Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 936 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Chances Are, You’ve Already Got It

February 13, 2017 at 8:30 am by Claudia

Dear friends: Some shorter posts this week as I spend long days working in Manhattan on Anastasia. I’m not sure how many days, yet. I’m writing this one on Sunday afternoon. If, for some reason, you don’t see a post on a certain day, it’s simply because I have no time. These days will be 12 or 13 hours long, when I add in the commute.

A not-very-frequent observation on decorating and buzzwords:

The new home and hearth buzzword this season is Hygge. It’s being used to sell books, sell merchandise and sell people on a Danish word and the ‘lifestyle’ it represents. I’ve been amused by the books that are appearing on the subject, the tutorials and the blog posts on how to create Hygge. I’ve long thought that Hygge is something we already instinctively do – whether we live in a cold or warm climate, a house or an apartment, a tiny home or a tent.

I was pleased to discover an article on Houzz this week about this very subject. It confirmed my thoughts about the ubiquitous presence of Hygge. The article was entitled, “Busting Open 6 Nordic Design Myths,” one of which was Hygge.

Hygge is a Danish term/word for creating coziness and warmth. Presumably, those long Nordic winters have spawned certain decorating/coping skills that create that cozy feeling and that we need to learn over here on this side of the ocean.

But, in reality, as stated in a 2015 article on Houzz, Hygge is “spending time with the ones you love, in a home that is filled with light and well-loved items that fill you with everyday joy when you use them. You can’t buy Hygge, nor can you get someone to create it for you. It is the Nordic state of contentment that can only be found at home.”

Hurrah for the Nordic state of contentment that can only be found at home! I second that emotion. I’ve long felt the same way about my homes over the years, starting with my girlhood bedroom, through tiny studio apartments and onward to the home in which I currently live.

Most of us who love to create a cozy home filled with warmth and personality, who have things in our homes that have been collected and gathered, who love texture and textiles and comfy furniture, who love making a house or apartment a home, already do that. If what surrounds us matters to us and makes us happy – whether it’s furniture, books, objects, rugs, pets or people – then we’re already creating Hygge.

And if being in your home brings you contentment, then you’re already there.

I’m always a bit wary of trends and buzzwords and things like the ‘color of the year.’ I find them interesting, but I take them with a grain of salt. I suspect you do, too. If you love your home and have created a place that makes you happy, and that, at the end of the day, makes you sigh with contentment, congratulations! You’ve got Hygge.

And Rest in Peace, Al Jarreau. I filled many hours of my life playing your music, listening to your voice. Seeing you in concert was an incredible experience. Thank you. You will be missed.

Happy Monday.

Sunday

February 12, 2017 at 9:51 am by Claudia

It’s snowing again. 3 to 5 inches expected today, with the addition of sleet later in the day. Less than an inch overnight.

I have to get to NYC tomorrow. Non-negotiable. So, Don will be manning the snowblower, the car will get parked down at the end of the driveway, I’ll get up early and he will drive me to the train station. The train is better at moments like this because it’s more dependable. The bus travels on the thruway and goes through the Lincoln Tunnel, where there are often delays in bad weather. So, the train it is for tomorrow, which will take me to Grand Central Station with a quick shuttle ride to Times Square.

This snow has been nothing but a pain in the tush for yours truly, as it has fallen during key rehearsal days. But having said that, I’m grateful that the bulk of the snow is falling today, instead of tomorrow!

We watched Hannah And Her Sisters last night on TCM. It is one of our favorite movies. I think it’s Woody Allen at his very best. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen it, but I never grow tired of it. It was just as fresh last night as it was the first time I saw it in a movie theater. Wonderful performances by everyone but Dianne Wiest and Michael Caine are brilliant.

I miss Robert Osborne. TCM just isn’t the same without him. I know he’s had bouts of illness in the past, but this latest stretch without him at the helm of TCM has to have been a least a year. But every time I google the question “Where is Robert Osborne?” I’m referred to articles of 2 or 3 years ago. I assume he isn’t well. Do any of you TCM fans have an update?

As we’re stuck indoors today, I’ll do the usual Sunday chores: washing the sheets and towels, swiffering and vacuuming. I’ll go over my Russian pronunciations for tomorrow’s table work. And I’ll read, of course! The Sunday edition of New York Times and the Deborah Crombie – Garden of Lamentations.

What are you up to today?

Catching Up On Saturday

February 11, 2017 at 9:10 am by Claudia

There’s a lot of snow on the ground here at the cottage and a bit more came down during the night. This reminds me of – was it last year? – when December and January were relatively snow free, and then February came along, and pow! Snow, and lots of it.

Unfortunately, it’s coming at a time when I will need to get into the city fairly frequently. Ah, well.

My homeward bound bus arrived at our bus station around noon yesterday and Don whisked me home. We watched some episodes of our new favorite television series, Schitt’s Creek, last night. Have you seen it? The first two seasons are on Netflix and the third season is now airing on a cable station called Pop. It stars Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara (two of the funniest people on the planet) as well as Levy’s son Daniel and a host of other wonderfully talented actors. It’s filmed in Canada. We are completely besotted.

It was rather heavenly to be tucked into the sofa next to my husband once more. And I was only gone two days. What will we do when he’s on the West Coast for at least three months?

This life of ours is topsy-turvy sometimes. Long periods of togetherness and no separations and then, suddenly, I’m away. Then I’m back. Then I’m in NYC. Then Don goes away. Then I go away. And our heads are spinning.

I’m going to have to figure out how to post next week. I’ll be going back and forth to the city a lot, and those days usually end up being 12 hour days, so there won’t be time to post – only to eat, sleep, and repeat. I’m not sure yet how many days are involved, but I might pre-write some posts and schedule them.

This arrived in the mail yesterday. I pre-ordered it from Amazon. It should have arrived on Thursday but the snowfall was so intense that there was no mail delivery. That rarely happens. I started it last night. Crombie is a wonderful writer and I love her recurring cast of characters. But, it’s been at least two years since her last book and I’m having trouble remembering the details of that story – and she refers to it in this book. The fog is gradually lifting as chunks of it come back to me. I could pull that book off the shelf and re-read the ending, but I want to sort out this little puzzle for myself.

I missed my Peet’s French Roast while I was gone. There was a mini-Keurig in the room with some dark roast pods, which was helpful. But the creamer was that powdered stuff that comes in a packet that has – to me – an awful, almost chemical-like taste. Once I was able to grab breakfast downstairs, I had another cup with actual half and half. (My one vegan fail – I can’t give up half and half. I’ve tried vegan versions and I just don’t like the taste.)

This morning? Back to Peet’s, with the first cup served by my husband, bless his heart.

Happy Saturday.

Chances Are, You’ve Already Got It

Sunday

Catching Up On Saturday

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives