Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Home Again

June 22, 2017 at 8:58 am by Claudia

The first of the bee balm has opened. I like seeing that splash of red in the garden.

I got home around 4 pm yesterday and immediately watered all the plants on the porch. While adding water to the birdbath, I myself was watered, as we had a sudden summer rain, seemingly out of nowhere.

As always, I was glad to be home. Home is the best.

I saw this little guy yesterday on the edge of the woods. He’s part of the dragonfly family, which is apparently much larger than I knew. Once I start googling these things, I find myself off on a learning adventure. So many different kinds of dragonflies!

And the first of the coneflowers have opened. I love coneflowers; to me, they are the perfect cottage garden flower.

Today? Guess.

If you guessed mowing, you are right.

And some grocery shopping and some reconnaissance. My dear friend Rick (I was at his retirement party a few weeks ago) and his husband Doug are considering a move back east. Both of them lived for years in NYC and they love the Hudson Valley as well. So they’re thinking about buying a house outside of NYC and also having a little pied-à-terre in the city. Yesterday, Rick emailed me about a property that happens to be very near our cottage, and we ended up talking about it via the phone for an hour or so. I told him I’d drive by and scope it out for him. And maybe, just maybe, I can meet with the agent who is going to look at it on Sunday and check it out for Rick and Doug. Obviously, Don and I would love to have them nearby – it would be wonderful. But even if they end up being an hour away somewhere in the Hudson Valley, it will be a heck of a lot closer than San Diego!

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: flowers, friends, garden 28 Comments

Manhattan, Anastasia & Perspective

June 21, 2017 at 8:45 am by Claudia

Busy New York City. Once again, I ran over to Bryant Park and the Whole Foods that is there to grab some dinner to go. No time to sit in the park this visit!

My hotel is lovely – The Millennium. Just a block from the theater and with a nice, large, and relatively (for NYC) quiet room. I’m throwing this post together rather quickly as I have to get it together, write up notes for the actors, check out, and then run over to the theater for some work with one of the actors.

The show is great. I see changes in the performances, the kind of changes that happen when the actors have the luxury of more than a limited run. It’s theirs now and they are having a ball. The audience was tremendously responsive for a Tuesday night.

When Dimitry and Anastasia almost kiss, but don’t, I heard an ‘Awww!’ from the row in front of me, which made me laugh.

That’s the Empire State Building.

And what do I see out my window this morning?

The Chrysler Building – my favorite skyscraper.

Don’t be discouraged by the win in Georgia; we closed the gap in a Republican stronghold, by a large percentage. This doesn’t bode well for 2018. And by then, Trump will be that much deeper in the hole in terms of Trump/Russia and the facts that are going to come out. I say this to myself as well: Stay Strong.

If you do use twitter – you might want to look at Charles Clymer. He, I have found, is politically astute and he posted a thread last night that puts the election in perspective. I was reading it at 12:30 am this morning and it provided a much-needed ‘big picture’ as well as hope.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: Anastasia, New York City 27 Comments

When The World is Too Much With Us

June 20, 2017 at 8:03 am by Claudia

We had a huge, scary storm come through yesterday and I have some cleanup to do before I leave for the city. Lots of catalpa leaves are all over the yard and if you’ve seen a catalpa you know the leaves are heart-shaped and large in size. We won’t even talk about all the blossoms that are everywhere.

Mostly, though, I can’t really write today. I am so disheartened by what is going on in Washington DC; the lack of transparency as Mitch McConnell engineers yet another swindle on the American people because he’s spiteful and power-hungry and he wants to give a huge tax cut to the rich by taking money away from Medicaid, the lack of transparency in the White House as press briefings are now private with no recordings allowed, the ongoing investigations, which are vital, while this sorry excuse for a human being undoes everything that made us good and compassionate and powerful and respectable.

I’m simply overwhelmed by it all today. And heartsick.

I’ve got news: governing is not slashing and undoing everything someone else has done just for the sake of doing it, for spite. Governing is listening to the people. Governing is working for the good of all Americans not just the rich. You work for us. We pay your salaries.

2018 can’t come soon enough.

I’ll stop there.

I have to go to Manhattan later today and I’ll be back home tomorrow.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: life 41 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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Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

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