Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Friday Stuff

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The gardens are pretty darned lush at the moment. Everything  is blooming. I will miss this come autumn. I’m realizing how quickly the time flies by; even when we have hot weather that slows everything up and seems to last forever, suddenly we’re near the end of July. I want to stop time for a bit, freeze-frame this view, and keep it around as long as I can.

Today, I think it’s time for some weed pulling and trimming. It’s a bit cooler this morning and boy, is it a beautiful sunny day.

It’s been a tiring couple of days as we had problems with Don’s laptop and I was obsessed about finding the solution. Eventually, we did, but I worried that we’d have to buy a new one. Anyway, all that worry and the energy it takes to figure out what the heck to do really took its toll. We were wiped out yesterday afternoon.

We ran some errands the other day, stopping at the post office and the library and then at a bookshop in a neighboring town, where I found two used Jane Gardam novels I haven’t read. They are now on my TBR pile. I’m deep into Clete  by James Lee Burke. I’ve never been disappointed by any of his mysteries. He writes about crime and the subject matter can be rough, but my heavens, he is a poet. It’s a strange and wonderful combination.

I’m excited for the start of the Olympics. It will be a lovely distraction from the election and he-who-shall-not-be-named. Side note: a gymnast on the team from the Phillipines is the daughter of two of my former students. Yvonne and Anthony were students of mine when I taught at Boston University. They seemed as different as two people could be. Right toward the end of their time there, they started dating, which was a huge surprise. I remember talking to Yvonne about that and I was a little worried, since Tony was a bit of a playboy. Well, they’ve been together ever since, have three beautiful children, and live in Los Angeles. Tony is a fairly well known actor and has been a regular in a few TV series. Their daughter is Levi Jung Ruivivar, in case you’re watching. Jung is Yvonne’s surname, Ruivivar is Tony’s surname. Best of luck, Levi!

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Queuing For Books

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Well, some time has helped. I will not forget how Joe was treated – that is a given. The media and big money have a lot to answer for. But I’m thrilled with how quickly everyone got on board with Kamala and in my Threads feed, there is an excitement that I haven’t seen for a long while. Let’s go!

I did mow on Monday and ended up mowing the entire front lawn, then up the hill to the side of the house, finishing with the secret garden. I took a long break half-way through. But it was humid and I was really tired at the end. Nevertheless, it was satisfying and I think it did help my mood. Yesterday was spent trying to find small boxes in which to pack a couple of Etsy items, which I then shipped. I had another Etsy sale last night for a vase I’ve had listed since I first reopened the shop. I thought it would never sell. So I will pack it up this morning and send it off. I’m using the money from these sales to buy back my little Wren doll. Hopefully, there will be more sales soon. Fingers crossed!

I finished Bring Up the Bodies, the second book in the Wolf Hall trilogy, last night. Heavens, Hilary Mantel was an exquisite writer – the description of the execution of Anne Boleyn was so gripping. I’ll not soon forget it. I’ve ordered the third and final book, The Mirror and the Light, and it should arrive tomorrow. In the meantime, I was in the queue in our library system for Clete  by James Lee Burke, which was published about 6 weeks ago. I put a hold on it early, was #3 in the queue, but for weeks there was no movement whatsoever. I kept thinking something had gone wrong. I could see that it was “on the shelf” in a number of libraries, but there continued to be no movement. Finally, I was #2, then #1, then NOTHING. Over the weekend, I took matters into my hands and scanned the list to see if it was on the shelf in a library relatively close to me. It was – just about 15 minutes south of us. I called them Sunday morning to verify that it was on the shelf – yes – then I drove there and checked it out.

This comes under the heading of “Why didn’t I think of this before??”

So, today I will begin to read Clete, written by one of my favorite authors.

It’s been raining and that will continue through Thursday. (I’m glad I mowed!)

Don just finished a book by Jim Harrison, another favorite author of mine (and a Michigander) who died a couple of years ago. He’s also very much into Walt Whitman at the moment.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Angry, Sad, and Tired

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Friends, I am going to write very little today. I’m still processing what happened yesterday and I have a lot of anger at the media, big money donors, and several Democrats. I’m on Threads, by the way, and that is where you will see me post on politics and where I curse, praise, and vent. Same handle as my main IG account.

I’m mostly very sad.

Anyway, I’m really tired because I didn’t sleep very well. I have to mow today and Don isn’t feeling well, so it will be a long day of solo mowing chunks of the front lawn, taking a break, and then going back at it. (I’m going to be smarter about all of this,) All this has to be done because it is going to rain off and on starting late this afternoon through Thursday or Friday. And by then the lawn would be way too long.

Personally, I think the physical work will help burn off some of my anger. Maybe.

If it isn’t obvious, I enthusiastically support Kamala Harris.

I promise to be back with a longer post on Wednesday.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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