Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 270 — Life in our little cottage in the country

Chores and Miniature Books

February 28, 2022 at 9:04 am by Claudia

Bill paying (always my job) grocery shopping (usually done by Don) juggling the budget (always a pain in the tush) – that’s my agenda for today. Don is still in pain, but he stood in the shower this morning letting the steam hit his back and he slowly exercised his left arm and shoulder and things feel loser now, which makes us hopeful. We’re watching it on a day-by-day basis.

It’s colder today. It will only reach 32 degrees. But it will slowly warm up as of tomorrow. Our neighbors came back from skiing yesterday and, as I was sitting in the kitchen working on a puzzle, I realized I was hearing the sound of a snow blower. I jumped up and ran into the den to look out the window. Sure enough, Bill was using the snow blower. Shortly after that, Don got a message from Bill saying he found a rock that was jamming the works and all was well. Sigh of relief!

I needed a few more mini books to fill up the bookcase in the English cottage, so I ordered some from LandauHouse, my favorite mini book maker. Lots of children’s books on nature, and a red ‘leather’ set of Jane Austen. I can’t wait to put them on the shelves.

Sarah always throws in an extra treat – this time, A Flower Fairy Alphabet.

I’m waiting for a new puzzle to arrive. In the meantime, I’m working on a smallish puzzle – maybe 500 pieces? – that was sent to us by a longtime friend from San Diego theater days. She sent two for us and two for Rick and Doug. The one I’m working on is of La Jolla Cove, a place I love. It’s fun. Lots of seals, of course! I’d like to be walking on that beach right now.

Okay. I’m off to write out checks and ask our electric company why our bill is so much larger this month.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Sunday Update

February 27, 2022 at 9:08 am by Claudia

Thanks for your well wishes for Don. He is in pain, but he’s sure he didn’t break anything. If this goes on much longer, he’ll have it checked out. We’ve been icing, etc. I’m taking care of him. But keep him in your prayers, okay?

I went over to our neighbors’ property yesterday to try to shovel their driveway. Unfortunately, the snow is like a block of ice, so I had to chop at it with the shovel and then clear some of it in layers as best I could. They have a long curved driveway. Sadly, I didn’t get too far. It was too hard on my back and my neck. I managed to clear enough so they could at least pull in off the road.

Then I texted Laura and explained what was going on – Don’s injury, my back – and she immediately responded with sympathy and a “Don’t worry! We’ll take care of it!” We have good neighbors.

I finished this yesterday. It was extremely difficult and a real challenge. I loved it. This isn’t the best photo, but it’s beautifully designed.

And, amazingly, a Blythe outfit that went missing in the post arrived yesterday. It came from Russia and arrived in the US in November, where it sat on a barge for a long time and we gave up hope. Then it showed up in Chicago, where it also sat for almost 2 months. But it dropped off the radar again, so Olga refunded my money. This past week, she wrote me saying it looked like it had resurfaced again. Go figure! This time, the delay had nothing to do with Russia but with the USPS. It took 103 days to get here.

Maeve is today’s model:

This is as close to a cat as Maeve will get since Mom is allergic. Olga – pippydolls on IG – makes beautiful clothes. And she has been such a great communicator during all of this. We became friends.

Today, we’re laying low here at the cottage. With all the melting and then temps plunging down to single digits at night, it’s slippery out there. But it’s going to reach 45 today, so once that happens, I’ll venture out to put out the trash, etc. I won’t let Don do it.

The egg cups arrived safe and sound. Country Living did a great job of packing and protecting them. They’re back home in the cubby and on the shelves.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Overwhelmed

February 26, 2022 at 8:55 am by Claudia

Let’s see…what’s happening? Don used our neighbor’s snowblower yesterday and it worked just fine on our driveway. Then he took it back to their property and proceeded to snowblow their driveway and it promptly stopped working. Since there was so much sleet mixed in with the snow, there were chunks of ice “like bricks” between the blades. Don cleared all of that out. The engine runs perfectly. But the blades won’t turn. He went back later and tried it again. Still didn’t work. So he called our neighbor to explain what happened. Of course, Don feels guilty, but he didn’t do anything wrong. It just happened. We’ve offered to pay for repair or a new snowblower. Meanwhile, our snowblower doesn’t work. Crap.

One of my Instagram accounts has been hacked, I think. It’s the one I use for books and reading and I don’t use it all that much, but it’s a pain in the tush. I keep getting a ‘challenge required’ message which means they want to verify your identity. Normally, that would mean an email would be sent to me, but I’ve received no emails. And that makes me think they’re sending them to another address – like that of a hacker. I’ve tried contacting IG support, but who knows if they’ll respond? Is it worth it to start another account? I’m not sure. I have two-way verification turned on for my main account and foolishly thought that meant the other two accounts would have it, as well. Nope. So I turned it on for Sophieandherpals. And now, I’ll just watch the other account and wait.

And, of course, there’s Ukraine, which I can’t get out of my mind. Nor should I.

Anyway. I should get my egg cups back today. These sad little empty cubbies will have residents again. UPS delayed delivery until today and made that decision ahead of the storm.

Don just slipped on the ice and hurt his shoulder. He insisted on going to recycle anyway.

I hope he’s okay.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Chores and Miniature Books

Sunday Update

Overwhelmed

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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