Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Friends

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Nothing much to report from the cottage. We’re both still sore and nursing our injuries. Between the two of us, we get things done. I actually vacuumed yesterday. I couldn’t stand all the stuff on the kitchen floor. But I did it slowly and carefully.

It’s cloudy here today, but the high will be 63 degrees. Yesterday, I put some recycling out on the porch and took some time to be  there and get a whiff of spring in the air. I’m looking forward to cleaning up the porch and the property, washing the siding on the house, and cleaning the shed!

We’re going to watch Zelenskyy’s address to Congress this morning. It’s on at 9 am.

Sophie is wearing a new sweater from AuntieShrew, a seller on Etsy who lives in Canada. I really love it. Nicole’s knitting is beautiful. I love big, slouchy sweaters in my real life, and I love them for the girls as well. I briefly had Sophie’s hair in braids and then a pony tail. She’s awfully pretty isn’t she? My friend Susan – who crocheted that red cap for my girls – has a doll from the same customizer who could be Sophie’s twin.

I had a long and wonderful phone conversation yesterday with my best friend, Laural, We caught up on everything. I’ve known Laural since I was 12. We’ve been through so much together. Both Laural and my friend Jackie (who I’ve known since I was 4) know me in a way that no one else does. Think of it – Laural and I met not long after Meredith was born! She was just a baby. And Jackie and I met before we started kindergarten. There is a shared history that cannot be duplicated in a ‘newer’ friendship. I was in their weddings (I sang in them as well). Their parents were like second sets of parents to me. We were there for each other in happiness, tough times, through the death of family members, growing pains, everything. Jackie still lives in my home town and recently retired from a long career as an elementary school teacher. Laural lives in the Chicago area and had a long career in the theater – especially children’s theater. I also need to mention my dear, dear friend Kay, who I’ve known since she was born – I think we’re 3 years apart? Is that right, Kay? Her parents were my godparents and we spent countless hours together as kids. She lives in Florida now after having lived in Maine for many, many years. We also share that bond of growing up together, in and out of each other’s houses, knowing siblings and parents. You’ve seen her comments on the blog. I’ll write about my cousin, Eileen, in another post – she’s family and a friend, as well.

Thinking about friends today.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Tuesday Thoughts

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Mei is celebrating the onset of Spring.

And who can blame her?

I know it’s not officially spring until Sunday, but what the heck? We’re celebrating a little early. The snow has melted, it’s almost completely gone. I’m still nursing my back – it’s hard to find a comfortable position in which to sleep that doesn’t screw me up the next morning. And my sinuses are out of control with all the crazy weather extremes we’ve been having.

I think I’m going to see if BritBox has the first episode of the new season of Gardener’s World. That would be the perfect thing for me to watch today. I’m trying to keep busy while resting – if that makes any sense! I read a lot, I thumb through Instagram, I listen to music, and I get up and do the occasional chore that won’t involve lifting or pushing. It’s slowly  getting better.

I wanted to say a few words about William Hurt – I didn’t know him, have never met him. But I was a huge fan of his work. The thing about William Hurt was that he almost always underplayed a scene (and that’s a compliment), did less than many less confident, less experienced, less ego-driven actors would do. He took the work very seriously and approached it with intelligence and honesty. Everything I ever saw him do rang completely true. If you didn’t know better, you’d think what he did was easy. It wasn’t. The last thing we saw him in was the excellent series Goliath  starring Billy Bob Thornton. Hurt had a recurring role. In the final episode of the series, he appeared in a sort of dream sequence where he was on a train in the Old West, a train that was clearly taking people on to another plane of existence. His character was dying. That scene sticks in my mind, especially as he was clearly ill in real life when he shot it.

He was far too young to leave us. Rest in Peace.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

A Glimmer of Spring

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I had to grab a photo of something…

Look at that Roseville vase on the top shelf. The really tall one on the right. I purchased it last year because it was a pattern – Columbine – that I didn’t have yet. No one was more shocked than me when I saw how tall it was. I had to scramble to find room for it. I’m still not sure if I’m crazy about it. I mean, I am, but it’s so big! I briefly thought of putting it somewhere else in the house, but it needs to be protected. My husband is a big guy – he has bumped into and broken several pieces of pottery over the years. He now points out ‘danger zones’ to me – places where he knows he might break something while attempting to do something else. I then take steps to remedy the situation.

I’m still laid up, but I feel some improvement. I’m being extra careful but also doing my best to move around during the day, so I stay loose.

It’s sunny today and we’re finally  starting a stretch of warmer weather. Hurrah! It will be in the fifties this week and next with a couple of days in the sixties. It feels like we’ve made it through the winter. I see glimmers of spring. I heard the Carolina wren this morning and quickly looked out the window at the birdhouse. He was standing right in front of it, facing out, and singing away. I think he’s telling the world that the trailer has been leased for the season. Oh, that makes me so happy. To be able to sit in my chair and watch this couple ready the nest, feed the babies – heaven!

The other day when we were loading things for recycling, I noticed the robins nest that is nestled in the climbing hydrangea that runs up the front of the shed had tilted so much that it would be hard to fly in and out, so I carefully righted it. Even though the robins are a pain in the tush when they’re nesting there, they’re worth it.

So we’ll watch the snow melt today and tomorrow and say goodbye to winter storms. Never say never, of course, because we have had snow in April, but I’m going to stay positive. I’m getting that little tingle that says ‘You’ve been freed. Spring is almost here.”

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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