Mockingbird Hill Cottage

On this dark, dreary, and rainy day, I thought I’d share this little corner with you. We recently bought an inexpensive up light from Lowe’s. Remember Christopher Lowell, the decorator that had a show on HGTV? Back in the days when every show wasn’t like every other show? He loved up lights. This corner can be dark and we have a beautiful plant there as well as our vintage advertising from Paris and a Maxfield Parrish hanging on the walls. Don had been complaining that he’d like to see the artwork more clearly, so…up light. It makes a wonderful difference in that corner.

Yesterday was all about Don buying some 1 x 4s from Lowes, me measuring our big tarp and cutting it to fit the rear section of the shed roof, then Don up on the roof with me passing tools to him, getting the tarp in place and then nailing down the wood that will secure the tarp. I spent a lot of time inside the shed, tapping on the support beams so Don knew where to nail. It took several hours, but it’s done. Boy, were we tired afterwards! Today, we’re supposed to get an inch of rain, so we’ll see if the caulk and the tarp are working. Cross your fingers for us!

We’ll stay indoors today and start making calls about dental insurance for me and Don’s coverage for his eye. We have a week until our decisions need to be firmed up so I’m taking it slow and trying not to stress about it all.

And the Christmas tree will be purchased tomorrow or Wednesday, depending on the weather. I cannot wait to decorate this year! Oh boy, do we need it!

Select Blinds had a 50% off sale yesterday, so I ordered two more mini blinds, this time, for the bedroom windows. That should do it for a while, though the bathroom will need one eventually. In looking back through my planner for this year, I saw that I had it on my list of things that needed to be done this year. Hey, I actually accomplished a goal! (Actually, several items on the list have been ticked off.)

The dollhouse may have to be ignored for a few days as I sort out insurance and we decorate for Christmas, as well as organize the interior of the shed and put things away for the winter. But I hope to be back at it next week.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Life is a little overwhelming lately.

Our 2001 CR-V has, we think, reached the end of the road. For a long time now, starting it has been erratic. We finally figured out that it had to do with the auto-lock going crazy and disabling the starter. After watching countless YouTube videos, Don figured out how to get around it, but it doesn’t always work, so he hasn’t been using the car except to start it (when he can) and drive it a bit. He’s afraid to drive anywhere where he would have to turn it off because it might not start again.

Yesterday, he drove it to recycle and the muffler started acting up. It’s now hanging by a thread. We’ve patched that exhaust system so many times that it’s insane to try to do it again. Pouring more money into it seems ridiculous. It’s depressing.

My car is overdue for a 30,000 mile maintenance and the dealership is about a half hour away. Because of COVID concerns, I called them to ask the best way to do it. They said to make the appointment at least a week ahead of time, drop it off the night before and it would be ready at the end of the day the next day. That would mean that Don would have to follow me there and bring me back. I held off because of the starter problems on the CR-V, not sure if I would be able to commit to an appointment if Don’s car wouldn’t start.

I’ve been wrestling with this for a few months now. And now the CR-V can’t be driven.

We’re also about to nail a tarp to the shed roof – the rear of the roof is leaking because the strong winds around here have damaged those shingles (but not the ones in the front of the shed.) And there’s a leak from somewhere on the porch roof that is rotting the wood around our front door. We spent yesterday trying to figure out where it’s coming from and doing some caulking. Since we’re due to get very heavy rain tomorrow, we’ll see if any of the caulking makes a difference.

And this week we have to figure out insurance – whether Don’s eye treatments will be covered, and whether I can find some good dental insurance.

I’m getting more and more tense just writing this!

We need to work. We need some money coming in so we can deal with all of this. I am absolutely sure we’re not special as so many others are dealing with the same kind of concerns. They’d be concerns no matter what, but in the middle of a pandemic? Everything is more complicated.

I’ll end on something cute – our neighbors have chickens. We hear the rooster every day and we’ve had glimpses of them at their feeder. The other day I looked up and about 5 of them were in our yard and our woods. I called my neighbors to give them a heads up. (We didn’t mind them being on the property, we were just concerned for them.) I talked to the daughter who is the one raising them. She has ten! And they were surprised by one of the chicks being a rooster. Anyway, it was fun to hear their story and how surprised she was to discover they all have distinct personalities. I saw them in our yard again yesterday, but I didn’t have my camera with me. They’re really beautiful! (Don now wants chickens, of course.)

We call the rooster Mr. Pickens because his call sounds exactly like the “Whoo-hoo” cried out by  actor Slim Pickens at the end of Dr. Strangelove.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.