Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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The Arrangement

August 14, 2016 at 9:56 am by Claudia

The heat index hit 109 degrees yesterday. Heck, it might have hit 110, but I can only vouch for the temp when I clicked on the weather app on my phone. The same today.

I will be so happy to see the last of this – maybe tomorrow or Tuesday? I’m not sure, but I do know that the grass is too long, the weeds are too many, and we’re sick of staying inside because there is an “excessive heat warning.”

We did decide on the placement for the watercolor of Scout, as well as the pencil sketch. Don and I tend to make these decisions together as the placement of beloved items, whether we’re talking about furniture or wall art, is important to both of us. We decided we wanted her in the living room, a room we spend a fair amount of time in. As it turns out, she’s looking down on her favorite place to sleep, which seems fitting.

8-14 closeup

As Don said, she’s protecting us.

Looking at her, we think one word: Joy. I also love the fact that the turntable, the albums, the name of the Parrish, which is “Pierrot’s Serenade,” not to mention the piano to the right – all represent music which is so important to us and was a big part of our life with Scout. When she was younger, every time we put on some music and started dancing, she would want to join in. She’d get up on her hind legs and we’d hold her paws and all three of us would dance.

8-14 newarrangement1

(We love the light streaming in these windows, but it does make taking pictures a somewhat frustrating task!)

Previously, the Maxfield Parrish was the only piece hanging here. We thought we’d hang the watercolor here, move the Parrish, and maybe hang the pencil sketch on the stairway gallery wall. But then we played around with possibilities for the Parrish, which is very special to me and not something I want to hide away, so we went with the Parrish and the watercolor. That seemed a bit off, so I grabbed the pencil sketch and then we knew we had a winner. The arrangement also takes the focus off the alarm pad and the thermostat, which is just fine with me.

8-14 newarrangementwithchair

We also played with hanging the Parrish next to the Aquitania, but that gorgeous lithograph shouldn’t have any competition in its place above the piano. It needs to be the star.

8-14 sideview

8-14 chair

Just had to get a shot of our newest find. I love, love, love this chair. And it’s so comfortable!

8-14 intokitchen

I wish a magazine photographer would come in here and take some pictures. Not so much because I’m craving a magazine feature (I sincerely doubt that this house is ‘magazine-worthy’) but it would be so great to have some photos that were taken by someone who knows what he/she is doing! Wouldn’t that be nice?

What were we doing while all of this was going on?

8-14 kennyrankin

Listening to some Kenny Rankin – one of our favorite albums.

I know there’s a lot of focus on Scout, because we lost her most recently. But I’d love to get a good photo of Winston to enlarge and hang; difficult because he had a black coat and I didn’t have a good camera then, so our photos aren’t the best. And I’m going to find a place for this photo – my favorite one of Riley and Scout:

scoutandriley

I framed this and it’s in our bedroom. But I’d also like it down here in the living room. We need Riley with us, too. Dear Riley, who also loved music. Whenever I played the piano, he would come over and plop himself down. It soothed him. And both Riley and Winston loved it when Don played the guitar.

I’ll work on that.

Oh, by the way, I woke up early this morning and after I snuggled up to Don, I went back to sleep whereupon I dreamed I was Michael Phelp’s girlfriend.

Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: decorating, living room, Riley, Scout 46 Comments

Creative Messes & A Quick Trip to IKEA

August 13, 2016 at 9:36 am by Claudia

Lest you think everything is in order around here – or that every photo I take is styled.

8-13 studio1

8-13 studio2

8-13 studio3

Yes, this is what it looks like up here in the office/studio. It’s a mess. A creative mess, but a mess nonetheless.

We went to IKEA yesterday. It takes an hour and a half to get there – it’s in New Jersey – so we rewarded ourselves with lunch while we were there. The new catalogue is out and I grabbed a copy as soon as we entered the building.

There were a couple of things I wanted to get. For Little Z:

flisat-doll-house-wall-shelf__0415370_PE577914_S4

This dollhouse, which can stand alone or hang on a wall. It’s the Flisat Doll House. I saw it on my friend Kat’s Instagram feed and since every time we Face Time with Little Z, he wants to see my dollhouse, I thought this might be fun for him. I’m not quite sure what to do with it yet. Do I decorate it à la Paw Patrol? Or is that too limiting? Do I gather up some basic furniture that is appropriate for a five year old boy, so he can play with it? Not sure yet, but I don’t mind saying I wouldn’t mind hanging this on my  wall! But, as you well know, the available wall space around here has already been taken.

Besides some new fry pans (which we desperately needed) and some new drinking glasses, I also spotted this little piece and decided it would be perfect for storing minis:

helmer-drawer-unit-on-casters-white__0175264_PE328644_S4

That’s what is in the box that’s leaning against the wall in the second photo. Now, unfortunately, I have to put it together, which will result, I’m absolutely sure, in lots of cursing.

The dollhouse is in the big blue IKEA bag. I have about 8 of these bags now, because I always forget to take the bags I already own with me when I visit IKEA and end up having to buy new ones. Since they are handy for so many things, among them, moving my crap into temporary housing when I’m in Hartford, I don’t mind having more.

There is an Excessive Heat Warning today with the heat index headed to well over 100°. I will water. I will walk down to the mailbox to get the mail. That’s it. I’m hiding indoors for the rest of the day, putting together fiddly pieces from IKEA, and…maybe…straightening things up around here.

I framed the watercolor of Scout:

8-13 scoutieframed

It’s so beautiful. Now, we just have to figure out the best place to hang it. There has been much discussion, but we haven’t come up with a decision yet. To be continued.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: dollhouse, Ikea, Little Z, office, studio 50 Comments

Friday Thoughts

August 12, 2016 at 9:47 am by Claudia

8-12 bugonhydrangea

• I’m living in a sauna.

It’s very hot and unbelievably humid out here in the Northeast. The windows of the cottage are sporting a layer of moisture which makes the view decidedly foggy. We had at least 4 thunderstorms yesterday and they were whoppers.

This morning I went outside to get some pictures and the danged rain has denuded lots of the phlox, forced the branches of the butterfly bush downward, and weeds have seemingly sprung up overnight. This is that time in the summer that I begin to lose interest in weeding the garden; I look at it, sigh, and move on. But I think I’ll force myself to weed it once this rain lets up – next week. Yep. The storms and the humidity are going to be with us until the first part of next week.

Let’s not even think about how much grass we’re going to have to mow.

8-12 surprisedaylily

The daylily that bloomed in very early summer presented me with two surprise flowers this morning.

8-12 garden

• We may or may not go to IKEA today. We’ll see. If not, it will be next week. I need to get a few things there.

• We’ve been watching the Olympics, especially swimming and diving, which are our favorites. I won’t say anything about Michael Phelps because others have said it much better than I can. He is a joy to watch. Extraordinary. We are so lucky to witness this incredible athlete over the course of the last four – or is it five? – Olympics. All of the other medal winners are amazing, as well as those athletes who train and sacrifice and don’t come home with a medal, but are still the best in the world. One of my former students from Boston University is married to Silver Medalist, Scott Donie – a diver who medaled in Barcelona. I’ve been asking her questions on FB – about the small towels, for instance. It turns out they are shammys. And then there’s my six degrees of separation connection through my sister. My nephew swam competitively for years and so the family knows Ryan Murphy and his brother and parents (according to Mere, the nicest people you could ever hope to meet) and several other swimmers that are competing in Rio.

The Olympics has been a welcome change during this election season; something hopeful that brings the world together, instead of separating us. More, please.

• Those links I promised you:

A List of Facts Debunking Anti-Hillary Clinton Myths, Lies & Ridiculous Conspiracies.

Why Are You Convinced Hillary is a Criminal?

And this Op-Ed in the NY Times from the pen of David Brooks: Trump’s Enablers Will Finally Have to Take a Stand. 

Finally, the Op-Ed by Thomas Friedman that I referenced on Wednesday: Trump’s Wink Wink to ‘Second Amendment People.’

Read or don’t read, whatever you like.

• Despite the occasional reader who never comments but feels the need to finally comment in order to tell me that they feel a political post has ‘no place’ on my blog so they will be unsubscribing, I’m going to write about this election when I feel moved to. I won’t inundate you with posts, though I could write every day on it and never run out of things to say! This blog is a mix of things and that mix includes the things I feel passionately about, including: my husband, my dogs, my house, my garden, my collections, kindness, common decency, and the state of our world, especially the state of our country.

As always, I  determine the content. But you know that. I won’t be censoring myself in order to keep the number of readers I have at a certain level to gain more ad income. If I’d wanted to do that, I would have shaped this blog into a real money maker and never issued any statement that could be interpreted as provocative. It would have been pretty. It would have been bland. It would have bored me to tears.

That ain’t me, my friends. As my dear friend Joe once said, “You don’t want to mess with the Hill girls.” The Hill girls don’t shrink from speaking out.

Okay.

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: flowers, garden, olympics, what I believe 70 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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