Still Life with Camera. I love the light in this shot, the way it hits the pottery, the vivid blue reflection on the wall, the shadows, the darkish form of the camera. It’s a late afternoon portrait of a corner of the den.
I rose at 5:30 this morning – too early – but there you go. I woke up. I felt like I’d slept well and I wanted to get downstairs and see if Scout needed to avail herself of the outdoor facilities. She did. All is well.
Don had a fitful night, as he is in the throes of this not-at-all-fun head cold. There’s been no sound from the bedroom, so I hope he’s sleeping. I love this early morning time, when it’s quiet and Scout is sleeping at my feet. The other day, when Don work up before me, he was actually disappointed when I came down the stairs soon after. He had been looking forward to some quiet time on his own.
I get it.
I’ve found that more and more as I grow older, I crave quiet. It wasn’t that many years ago when I would routinely turn on the Today show in the morning to catch up on what had happened in the world overnight. Now, I wouldn’t think of doing that. I don’t want the sound of the television intruding into my world.
In fact, we hardly ever have the TV on during the day – only on those rare occasions that we feel the need to check on an important news story. Or check in on a big weather event. I suppose the internet has helped with that. We can go online now and read up on the news. Or check the weather. Or choose not to have anything to do with either of those things.
Quiet soothes my soul. Quiet helps me think. I have been involved in music and sounds and words and performance for most of my life. When I am working, I am surrounded by sounds. So is Don. There are times I noodle on the piano, or play music on the stereo, and of course, I love hearing Don play his guitar.
But mostly I love quiet.
Right now, I hear the clicks and sounds of water moving through the baseboard heaters. I hear the creaks and groans of a 124 year old house. I hear the occasional sigh from Dame Scout. Occasionally, my ears catch the sound of a car driving by. But mostly, it’s quiet.
We guard that quiet. If one of us wants to turn on the television during the day for some reason, we always ask the other if it’s okay. We know how important the quiet is – especially in this little cottage – for reading, for creating, for thinking.
Last night’s sunset
Since the early days of blogging – and I’m coming up on my 7th anniversary of blogging in 10 days – I’ve had the volume turned all the way down on my computer. I only turn it up when I’m watching a video or a movie on Netflix. Otherwise? All the way down. To zero. When we first started blogging, in those long ago days, bloggers often had music playlists on their blogs. Do you remember those? I do. I found them intrusive, simply because I didn’t want to click on a blog and be jolted by someone else’s choice in music. So I learned to turn the volume down. End of problem. I enjoyed the blog post and didn’t have to worry about the music. Then more and more of us began to have ads on our blogs. Most of those ads are simply ads – silent. But some have audio. Or video. Or both.
I never hear them because I keep the volume down.
One of my longtime and dear readers wrote yesterday to say that she had heard an audio ad on the blog and was unhappy about that. I completely understand. I don’t like them either. There’s not a whole lot I can do about it. Ads change on any given blog according to the reader of that blog’s browsing habits. When I click on my blog, I might very well see a different ad than you do, even if you click on the blog at the exact same time. I’m sure you’ve all searched for something on your computer – maybe something like a lamp – and then proceeded to see ads for lamps appearing on other sites, including blogs. It’s unnerving; kind of like Big Brother watching you.
And I have to have ads. If I don’t, the blog will cease to exist. It’s that simple.
Anyway, this is all to say that I don’t have a whole lot of control about that sort of thing. You could write me and tell me one kind of ad is showing when you read the blog and I will check here and not see it. If you don’t like the audio, simply turn your volume down. That will serve you well as you cruise around the internet. Believe me, you can be assaulted by sound on any site.
That’s why I keep my volume down. I like quiet. I like to read. I don’t want intrusive sounds coming out of nowhere.
Which reminds me of the time I was sitting here in the peaceful, quiet early morning only to hear the beep of a smoke alarm. Loud, obnoxious, but not the beep that happens when there really is a problem. No, this one was more subtle. A beep here. A beep there. Then quiet. And then, just as I was thinking that little glitch had taken care of itself, it happened again. And again. It took a long time, but I finally tracked it down to the alarm in our bedroom. Somehow, a fly got in there and it set off the alarm.
Then it was back to quiet.
Happy Saturday.
Good morning Claudia, I like both pictures. The sunset is the calm before the storm coming our way. I keep my sound off and I was surprised to hear ads have sound. Enjoy your day.Doris
I’m on my way out to run some errands before that storm heads into town, Doris. Take care!
Ah yes, quiet! An elusive and rare commodity at my house, with a musician husband and a son who edits movie trailers and video games. The television is usually going in the family room while my husband listens to music on his computer while studying scores at the dining room table. Thank heaven for my library, tucked away at the back of the house! Your post today reminded me of the time our boys were up front at church for the children’s sermon. The minister asked–who can tell me what peace means? My son piped up–it’s what my mom always wants–peace and quiet. !!! Why yes, she does…
Love, love that story, Martha! And yes, thank goodness you have that special retreat!
Good morning, Claudia, I’ve become a lover of quiet as well. I’ve been up early this morning, enjoying my coffee and actually sitting outside with Miss Bella while we play ball. This is our fair weather routine ( otherwise it’s throwing the ball, going in the house and back and forth). After the sad family events of the past week, I’m looking forward to being home with my dog and husband (should I have written husband and dog?) and just fluffing around. I declare that all groundhogs were wrong this year and spring will arrive soon! I hear birds outside and some trees are pregnant with buds so that you can see the faint colors against the background–a time I love! Enjoy your day.
Lucky you! No sign of spring here and there won’t be for a long time yet! In fact, more snow is headed our way Sunday – Tuesday.
Sigh.
Oh Yes, quiet. I love it. I am a public school teacher. I am surrounded by noise all day long. My reward at the end of a long day is to catch up on my favorite blogs. I don’t always comment because I am just too tired to think. Your blog is one that I always view first to check on Scout. I miss my old boy Max. He died last January of the ripe old age of 18. I know exactly what you are experiencing with Scoutie. Just wanted to tell you I love your blog. Its one of my favorite.
I’m so sorry about the loss of your dear Max. Losing a beloved pet is so hard. xo
It’s one of my favorites. I need my glasses!
xo
I love the way sun hits items and makes the most amazing patterns. Charlie loves to sit in front of the window and the sun on him is always lovely. I too enjoy the quiet.
hugs,
Linda
I think cats love sitting in the sun. Scout has taken to that lately. But, there’s no sun today!
Hi Claudia, both pictures are lovely. The shade of blue is gorgeous! And your sunset pictures are always so lovely. Yes, I am always craving quiet. 99.9% of the time I am up way before my husband. That is my time. I have coffee…maybe read a bit or stitch a little…or just sit and contemplate things. I get up earlier for work than I need to just so that I can have that quiet, me time. My husband likes music on all the time, and the TV often…sometimes both (which drives me crazy!!). We usually listen to classical or jazz during dinner, but then it goes way, way down in volume (or off) while we read out loud after dinner. And computer volume – always OFF! Hope you don’t get snowed in. One forecast for us shows rain…another shows sleet…another shows nothing. Apparently no one knows what we will get!
I get a little crazy if it’s too noisy….when I’m on the road working and there’s a lot of sound from the actors, and of course, I have to listen to the sounds….well then, a quiet hotel room or apartment is a very welcome thing!
I am totally with you on the quiet. I think it’s a combination of things: growing older, being an empty nester (no noisy kids around), and being an introvert. The only time I ever turn on the TV during the day is to watch Jeopardy. I rarely even turn on the TV at night. Like you, I also have the volume on my laptop turned off. Once in awhile, if I’m in an energetic mood while housecleaning, I’ll turn on the music in the kitchen (I have a very old iTouch and have it in a little docking station) so I can dance around while cleaning. Good exercise.
Yes, I’m a bit of an introvert too, Melanie. I like my solitude. I like my quiet! I do the same thing as you, though, sometimes I turn on the music and dance and sing.
Umm, I do that, too! But, only if I’m home alone.
I like the photo of the glass bottles and their shadows very much – it would make a good drawing exercise. Last night I met with a very talented and enthusiastic young woman who is going to give me some lessons in miniature painting. Winter appears to be unrelenting, so I think this will be a good diversion.
Quiet is good. I am fortunate to both live and work with people who are quiet by nature and don’t feel the need to “fill the air” because they find quiet uncomfortable. I had a visitor the other day who remarked “your home is so peaceful” – I took that as a compliment.
Are the lessons in painting on a miniature scale or painting miniatures? Or both?
I am going to have a try at painting a miniature landscape – “try” being the operative word. I originally met this young woman at an exhibit of her real-life size paintings and persuaded her to give me some painting lessons albeit in a much smaller scale. I can’t get over how tiny the brushes are that she gave me to use!
I love quiet as well…The sound on my computer is OFF!! Living alone with a dog and a cat provides me with plenty of quiet..No complaints here..I hope Don is feeling better soon..
Me too, Missy. I’ve been out running errands, just returned home, and he’s still in bed!
Quiet is good…….words spoken by a retired primary teacher.
My hat is off to any primary school teacher, Martha! You’ve earned your quiet.
Oh, Claudia! Peace and quiet. Being retired, and living in our little empty nest, we pretty much control any volume of all things in our home. Last evening I attended a benefit for our little Arts Center here in town w/ a friend and her daughter and my daughter and DIL. Fun eve for “the girls”. Oh. my. They had 2 men playing pianos ~ and “trying” to sing. Their claim to fame was they could sing any song you requested, oh, and they were from Chicago. Not sure why they kept throwing that out there, maybe to impress their small town audience?? I seriously, in my silly mind, envisioned an evening of lovely piano playing and crooning of a few Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand type songs. OMG. I only had 2 diet Cokes to drink all evening………. I think I should have been drinking to “enjoy” what was happening. I was so happy to finally arrive at home. And this morning my ears feel as if they are still bleeding. Unreal. I don’t understand why louder is better and why yelling/shouting instead of singing is popular.
Oh lord, it sounds terrible! Does being from Chicago mean that what they are doing is too sophisticated for a small town audience? Yikes. I’m with you on the yelling/shouting thing. I could name a whole slew of popular singers who merely shout instead of sing. I don’t get it.
Hi Claudia, Glad you had your quiet morning. I love your photos. It is good for Don to sleep while not feeling well. It helps. I like peace and quiet also. Too often we turn on the news…and it’s so irritating. Take care , enjoy this day. xoxo,Susie
I know. And when we do, we invariably turn it right back off again, Susie.
I am so with you when it comes to enjoying the quiet Claudia. My husband is deaf in one ear and when he’s home the t.v. is so loud it sometimes unnerves me. But when I’m not babysitting and he’s not home I just enjoy that sweet, sweet silence. My sinuses aren’t quite as bad today as they were, just enough to be annoying. It’s a beautiful clear day here and I’m am anxiously awaiting delivery of our new mattresses. I couldn’t be more excited if it was a big diamond coming.
Oh, I bet you’re excited! Enjoy!
I’d heard there were blogs with music…but never experienced that until recently. Maybe because my only computer has only been an iPad, the music never came through. And the one time I did hear music on someone’s blog…I didn’t care for their selections. I have heard one ad with background music, and voices and it made me jump….I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from! Couldn’t get the volume turned down fast enough!
Seems like now, several blogs are asking to know my location…yours included…and I wonder why? Seems they are doing quite a good job already tracking my views. I don’t mind, I just don’t allow. But I am curious to know why. Are you losing money because I don’t allow? Wouldn’t want that to happen! Enjoy your day! ;)
I wonder why it’s asking you your location? I wonder if it has to do with cookies and tracking preferences? I don’t get that when I’m on my blog. Is it the blog or the browser, do you think?
I don’t have anything set in my blog to ask that question. Check your browser. You might want to disable anything to do with geo location or disable third party cookies, which are connected to ads.
Where does it come up when you click on the blog and how is the question worded?
It says…Mockingbird Hill Cottage would like to track your location. And I have a choice to either allow, or not. It happens on two other blogs as well…but don’t really know where it’s coming from. I assumed…probably wrongly….that it was coming from those particular blogs. Like I said, i don’t allow…unless you would be losing money.;)
Oh, don’t worry about that! I want to investigate this further – find out why it’s saying that, whether it’s a prompt from the browser or from that ads I’m carrying.
Are you on a computer, an iPad? Some apps also use tracking info.
My guess is if it’s not happening to anybody else…the prompt is on my end. But, I don’t know why…and only with a couple of blogs. It’s very Big Brotherish…you know? ;)
Have you tried turning off any geolocation services in your browser? I have a question in to one of the guys I work with on ads to see if he knows anything about it.
I just turned it off…so we’ll see. Thanks! ;)
I keep the sound off on my computer too Claudia..unless I find something that I would like to hear which is not too often..I don’t listen to music in my car either..I enjoy my peace and quiet also since I’ve grown older..
I feel the same way. Although, I do listen to the radio in the car.
I used to love the quiet of a weekend morning, since I got up before my children or husband. But now, after losing my husband, I don’t enjoy the quiet as much as I used to. I’m still the first one up. Well, the cat is actually up first and rouses me to feed her. I still get to enjoy the newspaper all to myself. But I find I now need the quiet hum of a human voice, so the TV is on low until the children are up and their voices don’t make me feel so alone anymore.
Oh, Wendy, I totally understand! Hearing another voice must be comforting. I find I have a little of that feeling when I’m traveling and feel lonely. It must be very hard for you. We all need the option of some company, don’t we?
Funnily enough, I was just planning to turn off my radio because the program is a bit too intrusive right now and I want some quiet.
I love the first photo and make a point of looking for those bits of light dancing around my own home, especially in the wintertime.
Karen
Especially in the wintertime, Karen! We need light.
I am with you. I love the quiet and also speakers turned off. My husband on the other hand watches news videos and needs the volume. We came up with a solution. He has little ear buds that plug into the speakers. Now he can listen to what he wants to his hearts content without me hearing a thing. Him and I truly have very different tastes on our internet searches.
My smoke alarms have made that same beeping noise. Mine are hard wired but also take batteries. The noise I here is a signal of a low battery.
Ear buds are a gift from the gods, Olivia. I make Don wear his when he’s surfing the internet listening to music.
Beautiful post, i can relate to this because i like my solitude and quiet time, that is why this poem by James Cavanauhg is one of my favorite poems :
Everything i love is soft and silent,
My cat, the morning, the end of day,
even the moon in its way.
Everything i love is soft and silent,
the water, the forest, the snow at play,
even the mountain in its way.
Everything i love is soft and silent,
the sun on the sand, a rainy day,
even the wind in its way.
Everything i love is soft and silent,
the grass, the brook, the leaves at play,
even you in your way.
Have a lovely weekend, and give Scout a big hug from me x
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. What a lovely, lovely poem, Caroline. xo
What a beautiful sunset you captured Claudia!
There was a time when I’d flip the radio on first thing in the morning – every morning. Now I prefer the quiet and, like you, it’s very rare if my television is on during the daytime. I find real enjoyment in the sounds you hear in the quiet … the occasional passing of cars, the windchimes, geese flying south, etc. All things I’d miss if not for the quiet.
There is such a beauty in quiet, isn’t there? I’m with you on this one, Debbie.
I thought I was the only one who preferred quiet most of the time. Thanks for letting me there are many of us.
I think there are a lot of us, Kay!
I have noticed my online shopping searches on many blogs. If it is not one of your sponsors do you get income from the company? I never thought about how individual the ads are, how do they know I read you and order Eileen Fisher??? I still am amazed at how our lives are so public. All of your readers have different shopping needs. Although I don’t know if many people shop online as much as I do!
It has to do with the browser that tracks your reading and browsing experience. You can always opt out of that kind of thing by checking your browser’s preferences and ask them not to track you or to collect third party cookies, which also track you, I think.
It’s certainly a bit disconcerting!
Morning Claudia
I’m catching up on some reading – this post was still in the email unread… You’ve no doubt already written this morning in the stillness of today’s quiet. But this little post made me chuckle. First that are getting your quiet while Don sleeps. We do that too! I do hope he gets well.
S cons … Early days of blogging… I remember the music I had some blogs that were my favorites… Because of the music selection. But eventually I began turning the volume down too.
It’s funny how things change and stay the same! I’ll checkback in a bit for today’s post.
Enjoy your Sunday
You too, Pat. We have, unfortunately, MORE snow on the way!
I too value the quiet. I get up early in the morning purposely to enjoy it. No radio, no television, no computer speakers. Once my husband gets out of the quiet no longer exists.
My favorite thing about summer is going outside with my morning coffee and listening to the woods wake up, Everything greeting the new day.