Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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    • Hummingbird Cottage
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    • Dove Cottage
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    • The Folk Art Dollhouse
    • The Modern Dollhouse
    • The Beacon Hill Dollhouse
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A Driveway Bouquet

August 16, 2021 at 9:13 am by Claudia

We mowed the front lawn yesterday and I weed whacked, as well. With so much way-too-hot and humid weather in the past 10 days, we were behind. We’re still behind; the corral and back forty have to be mowed, as well, but at least the front of the house is looking neater.

In the middle of our driveway was this little bouquet which sprung up from the gravel:

It’s in the middle, so we don’t drive over it. Almost as if it knew the perfect place to be.

So, we’re tired today. Don is running some errands. I’m blogging. And then we’re going to take it easy as we’re driving to Pennsylvania tomorrow; actually, a town right outside Philadelphia, my old stomping grounds. The dollhouse seller and I have communicated and have come up with a plan to do this exchange safely. And the dollhouse will be on the porch, so we won’t have to go inside.

Yikes. A big old dollhouse is coming to the studio! I’ve already cleared a space on the work table. Dove Cottage has been moved to the sewing table where it used to be before Don gave me the worktable as a birthday present. Eventually, I’ll have to figure out where Dove Cottage will live, but we’re not quite there yet.

I’ll share pics of the Beacon Hill with you. It’s painted a rather bright yellow, the porch seems to be on crookedly, so that will have to be fixed, the shutters need to be repositioned, and the rooms are all painted dark colors and not very well painted, at that. I think I’m going to have to do what I did with Hummingbird Cottage – paint it all white, inside and out. That will be a base coat and then I’ll go from there, choosing wallpaper and a color for the outside. We won’t get back until late in the day, but hopefully, I can get some pictures as the sun floods that room in the afternoon.

Anyway…an adventure tomorrow. Bless my husband for being willing to do this. We have to use the Pilot, which I’ve never driven, and I wouldn’t want to do this alone. So my big, tall, strong husband will be at my side and we’ll take lots of quilts to cushion the dollhouse for its journey to our little cottage.

Am I crazy? Yes. But then, you knew that.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

Filed Under: dollhouse, flowers 24 Comments

Pet Portraits & Mask Info

August 15, 2021 at 9:45 am by Claudia

I’m late posting these beauties to the blog as they came during the period in which I didn’t have a computer and I wanted to give them their own post. My longtime blogging friend, Grace, is a wonderful artist. She painted a beautiful picture of Scout a while back, which I have hanging over my desk.

Grace recently did portraits of all our dogs. She posted them on Instagram and soon, they were winging their way from Canada to my post office box. I was stunned when I opened the package – stunned not only by their beauty, but by their generous size. They are extraordinarily beautiful.

They made me cry.

Winston, our first baby, with his favorite ball.

Scout, pouncing, with a twinkle in her eye.

Sweet Riley. I believe he was looking up at me from the porch.

Aren’t they beautiful? I don’t know how Grace does it. There is such detail. I can ‘feel’ Riley’s coat, remember exactly how it felt under my fingers. The same with Winston and Scout.

Oh, how I miss them all.

Thank you, dear Grace, for these priceless remembrances of our babies. You’ve given us such joy. For more on Grace and her beautiful pet portraits, visit her on Instagram at this link.

One more thing for today. Don is overdue for his next visit to the eye doctor, partly because his original appointment was canceled as the doctor had a family emergency. He’s been trying to reschedule but there was no answer at the office. Well, that’s because there was someone in the office – patient or staff, I don’t know – who tested positive for COVID. The office is closed until the middle of this week. He received an update on their protocol from them today: Only medical grade masks because cloth masks do not work on this variant.

I thought I should pass this information on to all of you. We use cloth masks, sometimes double masking. But I just ordered some N95 masks because we’re not going to mess around with this virus.

And what is happening in Afghanistan is breaking my heart.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: dogs, Riley, Scout, Winston 36 Comments

A Miniature Beauty

August 14, 2021 at 10:11 am by Claudia

Let’s just stop and take a gander at this miniature that arrived in yesterday’s mail – all the way from England.

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful.

This was made by Emma of Croft House Miniatures. She has an IG account that I follow. One day, she posted this piece, along with a smaller loveseat and an big ottoman, all upholstered in this vintage fabric that she’d had in her stash for years. I happened to go on IG right after she posted a photo of the pieces and I was stunned. I went right to the link for her Etsy shop and threw caution to the winds and purchased this piece. I knew I would regret it if I didn’t.

It’s a good thing I did, because the ottoman had already sold and this piece and the loveseat went, according to Emma, within seconds of each other. Fast forward only a week and it arrived in my mailbox yesterday.

It is beautifully made, solid and with heft, just like the June Clinkscales pink toile chair that I  have in Dove Cottage. The upholstery is impeccably done. I have it on the table next to my blogging chair and I can’t stop looking at it and holding it! It’s a true collector’s piece.

My goodness!

This is earmarked for the future Beacon Hill, which, unless something changes, we’ll probably retrieve on Tuesday. I tend to go with one signature piece in each room and then let the room evolve around it. This will definitely be the signature piece in the living room.

This is the link to Emma’s shop. My heavens, she’s talented!

Don and I had a long talk about the state of the world and our feelings of despair and anger and everything in between. We had to force ourselves to come back to gratitude. And we did. Quite frankly, all I want to do is retreat from the world here in our cottage, spend time with my husband, be creative, read, and start rehabbing that Beacon Hill. Of course, I have a few things to finish in Dove Cottage, but all of the major things are done. I can work on both at the same time.

I admit it: I’m not so crazy about people nowadays (present company excepted.) I’d rather be here. I need to work and when I do have work, I’ll venture out in the world. But in the meantime, I’m here.

I waited to write this until Meredith wrote about it on her blog. My nephew, Mere’s middle child, who is 24 and vaccinated, had a breakthrough case of COVID. He’s better now, but it lasted for two weeks. He was quite ill and lost his sense of taste and smell. He had now tested negative, but his taste and smell are coming back very slowly. Thank God he was vaccinated.

I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but, if you haven’t, get vaccinated. Now. And wear a mask.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

 

Filed Under: dollhouse, miniatures 28 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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