Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Snow and Books

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From yesterday during the storm.

I’d say we got about 3 inches – less than predicted. It’s very cold today and we had strong winds all night long. Tomorrow will be much warmer and the melting will begin. We’re fine, so we’re not going to have anyone do any snow blowing. Don purposely parked his car down the driveway near the street, so, if necessary, we can get out of here easily. So we’ll appreciate this pristine and pretty snow while we can, because this will be it for this year.

I appreciate your support and recommendations concerning my back. But I know exactly what is causing this and I know what to do. Also, remember that my sister is a therapist and she has given Don exercises that are helping him and will certainly counsel me as well. Thanks.

I’ve started a new book, Orfeo  (pulled from my TBR pile.) It’s by Richard Powers, who wrote one of my favorite books ever, The Overstory, which won the Pulitzer Prize.  He wrote Orfeo  in 2014. He is a brilliant, lyrical writer. I have his newest in that pile, too – Bewilderment – purchased during my stay in Brooklyn. Powers introduces me to new ideas, takes me to  places I never thought of, and changes me forever. One of my goals is to read all of his novels.

I think I bought it on that first trip to Oblong Books, right after we were fully vaccinated.

I consider it a privilege to read his words.

So, we’re both laying low today, happy to have heat and a roof over our heads, to look outside at the untouched snow gleaming in the sun, to have music and books and each other.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

 

Comments

  1. sorry that you and don have pain. and snow and wind.

    glad you both have meredith’s expertise, help with exercises. also books and each other and relief in knowing that your shed has a new roof and gutters have been fixed.

    hope you both feel better soon!

    and i always love the color of the shed.

    i’ve stopped by most days to check how you are all doing, but haven’t written. sorry … nothing against any of you or your posts. my days have just been very, very long. i know they will get better, but right now things are still very hard. am planning to retire, but it looks like there will be no settlement from my last job (contrary to what i was told several times over many weeks and despite all the horrible things done to me there … worst job experience ever). i have a lot of pain for standing all day, so much that i limp and it affects my back and sleep. spent half of yesterday getting a new driver’s license and an oil change. boss at new job came in to work a couple days ago obviously sick and now i feel like i’m getting a cold so haven’t been over to visit some family members and I miss them very, very much. and on a drive home late one night, i hit an animal. so … sad, exhausted and frustrated here. not fun to experience. not fun for you to read about … sorry. but i do know it’s part of life, also that things could be worse, they change, will get better. and that i’m not the only one …

    how are you all? hopefully well, comfy, stocked up with your favorite things …

    sending hugs and saying prayers for you all.

    kathy in iowa

    • I’m so very sorry, Kathy. Life is very hard for you right now. I pray that things will get better soon. Praying for you. You are in my thoughts.

      xoxo
      Claudia

      • thanks, claudia. means a lot. :)

        meant to add:

        hope everyone has their clocks and watches changed for daylight saving time starting today. brighter evening hours will be much appreciated here!

        also, within five days of hitting that animal, i saw something happen with a different kind of animal laying on a different road that only God Himself could convince me was not a miracle and answer to a prayer i called out when i saw that animal laying there.

        and though it took a couple tries, my new driver’s license photo isn’t awful. ha. so there’s that, too.

        going to pack up some art supplies for my great-niece and deliver them in a couple days. she turns 11 on Wednesday (and my sister and i turn 64 on friday … woo hoo!).

        xoprayers

        • Oh, kathy, I am so sorry for your pain, both physical and mental. I have missed you here, but I figured you were taking care of things there and yourself. WHY oh WHY are people still coming into the work place when they are sick?? Have we not learned THAT at least?? Unreal. My filters are pretty much gone when it comes to stupid ~ and most especially when the health of MANY, not just yourself, is at stake.

          I hope your week goes well and your BD on Friday is a happy one and you are able to celebrate with your family. Take care.

          • thank you, chris! :)

            i have missed you all here so have peeked in to see how everyone’s been, but haven’t had either time or energy to chat. :( but i keep praying for you all.

            yeah, i was very disappointed that the boss came in obviously sick. and (even worse) she let a coworker come back who had not yet gotten a negative test after testing positive for covid. ugh.

            the old job stuff has been super-stressful, but i can let it go now that a decision has been made and (most importantly) because the lies and stress are not mine to apologize for or carry. better to feel free of that stuff/ them and not let it ruin my future.

            will get to see some members of my family on friday after work. :)

            is your sweet granddaughter two now? my, how time flies, huh?!?

            hope you and your family are well, safe and you have a good week ahead.

            thanks again, chris.

            xoprayers,
            kathy

          • thank you very much, claudia!

            hope you and don have an easy week ahead and feel better every day.

            xoprayers,
            kathy

    • I have been thinking about you Kathy. I was hoping you would post again. Sorry to hear you are in so much pain. Maybe retirement will help your health.

      • thank you very much, olivia. :)

        retirement will help, for sure. standing on my feet for eight-plus hours a day at my new job has aggravated my back (osteoporosis broke four vertebrae almost a year and a half ago), hurts my feet and ankles (which have been variously broken many times). no longer having to do that will help a lot. so will getting more time with my family, walk more, get back to hobbies, etc. will help, too. also, less stress-eating.
        :) soon. soon!

        how are you? hope you and your family are safe and well, too.

        thanks again, olivia.

        xoprayers,
        kathy

    • kathy, I have been wondering about you since you’ve stepped away from commenting here; and I’m so, so sorry you’re having a bad time; my thoughts are with you and I’m sure things will be looking up for you soon; saying my prayers for you …

      • thank you very much, vicki!

        bad things just happened all at once, it seems, and i’ve had less time for fun things (including visiting with you all here) and practically no energy (long days and stupid depression) … but things are getting better. some may call this now a “light at the end of the tunnel”, but i very clearly see God making a way for me to retire a bit early and that is beautiful and i am so grateful!

        so how are you all, including the dog? God bless you for being able to provide foster care for an animal in need!

        hope you all have a good week ahead.

        thanks again for the prayers.

        xoprayers,
        kathy

    • So sorry to hear you are having a rough time of it lately. I’ve missed your comments, but figured with the new job, you’ve been really busy. I’m really surprised at your boss coming to work when he’s sick. Has he learned nothing from the last 2 years?

      Take care of yourself. I sincerely hope you can retire soon! ;)

      • thanks very much, donnamae. :)

        the new job has been a huge change and i feel overwhelmed and stupid there a lot of the time … but plan to retire soon and that makes me feel better.

        agree about the boss coming in sick. after all we’ve all been through these past couple years! that was even something mentioned at the interview. ugh.

        how are you? hope you and your family are safe and well and will enjoy a nice week ahead.

        thanks again.

        xoprayers,
        kathy

    • Kathy so sorry that things are difficult for you now.
      I know you are a believer so you know God sees all
      Nothing and I mean nothing goes past him.
      Things will settle down once you retire.
      I don’t know if you have ever heard of Rick Warren he always says “this is not heaven ”
      Boy is that ever true
      Hang in there

      • thanks much, linda!

        you’re right that God sees all, allows some things we don’t like … and He uses it all for good. :)

        i promised God that if He opened a door for me (to get away from the worst job stress/ experience i’ve ever had), i would walk through it. thought that door was to my new job, but it is better than that … it is to be able to retire a bit early. :) as i wrote to vicki, above, that is so clear and beautiful to me and i am very grateful! :)

        i’ve heard of rick warren, know he wrote a super-popular book years ago, but that’s it. i agree with that quote, though, for sure!

        glad you are a believer, too.

        how are you? hope you and your family are safe and well.
        hope you have a nice week ahead.

        thanks again.

        xoprayers,
        kathy

    • Sorry to hear that you’re still having to go through some tough times, Kathy. May God bless and watch over you.
      Have a wonderful birthday on Friday and enjoy the lighter evenings. In the UK, our clocks don’t go back an hour for another two weeks!

      • thanks, dee dee! i appreciate your wishes and am grateful that God watches over and blesses us all. :)

        hope the time change goes easy for you all and that you and your family are safe, well and have a good week.

        thanks again.

        xoprayers,
        kathy

  2. Good morning Claudia! What a lovely picture. It’s nice when you can sit back, relax and actually enjoy a snow day with coffee and a good book. The red color on the shed is just amazing. Thanks for the book update. I love to find a new author with lots of books. I started the Overstory while my hubby softly strummed his guitar. Nice. Spring is coming and I wonder how our days will change. Mine will start with birdwatching by the river. But first it needs to be a little warmer than 26 deg. Mother Nature keeps teasing. Have a lovely day you two!

  3. So happy that you are able to spend the day inside resting and reading! That is always a good thing.

    Our temps are up about +25 from yesterday. 60’s by mid-week!! We shall enjoy each one, knowing that the shoe can always drop at this time of year. But the extra daylight in the evening, and knowing that even a snowfall will disappear pretty quickly when they occur at this time of year, keeps us moving along. Enjoy your quiet and peaceful day and take care.

  4. Hope that Don and You will be pain free quickly. I was just thinking your photo of the shed in the show would make a great but extremely difficult jigsaw!
    Gardener’s World is back on TV plus the third series of the wonderful Italian drama – My Brilliant Friend. In fact, there’s so much good stuff to watch, I can see myself turning into a real couch potato😀

  5. Enjoy the pretty snow! I’m still resting my back and I feel improvement. Hoping you and Don are feeling better also. Aging bodies need more rest than I ever imagined! Hugs!

    • The morning is the worst. Sleeping on my side compresses the lower back and I can barely move when I get up. But then, it gets looser and the pain goes away. I just have to be patient.

      Glad yours is getting better, Linda.

      Stay safe.

  6. The only good thing about snow is that it is pretty. I also like snow in the mountains– where it belongs.

    • Thank you Vicki.

      Sorry, I didn’t answer your comment yesterday – I didn’t answer any because of my back. But it sounds like your new family member is very grateful for you and your husband. Things are already improving, my friend. You won’t regret staying the course.

      • Thanks. Claudia, when you aren’t feeling well, you need to come first and the blog second. I’m always glad when you answer any of us back, but you’re under no obligation to do so, not ever. We are all cyber friends here, some of us for a long time now at MHC blog! And we understand each other, both host/leader (you!) and readers-all! (Look at all the nice comments that kathy in iowa got; her absence was noticed; we care!) Your blog, Claudia, is so much about caring, commiserating and, well, love of a whole bunch of things including humans! It’s a comfort to read you and everybody else here in my daily life; you and your blog make a difference!

        I appreciate your encouragement about the dog; anybody including you who’ve talked to me here about a shelter dog has been so helpful to me. Actually, I had to think on it, but I really haven’t had an actual shelter dog since when we got one thru another person (who’d gotten him from a shelter just a month before but had no room for him and his energy as a live-aboard at the marina in a BOAT) back in, ohmygoodness, 1991, hard to imagine it has been so long. Thank God for shelters and rescue centers, but month after month in one is hard on an animal; and who knows what came before, but we at least know, I guess because he’s beautiful but difficult, that our big boy has been in this local rescue place of ours for five long months.

        I continue to read and learn about shelter dogs and what he may be going thru with fear, separation anxiety, missing his favorite person, etc. I’m getting more fond of him every day; we just had to learn to trust each other and, frankly, it’s amazing it has happened so fast although we’ve tried to answer his every need.

        And we had another terrific break-thru today; you will understand because you’re a dog person: I’ve been hoping so much he would start to poop/pee in the yard so that we don’t have to be up at 4am walking him so that he’ll relieve himself? This afternoon, we saw him pee in the yard. We nearly jumped for joy; finally, finally. I hope this is the start of much peepee to come. Maybe he finally realizes our backyard is for HIM.

        Ah, for these small joys of life!

        • Forgot to say in both comments today that I hope each day finds you mending and healing; the snow photo is so beautiful to me and it’s great that the cute red shed is now protected with the new roof. Gosh, those roof guys were the best!

          • We’ve had seven dogs since that 1991 shelter dog I just mentioned, but they were strays and other type of rescues, odd circumstances. I’m already balking about the rules for fostering although I definitely feel the concept has its place, and I’m so grateful for all that the rescue league has done to help this dog and the other (many) ones; it’s such a huge job for them, and they try so hard, usually understaffed to do all the right things and get these animals off the streets; to work with them individually as much as they can and prepare them for adoption. I’m ready to just adopt him, go to our own vet, get him checked out, ask some questions and move forward; get the dog to the beach and let’s chase that tennis ball. I think my husband and I will hammer it down this week.

          • They were wonderful. They happened to choose the one day of the week where it didn’t rain or snow! Perfect.

        • Oh, these breakthroughs are making me so happy, Vicki! This baby just needed some consistency and a lot of love, which you and your husband give in abundance. I cannot tell you how happy this makes me.

          xoxo

  8. Well…it sounds like you have a relaxing day planned with Don. Good! I’m glad you didn’t get as much snow as predicted. Hopefully it’ll melt quickly for you. Enjoy your day! ;)

    • It melted a wee bit today, but starting tomorrow with the much warmer temps, it should disappear within a couple of days.

      Stay safe, Donnamae!

  9. You missed the best part in yesterday’s storm. There is a term – snow cyclone maybe. We got 3″ over Friday night and into Saturday, a lull and then bands of snow accompanied by 30+ mph winds. Few blizzards in my lifetime could rival this. We went to a post funeral gathering about 10 miles out of town. The return trip was one of the worst travels I’ve had in a long time. I was so grateful to my friend for driving. Blinding snow, road so snow covered, you couldn’t tell where you were going. Yikes. I am forever grateful to her and her experience having lived in Canada on the shores of Lake Huron with weather conditions such as this.
    Stay inside, get better and thank you for your daily ‘cup of cheer’/

    • It’s called a Bomb Cyclone and we had the same thing happen. I’ve been through it many times before, having grown up in Michigan, wtih several years spent in Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. And my parents also lived on the shores of Lake Huron! It can be very scary! Glad you’re okay.

      Stay safe, Carol.

  10. Richard Powers is the bomb! And not a bomb cyclone. :)
    It will be in the 50s tomorrow and all week so all the snow will melt! Just came in with the dog and saw bear tracks. Ugh. Will have to bring feeders in ASAP.
    Wishing you and Don a good recovery from all that ails you. <3
    xo

  11. That photo is a Christmas card waiting to happen. Just sayin’…

    I hope today the back is better. Yes, when you’ve had that uninvited guest before you know how to handle it. I hope it doesn’t hang in there long. So glad the snow wasn’t as bad as predicted.

  12. I love that picture of the snow. I can say that though since we don’t have to deal with it. What I love about Arizona is that we can drive 2 hours north of Phoenix and we will be in the snow in the winter and much cooler weather in the summer, to get out of the heat. We do that quite often. We have been going to a place called BriarPatch Inn up in Sedona for the past 20 years. It is truly Heaven on Earth. We try to go twice a year. That is always the place I want to go for my birthday in October. There is no TV, no computers, just a great environment to get off the grid. Some days I just stay in my Jammie’s and read. You should google it. I definitely think you would love it. It is also right on Oak Creek so you can hear the water and it is so relaxing. Have you ever been to Arizona? I also did not know you grew up in Michigan. What part of Michigan? We would go there every summer to visit my grandma who lived on a lake in Linden, Michigan, just a small town near Flint. So sad to see Flint today. We also went to Mackinaw Island. I love that place! I hurt my back too. Don’t know how! At our age it doesn’t take much to hurt it. Hope yours and Dons are getting better. Take care.

    • Yes, I’ve been to Arizona a few times and I’ve been to Sedona.

      I grew up in Dearborn, which is right outside of Detroit.

      Take care of your back, Deb. I’m so sorry you hurt it!

      Stay safe.

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