Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Heading Back

September 6, 2017 at 9:06 am by Claudia

There are splashes of yellow all over the property. Goldenrod, a staple of late summer, is blooming. How can I not smile when I see this cheery yellow?

However, today is a dark and rainy day here. We had storms last night. Not necessarily the best weather in which to travel back to Hartford, but there you go. We’re going to go out for breakfast before I head back to CT.

It’s been so lovely being home that I feel like I have to force myself to get in the car and turn it toward points east. I don’t want to leave. Don and I are feeling the sadness that impending separation brings. I figured it out yesterday: by the end of the year we will have spent 9 months apart. Nine months. That, my friends, is a hazard of our profession. But it’s easier to handle when you’re young and eager and ready to go anywhere to work. It’s much tougher at this point in our lives.

Anyway.

Stella is a dream. She cooks evenly. I know it will sound silly, but the baked potatoes we had (twice) were the most evenly baked we’d ever had. The texture was smooth as silk and they were delicious. As were the biscuits. As were all the entrees Don cooked on the stovetop. Oh my goodness. What a difference gas makes! And what a difference Stella makes.

This morning I walked over to her and hugged her. I love her. I love her in our home. I never get tired of looking at her. I never will. I have absolutely no regrets. Investing in Stella was the best thing we’ve done in a long time.

Another sign of impending autumn – Sedum Autumn Joy.

Hurricane Irma is a juggernaut and we are worried about her impact on so many island dwellers and the state of Florida, where so many are in her path, including my sister and her family. Please stay safe. I know many of my readers live in Florida and I urge you to evacuate if you are told to.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Filed Under: Don, flowers, garden, kitchen, Mockingbird Hill Cottage, O'keefe and Merritt, Stella 31 Comments

Fading & Changing

September 5, 2017 at 8:26 am by Claudia

It’s still summer. But the signs of autumn are definitely here in the Hudson Valley. Leaves are turning color on the maple. The light is different. The mornings and evenings are cooler. The school bus came today to pick up the kids across the road.

The apple orchards have their signs everywhere. We will soon be seeing weekends full of leaf-peepers. Sigh.

I’m not ready to say goodbye to summer and I won’t, officially, until September 22nd.

Nevertheless, I walked around the gardens yesterday to see what flowers are fading and/or changing.

The brown-eyed susans are still going strong.

The coneflowers are fading. But I find this stage equally beautiful.

Goodness, this hollyhock is blooming like crazy! Stunning.

The limelight hydrangea is turning pink. There’s a little spider to the left of center that I didn’t see at the time I took this picture.

I did see this stick bug, however. These guys fascinate me. Remember the pair that I found mating last year on my front porch gate?

Today, some errands. Some more laundry. Some time with my husband before I have to leave tomorrow and he has to leave on Sunday. Another sigh. Changes are on the horizon, and quite frankly, we don’t like changes that involve us being apart. We like and are grateful for the work, but the separation part of it is not at all easy.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: autumn, flowers, garden 28 Comments

Biscuits, Rain & Dreams

September 4, 2017 at 8:20 am by Claudia

I hope you’re all enjoying an extra day off on this Labor Day weekend. Yesterday was a day of constant rain. At the end of the day the sun came out and I was finally able to get out on the porch to take a quick picture.

We ran some errands yesterday, including getting a passport picture of yours truly as I have to renew my passport.  I’ll send all of that info tomorrow.

Exciting, right?

We did get around to making dinner, but very late, because we ate a late lunch when we were out and about. So I wavered about whether to try the Cloud Biscuits or not. I ended up going for it. Don grilled some vegetables on the broiler, aka The Grillevator (yes, that’s the name), which caused our smoke alarm to go off a thousand times until we were finally able to dismantle it. Yikes. The veggies were great, a little more charred than we were aiming for, but the danged smoke alarm kept taking our attention away from the task at hand.

Because I was making the biscuits at night, the photos are pretty bad. Nevertheless, I promised to share them with you, so share them I will.

Before:

After:

They were amazingly good. Whether that’s because they are always good or because of Stella, I’m not sure, but they melted in our mouths. Oh, my heavens!

If I was a food blogger, I’d make this in the daytime and take lots of artfully staged photos of them from an overhead perspective. I’m not a food blogger, so this is what you get.

Just trust me: Stella can bake like nobody’s business! Yay!

I finished Sue Grafton’s newest Kinsey Millhone mystery yesterday and I started (barely) Glass Houses  by Louise Penny last night. Today? Time outside as it will be the only dry and sunny day this week.

Oh, I have to tell you this! One of the newer readers of this blog mentioned in a comment that she had gone back to read past posts and came upon one where I shared my Christmas Wish List. I had completely forgotten about that list; I described it as a fantasy list. It was posted on December 5, 2012 – nearly five years ago.

On that wish list was a vintage gas stove “preferably O’Keefe and Merritt.” And I used a picture from Country Living  of Kitty Bartholemew’s stove, an O’Keefe and Merritt. Here it is:

Except for the part-chrome part-porcelain top (ours is all chrome) this is the exact stove that we ended up buying. The exact stove. I had completely forgotten about this.

Boy, do dreams come true!!

Happy Monday!

Filed Under: Don, O'keefe and Merritt, Stella 37 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.

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Lambs Like to Party

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