Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Sunday

August 29, 2021 at 9:42 am by Claudia

Sixteen years ago, we were about to move to this cottage. In fact, we moved to the cottage sixteen years ago tomorrow. Our cable had been turned off, we didn’t have smart phones, and after we moved, our cable wasn’t turned on for another five days. So we had absolutely no idea about Hurricane Katrina and its horrific impact. When we did finally get cable, we were horrified by what we saw.

I think of that today as another hurricane heads toward the Louisiana coast, one that’s strengthening as I write this. I’m praying for everyone in the path of this storm, hoping that if you’re able to, you’ve evacuated. I’ve been on the receiving end of a few hurricanes in my life, but none like this one. Please get out if you can. Stay safe. We are praying for you.

This has been a scary and heartbreaking week. Z was exposed to Covid, an attack on the airport in Kabul resulted in the deaths of innocent Afghans and American soldiers, my dear childhood friend just lost her husband to cancer yesterday, children are dying of Covid, forest fires in the West – believe me, there’s even more, but I’ll stop there.

And now this hurricane.

Don pointed out the eerie similarities between the lines of refugees trying to escape the Taliban and the lines of cars trying to escape Ida, both of which have been repeatedly displayed on our television screen. Leaving home wondering if you’ll ever get back there. And if you get back, what you’ll see.

That’s all I’ve got for today.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

 

Filed Under: life 16 Comments

Saturday Morning Thoughts

August 28, 2021 at 9:42 am by Claudia

It’s actually darker in here than this photo indicates. It’s a rainy morning.

Frankly, I welcome it. Don mowed most of the front lawn yesterday and I mowed the Secret Garden and weed whacked and pulled weeds. Normally, this would be no big deal, but it was very hot and far more humid than we had anticipated. I’m glad we got it done, but we were wiped out for the rest of the day and this morning I feel like incredibly lethargic due to the dreaded allergies.

Anyway, I plan to be a slug today and a gentle rain is the perfect backdrop for doing nothing. (Well, I’ll wash the towels and clean a wee bit, but not much more!)

I finished The Woman in Blue  by Elly Griffiths this morning and have started The Chalk Pit. By the way, it’s always best to read a series in order because most good writers develop the recurring characters over time and tracking all of that is half the fun of the reading experience.

Apropos of nothing, I still read several blogs and lately I’ve noticed some bloggers using another blogger’s post – usually once a week. They’ll give credit to the source, which is good, but isn’t that the equivalent of using someone else’s hard work to fill your space? Do they ask permission to use the post, I wonder? If I was their teacher, and I was a teacher for years, I’d call that a lack of originality, bordering on cribbing. I suppose they might frame it as passing along something neat to their readers. Okay. However, if that’s the case, why not link to the original post so the content originator gets the clicks and ad income? That’s the way it should be done.

As it is, they’ve done none of the work and research that went into the creation of that post. And in some cases, are making money off of it. Troubling.

One good thing – the humidity has broken and the temperature has dropped. Huzzah!

I intended to mention this a few weeks back, but better late than never. Happy 50th Anniversary to my dear cousin Eileen and her husband Woody, two of the finest people I know. Eileen reads this blog and I absolutely adore her. When I saw that their kids and grandkids had gathered together to celebrate the anniversary, I was reminded that I was a bridesmaid in that wedding! Fifty years: congratulations, dear ones!

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: blogging, books 26 Comments

Finally Relaxing

August 27, 2021 at 9:54 am by Claudia

From our foggy, dewy, soon-to-be-unbearably-humid garden. One more day of this crap and then we’ll have some relief.

This may be my favorite of the many zinnias blooming in the garden.

Also seen this morning, exiting after having flown into the center of a morning glory:

Love seeing the pollen on his legs.

I’m going to try to weed whack this morning before it gets too hot. Don is going to do a bit of mowing.

I’m just now relaxing after a very stressful and packed two weeks. It feels good. I officially started one-on-one coaching for the movie with a session yesterday afternoon.

I can now attend to some things around here – I haven’t painted in about 3 weeks due to a combination of things; needing a break, the whole Beacon Hill dollhouse trip, the initial email from Jim and then two weeks of wondering if I would get the job, discovering that the Beacon Hill smells musty, researching what to do about it and working on that when I wasn’t working on my interview for the movie job. And life.

Hopefully, I’ll get back to painting tomorrow when the temperature drops and the excess humidity leaves. Once again, we have a heat advisory today. August has been hellish, weather-wise.

Drum roll: yes, I’m going to say it now. I’m looking forward to Fall. Maybe August is what it is in order to have our bodies and minds accept and even welcome the seasonal change. It sure is this year.

Getting close to finishing The Woman in Blue  by Elly Griffiths. I have the next one in the series in my TBR pile. I find that even though I have lots of other books I want to start, I end up choosing the next Griffiths because I’m hooked.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: bees, books, flowers 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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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.

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