Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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This Saturday

February 10, 2018 at 9:23 am by Claudia

Despite my best efforts, I never figured out which smoke alarm was the culprit. I examined each one of them as best I could, but I couldn’t investigate further because I never heard the chirp again. Not during the day. Not last night.

I’m grateful, but it does remain a mystery.

I recycled yesterday, which is always a pain in the tush, but even more so in the winter. But it’s worth it, because I love an freshly emptied trash can and empty recycling bins. We had snow showers all day long with no accumulation predicted. However, the snow picked up in the afternoon and I’d guess there’s an additional half inch on the ground now.

Dear Stella, heating up water for my morning coffee. She’s the best.

Did you watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics? I did. It was beautifully done – visually stunning. They always are. I’m ready to lose myself in some Olympic competition, to escape into something positive and uplifting. We all need that right now.

Today, my exciting agenda is to clean the bathrooms, something I said I’d do earlier in the week but never got around to. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know I absolutely detest cleaning the bathroom, so you can imagine how excited I am at the prospect.

Less than a week until the first preview performance of Escape to Margaritaville. And that means less than a week until the Original Broadway Cast Recording comes out! I’ve preordered mine. Can’t wait!

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: life 28 Comments

Chirp

February 9, 2018 at 10:11 am by Claudia

After two days of shoveling 6 inches of snow with a half inch of ice on top (because even though the driveway was plowed, there are a lot of areas the plow can’t get to that have to be shoveled) and then unearthing our cars, I went to bed last night wanting nothing but a good night’s sleep. However, at 3:30 am I was awoken by the chirp of a smoke detector. We have a lot of them here because the person who flipped the house installed them and then the previous owner added more that are wired into the security system. There are too many of them.

I couldn’t figure out which one was chirping. After ten minutes, it stopped. I remained awake for another two hours and finally got back to sleep when, at 6:30 am, it started again. This time I waited it out and fell asleep again only to be awakened at 8:10, when it started again.

I’m on my second cup of coffee and I have a lot to do today but you can be sure that I’m going figure out which one of these frigging smoke detectors needs a new battery.

Meanwhile, it’s like Ice Station Zebra out there. Chicago and Michigan, I’m thinking of you. You’re supposed to betting up to 20 inches of snow! Hang in there.

The FedEx guy just came and I opened the door to tell him to be careful – some areas are icy despite my best efforts – and he said he’s seen much worse. Basically when he’s not driving, he’s walking on ice all day long. These guys are heroes. I saw the UPS truck delivering in the midst of the heaviest snow during Wednesday’s snowstorm.

This is all I’ve got for you. The monstera is having yet another baby! My plants have been fairly prolific this winter.

Thank you for all your loving comments yesterday. It was a much tougher day than I thought it would be and I cried off and on all day long. Don had a hard time, too. But your support helped a great deal. Love you all.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: life 33 Comments

Our Girl

February 8, 2018 at 8:55 am by Claudia

Two years ago today, we lost our little girl.

There’s not a day I don’t miss her or long to hear her. She had quite the variety of sounds. She was really human, you know.

She was smart as a whip, funny (she truly did have a sense of humor), loving, mischievous, demanding, adventurous, and adorable. Within a day of rescuing her, she crawled under my legs as I was sitting in a chair and stayed there until I got up. And she never stopped doing that for the 16 years we were blessed with her presence in our family. I called it “The Tunnel.” She felt safe in the tunnel. I felt safe when she was in the tunnel.

I’ve been thinking about the tunnel lately, remembering the feel of her body under my legs, remembering the way she would look up at me with those big green eyes. It was our morning ritual: let Scout out, pour my coffee, take it down the two steps to the den with Scout following me, sit down and wait for Scout to nestle her way into the tunnel, which she promptly did.

I miss Winston. I miss Riley. I miss every animal it has been my honor to protect and love. Scoutie was with us the longest. She was 17 years and one month old when she passed away. And since that day, for the first time in our 24 years together, we have not had a dog in the house.

That smile. The rescue group had named her Smiley. You can see why.

Right after we brought her home from surgery. Eyes dilated, a little buzzed, but happy to be home.

I have thousands of pictures of her because she was incredibly photogenic.

Those eyes. They looked into your soul.

She was a magical being. She was our magic dog.

This is the wallpaper on my phone.

In the tunnel. And there’s our boy, Riley. She outlived her brothers. She loved them dearly.

On the day she died, I wrote this message on our chalkboard. And Don wouldn’t let me erase it until today.

Two weeks before we lost her, I came home for 24 hours. I was working in Hartford. She walked unsteadily to the top step of the den and I picked her up and carried her to a place on the rug near my chair. She sat there and fixed her eyes on me. Unblinking. The stare was so intense that I knew she was trying to communicate something very important. I knew what she was trying to say or at the very least, I had a sense of it, but I had to leave for Hartford and I wasn’t quite ready.

When I came back two weeks later and saw her, I told Don that it was time. And, I realized, it had been time two weeks before when she looked into my eyes and asked me to let her go. I’m haunted by that to this day. I failed her in that moment. She had to go on for two more weeks before I saw the light. I have asked her forgiveness many times. And I will continue to ask her forgiveness.

Oh, Scoutie, how we miss you, sweet girl. You and your brothers are playing together somewhere, I know it.

And maybe, just maybe, you still go in the tunnel.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: Scout 106 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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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

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