Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Sunday at Home

November 14, 2021 at 9:30 am by Claudia

After another good night’s sleep, I’m feeling a bit more human today. Of course, I have to get up at about 4:45 am tomorrow, so the whole thing will start up again. But, in the meantime, I’m going to enjoy this sunny and cold day. The leaves are off most of the trees – the hard frost that happened over a week ago took care of that. The burning bush is a gorgeous red and the oak leaves are still hanging in there – some gold, some red.

I got my first check yesterday but it was only for one day of work. Next week’s check will be for a full week’s work.

I’ve missed Don’s cooking! And our evenings together. And our routine, which we treasure more and more. He said he’s finally relaxing now that I’m home. I feel the same way. So we’re grateful for a little time together before I have to go back to the city.

Here’s Jim on the set during a night shoot in Greenwich Village.

And here is another shot of my gorgeous Maeve:

As with most redheads, green suits her. I grabbed this outfit right before I headed to the train station on Thursday. I had received notice that she’d be delivered either Thursday or Friday, so I wanted to be able to dress her in some fresh clothes.

I have a lot to do today before I drive to the set tomorrow, so I’ll make this short. I try to post whenever I have a chunk of  spare time so that I can check in with everyone.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, film, Jim Parsons, maeve, On The Road 34 Comments

Home, Briefly

November 13, 2021 at 9:29 am by Claudia

Greetings from the cottage.

To say I am wiped out is putting it mildly. On Thursday, which was a day off for us, I grabbed some stuff, threw it in a suitcase, and took the train home. Yesterday, I drove to the set, which took about an hour. Honestly, it’s a toss-up whether I should stay here or in the city because it takes about the same amount of time to get to the set. The only difference is that I have to add in travel time from Brooklyn to the van pick-up point in Manhattan. Plusses: I get to see Don, although briefly. I get to drive and ‘you don’t have to wear a mask’ (Ben’s quote.) Minuses: In the van, I don’t have to drive and I can take a nap. Plus, upending things in the middle of my established routine in Brooklyn throws me off. And I’ll miss two weekends in Brooklyn. But my birthday is next weekend, and I can spend it here with Don before I return to the city.

From a night shoot in Greenwich Village.

From a night shoot in Queens, looking across the East River to Manhattan.

The 59th Street Bridge aka Queensboro Bridge.

If you’re not already doing it, keep your eye on my Instagram account because I often post photos from the day. I can post quickly and you can get an idea of where I am and what I’m doing.

Honestly, most of it is a blur. What we filmed on Tuesday? I have no idea.

A new girl has joined our little Blythe family. I ordered her more than 2 months ago and she just arrived on Thursday – the day I got home. She journeyed from Moscow – getting out of Moscow took forever, then she was transferred to Poland, then to Germany, where she seemingly sat inside her box for about 5 weeks. In reality, some of that time was spent on a ship crossing the ocean. We lost all sense of where she was – the seller was also checking on her – and then, on Wednesday, the seller wrote me to say she was in the USA. Except she didn’t show on the any USPS tracking, so I didn’t fully believe it. But on Thursday, it showed she had arrived at my local post office and, because she was a registered mail package, they delivered the package despite the fact that it was a holiday.

A quick photo this morning of Maeve.

This is how she arrived. She also had an adorable bow in her hair but I removed it in order to get her hair to ‘unkink.’ The bow had been there a long time!

The girls. Sophie is holding a hedgehog on a cart, made by Gifts by Loubilou who has an Etsy shop. I’ve had the needle-felted sheep for a long time. The little Boston Terrier was found in a toy shop in Brooklyn.

More pictures later. Once I knew that Maeve was about to be delivered, I packed a dress for her to wear.

I’m crazy about these girls!

Today’s irony: I packed about 6 books to read while I am in Brooklyn and I have no time to read! But I did start the newest Louise Penny and I’m going to devote some time to reading a chunk of it this weekend.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Brooklyn, On The Road 32 Comments

Walking around Brooklyn

November 9, 2021 at 9:03 am by Claudia

I have a few hours free this morning (after getting up at 4:15 am yesterday and not getting home until 8 pm yesterday) because we have two late shoots in a row. I’ll be working until midnight tonight and tomorrow. This topsy-turvy schedule!

I had a nice weekend, just laying low, dropping off laundry at the laundromat, taking a long walk around the neighborhood on Sunday. At the same time, the NYC Marathon route was right at the end of my block, so I heard cheering and helicopters all day long – very exciting!

The brownstones in this neighborhood are beautiful. I never get tired of seeing them.

Brooklyn, especially in this area, is very lively – full of young and old people, and lots of kids. I walked down 7th Avenue, which has a lot of shops, and I counted four toy stores. One of them carried a whole bunch of New Yorker jigsaw puzzles! I picked up a few things that I needed, but mostly enjoyed the walk.

Also on the walk was a Barnes & Noble, but even better, a lovely book store called Community Bookstore. It reminded me of Oblong Books back home, with a great selection of fiction and non-fiction. Nicely curated.

Yesterday at 6:30 am in Greenwich Village. I was standing in line for my first Covid test of the week. I get three of them.

I love this particular section of Greenwich Village and I took a walk at lunchtime. This is one of my favorite bookshops in NYC – Three Lives & Co. They are in their temporary space for another 6 months as they wait for the building they’ve always been in to be remodeled. It’s still a lovely shop, with a wonderful energy, but I must admit, I miss the corner location with the old wooden floors and nooks and crannies. I heard an employee say they should be back in the original shop in the spring.

We finished filming at about 6:45 pm and I got home at 8.

Oh, and I met Sally Field yesterday. She dropped by the set to say hello.

She’s pretty darned cool.

The girls.

One of the nicest parts of my day off on Sunday was playing with my dolls. I dressed them in fresh clothing, brushed their hair, and posed them for some pictures.

Incredibly calming and a wonderful respite from the insane schedule of 14+ hour days.

I recommend it highly.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, bookstores, Brooklyn, coaching, dolls, film, On The Road 34 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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The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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