Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Day Three Hundred Fifty

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Finished.

You’d think this puzzle would have been easier than the Piano Lesson, but in some ways it was harder. Of course, the entire process was hampered by my back problems. The back is getting better, by the way. It will stay that way if I remember to be careful and manage my puzzle time – and refrain from sitting there for hours.

I neglected to take a picture of the box for the next puzzle project, but I’ll share it with you on tomorrow’s post.

Another lovely sunny day today. Don is going to retrieve the stockings full of salt (or maybe the salt has melted and they’re just empty stockings?)  from the gutter because it’s going to rain Saturday and Sunday. We don’t want them clogging up the works.

Exciting, right?

We’re watching a series on Amazon Prime –  A French Village. It’s all about a village that is occupied by the Nazis in WWII. It was recommended to us by a friend. It premiered in 2009, so it’s several years old, but we’re hooked. It’s really compelling and Don, especially, is fascinated by that time in history.

I’m enjoying The Moving Toyshop  by Edmund Crispin. Crispin is considered one of the stars of the golden age of British mysteries. He writes whodunits with wonderfully eccentric characters and has a wicked sense of humor, as well.

Other than that, I’m deleting tons of photos from my laptop, which is an ongoing process. And I’m trying to figure out why my iPhone won’t turn on sometimes, even when it’s charged. So far, and it’s only happened twice, if I plug it into my laptop after unsuccessfully trying to boot it up, it turns on immediately.

I don’t need a problem with my phone during this lockdown. There is no way I’m heading to an Apple store, the nearest of which is over an hour away from our house. And in a mall. Wish me luck.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Day Three Hundred Forty-Nine

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I’ve been babying my back, but I can’t stay completely away from the puzzle. I did some work yesterday afternoon, alternating between standing and sitting. I’m getting close to finishing.

It was just a few days ago that we had 3 more inches of snow and cold weather. And then, the next day, it started to warm up. I started checking our window to make sure there was no evidence of leakage and yesterday I went outside and climbed up on one of the mounds of snow in the Secret Garden and confirmed that the mounds of ice in the gutters had completely melted. It’s clear to me that they melted a while back as water has been freely flowing out of the downspout and into the rain barrel. Yay, nylons filled with salt! They really work.

We did make appointments to get our first dose of vaccines yesterday. I finally figured out that I shouldn’t take ‘no appointments available’ on the state sites as the last word. I clicked through to see the availability and found there were indeed appointments available at some sites – not every site. At the same time I was discovering this, I read an email from a reader that suggested I do that very thing! (Great minds, etc.) Anyway, I had to yell to Don to “Get over here!” in the middle of making an apple pie because I saw two appointments available back to back and I wanted him to grab one of them. Long story short, we got them. BUT. It’s not until April 9th and it’s quite a distance from our house  – like, a two hour drive away. We’re perfectly willing to do that in order to get vaccinated, but we’ll keep checking locally and if we find something earlier and closer, we’ll grab it and cancel the first appointment.

I will say it was an enormous relief to know we had an appointment. No matter what, we’ve got one and it’s only a little over a month away. All the frigging hoops you have to jump through to secure an appointment, let alone two, are insane. But you know that. Or at least some of you do, depending on where you live.

I’m reading The Moving Toyshop  by Edmund Crispin, as well as another book that I’ll review on Monday. It’s not the kind of book I normally review, but I thought I might find it interesting. We’ll see.

The sun is shining. The snow is melting. We have rain on the docket for Saturday and Sunday so that will melt even more snow. I know from long experience that none of this means that we will now be rid of snow for the season, but it’s nice to hope!

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Day Three Hundred Forty-Eight

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A little corner in the cottage – this is in the den. On the shelves: books, of course, a vintage lint brush, Scout’s paw print, and a little gem from Vintage by Crystal. Some egg cups are on their own set of shelves – most of these won’t fit in the cubbies, they’re either too tall or too wide. And a little duck family I found in a shop long ago.

It’s supposed to reach 47 degrees today. The melt will begin. I have no idea how long it will take to melt the 30 inches of snow we have on the ground, of course, but I’m ready for it to go.

We watched Supernova  last night. It’s a new movie starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci, about a couple dealing with Alzheimer’s. We rented it on Amazon Prime. Simply beautiful. Firth and Tucci are, as always, excellent. I don’t want to give away the plot, but Don and I spent a good deal of time talking about it afterward. It is very, very powerful.

We’ve seen Nomadland, The Dig, and Supernova in the past week – all of them excellent.

A book delivery yesterday – I’ve been wanting to read Underland  for over a year. I just heard about London Fog  (nonfiction) and it’s time to start reading some vintage British mysteries in the form of Edmund Crispin. Come to think of it, I think I read one of his books long, long ago, but I don’t remember it. My TBR pile is getting taller.

Other than that, we’re tired of isolating, tired of not being able to eat at a diner, tired of not being able to go to a bookstore in person, or to wander through an antique shop. Zoom and FaceTime are invaluable, but it’s not the same as seeing someone in person, is it? I’d like to be able to smile at people I see in a store or on a street without the smile being hidden by a mask. We’re in a temporary funk and we’ll come out of it. But this winter has been long and the pandemic has been even longer.

Ah well. I’m resting my back today, so I’ll be reading. But it’s sure hard for me to stay out of trouble. I like to do things and a surprising number of those things involve my back. So I have promised Don I will be a good girl today.

I just heard that my dear colleague, the stage manager of Anastasia, lost her husband to COVID yesterday. I can’t imagine her pain. I’ve worked with her on two Broadway shows and she is the most wonderful person. My heart breaks for her. And for her daughter.

Update: We have appointments on April 9th! It’s about an hour and a half away from us, but they’re back to back appointments and it’s worth it. We’ll call it Vaccine Day!

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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