Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

The week ahead

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Monday morning, and rather dreary, but there’s hope for sunshine this afternoon.

We watched the first episode of All Creatures Great and Small  on PBS last night. So glad it’s back! I almost forgot about it. Except for Jeopardy, we rarely watch network television, but thankfully, I saw someone post about it on IG. It’s excellent, of course.

I found out yesterday that one of my former students is seriously ill. I have written a note to her and she is now in my daily prayers. She is one of the best people I know.

I’m prepping for my work in NYC starting on Wednesday and also trying to take care of things around here since I’ll only be here to sleep from Wed – Saturday. Then I’ll have two days off. And then two more days on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Then I’m done. Lots of rain in the forecast, always a pain when trying to navigate around the city. And the rehearsal studio is very far west – almost on the Hudson River – so it’s a long walk, as east-west blocks in Manhattan are much more lengthy than north-south blocks. It will probably take a couple of days to figure out the best route. If need be, I’ll grab an Uber because I cannot abide being late.

Thought I’d share a little Polaroid of me that Don took a couple of months ago. He was working with black and white film, light and shadow. It’s tucked away on the bulletin board in the kitchen.

I’m reading a bit more than a chapter a day of War and Peace, since I’ll not be able to read it Wed – Sat. I must say, I’m really enjoying it. It’s highly readable and the character studies are rich with detail. I’ll read a few more extra chapters today.

Okay. Not very exciting, but it is indeed a snapshot of this moment in time.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Sunday: The Sun has Come Back

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Proof.

I cleaned up the office yesterday and also dealt with the closet, which has everything under the sun in it, including our downstairs a/c unit. Lots of sorting, organizing, cleaning, and vacuuming. I also vacuumed and dusted both rooms on this floor. I tend to neglect them, as I’m usually downstairs. The closet will get an intense reorganization when the a/c unit returns to duty.

Since we share this space, I also dealt with plants, cameras, and empty boxes that need to be recycled. I’m always quite proud of myself when I do this as it’s so easy to turn it into a dumping ground. Don dealt with his desk a couple of weeks ago, so…for this moment in time…the room looks great. It’s a tiny space, shared by two tall people with lots of STUFF. We’re rarely up there at the same time, and we’re very amenable to vacating the space for the other person if necessary.

I’m still not quite ready to dive into renovating the Beacon Hill. I’m not sure why, but I have to trust that I’ll start in the near future. Last night, Don was looking at my very first oil painting and is now urging me to get back to painting. First of all, I have to deal with my coaching commitment, which starts in 3 days.

Day 8 of War and Peace  and I’m really enjoying it. Don’s copy arrived yesterday and he read Chapter 1. I spent some time this morning following the hashtag for the readalong and there are over 800 people doing this! I love that – such a sense of community, and it’s literally taking place all over the world. Some readers are sticking to a chapter a day, others are reading several chapters a day. I’m going to do that on Tuesday because I won’t have time to read chapters Wednesday – Saturday. It’s highly readable. Tolstoy is a brilliant writer.

The sun finally came out towards the end of the day yesterday and it’s already shining today. Thank goodness. It’s been so dreary around here and, as you know, I need sunlight. It’s colder now, the warm spell is over, but I’m fine with that.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

 

Saturday

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There is an occasional series of prompts called “A Doll a Day” on my Blythe IG account. It’s a lot of work for the woman who does it and she really challenges us. I rarely take part, but for this ADADJanuary, I’ve posted for the first six days of January. Go figure! I love seeing what other Blythe photographers come up with. This picture resulted from the prompt “Six words.”

My six were: Can’t stand. My head’s too big.

And that, my friends, is a fact and the reason we invest so much time posing the girls using various methods; stands, and all sorts of invented contraptions to hold them upright without you seeing them. I use skewers a lot and they usually do the trick.

Saturday. Cloudy and dark but no rain in the forecast, so that’s a step in the right direction. I’ve abandoned Chuck Wendig’s  The Book of Accidents. Not that it wasn’t good, but it didn’t grab me enough at this point in time to stay with it. Adding to that, it’s a library book and I’m very aware that I’ll be away in NYC for four days this week and two days the next and it’s over a thousand pages and very heavy. So…it goes back to the library until I’m in the mood again. I decided to read a book I’ve had around here for a while: State of Terror  by Louise Penny and Hilary Rodham Clinton. I have the paperback version, so it’s light and I can chuck it into my tote bag when I travel into the city on Wednesday. I read chapter 6 of War and Peace  yesterday. I’m quite liking it so far. Tolstoy’s gift for describing place and character is formidable.

I’m taking a break from puzzles for a couple of reasons; I’ve been doing them constantly for months and the fact that I didn’t want to finish the sky in the last one was an indicator it was time to pause, and I don’t want to spend any extra money right now. Even though they’re relatively inexpensive, I complete them fairly quickly and the cost adds up. I’m fine with it. I’m also really enjoying reading right now and that seems to be capturing most of my attention, along with the work I’ll be doing next week.

Laundry today. I still haven’t cleaned up the office, so I think I’ll finally tackle that.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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