Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Flowers, Books & Yarn

2012-03-06T08:26:00.003-05:00

I made the bi-weekly trip to Trader Joe's over the weekend and came home with these. Aren't they gorgeous? They're waxflowers and I'm crazy about them. I like the wildflower-like big splash of color they bring to the living room. And look! There's my pink milk glass hobnail vase.

I found this in a local antique shop a couple of years ago. It's been nestled in my china cabinet ever since. I thought it might be nice to actually use it as it was intended...as a vase. This is one of my favorite finds. Such a soft, pretty shade of pink.

I wonder...can I plant some waxflowers in my garden? Are they compatible with my zone? Hmmm.

At the moment, we have an abundance of fresh flowers in the cottage. Some yellow alstromeria on the kitchen table, some mixed alstromeria in the den...

although the petals have begun to fall. Do you see the blue book in the foreground? It's a vintage copy of Great Expectations that was just sent to me by my friend, Sharon. She enclosed a sweet note that said she was sending it to me because I 'like old things and proper English.' Oh, I do, Sharon! Thank you so much! An interesting accidental vignette, don't you think? Charles Dickens alongside of modern day suspense/mystery writer Lee Child and my iPhone: When Centuries Collide.

Today I plan to pick up more rocks from the endless swath of dirt that is my front yard. There are a lot of them - we have rocky soil. I don't want them there when I reseed. I'll use them as edging for my garden beds.

The crocheting continues. And I am reminded that I have some prep work to do on The Tempest. Rehearsals start in just about a month.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Smart Scoutie

2012-03-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Scout is now reading at a 4th grade level.

She's a Border Collie, you know. She's smart.

Happy Monday!

Blogging Tips: iPiccy - Photo Editing Site

2012-03-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

Have you heard about iPiccy? This photo editing site is a great deal like Picnik, with many of the same features. It's very user-friendly. It's in the Beta stage, which simply means it's still in the testing stage. Let me show you what I did with it yesterday.

Here's what the site looks like:

By the way, I made that sign using the Painter feature. It's pretty nifty. How about this one?

You can see Editor, Effects, Text, Retouch and Painter at the top of the window and each one of these has all sorts of individual features that show up on the left side of the screen. The usual things are there, as well as some others that I haven't fully investigated. The Rotate and Flip tool is like Picnik's in that you can straighten an image. I use that a great deal on Picnik, especially when I discover that the picture I took is slightly crooked. I haven't found it anywhere else but on iPiccy.

iPiccy's fonts are interesting and, for the most part, different than Picnik's. Variety is the spice of life.

Okay, let's look at some photos:

I grabbed this one out of my photo library. I played around with it in iPiccy and came up with this:

I played with saturation and something called 'Bloom' in the Effects. Just for fun, I added a Drop Shadow Frame. I added a watermark using this pretty text, which is called Quilline Script. I rather like it.

Here's the same photo edited with Engrave Photo:

Next up is a photo of Ms. Scout:

She's a photogenic little cutie, isn't she?

I did the usual: resized the photo, cropped it and used the Cross Process effect, which I love. What's nice about these effects is that you can control how much or how little of the effect you want. I just wanted a touch of it.

Now, here's the neat thing: many of these sites are actively soliciting suggestions from all of us. So I sent an email to iPiccy suggesting they think of adding a collage feature because so many bloggers use Picnik's collage feature to make banners and headers and all sorts of things. Almost immediately - on a Saturday - I received an email from a gentleman at iPiccy. He told me they are working on a collage feature as well as a layering feature right now and they should be adding them in about a week or so! This is great news for those of us who are searching for a way to make collages. I have no idea what this feature will be like or how similar or different it will be to Picnik's but I sure am looking forward to exploring it. By the way, iPiccy has a Facebook page and they post about all their updates there.

There's hope, fellow bloggers! There a lot of photo editing sites out there and I'm sure many of them are preparing to jump into the space vacated by Picnik. Every one of them is slightly different. Some are more like Photoshop Elements. Others are more like Picnik. They all want our suggestions.

In other news, the winner of the 3 Prime Suspect mysteries is Susy of The Feathered Nest! Susy, I'm sending an email your way. I need your address to forward to TLC Book Tours.

Have a great Sunday.

Is Your Gardening Thumb Green or Black?

2012-03-03T10:24:00.006-05:00

As I look out on a sea of melting snow and mud, I ponder how I'm going to reseed the now-missing front lawn. That's something I really didn't want to tackle, especially since I have to go out of town in April. Don will have to be in charge of watering and that doesn't inspire me with confidence!

Thank goodness my garden was undisturbed in all the septic/tree removal mess. I find I am counting the days until I can work in the garden again and lose myself in planting and pruning and mulching. Nothing makes me happier than puttering in my garden.

I waited a long time to have my very own garden. I spent hours dreaming about it. When we rented in San Diego, I put in a garden, knowing that I would eventually have to leave it. Same thing for the cottage we rented for 4 years when we first moved out East. I took a strip of grass bordering the side of the cottage (with my landlord's permission) and created a garden. When we moved here, I knew that I was finally going to have my own garden, not a temporary garden.

I am a fairly successful gardener who knows that she has much to learn. As all gardeners know, some plants thrive and others inexplicably fail. It's a trial and error process - learning what your particular soil needs, where the shade is, how much sun a particular area gets.

There's a lot of clay-like soil in these parts, so I've had to amend the soil in my garden beds. And now that the Willow has been removed, the pattern of sun and shade in my front yard will change, no doubt affecting my plants. Oh, but wait...that means I can plant more roses!

What about you? Do you dabble in gardening? Are you a passionate gardener? Or do you leave the gardening and planting to someone else? Is your gardening thumb green or black?

Do tell, my friends. And let's all count the days until Spring planting season together.

I'm spending the weekend with some crochet and the new Lee Child thriller: The Affair. Just checked it out from my local library - thank goodness for inter-library loans!

Contemplating Copyrights and Privacy on the Internet

2012-03-02T10:52:00.000-05:00

It's the third grey skies day in a row here. Time for the sun, Mother Nature.

So I'll post a photo of the kitchen on a sunny day, just to remind myself that sunny days do exist.

Ah, yes! That's what sunny looks like.

I've been reading a lot lately about Pinterest and copyright issues. It's all over the Internet. I was vaguely aware of the discussion but then my friend Z posted about it the other day. She referenced an article (which you can read by clicking on Z's post) that I find very troubling. Today, I received this post from Amy (I subscribe via email) that had even more links to posts about Pinterest/copyright problems.

I'm not a lawyer. Frankly, the minute I start to read legalese my eyes glaze over. But there are serious issues about pinning other's images, repinning without linking back to the original source and, to the best of my knowledge, Pinterest's policy; which basically says they are not liable for any copyright infringement, but we (the pinners) are.

If you pin, I urge you to read the links. I'm not on Pinterest all that much. I have a few pinboards and I see that my photos are being pinned regularly. As to latter, so far I'm flattered. As to the former, I'm going to go back and make sure every image I have pinned is linked back to the original source. If I can't link it, I'm deleting it. Everyone deserves credit for their work and unfortunately, I see many, many photos on Pinterest that are not linked to the originator.

Who knows? I may even delete my account eventually.

I watched a story on the NBC Nightly News yesterday that discussed Google's new Privacy Policy, which has also sparked a bit of controversy. That policy went into effect on March 1st. I've done what I can to edit my privacy settings but since I use Google for this blog, there's only so much I can do. I certainly can't opt out.

I'm not lying awake worrying about any of this, but I do think we have to be careful in this Internet world. Writing a blog automatically puts us in the public eye. As I've said before, I'm not comfortable with the push to use Google+. So I don't want to edit my photos on Google+, which is where we will find many of Picnik's editing capabilities on April 20th.

Another reason for me to consider a move to WordPress. And I am. I'd like to own the content of this blog. It seems only right that this space that I have carefully crafted over the course of 4 years should be my property.

I must confess, sometimes the Internet seems a bit like the Wild West. And I guess it is. It's all relatively new, therefore, new issues are popping up every day. All the more reason to exercise a bit of caution and use common sense - we are public in a way that seemed unthinkable a few short years ago.

If you have thoughts about this, please share them. I'd love to learn more about these issues and your insights will be greatly appreciated, as always.

Don't forget that I'm having a giveaway for the series of 3 Prime Suspect mysteries. Just scroll down one post to my book review and leave a comment. I promise you, there are no other hoops to jump through. I never do that.

Book Review: Prime Suspect 1 & 2

2012-03-01T08:25:00.000-05:00

(Before I begin, let me mention that the Frugal Five are featuring Diane on the always popular topic of bargain shopping for this week's edition of Thrifty Living 2012. Please go visit her at Lavender Dreams.)

Hello, everyone. Today I am reviewing two books, Prime Suspect and Prime Suspect 2: A Face in the Crowd by Lynda La Plante for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the books in exchange for my honest review.

I don't know about you, but I watched every episode of the Prime Suspect series starring Helen Mirren that aired on PBS several years ago. It was absolutely riveting. This year, a new edition of Prime Suspect starring Maria Bello is airing on American television and the wonderful series of Prime Suspect mysteries written by Lynda La Plante, the creator of the television series, have been reissued. Lucky us!

For those of you unfamiliar with the series, these London-based mysteries feature Jane Tennison, a Detective Chief Inspector with Scotland Yard. They were originally written in 1993 when a woman on the police force was a relatively new thing. Jane is resented, marginalized and kept off of cases she should be directing by the good old boys on the force. She's smart, savvy and incredibly good at what she does; nevertheless she has to fight to head up a case, dealing with harassment and prejudice at every turn.

In the first book, after having been assigned menial duties for several months, Jane is finally given a case involving a murdered prostitute (but only after the male officer heading it up suddenly dies.) She must solve a series of murders, all the while dealing with her fellow officers who refuse to take her seriously and try to thwart her along the way. In the second book, Jane must solve the murder of a young black woman in a neighborhood already full of racial tensions.

Far be it from me to give the plot away from either mystery! I respect a wonderfully plotted mystery too much. La Plante is a wonderful writer who manages to create such a vivid picture of London and the police department that I felt I was there. I could picture it all. Her characters are richly drawn, incredibly detailed, and the stories are so well written that you simply cannot put them down. When I am completely immersed in a story and feel as if I am living in the world created by the author, I know I am reading a gem. These two mysteries are gems, indeed.

When I accepted this assignment, I wondered if my memories of the PBS series would be a hindrance to losing myself in the stories. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Enough time has lapsed that each story was fresh and new.

I will be reviewing the third mystery in the series in a few weeks. If you love mysteries, you will love these books. La Plante is a gifted writer. I highly recommend them.

About the author:

Lynda La Plante's fourteen novels, including the Prime Suspect Series, have all been international bestsellers. She is an honorary fellow of the British Film Institute and a member of the UK Crime Writers Awards Hall of Fame. She runs her own television production company and lives in London and Easthampton, NY.

Edited to add: Just found out I can give away a set of these wonderful mysteries to a lucky someone who leaves a comment. Go ahead, enter! I'll draw the winner's name on Saturday evening.

If a Tree Falls....

2012-02-29T08:06:00.000-05:00

Do you ever post a photo and wonder if you've already used it in a previous post? That well might be the case with this one. (I used the Hipstamatic App on my iPhone for this neat, vintage look.) Since we are supposed to have 1 to 3 inches of snow today and freezing rain, I thought some cheery flowers were in order.

The tree is down. I left the house at 9:00 and stayed away until about 3:00. Since I spent the time away from a cottage at a huge mall, I was suffering from mall burnout. I actually dislike malls intensely, but I had to go to the Apple Store and the nearest one to us is....you guessed it....in a mall. By the time I had some lunch and took care of business, my eyes were stinging and the lighting was getting to me. I kept in touch with Don all day.

Call one: The branches are all down and they are meticulous about clean-up.
Call two: They're on a lunch break.
Call three: They're back and are taking down the trunk.
Call four: You'd better stall a bit if you don't want to get upset. Get some lunch.
Call five: Still taking down the tree.
Call six: It's down, you can come home.

So I drove up the driveway and saw the massive trunk in pieces all over the yard. I cried a bit. It was shocking but, truth be told, I spent a lot of time preparing myself and had reconciled myself to it. The yard looks even more barren, as there is mud everywhere, and the willow tree helped to mask it. I didn't take any pictures. I recorded Hurricane Irene's destruction of our trees last fall. I don't need to do it a second time.

But, what can you do? It had to come down. The tree was easily 90 - 100' high and it was huge. The 3 guys who took it down worked tirelessly and cheerfully from 9 in the morning until 7 that night. It was a lot of money for us but, in reality, a very good deal considering the size of the tree and the amazing job they did.

And in the glass half-full department, I was doing some work in the guest room/office which looks out on the front yard and noticed that I could see the mountains and creek from the window. We'd never had that view before because of the tree.

Let's see, what else is positive? I won't have to clean up endless branches after a wind storm.

And we no longer have to worry about it falling on our house or our neighbor's house. And we worried about that a lot.

Our neighbors must be sick of hearing the noise of machinery around this place. It's been a noisy two weeks. And an emotional two weeks.

My plan for today? Laze around. Avoid looking out the front window. Dream about my garden. Crochet. Read.

What's your plan for the day?

Tough Tuesday

2012-02-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

The flowers are pretty, aren't they? Try as I might, I don't usually have the patience to remove all the paraphernalia from the kitchen table before I shoot a photo. There's always something in the way.

I am going to 'not be in the way' today when the workers come to take down the willow. It will be a big job, it's incredibly tall. I'm going to take care of some business and leave the home front to Don. I'm sure I'll see some of the activity because I have to get the car back by 2:30 for Don to go to work. Hopefully (fingers crossed) most of it will be done by that point.

I'm used to the idea now. I know it has to come down. Still - I will probably get a shock when I return. My yard is already a muddy mess from the work on the septic system. Now, it will be missing a massive tree that sheltered our front yard, provided privacy from the busy road, and whose graceful branches swayed gently in the breeze.

Okay. I have to stop or I'll cry.

Toughen up, Claudia.

New in the Etsy Shop:

The scarf in a rich burgundy, crocheted in silk/bamboo. Soft and silky to the touch.

I've had a few people approach me about special orders. If you want one, don't hesitate to email me or convo me on Etsy. I'm happy to make them. It may take a bit of time as each scarf is made by yours truly and, as far as I know, there are no elves around here to help me out! But I love making them for you.

And to tell the truth, crocheting and the rhythm of it is enormously calming. So bring those orders on!

On Hearts

2012-02-27T09:06:00.000-05:00

I found this heart-shaped stone on our walk the other day. It's small and pretty nearly perfect. I put it in my coat pocket and promptly forgot about it until this morning. It needed rescuing from the dark depths of my pocket - it needed to see the light of day.

Heart shapes evoke strong feelings. Yes, there is the "I love..." symbolism, Valentine's Day and all that. But within that heart are joy, sorrow, despair, hope, pain, loss, heartbreak, and compassion. So many things contained in one symbol. I never used to be a fan of heart-shaped anything. There was too much of it everywhere. It had become trite. Every bumper sticker I saw had "I {heart-shape} something or other." Too much. Too little meaning.

But Scout has a heart-shape on her side. Is that a message of some sort? I like to think so.

When I think of heart-shapes these days, I think of so much more than the romantic symbolism. I think of all the emotions we experience every day. I think of those in pain, suffering at this very moment. Of those who are lost and frightened. Those who have lost a loved one. Those whose compassion for their fellow man is astonishing. Those who fight for the rights of our animal friends. I think of everyday people who do heroic things. I think of those who are struggling to hang on to their houses or jobs, whose hearts are breaking. I think of those who have no home and are trying to rebuild their lives.

I think of my dad who told me last night that he thinks his body is shutting down - who feels heartbreak every day. Or my mom whose heart is still beating, even though she is desperately tired and unhappy and has given up.

I think of all of us who are striving to be good people every day. Those whose simple acts of kindness can turn a so-so day into a beautiful one. And of those who are pursuing a dream, hoping that it will come true.

I think of my beloved willow tree. Trees have energy and feelings, of that I have no doubt. If I could carve a heart into the willow, I would do that. But today I will have to say goodbye. It comes down tomorrow.

Heart-shapes have come to mean something entirely different for me than the traditional boy meets girl stuff. Now, when I sew one of my little hearts or find a heart-shaped stone, or discover this heart etched in the gravel just beyond our porch the morning after the destruction of Hurricane Irene --

I take heart.

I hope you take heart, as well, my friends.

Sunday Update

2012-02-26T11:24:00.000-05:00

The winds were howling all day yesterday and through the night. We're always left with an unsettled, edgy feeling when that happens. I was crossing my fingers that the willow would survive the winds until it can be taken down properly on Tuesday. It did.

I caught these two snoozing on the loveseat:

Ssh! Don't tell Don I posted this!

Don was taking a nap under what he calls his 'sleeping bag' - in reality, a down jacket.

Scout looks cozy, doesn't she?

I think they're adorable, but then again, I might be a wee bit biased. Riley was in the den with me.

It's sunny and cold today and the wind has stopped. I have more crocheting to do for the shop. Speaking of the shop, I listed these two scarves this morning (update: sold):

I'm starting a new one in silk and bamboo:

It will be awfully pretty in this color - sort of a wine or burgundy. By the way, your order comes with one of my little business cards (like the one above) tucked in the wrapping. You can have your very own "Sheep with a Party Hat!"

Have a great Sunday.

Blogging Tips: Making a Banner in Picnik

2012-02-25T11:46:00.000-05:00

I had a request from Jennifer for a tutorial on making a banner using Picnik. Since Google has decided to close our beloved Picnik in April, many bloggers are creating banners using the collage tool and stockpiling them for the future. Good idea!

I will base this tutorial on the way in which I've created mine. If you, dear readers, have additional tips, please share them with us in the comments section. Sorry for the somewhat blurry photos - they are screenshots and this is as sharp as I could make them.

The first thing to do is to go to Picnik, upload and edit the photos you want to use in your banner. In my case, I chose 4 photos that were vertical, rather than horizontal (or landscape) size, because that's the shape I wanted in my collage. You can use whatever size you want. Crop your photos and do whatever color editing you want at this point because once you upload them into the collage, you won't be able to edit them individually any more. I edit the photos, save them on my desktop and leave the last edited photo on Picnik as I go to Library.

Click on the Library tab and then click on Start (on the left.) You'll see these options. Click on Make a Collage.

This screen will appear. On the left you will see various shapes and configurations for your collage/banner. Choose your option. I chose the series of 4 photos at the bottom of the second column.

And this is what came up on the screen. In the lower left hand corner of the screen is the Picnik Basket. You can see that the last photo I edited before moving on to Collage is there. Drag it to one of the 4 openings. When you do this, you can use your mouse to zero in on the area of the photo you want in the frame.

Then upload your next photo by clicking on Upload a Photo.

At this point, I've added 2 photos to my collage. I did this in a hurry, so I didn't do as much playing around with each photo in its frame as I would do normally.

Okay. All four photos have been added. Now I want to play with the color of the border. I don't want a black border, so I'm going to go over to the left and play around in this area:

By clicking on the color box, another box will appear with all sorts of color options. I chose white. By playing with the slide on Spacing and Proportions, I can control just how wide the border is and the eventual size of the banner. I want something rectangular that won't take up too much space at the top of my blog. I don't want my banner as tall as the photos are in the above screenshot, so I will play with all of this until I come up with:

When you've come up with something that you like, go to the upper right hand corner and click Done. You will be taken back to the Edit. At this point you can click save and leave Picnik, or do as I did and add a frame to your collage.

Explore all the options. I used the Drop Shadow frame. If you click on Drop Shadow, you can control the color and depth of the shadow in the box that comes up at the left.

There's my first Drop Shadow. I, however, like two Drop Shadow frames, so I'm going to click Drop Shadow one more time.

Now I have two. I like to have some white space to use when adding text. If you want to add text, my advice is to save the collage as is to your computer first. That way you have the original in case you want to go back and change the text at some point. So, save the collage to your desktop. It will most likely save it as PicnikCollage.jpeg. Note the dimensions below. If these are too big for your banner space, go back into Edit mode and resize your banner.

Then go back into Picnik, upload your collage and add text.

I'm playing with the font. (What else is new? I'm font-crazy.)

And here's what I came up with. Now I'll save it again. This time I'll save it as PicnikCollage1.jpeg. Adding another character will save it as a new collage. Therefore, your original collage will remain intact on your desktop.

Some of you might want to add your text via another photo editor - Photoshop, Photoscape or something else. If that's the case, you can ignore this last step and upload your collage/banner to the other editor and add your text there.

I went to Pixlr and added text - they have a lot more font options available:

I hope this is useful for you. Now is the time, if there ever was one, to make a lot of banners for the future.

I still can't believe Picnik is closing. I'm in mourning.

Topsy-Turvy

2012-02-24T08:25:00.000-05:00

We took a little walk on the Rail Trail on Wednesday. This one was longer - about 3 miles. It was a sunny, spring-like day. Very quickly, we shed our coats, happily basking in the warmth of the sun. We marveled that all this was happening on a day in February. In the northeast.

The sky was gorgeous. If you look in the upper-right hand corner of the photo, there is an opening in the clouds. I keep seeing the shape of a bird. What do you see?

Our mountain ridge is in the background. I call it 'ours.' I suppose everyone around here does. This is the same ridge that we can see from our house. Whenever we take these walks, we are reminded once again that we live in a beautiful part of the country.

So on we walked, talking about the warm weather, thinking that, most assuredly, spring is around the corner. Yes, it can only be a week or so away.

I woke up this morning to this:

What????

I went to bed last night with not a flake in sight. A few short hours later, there is heavy, wet snow everywhere. Look how our chicken wire corral fence is sagging under the wet snow. There's not a whole lot of it and I suspect it will melt rather quickly.

What a strange winter this has been. Everything is topsy-turvy. (Another old fashioned word that I love.)

I wrote the other day about being in my fifties and feeling young and vital.

I've suddenly begun getting emails from the Scooter Store.

Back off, Scooter Store. I'm not ready for you yet.

The willow tree is coming down on Tuesday. Can't think about it. I will be somewhere else that day, trying to forget what is happening to my favorite tree. I'm sorry, willow. I love you. But your beauty comes with a price. You are too destructive. We have to let you go.

I'll have some shop updates over the weekend, so be sure to check in!

Have a wonderful Friday.

Thrifty Living 2012 - Daycations

2012-02-23T08:24:00.003-05:00

This week's edition of Thrifty Living 2012 concerns an alternative to expensive vacations - daycations. Hey, we all love the thought of taking a week or two and jetting off to some wonderful destination. It's a terrific idea. However, those vacations can cost a lot of money.

I've mentioned before that Don and I don't take vacations. They are too expensive for us right now. We sometimes get the opportunity to visit a new place as part of a job and we grab the chance to do a little sightseeing. But those jaunts are work related and usually only one of us is doing the traveling.

Daycations, however are a wonderful alternative to the expensive vacation. We can leave our house in the morning and be back in our little cottage by nightfall. New York is an obvious destination for us as we live about 75 miles north of Manhattan. There's so much to see and do there. We can drive in or take the train or the bus and we are instantly transported to a thriving metropolitan area with museums, plays, shopping and endless things to do.

Or how about taking a train ride to some new-to-you destination? You can sit back, read a book and let someone else do the driving. I did this frequently when I lived in Boston. I didn't have a car. But I'd hop on the train and travel to Philadelphia or New York. Sometimes I'd rent a car and drive to Maine or New Hampshire or out to Cape Cod. There's nothing like a day away to put life in perspective.

Don and I will sometimes drive to the Berkshires for the day. This gorgeous area of Massachusetts is full of wonderful sightseeing opportunities and it's only a few hours away. Last fall, we took a daycation to Boston. I got to show Don a bit of the city I used to live in and love and we went to a Red Sox game that night.

When we lived in California, we could drive to the beach, the mountains or the desert in the course of a day. We had lots of opportunities to explore that beautiful state.

Daycations are a viable alternative to expensive vacations. And if you have pets and don't want to leave them for too long, a day away is just the ticket. In our case, one of our dogs is ill and frail. A daycation is a way for us to travel....but not too far.

If the thought of saving up enough money for the annual vacation is overwhelming you, consider a series of day-long trips. You save the cost of a hotel. You save the cost of plane fare. I bet there are plenty of wonderful places to discover within a couple of hours drive.

Please visit the rest of the Frugal Five, Brenda, Elaine, Jen and Diane for their tips on daycations.

'Seasoned' Bloggers, Monetization & Comments

2012-02-22T11:34:00.001-05:00

Sunrise. I've learned you have to quickly get the camera or all the gorgeous colors will fade in the blink of an eye.

The same goes for pretty cloud formations.

Everything changes, minute by minute, second by second. A camera gives you the chance to capture a moment in time before it's gone forever. It's a reminder to live in the moment. Something so simple but so hard to do, don't you agree?

Thank you for all your wonderful comments on my most recent posts. Well, thank you for your comments on every post. But lately, there have been some wonderful, thought provoking ideas shared on this old blog and I'm extremely grateful for them. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, your experiences, your views. Sometimes, all it takes is reading about another point of view to turn my perceptions around in a different direction. I may not always agree with you, you may not always agree with me, but the dialogue is the important thing. I love the conversation. I'll go even further: I thrive on it. So thanks and thanks again, my friends.

Monetizing with BlogHer

Every once in a while I get an email asking about BlogHer ads and the process of applying for them. You have to go to this link and fill out an application. It's not enough to register on BlogHer's site.

As far as the approval process, I've heard about some bloggers waiting for up to two years for approval, some are approved in a few days and others, like me, wait for about a month and a half. BlogHer has a finite number of blogs that are part of the Advertising Network. I imagine, though I don't know this for sure, if they are full up, you might not hear anything for a long while. If there are openings, things might move more quickly. I do know that BlogHer chooses all kinds of blogs; big, small and in-between.

If you are interested, I urge you to apply. But prepare yourself for a wait. I think BlogHer is fantastic and their customer service is the best. They have been nothing but supportive and there for me when I've had a question. And they really do a great job of highlighting our posts and our blogs.

BlogHer Conference Disappointment

Do you know that BlogHer has their conference in NYC this year? Since I live so close to the city, it would be wonderful to take part in it. But I can't really afford the registration fee. So when they issued a call for volunteers I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to attend the conference, help out wherever needed, and save money on the fees. I applied. To my disappointment, I got an email yesterday saying I wasn't chosen. There were a lot of applicants. I'm bummed.

I also submitted an idea for a panel discussion. I thought there should be a panel about bloggers who are 45+ years of age. There's a whole lot of us out there. We are consumers. We have life experience. We know a lot. And I think we're sometimes a tad marginalized in the blogging world, just like in the real world. 30-something bloggers and mommy bloggers are everywhere. And I say, good for them! But we're here, too. And we have much to contribute. It would be nice to take part in something that spotlights us - our challenges, our blogging audience. I often look at photos from these conferences and see a sea of young faces. Here and there, I might see a 'seasoned' blogger, but for the most part, I don't. Maybe it depends on whose taking the pictures.

Anyway. I heard back from BlogHer. They passed.

Who knows? There may already be a panel scheduled to discuss this topic. Maybe there has been a panel about just this thing at previous conferences. Most likely, my presentation wasn't strong enough. That's my fault.

Do you remember being younger and looking at people who were in their forties or fifties, thinking they must be dull and old? I do. I now realize what my parents and elders felt when they were my age. I may be in my fifties, but I'm smart, savvy and still very hip, if I do say so myself. I have a lot to contribute. I've learned a lot in my lifetime. In fact, I'm full of ideas and am more vital than ever.

Take heed, world. We're out there and we're creative, smart and strong.

And now for a little Etsy advertising:

This is the latest scarf. The yarn is made of silk and bamboo. I think these are perfect for the warmer months because they are so soft and silky to the touch and they aren't made out of wool. I wear these scarves with a T-shirt and jeans all year round. I've already decided to make another one in this color for me. Update: Sold.

Love to you all on this Wednesday morning.

Walking Together

2012-02-21T08:48:00.001-05:00

On a not-a-cloud-in-the-sky Monday, Don and I took a walk on the Rail Trail.

There is such beauty in the stark landscape of winter.

A splash of red berries against the browns and grays.

It felt good to be walking in the woods with my sweetie.

We, like everyone else I suppose, tend to get in a rut. Don works until late in the evening and I'm usually asleep before he gets home. I rise early. If we just let the time go by, Don doing his thing, me doing mine, before you know it, it's time for him to leave for work and then our little window of opportunity is gone. We're going to make a concerted effort to change that.

Yesterday we talked of camping, the smells of the forest, childhood memories, being a camp counselor, lashing together a lean-to. You know, the kind of exchange that doesn't happen on just any old day. It was special and we need those special times together.

Then last night, I spoke with my dad. After our usual early evening conversation, he called me back. He's so sad nowadays as he watches my mother drift away. He wanted - needed - to share some memories. Good memories. And some of them were of our family camping trips, days at the lake, driving us back to our respective colleges after a weekend at home. He talked about having very little money when my brother and I were kids. I assured him I never felt deprived. And that he was and is a good father. I'm crying as I write this, because my heart was touched so deeply by his need to talk about happy memories. His days now are about visiting my mother, hoping she might feel like talking, hoping to catch a glimpse of the wife he once knew. He's devoted to her. He takes her magazines, and plays her favorite music, sometimes just sits there as she sleeps, holding her hand. Such sadness nowadays.

Don and I have been together over 17 years. My parents have been together 66 years. I don't know how I would feel if I felt Don slipping away from me. I can only imagine the heartbreak, the realization that the end of our days together was near. How my parents, together so many years, can even begin to face this is beyond me.

Sometimes life is so beautiful. Sometimes it is absolutely heartbreaking. All in the course of one February day.

My Blogiversary

2012-02-20T10:39:00.000-05:00

With all the drama surrounding the septic system, I didn't realize until yesterday that my 4th anniversary of blogging had come and gone. I started this blog on February 17, 2008. Four years and 944 posts later, I love blogging more than ever. I wish I had chronicled the various looks of this blog. My first was, I'm sure, just the basic template and a photo of the house. Eventually it evolved to this:

It's hard to see, but the background was in a pretty shade of brown.

At one point, I used this header:

Then I had Mandy design the font:

Then I used a favorite photo of peonies, with Mandy's font design:

Eventually I had someone design a new header and background:

I had it for about a year and a half. But there was a problem with that designer. She stopped designing and didn't tell her clients. She also stopped communicating with her clients. I saw the writing on the wall - I knew there was a very good chance she might pull her designs or let her Photobucket account lapse - and I redesigned the blog on my own. (By the way, her account lapsed several months later and many bloggers woke up one morning to missing design elements. Make sure you are in control of your blog. Keep those images in your own account. After all, you've paid for them. They should be yours. Or better yet, create your own design.)

And that brings us to today. Blogs evolve, don't they? I had an idea of what this blog was to be, but it kept changing as I found my blogging voice. The professional design never really suited me; I see that now. It was an idea, a concept, that I wanted to fit into, much like a pretty dress that is perfect for someone else, just not for me. I'm finally comfortable with who I am, what Mockingbird Hill Cottage is. This blog design, much simpler, fits me perfectly. And I did it myself.

I've learned so much along the way. I am not overstating things when I say blogging has changed my life. It truly has. My loves; writing, photography, design, collecting, gardening, decorating, crafting and my husband and dogs, all come together at this little URL. I'm grateful. I'm blessed.

Thank you for being there. Some of you have been with me since the beginning. Some of you are newer readers. I'm thankful for each and every one of you. I'm looking forward to my fifth year of blogging. The adventure continues.
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By the way, I'm behind in visiting everyone and I know it. Life has been a little hectic here and I find that I am crocheting things for the shop in every spare moment. I will try to visit everyone this week. Fingers crossed.

Some of you have mentioned wanting a scarf but missing out when a new one is listed. I just listed this one yesterday (update: sold).

And I'm working on this one in silk and bamboo. Perfect for spring. It will be listed tomorrow.

Happy Monday.

Falls from Grace: Why are we Obsessed by them?

2012-02-19T09:20:00.000-05:00

Am I the only one out there who found the media coverage of Whitney Houston's death and funeral excessive? CNN covered her funeral all day yesterday. And then proceeded to air more specials throughout the evening. All week long - in a world filled with heartbreak, wars, the slaughter of innocent citizens, people desperately trying to survive - the lead story was Whitney Houston.

I don't remember a head of state getting this much attention.

I, like so many, loved her extraordinary singing voice. I own some of her CDs. She was blessed with incredible talent. She could sing like an angel. But she had serious addictions that sent her into a downward spiral. That is what makes the media obsessed with her. There is something disturbing here; the morbid fascination our society seems to have with those celebrities who seemingly have it all and then crash and burn. It's as if we get a sort of sick pleasure from watching someone else fall.

Her death was untimely. She was far too young. I feel for her daughter who has lost the mother she adored. But I wonder? If she had lived an addiction-free life, had made better choices, had simply kept performing with no need for tabloid coverage of her problems, would the media be covering her death and funeral with quite the same fervor? I doubt it.

The same thing happened with Michael Jackson's untimely death. I suppose the same thing happened with Marilyn Monroe, although we didn't have 24/7 cable channels then. We seem to love nothing more than reading and hearing about a fall from grace. Does it make us feel superior? I don't know. But I find the media's obsession very disturbing.

This, and so much more, is why I very rarely watch 24 hour news channels anymore. Give me PBS, NPR or the BBC; news organizations who acknowledge that there is a world out there beyond our little corner of it.

What are your thoughts?

Leach Fields are not Pretty

2012-02-18T09:32:00.001-05:00

It's finished. Two guys worked tirelessly yesterday and the new leach field is in.

My yard is a mess. The grass is gone, replaced by mud. I can't even look at it. Like Scarlett O'Hara, I say "Tomorrow is another day."

I don't do well with upheaval and the constant noise of machinery outside my window. So I closed the blinds, moved into the living room and played music all day. Thank you, Steve Jobs, for iTunes and good earbuds and my favorites list right here on my laptop. And for my laptop.

I am constantly playing "Running in the Deep" by Adele. That girl is seriously talented. I am always drawn to voices with a bit of huskiness to them. Her big, powerful voice and the lyrics she writes touch my heart.

Some snapshots (via the Hipstamatic App) of the day:

I've added the shawls to the shop. Today I'm adding a new Obsession Scarf and I'll most likely add another one tomorrow. I find I have to remind myself to take a break or my hand and wrist start hurting. Occupational hazard.

Obsession Scarf in Wine - Update: Sold

Apropos of nothing, I just read a post by a blogger who had recently redecorated her kitchen. It's gorgeous. But here's the kicker: she linked the post to 46 linky parties. That might be the all-time record. I counted twice to make sure I was right.

What's on the docket for your Saturday?

Excavating

2012-02-17T08:54:00.002-05:00

Pretty, isn't it? That guy - a very nice guy, by the way - is looking at our septic system. It's been acting up lately - we've noticed some leakage, even though the tank has been recently emptied. Fast forward to more digging with the excavator, more pipes uncovered. All filled with tree roots. The leach field is shot. So we have to get a new one installed today and tomorrow.

For, oh, about $7000.00.

You can imagine what kind of day we had yesterday. I can think of all kinds of things I could do for $7000.00 - all of which would be a little more fun, a little more pretty, than a leach field.

These roots have apparently been doing this for years. We're the lucky owners who have discovered it. And the roots are from the weeping willow, which means the willow is going to have to come down. It's old and fragile and every time we have a big wind storm we worry it's going to fall. Now that we know how troublesome the roots are - to the tune of 7K - we have no choice but to take it down.

And it breaks my heart. It's my favorite tree on the property. It's one of the reasons I fell in love with this house. I've already told Don that I will not be around on the day that happens. I simply couldn't bear watching my sweet willow come down. I cry every time I think of it.

So that's what's happening at Mockingbird Hill Cottage.

I have to show you at least one pretty thing today. Meredith made this beautiful shawl/scarf in the softest gray. It has tiny sequins in it. Oh my goodness. It's beautiful. And it's going in the shop this weekend, along with another beautiful shawl. I'm crocheting like crazy and hope to be adding more Obsession Scarves this weekend as well.

Enjoy your Friday.

Thrifty Living 2012 - Saving Money on Groceries

2012-02-16T07:49:00.001-05:00

It's Thrifty Living time again. This week we're discussing saving money on groceries. I don't know about you but I've often checked out at the supermarket and been totally shocked by the amount of money due. It adds up so quickly.

There are two of us here. And two dogs. The dogs are on prescription diets and that food is expensive. Nothing we can do about that. (I consider dog food part of our grocery list and these dogs apparently like the expensive stuff!)

I'm a vegetarian. Don eats a basically vegetarian diet. We don't buy meat and that is a savings. We try to eat very healthily. Surprisingly, eating healthy foods, especially organic foods, can be very expensive. Don't get me going on that one. It simply amazes me that eating food that is free of pesticides is more expensive. Go figure. So, while I try to buy organic when I can, when money is tight I will often go for regular produce. But, on the whole, we try to avoid processed foods. We eat a lot of fruit, vegetables, rice and soy products.

Our grocery buying is not done in one store. We use our local supermarket, our health food store and Trader Joe's - as well as our local farm stands in the summer. In the supermarket, I will often buy their brand of various items because they are less expensive. They have a pretty good health/organic food section, as well. I find the prices of a the supermarket just down the road to be better than those of a major supermarket chain in the neighboring college town which is about 9 miles away. So, besides being closer (thus saving gas) our local market saves us money at the cash register.

(Don at Trader Joe's - I know, we're nuts.)

Every two or three weeks we go to Trader Joe's, which is an hour away from us. I know that many of you do not have a TJ's nearby. I hope you get one someday. Their selection is amazing and the prices are significantly lower than anywhere else. We are able to get an amazing amount of healthy food for half again as much as we would pay anywhere else. (Plus, they have fabulous fresh flowers!)

Certain food items are purchased at the health food store. Fortunately, our local store has an ongoing program that keeps a running tally of the amount of money spent by each customer (we all have account numbers) and when we reach a certain amount - say $200.00 - we get $25.00 off on our next purchase. Money saved.

In the summer we try to buy fresh fruit and vegetables at local farm stands. We have a lot of farms in our area. We support our local farmers and also know that the food we are buying is fresh and healthy. And cheaper, since it's grown locally and we don't have to pay for packaging and transportation costs.

I try to buy everything I need at once, because I know that quick trips to the store add up. Sometimes, though, we need something that we don't have on hand and off to the market we go.

I must admit I am not a coupon person. I'd like to be, but I always forget to use them. And most of the coupons I see are for items I'm not interested in purchasing. But if you are a coupon user, more power to you!

I also don't buy in bulk from Costco or BJ's or any of those wholesale clubs. We have limited storage space here at the cottage. I've learned that I usually don't have enough space to store those things and I end up losing money.

We eat at home 99% of the time. Cooking at home is cheaper. Eating out is expensive.

This spring will be the first spring in over four years that I haven't been far away from my home working on a coaching job. I do have a job in CT, but I will be able to come home for a couple of days each week. I plan on putting in a vegetable garden. Just a starter garden, but my hope is to have some fresh vegetables grown here at MHC that we can use daily. That will also be a money saver!

Share your tips with us!

Please stop by and visit the rest of the Frugal Five, Brenda, Elaine, Jen and Diane, for their money saving ideas.

The Story of the Valentine's Day Surprise

2012-02-15T09:19:00.001-05:00

See that (youngish) couple on the beach? There's a Valentine's Day story to this photo so I thought I'd share it with you.

Many moons ago, 1995 to be exact, when Don and I were courting, one January day we took one of our walks together on a local beach in San Diego. This particular beach was special to us because we'd met there. I was about to leave on a two week trip to audition prospective students for the theater program.

We had only known each other about 6 months. But we were in love, that we knew.

A man approached us, camera in hand, and introduced himself. He was a photographer for the San Diego Union Tribune and had been taking photos of us from the pier. Could he use one of them in a story slated for Valentine's Day?

We were both surprised by the whole thing and after hesitating a bit, said yes.

He took down our information and gave us his card.

Almost immediately, I regretted saying yes. You see, we both worked at the same theater. I had students that also worked there. We were keeping our courtship very quiet because I didn't want everyone, especially my students, to know about my personal life. At least not until we saw where this new relationship was going.

I panicked. I had visions of everyone at the theater talking about our photo being in the paper. Of someone ripping it out of the paper and posting it on one of the bulletin boards at the theater. Since I had to leave, I begged Don to call the photographer and say we had changed our minds. He did. We still wanted a copy of the photo if at all possible so Don asked him if we might be able to get a copy. We'd be happy to pay for it. No, the photographer said, it was against the policies of the newspaper to give a copy of a photo to anyone who was not willing to be credited in print. Ah well.

I left town. I came down with the flu while I was away and arrived home on Valentine's Day eve, sicker than a dog. The morning of Valentine's Day, Don knocked on my door with flowers, chocolate and a wrapped package in hand. Still sick, I unwrapped the package to find this framed photo.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

How did he do it? Well, Don has his ways. He pursued the photographer, told him our story, charmed and cajoled him until that lovely man said he'd make a copy for us. No charge. I had no idea any of this had been going on. I just sat there, framed photo in hand, and cried.

You do understand why I fell in love with him, don't you?

This remains one of our most cherished possessions.

I hope you were surrounded by love yesterday and every day.

Heart Shape

2012-02-14T08:43:00.000-05:00

Magic dog that she is, Scout was blessed with a heart-shaped spot on her left side.

She's all heart, that girl. Boundless love and enthusiasm all wrapped up in a cute package. I posted this photo on February 22, 2008, just 5 days after I started this blog. I'll be celebrating my 4th anniversary of blogging on February 17th.

I'm not big on celebrating Hallmark holidays. Don and I will wish each other a Happy Valentine's Day, but the reality is that we say 'I love you' many times during any given day. I don't need a card or a gift. Neither does Don. Though I wouldn't mind a chocolate truffle!

But I do wish for you, my friends, days filled with love and everything that love encompasses: acceptance, tolerance, compassion, caring, kindness, empathy, hugs from a friend, kindness from a stranger, kisses from your sweetheart.

And maybe a chocolate or two. Or three.

A Stealth Attack

2012-02-13T09:04:00.000-05:00

Our boy Riley has issues. One of them: absolutely no to any nail cutting. He will instinctively try to bite anyone who goes near his nails. In the past, we've dealt with this by giving him a little sedative before a visit to the Vet hospital. He would get pleasantly groggy and the deed would be done. But the last few times he's had the sedative, he's had an increasingly bad reaction to it. The last reaction was so strong that he was out of it for over 24 hours. Obviously we will not use it any longer.

But the nails are a problem. Especially for a boy who is finding it harder and harder to get around, especially on the hardwood floors in the kitchen, because of the progressive disease that has hit his spine. (Yes, we have throw rugs, but they can't cover every inch of space.) What to do?

Stealth nail cutting. Last night, I sneaked the nail cutters into the den (on my dinner tray.) When he was finally fast asleep, I knelt beside him and clipped whatever nails I could get to. This will have to be a slow process over the course of several evenings - especially since I got a little over-zealous and clipped one nail a bit too much, causing it to bleed. Luckily I have some of that stuff that Vets use to stop the bleeding.

I know better. I used to work for a Vet. Lesson learned a second time. He's okay, the sweet boy. More nail cutting is scheduled for tonight.

(I originally wrote 'snuck.' But then I wondered if that was the correct past tense of sneak. Turns out it isn't. So 'sneaked' it is.)

Finished another scarf - this one is wool in a deep red shade. Is it just me or is red hard to photograph? The beautiful scarf that Mer wove was a challenge - I never seemed to capture the right shade. Too much fussing in photo editing invariably made the red too brassy. Both scarves are deep, yummy shades of red.

More yarn is on the way. Some of you have requested special orders or missed out on one of the color combinations. I'll do my best to get them in the shop as quickly as my fingers and hook will let me. I'm also crocheting some more in the silk and bamboo combination - they are perfect for spring and summer and feel so silky to the touch.

I'm off to run some errands on this Monday morning. Have a great day.

Sleepy Sunday

2012-02-12T12:41:00.000-05:00

This is how I feel today. Even though I've been up for a while, I feel groggy and sleepy. Coffee? Check. Some breakfast? Check. And I still feel out of it!

Ah well. There are days like that. Since it turned colder yesterday and is very windy today, I'm thinking it might be a flannel pajamas day. Anyone want to join me?

Some flowers to brighten your day:

I took this about a week ago. Unfortunately, the tulips have since left us. But the alstromeria is hanging in there.

Are you hanging around the house today, or do you have activities planned?

Shipping Department

2012-02-11T13:11:00.000-05:00

Greetings from my shipping facility.

The kitchen. In my pajamas (of course.) Note box of donuts over on the counter.

My assistant, Riley.

This morning was all about wrapping and boxing.

Then a trip to the post office. The scarves are on their way! And one of Meredith's shawls sold this morning. I guess we have a little business! I have all sorts of ideas for more handmade treasures. So does Mer.

Thank you for your orders. Thank you for your support.

As you can see, I'm still playing with fonts - this time with my watermark. I really like this one - unfortunately, it's on Picnik. Darn it! Why the heck does Google have to mess with Picnik? I wish they'd rethink that ill-advised decision. Picnik is still the easiest, best way to make a collage and to edit photos. Google, are you listening?

What are your plans for the day?

Early, Early Morning

2012-02-10T08:39:00.000-05:00

Why was I awake at 5 a.m.? A case of the middle-of-the-night worry brain. Do you ever come down with that affliction? I sure do. So here I sit, drinking coffee, eyes a little irritated, pondering the day ahead.

Thank you for all the warm well wishes on the opening of our shop. And thank you to those of you who purchased one of our creations. I hope to get those packages out today - tomorrow at the latest. By the way, Meredith's woven shawls are rectangular, light as air, and much more beautiful than my photos of them indicate. I have one and I wear it all the time. She's got one in the mail to me (for the shop) that is a beautiful, ever-so-subtle sparkly gray.

I just listed another Obsession Scarf. This one is a gorgeous shade of Apple Green. The yarn is a combination of silk and bamboo - oh my gosh, it's so silky and soft to the touch. I would wear this one all year round. Believe me, if I could keep it for myself, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Some of you wrote me saying the link to the Etsy Shop wasn't working. Every time I've tried it, it has worked. Don't click on the Etsy Shop label. It's just a sidebar label. Either click on one of the individual photos, or click on ScoutHarper (in blue) at the bottom of the widget. If you're still having trouble, it may be a problem with your browser. Here is the link.

Playing with BeFunky. This is called Orton Style and gives a photo a sort of artsy blur. Interesting. Let's move on to some flowers hit by this morning's sunlight.

I see that my boy Riley is waking up (he always sleeps in.) Have to go help him up.

And something outside has caught Miss Scout's eye.

Playing with the font again. Yay or Nay?

Have a wonderful Friday.

Thrifty Living 2012 - Saving on Entertainment

2012-02-09T08:11:00.003-05:00

Welcome to this week's edition of Thrifty Living 2012. This week we're focusing on saving money on entertainment. Not that we ever spent scads of money on entertainment, but we have definitely cut back. We think once, twice and thrice before we spend much needed money on entertainment. We both work in the arts, so even though it's work, we do get a fair amount of exposure to theater that we wouldn't get otherwise.

Here's how we handle it in our house:

1. We don't go to the movies. Truly. And we love movies. But the cost involved with two people going to see a first-run film are, to me, ridiculous. This is from a girl who remembers going to matinees as a child for a quarter. We also find that audiences in a movie theater can be noisy and sometimes downright rude. Don can't stand any talking during a film. Neither of us can abide cell phones or texting. And sometimes audiences act as if they are home in front of the television and not in public. So....we wait. We simply wait until the movie is available on DVD or Pay Per View. Pay Per View on our cable system is $4.99. That's much cheaper than the cost of $18.00 or more for two people to go to the movies. We also rent through Netflix. We just watched Midnight in Paris last night. And Turner Classic Movies is part of our cable package and shows the best movies ever. We pay a bit more for cable because it provides the vast majority of our entertainment.

2. We rarely eat out. Oh, we sometimes grab something when we're out and about and need to eat, but basically? We eat at home. I've had to re-train Don on this very thing. He is an actor who worked on the road for a long time, so his instinct when he is out and about is to order something to go. Those little amounts quickly add up. Why bother doing that when we have perfectly good fresh food in our kitchen? He's much better about it now and is, in fact, a really good cook. A big treat for us is ordering a pizza.

3. We don't take vacations. We'd love to, don't get me wrong. But money is tight and vacations are simply something we can't validate at the moment. My work sometimes takes me on the road and through discovering a new place, I get a mini-vacation. Same thing for Don. He worked on a film a couple of years ago that shot in New Orleans, so he got a mini-vacation. But the trips are paid for by our employers. I dream of a trip together to England and Paris. Some day.

4. I use the library. This is the single biggest change I have made in my entertainment costs. I am a book lover. I love to buy books. Hardcover, paperback, used, new. I love, love, love books. For most of my life, my favorite thing to do has been to hang out in a bookstore (and a record store when they sold records) and pick out 2 or 3 or 4 books to buy.

I can't do that anymore. So I've started using my local library. It's a very small branch, but it's part of a larger library system. I can go on my computer, search for a book I want to read, get in the queue, and when it arrives, pick it up from my local branch. I read all of the Lee Child series last summer when I was recuperating from surgery. All ordered through my library.

Occasionally, I will save my pennies for a certain book. Or, I'll download it to my Nook because Nook copies are generally less expensive. But I haven't used my Nook since I was in Wisconsin last summer because I'd rather hold a real book in my hands. I also review books on this blog, so I sometimes receive review copies.

5. I rarely buy magazines anymore. I used to buy scads of magazines every month. Many of my favorites are no longer being published. And I am more and more dissatisfied with the content of most shelter magazines. I can't see paying over five or six dollars for a magazine that I'm going to toss in a recycling pile. Let's face it - there is so much that is magazine-worthy in blogland so this particular sacrifice ends up being pretty easy to make. Here's what I do. If I am considering buying a magazine, I scan it thoroughly in the store before I buy. Nine times out of ten, I end up putting it back. And I've saved myself some money.

For me, the best entertainment is watching my two silly dogs, reading a book from the library, maybe doing a little creative crafting and watching a great old black and white movie on TCM. And laughing with my husband. See? It doesn't have to cost much at all.

Please visit Brenda, Diane, Elaine and Jen, the rest of the Frugal Five, for their tips on this subject.

P.S. The Etsy shop is open!

Tomorrow is the Day

2012-02-08T10:40:00.002-05:00

Happy Wednesday! I'm so excited about our Etsy shop!

It will open at 9 a.m. (eastern time) Thursday (tomorrow.) At that time, I will have a link up on my post and the Etsy widget on my sidebar. Meredith will have one on her blog, too. I'm crossing my fingers that all goes well; there is a learning curve to be dealt with as a new shop owner and I'm still smack in the middle of it all.

We're starting with a modest amount of inventory. Everything is handmade and that takes time. So, please know that we are continuing to create new inventory and will list new items as soon as they are available. I know that everyone suggests having lots of inventory on hand before you open your shop. But you know what? If I waited for that, the shop would never open. I know that much about myself.

The Vintage section will open as soon as I can take pictures and list the inventory. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to be working with my sister on this. We both have a lot of stress in our lives at the moment and creating something new and positive and hopeful together is just what we need.

The hyacinth has bloomed. Its scent is intoxicating. Whenever I need a bit of what I call shoulder-dropping, I head on over to the hyacinth and inhale. Aaaah.

It's sunny today after a gray day yesterday. Our car is in the shop getting a new starter. I have to say that Hondas (this is my second) are great cars. In all of the eleven years we've owned it, nothing has gone wrong except for the usual maintenance things: new tires, new brake pads, new battery. So I can't really complain when the starter needs to be replaced. Well, I can....but I won't. I'm going for gratitude, instead.

Note: I've added the Linky Followers widget on my sidebar. There's been much discussion about Google Friend Connect being discontinued on non-Blogger blogs. Whether it will eventually disappear on Blogger blogs, I don't know. But I'm just a tad leery about the whole thing, as Google is pushing Google+ and eventually might want to use it instead of GFC. I'm not at all interested in Google+. Linky Followers was started by Brent, who I've worked with on my linky posts. He's a great guy and very helpful. If you're interested in learning more about it, visit Linky Followers. If you're new to the blog and want to follow, choose whichever widget you prefer.

Have a great day, my friends.

Defending the Small House - Decorating Walls

2012-02-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hey, it's Small House time again! Welcome back.

This month, Brenda and I are going to talk about Decorating Walls in a Small Space. Now, you might think that I'm going to say something like, Be Careful - don't put too much on your walls if you live in a small space! On the contrary. I think you should approach the walls in a small space the same way you would in a larger space. Fill them with what you love, what moves you, what has meaning.

So let's talk about my house and the ways in which I display things on my walls, and hopefully, I can give you some tips along the way. I've always adorned my walls (oh that poster of Robert Redford as the Sundance Kid in my dorm room!) and am a firm believer in it. Don and I have lots of framed pieces we love, some are on display, others are stored away. But everything we have has meaning. I know, I say that all the time, but it's true.

Tip #1 - Tell a story with your decorated wall space.

These two oil paintings live on the wall by our front door. The top one is of our cottage and was painted by my dad. The one on the bottom is of my grandmother's childhood home in Canada and was painted by my great-aunt. Putting these two paintings together tells a story about my life now and the life of my ancestors.

Tip#2 - Use words, letters and graphics. They give personality to a room. It's good to have a mix of paintings, prints and graphics.

I hung this sign on the wall above the landing on our staircase. The bold graphic is great and it's playful, as well.

This sign, painted by Paula of Castle and Cottage Signs, hangs above the window that is over our kitchen sink.

More graphics in the living room. The Keyboard School sign over the piano and the vintage Hymns sign from an old church. These also fulfill the advice in Tip #1. They tell a story - about music - and they are purposefully placed by the piano.

This sign hangs over the archway into our living room and takes advantage of the high ceilings in the kitchen. We looked long and hard for a sign that was rectangular in size and would work in that space. Which leads me to Tip# 3: Think up. Don't forget the the area of the wall that is near the ceiling. Hanging something up that high can make your room seem larger. You can see that I hung a vintage Currier & Ives print up high in the den (just look through those french doors.)

I hung the Cottage Home sign high up over the kitchen windows. You can see it as you enter the house as well as from the den and it says everything about how I feel about our house. (Sign by my friend Rita of Mammabellarte.)

Tip #4 - Don't just use large expanses, use smaller expanses and corners. I love using little nooks and corners to hang favorite pieces.

This little section of wall borders the spinet desk by the stairs. I hung this little print there. It fits perfectly. On the right is the door to the bathroom.

This little section of wall is by the desk in the den. Immediately to the right is a closet door. On top is a favorite print of mine and below is a little shelf holding some of my favorite miniatures. If just the desk was there, it would be nice, but adding these two pieces on the wall makes the corner.

Tip#5 - Sometimes less is more. Two areas of my house come to mind.

This area, by the loveseat in the living room, has only one small framed piece on either side of the window. This lampshade is such a favorite of mine with its pretty flowered print and fringe, that I used the simple painting by Christie Repasy to echo that same flowery feeling. The color of the chippy wood frame is in the same family as the background color on the lamp. Simple and effective.

The other example is in this photo. The cabinet is substantial, has green pottery displayed on top and a crochet banner across the door. The two little rose prints on the left pick up those colors and help complete the total picture. Just two little prints.

Tip #6 - Use shelves and architectural salvage on your walls to decorate. I've done this throughout the house. I have little shelves holding my egg cup collection, little shelves in my studio, and some big shelves, too.

Here is a wall in my studio. I used an old mantel to create a shelf and to make a statement. And you can see, I've added all sorts of treasures to the rest of the wall space; a pretty memory board, a couple of prints that I love, a tiny little shelf. All of it together says a great deal about me and my studio space. Rather than work around it, I also used the funky slant to the ceiling to my advantage. I think it makes the whole thing more striking.

Another shelf, nestled under the slanted ceiling and hung on the wall, makes this niche pop.

Tip #7 - When you're hanging something above a sofa or a chair, don't hang it too high. Sometimes I visit someone who has a painting above the sofa and it's just too high. There's too much space between the furniture and the painting. It should be hung at eye level. Excuse the messy pillows, but I snapped this to show you that this rather large print is hung fairly close to the sofa. It's actually closer than this picture makes it seem. You don't want too much dead space between the sofa and the painting.

Also, keep what you hang proportional to that large piece of furniture.

Tip #8 - Have fun!Hang some jumping jacks...or hang something else whimsical and fun. Not everything has to be just so or perfect. Wouldn't you rather have have something on display that makes you smile?

If you walked around my little cottage, you'd see something hung on nearly every wall - maybe every wall. I think the things you hang on your walls tell a story about you. Don't be afraid to combine prints with graphics with architectural salvage. Create wall vignettes. Have fun and don't be shy because you have a small space. Go for it!

Be sure to stop by and see Brenda's tips for Decorating Walls. Have a great day!

Flowers & Etsy on a Monday Morning

2012-02-06T09:02:00.000-05:00

Some tulips to bring a smile to your face this Monday morning. I am determined to keep fresh flowers in the house this winter. Fresh flowers change my mood for the better and thanks to Trader Joe's, the cost is minimal.

The hyacinths are just starting to bloom. As I leaned in, even my stuffy old nose couldn't deny their beautiful scent.

Today is the first day where I feel like I'm coming out of the worst of the cold. Thank goodness. I need to go out and buy a postal scale today because try as I might, I can't even estimate what shipping costs will be for the items in the Etsy shop. I'm this close to opening. The Handmade section of the shop will open this week, my friends - most likely, Wednesday or Thursday. I've been taking photos, cropping photos, editing listings - it's a lot of work! Here's the banner for the shop:

ScoutHarper is the name of our shop. Both Meredith and I will contribute our handmade creations and I will search for pretty little vintage finds.

Meredith sent me more beautifully woven shawls. Her shawls are light as air and perfect for any season of the year.

So, today I figure out shipping costs, take a few more photos, tackle more listings and very soon...we will be open. The Vintage section will open a week or so later.

I'm still loving my doily/industrial swag lamp. Silly, I know, but I think it might be one my most favorite creations ever. I love, love, love it.

Reminder: Our monthly Defending the Small House series will post tomorrow.

Have a marvelous Monday.

The Story of Shannon & the Dentures

2012-02-05T09:19:00.001-05:00

Source: Wikipedia, Irish Setter from 1915, W. E. Mason, Dogs of all Nations

My friends, I've been very blue this weekend as I contemplate the deterioration of my mother's already fragile health and listen to my dad cry out his heartbreak during our phone calls. I feel as if I'm on the edge of a precipice of loss. When it will happen, I cannot know, but that feeling lurks in every corner of my daily life.

So often lately, I choose to remember my parents as they were decades ago. In my head I see a photo of us together in San Diego (I'll have to share it with you someday), that first summer I lived there, just weeks before I met Don for the first time. Big smiles, still vital - happy to be with me in my new city. Or I picture my mom and I laughing over something or other. We laughed a lot together; we'd laugh so hard that we'd clutch our stomachs, tears in our eyes. Laughter is the best medicine.

With that in mind, I thought I'd share a funny story with you. A true story. When I was a teenager, we had an Irish Setter named Shannon. Shannon was smart as a whip and constantly into something or other. Oh, he was a handful, but how he would make us laugh! He'd grab a dish cloth or a hand towel and run through the living room with it in his mouth, hoping to get our attention. If one of us purposely ignored him, he would reverse direction and run back through the room, dish cloth still in his mouth. This would go on and on until, exasperated, he would finally just drop the cloth in our lap as if to say, See? I took it. Doesn't anyone care???

My dad wore dentures. He would sometimes leave them on the sink in the bathroom when he went to bed. One morning, my mom was in the living room (dad was still sleeping) and Shannon tore by her with something in his mouth. Then he tore by her again. She glanced up. Not a dish cloth. Something she couldn't see was hidden in his mouth. She called out his name - Shannon! He did what he always did when he had something he didn't want us to get from him. He went under the dining room table - just far enough to make it hard to reach him. By this time, Mom had asked for my help. We got down on our hands and knees and reached for him - he moved his head away from us. We reached again. He moved away. Finally, Mom got hold of his collar. Then we tried to pry his mouth open. When we pried his teeth apart, we saw another set of teeth - my dad's.

Oh no.

In a panic, all we could think was that my dad would completely lose it if Shannon chomped on his expensive dentures. And he would have. As I kept his mouth open, Mom, with the skill of a surgeon, began to remove the dentures from his mouth - praying the whole time that he wouldn't bite down on them. Somehow we did it. Adrenalin-infused strength, I bet.

Afterwards, she took those dentures, scrubbed the life out of them, used some denture cleaner and put them back where they had been - on the side of the bathroom sink. She knew she couldn't tell my father about it. I was sworn to secrecy and dad didn't find out about it until many years later. For years, mom, my sisters and I would tell that story and laugh our heads off.

Shannon was always up to something. We had a travel trailer parked in our driveway (right outside my parents' bedroom window) and many was the time that mom and I would be out there on our hands and knees, one on either side of the trailer, trying to get Shannon to come out from under it. He would invariably lay there, right in the place where we couldn't reach him, taunting us. We'd do this in whispers, trying not to disturb my dad (sleeping again) or our neighbors. After what seemed like hours of this rigamarole (confident that my dad was still sleeping) one loud bellow of Shannon! from the direction of the bedroom would bring him out from under the trailer and into the house, making Mom and me, on our hands and knees, look ridiculous.

All these years later, those stories still make me laugh. And that's a good thing.

Where Old Glasses Go to Die

2012-02-04T08:57:00.000-05:00

Sad, isn't it? Broken side pieces. One pair taped with electrical tape, another with painter's tape.

No more searching for the pair that works for television watching. Or the other pair that works for reading. Or driving at night. Or computer work. No more Where are my glasses....have you seen them? ten times a day. No more Which glasses? The black ones? The round ones? in response. No more shoving 2 or 3 pair in pockets in case they are needed at work.

Those days are over.

Just one pair now. And adult pair of glasses for a guy who never had a problem with his eyes until those years came along. You know, the years where you find yourself holding your book or menu or newspaper farther away so you can read it. Where watching television is frustrating because you can't really see the large screen very well.

There.

I think he looks pretty cute.

The Reveal: Doily/Industrial Swag Light

2012-02-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday: I'm home sick with a bad cold, Don leaves for an audition in the city, I stare at the doily covered lampshade sitting on kitchen table. I blow my nose. And stare some more. About 30 seconds later, I am out of the blogging chair and on my way outside for the ladder. Then I'm measuring cautiously and wondering just where to drill. Then, true to form, I just go for it. I install the toggle bolt in the ceiling (pretty easy, after all) and after much adjustment, the lamp is up!

It was an impossibly gloomy day, but I was excited to show you some photos so I went ahead and took some anyway.

I originally had the cord swagged to the right of the window. However, that stretched the 15 foot red cord so much that I was going to have to use an extension cord. And if I used an extension cord, the original red cord wouldn't be as taut as it needs to be. So after much drilling and redrilling (now I have to spackle those holes) I ended up swagging the cord to the left. I rather like it swagged at an angle.

The lamp is hanging a bit lower now than it was when I took this picture. I'm still tweaking.

It's so much easier for me to embark on these DIY adventures when Don isn't around. I wonder why that is? I guess I don't have to answer questions or explain myself and I can make a mess without worrying that I'm disturbing him. And then when he comes home, it's done, without discussion. I know you understand.

From the other side of the table. By the way, I attached the doilies with some hand quilting thread, which is nice and strong. I tacked them to various parts of the frame and to each other.

Another view. I promise to take more photos when it's sunny.

I briefly considered going with a drum shade. I like the look of them. But, they're everywhere nowadays and, for better or worse, if everyone is doing something I tend to go in the opposite direction.

I really love this funky little light. And when I look at it from the den, I see that it hangs smack dab in the middle of the archway that leads into the kitchen. Perfect.

Cost:
Lamp frame: I had it on hand. I ripped off the old fabric, which was stained and ugly.
Doilies - I think one was $3 and the other was $2. The third doily was in my stash.
The cloth covered cord and socket kit from Shandell's was my biggest expense, but it was worth it. Where else could you get a red cord, I ask you? I chose the 15' cord which was a bit higher in price. The cost of the kit was $49.00.

By the way, I've looked at various other hanging cords and they are all plastic and look like they should be hidden behind a table or covered with those cloth sleeves that people use to disguise hanging cords. Susan's cords are cloth-covered and handsome. They enhance the lamp.

So, basically, I got a hanging light for my kitchen without the cost of an electrician. The whole thing was a little over $50.00.

A little later in the day. Note spackle on table.

If you'd like, I can put together a tutorial in a few days. Let me know.

Even though I was home sick, I sure had a lot of fun! Don came home around 7 p.m. I arranged it so that just the hanging light was on - he loves it.

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Thrifty Living 2012 - Saving Money on Gas

2012-02-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Ah yes. Gasoline. It keeps going up, up, up in price. As does home heating oil. We use both. I don't know what gas prices are in your neck of the woods, but it's about $3.72/gallon here. $3.65 if you pay with cash. Right off the top of my head, here are my ideas about saving money on gasoline.

Tip #1 - Pay at the pump with cash if you can. We are guilty of using our card when we buy gas. Today, I had to put some gas in the car and I had some cash in my wallet. I definitely saved a bit of money.

Tip #2 - Get your oil changed regularly. We have an older car - a 2001 Honda CR-V. Hondas are great cars and ours is pretty solid. One thing we make sure we do is get the oil changed every 3000 miles. Someone once told me that if the only thing you do is get your oil changed regularly, you're way ahead of the game with your car. Dirty oil has an affect on gas mileage.

Tip #3 - Make sure your tires are inflated correctly. Tires that are overinflated or underinflated can mess with your gas mileage. And with your tires.

Tip #4 - Do all your errands at one time. This is a big one for me. We have one car. Don uses it to go back and forth to work and that uses up a lot of gas. When he was training for his job, he would encourage me to drop him off, take the car home, and then go back at the end of the day to pick him up. I did it occasionally when I needed the car. But mostly, I actively discouraged doing it because that made for two round-trips instead of one. A waste of gasoline.

Here's another example: Yesterday, I went to Trader Joe's. I was sick with a cold, knew I had to get some food in the house and decided to do it sooner rather than later, as I tend to feel worse the second or third day of a cold. So I sat down and figured out what else I needed: to go to Michael's, Lowe's, the bank and Target. All quick stops and all on the way to the highway that takes me to Trader Joe's. It made for a long day, but I ultimately saved on gas because I did everything at once.

If we need to deposit a check in our local bank, I have Don do it at the branch that is on his way to work, rather than make an extra trip in the other direction to our home branch.

Tip #5: No fast starts and stops. Steady is the key. I learned that a long time ago, as I used to have a lead foot. Those starts and stops waste a lot of gas.

Tip #6: If you can shop online, do that rather than use gas for endless trips to the mall. It's far less stressful, to boot. You can sit, sipping tea, at your home computer. No traffic jams, no crazy drivers. Less money spent on gas.

Tip #7: Think twice before you hop in the car. Don and I often decide whether or not we should do something (drive into the city, go to Trader Joe's) by how much gas the trip might use. The only way I can validate a trip to TJ's is if I run other necessary errands along the way. We no longer take spontaneous drives (unless it's in the neighborhood.)

Tip #8: If you can, get rid of your gas-guzzler. Some cars are just plain gas eaters. And no one except the wealthy can afford that nowadays.

As for home heating oil, which I'm including in this post because it's all oil, many, many homes out here in the East use home heating oil. I grew up in Michigan where we had a gas furnace. Not here. So we have regular deliveries of heating oil to pay for. And if gasoline prices are going up, you can rest assured that home heating oil prices are also going up. Thankfully, this mild winter has saved us some money.

Tip #9: Keep your heat turned down and wear layers. Definitely turn your heat down at night. You'll save a lot of money. Also, do the usual energy checks: are there drafts, is cold air leaking in anywhere? We use those draft snakes at the base of both our outside doors. They really make a difference. Turning the thermostat down a degree or two will make a big difference in your heating oil costs.

Please feel free to share any tips you might have on this subject. We can all learn from each other. And please visit Brenda, Jen, Elaine and Diane (the rest of the Frugal Five) for their ideas on this subject.

Photo Editing, Flannel PJ's & a Cold

2012-02-01T09:44:00.000-05:00

:: That darn husband of mine has passed his cold on to me - for the second time in six months. I could feel it coming on last night. Most years, I don't get a cold - this year? Two.

:: Other than that, the hanging lamp has been tweaked and I love it. I have to hang it today or tomorrow and promise to show you photos as soon as I can. Thank you for all your support - isn't it wonderful having a lot of friends all over the world to share projects with? Kindred spirits are treasures, indeed. By the way, when I showed the lampshade to Don, this was the conversation:

Me: Do you like it?
Silence.
Me: Do you hate it?
Don: I don't hate it.
Me: Well, what do you feel?
Don: I'm...neutral.
Me: I'll take neutral.

:: Before I forget, please drop by and visit my friend Regula. She read the post about flannel pajamas, which are apparently hard to find in Switzerland. So she made some! I think that makes her an honored member of the Flannel Pajamas Club, don't you? They're really cute and she looks adorable in them.

:: I promised to update you as I found more photo editing software online. Today, I played with Pixlr and Pixlr Express. Pixlr reminds me of Photoshop Elements and works much the same way. To tell the truth, it was a tad confusing (to me) and has a bit of a learning curve. But it's free.

Howeve, Pixlr Express was fast, fun and easy. I've been trying to take good photos for Etsy. (I'll share that story with you another time.) So I had this photo on hand and thought it would be fun to play with.

This is a little toothpick holder I plan to sell.

Here's what I came up with. I resized the photo. (Always remember to resize your photos so that they don't take up too much storage space!) I used an effect called Hagrid to get this vintagy kind of look. Then I added a border design called Wispy. And a watermark. Not necessarily what I would do normally, but I like to play on these new-to-me sites.

Pixlr Express has the basic necessities: color, contrast, crop, resize, touch-up, auto-fix. It also has lots of fun effects and borders. It's extremely user-friendly.

I did all this in about 3 minutes, because that's all the exploration time I have today. I think you might like this site. At the very least, it's another possibility for our online photo editing needs.

I'm off to blow my nose. The nose that will turn red shortly. It always does.

The Hanging Lamp Saga Continues

2012-01-31T09:15:00.001-05:00

Hello! Happy Tuesday. It's going to be 51 degrees here today. 56 degrees tomorrow. I live in upstate New York. It's January. What the ???? I'm not complaining, mind you, just a little flummoxed. Flummox (bewildered, perplexed) is an old-fashioned word that I've just decided to use more often. Do you like old-fashioned words like I do?

The bare-bones lampshade is still sitting on the kitchen table and I'm sick of seeing it there. Therefore, I must decide what to do with it. I've thought of just about every possibility, with great help from all of you, and I remain undecided. But...

Yesterday afternoon, while Don was in his sickbed (why are men so difficult when they are under the weather?), I started playing around with some vintage doilies I have in my stash. These particular doilies have aged to a sort of pale beige - if I chose a designer-like name for the color I would use Café au Lait. I temporarily fastened them onto the frame with paperclips.

I'd have to do a fair amount of adjusting, but I rather like the frame being exposed here and there. With the light on:

Hmmm. It's awfully pretty. I don't want something too frou-frou. Somehow, this doesn't come across as too frilly.

I must say that the light shining through the doilies is a very pretty look.

It would also catch the sunlight from the kitchen windows. (I'm looking at it right now from the den and the sunlight is giving it a wonderful glow.)

It's a work in progress. Not the finished product.

Is it right for my cozy, homey, country kitchen? I'm growing quite fond of it.

Re-thinking the Need to Buy, Buy, Buy

2012-01-30T10:55:00.000-05:00

Did you know there are vintage Golden Wedding Anniversary Cake Toppers? I must confess I didn't until I ran across this one in a local shop. At just a few dollars, I felt justified in adding it to my collection. I'm not sure I'd ever want that particular shade of gunmetal gray in my hair, but at least husband and wife match.

Back to a few dollars.

These are tough times for so many of us. Reading your comments on the Thrifty Living posts has been revelatory. Every one of you has a story, whether it concerns job loss, retirement on a fixed income, illness and medical bills, lack of health insurance, putting a kid through college... I could go on and on. Many times I have been moved to tears. You are all so brave. You've written from the heart about your own struggles and I thank you.

So when I read blog posts here and there in blogland that continually center on accumulating things one after another, I must admit I get more than a little turned off. It just seems so inappropriate in these times. I should clarify that thought. We all love a deal. When we can find something for a song, or snag something at an auction or estate sale for next-to-nothing, recycle by purchasing something vintage, find something on the side of the road and remake it - that calls for Hurrahs all around. That's being thrifty, creative and thinking outside the box.

(chalkboard and hanger made out of materials I had on hand)

Taking something you have on hand and rethinking it is a great idea. It's not about accumulating but it is about using what you have.

I understand the thrill of buying something new. It's a high. I've felt that high.

Let me tell you, the high I get from recycling, reusing, and finding some little treasure for a few dollars is much more satisfying.

Would I like to get rid of this well-over-twenty-years-old-loveseat and buy something new? Something that is a wee bit more comfortable? Yes. But that's an expense we can't handle right now. So I make it as pretty as I can with what I have and that's just fine.

All you have to do is watch the nightly news or read the comments on our Thrifty Living Series to know that there are so many people out there who are struggling to survive. Many have lost their pensions, their homes and are trying to make sense of this new world we live in. And I'm the first to say I love pretty pictures and beautiful homes. We all need to dream. But even more, I love seeing a 'make do' kind of attitude. The creativity that arises from that mode of thinking is amazing.

(repurposed lamp shade made into swag light)

Some of my favorite pieces in my home have come about from thinking: What can I do with what I have?

Of course, I made this discovery because I had to. It was and is a necessity.

I don't begrudge anyone what they have or how they spend their money. It's their business. I just find posts about living creatively on a very small budget more enriching. I'd much rather read about a headboard that was made out of scrap lumber than read about one that was custom-made with expensive fabrics.

(screen redone with fabric strips)

I'd rather read about someone spending a few dollars on flowers to pretty up a room than see a room re-done for thousands and thousands of dollars.

Or read about a lovingly hand-made item that adds a level of warmth and comfort to a room.

I'd rather see a kitchen re-done on a small budget than one with all the bells and whistles.

This has become my own particular sensibility. And I'm grateful for it. It allows me to be thankful for what I have, if only for a moment in time. It allows me to look around our little cottage and think, "It's fine just the way it is, but maybe I can use this fabric in my stash to...."

Your thoughts?

My Boys are Under the Weather

2012-01-29T10:01:00.000-05:00

Sunny skies on this Sunday morning. Thank you Old Man Winter. You'll see photos of this particular view fairly often on the blog. This is what I see when I stand in the kitchen doorway and look up. That's a maple on the left, the catalpa in the middle and our sugar maple on the right, along with a cast of thousands. We have a lot of trees.

My boy Riley had a very bad night. I woke up to discover he'd had some elimination problems (no big deal, we're used to that now) and he'd somehow managed to get wedged half-way under the kitchen island. I can only imagine he panicked and, since he has problems getting around anyway, somehow slipped on the wood floor and couldn't get up. When I managed to get him up, he kept collapsing. I finally got him outside where he regained a little strength in his legs.

He's exhausted. Life is hard for my dear boy and I try to reassure him when he's distressed or worried. Because he does worry. At this point in his life, nothing is worth one second of his feeling bad or guilty.

We try to make getting around as easy as possible. We lift him up and down the stairs. We help him up when his body is stiff and sore. When we look outside and see a mass of mud on the path to the corral, Don runs to the Agway to get some hay.

We cover the mud and tamp it down, so he can get a solid footing. (We put a bit too much down this time!) I vacuum up bits of hay every day. But if it helps Mr. Riley, I'll vacuum ten times a day.

Don has a cold. Both my boys are having a tough time of it.

Scout and I are fine. Right, Scout?

What are your plans for this Sunday? Is it sunny in your neck of the woods?

Ode to Flannel Pajamas

2012-01-28T09:49:00.000-05:00

Blogging is fun, but it's even better in flannel pajamas.

If cleaning must be done, why not do it in flannel pajamas?

Reading is essential, but oh so much more satisfying in flannel pajamas.

Crafting? Creativity flows in flannel pajamas.

Crocheting? The hook just works better in flannel pajamas.

Cooking, Baking? Absolutely must be done in flannel pajamas.

Gardening is heaven, and I've been known to do it in my flannel pajamas.

Decorating and DIY: pajamas.

Painting? In an old pair of flannel pajamas.

Late afternoon hot chocolate: much more satisfying in flannel pajamas.

I've driven my husband to work in my pajamas.

I haven't coached in my pajamas yet, but I would if I could. Wait a minute, I coached a former student on the phone yesterday - in my flannel pajamas!

Rest assured, I do get dressed. But only under protest. In a perfect world, I would wear my flannel pajamas all day long. I'd have a different pair for each day of the week. Even in the heat of summer, I'd wear my flannel pajamas and I wouldn't sweat. Airline travel would be done while wearing my pajamas. Ditto train and bus travel.

Flannel PJ's = My favorite piece of clothing.

I love you, pink squirrel flannel pajamas.

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Some of you mentioned joining a club. Want a button? Feel free to take it and put it on your blog.

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I know many of you love our "Cooking in the Cottage" video. Some of you have told me you go back and watch it every once in while for a good giggle. For easy access, it's on the sidebar under Popular Posts. Just click on it and have fun!

Rainy Days

2012-01-27T10:05:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was rainy. Cold. Dreary. Lazy. Today looks to be the same.

I managed to amass a day's worth of mugs and glasses on my little side table. I didn't even get up to get my camera - I used the iPhone.

We ate dinner and lunch on trays in the den. That's Don's slipper to the right.

My new copy of Where Women Create arrived in the mail. I won a year's subscription in a giveaway. I'm very grateful, because at $15 per issue, I would not be buying it in these frugal times.

Thank goodness for the flowers - they help to brighten up the day. We need to schedule another trip to Trader Joe's. Next week.

(photos from the hipstamatic app on the iPhone.)

Thank you for all the wonderful hanging lamp suggestions. I knew you'd have some great ideas. Now, of course, I'm more confused than ever. So there it sits, on the kitchen table, calling to me.

My response? I don't know what to do with you yet! But I will.

I hope your Friday is cheery, despite gray skies. Or maybe you're blessed with beautiful weather today. Either way, enjoy!

Thrifty Living 2012 - More of Our Stories

2012-01-26T10:01:00.000-05:00

Last week, the five of us shared a little bit about ourselves with you. This week, we're sharing a bit more of our individual stories.

So much of what we share on our blogs is funny, happy and/or pretty. But there's a reality behind all that. Here goes.

Most of you are familiar with our story to some extent. Our work is in the arts and both of us freelance. Freelancing is challenging at any time, but for the past two years it has been especially challenging. My husband has been a professional actor for over 40 years. He has worked in the theater, television and film. He's a very, very good actor. Theater doesn't pay very much and theaters have had a tough time in this economy. Television - where Don has worked a lot during his career - has been taken over by so-called reality television, which has nothing to do with reality and everything to do with cheap entertainment. It has put actors, directors, costume designers, set designers and a host of other people out of work. The next time you sit down and watch some obviously staged reality television show, think about that.

Don has had to take a job with a car rental company in the meantime. After 40 years as an actor, he has had to learn new skills. The pay? Not good. But the job gives us health insurance and after being hospitalized twice last year, I am only too aware of the perils of not being insured. Thank goodness we were insured at the time. Don needs to work as an actor. It's the talent he has been blessed with and it also has the potential for the most income. But we need health insurance. And so the cycle continues.

My work comes and goes and sometimes requires me to be out of town for several weeks at a time. When that happens, we are paying for food for two households - doubling our expenses. I've looked for work here at home. I've worked at other jobs in the past and am perfectly willing to do so now, but I can't find anything. As far as teaching, which is what I did for 20 years, no university will even consider someone with my experience and resumé. They'd have to pay me too much, so they pass on an interview and hire someone 'up-and-coming.' And local companies don't necessarily want to put money into training someone my age. I also need to be near my ill and aging dog, Riley, who needs help getting around the house.

We don't have children, but we have two dogs that require prescription dog food and medications. We eat simply. We hardly ever buy new clothes and when we do, they are on sale. We are down to one car because the very old second car we were using requires expensive repairs that we can't afford. Since we're down to one car, I am limited as to where I can work. We live in the country - I can't just walk or take a bus to work. The one car we do have is 11 years old.

I have a job coming up in April and May. After that? Nothing on the horizon.

Thrifty? I've always had to be thrifty out of necessity. I've never had the luxury of impulse spending. In my world, impulse spending is buying a bouquet at Trader Joe's for $3.99. I'd kill for a new pair of jeans right now. At the moment, that would be an extravagance.

We don't take vacations. We very rarely eat out. We almost never go to the movies - too noisy, way too expensive. We'll catch the film later on DVD or cable.

I'm exploring other avenues for income: advertising on this blog, an etsy shop. In an ideal world, I'd be able to make a fairly good income from work online. That is my hope for the future.

Our mortgage payments are high. Our house is worth much less than it was when we bought it. If we were to consider selling, we would lose lots of money. So far, we've never missed a payment in 6 years of living in the cottage. Miracles do happen.

Like so many of you out there, we are approaching the years where we had hoped we would feel a measure of security after a lifetime of work. But the reality facing us is entirely different.

Even with all the worries and stress, we find joy in our daily life. We laugh, we get silly and we are thankful for the blessings we have. Times are tough, yes, but we're already used to tightening our belt. We're simply pulling the belt a bit tighter.

We are thrifty. As we move forward in this series, I will share my tips with you. I look forward to reading the tips from Brenda, Diane, Elaine and Jen. We have much to offer each other!

The Hanging Lamp Project

2012-01-25T10:14:00.000-05:00

It's Wednesday and I'm in the middle of an ongoing project. Well, to be truthful, I'm in the middle of several ongoing projects, enough to make my head spin in that Linda Blair/Exorcist way. The crochet is ongoing:

Note how quickly the desk has become a catch-all. Need I add that I didn't stage this photo?

As to the project at hand: I've had this idea for a while. The kitchen has recessed lighting in the ceiling and a little lamp on the countertop. I've always thought it would be nice to have a hanging lamp over the kitchen table that would illuminate the room without the constant use of many high-wattage bulbs. I know there are convertors that make recessed lights into pendant lights but I can't use that option because none of the lights are over the kitchen table.

A while back, one of our table lamps bit the dust. As I took the shade off, I started to rip the fabric from the framework. I was left with an industrial looking, slightly rusty wire cage. Hmmm. Now there's an idea. But how to do it? It would have to be a swag pendant light because the table is in the middle of the room, the socket is on the wall by the bench, and I'm not paying an electrician to install a light.

I found Susan and her shop, Shandell's, and a neat kit consisting of a cloth-covered cord, light socket and instructions for putting it all together. If I was going to have a cord swagged across the room, I thought it should make a statement, so I chose the red cloth-covered cord. To go with the red in our kitchen.

I really love it. Yesterday, I did the basics. Susan's instructions are very helpful.

I even managed to strip the wires and attach them to the plug. It works!

Here's my little dilemma. Do I buy a retro, Edison-type bulb and keep this industrial look? Part of the reason I wanted the industrial see-through look was to keep the sight line to the kitchen windows free. Or do I cover the cage with fabric, like the fabric in the second photo from the top? I love that fabric, but it's a fat quarter and there isn't enough to cover the cage. But this will give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

Fabric or no-fabric? I'd love to hear your thoughts, my friends.

Let's not even get into my nervousness about drilling a hole in the ceiling, finding a stud/joist and hanging this sucker.

First things first. What do you think I should do?

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Crochet & Flowers

2012-01-24T09:47:00.001-05:00

I've been churning out some Obsession Scarves for the shop. Perhaps 'churning' isn't the best word for the creative process. How about 'joyfully stitching'? I so want to get the shop up and running, but there are photos to be taken, pricing to figure out, mailing costs - oh my goodness. As for photos - the skies have been a tad gloomy for the past two days and not the best for picture taking.

I'm suddenly aware of color - true color - lately. I want the photos to show the real colors and, frankly, that's not always easy. For example, the pinkish tone in the to scarf is a little off, it's a deeper color. That will be the challenge.

I'm experimenting with the opacity of the watermark on my photos. This is better.

Yarn is beautiful, isn't it? The fibers, the softness. These variegated skeins are perfect for the Obsession Scarf.

Yarn and flowers.

Theses roses are stunning. They were part of a mixed bouquet that included the pink alstromeria - from Trader Joe's. Mixed bouquets can be a wonderful way to spread flowers out throughout your home...a little here...a little there.

Yellow brightens up the house on a gloomy day.

I love Blogger but I'm having some doubts lately. The cancellation of Picnik, the push for everyone to join Google+, the problems with comments, blogs being taken down as spam or for some other reason - it all makes me nervous. I haven't had any problems yet, knock on wood, but I know plenty of people who have. I'm researching WordPress. We'll see.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments about Old Man Winter! I loved reading them. Seems like most of us have a love/hate relationship with this season. We had rain all day yesterday and our pretty snowfall has turned to mud. A depressing landscape, indeed.

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Have a great Tuesday!

Question: What are your Feelings about Winter?

2012-01-23T10:07:00.003-05:00

Playing around with BeFunky again. So far, so good.

This is a photo from last winter. We have snow on the ground right now, but it's going to warm up today, so I expect much of it will melt.

I have a love/hate relationship with Old Man Winter. I was raised in Michigan where huge snowfalls were the norm. For most of my life, I've lived in areas of the country that get a lot of snow. I can remember walking through a blizzard to get to a rehearsal when I lived in Philadelphia. Several of us in the cast were trying to get to the subway and we had to cling on to light poles when the wind started gusting in order to avoid being knocked on our behinds. In Boston, where I also used public transportation, I regularly slipped and fell on the icy sidewalks, had to wait for the T (the subway) while snow and sleet stung every exposed part of my skin. The last winter that I lived there, I remember thinking to myself: You have got to get out of here.

And I did. I got a job in San Diego. I lived there for 8 years. During that first winter in San Diego, I traveled home to Michigan for the holidays. At that time, my parents were living in Northern Michigan on the shores of Lake Huron, where huge snowfalls were a regular occurrence. There was snow piled everywhere and the winds coming off Lake Huron were sharp and biting. Perfect for a Christmas celebration with family.

But when I arrived back in San Diego, the temperature was in the 70's and I felt the warmth of the sun on my face and I had that same feeling I have when I slip into a warm bath. Aaaahh.

So what did we do? Eight years later, we decided to move back East. And ten years after that move, here we are. My poor husband, Southern California born and bred, has never made friends with winter. He likes the first couple of snowfalls but then he longs for San Diego. Happens every year.

When I was younger and living in Michigan, I regularly drove in the snow and was rather fearless about it. I once drove across the state in a major blizzard to attend a friend's wedding and didn't blink an eye. Didn't have four-wheel drive. Didn't care.

Now, I watch the weather reports, I worry about Don driving home from work late at night, I do everything I can to avoid driving in the snow.

I get a wee bit depressed.

I've made a little list:

Claudia's Pros and Cons of Winter (Actually, the Cons and Pros)

It's very cold. But I like the way cold makes me feel invigorated.

It's very cold. But I get to wear sweaters.

My garden is sleeping, hidden away under the snow. But I know that I will appreciate it all the more come spring.

There's a lot of snow. But it looks so beautiful when the sun is shining and it sparkles.

All I see is white - everywhere. But I can see the bright red of our cardinals against the white of the snow and nothing is more beautiful.

I have to shovel. But it's good exercise.

I get sick of it real quickly. But the dogs love it. Riley licks the snow, Scout frolics in it.

Winter seems endless. But without it, we wouldn't appreciate the fresh green growth of spring.

It's very cold. But I get to drink hot chocolate.

So here's my question of the day:

What are your feelings about winter? Do you love it, hate it, or are you somewhere in the middle?

Blogging Tips

2012-01-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hello, everyone. Just wanted to share a couple of tips with you today.

Tip Number 1:

I was shocked on Friday evening when I went to edit some photos in Picnik (which I use daily) and a message on the home page informed me that Picnik would be no more as of April 2012.

What??? My head started spinning.

Google bought Picnik a while back and they're getting rid of it. The message from Picnik is rather vague, but it looks as if Google+ will have some of Picnik's features available. Of course, in my obsessive way I searched all over the web for alternatives. I messed around with Google+ and edited a photo but, for the life of me, didn't know how to get the edited photo back on my desktop. And I don't especially want to get too involved with Google+. Facebook is quite enough, thank you.

Then I downloaded a free 30 day trial of Photoshop Elements. After about an hour I was ready to slit my wrists. I'd love to figure it out and haven't given up hope, but the learning curve is rather steep.

But here's the thing: Picnik was easy, fast, accessible and great for those of us who aren't quite ready to handle the Photoshop learning curve. And it had the collage feature, which is how I made my banner and my sister's banner.

Why does Google have to mess with something that has so many fans? There are already petitions on the web asking Google to keep Picnik going. I somehow doubt Google is going to pay much attention to them.

Today I found a site called BeFunky, via a list on Diane's blog, that works in much the same way as Picnik. And like Picnik, it's free. You can pay a bit of money for the premium package and get more features - also like Picnik. The one thing I didn't see there was the Collage feature. Here's the photo I used to test the site:

A barely okay photo - there's a lot of light and shadow and some light orbs, as well. Here's the edited version:

I resized it, did a bit with color saturation and contrast, used the drop shadow frame, watermarked it with the name of the blog and used my favorite feature on this site, Vintage Colors. Pretty cool, wouldn't you say?

I usually don't use effects on my photos. I edit and sharpen and clarify. But I do like this little feature - it made an okay photo rather artsy and cool. Still have the problem with the orbs but somehow it works this way.

I'll keep trying other sites and will let you know what I find. But for now, you might consider using BeFunky when Picnik ends its run in April.

Tip Number 2:

I know many people have been having problems leaving comments, viewing blogs, and having blogs disappear in the middle of a visit. Every time I research one of these problems, I find that many of the people having the problem use Internet Explorer. Remember when I was going to start using Threaded Commenting earlier in the week? I ended up reverting back to the Pop-up Box because I read that those readers who used Internet Explorer couldn't leave comments when a blogger had implemented Threaded Comments.

Internet Explorer seems to have a lot of problems. I personally don't use it and haven't used it in many years. My suggestion is this: If you use Internet Explorer, consider downloading another browser. It's pretty easy to do and takes very little time. If you're nervous about downloading, have someone more computer-savvy do it for you. At the very least, it will give you more options for viewing blogs. You won't run into these problems nearly as much and you'll have the option of having another browser to try if one acts up. And they do. I have 3 different browsers on my computer for that very reason.

Every browser can have its little quirks, but I've found that Chrome and Firefox work very well for me.

Google Chrome - the browser that Blogger favors because it's Google, of course. There are versions for Macs and Windows/PC.

Firefox - this link may show Firefox for Mac, as I have a Mac and that's what keeps coming up when I search, but you can easily change that to Windows/PC.

If you have a Mac, you already have Safari, which is Apple's browser.

There may be more out there, but these are the browsers I know and feel comfortable recommending.

Any questions? Feel free to email me.

One of Our Favorite Places

2012-01-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we went on a little drive.

It had snowed a little overnight. There will be a lot more on the ground today - we're expecting 6 inches.

We crossed the Hudson River.

Truly beautiful.

We ended up at our final destination:

Pardon our excitement but we found a Trader Joe's just a bit closer to our house (it's still an hour away) and much easier to get to. And it's bigger!

The thing is, Trader Joe's has such great prices, a trip every 2 or 3 weeks is worth it. We save a lot of money. And frugal is the word for 2012.

I also can buy these pretties for a few dollars.

Fresh flowers are simply a necessity in winter. Especially when snow is in the forecast, along with shoveling.

Fresh flowers, a mug of hot chocolate and some crocheting.

That's the ticket.

Made in...

2012-01-20T08:55:00.000-05:00

Good morning on this wintry Friday. We got a little snow last night, about half an inch or so, with a bit more to come tonight. No big storm yesterday - just a quiet, pretty snowfall in the evening.

So far, so good.

We're a sleepy bunch this morning. Riley has yet to get up to attend to business. I'm in my flannel pajamas, wrapped in a shawl, drinking my morning Peet's. Scout's in the 'tunnel.'

Note pink flannel pajamas on the left.

I wore those pajamas all day yesterday, except for when I returned the rental car. I figured it might not be a good idea to arrive at the rental counter in pink flannel.

The trip to New Haven went well, but oh, was I exhausted! Not enough sleep the night before, lots of driving and a very late arrival back home at the cottage. I arrived in New Haven about an hour and a half before curtain, so I went to IKEA. It's right next door and I needed some dinner and the food is good, but more importantly, it's cheap. I called Don to say I arrived safely, played around with my iPhone and, after dinner, took a quick walk through the store.

I bought these:

The cost was about a dollar per glass. The pale colors drew me in and they're nice and tall. We've managed to break every tall glass around here, leaving us with something close to a juice-style glass in size (also from IKEA) and some plastic crap. I figured these were a good investment. Why only 3?

I don't know. I truly don't know what I was thinking.

But here's an interesting discovery:

IKEA of Sweden.

Made in China.

Is everything being made in China now? It sure seems that way.

Call me crazy, but perhaps the lack of jobs in this country and other countries might be greatly improved if we started manufacturing our products at home. It's not rocket science. It's just common sense. Why aren't we taking care of our own?

You can't walk through Target or the dreaded Walmart or any other store without seeing 'Made in China' on most everything.

By the way, this sweet little Nisse from the Danish company, Maileg?

Made in China.

Just think what a difference it would mean to the economic picture of every country if jobs and manufacturing were brought back home. The lines of eager job applicants would stretch for miles. We could get our citizens back to work, help them become independent again. Unemployment payments would greatly decrease.

Why aren't we doing this? Perhaps the need for cheap labor should be trumped by the needs of our country's citizens.

I could write a treatise on this, but I won't. At least for the moment.

I'll leave you with this shot of the sun rising over our back forty.

Happy Friday!

Thrifty Living 2012

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

We're starting a new series today - Thrifty Living 2012.

In this series, there will be five women sharing the economic struggles they and their families face in their particular region.

Each week, one of us; Brenda, Claudia, Elaine, Jen and Diane, will be featured with a topic on how we are living more thriftily in the year 2012. The rest of us will provide our own paragraph or so on how we apply that thrifty tip to our own lifestyle.

We run the gamut. Brenda is the only single family household. Claudia and Don live with their two dogs in New York. Elaine has a small daughter and grown children in Southern California. Jen and her husband have just relocated to another part of Canada and are looking for their first house. Diane and her husband live in Florida and are retired.

My story:

This series calls for an honest appraisal of how the woeful economy has affected our lifestyles, so I will be as honest as I can, while still protecting my privacy.

My name is Claudia and I live with my husband and two dogs in upstate New York, about 75 miles northwest of Manhattan.

Ten years ago, I left my full-time position as an Associate Professor and Resident Vocal Coach for a well-known theater program to move East with my husband. He's an actor who, after having spent all of his professional life on the West Coast, found that he was getting more work on the East Coast. I was suffering from teacher burnout. Don was turning 50 and we figured it was now or never. I started to do freelance work as a Voice coach for the theater and Don? Acting is always freelance.

Since our move, we have had the usual fluctuations in income that come when both wage earners are freelancers. But the past 2 years have been terrible for us. Acting work has dried up, thanks, in part, to Reality television. (More on that next week.) Don has found himself in the same boat as so many of his actor friends, actors who have worked professionally for 40 years, suddenly facing the fact that there is little, if any, work to be found.

My work comes and goes. Theaters have had cuts in funding. Budgets don't always allow for a coach. Something has to go and it can't be costumes and sets, can it?

We bought a house at the height of the real estate boom and now make hefty mortgage payments on a house that is not worth nearly the amount of our loan. We're struggling to get by.

We've never lived anything close to a lavish lifestyle. Our lifestyle has been extremely moderate. But now? We are having to cut corners on essentials. Every month the mortgage payment has to be made and the bills paid and we cross our fingers and hope that this month we'll have enough.

I'll share more with you next week.

To read the introductions of the rest of the team, please visit:

Brenda of Cozy Little House

Elaine of Sunny, Simple Life

Jen of Muddy Boot Dreams

Diane of Lavender Dreams

Early Morning

2012-01-18T08:07:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite moments in the early morning or evening is the time when the sky is changing - when it's about to be dark or about to be light. The deep blues move and shift and if you blink, it all changes. They remind me of the blues in a Maxfield Parrish illustration. He always used those mysterious, rich shades of blue. It's one of the reasons I love his work so much.

I woke up too early today. While letting the dogs out, I saw the sky and grabbed my camera.

I wish I'd slept longer as I have to drive to New Haven again today - this time later in the day because I have to catch an evening performance. I'll be driving back home late tonight. A bit more sleep would have been most welcome. I fall asleep just fine, but somehow during the early morning hours I wake up and my thoughts start running rampant, I can't get comfortable and eventually get up.

Those middle-of-the-night thoughts and worries can really get to you.

On the other hand, I love the early morning hours when everything is quiet, when the world is still sleeping. I grab a shawl to ward off the chill, take my little furry pals with me into the den, drink a cup of Peet's French Roast and watch the sun rise.

I like the quiet. More and more, as I get older, I crave quiet. We're out in the country, yes, but we live on a very busy road. In the summertime, with the windows open, the sound of trucks and cars can be too loud, too annoying. In the winter, with the house shut up tight, those sounds fade into the background. And when it snows: quiet everywhere. We haven't had a snowfall like that this winter. I wonder if we will in this strange winter of 2012.

I'm on my second cup of coffee now. Riley seems unusually restless this morning and I can't figure out what he needs or wants. Scout is sleeping on the sofa. Don's asleep upstairs. I just sneezed five times in a row.

A glimpse of my morning here at Mockingbird Hill Cottage.

-------------------------------------------------

Tomorrow starts a new series, Thrifty Living 2012. Five of us will be sharing our tips for frugal, thrifty living. We'll introduce ourselves and share our personal stories over the next two Thursdays, then we'll take turns sharing the things we do to save money in this crazy economy. I hope you'll join us.

Snow & Some Favorite Products

2012-01-17T11:02:00.002-05:00

We got a smidgeon of snow last night. Just enough to mess with Don's midnight drive home from work. What a bizarre winter this is! No snow until last night, if you don't count the freak 10 inches we got in October, when it wasn't officially winter yet.

I'm happy not having to contend with shoveling and salt and all the mess that happens with a snowfall, but snow, if you're going to come, at least cover the ground, okay? This just looks messy.

My head is spinning (just a little) from the font thing. Most of you said you liked the new font just fine, but that you also liked the old font. A few of you took the time to write me and say that my old font (Century Gothic) was more me and suited my blog. Most of you, I'd say 98%, said you had no trouble reading the old font.

What the heck should I do? I'm going to leave the new font on the blog for a while. I like it, so I'm going to give it some time, just like a fine wine, to age and mature. I loved the old font, though. Who knows? It may appear again.

I thought I'd mention a couple of products that I'm liking very much these days:

This line is carried at Target. When I was working in Wisconsin last summer and a trip to Target and Trader Joe's was the most exciting part of the week, I tried a little sample of this. I love the texture of the cream and the scent is heavenly. I bought a big old tube of it around Christmas time just for me. Wouldn't you know it? That darned Don is using it, too. Apparently, he's decided to say Yes to Carrots. I wonder if it's possible to hide it from him?

One of my Christmas presents from the aforementioned Don was this candle from Barnes & Noble. This is part of a series of library candles by Paddywax. It's made from soy, rather than paraffin, which makes it more eco-friendly. This one has a quote from Oscar Wilde:

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."

Oh, that Oscar. Besides writing my favorite play ever, "The Importance of Being Earnest," he was one witty guy, always coming up with a quote that makes me chuckle.

These candles are a bit pricey at $20. But both of us love the scent (which usually isn't the case in this household) and I like to burn it in the den which sits right on top of a dirt-floor crawl space that can be a bit musty smelling at times. Besides, you can reuse the deep purple glass candle holder. Love it.

I redesigned my sister's blog yesterday. She will be the first to admit she is seriously tech-challenged. It needed some updating. She may be seriously tech-challenged but she is a seriously talented knitter, weaver and crocheter!

For everyone who might be checking in to read a Defending the Small House post, Brenda and I are going to run this series once a month on the first Tuesday of the month. It's a challenge to keep coming up with ideas and this change will eliminate the pressure of having to coming up with a fresh post every week. Yes, we're brilliant, but we're not that brilliant.

Have a great day!

Twitchy, Lamps & Fonts

2012-01-16T10:14:00.000-05:00

I've had a twitch in my left eyelid for 2 days now.

It's as if the eyelid has been possessed.

Meanwhile, it's very cold here. I had my flannel pajamas and a shawl on for most of the day yesterday. Very cozy and, frankly, warmer than a pair of jeans and a sweater, which I also had on for a short time until I realized my pajamas were a much better choice. Does extremely cold weather make you sleepy? Must be the urge to hibernate that runs through us all.

I can't tell you how happy it makes me to sit here in my blogging chair and see this funky, cheery desk across the room. Seriously, it makes me smile. It brightens up that corner of the room. I brought the lamp down from the studio and replaced it with another cute lamp that I found at Target.

This isn't the best photo; I took it very quickly. The wall needs painting, as does every other wall in this house. But you get an idea, right? A soft pink color on the shade that really suits the colors in the studio.

Here's the question of the day: Brenda and our friend Nola have been bugging me about my font. The one I was using previously is Century Gothic. (I love it.) For some reason, they have trouble reading it. Yesterday, while on the phone with Ms. Brenda, we tried other fonts and this is the one I ended up with. It's called Josefin Slab.

But at the end of the evening yesterday and again when I woke up this morning, I had a little trouble reading it. (Perhaps because of the dreaded twitch?) I spent an obsessive 2 hours this morning trying different fonts. Now I have no idea what I want.

What do you think of this font? Can you read it? Is it too dark, too light?

Let me also say that there's no guarantee I won't be messing with it throughout the day. But I promise to leave it alone for a couple of hours so I can read your comments.

Let's close with a shot of the sky this Monday morning:

I'm glad I snapped it when I did, because it looks totally different now.

Go figure. Now I'm liking the font again. I'm sure that will change in about 2 minutes.

Update: Now I've changed it to Merriweather - Josefin Slab was just too light. What do you think? And yes, I know I'm slightly obsessive, but the look of my blog means a great deal to me. And if you liked the old font, let me know that, too.

Books & Threaded Comments

2012-01-15T08:30:00.000-05:00

It's Sunday morning. I've been awake since 6 am. A mite too early for my taste.

:: My current stack of reading matter:

The Prime Suspect mysteries - these were the inspiration for the British television series starring Helen Mirren and the current series starring Maria Bello (both of which are excellent, I might add.) I'm reviewing these in March and April.

A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cossé - A wonderful read by a French author that has been translated into English. My friend who owns a bookstore in Spring Green, Wisconsin recommended it to me last summer. I'm just now getting to it and I really love it.

Starting an Etsy Business for Dummies - If I can, I will always consult a book for 'how-to' knowledge. I need to see all the information on the page. And I like being able to go back to the reference book again and again.

Country Gardens magazine - Because when I am in the midst of Winter, I desperately need to see green things growing.

:: Someone recently asked me about compiling blog posts in book form. I'm sorry but I can't remember who it was! There are several programs available. The one I use is Blurb. It's very simple. All you have to do is download the software - then you can have fun editing and designing your book. I have another one ready to print, but I've been lazy about pushing the publish button. I like the idea of having a book for each year of my blog. My 4 year blogiversary is around the corner, so that means I'm about 2 books behind!

:: I'm going to try something out. My friend at Olive Out recently wrote a post about how to add threaded comments to a post. That means that the blogger has the ability to respond directly to a question or a comment within the comments section. I get a lot of questions and, as you know, there are still many bloggers out there who have a "No Reply-Comment" address which makes it impossible to respond via email.

I'm a little hesitant because I know that I rarely go back to a post I've commented on to see if there is an answer to my question. This means there will no longer be a pop-up window when you comment, which I've always liked. But, let's experiment! I'm willing to give it a go - who knows? It may be the perfect way to respond to your questions.

Let the thread begin!

It's absolutely frigid here. Is it cold in your neck of the woods?

Update: I did some googling and it looks like bloggers who use IE are having problems commenting on posts with embedded comments. I don't want anyone left out, so I've reverted back to my pop-up window until the issue gets fixed. So...I'll definitely do this in the future, but let's hold off until everyone can comment.

Working on Inventory for the Etsy Shop

2012-01-14T10:24:00.000-05:00

I'm crocheting some Obsession scarves for my soon-to-be Etsy shop. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, last winter I was completely caught up in making these scarves, also known as the Queen Anne's Lace pattern. I made several of them, including a few for fellow bloggers. I love crocheting these beauties. I've decided that the Etsy shop will carry vintage finds and handmade pieces, by the way.

My goal this next week is to get the Etsy shop up and running...or at least almost up and running! I have a big old learning curve to deal with so I will be researching and asking advice from my fellow Etsy sellers.

My sister is also contributing some of her exquisite handmade (on her loom) shawls and scarves. Here's a peek at what she sent me the other day:

Let me tell you, they are soft and beautifully woven and gorgeous. I am honored to sell her creations. Check out her latest post in which she writes about how she weaves and creates on her loom.

The wind has died down, thank goodness. No damage to the trees. About 3:00 yesterday afternoon, I decided that if ever there was a hot chocolate kind of day, this was it, and made myself a cup. Then I settled in my chair and talked on the phone with my sister, Brenda and my dad.

Today might just be a hot chocolate kind of day, as well. Don't you agree?

A Windy Friday

2012-01-13T11:17:00.000-05:00

This is the kind of weather day that makes me want to climb inside the dollhouse for extra protection. The winds are relentless, I can hear them constantly. I worry about the trees, which seem to be losing more and more limbs lately. I used to like the sound of wind. No more. It makes me edgy and nervous.

I had a long day yesterday: four hours of driving in the rain, a full day of rehearsal - all on about 4 hours of sleep. But it was a good day, as well, with a terrific group of actors to work with and a director who is a truly nice person as well as very talented. Got home around 9 p.m., ate some pizza and went to bed. I'm catching up on all my email and comments. Thanks so much for all the wonderful, supportive comments on my two projects. I love creating and it's tremendously satisfying, but it's even more so when I can post photos and get such wonderful feedback from friends.

I want a real-sized version of this sofa in my living room.

Anyone want to climb in the dollhouse with me? We could have a cup of tea or coffee and a nice, cozy chat.

Before & After: From Curbside Freebie to Pretty Desk

2012-01-12T06:30:00.000-05:00

Our little freebie, found on the street, has been transformed.

This was the before:

After:

I covered foamboard with vintage fabric from the 40's to disguise the unsightly holes in the back. I wasn't sure what to do with the slide out shelf, which was originally covered in this yucky contact paper:

I almost ditched the shelf, but at the last minute I decided to cover it with the rest of the vintage fabric.

The two different levels will be handy when I'm doing research and need a lot of books. Or for when I'm using the laptop and it's not on my lap.

The only things I spent any money on were the two baskets, which were on sale at Michael's for a few dollars each. Everything else I had on hand: primer, paint, fabric and accessories. The desk was found on the street. Total cost: about $8.00. Frugal has become my middle name.

Some of these photos were taken yesterday morning and some in the late afternoon which explains the difference in the light. I'll probably add some reference books to the middle shelf as I have another Shakespeare project coming up. I also want to think up a neat way to hold business files. I need to find a lamp, as well. But this will do nicely for now.

When I first saw this piece, I was thinking, "What did Don bring home now?" It's not at all what I'm usually drawn to. But, now I really like it. It's the perfect size for this little corner. And it's a little off-beat. I'm sure ours will be a beautiful relationship!

I'm driving to New Haven today for some more work on Macbeth. See you tomorrow!

Before & After: Display Shelf

2012-01-11T09:45:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine, who had a booth in Heidi's shop, died last year. Reyna was a lovely person, with a gravelly voice and a big heart. She was always very kind to me. She had a great eye, especially for vintage books. I miss you, Reyna.

Heidi gave me a few things from Reyna's space. One of them was this little display shelf.

I am drawn to charming shelves and cubbies and all things that display tiny treasures. This one is a smallish box with a mirror backing. I know there is an actual name for this kind of thing but can't for the life of me remember it. Anyone?

Back to my story: it has been sitting in the bedroom gathering dust for a few months. My desk project inspired me to bring this little gem downstairs and re-imagine it.

Here it is. I painted it with my favorite Benjamin Moore paint; the name of the color escapes me at the moment. It's everywhere here in the cottage: on the island, on the kitchen table and now on this little shelf. The mirror was nice but not what I wanted, so I used some scrapbook paper I had on hand to cover it. (In fact, I spent no money at all on this. 2012: the year of being especially frugal.)

Perfect for displaying my growing miniature pottery collection. You'll be proud of me. I even did a little sanding to distress it.

Yes, I know you can see the seam in the scrapbook paper. I don't care.

There it is, under the Lost Lamb print that I adore. Where is this in the cottage? In a little corner of the den - right over the desk. The desk that will be revealed either Thursday or Friday. That little corner needed something in addition to the desk to make it mine...to say "This is Claudia's work space."

I like it.

Defending the Small House #7 - Controlling Clutter

2012-01-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hello! After a two week hiatus, Brenda and I are back with our Small House series. This week? Controlling Clutter in a Small House. In the spirit of total transparency:

"My name is Claudia and clutter has taken over my home."

I am fighting back, however, and this week is all about sorting, tossing and organizing. Let's face it, clutter can be a problem in any home, but when you live in a small space, it can be a real big problem. We live in 1200 square feet. There are 4 of us. Two adults. Two dogs. I collect lots of things. I love books. I have stacks of them everywhere. We have a bin full of winter clothes that we have yet to hang up in the closet because....well, because we haven't. Don has tons of stuff in his office. We are gatherers. It can be a problem.

Normally, everything is under control. But the last several months have been very stressful for me. I am convinced that the amount of clutter is directly related to my stress level. When I am in that sort of state, I don't file things away, I leave stacks of things sitting around - I just don't care. I can't seem to get up enough energy to tackle it all. Thank goodness, the new year has energized me and I'm attacking it every day this week.

Scout will no longer have to cover her eyes in disgust.

All that being said, as far as I'm concerned there are 2 kinds of clutter: cozy clutter and clutter clutter.

This is cozy clutter:

Don has stacks of books, notepads and his journal on the coffee table. I like this kind of clutter - it says 'lived in.'

Clutter clutter, on the other hand is just plain messy. It's stuff that is left out instead of being put away, or is not taken to the recycling bin, or is just plain unorganized.

Tip#1: Each time you make a pass through the house, pick up the clutter you see and put it back in its proper place. If you make a habit of that, you will be surprised what a difference it will make in the look of your home. You can throw everything in a basket or pail and deliver each item to its rightful place.

Tip #2: Have a designated place for mail and bills. We use this hand-painted letter holder I found a few years ago. Too many times in the past, our kitchen table has become the gathering place for all mail. Hospital bills, circulars, junk mail, statements. It makes me nuts. I'm making a concentrated effort to sort through it all, make sure Don deals with his mail without me having to bug him about it, make decisions right away about what to keep and what to toss. It's amazing how quickly it can all get out of hand.

Tip #3: Take time at least once a week to file away your paid bills and correspondence. Oh, the feeling of being in control. Isn't it nice? I'll have it again by the end of the week.

Tip #4: Keep recycling bins handy and use them. This pretty little pink toile bin is right next to our front door. I toss all the paper recycling in the bin. Eventually, it makes its way to the bins we have outside.

Tip #5: Every so often, go through your books and magazines. Keep what you really want and donate or recycle the rest. I've already mentioned how much I love books. At least once a year I go through all my books and honestly assess them. What do I really love? What will I never read again? Whatever I know I will not miss gets donated to our local library's book sale. I've passed the book on for someone else to enjoy and donated to a good cause. Magazines?

I tear out all the photos and articles I want to keep and paste them into notebooks like this one. The rest of the magazine is recycled.

Tip #6: Baskets are a girl's best friend. Not diamonds. Baskets. I don't know what I would do without them. I use them everywhere:

In the den to hold throws and blankets.

In the living room to hold cell phones, glasses and Scout's ball.

In the bathroom.

In the studio.

I have them in the bedroom (holding sweaters), in the guest room (holding quilts), in the kitchen (holding dog towels). Since we have very little closet space or storage space, baskets end up being real workhorses. They corral all sorts of things and keep clutter to a minimum.

Tip#7: If you group your treasures in vignettes or with other like objects, they will make sense and not look like clutter. It's all about the way you display them.

A lot of 'stuff', beautiful or not, scattered here and there and everywhere with no place for the eye to rest, makes for a cluttery look. Let's say you have a Hummel collection. Group them together on a shelf or in groups of three. Create a vignette. Suddenly what looked like clutter looks like a carefully thought out collection.

Tip #8: I'm all for cozy clutter. It's what makes a house a home. It shows that the home is lived in and loved. I encourage that kind of clutter. Don't worry about it. If you get the rest of your clutter under control, you've got it made!

I hope there are some helpful ideas for you here. Eliminating clutter is a battle we all wage. If you have any tips for the rest of us, please leave them in your comment - I know I'd love to read them.

And if you have any suggestions for future Small House topics, please share them.

Stop by Brenda's blog and read her tips on clutter. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sneak Peek

2012-01-09T08:54:00.001-05:00

Here's what we have so far.

Why is it that when it's time to paint, I shy away from doing anything to 'weather' a piece? I don't want to mess with a fresh coat of paint. It looks so clean, so sparkly! So for the moment, at least, no sanding. I did add a few coats of paste wax to protect the finish.

Notice the ugly holes in the back are missing? Patti suggested covering some foamboard with fabric to cover them up. Wonder of wonders, I had some foamboard on hand. (Why, or for what project, I don't know.) The fabric is vintage, from some 40's era curtains. I chose it because it picks up the red theme in our den.

I haven't done anything with the slide-in board yet. Today, I plan to run some errands, one of which is to buy some desk accessories for next to nothing.

Hopefully, the final reveal will be in a couple of days.

Tomorrow: Defending the Small House: Clutter. I should just take a photo of every room in this cottage - as is - to show what not to do.

The Day that Got Away

2012-01-08T15:26:00.002-05:00

Well, I meant to have a post up by now, but I've somehow lost control of the day.

Started painting this morning; haven't cleaned, swiffered or taken a shower. Or eaten any lunch. In the middle of it all, Brenda called with a blog problem and we spent a big chunk of time on the phone talking about it. Now, it's 3:30 and I need to clean up a bit.

The desk is painted. Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do. Maybe a little 'aging' and some beeswax and then I have an idea for the shelves.

I had planned to attack the clutter in this house today (especially since Brenda and I are tackling "Clutter in a Small House" this Tuesday)....but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

How's your Sunday going?

My Boy

2012-01-07T14:06:00.002-05:00

My boy and I are spending time together - just the two of us. Since Don has been taking Scout on a daily walk lately, Riley and I have been hanging out. If you don't know Riley's story, we rescued him when he was about 2 years old. He had been found on the streets of Patterson, NJ. Not long after we adopted him, we discovered he had heartworm. Thanks to my wonderful friends at the animal hospital where I was working part-time, he came through with flying colors.

Riley was neglected and abused before we found him. He didn't know how to relate to humans. He was a little like a wild dog. But I could see a sweet disposition underneath all that. There are still things that scare him: reaching for his collar, coming at him from behind, touching his ears or his paws. If scared enough, he'll bite. He's come a long way, from a dog that couldn't ask for attention to a boy who needs and wants attention. I can pet him now. I can lean down near his face and whisper to him, stroke him, and he is no longer scared.

Those eyes. They are the eyes of a gentle soul, who never deserved what happened to him as a young boy. We really don't know his age but we estimate it to be around 10. We've had him for 8 years and what a gift he has been. There were times I was afraid of him; afraid he would bite me, afraid he would bite someone else. I truly believe he has come to me as a teacher and a guide. For he has taught me patience. He has taught me to love unconditionally. He is my very special boy.

He has a debilitating disease of the lower spine and pelvis that will eventually take him from us. Going on a walk is a tough thing for him. We must walk very slowly and he gets tired quickly. Scout, who just turned 13, is the youngest 13 year old dog I know and needs lots of exercise. So Riley and I hang out together. I give him some special treats and hug him and tell him that I love him and to please, please stay with us as long as he can.

My babies are aging. And I simply cannot bear the thought of losing them. They are my children. Not 'like' my children. They are my children. I love them with all my heart.

We've had several scares with Riley - times where we thought we were losing him. But he has nine lives, this survivor, and I'm so grateful he does. He walks like a very old dog. Toward the end of the day, he can no longer hold his hind quarters up. We lift him up and down the stairs to the den. He can no longer consistently control his bowels. Some days are good, others are no so good. He's pretty stoic, but I can only imagine the pain he must be in.

I call him "Handsome." Don calls him "Rye Bread."

He's a gift, a treasure, a teacher and an angel.

Yearning for a Simpler Life - Is it Possible in this High Tech World?

2012-01-06T09:32:00.000-05:00

Why am I waking up so early?

This morning, I found myself wide awake at 5 AM. Don was awake, too, and we chatted a bit. The thing is, Don can go back to sleep easily. I can't.

So here I sit, with stingy eyes and caffeine chugging through my body, wondering if I can get a nap in later in the day. I swear, I haven't had a good night's sleep for a week.

The new, slightly-ill-fitting-but-it-will-do-slipcover. In fact, it's more than slightly ill-fitting. In a perfect world, I would tackle this project and make a slipcover. I tried to once and ran screaming out of the room. Besides, this chair is old and on its last legs, so why bother?

We were watching television last night and found a channel that had very, very old black & white television programs: The Jack Benny Show, The Goldbergs and Dinah Shore.

We were enthralled.

There's an aura of timelessness about them. And a simplicity that I yearn for sometimes. The Goldbergs was amazing - like a teleplay - a live broadcast, start to finish. At one point, a cameraman goofed up a shot, one of the actors flubbed a line and they kept right on going. As a theater person, this warms my heart. Because they couldn't rely on retakes, they had to do it. Live. And improvise if they screwed up.

Dinah Shore sang a long, complicated medley with Ella Fitzgerald. Tough stuff, musically. They had to really be on their game. No auto-tune. No retake. No relying on special effects and lots of loud noise in the background. Just a piano and their incredible voices.

What passes for talent nowadays often isn't.

Do you ever yearn for a simpler time?

The Model T was my dad's toy. The paint has chipped. It was well-loved. When my dad sees it, does he wish for a simpler time?

I bet he does. I sure do.

I have a twitter account and use it every once in a while, but frankly, it's hard to keep up with everything. Blogging daily, thinking of and writing posts, taking pictures, checking Facebook, the occasional tweet, thinking about my future Etsy shop, making a website for my theater work, should I join Linked In, what about Google+?

I don't want to sound like one of those people who say, "When I was a girl, we had to..." We had to, what? Walk to school? Yes, over a mile and no school bus deposited me right at my door. Use our imaginations? Yes. No computers, no computer games, no X box, no texting. Just me, a doll or two, or a cardboard box, or the world outside my front door. Read? Yes, for hours. No technical-age distractions. Just a book and my imagination. Have conversations face-to-face? Yes. Of course, there was the phone, but for the most part conversation involved sitting with someone and looking them in the eye and talking. No hiding behind an email or a text. Television? 3 major networks. No 24/7 news stations. No reality shows. No endless news cycle that results in a lot of misinformation. Rather, a sense of a larger community sitting down to watch the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, or tuning into Dinah Shore or Bonanza.

It's a mixed blessing, this world of ours. On one hand, I wouldn't be writing this blog without the incredible technical innovations of recent years. I wouldn't have met all of you. I couldn't google something at the drop of a hat. So much that used to take a chunk of time, doesn't anymore. On the other hand, what have we lost?

A friend of mine who teaches theater on a university level tells me that she sees a real difference in today's students. Their brains are wired differently. They can't concentrate for very long on a task. They don't know what to do without their cell phones. They don't know how to write. They don't know how to memorize. She's actually including a segment this coming semester on how to memorize lines. Pretty essential for a drama student, wouldn't you say?

I love my iPhone and my laptop and my digital camera. They have become a part of my daily life. Certainly this blog wouldn't exist without the computer and the camera. But yet another networking site? And I now have to keep track of tweets? I know Social Media is highly recommended to get your blog out there, but the very thought leaves me exhausted.

I don't know.

What do you think about all this? Too much technology? Too little? Is there such a thing as a simpler time? How do you balance all of this? Don says that he sometimes feels out of the loop because he wants to maintain some distance from all of this. Yet, he wants to be in the loop. But how do you stay in the loop and still lead a life that is filled with quiet, meditative moments, time for the imagination to soar, time for good conversation?

Your thoughts?

On the Road and a Blogging Tip

2012-01-05T10:56:00.001-05:00

Two posts today, this one and a book review. Just scroll down for the review - a terrific book, Our Man in the Dark.

I didn't post yesterday because I was working in New Haven, CT for the day. I'm 'consulting' on a production of Macbeth that has been adapted to take place in 1969 at the end of the war in Vietnam. Consulting is always a bit problematic because I am invariably called in after the play is well into rehearsal - it's always a struggle to change things at that point. Nevertheless, I do my best. I'll be working there for the next two Wednesdays.

The bad: I had to rent a car (we only have one car at the moment) and it ended up being more expensive than we thought it would be. Since I have to pay for everything first (I'll get reimbursed later) I wasn't too happy about it. Two hours there and back, plus 6 hours of rehearsal = a long day.

(no pretty pictures today!)

And I spilled coffee all over my books. It's my own fault. I was trying to carry everything with me as I made my way to the car rental counter. Instead of dumping the coffee immediately, I carried it with me while looking for a trash can. I was so tired that I had no idea it was sloshing over everything. Not happy.

The good: the cast is very nice (including an actress I've worked with before) and the theater is right next to an Ikea.

After not visiting an Ikea in over a year, I've been there twice lately. I actually ate dinner there last night before hitting the road for the trip home. I bought a new Ektorp slipcover for my blogging chair. The white slipcovers are only $29, so when the current slipcover becomes too stained and washing it no longer does the trick, I buy a new one. It doesn't fit the chair exactly, but it works.

And I bought hangers to use in my ongoing purge and clean-up of the house.

I've also been creating a new website for my coaching business. A simple, and most importantly, free site.

On another note, I'm glad I decided to bite the bullet and redesign my blog a few months back. If you remember, I discovered my designer was no longer in business and feared that I might wake up one day to discover her Photobucket account was gone, along with my designs. By the way, she never bothered to tell any of us that she was out of the business and stopped all communication with her previous clients.

Several bloggers woke up yesterday to discover elements of their blog designs were missing, replaced by the dreaded "Bandwidth Exceeded, Upgrade to Photobucket Pro today" message. I hope the problem is easily remedied, but I fear it might not be.

My advice? Take control of your blog. It's made an enormous difference to me. I am no longer dependent on another's work. It's so easy now to make your own header and background. I found that googling a question like, "how to make your own blog background" or "how to design your own header" brought forth a wealth of information. It involves playing with your html code a bit, but there are tutorials everywhere. The great thing about Blogger is that you can go in and play with your code, hit preview to see what the changes look like and if you don't like them, nothing is permanent and you can revert back to the original code.

And thank you, thank you for all the tips about the old desk. I sure got some great ideas from everyone! I'll keep you posted.

Book Review: Our Man in the Dark by Rashad Harrison

2012-01-05T08:30:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. Today I am reviewing Our Man in the Dark by Rashad Harrison for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Our Man in the Dark is a work of historial fiction that takes place during the days of the Civil Rights Movement. John Estem, a bookkeeper working for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., finds that he is being watched by the FBI. They know that Estem, who wants to be somebody, has taken a large sum of money from the SCLC for his personal use, and they use that information to get Estem to work for them as an informant. The story, which has a Noir edge, follows Estem as he wrestles with his own demons, as well as the demons of others.

King, Ralph Abernathy and Andrew Young are a strong presence in the book, as well as a host of vividly drawn fictional characters. The author writes in detail of the time period, recreating the world of Atlanta and Los Angeles in the 60's. Harrison is a wonderful writer. What I found especially compelling was the fact that each of the characters is flawed, each is damaged - including King. We now know of King's sexual infidelities and the fact that the informants for the government infiltrated black organizations at the time. J. Edgar Hoover was known to have pursued any information he could get on King (and many, many others.) King had his own demons, like everyone else in the story. And it is that struggle that fuels much of this can't-put-down novel.

It's tricky writing about someone like Estem. He is the core of the story and some of his misguided choices are not those of the traditional protagonist. But through it all, I found myself liking him in spite of his flaws and respecting his honest look at himself. As the plot got more and more intricate and the story moved toward King's assassination, I couldn't put the book down. That's good writing, indeed.

Rashad Harrison writes beautifully. He takes us on a journey through a very troubled time in our nation's history and, in the process, creates a riveting story. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

About the author: Rashad Harrison has been a contributor to MedicineAgency.com, an online journal of political and cultural commentary, and his writing has appeared in Reed Magazine. As a Jacob K. Javits Fellow, he earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from New York University. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.

A Project

2012-01-03T10:35:00.001-05:00

Thanks for all the great comments on our crazy little video! If it brought a smile to your face, it was worth it. It makes me laugh every time I watch it. My favorite part? Right at the top when Scout walks between Don's legs while he's cooking.

Okay. I'm going to share some pictures with you. Pictures of something which is just plain ugly at the moment. I was editing these in Picnik when I suddenly thought, "Why are you spending any time on these? Just post them!"

Husband brought this home a month or so ago. He found it on the street in a neighboring town.

It's a university town and this was clearly some student's desk. He obviously came to his senses and got rid of it.

When Don proudly showed off his find, I must admit I was thinking, "Take it back." Don't you love the holes? Most likely for electronic cords, etc. Why do I keep seeing a face when I look at them? Oh and wait - there's this:

A slide out shelf that is clearly homemade and covered in hideous contact paper which reminds me of the kitchen table we had when I was a kid.

The top.

Normally, I would pitch this thing. But, I need a little desk downstairs. Don has the one in the office/guest room/studio. Our little spinet desk by the stairs is a wee bit fragile. This 'thing' is rather petite and fits into a corner of the den.

And I am being extremely frugal this year.

Should I take this on?

It's a challenge, for sure, and I do love a challenge. I have a few ideas floating around in my head. Since I didn't win any chalk paint in any of the numerous giveaways I entered, I have no idea what color to paint it. And I don't want to spend much money. Still thinking a creamy color might be the best choice, as the cupboard that holds our television is right next to this and it is a creamy color.

The colors used in our den are red, tan and cream, with a dash of teal.

I need your help. Tell me what you envision for this 'thing.' Other than the trash.

I would be very grateful for any and all ideas you might have!

Cooking in the Cottage

2012-01-02T09:37:00.001-05:00

At the risk of looking like a total fool (and I often do) I'm posting this little video we made the other night while cooking dinner. It was cold and windy out, which is why the shades are pushed into the window openings, and we were playing a favorite tune. Hijinks like this are the norm in our little cottage.

Starring: Don, Claudia, Scout and Riley
Don: the chef; in baseball cap
Claudia: in old sweater, baggy jeans and no makeup
Scout: looking for crumbs
Riley: looking for crumbs
Filmed: with iPhone
Quality: going for an edgy, cinema verite feel; in other words, totally amateur
Fun level: high

(I have 2 posts up today, there's one with actual pretty pictures right below.)

The Woods are Lovely...

2012-01-02T08:47:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, I took a walk. I needed some fresh air and time and space to contemplate the year ahead. We are fortunate to have a rail trail nearby and I don't take advantage of it often enough. The temperature was balmy for this time of year and the sun was shining. iPhone in hand, I took some pictures along the way.

Alert from the Spelling Police:

You are being cited for "One too many N's."

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep.

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

(Robert Frost)

Thank You

2012-01-01T09:14:00.000-05:00

Good morning on this first day of 2012.

As I start a new year, my 4th year of blogging, I want to take a moment to thank you.

:: Thank you for your friendship. Because of blogging, my world has expanded. I am so grateful for the many friends I have made. And friends you are.

:: Thank you for your patience. I try to be honest here on this old blog and write from my heart. That means I occasionally step up on my soapbox and let 'er rip. No one has ever accused me of being passionless and that passion sometimes overflows and I simply have to write. And you, my friends, read what I have to say and agree or disagree and that's what makes it all worthwhile. (Once a teacher, always a teacher.)

:: Thank you for your kindness and compassion. In the midst of all that's going on in my life, I know I can write about it and you will listen. Sometimes I just allude to something. Sometimes the enormity of it all cannot be contained and I have to write about it at length. Through it all, you are there, with words of wisdom and love.

:: Thank you for your sense of humor. I have a wicked sense of humor. So do you. Most of the time, I see the world through a humorous prism. Your humor shines through in your comments and I often laugh out loud as I read them.

:: Thank you for your generosity.You are so generous, my friends, with advice, with words that touch my heart, with ideas, with unexpected presents for no reason other than you care, with wisdom.

:: Thank you for taking a moment out of your day to leave a comment. I am busy. You are busy. Sometimes I want to leave a comment on a blog post and I simply don't have the time or energy. That must happen to you, too. So I deeply appreciate it when you do. I've said before how much I love the dialogue that happens here. It makes my day.

:: Thank you for following.If you are a follower, thank you. I appreciate every one of you.

:: Thank you to all my newer readers. I appreciate the wonderful emails and comments you've left. If I can find you, I promise to visit each of you in the days ahead.

:: Thank you for enriching my life.

May your 2012 be filled with blessings,
each and every day.

Heading Toward a New Year

2011-12-31T09:13:00.001-05:00

Good morning. Don't know what it's like in your neck of the woods, but our New Year's Eve seems to be a little rainy and definitely cloudy. I woke up too early, yet again. I don't know what my problem is lately, but I keep waking up well before I should. My mind starts its usual flitting from one subject to another and then I can't get back to sleep.

I'm reading a book that I will review this coming week but I'm also reading these 2 books:

Design Sponge at Home is chock full of all things home. I've long been a fan of Design Sponge, and the book does not disappoint. The first section is called Sneak Peeks, after a regular feature on Design Sponge that gives readers a glimpse of someone's home. (We all love that, don't we?) Also included are sections on DIY Projects, DIY Basics, a Flower Workshop and Before & After. It's a little modern, a little edgy, but mostly full of lovingly decorated homes and apartments. Decorated by the homeowners, I might add. Just what I like.

Judy Collins. I've been a fan since high school. Not only does she sing beautifully, she writes beautifully. And her eyes are really that blue. How do I know? I met her. Years ago, she gave a concert at Masonic Auditorium in Detroit that I attended. In those days, we were able to get backstage pretty easily. I can't imagine it being so easy nowadays. Anyway, she wore a long, flowing dress and looked ethereal. As she stood in the center of the stage, her gorgeous voice filled the auditorium (and Masonic is huge) and we all fell in love with her. Somehow I managed to walk onstage after the concert where I found Judy standing with her guitar. We stood there chatting and Judy graciously autographed my program. (I did the same thing with Gordon Lightfoot. We walked into his dressing room, took photos, and got his autograph!) I had a lot of chutzpah in those days. On an interesting sidenote: Don also met her a few years ago in New York. A big thank you to Don for giving me this book for Christmas.

What else is going on? Well, (and we will sound like country bumpkins here) Thursday Don and I drove over an hour to New Jersey where we visited Ikea and Trader Joe's. Whoo hoo! We were pretty gosh-darned excited about the whole thing. I bought a few little things for the kichen at Ikea but we got out of there pretty quickly. Since we're in a holiday week, it was packed with families and kids running everywhere, including right in front of me. I had to think fast as I dodged innumerable out-of-control children. (Don't parents keep their kids in check anymore? My parents would simply have not allowed us to run amok.) That kind of thing makes me very tired. Trader Joe's was a more productive experience - we stocked up on lots of food and I bought these:

Frugal me. If I could, I would only buy flowers from Trader Joe's because they are always healthy, as well as cheap. This bouquet was $3.99. If I bought the same bouquet up this way, it would have been at least twelve dollars. My favorite flower for vases? Alstromeria. They last a long time, so I really feel like I get my money's worth.

On the docket today: taking down most of the Christmas decorations. The tree will stay up until tomorrow. New Year's Eve is not that big a deal for me. I'm usually asleep before midnight. Since Don is working tonight, if I am awake, I'll say Happy New Year to the dogs.

I will say that 2011 was not the best year for us: lots of worries about a greatly diminished income, worries about my parents, the loss of some trees during Hurricane Irene, and two surgeries for me. I'm happy to say goodbye to it. I'm both looking forward to and wary of 2012. I wish for a year that is full of new adventures and prosperity and good health for us. At the same time, my mom is getting frailer, my dad is exhausted and Riley is declining. I know there are sad times ahead.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year! Enjoy your celebration, whatever form it takes. Here's to a wonderful 2012 for everyone.

Words

2011-12-30T11:15:00.001-05:00

Some more thoughts (my own, of course):

I've been thinking about language and the written and spoken word since yesterday's post. Writing about a consistently misspelled word can apparently push some buttons. But we are in an age that is increasingly high-tech - where some school children are no longer being taught cursive writing, where 'text speak' uses abbreviations and parts of words, where students graduating from high school and college do not have a command of the language and have few writing skills. I see it everywhere and it makes me sad.

I'm a stickler for correct spelling and I make no apologies for it. I've been known to go back to an old post here on this blog and correct a typo. Brenda and I routinely alert each other to errors in our posts. I'm grateful. I want to know. I used to be an excellent speller but I find as I get older, I'm not always sure of the spelling of certain words. So I look them up. Don often asks me how to spell a word. I ask him. Why wouldn't we want to spell the word correctly? Not knowing the correct way to spell a word is no reflection on our intelligence. There are a lot of words in existence and knowing how to spell them all is next to impossible.

I think the written word matters. What is seen on a page or on a computer screen matters. And once it's published, it's out there.

I don't text that often but when I do, it takes me longer because I don't abbreviate. I don't use LOL, U instead of you or R instead of are. I just can't. I've tried, but it's like wearing clothing that just doesn't suit me. It doesn't fit. (I'm not saying it's wrong to use those abbreviations, mind you, just not for me.)

As for blogging, I tend to write my blog posts the way I speak. So sometimes, by choice, I stretch the boundaries of good grammar. That's a style choice. Every blogger has his/her own writing style and that's as it should be.

But, oh, do I edit. Because this blog is a reflection of me and what I value. And I want it to be well written with no misspelled words.

That's also why I do book reviews. Writers spend years writing a book; carefully choosing each word, editing and re-editing. I want to honor their written words, especially those that are on an actual page, in a book I can hold in my hands. eReaders can be wonderful tools (I have one, though I only use it when I travel) but I feel increasingly compelled to champion three dimensional books. Independent Bookstores are going out of business. The biggest sellers for Amazon and Barnes & Noble? eBooks. On the one hand, if eBooks keep people reading, more power to them. And the smallish eBooks many bloggers are writing - full of how-to advice - are great. But if someday I get a book of fiction published - oh my gosh, I would want it to be in an old-fashioned, real, not virtual, book that I can hold in my hands and display on my bookshelf. The carefully edited words imprinted on a page, the page corners that can be turned to mark a place - oh, heaven! That must be the same feeling the authors whose books I review have when they first see their books in print. Because words matter.

My work in the theater involves the written word. I'm working on another Shakespeare play right now, in fact. Did you know that Shakespeare invented many words that we routinely use today? There are many languages in this world of ours, but the one I can speak and write is English. It's a beautiful language that has been used to inspire, incite, woo, preach and tell a great story. It enables us to communicate all the big and little things we feel.

Let me add: I am as guilty as the next person of sometimes using incorrect grammar and not expressing myself as well as I'd like to. And I miss the occasional misspelled word. But writing is an ongoing learning experience, isn't it? I sure have learned a lot in the course of my almost 4 years of blogging and I hope to learn more.

The end to a year is a time for reflection, for pondering. I'm pondering the power of the written word as I head toward 2012. Maybe that will be my word for 2012: Write (better.)

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

A Little Bit of Random on Thursday

2011-12-29T09:40:00.001-05:00

Some thoughts on a cold day in December:

:: I'm seeing "Best of 2011" posts all over blogland. The very thought of going back through all my posts and figuring that out exhausts me. If you'd like to visit my archives, have at it. I won't be doing a "Best of" post. (I can barely remember why I just got up to go to the kitchen.)

Don gave me this hat for Christmas. I love it.

:: This one has always bugged me. When I see a bumper sticker or anything else that says, "I (heart shape) something," I read that as "I love." Isn't that what it's supposed to mean? When we were young and we wrote our initials and made a heart and then added the initials of whoever was our latest crush, we were saying, "Claudia loves so-and-so." Not "Claudia hearts so-and-so." But everywhere I turn, someone is writing the word 'heart' instead of what the heart symbolizes - love.

It makes me nuts.You can love, but you can't heart. Heart is not a verb, it's a noun.

:: I've been itching to write this for a long time. I understand that correct spelling doesn't come easily to everyone, but in this high-tech age we all have spell check or a dictionary as part of our computers. I see this particular error everywhere in blogland and on Craig's List. Please, please, please: it's Dining room, not Dinning Room. A dinning room (if there was such a word) would be a room where a lot of noise is made.

:: What's with news programs fudging the facts? I see this every so often on CNN and I know it happens elsewhere. The talking head makes a sweeping statement that simply isn't true. It may be partly true, but a quick bit of research will prove that it isn't entirely true. Or it might be out-and-out wrong. Here's an example: Last night we were watching the local evening news, which in our part of the country comes out of New York City. That's a big market with well paid anchors. The anchor was talking about Chris Christie, the Governor of New Jersey, who is apparently stumping for Mitt Romney. He made a reference to Christies's 'having withdrawn from the Presidential race.' He never was in the race. There was a lot of press speculation about Christie's presidential aspirations several months back and a lot of air time was taken up with all that, but he never entered the race. Considering a run is not the same as running. You can't withdraw from something you never entered. Word choices matter. Shouldn't a newsperson know more about political facts than me?

Am I being too picky? I don't think so. News organizations have a responsibility to report the facts. Even a little fuzzy reporting is too much. Walter Cronkite must be rolling over in his grave over what passes as reporting nowadays.

Okay, enough complaining.

I have a project in mind for this. I need to think it through and buy a few components. I'm not sure which way I will go with it....stay tuned.

Printers, Typewriters and Rain

2011-12-28T09:20:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was about running errands, dealing with medical bills and attempting to get my printer to actually do its job and print out a script. I had the dubious pleasure of spending an hour and half trying to get that sucker to print every page. Not just every other page. And not to print 10 pages and then start over and print them again. Or tell me, over and over, that there was no paper in the printer when there was. I finally realized that a cheap, plastic part at the rear of the printer was becoming loose and I had to stand in an extremely awkward position and push against it to make sure it stayed in place. You would have loved that picture of me - hunched over, with my back protesting and a stream of curse words coming from my mouth - while 89 pages slowly printed out.

Makes you appreciate the simplicity of the typewriter. This is Don on Christmas morning, playing with his new favorite thing. (In the beginning days of this blog, I used to ask Don if it was alright to post photos of him. Now - I just post them.)

Anyway, after all the printer drama, I ended up getting a late start on my text research. It also rained heavily and I was constantly running upstairs to see if the roof was leaking. (It didn't.) So I'll be back at it today.

By the way, I've discovered that finding actual typing paper - not printer paper or all purpose paper - is next to impossible. Remember typing paper? I bought some parchment paper at Office Depot but it was a bit pricey, so I will have to investigate this further.

Normally, I hate photos of me. Especially now that the March of Time is clomping all over my face and neck. But Don took this one the other day.

I could use some lipstick but, otherwise, it might work for the blog at some point. Hello, 59 and one month. Yikes.

Time to feed the dogs. Have a great day!

It's Time

2011-12-27T09:02:00.001-05:00

My house is a mess.

After a lovely Christmas, I inevitably wake to harsh reality. The fact is, there is much purging and organizing to be done here at the cottage. Clutter is running rampant. My closets are a mess. Everything, and I mean everything, needs to be sorted into keep or throw away piles. The spare bedroom/office/husband's studio looks like we just moved in and are using it to store everything until we decide where to put it.

I still haven't put away the summery things on the porch. Really. It's December 27th.

More than in any other year I can remember, I have avoided certain tasks - like sorting, organizing and purging - none of which are things I usually want to do. Clean out the closet? I'd rather read a book. Put everything away in the shed? I have to google something. Wade into the mess that is the office? I need a nap. I just haven't been able to deal with it.

I have a theory. I've been suffering from emotional overload this year, much of which I've shared with you on this blog. When that happens, I retreat to a safe place. It might be a book, or this blogging world, or my favorite music. I don't seem to be able to cope with those other, not so fun, tasks that need to be done. I feel overwhelmed at the very thought of them.

I have a feeling that if I just make myself tackle one, the others might follow. I know I will have a feeling of accomplishment.

I'm just about ready.

Unfortunately, I have to tackle some script work today and tomorrow. That has to come first.

But the wheels in my brain are turning. It's time. Wish me luck!

(I love the way the Hipstamatic camera app makes these messes look sort of fuzzy and artistic. Like I purposely made the mess to take an artsy picture.)

If you're here for our Defending the Small House Series, Brenda and I are taking a couple of weeks off. We'll be back with a new installment on January 10th.

The Day After

2011-12-26T08:30:00.002-05:00

This photo says it all: I wanted an iPhone for Christmas and Don (who is staying away from the computer more and more lately) wanted a vintage typewriter. I found this 1961 Remington Monarch on eBay and it's a beauty! The two-tone case is covered in a linen-like fabric. Hi-tech and low-tech happily coexisting in the Hill-Sparks household.

One day, I'm going to get a vintage IBM Selectric. I worked many an office job on Selectrics and I absolutely love them.

The rat-a-tat-tat of the keys was a constant yesterday afternoon. Don was like a kid again.

I hope you all had a wonderful day. Ours was filled with presents, dogs, food, music, dancing and more food. It started off with this:

My Christmas Coffee Cake. Don likes to butter the top.

Santa left some peanut buttery treats for the doggies. (Since we have no fireplace, the yule log via the television is on throughout the morning.)

Christmas Scoutie.

I'm always a bit sad when Christmas, with all the decorating and shopping and planning, is suddenly over. No Christmas music playing on the car radio, no Christmas movies on television, no beautifully wrapped packages.... I remember being very upset by that when I was a child. I suspect I still am that child on the inside. Just like I want my birthday to extend for a week, I want Christmas to be more than one day.

As to beautifully wrapped packages, full disclosure: I forgot to buy scotch tape, so I had to seal my packages with blue painter's tape. Yep.

I'm glad you liked the photo of my mom, dad, brother and me visiting Santa in yesterday's post. Poor Meredith (my sister.) Every time she sees that photo, she wonders where she and my other sister figure into the equation. You see, there was just my brother and me for many years. Then, when I was 8 and Dave was 13, Leslie came along. Three years later, Meredith came along. So it was like there were two sets of kids. The older ones and the younger ones. Meredith, you were a beautiful child and I sorely wish I had a photo of you and Santa. Ask Dad if he has one. Then I will be more than happy to post it. After all, you are my adored youngest sister.

I'm off to run some errands. Have a great day.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T05:00:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas! I hope your day is full of love, peace and joy.

Christmas Eve - When Do You Open Your Presents?

2011-12-24T09:05:00.000-05:00

I have become obsessed with these adorable creatures. I see them everywhere on Scandinavian blogs. In my usual fashion, I had to know what they were. After googling, writing emails and visiting websites, I discovered they are Nisse or Pixies and that this particular design is from a Danish company named Maileg. Thanks to my Danish friend, Dorthe, for helping me out on this one! Until I find a way to order a larger-sized pixie, I ordered the little ornament from Garnet Hill. Half off. Much to my surprise, they overnighted the package and it arrived yesterday.

I love him.

He will be displayed year round.

Who says toys are just for kids?

Today will be filled with baking, helping Heidi out in her shop for a few hours, reading a script and wrapping Don's presents while he is at work. Yes, he has to work tonight. He's feeling much better, by the way.

I found a 'new' vintage ornament at Heidi's yesterday.

Beautiful, isn't it? But there's something even more special painted on its side.

A bluebird. Such sweetness.

I have a quick question. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or on Christmas morning? What's your family tradition?

I'll be back with my official Merry Christmas tomorrow morning.

The Day Before Christmas Eve

2011-12-23T09:55:00.001-05:00

Happy day before Christmas Eve! I completely forgot to display this Santa until this morning. And that would have been a shame, as he is absolutely beautiful. My mom gave Don and I a few of these large Santas over the years - I think there is another one in the shed. Note to myself: go get it.

This Christmas, especially, I want to honor my mom. She will be spending Christmas in the nursing home. It will be the first Christmas in 66 years that my parents haven't woken up together on Christmas morning. My dad has been decorating her room and he will spend much of Christmas day with her. He decided not to decorate his condo. When you're alone and your beloved wife is not by your side, decorating loses its appeal.

Isn't the detail incredible?

Don isn't feeling well. He had chills last night, so I tucked him in with an afghan and my childhood quilt (my grandma made heavy quilts.) He's not up yet.

He's mad at himself for letting me open my iPhone early. He says he should have stood up to me, been firmer. I know he wants to buy a couple of small presents so I have something to open on Christmas morning, but if he doesn't feel better, that might not happen. Present opening may be confined to Don and the dogs!

Lots of movie watching yesterday: White Christmas in the afternoon and two of The Thin Man series in the evening. Love some William Powell and Myrna Loy - they had such great chemistry. Plus, the series was shot in the 30's, so there are beautiful Art Deco sets and fabulous clothes. And the wonderful dog, Asta, played by a dog named Skippy in real life. Skippy was a popular dog in the thirties; he worked in lots of movies, including one of my favorites, The Awful Truth.

Can you tell I love old movies?

If they took my ridiculously long list of cable channels away, and let's face it, I'm usually complaining that there is nothing worth watching on television, I would be fine if only I still had Turner Classic Movies. Is it possible to subscribe to only one cable channel? I sure would save a lot of money.

I'm making my list of things to buy at the grocery store. Don has to work on Christmas Eve, so I will spend the time baking our Christmas Coffee Cake and a pumpkin pie.

How are your preparations going?

Favorite Ornaments

2011-12-22T09:49:00.002-05:00

I'm feeling a bit more peppy today. It was a rainy day yesterday and Don's day off, so we turned on all the Christmas lights as soon as we got up and proceeded to do only those things we wanted to do - my prescription for a restful day. Some popcorn and Ball of Fire with Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper on TCM was the perfect way to end the day. Have you ever seen Ball of Fire? It's a wonderfully wacky comedy directed by Howard Hawks. You will love it.

Today, some dog (who shall remain nameless but is white in color) gets a trip to the dog wash for a bath. The other one needs a bath, too, but his back and hips have been particularly troublesome lately, so I'm not going to put him through all that.

As I sit in my blogging chair which faces the Christmas tree, I thought I'd share a few favorite ornaments with you. This one is old and the perfect shade of pink.

What makes these especially beautiful to me is the way the colors have faded and softened over time.

The acorns are only a few years old. I bought them at Heidi's shop.

My bottle brush ornaments. What would I do without them? I found them at Heidi's shop, as well. If you ever get to this neck of the woods, Heidi has a Christmas room full of fabulous ornaments, many of them vintage. She is known for her collection of vintage ornaments - and the Christmas room is open year round.

We moved out here in 2001. After driving a truck full of our worldly goods across the country, we arrived on the doorstep of our rented cottage, which was very small. We had already arranged to store many of our boxes and some furniture because there simply wasn't enough room in the cottage for them. I had painstakingly organized the packing of the truck so that everything we needed for the house was unloaded first, leaving all the things to go to storage in the back of the truck. After we unloaded, everything else went on to the storage facility, which was rather far away.

Christmas came around. I looked for all our ornaments. Couldn't find them. I tore the cottage apart. Nothing. Dang it. We had mistakenly sent those boxes to storage! No time to drive there and even if we had the time, the facility was huge and our stuff wasn't easily accessible.

Off to the local drugstore we went. We bought a lot of generic colored balls and lights. No beautiful silver glass tree topper - that was in one of the boxes. We found this little tin angel and figured she'd do until we were finally reunited with our decorations. But every Christmas since, she has won out. We just love her. Sometimes you find the perfect decoration and don't even know it!

This is the last ornament we put on the tree every year, in honor of our beloved dog, Winston, who died too young. He was with us for 8 years. I miss him every day.

I hope you're finding some pockets of quiet time this holiday season.

Tired

2011-12-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

I've been posting every day for a couple of months now. Haven't missed one. I won't miss one today, but I'm cheating a bit. Today, my friends, I'm tired. I've got nothing. The way Scout looks, with eyes at half-mast? That's the way I feel.

Our Christmas is very simple, but it still requires some shopping. I'm just about finished. Still have to gather together the ingredients for the Christmas Coffee Cake I make every year. Really, on a scale of 1 to 10 - 10 being having to buy lots of presents, go to lots of parties, worry about making Christmas fabulous for the kids, etc. - our Christmas is about a 1. So I'm not complaining.

I'm just tired. It's been a stressful few months for my family.

And I want to apologize to all of you who have commented on this blog for the first time, who are new readers or followers. I'm so behind on visiting you and responding to your comments. I'm usually on top of all that, but I'm really behind. I promise to make that a priority in the next few weeks.

See? I'm tired, but I'm still smiling.