Mockingbird Hill Cottage

We’re in the middle of a Nor’easter and it’s very rainy and windy. We need the rain, so we’re grateful. It’s sort of nice to have a ‘weather day’ and I welcome the feeling of feeling cozy and safe, tucked inside of the cottage.

We had a lovely, low-key day yesterday. We talked about our wedding day and the fact that I was wearing a walking cast on my foot that I had so hoped would be gone on October 12th, but my ankle hadn’t fully healed, so I had to cover the cast with a big white sock so it would match my dress. I only allowed one photo of me in the cast and only after the photographer told me I should have one and that I’d regret it if I didn’t.

Then we talked about the beautiful National Hotel in Nevada City and its long staircase that I was supposed to use as the ‘aisle’ and my insistence that I do that even with the cast on. My sister-in-law held on to me as we walked down the staircase, and as soon as Don saw me coming down the stairs with the cast, he started crying. Then his brother started crying. Then our two friends started crying and when I got to the point on the stairs where I could see Don’s face clearly and saw him crying – I started crying. I think the only person who wasn’t crying was the man who married us.

It was a simple ceremony and a beautiful setting, a gorgeous autumn day in Northern California. We took a carriage ride through town after the ceremony and since it was Columbus Day, a holiday, there were a lot of people out and about waving at us.

Then we had dinner with our friends in a private room. It was lovely.

By the way, in case you haven’t read about this before on the blog, we were in Nevada City because Don was performing in a one-man show “Jeeves Takes Charge” at the theater there. The theater was run by two friends of ours (they were at the ceremony.) We didn’t want a big wedding and we didn’t want our families to have to pay for travel. Frankly, I didn’t want a lot of fuss, nor did Don. We were in our forties and spending a lot of money on a big wedding seemed silly. Don was in Nevada City and another friend of ours was there as well helping Don shape his performance. So Don and Lynnie did a lot of the footwork and planning because I was back in San Diego working. I flew up there the day before the wedding, watched a matinee performance of Don’s show (he was incredible) and the next day we got married. When Don’s brother and his wife arrived the day of the wedding, we walked over to the car to greet them and saw his brother lying down on the car seat because he was in tremendous pain from a slipped disc. Nevertheless, they came and were there for us.

The best thing is that we remember everything about that day. Every detail of the ceremony is crystal clear. Because we decided that small and intimate is what we wanted, there was absolutely no stress. Just joy.

At the end of the ceremony, we were instructed to exchange two white roses every year in honor of our commitment to each other. Some years we remember and some years (like this one) we forget. Ah well. We’ll do it next year. Last year, or was it the year before?, we exchanged the roses at a lookout spot in the mountains. It was lovely. The other people at the lookout applauded.

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I’ll close with my heartbreak at the loss of Diane Keaton. I adored her. I wanted to be her. Annie Hall was life changing for me. And since then, I have seen everything she has done, read her books, followed her restorations of several historic homes, watched her with her dogs (she loved them) and her adopted children. I’ve marveled at her style, her wit, her kindness, her bravery, her determination to live life her way. She was authentic. She was a gift to all of us. When I saw the first reports that she had died, I was sure it was some sort of internet hoax. The news originally came from People  but had not been confirmed by any major news source. So I had some hope it was not true. But it was. This one really hits me. How can Diane Keaton not be here on Earth? How could this magical being leave us?

Hackman, Redford, Keaton: too much loss this year. We’re nearing the end of an era of a kind of filmmaking that is fast disappearing.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Well, the morning glory didn’t make it. It looked fine when we first removed the tarp, but as the day went on the leaves withered. I recognized the signs. I’m very sad. The fact is that for years morning glories started to bloom here in August and had lots of flowers through September. But for the past 5 years or so, the buds do not emerge until late September – early October and that’s a recipe for failure. And there were so many buds! (And I sowed my seeds even earlier this year.)

Climate change is real.

I have two options: stop sowing morning glory seeds altogether or sow them in pots and see if that works better.

Anyway, I spent the day yesterday washing the sheets we had under the porch pots while they were in the house, cleaning up the porch, lugging each pot back to the porch. vacuuming the floors because there was a lot of plant debris, and watching hundreds of catalpa leaves float to the ground. And, if I’m honest, checking and rechecking the morning glories in case they somehow magically revived.

Then I watched the baseball team of my childhood years lose to the Mariners.

I can’t help it. They’re so darned cute.

Tomorrow is our 27th wedding anniversary. We’re always amazed that two people who didn’t meet until they were in their forties have been married this long. We’re very proud of our marriage. Don was twice divorced when I met him. I was marriage and commitment shy. Extremely so. That we hung in there and decided to take a giant risk is a miracle. We work hard at this marriage and it is everything to us. And I’m so, so lucky to have this man in my life.

So Happy Anniversary to us on October 12th!

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

I walked around the property yesterday, taking photos of plants and trees that would be in peril after the frost. The limelight hydrangea, at its most intense pink color, will turn brown.

The catalpa will drop all its leaves.

The late rose buds are in peril.

Maybe the wildflowers? We’ll see.

Don and I brought in all the porch plants. They’re scattered throughout the living room and den. I had an idea for the morning glories: place our stepladder in its upside down V shape over the morning glories, place a tarp over that and pin it with clothespins to the fence and some other supports in the garden. We also placed a cover over the zinnias as I noticed there are some new buds there.

It’s only 34 degrees at the moment. We slept in today and it was 32 when we woke up. I’m going to wait until the temperature hits 40 before I take the tarp off the morning glories. Fingers crossed! All you can do is try your best, right?

It’s a beautiful morning with abundant sunshine. There is still frost on my windshield. I can see the catalpa leaves falling. Catalpas drop a few leaves in early fall, but for the most part, leaves stay on the tree until the first freeze.

We’ve been watching a lot of baseball playoff games, as well as Alias, so we’ve been juggling high stakes tension-filled programs every night. As a consequence, we have been up a bit later than usual. That’s why this morning’s extra hour of sleep was such a delightful and unexpected surprise. We needed it.

Glad to hear the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to someone who has actually spent a lifetime working for peace in Venezuela. Congratulations to Maria Corina Machado!

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.