Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

  • About MHC
    • Disclosure
  • Dollhouses/Minis
    • Hummingbird Cottage
    • The Studio (Formerly TSP)
    • Dove Cottage
    • The Lake House
    • The Folk Art Dollhouse
    • The Modern Dollhouse
    • The Beacon Hill Dollhouse
    • Dollhouse Source List, Information and Tutorials
  • On the Road
  • Collecting
    • Roseville Pottery
    • McCoy Pottery
    • Egg Cups
    • Bakelite
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy

Day Twenty-Three

April 5, 2020 at 10:13 am by Claudia

I briefly considered ignoring my egg cups during this Easter season, but I relented yesterday afternoon. I’m sharing a group of them every day via Stories on Instagram. I try to change it up each year. But, some of you don’t follow IG, so here is the first group – just for you.

Gosh, the plus of the blog is that they’re so much easier to see.

Top row (left to right):

  1. The Art Nouveau silver egg cup we found in Paris last year. It’s tiny and it’s exquisite.
  2. From Chambéry, France, two groundhogs looking down on a chalet and the Alps.
  3. One of my favorites; an artist bunny rabbit painting an egg.
  4. A blue chick with a removable tail that functions as a salter.

Second row:

  1. A white bunny rabbit with an orange cup on his back.
  2. A rooster, duck and an egg cup on the grass.
  3. Two bluebird egg cups from Germany.
  4. A Scottie dog

Third Row:

  1. A dog in a suit and hat.
  2. A little boy dressed as a cowboy.
  3. A little boy with a scarf.
  4. A little boy dressed as a clown with his dog.

Fourth Row:

  1. A man.
  2. Two rabbits holding up an egg cup.
  3. A rabbit smoking a pipe, standing outside his egg cup cottage.
  4. From Italy, a Sevi egg cup – this one a girl with blonde hair & a knit cap.

It’s fun to share these every year. I have a lot of cups in the cubbie, but I also have several that are scattered throughout the house. I’ll post the second installment today on IG.

Here we are at the beginning of another week; day 23 for me. On the whole, I’m getting used to it but I do have days where I want to let out a little scream of frustration. However, it goes away quickly when I give myself a stern talking to. We’re all sacrificing – at least most of us are. I still see a lot of activity coming from some of my neighbors, who seem to remain a bit clueless.

We needed some over-the-counter medicines, and we didn’t want to go in the grocery store, so we called our local pharmacy. They have curbside pickup. Don told me it was quite efficient. He called them and placed his order. When he arrived there, he dialed the number again and then put in a code. While he was waiting, he took a box out of his car and placed his credit card inside and then placed it on the hood. The employee came out with a mask and gloves, took the card, went inside and ran it, came back outside and left a bag in that same box (the card was inside the bag.) Don sanitized the card, drove home, and then sanitized the meds on the porch. I love that essential services are coming up with ingenious ways to serve their customers – protecting both themselves and the customers. Thank goodness for them.

It’s cloudy today, but no rain is in sight and we’re going to reach 65 degrees! Lovely. At some point, we’ll have to go to our storage facility to retrieve the Adirondack chairs and porch cushions. We should be able to do that without encountering anyone – we’ll be armed with disinfecting wipes, of course.

I’ve started This Rough Magic  by Mary Stewart. And we watched Manhattan  last night – shot in black and white, gorgeous cinematography, and a Gershwin (my favorite) score. Couldn’t be better.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: egg cups, social distancing 22 Comments

Day Twenty-Two

April 4, 2020 at 10:00 am by Claudia

Whoo hoo! I had signed into the blog and was waiting for the security check (I do this every time I sign in) so I thought I’d give a try at the old grocery delivery. I thought it might be fruitless as nothing shows as available during the day, but my goodness, there were a few openings! We will get another delivery this Tuesday – all the things we forgot the first time!

The sun is shining and I am once again amazed by my luck. A good start to this Saturday.

I thought that this Fiesta compote would be the perfect home for my fabric easter eggs. The kitchen suddenly looks very Spring-y, doesn’t it?

I made these about 11 years ago when I was away from home, working in San Diego. I used fat quarters from my favorite local quilt shop – Rosie’s – and with a Featherweight borrowed from my friend Ingrid, sewed them up. I used a pattern I found online. I have a lot of memories of that spring when I was far away from my husband and my dogs. I had big chunks of free time and that sewing machine was a godsend. I really wanted my own Featherweight and that was the perfect opportunity to test one out. I made a quilt top, as well. Eventually, I did get my own Featherweight. Still love it, though I have to fix the tension!

I finished Wildfire at Midnight  this morning. One of my friends on IG told me that Stewart’s novels have recently been reissued – a British publisher I believe – so I’m going to get them all. I had such a good time rereading this gem. Next up: my copy of This Rough Magic. Stewart frequently used literary references and This Rough Magic  is full of Shakespearean references, specifically, The Tempest. I have since worked with that text and know it well, so this time will be much different than when I was a young teenager.

I haven’t seen any activity from our pair of nuthatches, so I assume the nest has been finished and is either occupied or about to be occupied. How lovely it is to hear birdsong every morning. And what a difference it makes in my waking up process. Even in the fog of waiting for my coffee to brew, I hear those birds and am happy.

Hope you’re all well.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: books, Easter, fabric, singer featherweight, social distancing 36 Comments

Day Twenty-One

April 3, 2020 at 9:48 am by Claudia

A short post today as I’m really tired. I didn’t sleep very much, so I’m not at my most articulate, nor am I able concentrate for any length of time. (I guess we’re all having trouble sleeping during this time.)

This is a little bird house/trailer that a friend of Don’s gave him a couple of years ago. The other day, Don had the idea of sticking it on a little ledge on the maple tree – a ledge formed by the loss of a massive branch several years ago. So we hauled out the ladder and Don carefully placed it in the niche. Whether birds will use it this year or not remains a mystery, of course. But we like it there – it’s a little piece of garden art that we can see from the living room.

I like that splash of red.

I watched three episodes of Gardener’s World  yesterday afternoon – episodes from last year that I never got to. So calming. Truly. I’m going to watch more today. I’m itching to get out there, but it’s going to rain today. Soon – probably by Monday.

We also watched a great old movie last night – Séance on a Wet Afternoon. It starred Richard Attenborough and the late, great Kim Stanley. She has always been talked about in reverential tones – a graduate of the Actors Studio, she was in the original Broadway productions of Bus Stop  and Picnic, she was nominated for Tony Awards and the Oscar. She was the voice of the adult Scout, the narrator, in the movie of To Kill a Mockingbird. At her memorial service in 2001, Estelle Parsons called her ‘the greatest actress of this century.’ She was a theater legend. Well, Don and I had never seen this movie, though I’ve always known about it. Her performance was stunning. We couldn’t take our eyes off her. Mesmerizing, brutally honest and real. I can only marvel at how powerful she must have been live on stage.

Wow.

So, life goes on. We’re hanging in there. I’m taking it easy today and praying I can get a nap in there somewhere.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: social distancing 41 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 579
  • 580
  • 581
  • 582
  • 583
  • …
  • 1843
  • Next Page »
  • Email
  • Instagram

Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

Thanks for stopping by.

Searching?

The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

Archives

All Content © 2008 - 2026 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in