Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Assembling, Walking, Listening & Reading

September 16, 2016 at 8:58 am by Claudia

The heat went on this morning. I don’t mind telling you, I was shocked!

NO! I’m not ready yet, thank you very much.

Yesterday was gorgeous, a simply lovely day. We took a two-mile trail walk late in the day. Earlier in the day, I put this together:

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It wasn’t hard – once I got into the rhythm of it, the construction ran very smoothly. I really love it. The wood is beautifully finished. The two holes you can see are there in case you want to hang it on the wall.

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Now I’m on a furniture finding mission – that will be fun! I want to gather enough pieces together to give Little Z a choice. I’m visualizing them in a big box with his name on it, where he can reach inside and sort through them, picking what he wants on any given day.

We wrote our little letter yesterday morning and sent it off to Zachary’s school. We won’t be there for any celebration, that is happening in the next week or so. Mere and I were laughing during our phone conversation yesterday – if I know Little Z, he won’t even be listening to the letter when it’s read aloud, he’ll be thinking or doing something else entirely. That’s how he rolls.

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Here’s the little Bose wireless speaker. It’s seven inches long and about 2½ inches high. Great sound! It sits on a charging station.

I finished reading Martha’s Vineyard: Isle of Dreams  yesterday and I felt like I was ending a visit with a very good friend. I didn’t want it to end. Susan Branch has that wonderful, warm quality to her writing. You feel like you could plop down on a chair in her kitchen and talk the day away. That is no mean feat. Are you following along on their journey to England? They should have docked by now. I’ll have to catch up today.

Actually, we have a lot in common, Susan and I. We’re both late bloomers and we didn’t meet the loves of our lives until later in life. Both of us thought that the chances of that happening were nil. And then, when you least expect it…there he is. We’re nesters. Gardeners. Romantics. We love Fred Astaire (I used to be rather expert in all things Fred Astaire.) We love old standards and the Great American Songbook. We love birds and animals and vintage and collecting. We love old movies; many of her favorites are also my favorites.

I feel like she’s a sister I’ve never met. I bet lots of you feel the same way, because she writes about things that are important to so many of us. I’ve followed her a long time. Maybe some day, I’ll get to meet her.

P.S. If any of you are being redirected to an update Adobe Flash site, please let me know. It’s been happening on my end and my suspicion is that it’s due to an ad. I’ve also got my security guys checking into it. If it ends up being an ad, I’ll disable them until we get to the bottom of it.

Happy Friday.

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Tagged With: Susan BranchFiled Under: books, dollhouse, Little Z, Susan Branch 40 Comments

Birds, Flowers, Hi-Tech & Little Z

September 15, 2016 at 9:25 am by Claudia

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This morning I saw four catbirds trying to maneuver around these leaves in order to do their thing in the birdbath. Note to Claudia: Time to scrub the birdbath (something I do a couple of times a week).

The other day, I watched a shimmering green hummingbird sample each and every one of the pink geraniums in the three whisky barrels. You can see one of the barrels in the photo.

It was magical. Wings moving faster than the eye can see, flitting, hovering, heading toward the chicken wire fence, then stopping abruptly to reverse direction. No time to grab the camera and, truthfully, sometimes it’s just nice to be. To simply glory in the wonders of nature.

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Hi-Tech month has come to a close. (I think I’ve been spelling “Hi” as “High,” which might be incorrect in this instance.) Yesterday, we took a little trip to Target to buy…brace yourselves for this exciting news…a new dishpan, drying rack and dish drainer. Yep. We went all out. And we bought a pack of socks for Don. Whoo hoo!

Actually, I did buy something with the money I got back from Apple when I exchanged computers. I bought a Bose wireless speaker for the office. It’s small but mighty. (I’ll show you a photo of it tomorrow). At times, I like to listen to music when I’m working, yet I find I don’t want to be wearing ear buds. Too restricting if I need to get up and move around. So this kind of thing seemed like the perfect solution.

And I can take it with me when I’m working out of town!

I tried it out when I got home and it delivers excellent sound quality. Bose is a favorite of ours.

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It’s much cooler this morning. I’m actually wearing a shawl. And socks! Even though I’m resisting the seasonal change, I must admit I like the cooler weather.

Today, I will put together Little Z’s dollhouse, scrounge through my stash for anything I can pass along to him, and search for more sturdy furniture online.

Speaking of Little Z, the other night he asked us if he could come visit us in “N as in New York” which is how he always says it, and I pray he keeps saying it that way for at least a little bit longer. It’s so charming. Of course, we said yes, and we told him we were going to be coming to Florida to see him next month. He corrected us, saying, “You’re coming down  to Florida.” Ummm….yes, you’re right, smart nephew of mine!

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Today we have to write a letter and send it to his school. They always do something for Grandparents Day but Z doesn’t have any living grandparents, so we’re going to stand in for my mom and dad. The school sent us an envelope that was supposed to include a drawing from our ‘grandchild’ and a request for the letter, but what we received was the packet for a student named ‘Delilah’ – nothing from Little Z! Ah, well. We’ll return the stuff from Delilah when we send the letter to Florida.

Apparently, the teachers read each letter aloud to the students and then post them on the bulletin board.

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Side note: Why are pillowcases so expensive nowadays? Two standard pillowcases for $30? Seems a bit pricey to me, so I’m going to search for a better deal. Maybe a trip to HomeGoods is in order.

The winner of a copy of Beulah’s House of Prayer  is Martha! Martha, I’m sending you an email. Congratulations!

Oh lordy – I had to add this. My former student Chris Nee (she’s a BU grad) who is a wonderful person and extremely funny, too, is the creator of Doc McStuffins. This is what she tweeted:

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Happy Thursday.

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Filed Under: birds, flowers, garden, giveaway, Little Z 38 Comments

Hello!

September 14, 2016 at 9:30 am by Claudia

Long time, no see! Well, truthfully, I’ve been here, but I haven’t been able to blog as I usually do. First a book review and then a sponsored post. But, like the proverbial bad penny, I’m back!

About that book review, today is the last day to leave a comment. I pick a winner this evening. Just scroll down two posts – it’s worth it. I really loved this one.

Oh friends, I’m in the middle of morning glory nirvana. Monday: 9 blooms. Tuesday: 16 blooms. Today: 16 blooms. This particular batch of seeds has been stellar – a bumper crop of morning glories. May I share some photos with you?

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I love all the stages of a morning glory.

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This was my view this morning. In the early hours of the day, they’re almost purple. As the day goes on, they morph into that beautiful Heavenly Blue color.

Goodness, it’s a lovely way to start the day.

On the porch, everything is still going strong. All the hanging plants are full and lush. And on the bench, six different pots of impatiens have come together to form this:

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A giant mass of beautiful blooms.

The miniature rose plant that Don gave me on Mother’s Day is still blooming:

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All in all, a very satisfying scenario here at the cottage, even though many plants in the garden beds are now fading. We’ve had gorgeous weather, although today is supposed to be humid and very warm. But it’s only for a day. The light is turning into that golden light that Fall seems to do so well.

I’m back to trail walking, after some rain and hot temps and computer issues (and three round trips to Danbury, CT) kept me off the trail for a few days. Yesterday, I mowed, which was the equivalent in miles of a trail walk. In effort? A whole lot more.

And the new computer? Lighter-weight than my older one. The retina display is incredible. Everything is so crystal clear, it’s really amazing. It’s also much faster. I guess you can say it’s been a high tech month here at the Hill/Sparks house. Don got an upgraded iPhone, I got an iPad (though I find I don’t use it all that much) and we both got new computers. Let me assure you, this is it for a long time! We’re grateful and all of it – except maybe the iPad – was desperately needed.

What else? I’m reading Martha’s Vineyard – Isle of Dreams  by Susan Branch and am thoroughly enjoying it. I’m about to put Little Z’s dollhouse from IKEA together and I’m searching for some sturdy, basic furniture for it. (He’s only five, after all.) Hopefully, we are going to head back down to Florida next month for a visit, because, as of December I am booked through May. We need to spend some time with family and walk on the beach and watch Little Z in the pool and hug my furry nephew Max. My other nephews will be away at school.

The morning glories gave us an unexpected extra:

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Incredibly intricate.

Oh, and birds! I saw a robin – just one – about a week ago. A catbird was taking a bath the other day. The doves are all still here, as are the finches. This morning I could see that a bird had recently been in the birdbath, getting a good splash of water. So, many of them are still around. That makes me happy.

Happy Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: birds, flowers, garden, morning glory 38 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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