Mockingbird Hill Cottage

A Favorite Thing #37

2013-05-18T00:03:12Z

Welcome to A Favorite Thing #37! I’m just getting in under the wire here tonight. It’s been a hectic week, with lots of tech rehearsals and preview performances and I’ve been working very hard. Add to that the fact that I came home on our break today and finished sewing my quilt blocks together and you’ve got a recipe for a late post. But never fear, I finished in time. Just. Now I have to eat some dinner.

Let’s look at some highlights from last week:

Linda, of More Fun, Less Laundry shared the most glorious tree with us. It’s a flowering cherry and it hangs over her deck. Its blossoms are simply beautiful. Oh, how I’d love a tree like this. I’ll say it again: glorious!

Betty of My Crazy Quilt Life, shared a charming miniature garden she made. Isn’t it adorable? I love the walkway and that adirondack chair.

Debra, of The Homespun, share photos of her beautiful cat, Kanga. Kanga fell in love with some cloth napkins that Debra had never used. She played peek-a-boo (like in this photo) over and over. So sweet.

My favorite thing this week:

Shakespeare.

As you know, I work in the theater as a Voice, Speech, Dialect and Text Coach. I coach all kinds of plays, but for the past few years, I’ve worked almost exclusively with Shakespeare. That’s fine by me. I know a lot about old Will Shakespeare and his words and the wonderful thing is that every time I work on a play – no matter how many times I’ve coached it before – I learn something new. I can’t imagine a richer text to work with, or a better playwright. He was the wisest of men. He knew all about the human condition, coined many words we now use daily, wrote in iambic pentameter, and he continues to touch our hearts almost 400 years later. He was an actor, a playwright and a poet. If you’ve read my posts this week, we’ve had two preview performances for students and they completely understand what’s being said. They stomp their feet, cheer, boo, and laugh with glee. Who else can elicit those reactions in both adults and children? I’m so grateful for the opportunity to immerse myself in his wise words. Thanks, Will.

Now it’s your turn.

You can link up anytime from this evening through Sunday. Make sure you enter the URL of your post. If you’re unsure how to do that, just click on your post title after you’ve published it and copy the information in your browser address window. Come back here, paste the URL into your link entry and there you go! If you have any problems, drop me an email and I’ll help you out. Please link back to this blog on your post. That way, those that read your post and are interested in reading more can do so.

One of my concerns about link parties is that the very reason for them has somewhat gone by the wayside. They’ve become so big and there are so many of them that many bloggers don’t take the time to visit any of the other participants. Link parties are a way to meet new bloggers and share with each other and the only way to do that is to visit each other. So, please, take some time to visit everyone over the next few days. No rush. Stop by, introduce yourself, and leave a comment. It’s the neighborly thing to do. It’s also nice if you leave a comment here, as well.

Enjoy!

Kids Love Shakespeare

2013-05-17T13:08:39Z

Well, I take back everything I said about a student audience. We had our first audience yesterday morning and they were the best audience you could ever hope to have. Comprised of middle and high school students, this audience was completely involved in the play from the start to the finish. They got everything, laughed, gasped, sat on the edge of their seats – I had such fun watching their faces and their body language (in between moments of actually doing my job and taking notes on the performance.) At the end, they stomped their feet, cheered, and jumped to their collective feet for a standing ovation. The girls cheered and screamed when the leading man came out for his curtain call (we see his bare chest a lot) – we’re now calling him the Justin Bieber of the cast.

What I had forgotten was how powerful and accessible Shakespeare is. To everyone. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s hard to understand. Not hardly. This group of kids completely understood what was going on and let me tell you, they didn’t hold back in their reactions. In this age of computers, of virtual games, of virtual everything, there is nothing like live theater. There is nothing like Shakespeare. He writes about everything man feels and experiences with an immediacy that is stunning some 300+ years later. These young people will be changed by this experience.

I was humbly reminded of my high school drama club. We took a trip to the Stratford Festival in Canada every fall and saw Shakespeare done by extraordinary actors. That was my first experience with Shakespeare. I was changed forever and I’m not exaggerating. The live performances of Shakespeare’s plays, acted by a talented company of actors, excited and moved and transformed this young girl who wanted to be an actress, who loved words. Little did I know at the time that I would be working with his text so many years later.

That’s the set (taken with my iPhone.) As you can see, it’s a boxwood garden maze. The actors can walk on top of the hedges and also have lots of blocking down between the hedges. They can pop up, hide, go under the bridges. It’s a fabulous set design. That center circle is powered by an elevator and it can go up and down.

In other news, I got a Hartford Public Library card. I found out we were able to get a card as employees of Hartford Stage. Knowing I’ll be back for 6 weeks in August and September, I went for it. I was searching for a Deborah Crombie mystery that I hadn’t read and I found it. In the Large Print section. I’m not quite ready for Large Print in general, but I have to admit it’s easy on the eyes!

I’ve sewn two rows together on the quilt. I have to be honest here and say that something is always off on my blocks – doesn’t matter what quilt I’m working on. It seems I always have to wrestle with them to make the whole thing work. Drives me buggy. Is it that I can’t always stitch a truly straight seam? Is it that my rotary cutting is off? Lord knows. I envy those who make it seem so simple, who have no problem getting everything to align beautifully. I want to get better at this, but in the meantime, I just have to sigh and say “Whatever.” It is what it is. It won’t be perfect, but nothing ever is. At least in my creative life. Here’s to the journey.

Happy Friday.

On The Road: Hartford’s Ancient Burying Ground

2013-05-16T13:02:55Z

The Ancient Burying Ground is just a block or two from my apartment. The city has grown up around it, so it is surrounded by tall buildings, the hustle and bustle of city life, horns honking, sirens blaring. (I call Hartford the City of Sirens. Honestly. I’ve lived in several big cities and I’ve never heard as many sirens as I do here. Even in Manhattan.)

I visited another graveyard much like this one last year. I’m fascinated by these sacred places, by the stories that the old and crumbling headstones tell. The Ancient Burying Ground was in use from 1640 to 1803. It was also used as a grazing pasture for horses, cattle and sheep. As in England at the time, graves were dug and people buried, not in family plots, but anywhere a space could be found. As the numbers grew, people were buried on top of each other. Eventually, a church was built on the land – over many graves – but this was the custom in England, where many were buried within churches and that was considered an honor.

What I find remarkable is that this plot of land has over 6000 graves. Only a few headstones have survived. I imagine most people couldn’t afford a headstone.

The church you see is Center Church, erected in 1807. It replaced the original church, which was built in 1636.

That obelisk honors the founders of Hartford.

I love the carving on the stones. As is often the case, many of the stones commemorate women who died young, most likely in childbirth.

This story is especially poignant.

Here lies a young man who died at the age of 29 in 1803. He drowned in the Connecticut River. (Note the spelling of drowned at the time – drownded.)

Then you look to the left of the stone, and you see this:

His son, just a baby when the father drowned, died 3 years later. What a terrible loss for Eliza Watson.

As you stand there in the cemetery, birds chirp and fly among the headstones, trees are in bloom, grass grows.

I had no idea, as I took these photos, that there were 6000 people interred in the grounds.

You can read more about the Ancient Burying Ground here.

A little bit of Hartford for you.

Happy Thursday.

Playing With Blocks

2013-05-15T13:06:22Z

That sneaky scamp, Scout, took over my blog yesterday! I don’t know how she did it. But she’s a Border Collie and they are very smart, indeed. Thank goodness I’ve taught her some manners; she responded to all your comments in her inimitable, slightly sassy, way.

I finished all the blocks yesterday, then, on a rehearsal break, laid them out on the carpet. Then I climbed on a chair and stood on the kitchen counter to take this photo:

This is my home-away-from-home version of a design board. I’ve found that taking a photo helps me to see any problems with the layout.

The nice thing about being in this apartment is that I can do something I never could at home. I can leave the blocks on the carpet. No dog hair, no curious Scoutie walking all over them. Since I don’t have my own space at home that I can contain with a closed door, this is a refreshing treat! I kept glancing at the layout throughout the evening and found I didn’t like the concentration of vivid red at the top of the photo, so I kept playing around with block placement. The vertical row of blocks on the left will actually be the top of the quilt.

This is what I ended up with. Although now that I look at it here, I’m going to tweak a couple of blocks.

There. I tweaked it. It’s almost impossible to get a good photo in this space, but this gives you an idea of the look I’m going for.

The finished quilt is supposed to measure 63 inches by 74 inches. As you know, we don’t have a lot of wall space in our home, due to an abundance of windows and the sloped-attic-type walls upstairs. I started to wonder whether I should go with the 5 blocks by 5 blocks layout or make it 4 blocks by 5 blocks. Now is the time to make that decision. So I called Don and had him measure the available space on the staircase wall. When we first moved in to the cottage, I had a quilt hanging there. It’s sort of the perfect place for a quilt.

Turns out there is just enough room. I don’t want this to be a throw. I really want to hang it because the colors are so wonderful and they really go with the colors in our living room and kitchen – as well as in my studio. And the great thing about hanging it in that space is that I will also be able to see it from my studio. I like the simple, graphic quality to it and the patterns and colors make me happy. (Hopefully, I’ll still feel the same way when I’ve finished it!)

The next step is to start sewing the blocks together. Today, however, I will have to be at the theater most of the day. Final tech rehearsals in the afternoon and evening, then the first preview tomorrow morning. Morning, you say? Yes. For the life of me I cannot figure out why the first preview is a student audience at 10:30 in the morning. That means we lose another afternoon to run through the show before an evening preview. Believe me, if I was still an actor, I would not be happy about teching until 10 or 11 tonight and then having my first performance at 10:30 in the morning. For students. I do not know a single actor who likes morning performances.

Tomorrow I will have a post about my visit to Hartford’s Ancient Burying Ground, which was in use from 1640 to 1803. I took lots of pictures.

Happy Wednesday.

Scout Blogs

2013-05-14T14:30:51Z

What the heck is going on?

First my dad goes away for what seems like forever. Then Mom goes away for a couple of days and boards me. Then we both go away for a couple of days. (Much better.) Then Dad comes back. Then Mom goes away for a long time. She comes home. She leaves again. What the ???

I don’t like this. My life is based on routine. And this is seriously messing with my routine. Not to mention the fact that the pack should be together and it isn’t.

But there is a bit of a silver lining here. A chance to change things up.

I’ve been working my dad (who isn’t always clear on mom’s rules about food and treats) and I have to say, it’s been pretty cool. Here’s what I’ve done:

I start bugging him for treats by performing a few of my patented moves. Sometimes I do my pounce. Everyone loves that. Sometimes I just look unbelievably cute. Dad’s a sucker for that. Sometimes I bark incessantly and Dad asks me if I need to go outside. I don’t. I keep barking. Do I need water? No. I keep barking. Then I perform my final and, if I do say so myself, charming move. I walk out to the kitchen and cock my head toward the cupboard that holds my treats. I fix my big green eyes on the cupboard and then I flick them back to Dad, then back to the cupboard.

He gives up and gives me a treat. Sometimes more than one.

I have him in the palm of my paw, as we say in the doggie world.

Let’s face it. I’d rather have a treat than the same boring old food that Mom and Dad give me. Every single day. It’s endless. And once I start getting a lot more treats, I don’t want to eat that stuff anymore. So, I start nosing my dish and push it all over the room. All you can hear is the sound of my metal dog dish sliding around on the wood floor. And my dad gets frustrated because I won’t eat. This goes on for a while. Sometimes he gives me a treat just to see if I’ve totally lost my appetite because he’s worried I might be sick. (Mom does this, too.) And I score another treat!

Then trouble comes. Because he picks up that thing he talks into and calls my mom. And she figures out what’s going on and says (I can hear her through the thing) “Stop giving her treats until she finishes her food. If she doesn’t finish, no treat. You have to be tough. She’s working you.”

Uh oh. Busted.

And suddenly, all the time and effort I’ve put into this whole thing, all the barks, the pounces, the eyes-toward-the-cupboard-move, the dish nosing (I can push it all the way across the room and under the chair,) – all of it is for nothing. The other day, he put the phone on speaker and I heard Mom’s voice. (What? Where is she?) And she said, “Scout, eat your dinner. NO TREATS until you eat your dinner. Eat your dinner.” Yikes. I looked around for her but she wasn’t there. It sort of spooked me. I looked right at the thing Dad was holding. No Mom.

Hmmm.

Anyway. It’s not working now, so I have to eat my food. Or I won’t get any treats. Dang.

Oh, and the other night I went all hyper in the living room and dad couldn’t get me to calm down. He couldn’t figure out what was going on.

So he picked up that thing again and I heard Mom’s voice coming through it. She figured out that Dad had completely forgotten to give me my carrots. The carrots that Mom cuts up for me every night between 5 and 5:30, whenever I can get her butt off the chair and into the kitchen. Or that Dad cuts up for me when Mom asks him to (because she’s too lazy to get up.) I had to dance and pounce and bark like a performing dog in order to get something that I should have had 3 hours earlier.

Cripes.

I miss my mom.

But there is an upside to all of this. Dad takes me on lots of walks and for rides in the car. He’s better at this sort of thing than Mom is. Mom always has something she’s working on. Or she’s blogging. Dad is more fun. We go on lots of adventures.

Though Mom does pounce with me.

I wish these two people would just stay in the same place for a while. I’m not at all happy with this coming and going.

Can you talk some sense into them?

Scout

Creative Therapy and a Rehearsal Process Update

2013-05-13T14:22:00Z

I found myself in a weepy state for much of the day yesterday; everything was tinged by sadness. When my sister went to visit my mom, I had her call me and hold the phone up to mom’s ear so I could wish her a happy mother’s day and tell her I love her. She didn’t really respond, though she was listening. Meredith says that she feels mom recognizes her but is not always sure exactly who she is. That’s where we are now. It’s as if there’s a curtain in front of mom which hides the mom we knew, but sometimes it moves ever so slightly and a brief connection is made. I’m far away. Meredith is right there. If it’s hard for me, imagine how hard it is for Meredith and my father.

I spoke to Don and cried. In the course of the conversation, I asked if the lilacs were blooming and would he take a photo if they were? Later, the phone rang and Don said that Scout wanted me to look at my Facebook Timeline. She’d been up to something:

My little girl and my little lilac bush.

I have had a couple of days off and normally this would be a time when I could go home for a visit. But, with gas being so expensive and our budget tight, I decided I should stay here. I’m trying to tough it out.

I managed to make 8 more quilt blocks. (Whoops – I forgot to turn the one on the bottom right.) Cutting and piecing was good therapy for me yesterday. I lost myself in the process and eventually emerged from my sadness. The creative process can be so therapeutic.

Mabel has been a treasure on this trip. She performs admirably, all of the time. Her straight stitch is a thing of beauty. I made some minor adjustments to her so that I could get a good ¼ inch seam.

I marked it with a stack of Post-it notes. Unfortunately, they didn’t always stay in place, so I had to slap that piece of painter’s tape on them. I’m always reading about using a scant ¼ inch seam and I tried that with my first couple of blocks, but they were off, so I reverted back to a true ¼ inch. Edited to add: Carol expressed concern that the tape might be touching the decals and might harm them. Only a corner of it was, but I adjusted it (Thanks, Carol!) and all is well. This new photo shows the adjustment.

I call this Sewing Still Life.

And this: Ironing Board Study. I took both of those photos as is. I looked up from the sewing machine and the arrangement in Sewing Still Life is exactly what I saw. And then yesterday, as I was pinning and pressing, I noticed this arrangement on the ironing board, which turned out to be surprisingly color coordinated with the ironing board cover, which, of course, came with the apartment.

Where we are in the rehearsal process: We finished our last run-through in the rehearsal space on Friday. On Saturday, we moved to the theater. Saturday was spent on Spacing. The actors get used to the space, the director sees how the blocking has transferred to the set and makes adjustments. The actors work through entrances and exits and, most importantly, work on the set. In this case, the set is an intricate garden maze. I ran into the director when I was having coffee with my former student, Brian, and he was full of excitement to finally be working on the set. Positively giddy!

Yesterday, the Tech process began. In the Tech process, actors are in costume and makeup for the first time and all the technical cues are added to the play: Light cues, scene changes, sound cues, fade ins, fade outs, props, costume changes. Everything is timed, cues are written and re-written, every moment that involves a cue is run again and again until the director, actors, technicians and especially the stage manager (who calls the cues) feel it works successfully. This is a long and sometimes tedious process. Tech Rehearsals are not about me or my work. The last thing, at least in the first tech rehearsals, the actors are thinking about are their voices. Nor should they. I tend to stay away until the entire play has been teched once. I come back and start taking notes during the second tech run-through. I did stop in for a couple of hours yesterday to see the set (gorgeous) and listen for a bit.

Today is the day off. Tomorrow, Tech will resume. I’ll check in to see where they are. We have another day of Tech on Wednesday and then our first preview (with an audience) will be on Thursday.

Happy Monday.

On Making A Difference: Mothering, Guiding, Protecting (And Some Quilting)

2013-05-12T15:08:48Z

On Thursday, which was a rainy day, I was hurrying down a small side street, umbrella in hand, on my way to rehearsal. I heard a voice say, “Claudia?” I turned around and there was one of my former students, Brian. I hadn’t seen him in about 13 years, though we are in contact on Facebook. What are the odds that the two of us would happen to be on the same one-block-long side street at the same time in Hartford, CT? Turns out he’s in town with a touring production of a play – just for one week. (He’s had a very successful acting career on the stage.) That particular encounter made my day! Serendipity. We met again yesterday for coffee and spent a wonderful 90 minutes or so together, catching up on everything. He’s a lovely guy living a good life and I’m happy for him.

Though I’m not a mother of human children, I am a mother to my Scout and my sweet Winston and Riley who are no longer with us. And to all the former students that I have nurtured and trained and spent hours with; providing a sympathetic ear, being there when tears and fear and frustration overwhelmed them, giving a hug when needed, helping them through major life changes, sometimes providing a laugh when needed, always giving support. I’m proud of that. I’m proud that my former students want to see me and spend time with me. And I’m humbled when I hear that I’ve made a difference in their lives.

That has been my mothering experience and one I am most grateful for. I was meant to be a force in their lives, for however brief a period.

This Mother’s Day is a difficult one for me as my mother fades away from us, living in a state that is partly here and partly in another world. The mom I knew and loved, though still here physically, has been gone from us for a long time now. My heart breaks for her. And truly? I wish for her the shedding of her mortal body. Though I will mourn the loss of her physical presence here on earth, I will rejoice in her release from the straight-jacket-like existence in which she now exists. Love never dies. My connection to her will always be strong, whether in this life or in another plane of existence.

You’ve been the best mom ever. I love you.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you moms. Though this is what I call a Hallmark Holiday, I know that it is a time for many of you to honor your moms and to be honored. Hopefully, we do that every day of our lives.

I’ve been piecing some more blocks for the quilt. I have 12 now and the quilt calls for 25. Each day, I try to make a couple more. Camille’s class concentrates on piecing and gives lots of tips for short-cuts in the piecing process. I, however, am taking my time as this process helps to fill some of my time here.

The carpeted floor is my design board.

I love this fabric.

Thank you for all the thoughtful, compassionate responses to my post From My Heart: What I Believe. I cried more than once when reading them and they confirm what I already know about my readers and friends: what wonderful, caring people you are.

Happy Sunday.

A Favorite Thing #36

2013-05-11T02:35:42Z

Hello, and welcome to A Favorite Thing #36. I hope you’ve had a spring-like week and that flowers are blooming in your garden and birds are serenading you with their song.

Let’s look at some highlights from last week:

Alex, a photographer, shared a tutorial on how to make origami flowers and a Kusudama Ball. These are truly stunning and I really want to try making one! Thank you, Alex.

Rural Revival shared this photo with us, along with a charming story about her cat, Ember.

And Poppy of Poppy View, shared the traditions of a Greek Orthodox Easter with us. I found this absolutely fascinating. Poppy lives on the island of Crete.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the things you share with us every week. I learn so much and I thank you.

My favorite thing(s) this week:

My little pals who keep me company while I’m working far away from home. On the left is Wayfrum Holmes, so named by my husband. Don gave him to me several years ago as a traveling companion – someone to cuddle when I’m missing my loved ones. Little Lamb is in the center. Little Lamb was a gift from Sheila and I fell in love with him. And Maggie Rabbit is the newest addition to our little band of travelers. I made her a few weeks ago from Alicia Paulson’s kit. I love, love her. Whoops! I love, love, love all three of my babies. Scout, don’t get jealous. You have my heart, you little minx.

Now it’s your turn!

You can link up anytime from this evening through Sunday. Make sure you enter the URL of your post. If you’re unsure how to do that, just click on your post title after you’ve published it and copy the information in your browser address window. Come back here, paste the URL into your link entry and there you go! If you have any problems, drop me an email and I’ll help you out. Please link back to this blog on your post. That way, those that read your post and are interested in reading more can do so.

One of my concerns about link parties is that the very reason for them has somewhat gone by the wayside. They’ve become so big and there are so many of them that many bloggers don’t take the time to visit any of the other participants. Link parties are a way to meet new bloggers and share with each other and the only way to do that is to visit each other. So, please, take some time to visit everyone over the next few days. No rush. Stop by, introduce yourself, and leave a comment. It’s the neighborly thing to do. It’s also nice if you leave a comment here, as well.

Enjoy!