Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 546 — Life in our little cottage in the country

Anniversary

October 12, 2019 at 11:08 am by Claudia

21 years today.

I searched for recent photos of us together and there aren’t that many. Or there aren’t that many that I consider worthy of posting. But these two photos together, I believe, capture our happiness. The wedding photo captures our joy that day. The recent photo captures a quieter joy, the joy we find in each other, the joy in traveling this life of ours together.

Both of them capture who we are and who we were.

I never expected, or necessarily wanted, to be married. And I don’t think I could ever have made that commitment to anyone but Don. The fact that two people from completely different parts of the county came together 25 years ago is nothing less than a miracle.

That we loved each other enough to make this commitment is another miracle.

And that our marriage has always been solid and strong and loving – that love growing with each passing year – is yet another miracle.

We married 21 years ago today. It was Columbus Day. We were in Nevada City, CA where Don was doing his one-man show, Jeeves Take Charge (he was brilliant). Don and our friend Lynn planned the whole thing, really, because I was working in San Diego. Don’s brother and his wife were there. Our friends Claire and Phil were there as well. Phil was Artistic Director of the theater where Don was performing. We chose the 12th because it was a Monday and Don’s day off.

We wanted a small, meaningful wedding. We didn’t want to make our families, mine especially, fly across the country and incur that expense. We didn’t want the pressure of all of that. We just wanted to commit to each other in a small, intimate ceremony. We wanted to be present for every moment of it.

And that’s what we did. We remember every bit of that ceremony, a ceremony where I came down a flight of steps in a cast (I had broken my ankle in a fall,) leaning on my sister-in-law. Where, the minute I looked down the stairs and saw Don, I started crying and couldn’t stop, where Don saw me and started crying, and soon, everyone was crying. It was utterly beautiful in every way.

Afterward, we went for a horse-drawn carriage ride through the streets of Nevada City and then dined in a private dining room with our friends.

Perfect.

I love this man more than words can describe and I’m so grateful that he loves me.

Happy Saturday.

Flowers, Ferns, Friends & What Are You Reading?

October 11, 2019 at 10:27 am by Claudia

Soon it will be time to bring the fern inside for the winter. I’m not sure where the heck I’m going to put it – probably upstairs in the office. The ideal place for any plant in this house is the kitchen table, but now Don is no longer allowed to eat lunch on the sofa in the living room, we eat at the table. Last year, if you remember, we had the fern on the table and it took up most of the surface.

Just for comparison, here’s how the fern looked when I first put it back outside in the spring. And when it had fallen twice due to high winds. It’s come a long way.

We won’t mention what’s happened to the sideboard.

Although, to tell you the truth, I really like it this way.

Yesterday I was out running errands and I stopped at a favorite antique center. I’ve mentioned Fox Run Antiques before, as I have purchased several things from her – including the egg cup cubby. Well, I met her yesterday! She happened to be working on her booth. So nice to finally meet someone I admire. Sydney has excellent taste. Her first words to me, after I introduced myself, were “Kindred spirits!” And we are.

Seven morning glories were in bloom yesterday on this little patch of vine. I love my morning glories and I’m so grateful that they survived the deer onslaught and are blooming. Lots of buds visible, as well, so we should have blooms for the next two weeks or longer – I don’t see any hard frost temps on the long-range weather forecast. Fingers crossed.

Don’s off to recycle and take some portraits. I’m going to do some cleaning.

I wanted to tell you about the relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals – Sean Doolittle. He is a big reader and a fan of Independent Bookstores. He’s made it his mission to visit a bookshop in every city he travels to and then post about it on Twitter. His handle is: @whatwould DOOdo – and his name on Twitter is Obi-Sean Kenobi Doolittle.

Is it too soon to ask this question again? (I asked about two weeks ago, but two weeks is a long time in book reading and I figure you might have some new titles to share.)

Anyway, here it is: What are you reading?

Happy Friday.

Back in the Blogging Saddle

October 10, 2019 at 10:13 am by Claudia

I’m back. I called my internet provider on Tuesday and the tech said that the signals coming from our modem were very weak and he scheduled an appointment with another tech yesterday afternoon.

In the meantime, the modem was in and out all morning long yesterday, so each time I started to write a post, the wifi/modem would go out. I finally gave up, posted on IG that we had internet problems, and hoped you all would check there. If I can’t post and I can get to my IG account, I’ll always let you know what’s going on.

The tech arrived, couldn’t find anything wrong with the modem (though we agreed that it’s probably time for a new router) and he went outside and checked the cable going into our house and then drove down to the road and climbed a huge ladder. At one point I heard voices and realized my neighbor was out there talking to him. I ran outside to chat with her and, sure enough, they were having problems, as well. Then, as I was headed back inside, my other neighbor walked down her driveway and talked to the tech. Clearly, it was a neighborhood thing – which the tech confirmed. He found out there had been a crew working all morning elsewhere in the neighborhood and everything looks okay now. A day or so before I called them, I noticed them working at another neighbor’s house. So it’s been ongoing for a week or so. More info than you really needed, but there you go.

Leaves and more leaves. Today it’s supposed to be a bit windy…so more leaves. But it’s awfully pretty out there.

I’ve started reading Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers. I’m not too far into the book yet, because my time has been taken up by wifi/internet. But I like it so far. Oh, forgot to say, yesterday’s impending visit by the tech necessitated a major desk cleanup by my husband because that’s where the modem and router are. I had been gently asking him to clean up his part of the office for quite some time – to no avail. It was a MESS of stacks of paper, photos, mail, files, memorabilia from the run of Escape to Margaritaville, camera stuff, etc. With a deadline, Don had no choice but to go through everything with a ruthless hand. Huzzah! It looks much better now.

I’ve never seen the limelight hydrangeas look as spectacular as they do this year. That color is so intense! Gorgeous.

We’re into Season 2 of Goliath on Amazon Prime. We really love it. I’m partial to Billy Bob Thornton, who is one of the most honest actors I’ve ever seen. Not a false move. And Tony Award winner Nina Arianda, his costar, is the same. She is simply wonderful. (Don’s crazy about her.)

I just finished Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnick, a series of essays he wrote for The New Yorker, when he and his family lived in Paris 20 years ago. I recommend it highly if you’re at all interested in Paris, Parisians and the differences in our cultures. Gopnick still writes for The New Yorker and I’ve been a fan for a long time.

A reminder that I’ve disabled my comment reply plugin, so you’ll need to check back if you want to read my reply and the comments of your fellow readers. Thank you!

Okay. Glad to be back!

Happy Thursday.

Anniversary

Flowers, Ferns, Friends & What Are You Reading?

Back in the Blogging Saddle

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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