Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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“One Nation, Under Guns”

May 25, 2022 at 9:04 am by Claudia

Soul crushing.

This is what I wrote this morning:

I no longer have faith in this country.

Money and power fuel every decision. Every bit of legislation.
Innocent citizens become the ‘collateral damage.’

America is no longer what I once thought it was.

It has succumbed to madness.

People buying groceries, going to church, going to the movies, attending a concert. Children going to school. People going about their lives who are gunned down because our politicians are financed by the gun lobby and the NRA and will do NOTHING to stop the easy access to guns. That money is more important to them than the lives of innocent Americans.

No “thoughts and prayers.” I have news for you: God wants you to take action. Use your free will for something good.

I lost a beloved student to gun violence. He was murdered by a 17 year old girl who had easy access to a guns.

If I was younger, I’d leave this country. I no longer recognize it. I want nothing to do with it. Yes, I know we should fight. But, I’ve fought all my adult life and at this point, I’m damn tired.

Anyway, we can’t afford to leave. We’re stuck here.

Please, no lectures on taking action or voting or any of that. I have always been politically active. I never miss an election. I always vote. I donate to Everytown. I donate to the ACLU. I donate to the candidates I believe in. I sign petitions. I make calls. I write to my Senators and Representatives.

I’ve had it.

A word to the wise: If you’re going to leave an anti-gun control comment here, it will be deleted.

My father, when I was young, belonged to the NRA. We often argued about that. In later years, he left that organization. He wanted nothing more to do with it as it had become something he no longer recognized. The NRA had succumbed to the desire for power and money and control.

Always follow the money.

Every day, every hour, we hear of new atrocities. We see politicians selling their souls for power. We see them ignore climate change, health care, gun control. We see a Supreme Court that is bought and paid for.

Women are being forced to carry babies to term because of the ‘right to life’ but apparently that doesn’t matter once those babies are born. Then it’s every child for himself. Good luck kids!

In Texas, you can’t get an abortion, but you can purchase an AR-15 when you turn 18.

Amanda Gorman, the young poet, said this: “One nation, under guns.”

I’m rambling, I know. I’m heartsick.

Thank you for your wonderful comments yesterday. If you don’t mind, I won’t respond to them. I just don’t have it in me today. But please know they are appreciated.

Hug your loved ones today.

Stay safe.

 

 

 

Filed Under: life 47 Comments

It’s Those Decade Markers

May 24, 2022 at 8:15 am by Claudia

I have never seen so much fleabane on the property as I have this year. This photo was taken in the secret garden. The flowers cover the both sides of the stepping stones and the entire area bordering the back of the house that faces the garden. It’s amazing. I have to do some hop-scotch type moves to navigate the stepping stones. (That’s the rain barrel in the distance.) The petals are a combination of lavender and white. If I observed them more, I might notice if they start out as lavender and then change to white. I’ll try to figure that out.

It’s time to mow again. I’m not sure when we’ll do it, but it looks like we haven’t mowed in weeks when, in fact, we mowed less than a week ago. That’s the way of the world in the spring.

I’m starting to work on the finishing touches on Dove Cottage. I’ve been playing with the same mini pea gravel that I used in the rooftop garden on Hummingbird Cottage. I like it, but as much as I try to glue it down, it’s sort of impossible. And now I’m thinking that I need some stepping stones leading up to the door, with pea gravel around them. This pot of mums arrived yesterday. I have a few other things ordered as well. I need to finish this up and move it elsewhere so I can start in on the Beacon Hill while I’m still “young” enough to do all the work.

A glimpse into my mind right now: I’m headed toward my 70th birthday in November, and like all decade markers for me, it’s a time full of introspection. My posts about being an introvert come from that. I wake up some mornings panicked about how little time I might have left. Or panicked about how much stuff I have and realizing I need to make lists, provide information about all the things I collect (prices, provenance, etc.) in some big notebook. At the same time, I want to keep growing and learning and playing and creating – I don’t want to fall into the trap of thinking that possibilities are disappearing or fading. And all of that is up to me.

Thanks. I needed to share that so I could get some perspective.

Livvy: all set for summer.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, flowers, garden, livvy, miniatures 22 Comments

The Secret Garden, Books, and Pippa

May 23, 2022 at 8:51 am by Claudia

Yesterday morning in the Secret Garden. Wildflowers are springing up everywhere. There’s lots of fleabane and some wild phlox. It’s very, very wet there as we’ve had so much rain!

Wild phlox popping up in the rock garden.

Aside from mowing and planting the vintage pots, I haven’t done much else in this space. I’m debating whether to pull some of the weird grass that pops up in the path that leads to The Dude. Do I get in there and get rid of it, or do I just leave it there? No one can answer that question but me. And I’m feeling lazy at the moment.

It was incredibly hot and humid yesterday and, after some great time on the porch in the early morning, we stayed in. Both of us said that the combination of heavy humidity and pollen was making us feel tired and foggy-brained. I know that I felt completely out of it on both Saturday and Sunday. Later in the day, while talking to my sister on the phone, a big storm rolled in – though thankfully, not as big as the storms last weekend – and today it is much cooler around here. Hurrah!

I was reading one of my other books by Elizabeth George while in bed last night and I suddenly realized that I’d read it before, even though it was in my To Be Read pile. So I grabbed the other one that was also in that pile and started in….already read that one, too! Whoops! I think there’s only one Elizabeth George that I haven’t read and I’m going to order it from the library.

So this morning finds me looking around trying to decide what I’m in the mood to read next. In the meantime, I’m reading a short and delightful book from Slightly Foxed/Foxed Quarterly  – A Boy at the Hogarth Press  by Richard Kennedy. Kennedy worked for Leonard and Virginia Woolf for a while when he was young. It’s a lovely memoir of his time there, complete with his pen and ink drawings. Kennedy went on to be a well-regarded illustrator.

I grabbed a few moments outside yesterday and took Pippa with me:

Here she is in the memorial garden.

And in the secret garden:

The girls are enjoying the opportunity to explore the property.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, books, flowers, reading, secret garden 14 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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