Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Thoughts on a Saturday Morning

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I’m sitting in the den, sipping my second cup of coffee, listening to classical music and feeling grateful that the sun has made an appearance.

Actually, I’m feeling grateful in general. I miss Don and wish I was with him this weekend, but we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s winter out there and visits will be decided by weather conditions. And coaching conditions. I work on Anastasia  on Wednesday and Thursday this week, so I’ll most likely go in on Wednesday morning.

Taking a brief break.

I’m back. Don called and we chatted for a while. I love our morning phone calls. They sort of ground me for the day ahead.

Does this ever happen to you? You’re reading an article in a shelter magazine or even on a site like Houzz or Design Sponge and you become captivated by someone’s home and the way he/she has decorated it and then, as you’re about to finish the article, you read that they no longer live there  and you’re incredibly disappointed?

That happened to me this morning as I was looking at a home in one of those special editions of Country Home magazine (which, it turns out, is a reprint, but since I didn’t see it the first time, I’m okay with it.) The house is in upstate New York and it was so individual and quirky and charming. And none of the furniture or pictures or accessories are there any longer. Makes me sad. Of course, with the time that elapses between photographing the space and actual publication, many things can and do change. I get it. But I always feel a wee bit let down.

I think I’m going to tackle the closet in the den today. It’s a black hole that has never been used in an efficient manner and since storage space is lacking in this house, I need to address it. I have some ideas, which include dumping all the VHS tapes that are stacked up on the top shelf. Really, Claudia? When is the last time you watched one? Why are they still there???

Happy Saturday.

Little Changes

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Some late afternoon sun. It may be cold but I can handle it when we have a sunny day like yesterday. And today.

This will seem like a little thing to you, but to us? Big. When we moved in here there was a black microwave – a big one – from the previous owners. Since it worked perfectly well, we kept it. You might remember that the previous stove was black and the dishwasher is black. The refrigerator is white. Go figure. I never liked the black stove and we all know that Stella has taken its place. The dishwasher has never worked so we use it as storage and one of our goals this year is to buy a new one and have someone hook it up correctly. (The very first time I used it 12 years ago, it leaked onto the wood floor.)

So. We’ve had this microwave for 12 years – it still works – but it takes up so much space and ends up being a big black hole on our counter. And counter space is something we have very little of. Fast forward to Don and me in NYC last week as we realized that there was no microwave in the apartment and Don definitely needed one. We bought a small Sunbeam microwave in white from a local hardware store. Perfect size for that small apartment and, we thought, perfect size for us at home! I tried to buy another one from the hardware store before I left for home, but they weren’t open. So I found one online via Wayfair and it was delivered yesterday. It’s not particularly exciting looking, but I have more counter space!

Once we get a working dishwasher, we can get rid of this black one and the dish drainer that lives on the counter and we’ll have even more counter space! Whoo hoo!

Now I have to lug the heavy black microwave out of here and take it to the recycling center.

Also bought this the other day:

It’s another Rae Dunn piece and I hadn’t planned on buying any more of them, but I saw this crock at Home Goods. I can’t resist fonts and graphics. This one is larger than the previous crock we had been using, which is a good thing. And I’ve repurposed the other crock as a pot for the ZZ plant I have upstairs.

I’m trying to figure out when I’m going to the city. I have to be here if the temperatures dip, which they will be doing on Tuesday. So I could go in for the weekend, right? But I’ve just heard from Anastasia  and they want me to check in on the show next week. So I may hold off and go in Tuesday or Wednesday. Then I have to be back by Friday as it’s due to snow.

I can’t wait for Spring when I won’t be tied here due to weather. We’re both frustrated by it, but it’s the reality that comes with living where we do.

Happy Friday.

Kvetching (Just a Bit)

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Slab update: Whatever had melted or was in the process of melting froze again last night because the temperatures went down to the teens. Oh joy. So I’m going to get this post up quickly because I have to go outside and salt that damned thing.

And the extended forecast, which I realize could well change, is not very comforting on the snow front, starting with this coming Monday. I have to figure out what would be optimal in terms of a trip into the city. But not now because my brain is a bit too foggy.

Winter just seems to involve more: shoveling, salting, hacking away at ice, making sure the faucets drip if it gets too cold out there, hauling the humidifier from room to room, refilling it, putting on layers just to get the mail, boots on, boots off. It’s an energy sapper.

Okay. Enough kvetching.

The studios where Don is rehearsing are the same studios where I have worked many, many times. It’s fascinating to travel up and down in the elevator and have the doors open on another floor to find Hamilton  in rehearsal, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or Anastasia, or Hello, Dolly. You often share the elevator with famous people in the theater world; directors, actors, designers, composers. Elevators are the great equalizer. Everyone smiles and nods or says hello and then it’s silence until the lobby doors open. Last time I was there, Kevin Kline and I shared an elevator.  Yesterday, Don shared an elevator with Glenda Jackson!  I love that. Everyone is there for the same reason; to work, to rehearse and to create. And they all have to take the elevator, famous or not famous.

Rehearsals are going well; there are some changes to the script, which is to be expected, and the cast and creatives are all happy to be back together.

Now in a Guy Wolff pot.

Okay. I have to get out there and salt the darned ice slab.

Happy Thursday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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