Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Bittersweet Memories

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We’re getting a ton of rain today and tonight – close to 2 inches – once again, the remnants of the storm that has wreaked havoc in the south.

Yesterday, I was feeling down. Everything going on in the world – the invasion of Ukraine, the devastation there, genocide, war crimes, climate change, the GOP which is now the party of Putin and fascism – all of it was constantly in my thoughts. That’s not new, but it was particularly strong yesterday.

To give myself some sort of task, I cleaned out two drawers in the little table next to my chair. Something constructive to do.

And I came across this:

Newborn baby Claudia – maybe a little over a month old?

My dear, beautiful brother with his holster and toy guns. A child of the 50s.

My mom, clearly tired, but dressed up for the photo.

My handsome dad with a rarely seen bow tie.

Barkcloth curtains. Where did they end up?

My brother David has been gone for 30 years.

Mom left us 7 years ago.

Dad left 6 years ago.

So bittersweet. I found myself missing my brother so much. He would be 74 now, 75 next month. What would he look like today? Grandchildren he never got to meet. Spouses of his three children never met. I want to reach inside that photo and hug that beautiful boy.

It would be 8 years until another child came along – that would be L, my sister who has estranged herself from everyone in the family, including cousins, nieces and nephews.

Then another 3 years until my dearest Meredith came along. My brother was 17 years old when my mom was pregnant with Mere.

It’s Mere and me now.

I miss him. I miss them.

I’ve been thinking how horrified my dad would be by the rise of nationalism and fascism, the very evils he fought against when he went to war at the age of 18.

This little photo was designed to be put in a wallet. I don’t know where I got it – from Gram? From my parents? I’m not sure.

Yes, I look very much like my mother – except for my brown eyes, which come from my Dad.

__________________________

We’re getting our Covid boosters this morning. Times have changed – we went online this morning and got the appointments for the same day.

So I’m prepping for the nap that will come later. That seems to be my reaction to the shots – crashing in the middle of the afternoon.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

 

Rain and Books

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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.

 

 

 

 

 

A Wee One

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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.

 

 

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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