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

Monday Morning

October 1, 2018 at 7:34 am by Claudia

Just a quick one this morning, friends. We’re getting a big load of gravel (called Item 4) for our driveway today and the massive truck just arrived. We really need it, as it’s worn very thin in places after 11 years without a refresh. I think that contributed to the excess ice on the driveway last year.

So, Don and I will be spending a few hours raking all of the gravel into place, especially at the top of the driveway.

Exciting, right?

The countdown to our trip has begun and I’m making lists upon lists. Yikes.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: life 26 Comments

Percolating

September 30, 2018 at 9:39 am by Claudia

Surprise rose in the midst of an increasingly fall-like landscape.

Three new babies on my monstera.  I was thrilled to see them as there had been no new growth during the summer. I know many of you think I have a green thumb and I guess I do, but I’ve had problems with certain houseplants this summer. My schefflera keeps dropping lower leaves – lots of them – but there is new growth as well. I can’t tell whether this is some sort of natural shedding or if something’s wrong. This particular plant has always been a bit touchy, but over the winter it did really well. I also have a few succulents that have bit the dust. So – I have my successes and my failures, just like everyone else.

Dollhouse renovation idea:

This is a small dollhouse. The rooms are not spacious and the kitchen is downright tiny. The stair placement is troublesome because it takes up so much room in the center of the house.

Not much can happen in this area. So now, we have an even smaller living room.

When I put the hutch in the kitchen, I realized how little space I would have there. One of the things I dislike about Hummingbird Cottage is the narrow, dark kitchen. Impossible to photograph, I did everything I could to lighten it up, but wasn’t very successful. In retrospect, I wish I had opened the wall up in some way.

So….

That’s what I’m going to do with the downstairs. I’m going to take the wall out, put a couple of columns in to support the floor above, take out the stairs and add something I found in a miniature catalogue – set of pull-down attic stairs. If this is a funky English stone cottage, why not? I thought about a spiral staircase, but they take up a lot of real estate.

Or, since it’s my dollhouse and dollhouses can be anything, maybe I’ll dispense with stairs altogether. I’d really like to open up this floor with a kitchen island where the wall is.

Those are my thoughts at the moment. I’ll let them percolate a bit while I’m off on my European adventure.

Your thoughts, my friends?

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: dollhouse, flowers, garden, houseplants, miniatures 30 Comments

Forty-eight Hours

September 29, 2018 at 10:05 am by Claudia

Well. What a roller coaster ride the past 48 hours has been. I don’t know when I’ve felt as enraged as I did on Thursday, watching the hearing, watching public servants do everything they could  to quiet and discount a woman’s testimony. Don’t get me started on Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham. I try to keep the content on this blog PG-rated.

Christine Blasey Ford was bravery personified.

Then the spewing rage and conspiracy-ridden crap (there’s no other word for it) from Brett Kavanaugh. The disrespect for Senators questioning him. The constant interruptions. The immediately verifiable lies coming from his mouth. The sense of entitlement that made me want to slap him upside the head.

I have lived with alcoholics. It runs in my family. My father was an alcoholic, as were many of my immediate family members. I’ve seen the anger and rage coming out of nowhere, the inability to take responsibility for their actions, the “I know you are but what am I” kind of retort, the crying and ‘poor me’ refrain. I lived with it. I can look at his face and absolutely know he has a dependency problem.

No one who exhibits that kind of belligerence and rage should be sitting on the Supreme Court. No one who starts off his testimony with statements about left-wing conspiracies and a reference to the Clintons can be counted on to be impartial in his deliberations.

Then, yesterday, a glimmer of hope from Jeff Flake and Chris Coons and Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins and those two brave women who confronted Flake in the elevator. I watched that unfold via Twitter, as I was in a mall at the time. I’m sure we all feel like we’ve been through the ringer. Now, we watch and wait. I think he might withdraw, but who knows?

That being said, I had a pretty good day considering I was at a dreaded mall. I took my laptop to the Apple Store to have the screen replaced. There was an issue with the non-glare coating peeling off. I was worried I may have left it too long (they’re only replacing the screens for free on laptops that are less than 4 years old and mine will be 4 years old on Monday) and that it might take a week or two and I can’t spare it that long. Imagine my delighted surprise when the technician looked at my serial number and said, “As it happens, we have some in stock and I’m the tech who replaces them. If you don’t mind, I can switch it out right now.”

Huh? No, I don’t mind and thank you!

And sure enough, it was back in 15 minutes with a shiny new screen.

Then I found some shoes at The Walking Store, where they really know what they’re talking about. I got a pair of slip-on shoes and a pair of sneakers, both with special inserts that should support my feet rather nicely.

Then I found a jacket. And socks. And then I escaped from the mall and drove over an hour to the cottage.

So all I need now is a cross-body bag and a black sweater and I’m set.

Thanks for understanding yesterday. Don made that little graphic for me when I said I just couldn’t post. He’s a sweetie.

I took this picture the other day to post on IG. Usually, the inside of the dollhouse is facing the wall, but I spun it around to get inspiration for the upcoming renovation. I’ll share some ideas I’ve come up with tomorrow.

I’m quite proud of Hummingbird Cottage.

Happy Birthday yesterday to my dear dad. He would have been 95. I miss you every day, Dad.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: life 62 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 745
  • 746
  • 747
  • 748
  • 749
  • …
  • 1845
  • 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