Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Rain and Books

April 6, 2022 at 8:56 am by Claudia

Rain, rain, rain…so far, it’s a gentle rain, so I’m not complaining. The grass is getting greener every day. I see buds on the climbing hydrangea, the lilac bush, the daffs up on the edge of the woods are clearly visible and I can see the beginning of flower buds. My neighbor’s daffodils are already blooming, but our clump is in the shade so they will take a bit longer.

I can’t wait until the day I can take pictures of flowers and green things again. I’ve felt fairly limited lately in terms of photo possibilities.

Speaking of which:

I just finished Old Filth  last night. I loved every word of that book. Jane Gardam is brilliant.

Next up is The Man in the Wooden Hat, number two in the Old Filth  trilogy.

After that, either number three in the trilogy, Last Friends, which is upstairs in my TBR pile, or Sea of Tranquility, the latest from Emily St. John Mandel. I’m a big fan of her novels.

And then there are all the other books in the TBR pile, just waiting for me.

And because I’m limited to playing with dolls and reading:

Advice from older sister (maybe about head size.)

Don is off to get some donuts. I am abstaining.

We loved watching Ken Burns’ documentary about Ben Franklin. As always, even though I thought I knew a lot about Franklin, I learned so much more about him.

Okay.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, books, rain, reading 22 Comments

A Wee One

April 5, 2022 at 9:05 am by Claudia

My Blythe family is complete – there will be no more Blythes unless I trade one of my dolls for another doll. However, when I look at the girls and think of selling one of them – for let’s face it, we can always use the money and Blythe collectors sell their dolls all the time – I can’t conceive of letting one go. I am too attached to them. I would feel like a mom selling one of her kids!

But I did get a wee little girl. She’s a BJD – a ball-jointed doll – and she’s made of resin. BJDs are articulated with ball and socket joints. They’re incredibly posable. There are all sort of sizes out there, but this line – by a dollmaker in China – is very popular with Blythe collectors. That’s where I first saw them. The dollmaker designed two dolls called Dudu and Wuwu. As is often the case with these resin dolls, the dolls are offered for preorder with only a limited amount of dolls made. I missed out on all of that with Dudu and Wuwu because the preorder happened right before I fell into the rabbit hole of Blythes so I was blissfully unaware of them.

Long story somewhat short, I managed to snag a pre-owned Wuwu doll and she arrived the other day. I love both Dudu and Wuwu but I’m on a strict budget so I went with Wuwu who has a sad little face that I can’t resist.

This is how she looked when she first arrived, with the clothes that came with her.

See that adorable sad little face?

Then, in a little dress that was made for her.

She’s now named Wren, by the way, after our Carolina wrens.

And then, in an experiment yesterday in which I tried to show the difference in size between Blythe and the BJD:

Hopefully, this illustrates the difference in size.

And what I’m most excited about is that I managed to prop the girls up so they are standing by using a wooden skewer that is pushed into one of the seams between floor boards and extends to the doll’s back. The trick after doing this is to shoot the photo from an angle that doesn’t show the skewers.

And it worked! I was quite pleased with myself.

Endless photo possibilities ahead.

I call this photo “Sad Sacks.” Both of these girls have sad little faces and just as I am drawn to bittersweet, sad, and minor tones in music, I am drawn to sad faces. And to faces that are maybe a little ticked off or haughty or sweet but not smiley. For instance, I love Sophie’s slightly sullen, yet beautiful, face.

That’s my doll update.

As for the present, we have a partly cloudy day ahead. Tomorrow and Thursday will be quite rainy.

I’m well into Old Filth  and love it. I read a big chunk of it this morning. I deliberately didn’t turn on my phone as I am wont to do. I simply sat here with my cup of coffee and the book. That’s the best time for me to read. The ‘world’ hasn’t yet entered into my consciousness. Time enough for that later.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, books 20 Comments

Reading, Sun, and Birds

April 4, 2022 at 8:58 am by Claudia

In the interest of truth here on the blog, I haven’t done any more quilting since Thursday. But, I will.

What I have done is a lot of reading. As you know, I finished Bewilderment – see yesterday’s post for my thoughts on that exquisite book. I’ve now tucked into another book from my TBR pile. This one is by Jane Gardam, perhaps her most famous – Old Filth.

I read Gardam’s Faith Fox  a few years back and that was my introduction to Gardam. It turns out that she is deeply loved. When I mentioned that book on IG, it was clear that many of my followers loved her writing. I found Faith Fox  at Oblong Books, purely by chance – one of those moments when you pull a book off a shelf, having never heard of the author, and you buy it. I instantly fell in love with her writing and the ease with which she told a story. You know you are in good hands.

Fast forward a couple of years. I had researched Gardam and knew that I should read Old Filth. I also spotted the third book in the trilogy in the On Sale bin at Oblong and snapped it up. After joining the TBR pile, both books sat there for two years. (I have yet to purchase the second book in the trilogy.)

And now, entranced yet again by Gardam’s amazing gift with words, I wonder why I denied myself this pleasure for so long? I’m nearly 100 pages in and I’m hooked.

By the way, Jane Gardam is British, has an OBE, and is 93 years old.

Shortly after we got up this morning, Don said “What bird is that I hear?” I had my ear buds in, so I had to take them out to identify the song – it was the Carolina wren. I looked out the window and saw one of them entering the birdhouse. As I hadn’t seen or heard from them in several days, I was getting fearful that they might have moved on to another nest. Happy sigh to see them again.

It’s sunny today, but still coolish. After yesterday’s rain, the sun is welcome. We have three days of rather heavy rain coming up midweek, so we’ll enjoy this sun-filled day.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

Filed Under: birds, books, reading 20 Comments

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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.

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