Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 446 — Life in our little cottage in the country

Day One Hundred Fifty-Six

August 16, 2020 at 9:33 am by Claudia

The rear of this scene is the tree that was cut in half by the hurricane. The arborist said that maples always split that way. Anyway, at some point this week, we’ll hear when they’re coming, though this guy is a bit off-putting. Just a bit terse, could easily go to cantankerous. But we don’t have to love him, right? Especially since we’ll be hiding in the house.

The morning glories are okay, but there aren’t nearly as many vines as in previous years. It might be due to the drought we’ve been in. I also didn’t add any fresh soil this year because of the pandemic, so that might have been a factor as well. I barely remember buying the seeds, I grabbed them so quickly. It was my first trip outside the house with a mask on and I was nervous. I swept through the nursery very, very quickly. So I’m a bit surprised at the color, but I like it.

Overslept again. And again it was because I woke up in the middle of the night and stayed awake for about an hour. I’m also very congested and feeling a tad under the weather so I think that is contributing to the long sleep. Poor Don. He was waiting for me to get up so he could make a run to the store. (He just got back.) He wanted to get the whole thing done before the store got crowded. Bless him for doing that.

We watched Grand Hotel last night, one of my favorite movies. Don is now fascinated by Garbo. She really was one-of-a-kind and, in addition to being incredibly beautiful, she was a wonderful actress. The scene where she and John Barrymore are in profile, looking into each other’s eyes, is mesmerizing. And I think Lionel Barrymore’s portrayal of Otto Kringelein is his best work ever – beautiful, touching, funny, moving. Grand Hotel and Dinner at Eight, made a year apart, I think, are automatic “we have to watch this” movies. If you get TCM and have On Demand, they’re both available at the moment.

I’m very much into Hamnet now. My lord, it’s written so beautifully.

The weather is a bit cooler this weekend and we had some light rain this morning, which was lovely, though I don’t think it’s quite enough to keep me from watering.

I hope all is well with you.

I’m taking it easy today.

Don is still outside disinfecting everything.

He deserves a second cup of coffee, don’t you think?

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Day One Hundred Fifty-Five

August 15, 2020 at 9:25 am by Claudia

I’m running late because I slept in. Goodness, that throws me off! I woke up in the middle of the night and was awake for at least an hour or so, all the time wondering if I’d get back to sleep. I guess I did – when I came downstairs, Don said he was getting ready to come upstairs and check on me!

Anyway, I have a deadline for posting if I want the post to go out via email. I have yet to make our second cup of coffee because I’ve just finished the first and Don is now in his morning meeting, well after our normal coffee-sharing time.

But hey, I got a good night’s sleep.

Yesterday, both of us were having a hard time with the continued isolation. We’re restless. It’s been five months, nearly half a year – and a year at this stage of our lives is precious. We’re doing well, we are grateful that we have each other during this crisis, we are usually pretty positive. But the state of our country, the selfish Covidiots who continue to add weeks and months to our self-isolation because they need to go to a restaurant or bar or to the beach, Orange Man, who won’t do anything about the coronavirus but will put all his energy into stealing the election – it’s too friggin’ much.

We’re restless. We want to flee to some other sane country.

Hopefully, we’ll have a better attitude today. I know I’m saying nothing new. We’ve all experienced this in the past five months. It’s to be expected. We took a short drive yesterday and that helped.

Back to being positive!

I finished the new Michael Connelly and I’m back to Hamnet. I’m going to give myself a nice chunk of time today to really immerse myself in the story. I also have the newest Country Living and Country Home set aside to read.

It’s a beautiful day.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Day One Hundred Fifty-Four

August 14, 2020 at 9:42 am by Claudia

Since it’s going to be hot and steamy today (what else is new?) I thought I’d stay here on the porch after our cup of coffee and blog from the glider while it’s still pleasant outside. The wi-fi is just fine out here. I used to do this more often when Don was out of town, but I tend to forget that it’s a possibility. (Traffic noise is a pain in the tush, but if I can block it out on any particular day, I’m okay.)

Yesterday, Don took down much of the chicken wire fence that enclosed our corral. There has to be a way for trucks to get up to the area where half of the maple has fallen as well as the two dead ash trees that have to come down. And he needed a project. But he told me he felt a wave of sadness because we were taking down the enclosure for our dogs that had been there for nearly 15 years. It needed to be taken down because it was rusty, had pulled apart in places, and it just plain looked crappy. But, my thoughts have been full of our dogs since yesterday. We kept the ‘chute’ that enclosed the area just outside our kitchen door. That’s where Scoutie would run down the hill and leap into the kitchen. Plus, that section of fence and another section beyond that are part of my memorial gardens and I currently have morning glory vines growing there. The trucks are going to have to go in on the far side of that fence. I’m not taking down my garden just when it’s taking off.

This whole thing is a pain. Our plans for next year (if we’re finally earning some money) are to enclose a future vegetable garden with deer fencing and construct some raised beds. It will be in the sunniest and flattest part of the former corral.

My package from Italy arrived yesterday. Miniature happiness.

Oh my goodness. This was made by a woman named Carlotta who lives in Bologna, Italy. I discovered her Etsy shop when the annual Kensington Dollhouse Festival (in London) did a virtual show this year. They had to cancel their annual show due to COVID. They highlighted many of their usual exhibitors and had links to their webpages or Etsy shops. I clicked on Cinen, Carlotta’s shop, and fell in love with her work.

This is the kind of piece that would usually be used by a miniaturist in a miniature shop of some kind, but I think of it as a large vintage piece of furniture, formerly in a shop, that the ‘owner’ has repurposed in her living room. This takes up most of the wall in the living room section of Dove Cottage, which will (hopefully) consist of an eclectic mix of vintage styles, patterns, tchotchkes, etc. I can’t wait to fill it with books and pottery and art. Those twelve drawers open. What fun it will be to fill them!

Forgot to add that the original piece was a bit too tall for my little cottage, especially considering I haven’t even put the floor in yet. I messaged Carlotta and asked if it would be possible to make it about a half inch shorter. Frankly I figured this would be a no-go, but she said yes. She had to reconfigure everything, including drawer size, and she did it all for the same price as the original. It arrived after 14 days in transit, beautifully packaged and intact.

I couldn’t make anything like this. With my modest means, I do try to support miniaturists when I can. Their skill continues to astound me and I like having their pieces in my little houses. I guess you could say that I collect artisan miniatures. And I am head-over-heels in love with this piece.

Today – and don’t be jealous – we take the old chicken wire to the dump. I know…what a fast-paced, celebrity-filled life we lead!

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Day One Hundred Fifty-Six

Day One Hundred Fifty-Five

Day One Hundred Fifty-Four

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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