Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Day Twenty

April 2, 2020 at 11:04 am by Claudia

A sure sign of early spring, these tiny little grape hyacinths that spring up out of the rocks. There are a couple more coming up from the gravel by the porch railing. Such a little miracle!

Another sunny day today, but rather windy. Nevertheless, I’m so grateful for sun. Right now, it’s shining on the roof of the folk art dollhouse, as if a spotlight had been turned on.

We got our groceries yesterday, though several items were not included as they weren’t in stock. The way this particular store set-up goes, there’s no altering the order once it has been placed and, even though I believe the ‘make substitutions’ box had been checked, that didn’t happen. So we didn’t get salad greens, or an alternative size of coffee, or another kind of whole wheat bread, or, we thought, potatoes. Disappointing, but I was able to see all of that online before the order arrived, so Don went to our local nursery/farmstand, after first calling them and finding out exactly how they are handling all of this. Only ten people in the store at the same time, social distancing – Don never had to get within 6 feet of anyone, including the cashier. He got some bread, some potatoes and sweet potatoes,  some bananas, etc. When he brought them home (which was before the grocery delivery) we washed all of the potatoes, and put them on the counter to dry.

The delivery itself was handled very professionally – they called us when they were about 10 minutes away from the house, Don told them where to put the groceries on the porch and we talked to the guy through the door. We also left a tip on the porch railing (held down by a rock). We wiped everything down before we brought it in the house and washed all the produce.

A lot of washing and hand washing and sanitizer, but we’re okay for now. We do need more items that we left off our original list and I can’t seem to get a delivery appointment. I think now that people know this will extend through the end of April, more and more requests for home delivery are being made. Don’t know what we’re going to do about that. It was so good to get some fresh vegetables again! We almost never eat canned veggies, though we are perfectly prepared to if necessary, and we have several cans on hand.

Thought you might like to see our pantry extension, which is in the office upstairs:

Boxes of canned goods – that green box is full of them even though it looks like it only contains potato chips – extra bags of potatoes, paper towels, oatmeal, etc. We have far more potatoes than we need because it looked like they were ‘unavailable’ on the original order, which is why Don went to our farm stand, and when the grocery order arrived, there were two bags we didn’t expect! From no potatoes to an overabundance of potatoes.

Every time Don has to go upstairs for something, he says he’s going to our corner store.

Crazy times we’re living in. We keep saying that to each other. Absolutely crazy and, a mere month ago, unthinkable.

I’m still reading Wildfire at Midnight, though I should finish today. I must mention this about Mary Stewart’s writing. She writes so beautifully and descriptively about place. This particular book takes place on the Isle of Skye amidst mountains and crags and waterfalls and her descriptions are so vivid, so evocative, that I am completely there in my imagination. I can see it.

This is something I didn’t appreciate as much when I was a teenage reader of her books, but boy, do I appreciate it now. She was an exquisitely gifted writer and it’s such a pleasure to read her books again – this time as a much  older reader.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: books, flowers, food, garden, reading, social distancing 83 Comments

Day Nineteen

April 1, 2020 at 9:55 am by Claudia

We have a sunny day! It’s been so long since we had one that it is much appreciated.

On rising, I looked outside from our upstairs bedroom to see that the raccoons had upended our trash can and garbage was strewn all over the yard. Those scamps! Don cleaned it up and decided it was time to recycle, so everything was put into a large contractor’s bag and taken to the dump.

We’re supposed to get our grocery delivery today – late this afternoon. Of course, we forgot about so many other items that we had to start a second list and trying to nab another delivery spot is next to impossible. We’ll keep trying.

I’m finding it hard to concentrate on reading at the moment. I know several of you mentioned the same thing. I’m reading, but not for large chunks of time. I do like listening to podcasts; that seems to work better for me at the moment.

I think that the knowledge that we are in this isolation for at least another month, if not longer, is weighing on me. It seems so bleak. I know we’re doing the right thing, of course, but it does get me down.

Don told me that John Prine’s condition has been upgraded to stable, which is very good news.

Let’s share some positive thoughts today. I’ll go first. We’re seeing the best from our fellow human beings. I see evidence of that every day – story after story of kindnesses and caring.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: social distancing 58 Comments

Day Eighteen

March 31, 2020 at 9:30 am by Claudia

I’m turning to true comfort reads. Though I wish I had all my Mary Stewarts, I lost most of them long ago. I do have this one and This Rough Magic. I read all of her romantic suspense novels when I was a young teen; gobbled them up. They remain some of my favorite books with heroines who have a certain level of sophistication, witty repartee, great plots, exotic locales. So I pulled this one off the shelf last night and I’m going to read it today. Note the price: $1.25.

It’s still rather damp and we’re supposed to have showers off and on this morning and then that may be the end of rain for a while. All forecasts say ‘partly cloudy’ but I’m hoping some sunshine sneaks in there.

Gosh, there’s not much else to say. These days get rather monotonous, don’t they? We’re fine and we’re keeping ourselves occupied, but, since it looks like we’ll have at least another month of this, it can get overwhelming and oppressive.

Stay safe my friends.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: books, reading, social distancing 64 Comments

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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.

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