Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Imogen

October 9, 2021 at 9:38 am by Claudia

Yesterday, my server/host was apparently migrating accounts to a new system or something or other (after a bit, my brain shuts down all technical info.) That caused the blog to be down for some of you, which happened west to east through several time zones, which is why some of you saw “This account has been suspended” messages before I did. Not a good choice as it made us all look like we had done something wrong. I was also – and still am – dealing with a problem with the email associated with this blog. I’m not getting any of your comments sent to me, my replies aren’t being sent to you, and I’m not receiving warnings about attempts to hack the blog. That is still a problem and I have to call someone and deal with it today, though the tech I spoke to yesterday suspected it had to do with the migration. But, the blog is back up and running, and the other problem still exists.

The tech aspects of this blog can be exhausting. Anyway. I don’t think you’ll be receiving my replies in the near future until this gets ironed out, so just check back in later in the day to join in the conversation. Thanks for your patience!

I coached Ben yesterday and dealt with all the blog craziness, and in the middle of it all, this package arrived from Minsk, in Belarus. For quite a while, I was worried whether it would actually get here! What do you think was inside?

Meet Imogen! I’m besotted, my friends. I first saw her on Etsy and I fell in love with her gamine look. I couldn’t get her out of my mind. She has the most beautiful eyes, though I’m only showing you one set today. This is exactly how she came to me – in this outfit, with the bunny in her arms. The seller also included another dress, a hat, and a chocolate bar from Belarus with all the text in Russian.

I’ve always loved the name Imogen. She’s a character in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, which is where I first fell in love with the name. And there are actresses and famous photographers with that name. Truth be told, when I looked at her on Etsy, I knew that would be her name.

I’m so glad she’s here!

Sophie, ever cautious and shy, watched me unwrap her. And then they met.

Sophie seems to be saying “Who IS this?”

But soon enough, I could hear laughter from the den.

Imogen has faint freckles on her forehead.

There’s a whole world of “Blythe” body adaptions out there. Sophie has the standard body and her head doesn’t tilt at all. So that makes photographing her somewhat challenging, as her head tilts down a bit. Imogen came with what is called a neck adapter or neck joint, which is added to the original neck to brace the head and make it possible for the head to tilt forward, back and to the sides.

I have plans to adapt Sophie’s body and neck in the future. That’s a whole other conversation: what bodies to use, what neck adapters. Some of the videos I’ve watched are very helpful, but I’m also a bit wary of trying anything too risky. But, then again, I am used to cutting and building and adapting, so I suspect I’ll be fine.

It’s fun to have two of them to play with. Part of the fun is dressing them in the scads of clothes available out there and posing them for photographs. Some Blythe owners take such inventive photographs.

Okay. I have to coach Ben at one, have to figure out the situation with the email on my blog, blah, blah, blah.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: blog, Blythe dolls, Imogen, Sophie 13 Comments

Autumn, Secret Garden & Baseball

October 8, 2021 at 9:14 am by Claudia

Autumnal and Foggy Secret Garden.

It’s 9 am and it’s still very foggy out there! When I walked outside, I could hear the drip, drip, drip of water falling from the trees. It’s mysterious and wonderful.

Oh, Red Sox. Somehow, I think you’re not going to outplay the Rays. We’ll still cheer you on and of course, you never know, but I have this feeling. And no offense to Floridians, but I hate the indoor ballpark aka Tropicana Field. It looks fake. And I’ve been there in person. I watched a Yankees vs Rays game there with my sister and nephew several years ago. I understand of course, why it needs to be an indoor park, but on television – and in person – the colors look garish, there are ridiculous rules about the metal rings at the top of the dome and what happens if the ball hits the rings (which happened last night,) there are no outdoor sounds, and there’s no weather – it’s like an alternate world out of some movie.

Nevertheless, I applaud the Rays, especially since they aren’t a big budget team, like the Yankees or the Red Sox. Frankly, I think athletes earn way too much and it’s always refreshing to see a winning team emerge in spite of a limited payroll. “Limited” of course, only as compared to the astronomical salaries paid to professional athletes. Yes, their playing years are short, but so are the performing years of a professional ballet dancer and believe me, they don’t get paid anything remotely near that amount of money. Of course, I could go on with this and compare the salaries of professional athletes with teachers, and nurses, and grocers, and machinists, and bakers, and cooks, and on and on. It’s so skewed.

Well! I didn’t mean to go off on that tangent but that’s what happens when you write a daily blog. Posts aren’t planned ahead of time. They just spring forth out of the moment.

Something exciting is coming in today’s mail. I’ll share it with you tomorrow.

And we have an anniversary coming up next week…

There’s a problem with the email for this blog right now, so I’m not getting comments sent to me nor are my replies, etc., getting to you. My host is working on it. So check back if you want to read my reply! Thanks so much.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Filed Under: autumn, baseball, secret garden 10 Comments

Misty Morning

October 7, 2021 at 9:43 am by Claudia

More misty mornings.

Spider webs everywhere, leaves turning color, an altogether magical-almost-otherworldly landscape. That is one of the joys of autumn.

I am coaching Ben both today and tomorrow, so this has turned out to be a satisfying week of working almost every day. That  hasn’t happened in a long time! It’s wonderful to feel productive and valued and to have the opportunity to do what I do best. Though I am prone to the same doubts as everyone, I am good at what I do and I know it.

One of my former students wrote me the other day. One of the things I taught my students at both Boston University and the University of San Diego, was the International Phonetic Alphabet and its use in transcribing sounds and sound changes. Each symbol represents a sound (and there are far more out there than I had to teach my actors) and they are invaluable for transcribing sound changes for dialect work. Elisa, who I taught at USD, said this:

I was thinking of and channeling you today. After many years of not doing any IPA, I dusted it off today to transcribe Chinese. My son just started taking classes and I am working with him at home. Without IPA, I would not be able to capture the sounds that we need to have to refer to. At any rate, it’s not the original application, but I thought you might like to know that your teaching in phonetics helped me greatly in teaching my dyslexic son to read, and now I am passing my transcription skills to the next generation. 😊

Isn’t that the best? I can’t tell you how much this kind of thing means to me. To see it being used in a new and fresh way that adapts to Elisa’s particular situation is wonderful. I will hold this close to my heart.

I also had a former student reach out to ask me if I could send her the phonetic changes for a German dialect, which I somehow managed to find in my files. I sent them off to her, with the proviso that they were general and if she needed more specific regional sound changes, she’d need to research them.

The coaching and the interaction with former students all happened within the past four days, so I’m beginning to recognize my professional self again.

We stayed up late watching the Red Sox vs Yankees the other night. The Red Sox won, thank goodness (sorry, Yankees fans – I was perfectly willing to accept a Yankees win, if it happened) and tonight they start their 3 game series with the Tampa Bay Rays (my sister’s team.) The Rays are really, really good, so this will be interesting. We don’t often get to watch the Red Sox because we’re not in their broadcast area, so this will be fun.

Okay. Have to get going and put makeup on to zoom coach! After a year and half of no makeup, I’ve been wearing it quite a bit lately.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

 

 

Filed Under: coaching, red sox 21 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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