Mockingbird Hill Cottage

The roller coaster ride that is a lot of sleep, then too little sleep, then a lot of sleep continues. I have to follow the same advice I give to Don: Some times it just happens. You’ll get through the day.

It’s true.

So, it was very hot and humid yesterday which made me stay in the house except for the usual watering of plants. I sat in our newish chair in the living room and read. Occasionally my eyes would wander over to the portraits of Scout and Riley on the wall.

And then to the Parrish.

And then back again to the dogs.

So I finally got up and tried the canvas of Riley and Scout in place of the Parrish.

Much better. It belongs there. When Winston arrives, the wall will be complete.

So…where to put the Parrish? I wandered around the house, trying it here and there. We have limited wall space, especially upstairs where we have attic rooms with slanted walls. I stood in the studio/office and thought about it. I left the Parrish propped up against the work table. I walked away.

Eventually, I tried this:

I had the calendar hanging here, but I moved it over to the far left side of the shelf, after trying the Parrish there first. I preferred it here, because just to its right is this:

I may tweak the placement of The Dinky Bird – maybe a bit closer to Pierrot’s Serenade.

When I first created this little space, I was all for keeping it clean. By that, I mean relatively free of clutter on the desk and clutter on the walls.

I failed miserably.

I have stuff. Let’s face it. I collect egg cups, I collect mini pottery (over on the wall to the left of the desk,) I have a bulletin board full of memories and photos, I have all the clutter that goes with building  miniatures, and then I have the Parrishes. And the pottery. And…you get the picture.

But I thought about the Maxfield Parrish and how much I love his work and how long I’ve waited and waited to be able to purchase one or two of them and I thought: why not have them both on the wall that faces me when I’m working at my desk? I can lift my gaze from the keyboard and gaze upon the glorious colors and smile. And I do.

One other thing. I mentioned this on Instagram a few weeks back, but I don’t think I shared it here. We found this chair at our new favorite antique shop for $25.00. It’s a mid-century bentwood chair and, gosh, is it comfortable. It’s been added to our mismatched set of chairs that surround the kitchen table. It’s in great shape. I love it.

In case you’re interested: the Matryoshka doll/tea ball and tin of Anastasia tea were given to me by the producers of Anastasia, as was the round medallion on top of the tea tin. The tiny Delft shoes were a gift from Susi in Amsterdam, the shadow box contains a brooch give to me by my late brother, and the tin over on the work table was an antique shop find.

Happy Saturday.