Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Also found in the shed, this piece of pottery. It’s handmade and I have no idea where we got it. An art fair? I used to frequent a yearly fair in Balboa Park in San Diego. Was it a gift? It reminds me of something I would have purchased in my twenties when I was into earth tones. But, though this photo doesn’t show it at its best, it’s got a lovely glaze. Don likes it. Right now, it’s providing some height on the kitchen table.

It’s very cold here today so we are limiting our time outside working in the shed. It will be warmer tomorrow. It’s also windy. (What else is new?)

I was remembering the clothes chute in my childhood home yesterday. Did any of you have a clothes chute in your home? It was a feature of our little bungalow. A little door in the hall, which opened to a chute that went all the way down to the basement. We’d shove our clothes in, they’d fall down the chute and land in a laundry basket. The only place for a washer and dryer in our house was down in the basement.

We also had a milk chute. Same size as the clothes chute. It had an outside door that was easily accessed by our milkman. He would pull up in the driveway, open the door to the chute and place the milk bottles (glass, of course) inside. My mom, or one of us kids, would open the inside door, which was in the kitchen, and get the milk. When we were locked out, one of us kids would be lifted up by my dad, go head first through the chute, and then unlock the door.

Memories of another time when things were delivered to your door by people you knew by their first name. Our milkman happened to be our neighbor, who drove a truck for Twin Pines Dairy. We also had an eggman, a guy who had a farm where he raised chickens. He wore a leather jacket and a leather pouch on his belt, where he kept change. We’d yell out “The eggman is here!” and we’d let him in the house. He’d sit in my dad’s chair and count out how ever many dozens of eggs we wanted, placing them carefully in a bowl. Then he’d count out the change. He was a quiet man of few words and I can see him vividly to this day. I liked him.

We also had an occasional knife grinder and a guy who had a speaker in his truck who would drive slowly down the street saying (with an Italian accent) “Strawberries…nice, juicy strawberries!” We’d occasionally buy fresh fruit from him.

Very strong childhood memories. I miss the seeming simplicity of that era. I’m not idealizing it, of course, because there was much that was troubling, but a neighborhood with small business sellers coming right to your door is something we don’t see any longer.

Ah, well.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Somehow, the truck driver managed to place the dumpster near the shed. I watched (in horror) from the house because I knew he was going to put ruts in the lawn. He did. Large ones. On the other hand, it’s a heck of a lot easier to load things into the dumpster that way.

I think I’ll be hiding when he comes to pick it up. I’ll leave that to Don.

We cleared out at least a third of the shed, maybe closer to half. We’re really sore today so we’re taking the day off and then we’ll be back at it tomorrow. It’s very satisfying! Moldy books (heartbreaking, but true) – gone. Old paperwork – gone. Crap, broken chairs, rakes, old computers – gone. Old, broken down lawnmowers and air conditioners – gone. It’s fabulous!

I did go through some boxes that were marked ‘pottery.’ I knew these two figurines were in the shed somewhere and it turns out, they were near the front of the shed. Had I only known!

Wrapped up for more than 30 years, they were in perfect condition. My grandmother had these on her mantel and I loved them when I was a little kid – I was entranced by them. I remember staring at them every time we visited. They had been my great-grandmother’s. Years later, when Grandma was packing up her house in order to move in with my parents, she gave them to me. I was off on grad school and teaching adventures, living in tiny apartments, so they remained safely tucked away in a box. So glad I found them yesterday because losing them somehow in the clearing of the shed was unthinkable. Aren’t they lovely? They have to be at least 120 years old, most likely much older. They’re made of bisque.

I also rediscovered this, which had been in Gram’s china cabinet.

A little demitasse cup.

And we found some of our favorite framed artwork, which, it turns out, had been just inside the door all this time. I’ll share it with you as we clean it up, but one of our favorites was brought inside yesterday.

We bought this poster at Lake Louise many years ago, 21, to be exact. Don had been acting in a show in Calgary and we took a trip to Banff and Lake Louise on his days off. We stayed at the Fairmount Chateau Lake Louise to celebrate our first wedding anniversary – in the bridal suite. This reprint of a vintage Canadian Pacific advertisement stole my heart with all its 1920s details, captured from the interior of the same hotel in which we were staying. We had it framed in San Diego. I love it. It’s like seeing an old friend again.

Since I unpacked my great-grandmother’s china a couple of years ago and unpacked her figurines yesterday – all of which were on display in the family farmhouse in Orillia, Ontario – I thought this placement in the china cabinet was fitting.

Makes all the sore muscles worthwhile!

I cannot say enough about The Queen’s Gambit  on Netflix. We finished it last night. It is impeccably done. Set design, costumes, the incredible period detail, the acting, the story – all of it is excellent. If you haven’t seen it yet, I urge you to. I’m still thinking about it today and we’re already making plans to watch it again in the near future.

But first, the new season of The Crown.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Late last night we decided to cancel the dumpster (probably because we were tired and I was still under the weather and it was cold and we had a major wind/thunderstorm come through) and figured we’d tackle it in the spring. But I had some qualms, knowing we might not get to it in the spring with all the other chores needing attention. Nevertheless, Don called and left a message, apologizing for the late cancellation.

This morning he felt differently. Thought we should get it done. So he called the guy again, who, magically, hadn’t heard the voice mail. So the dumpster would have arrived anyway. It will be here soon. It’s definitely going to be cold this week, but the nice thing about having it for an entire week is that we don’t have to spend all day out there.

Sometimes we are guilty of waffling about a decision.

That storm last night? I went out on the porch (it was dark) to take the hanging plants down as the wind was suddenly scary. I’ve never been through anything like it – the wind was so intense that the rain was coming in sideways – right onto the porch. I couldn’t see, I could hardly move, and I got completely soaked, all within about 3 minutes. Wow.

So here we are, about to look into boxes. Some of them I’ll just get rid of,  like the ones full of records. Even though it breaks my heart, they are warped and worthless, so I’ll have to be ruthless and toss them. Other boxes will have to be gone through. There’s an old box spring in there – what were we thinking? We didn’t know about the prevalence of field mice in those early days. And a rusty shelf unit. And lord knows what else!

It will be good to have something keeping us busy as the OM insanely tweets from the White House and Quack Doctor Scott Atlas incites violence against the Governor of Michigan.

I propose changing the rules. When a new President is elected, he moves into the WH within 2 weeks. A fast and efficient transition.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.