Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Saturday Art Work

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I have been chatting with Don as we had our second cup of coffee this morning and I’m running late! The good news: I slept a bit longer this morning. It’s amazing how much difference an extra hour makes. I have never been one of those people (lucky them!) that can function well on too little sleep. Nope; even when I was a kid. I can get by for a day or two, but five? No and no and no.

Oh, and I got frustrated with trying to reapply my nail polish yesterday, most likely because I was so darn tired, so I took it all off. I’ll get back to it one day.

Living room art, part 1.

Our vintage lithograph of the RMS Aquitania. The Aquitania was part of the Cunard line, built in Scotland and launched in 1913 on a trip from Liverpool to NYC. It was an luxury ocean liner but was conscripted for use during both World Wars. In fact, it was due to be retired in 1940, but then WWII broke out and it was enlisted once again. It was officially retired in 1950. It was part of  Cunard’s 3 ship fleet; the Mauretania, the Lusitania, and the Aquitania. The Aquitania was the last of the four-funnelled ocean liners. You can clearly see the funnels in the lithograph.

We found this in a local shop and Don fell in love with it. I fell, too, but he was the one who talked me into buying it. I’m so glad we did. The brass plate at the bottom says “Cunard Line.” It was made by Cunard for travel agencies advertising the glamour of transatlantic travel. Since the Aquitania was only used for the war effort after 1940, we can safely say this is, at the very least, from the 30s.

Finding this piece finally solved my problem of what to hang over the piano. I tried several solutions but this one took. The frame matches the color of the piano, it’s substantial, we love the colors and it makes us happy. It doesn’t hurt that the blues are also in the McCoy and the red is in also in the lamp shade.

Next to that is my Hymns board, found not long after we moved here in a now-defunct antique shop in Beacon. I had always wanted one and I especially loved that this one was an off-white. I don’t display anything on it, preferring it to be clean folk art, which speaks for itself. It’s very old.

To the left, the gallery of our beloved dogs. The artwork, including the sketch, is by Shanna. The photograph is mine, transferred to canvas. I have another beautiful painting of Scout by another blog reader that I have yet to frame. That’s on my to do list.

There’s more in the living room but there was just too much glare this morning. I’ll get to it soon.

Happy Saturday.

Nails And The Painting Thereof

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I’ve been playing with paint:

This was taken just after I applied the polish and before I cleaned up the edges.

Every once in a while, I flirt with nail polish because I love the look of it. Only in winter, mind you, it’s not at all practical in the spring when I’m in full gardening mode. I saw this shade at the grocery store and bought it on a whim. I really like it, but I eventually encounter the same problem I always have: it chips. Unless one doesn’t have to do any work around the house, takes obsessive care of their finger and hand movements, and has it done professionally, it isn’t going to last that long.

I’m already planning to remove it all this morning and put on a fresh coat. And eventually, I’ll get sick of it and that will be it for a while. I do paint my toenails in the summer, but that’s always been the case.

For a couple of years about 11 years ago, I had someone apply acrylic nails to my nails and got them done every two weeks. I’ve never liked my nails, which grow exactly like my mom’s did – the sides of the nails angle outward instead of a straight vertical, making it impossible to grow my nails to any length. Plus they’re smallish. The acrylics became a pain in the tush and I started to worry that they were ruining my natural nails, so I stopped.

Does anyone out there wear nail polish? If I’m foolish enough to continue this for a while, do you have any tips for me as to the brand of polish and top coat you use?

Changing the subject, I started The Night Circus, but I’m so sleep deprived at the moment that I’m not reading it today. I’m barely into the story and when I’m sleep deprived my perceptions are off. This is not a mystery which flows easily for me, it’s a different genre that I have to read carefully. It would be too easy for me to give up on it. So I’ll look at a couple of magazines today, instead.

Don is off to NYC this morning for an audition.

Happy Friday.

Reading, Watching, and Art

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I keep thinking it’s Friday and it’s Thursday. I’ve been like that all week. I’m also going through one of my bouts with too little sleep. I’m just trying to maintain some calm about the whole thing. I don’t have to be anywhere, I don’t have to travel to Hartford or NYC, I can fall asleep in my chair in the late afternoon (like I’ve done for the past two days.) It’s all good.

Finished The Night Watch  by Michael Connelly. Excellent, as always. And I do mean ‘as always.’ He’s one of my favorite writers. Now, on to The Night Circus  by Erin Morgenstern. Hmmm. ‘Night’ seems to be the theme in this post so far; 3 nights with too little sleep, and two books with night in the title. What is the universe trying to say to me?

We’ve also been watching Hinterland  on Netflix. It’s an excellent police/detective procedural which takes place in Wales. It’s been around for 3 seasons, so I’m sure we’re late to this party and that some of you have already seen it.

More den artwork:

A very old lithograph by Currier & Ives – a famous one at that. I don’t know how old this particular print is, but I’d hazard a guess that it’s one of the earliest printing runs. The paper is foxed, there’s quite a bit of damage near the top. I got it at an auction several years ago. I had no idea that it was this old until I looked at it more closely after having won it for $25.00. I bid on it because I love the sentiment and I absolutely love the colors, especially that vivid red. It hangs above our television set.

And this one, which you’ve seen before in my McCoy photos. Both of these shots had to be taken from strange angles because the den has windows on 3 sides, making it virtually impossible to get a shot of anything glass without a reflection appearing in it.

This is a watercolor of a winding road with a windmill in the distance. It’s signed, but I can’t quite make it out. We bought this when we were living in San Diego. We loved the watercolor, but we really loved the frame! Isn’t it gorgeous? It really makes a statement and looked great in our Craftsman house in SD with all its dark woodwork. I hung it above the sheet music cabinet here in the den because it seems to go with the dark mahogany of the cabinet. The minute I added the McCoy, the whole thing popped.

I didn’t reply to comments on yesterday’s post as I have to count them for the giveaway and adding mine in only makes it more difficult.

Some errands to run today. It’s going to be warmer, thank goodness!

Happy Thursday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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