Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Out With the Old, In With the New

May 23, 2019 at 9:35 am by Claudia

Sorry I didn’t respond to comments yesterday, but we were working outside most of the day, and when we weren’t working outside we were figuring out the logistics of the new sofa arrival/old loveseat removal. It was a day of a lot of talking and a lot of physical labor. A good day, but we were tuckered out by dinnertime.

The Star of Bethlehem’s blossoms only appear after the leaves have withered. I tend to forget about that, so I am surprised and delighted when I see them.

As to the old sofa: it’s in pretty bad shape. It’s usable, but I don’t know for how long. It’s over 30 years old and it wasn’t all that well made to begin with.

Placing anything out there with a free sign only works for us if the piece is on the small side. We don’t have a curb. We don’t have a strip of grass between the street and the sidewalk. We live in the country, but on a very busy county road. And between the street and our property is a deep culvert. You can see why leaving anything out there for any length of time is problematic. It would have to be on the driveway. And then we wouldn’t be able to get in and out.

Don spoke to the guy who runs our recycling transfer station, aka The Dump. He knows a guy who has very little money and needs some basic pieces to furnish an apartment. He might give it to him. That would work out perfectly. At any rate, it’s too big to fit in our CR-V, so Don’s friend is coming Saturday in his pickup truck and they’ll take it to the transfer station.

Speaking of ‘free’ signs, Don was driving down a local road yesterday and saw both this and a  red wagon. He brought them home. This rooster frieze is made out of Plaster of Paris, so I don’t know how long it will last out there in the elements, but I like it. The red wagon will eventually be planted with flowers.

I have to say: Don’s pretty darned cool.

I have to get going. I’m taking the car in for an oil change – something I had to delay when my back was troubling me. We’re in for a stormy day, as well.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: Don, garden 20 Comments

Was It Something In The Air?

May 22, 2019 at 9:51 am by Claudia

It was a weird day yesterday. It was sunny, but at the same time, very, very windy all day long. So windy that I got something in each of my eyes during the course of the day. Pollen, dust? I’m not sure. Little branches with new maple leaves fell to the ground. A dead limb (not big or heavy, but long) fell into the hosta bed.

I went to Lowes to get some fencing for the garden as I discovered more damage from our neighbor groundhog – who, I am convinced is really Nigel and not Joe. Nigel was more than a tad destructive last year. Henry, who is/was a saint, never went into the garden bed.

While I was at Lowes, I picked up some lightbulbs. As I picked up a pack of 40 watt bulbs to put in my cart, a lightbulb fell out of the pack and smashed on the floor at my feet. I had to stand guard as someone went to get a broom to clean it up.

Then, as I was looking for some wire garden fencing, a startled bird flew out from the shelf just over my head (and I mean within an inch of my scalp) and scared the crap out of me.

I thought I’d get some inexpensive plants, but all of the stock that I saw was in bad shape, once again reminding me why I don’t buy my plants there.

By the time I looked for a smallish galvanized garbage can to hold my potting soil, which I knew they had in stock, and found it buried high up on a shelf, making it impossible to retrieve without some sort of machinery, I threw in the towel and went home.

Some days are just like that.

But today is a new day and it’s sunny, with NO wind. I’m going to putter around outside.

We were supposed to have our sofa delivered next Wednesday, but I just got a call from our local delivery service asking if we wanted to get it even earlier – this Friday. Ummm…yes!

I can’t wait!

Now, do we just take the old loveseat to the dump or do we put it out on the street for a day to see if anyone wants it? It isn’t in the greatest shape. Decisions, decisions.

Oh, and I saw lonesome dove on the birdbath last night – the first time I’ve seen her/him this year. Lovely.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: flowers, groundhogs 12 Comments

Shuffling

May 21, 2019 at 11:08 am by Claudia

I’m getting to the blog a bit later this morning.

We were sitting on the sofa, having our second cup of coffee and we began to chat about how anxious we are for the new sofa to arrive. Then we started talking about moving things around when it arrives, because we always end up doing that. Suddenly, we were pre-moving furniture! Of course, there’s only so much you can do with our living room space, which includes a piano, a heavy sideboard, and large wardrobe/cupboard.

Don started talking about wanting cleaner lines in terms of the kitchen island, which has become, for us, simply a place to put things when prepping dinner. It is no longer a place to store things. Don is right – it was pretty busy there. We had the blue table, the bread board on top, the Vernors crate, and a wooden crate below. And then we looked over at the bistro table in the living room. The one thing that has always bugged me about where it was situated is that we have golden pine floors, a golden oak coffee table, and the bistro table also has a golden finish. We’d already been thinking about putting a rug under the coffee table to break up some of the pine.

I’ll take better pictures later when the light isn’t pouring into the room, but the antique farm table is now where the bistro table was. It looks much better than this. I love the blue chipped paint, which gives our eyes something other than golden wood to rest on.

(The bright sun makes a good picture next to impossible.)

And the bistro table is in the kitchen.

I have to figure out the details yet.

Don’s right. The lines are cleaner. We’re also thinking of getting four matching chairs for the kitchen table. I think we want a bit less ‘variety.’ We’ll see.

Of course, this could all change once the sofa arrives next week! But for now, it’s a good change. As always, with a small house, I had to find new places for certain items, like the vintage step stool and the crate that was under the blue table when it was in the kitchen. The Vernors crate is temporarily in the white wardrobe. Once the sofa is here, I’ll take pictures of everything.

I told Don that I sometimes feel my whole life consists of shuffling things around. Small spaces are a huge challenge that way. But it’s also a lot of fun to see things in a new way. Don has a very good eye, as well. So we work well together.

Much cooler today, but sunny. I’m going to go outside shortly and check on my green things.

Happy Tuesday.

 

 

Filed Under: living room 26 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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