Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

A Little Indulgence

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It’s the simple things, really, that lift our spirits. I could tell Don was feeling restless yesterday. It was a lovely sunny spring day and at one point he said “Let me know if you want to take a drive.” So we did. We drove a little south of our cottage to get some Five Guys french fries. (I also quickly stopped at the bookstore and bought an inexpensive magazine.)

We rarely treat ourselves to these fries, but yesterday seemed like a good day to do so. We ate the fries in our car, did some people watching, and had a great conversation. It was lovely. I highly recommend having a lunch consisting solely of french fries every so often.

We felt refreshed.

My back is getting better – it is at its worst when I first wake up in the morning, but I’m recovering much more quickly from the initial pain and the rest of the day is fairly easy. But I’m still being careful because outdoor work is just around the corner and I want to be able to move freely.

Imogen getting ready to take Bertie for a walk.

Zoe wearing a new deer headband that arrived in yesterday’s mail. A wonderful woman from Spain makes these and I asked her long time ago to add me to her waiting list. She contacted me a few weeks ago to say it was my turn to choose what I wanted and I went with something fairly simple but charming. A deer seemed perfect, given how much we love deer around here,

It’s really beautifully made.

Zoe was very eager to try it on.

I swear, the cuteness in Blythe world is amazing.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

A Bird and an Egg Cup

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This morning, I heard the carolina wren singing and I opened the blinds to see him standing in front of the trailer. After Don and I watched him sing, both of us so happy that he’s back, we noticed that both  of them were on site.

I grabbed my big girl camera to take some shots with my telephoto lens. I haven’t used it in so long that the battery quickly died – but I managed to get a couple of shots.

If you look closely, you’ll see he’s got some nest-making material hanging from his beak.

Peeking out from inside his reclaimed home.

We are over-the-moon that they are back again. Spring. Carolina wrens. A nest. Shoulders dropping. Happy.

I also got something special in the mail yesterday. It was a great deal on eBay. As you know, my egg cup collection is pretty big and the figurals that I love so much are harder to find these days. So I rarely buy a new cup and when I do it’s usually a more traditional egg cup. Once in a blue moon, I look at the listings on eBay. I did just that a week or two ago and I saw a lovely little Spode egg cup.

The pattern is Chelsea Bird.

I was taken by the design of the cup; that flower and the wonderful combination of spring green and a deep, rusty red. That’s a pheasant on the inside, which I’ve since discovered is the predominant feature of that Spode pattern.

But my delight quadrupled when I saw that there were two dragonflies and a bug on the inside the cup.

I think that’s a dragonfly…

Beetle? Something else?

And the other side of the exterior:

It’s quite detailed and tiny. Those special touches on the interior make it a treasure.

It was only $12.00 – a steal. Spode made this pattern from the late 1800s until 1927 or 1928. So we know it’s at least almost a hundred years old – probably older.

I really, really love it.

It’s sunny right now, but it will be chillier today. And then we have rain starting tomorrow.

I’m so glad that spring has sprung.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Sleepy Monday

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I’m going on about 4 hours of sleep today. Not a happy camper. But I don’t have to be anywhere, have no commitments, and can – hopefully – catch a nap this afternoon. I’ve had far too many work days in the past where I had to try to get through the day on very little sleep. Today is sunny and lovely and looks to be the only sunny day we’ll get this week, so I’m going to do my best to take it all in.

Every year, I aim my camera out the upstairs window and record the peepers. Then I post it on Instagram. For those of you who have never heard their sound, head over to my main IG account and give it a listen.

Don just headed off to the grocery store as we’re out of food. Whoops! Bless him.

We’re due for three days of rain this week and I welcome it. Why? Well, the obvious reason is that it will help to bring back our green grass. The other reason: I don’t have to worry about rain leaking inside the screen door anymore or inside the shed. For the first time in a long time, I can relax. It’s such a good feeling.

I found Livvy in this outfit yesterday. She heard it was the first day of spring and thought this romper would be the perfect thing to wear. I gently explained to her that though it was indeed the first day of spring, temperatures here in the Hudson Valley would only reach the low fifties and that she would need more layers of clothing.

But she looked adorable, I’ll give you that.

By the way, Olivia is my only girl with a licca body, which has skinny legs and arms. At first I was going to change it out, but I find it suits her, so it’s staying. Some collectors only collect Blythes with licca bodies. (Blythe World can be quite fascinating.)

That romper is one of the first pieces of Blythe clothing I purchased last fall. It’s from House of Blythe on Instagram.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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