Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Day Three Hundred Nineteen

January 26, 2021 at 10:17 am by Claudia

This is what I ended up doing yesterday afternoon. I ignored the dollhouse and started on this. Both the dollhouse and puzzles are calming for me, but jigsaw puzzles (and crossword puzzles) are the most calming – a form of meditation, if you will. I love John Derian’s puzzles. As far as I know he only has three designs, the one I just finished, this one, and one of a cat. I’m not a cat person, so that particular design doesn’t call to me.

This is based on an old map of NYC. Here is what it will eventually look like:

We’re getting snow today. We’ll have somewhere between 1 and 4 inches by tomorrow. There is a chance for a winter storm with more accumulation next Sunday and Monday. We’re looking forward to watching the snow fall today. First of all, it’s pretty. But mostly, it’s something different. Since we’re basically indoors these days looking out at a barren landscape and every day seems the same, something like snow ends up being exciting.

These guys (all 8 of them) have now discovered our yard. This was taken from the kitchen window. We’re fascinated by them. Our neighbor has informed us that the rooster is aggressive, so we’ll make sure to stay away from him. On one hand, it’s slightly annoying to me that they are now free-ranging on our property, but on the other hand, they’re interesting and we get a kick out of them. And don’t they eat ticks? Am I remembering that correctly?

They sure do lay pretty eggs.

I’m almost finished with my book and then it’s on to Winter Solstice.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: animals, jigsaw puzzles 48 Comments

Day Three Hundred Eighteen

January 25, 2021 at 10:31 am by Claudia

Cold. Very cold. Sunny. Snow tomorrow. But it doesn’t look like we’ll get a lot, just a few inches which is perfect.

Sleepless night. I have no idea why. I wasn’t worrying about anything. It was just one of those things that happen. Luckily, I don’t have to be anywhere, to coach, to have my wits about me, so I’m just going to go with the flow.

The last of my mini orders (for the time being) arrived the other day. These are from an Etsy shop called Mini My Eye. I purchased something from this shop when I was decorating Don’s mini studio. The owner uses postage stamps as artwork. And she has a wonderful variety of stock.

This is called “Les Muses,” painted by Maurice Denis in 1893.

This is a Japanese painting, “Kimono with Iris Pattern” by Saburosuke, painted in 1927.

Gorgeous. I’m not sure where I’ll end up placing them. To be determined.

The frames are a bit more gold than the photos indicate.

I’m going to putz around in the studio today. I have to sand the spackle that I added. And then I have to figure out what paint I want to use on the portion of the wall that isn’t wallpapered, then wallpaper, but that will probably won’t happen for a couple of days.

And I have to do some straightening up. If it gets too cluttered up there, it drives me a little nuts.

We watched PBS again last night. We love All Creatures Great and Small. Excellent! Everyone is pitch perfect, as is the setting and the costume design. Not as crazy about Miss Scarlett and the Duke. It’s okay. We’ll certainly watch it, but it’s not as well acted, nor as well written. For example, we couldn’t believe that Miss Scarlett couldn’t figure out that the bad guy was wearing a fake beard in the first episode. We sure could – we saw that coming a mile away. Anyway, the set and costume details are wonderful. It’s Mystery-lite, which is just fine.

Don just ran to the grocery store to pick up a few things. Oh, speaking of Don, he just put up a link to another of his songs. This one has always been one of my favorites. Here is the link to his post on FB, which will have a link to the song. It’s the first post on the page. The song is Guess I Still Get Crazy.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: dollhouse, miniatures 32 Comments

Day Three Hundred Seventeen

January 24, 2021 at 10:08 am by Claudia

From yesterday morning. The sunlight and shadow on the pew was so lovely.

Very, very, very cold here today and it looks like it will be that way throughout the week. As so often happens in really cold weather – at least here – the sun is shining brightly. We may not want to be outside, but we do have sunny skies.

I’m trying my best to stay away from the news, only checking in once a day. I need to let go for a while. I imagine we all feel that way. I need calm. A good and incredibly competent man is now at the helm and I trust him. Isn’t that refreshing? It’s been hard for me to read for any length of time, though I have been. But I want to return to big chunks of time spent reading. Today, as I sit here, the sun is bathing the kitchen with its warmth and Don is upstairs getting ready to record a song. A good Sunday.

We’ve officially named the former office/studio The Studio. That’s really what it is now. I work on my miniatures. Don records his songs. It’s our creative space. Don also records downstairs in the living room. His recording studio is nicely portable. We start each day checking in on who needs the studio that day and when. All good.

I’m still reading Cruel Acts  by Jane Casey. Once I’ve finished, I’ll start Winter Solstice. We’re watching a great series on Netflix, Call My Agent. It’s from France so there are subtitles, but it’s wonderfully done. Rick and Doug recommended it to us.

Today? I’m not sure. Reading. Watering the houseplants. Washing the sheets. Dusting.

I hope everyone is feeling some peace this week. You deserve it.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: life 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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