Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

  • About MHC
    • Disclosure
  • Dollhouses/Minis
    • Hummingbird Cottage
    • The Studio (Formerly TSP)
    • Dove Cottage
    • The Lake House
    • The Folk Art Dollhouse
    • The Modern Dollhouse
    • Dollhouse Source List, Information and Tutorials
  • On the Road
  • Collecting
    • Roseville Pottery
    • McCoy Pottery
    • Egg Cups
    • Bakelite
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy

Starting In

August 11, 2022 at 8:57 am by Claudia

An August morning, with the changeover into fall on the horizon. Brown grass from the heat wave, struggling coneflowers. The phlox and brown-eyed susans are doing just fine, as is the Queen Anne’s Lace sprinkled around the property.

And the limelight hydrangeas are pretty glorious this year.

I’m also changing over. Next week, I start coaching Jane Eyre; most of it will be via Zoom – at least at this early stage. I’ll also be doing some zoom sessions with Jim and another actor from A Man of No Importance. Suddenly, I’m getting emails from stage managers and artistic directors about rehearsal schedules and meetings. This will only last a couple of months, but as usual, I feel the no-yes of working. My routine is about to change and I’m not sure if I’m ready for that. But I’ll be working with actors and helping them – which I like. Always the no-yes.

More prep today. More watering outside because it will be 88 degrees today. Then, the temperatures will drop a bit on Friday. Yesterday morning was beautiful. There was a breeze, no real humidity (it came later in the day) and sunshine. I did some weeding and then I spent some time on the porch.

I’m always nervous before I start a show. Even though I’ve been doing this for over 35 years, it doesn’t matter. Am I prepared enough? Will I be able to communicate with the actors? Will I be of service? Both shows are on a budget so my time is limited. And there’s only so much you can do with five days of work. Thankfully, with Jane Eyre, a few of the actors who did it in Hartford are coming back, including the actress who plays Jane. But there are also several actors who are newly cast.

Anyway, that’s where my head is at the moment.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: coaching 18 Comments

Sunset and Some Blog Stuff

August 10, 2022 at 8:57 am by Claudia

Last night’s sunset, which was truly spectacular.

We had another 10 minute heavy downpour in the afternoon. We were cheering! It’s not nearly enough, of course, but every little bit helps. There’s no precipitation in the forecast for the next four or five days. Today is noticeably less humid and by Friday, the temperatures should drop to the 80s which will be most welcome. We just have to hang in there for two more days.

Blog stuff: I’ve noticed that the blog emails, sporadic as they have been for the last year, haven’t gone out at all in the last two weeks. I did some quick research this morning and it looks as if the email subscriptions via Feedburner have finally been stopped – as of the end of July. It’s official.

I warned everyone about this a long time ago. And I’ve periodically reminded you about it over the past year. Frankly, I’m surprised they’ve lasted this long. Bookmark the blog on your browser and come here directly.

You truly don’t need an email reminder that I’ve posted. I post every day of the week. Besides, the blog is prettier than the emails (I worked hard to make it that way) and by coming here directly, you contribute to my ad income.

I’m going to do some work on the shows I’m coaching this morning. I’ve done a lot of work on the deductions – now I just have to wait for Don to do his. He will wait until the last minute; I can guarantee it.

By the way, yesterday morning, Don woke us both up by shouting out in his sleep. I couldn’t discern any words – just sounds, but it was loud! He hardly ever does that. I reached over to comfort him and he told me he had been having a nightmare and that he was shouting “Get out! Get out!!!”

I may grab the chance to pull some weeds this morning. Normally, I’ve stopped doing any weeding by August, but with the heat wave, the weeds have been out of control. I feel the need to exert a little effort and neaten things up.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: blog 21 Comments

Tuesday in the Heat Wave

August 9, 2022 at 8:39 am by Claudia

Not to harp on the weather, but this heat and humidity is relentless. Both Don and I are in bad moods. With the heat index routinely around 104 degrees, it’s hard to think, let alone come up with a sunny mood.

But we try. We try. We may have some storms today, but I’ve learned not to trust those forecasts this summer. In the meantime, I spent hours yesterday adding up figures in my quest to gather together our deductions. We need to submit them to our Tax person by next Monday. I got a lot done, but I find that I can only work in the morning in this weather. By afternoon, I’m fried. So, I have to divvy up my time between dialect prep and tax prep this week. I’m supposed to work with Jim later in the week, so I have to get all my ducks in a row.

The coneflowers are drying up early this year, which breaks my heart. Even those steady little dependable flowers can’t withstand the relentless heat. Oh, and the bunnies ate all the blooms off my zinnias. I had to break it to Don that he won’t see his favorite flower this year.

Spring and summer lover that I am, I am ready for Autumn. I can’t imagine how farmers feel when faced with a drought. I feel powerless, even when it involves only my little garden. But when it’s your crop and your livelihood, my goodness! How awful it must be.

As soon as I finish this post, I’ll go out and hand water things. I briefly considered letting it go because we might have rain later. Nope. I have to do it, because what if it doesn’t rain?

But Don made an apple pie, so there’s that! And we had sugar-free vanilla ice cream!

One additional thing about Blythes – there are some customizers who routinely command high prices. Prices I could never afford. You’ll start to notice who they are. They all do beautiful work and have a distinctive style and to a collector, those dolls are worth the price. Remember, we’re talking about Art Dolls, highly collectible creations with resale value. Anyway, there are plenty of beautiful dolls out there that are reasonably priced. One other note: you might see a price of several thousand dollars on an Etsy listing and that’s usually because the doll has been sold and the seller wants to keep it in the listing so that potential buyers can see their style. That confused me at first. They price it high so that you know it’s gone and/or would never even think of paying that much.

Okay, my friends.

So sad that Mar-a-Lago was raided. Well, technically, not raided. A search warrant was executed.

I’m crying big old crocodile tears.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: flowers, garden 20 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 237
  • 238
  • 239
  • 240
  • 241
  • …
  • 1772
  • Next Page »
  • Email
  • Instagram

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.

Searching?

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!

Archives

All Content © 2008 - 2025 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in