded shopping day, but I say that lightly, as I’m determined to have a positive attitude. I told Don I can handle it on my own and I’ve decided the first stop will be Kohl’s, which someone suggested yesterday. It’s much closer to my home than the mall is, so my ideal scenario would be finding just the right pair of pants there. But if not, I’ll drive to the mall.

Deep breath!

I’m going to make this short so I can grab some breakfast and get ready to go. I’d like to finish all of this early in the day…fingers crossed.

We’re seriously thinking of getting our tree tomorrow. A bit earlier than usual, but remember that last year our local supplier was sold out by the time I came back home from Brooklyn. We need some sparkle and pretty lights. If we get it tomorrow, then we can decorate on the 30th or December 1st.

Push-pull as to the premiere. Very excited to see everyone and see the film but, as an introvert, can’t wait for it to be over. Mostly, I’m so happy for Jim and Ben and all of the producers, the director, and the cast and crew.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

 

Mini Christmas Sweaters

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The Christmas lights for the porch have been hung. I must say, they look very pretty and festive. While I was out there, I dumped the contents of  several porch pots onto our mulch pile near the shed. It was such a pleasure moving the pots into the nicely organized potting area in the shed. What a difference from years past when I had to jam them inside each other, toss them on a pile of STUFF and hope I could find them the next spring. There’s more porch organization to go, but I can’t dump a pot in which the plant is still somewhat alive. It’s not in me. Plus, we have to fold up the Adirondack chairs and bring all the cushions inside.

Yesterday’s mini project. Reader Elaine from Ontario gave me this idea. I’m proud to say I was a bit of an enabler with Elaine and she now has two Blythes. I may be wrong about that number, Elaine, feel free to correct me. Anyway, she read about these little sweater ornaments that Target does every year. Of course, I had no idea they existed. They come on a gold hanger and they’re supposed to go on a tree. But, many people buy them for Barbies and Blythes. They’re only $3 each, This year, there is a white sweater and a gray sweater.

 Photo: Target

I knew the neck was too small to fit over a Blythe body, even the small licca body of Olivia. But they’re only $3 each, so why not experiment? I did try to fit it over Olivia’s body before I experimented, but the neck wouldn’t stretch enough. So I grabbed my embroidery scissors and snipped an opening at the back of the neck, extending about a half inch into the sweater. I used some Fray Check, but it’s really not meant for knits, so I ended up using my yarn needle and some yarn to bind the edges of the opening. It worked!

It’s not all that attractive to look at, but who the heck cares? I’m the only one who sees it and her hair covers it.

It’s a little bigger on her than it will be on her sisters as Livvy is the only one with a licca body. I love it. The hat, by the way, arrived yesterday all the way from Thailand. It was included with a dress I ordered. It seemed meant to be – perfect for this outfit and for Olivia.

The hangars are sewn in and can be easily removed.

I can’t afford to buy handmade sweaters for the girls that are holiday themed. That’s a lot of money for something I can only use once a year. This solution is perfect.

Thanks, Elaine.

Favorite line from Little Z (who is no longer little) during yesterday’s FaceTime. (He was about to go visit Santa.)

Don: Why don’t you want to see Santa?

Z: Because I’ve already seen him multiple times.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Life Lately

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Forgot to post the sunset on my birthday. It was pretty spectacular.

If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you had a lovely day yesterday. We made a big dinner that didn’t seem so big until we ate it and then we figured out we ate too much and were uncomfortable the rest of the evening. And I fell asleep in my chair, just like my dad and grandfather always did after a big meal. But it was delicious! And – always the best thing about a holiday meal – we have leftovers.

I finished the puzzle yesterday, having not had time to work on it the day before.

A true challenge. Let me tell you, the final pieces didn’t just fall into place, this sucker kept me on my toes until the very end.

I like it. And it sure put me in the Christmas spirit.

Shopping the other day was dreadful. It ended up being a very hard day for me emotionally. First of all the mall that I chose isn’t nearly what it used to be. (I suppose that’s happening everywhere.) Many of the stores were empty and the clothing stores that were there were geared toward young people. I’m not going to find something at Forever 21. I went into Macy’s first. I was simply looking for black pants that were dressier than my black jeans. And there were some on the racks but, again, they didn’t fit right or weren’t the right size. I would expect Macy’s to have a bigger selection of clothes, but not this one. I walked from one end of the mall to the other several times and remained frustrated. The only thing I purchased was Christmas tree lights at Target.

The hardest thing – and I’m going to be perfectly honest – was seeing myself in the mirrors. I have gained more weight than I thought. For most of my life, until my fifties, I was very thin. Now? I don’t recognize my body. I don’t recognize myself. I drove home. And then I cried and cried in my husband’s arms. We’re going to go to another mall on Sunday. It’s in Connecticut, and has more stores.

I know this is rather a universal thing – aging and coming to terms with body changes. Usually, I’m okay. But on Wednesday, I simply fell apart. Even though the premiere isn’t wildly dressy, it’s a premiere of a Hollywood movie and there will be lots of cameras and people with much more money than I there. I have to look relatively put together.

I know it will all work out. But the stress is there and it’s very real.

Today, I’m going to take it easy, but I’m realizing I need to walk/exercise more, so I’ll go outside and walk the property several times. Hopefully. It’s raining right now.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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