A Dollhouse, Beatrix Potter and Susan Branch!

863 Park Avenue Meets England!

Nearby the dollhouse is our old fashioned table top Christmas tree like my Grandmum always had! The tree is surrounded by an old fashioned fence; it looks like a park in the distance from the house.

In front of the dollhouse are little trees and another fence.

A festive Christmas wreath is hanging from the wooden latch that shuts the two doors. Like Beatrix Potter's doll's house at Hill Top this dollhouse has two large doors in front that open up to see the inside.

Two little mice nibbling crumbs beside the English teapot, similar to one at Old Sturbridge Village.

Hunca Munca at the door of the doll's house.

 Along with the dust in the dustpan is swept up Corgi hair.
Beatrix Potter wrote and illustrated the adorable book "The Tale of Two Bad Mice", published in 1904.

Beatrix Potter was inspired to create this book by her pet mice Hunca Munca and Tom Thumb, the doll's house that Norman Warne was making for his niece and the doll's house pieces and miniature food that he sent for her to draw.
Some of the furniture and small foods illustrated in the story are now in the doll's house at Hill Top.

Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca went into the doll's house, and after becoming frustrated at finding the miniature foods to be inedible, started wrecking things and then decided some of the things in the doll's house would go quite well in their own mouse house. In the end, because they had caused havoc in the doll's house, the mice slipped a "crooked six-pence" into the dolls' Christmas stocking. Also, Hunca Munca came back to the doll's house, every morning and cleaned and swept for the dolls.

This enchanting dollhouse may look familiar to our dear readers.

We first read about it on author and artist Susan Branch's blog.
 

Susan had found the dollhouse on her trip through Autumnal New England at an antique shop, thought it charming and shared photographs of the dollhouse on her blog.
 

I loved the dollhouse the minute I saw it!
So we made an Autumnal visit to the antique shop, ourselves.
There we found the dollhouse tucked in a corner, setting on the floor.

Tillie Tinkham, the seamstress mouse for the dolls at Corgyncombe, looks out from the door of her shoppe "Tillie Tinkham's Frocks & Fashions" at 863 Park Avenue.

Tillie has a country shoppe, too.

As we were loading the dollhouse into the vehicle, out into a better light where we could see it better, I tried the little door to see if it would open; it did and it has a little latch to hold it shut!

That is when I said "Oh, look it has has an address number above the door, 863 Park Avenue", which of course, we would have to look into later.

We asked about the provenance and the kind people at Rustology Antiques said that the dollhouse was found at an old estate in Connecticut. The estate was the family's summer home, the rest of the year they lived in Manhattan, New York.

We had a feeling that whoever had the dollhouse had also lived at 863 Park Avenue.

863 Park Avenue, built in 1908, was known as one of the "earliest luxury apartment buildings" on Park Avenue.

In hoping to find more information about the dollhouse, we found the estate sale that had first sold the dollhouse, then we did some research of the genealogy of the family who had the estate. We discovered the Parsons family had lived at 863 Park Avenue near the time when it was first built, with their first child, a little girl named Alice.

An interesting note also discovered was that amongst the other families who lived in the apartments at 863 Park Avenue, was William Taylor, the man who had the real apartment house built.

At the Parsons family's beautiful stone summer house at their Connecticut estate they entertained many prominent people. The Parsons' Connecticut estate was featured in House & Garden Magazine.

We were even fortunate enough to find a photograph of the little girl with her mother. This photograph is part of our own personal collection.

Little Alice Parsons in ribbons and lace, with her Mother, who looks like a fairy godmother as she holds a little slipper.

Perhaps Alice had Beatrix Potter's book "The Tale of Two Bad Mice", as it had been written several years before.

The clear sparkly lights of the Christmas tree are reminiscent of starlight, candlelight, and snowflakes.

Tucked in by the teapot on the shelf one can see the little mice.
Two of the dollhouse windows have curtains with lacey like snowflakes.

Old music box music playing is so nice whilst looking at the Christmas tree and the dollhouse.

In this fairytale like scene, the Mother's gown and the little slipper take on a radiant luster as little Alice holds a book and looks intently at the little satin slipper.
Perhaps her Mother was telling her the story of Cinderella!

The photograph was taken on Alice's birthday.

Tillie Tinkham, holding forget-me-nots from the banks of Corgi Creek, stands by her Park Avenue door.
Susan Branch's book "A Fine Romance, Falling in love with the English Countryside". Susan takes us along with her lovely handwriting, artwork and photographs of her travels to England during the lovely months of May and June.

How we love England and so does Susan!

Susan Branch's book "A Fine Romance" led us about the English countryside with its sheep, hills and dales, stone walls, quaint old villages, shops, cottages, and gardens! Susan Branch's book has all these things and more! When Susan Branch visited England, the country was decorated in a festive manner in honor of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Amongst our favorite stops were her visits to Beatrix Potter's Hill Top Farm and Jane Austen's Chawton Cottage. Susan delightfully captured a wonderful variety of lovely landscapes and architecture of Kent, the Lake District, the Peak District in Derbyshire, the Yorkshire Dales, and the Cotswolds. The book has a red grosgrain ribbon bookmark at hand ready to mark where ever you left off reading.

Susan Branch spent time in Kent, England, just a hop, skip and a jump from my 10th great grandfather's church, St. Dunstan's, the parish church of Cranbrook, also known as "The Cathedral of the Weald". He was William Eddye, the Vicar of Cranbrook from 1591-1616. Some of William Eddy's descendants were early settlers in the 1600's on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, the same island that Susan Branch makes her home.

At Christmastime I took some photographs of some of the old things and Beatrix Potter figurines on my cupboard. You can see the reflection of the sparkly Christmas tree lights in the glass and china. On the old apothecary jar filled with bay leaf, it looks like a twinkly waterfall coming down the jar between Rebeccah and Drake Puddle-Duck.

Susan Branch also has a collection of Beatrix Potter figurines and she talks about them in her book, and sees a group of them on the window of a particularly charming cottage in England. Back at home on Martha's Vineyard she has her own delightful Peter Rabbit room.

Whilst in England, Susan Branch stayed at a friend's cottage decorated inside with twinkle or fairy lights.

Our old fashioned table top tree at Christmas with twinkle lights.

"According to Season", written by Frances Theodora Parsons, is about flowers throughout the seasons. Frances Theodora Parsons has been a favorite at our Corgyncombe Library for years!

 
We were thrilled to discover that little Alice Parsons' Aunt was Frances Theodora Parsons who studied and wrote about botany. Her first book "How to Know the Wildflowers" was met with resounding acclaim from Theodore Roosevelt and Rudyard Kipling. In "A Fine Romance", Susan Branch writes about visiting Bateman's, Rudyard Kipling's home in England. Rudyard Kipling and his wife lived in Vermont about the same time as Frances Theodora Parsons wrote her book "How to Know the Wildflowers". Kipling told her that the book would be most useful in discovering the wildflowers around and about his Vermont home.
 

Amongst the old books on the table are several by our cousin Louisa May Alcott.

In "A Fine Romance", Susan Branch illustrated Fred Astaire, a favorite actor/dancer/singer of her and Joe's, in a top hat and tails.

Fred Astaire opened a dance studio on Park Avenue, just a few twirls and taps down the Avenue from the dollhouse!

Tillie herself has a millinery shoppe and tea room at 863 Park Avenue. Tillie is helping the little dog decide on a hat.

Inside Tillie's in town Shoppe at 863 Park Avenue, "Tillie Tinkham's Frocks & Fashions" with Millinery and Tea Room.

 

The blue and silver scenes on the walls are like diamond shaped windows looking out to fashionable folk walking about on cobbled streets. The rows of close buildings with their steep roofs and chimneys are reminiscent of the charming old English villages Lacock and Bibury in the Cotswolds. Susan Branch visited Lacock and Bibury and there are photographs of those places in the book. Susan Branch enjoyed many tea rooms and whilst in the Lake District Susan stopped at a shoppe and tried on some hats. What fun!

One of Tillie Tinkham's favorite views in Corgyncombe Country.

The Turret at Castle Corgyncombe.

The Tailor of Gloucester

"The Tailor of Gloucester", written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, is a story of mice who help the tailor at night to finish his work.

Whilst the cat was away, the curious Tailor, upon hearing tip, tap, tip, tap, sets free the mice that the cat had captured under tea-cups.

In the photograph above, there is a charkha spindle of my handspun silk. In the small bowl is cochineal for dyeing the silk a pleasant shade of cherry. Do you hear a tip, tap, tip, tap, tip?

Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit with postbag.

At Finch Post, 863 Park Avenue Branch, top floor, the Tweet Sweets are holding a 

Valentine Banner of Love!

Even as a baby my daughter Sarah would study and analyze detail. Dolls and their houses have been always amongst her favorite things. When she saw this old dollhouse she got so excited and started chattering up a storm. I have always loved dolls, dollhouses, and playhouses, too.

Miss Elsie Pricklish the Hedgehog makes an apartment above Tillie's shoppe at 863 Park Avenue her home during the winter. In the summer she lives in a mossy hollow log down by Corgi Creek.

Debbie Dibble Dabble (one of many Dibble Dabble sisters) is quacking and bouncing on the bed, as the mattress goes up and down. Boing, boing, quack, quack, boing.

Miss Elsie Pricklish is to soon set about making clapbread, a traditional English flat bread made from oat flour.

With her cap and apron she looks like a Lady of Cranford!

Elsie has a surprise guest for tea...

Draw the latch, sit by the fire and spin, take a cup, and drink it up, then call a Spinstress in...

A tussie mussie was made using larkspur, lavender, thyme, winter savory, rosemary, wild marjoram, rose geranium leaves, and baby's breath all gathered from the Corgyncombe Garden of Herbs.

The little mouse knitting figurine is based upon Beatrix Potter's illustration of the "Old woman who lived in a shoe" in "Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes". It is one of our favorite Beatrix Potter illustrations! "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" book on the table is a limited edition reproduction of Beatrix Potter's first privately printed Peter Rabbit book and has the original illustrations with Beatrix's own handwriting. The dust jacket is a reproduction of calico printed by Beatrix's grandfather's calico printworks. It is such a sweet book!

We found out about this book on Susan Branch's blog when she had a giveaway. Included in the giveaway book was a sweet drawing of a lamb in an apron. Alas, I did not win the giveaway, but found another copy for my own library. We just love that print on the dust jacket!

In her book "A Fine Romance", Susan Branch has illustrated a similar lamb gathering flowers in a bowl.

In Jemima Puddle-Duck, Jemima is sent by the fox Mr. Tod, to look for the herbs for stuffing..

In Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of The Pie and The Patty-Pan", Ribby, with a pitcher of milk and a plate of butter, is returning from the farm on a path crossing the pasture where the cows are grazing.

A photograph I took several years ago of some of my Beatrix Potter figurines Tabitha Twitchit and Miss Moppet, Flopsy Bunny, and Peter's Mum Mrs. Rabbit.

Beyond the tea table, through the window there is Mr. Darcy walking in his top hat and coat!

The diamond shaped "windows" are looking out on the old cobbled streets of England edged by old buildings and there are people of old England going about their business, out for a walk, perhaps some from a Charles Dickens novel and some from a Jane Austen novel.

The scenes remind us of the English village of Lacock and the Arlington Row weaver cottages of Bibury in the Cotwolds.

Lacock, England was used for villages in the movies Cranford and Pride and Prejudice (1995).

Why is that Elizabeth Bennet or perhaps even Jane Austen herself?

This Regency lady is charmingly similar to Cassandra's portrait of her sister Jane Austen, below.

Above, "The Illustrated Letters of Jane Austen", edited by Penelope Hughes-Hallett, is a wonderful book to read Jane's letters and of the time and places she lived in.

The small bouquet of feverfew, lavender, baby's breath, and forget-me-nots was picked from Corgyncombe Garden of Herbs. The combination of herbs is very fragrant all together.

Tillie Tinkham, the seamstress mouse for the dolls at Corgyncombe, descends from the Tinkham mice of England. One of her Brown mouse family ancestors came over on the Mayflower and his daughter married into the Tinkham mouse family.

Tillie holding forget-me-nots.

The dollhouse reminds us of Beatrix Potter's doll's house!

Like Beatrix Potter's doll's house at Hill Top this dollhouse has two large doors in front that open up to see the inside.

Here is a link to:

 A photograph of Beatrix Potter's doll's house

at Hill Top Farm

Here is a link to:

A video of "The World of Beatrix Potter and Friends: The Tale of Two Bad Mice" with a charming introduction of Beatrix Potter riding in a cart through narrow, curvy cobbled streets and arriving at Hill Top.

The scenes on the dollhouse walls remind us of the English village of Lacock and the Arlington Row weaver cottages of Bibury in the Cotwolds.

Here is a link to a photograph of:

Arlington Row in Bibury

Here is a link to:
The Parsons' Estate in Connecticut
in House & Garden Magazine
which reminds us of the stone house in
"Christmas in Connecticut"


Here is a link to:
Rustology Antiques

Here is a link to our post
about the Large Golden Dollhouse:
Tasha Tudor Birthday Celebration 2013!
Pumpkin House!


Some of the photographs and some of the writings on this post are from previous Corgyncombe Courant posts that can be found here on the Corgyncombe Courant and from our web site and our previous postings elsewhere on the internet.

Please do not "Pin" our photographs.
Please do not post our photographs on facebook.

Our email:
atthecottagegate@yahoo.com
If you receive an email you think is from me from this email, please make sure it is atthecottagegate@yahoo.com, and not just something that sounds similar.

Photographs, images, and text copyright © 2000-2013 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson. All rights reserved. Photographs, images, and/or text may not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson.



http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-dollhouse-beatrix-potter-and-susan.html
copyright © 2013 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
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Beatrix Potter's Birthday!

"Rats, and Rats, and Rats"

Samuel Whiskers the Rat sitting by the "Roly-Poly" Pin with gathered vegetables, tomatoes and bread for his wife Anna Maria to steal away with.

Samuel Whiskers is a Beatrix Potter figurine based on her book.

He is surrounded by some fine furniture that we'll talk about in a future post.

Beatrix Potter's Birthday was July 28th.
She was born in 1866.
What joy she has brought into our lives through her stories and illustrations!

In Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding", published in 1908, Anna Maria the Rat steals some dough for a planned Roly-Poly Pudding. Samuel Whiskers steals the butter and the rolling pin from the dairy... a rolling pin being necessary to make a Roly-Poly pudding.

Tom Kitten had accidentally fallen into the Rat's room and been tied up by Anna Maria. A butter covered Tom Kitten was then placed and wrapped in the dough, and then dough and Kitten were rolled with the "Roly-Poly" pin. Tom Kitten was to be a Roly-Poly Pudding!

Some of the photographs and some of the writings on this post are from previous Corgyncombe Courant posts that can be found here on the Corgyncombe Courant.

"The Tale of Samuel Whiskers" or "The Roly-Poly Pudding", written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter.
In the photograph above, Samuel Whiskers is seen running away with a pat of butter.
Below the book is a pat of hand churned butter from Corgyncombe Dairy Goat Carmella Lucille.

Tom Kitten's sister Mittens, who had hidden away in the dairy, exclaimed to her mother that she had seen "a dreadful 'normous big rat" who swiped away a rolling pin and a pat of butter.

In "The Private World of Tasha Tudor", by Tasha Tudor and Richard Brown, Tasha speaks of trapping a rat that reminded her of Samuel Whiskers.

The old Corgyncombe tall clock is from the late 1700s and was made in the area that is now called Cumbria.

Beatrix Potter lived in the scenic Lake District of England, which is now part of the area called Cumbria.

The clock reminds us of the one in "The Tale of Samuel Whiskers" or "The Roly-Poly Pudding", written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. Beatrix Potter illustrated mother cat Tabitha Twitchit on the landing of the stairway at Hill Top farm, with a clock behind her, whilst she is looking for her missing son Tom Kitten.

Noises under the floor boards of the attic were suspicious and after John Joiner the Terrier frees Tom Kitten, the rats take off with haste with bundles of goods loaded in a wheelbarrow stolen from Miss Potter. The rats take up residence in Farmer Potatoes' barn where they get into his livestock's feed and cause him great difficulties.

Beatrix Potter wrote: "There are rats, and rats, and rats in his barn!" "And they are all descended from Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Whiskers - children and grand-children and great great grandchildren. There is no end to them!"

 Samuel and Anna Maria's descendants are here!!!

'Tis a common problem on both sides of the ocean!

"The Tale of Beatrix Potter" by Margaret Lane, is a biography of Beatrix Potter written through research of her letters, papers and photographs. The book speaks of when Beatrix Potter purchased her Lake District property, Hill Top Farm, that rats were quite a problem and as Beatrix Potter wrote, one rat was even seen boldly "sitting up eating its dinner under the kitchen table in the middle of the afternoon."

Dried field corn, a favorite of Samuel and his wife.
They love it!
The field corn that had been gleaned from the field for Diane's winter critter friends.
The corn was husked, then hung up to dry.
This corn was intended for the birds and squirrels but the rats got into the container and finished off what was left of the corn!

The rats have also liked to get into my squash...

potatoes...

and carrots.

Preserving our harvest by canning provides a way of protecting it from the rats.

From the Corgyncombe Vegetable Garden, green beans in a lovely old yellowware bowl and tomatoes.
How I love to hear the ping of the jars as they are sealing, whilst having tea after the jars have been taken out of the canner. To me, the sound of the jars sealing is so satisfying, like a squirrel storing up nuts for the long winter. 'Tis so good to enjoy naturally homegrown vegetables and fruits all the year through.

Canned goods at the Corgyncombe Cannery to be enjoyed by us, not Samuel and his descendants!

Here are links to some
Beatrix Potter Birthday Celebrations

of previous years at the Corgyncombe Courant:

Beatrix Potter Birthday Celebration 2012

Beatrix Potter's Birthday 2011

http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2013/07/beatrix-potters-birthday.html
copyright © 2013 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
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Independence Day!

The Howe Tavern, also known as The Wayside Inn

Lucy with a flag celebrating Independence Day!

She is carrying the Grand Union flag, an early American flag.

The chosen music to accompany this post:
Click Here for Music.
Return Here to Read the Corgyncombe Courant.
The music is so festive whilst reading!

The Grand Union flag flying o'er my 7th great grandparents' (David and Hepzibah Howe) house, the Howe Tavern in Massachusetts.

The Howe Tavern is also known as the Wayside Inn, made famous in Longfellow's poem.

David and Hepzibah Howe's daughter Hepzibah was my 6th great grandmother.

In "Tales of a Wayside Inn" by Longfellow, he speaks of Hepzibah's brother Lieut. Col. Ezekiel Howe and the sword he used "In the rebellious days of yore, Down there at Concord in the fight."

 

Lucy, an Izannah Walker inspired doll, and her wonderful clothing were made by Margaret Flavin.

She is just beautiful!

Walking about the gardens at Corgyncombe.

A progression of self sown flowers blooms here under the little old apple tree from spring until autumn.

We at the Corgyncombe Courant love how Tasha Tudor illustrates Independence Day in "Around The Year" and "A Time to Keep". Tasha shows picnics, flying and displaying the American flag, firecrackers, and fireworks. In "Around the Year" the page with the eagle, stars, and flags catches the eye of the Corgyncombe Courant.

The parlour at the Wayside Inn.
The lady winding the clock in the parlour said that my 8th great grandfather Samuel Howe made the glass for the windows for his son David Howe, my 7th great grandfather's tavern. I have always loved old paned windows!

As we looked into the room our eyes were drawn to a child's toy, the cloth doll on the small table. Our thoughts were then drawn to one of the little girls who had lived in the house, my 6th great grandmother Hepzibah Howe who was just a baby when the first two rooms of the house were built and who was around 9 years old when they built two more rooms on to the original house. Later this room, photographed above, was used as a parlour.
 

A doll, a little girl's delight in any era!

 http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2013/07/independence-day.html

copyright © 2013 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson

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Blog Thieving...

"The Three Billy Goats Gruff"

Corgyncombe's Darling Little Clementine

Our Sweet Goat Kiddle
Amongst the apple petals

Oft' times when we have fed the goat kiddles their bottles, especially during a before bedtime bottle feeding, we tell them their favorite story. This is how our bottle feeding times would go:

We each settle a kid on our lap and as they delight in Corgyncombe Dairy Goat Carmella Lucille's good and delicious milk, everyone thoroughly enjoys our version of the classic tale of the "Three Billy Goats Gruff"! We always use the different personalities of each of our goats in the story as each goat encounters the troll. Through the years it's always been the kiddles' favorite!

Diane's Uncle's old school book with the "Three Billy Goats Gruff" story.
Alongside is a bottle of Carmella Lucille's warm milk for her goat kiddles.

Unfortunately, such difficulties as are in the story the "Three Billy Goats Gruff" are not only in fairy tales and stories, but, alas, sometimes are found in the blogging world, as well. More about that further down in this post.

We have been telling the kiddles the "Three Billy Goats Gruff" story for years. Every year when we have new kiddles, we add to the story to include them, the smallest and youngest are always the first to go over the bridge.

The story starts out with the littlest goat crossing the bridge, clompen, clompen, clompen go their little hooves on the wooden bridge.

The nasty troll pops out from underneath the bridge and says "Hark, Who goes there, over my bridge? Grin!"

"MmmHmmmmmm, it's only me, Clementine, hmmmmmmm" bleats little Clementine in a sweet little high pitched voice.

"I am going to eat you Goat!" exclaims the troll.

"Hmmmmm, Don't eat meee! I'm so liiittle. Eat my big brother Velvet, instead. He's always been bigger than I am!"  (Clementine and Velvet were born at the same time and Clementine has always been the smaller of the two!)

The troll says "Perhaps you are correct, Goat. You do look awful puny to make a meal sufficient to satisfy my large appetite, Grin!"

"All right, pass!" says the troll.

"Clompen, clompen" go Clementine's hooves as she goes over the rest of the bridge to the other side.

And on the story goes as each goat takes its turn going over the bridge: Velvet, Louisa May, Lucy, Daisy, Sweet Pea, Brownie, and finally the last goat Carmella Lucille Queen of the Herd.

"Clompen, Clompen, Clompen" go Carmella Lucille's feminine and Queenly hooves on the bridge.

Carmella Lucille

"Hark, Who goes there, over my bridge? Grin!" roars the troll.

"It is meee, Carmella Lucille Queen of the Herd, and I am crossing this bridge to go and eat the green grass to make fine milk for my Milkmaid."

"I am going to eat you Goat!" exclaims the troll. "And I am going to drink your fine milk! Grin!"

Carmella replies: "No one can drink my fine milk without my Milkmaid's permission and you do not have her permission nor mine! You will not eat me and you will not drink my fine milk!"

You know, Dear Readers, what happens in the story the "Three Billy Goats Gruff" at this point, when the last goat goes over the bridge...

The story finally ends with Carmella Lucille peacefully and contentedly eating her green grass on the other side of the bridge.

 Carmella Lucille before delivering triplets.

I took a cardboard cereal box to the barn and sketched Corgyncombe Dairy Goat Carmella Lucille.

Tasha Tudor made gingerbread cookies of animals and hung them on her Christmas tree.

Baking gingerbread makes the cottage smell so good!

Antique rolling pin on the upper right and wooden Springerle mold in the center.

Gingerbread cookies before they were baked, the Grinning Troll and Corgyncombe Dairy Goat Carmella Lucille.
The grinning face mold we got years ago with many other round molds of acorns, thistles, snowflakes, and other designs.

An antique goat cup to put your warm goat's milk in.

Yes, unfortunately, such difficulties as are in the story the "Three Billy Goats Gruff" are not only in fairy tales and stories, but sometimes are found in the blogging world, as well.

Someone has been lying about me.
Someone has left obnoxious, nasty, untrue comments that are lies about me on other peoples blogs and on our blog.
We moderate comments to our blog, so we did not allow these obnoxious comments to be posted.

We at the Corgyncombe Courant have also had problems with a person copying my "St. Distaff's Day" post (that I posted on a group) almost word for word, putting it on her blog, and claiming it as her own. It was like she was making believe she was me, in a strange and creepy way. She was nasty when we asked her to remove it.

She has never apologized or asked forgiveness.

At a time previous to that, she had demanded to know, just before a public memorial service, whether I was going to attend the service, because she said she wanted to meet up. When I failed to answer her demands, she got angry. I was busy with work around the cottage but then again I wasn't about to tell her and I did not feel obligated to tell her where I was going or any of my plans.

In my opinion, I think that she got angry because she thought I knew she was copying another blogger. I did not tell her that I knew that she had copied the other blogger but I suspect that she knew that I knew, thus her anger at me. I knew that she had copied this other blogger nearly word for word, put it on her blog, and claimed it as her own, it seemed like she was taking on this person's life, changing the other woman's children to her children in the copied post. In the oddest twist, she had even went as far as to show up, in person, to see the blogger who she had copied right after posting the copied post. It seemed strange and creepy to me. I was disgusted by her copying and creeped out because then she wanted to meet up with me.

I have never been removed from a group for bad behaviour. I have been, ahem, eliminated, from a group, not because of bad behaviour on my part, but I think because the group leader got angry because she thought I knew she was copying the other blogger nearly word for word, it seemed like she was taking on the other blogger's life.

(By the way, a few years before that, someone in the group leader's inner circle said to me that some members of the group were baiting me and she complimented me on trying to avoid the nasty baiting and complimented me on the way I tried to handle their nastiness by being positive. I do feel that the group leader and some of her group members were baiting me.)

My last posts to group before I was eliminated from group were nothing but cheerful and nice. This was all near the public memorial service time in 2008, when the group leader contacted me off group, wanting to know if I was going to attend.  When I failed to answer her demands, she got angry.

At this time I had a huge web site with many of my own personal photographs on along with my writings. I decided to make my copyright more visible on my photographs. I took all my photographs (over 2,000) off from public view on my web site, and was in the process of putting them back on my web site with the copyright, eventually deciding the best place to put the copyright was near the middle of the subject right on the photographs.

There may be some who are bothered when I put my copyright near the middle of my photographs. One thing the copyright is intended to do is make my photographs harder to steal.

We have also had trouble with people stealing our photographs and selling products with our photographs, online. We contacted the online marketplace and the online marketplace removed the items from sale.

 
Some people who have posted our work on their blog, when we have asked them to remove it from their blog or site, have been very cooperative and polite and we have thanked these people for their cooperation.

But, obviously, there are some people who have taken my work who don't like the fact that I object to them taking my work.

Some people apparently don't like it when we publish posts, that we put a lot of effort in, so that we may share some of our favorite things with our dear readers that they might enjoy looking at and we know that many do enjoy. Some people apparently don't like this. But let us assure our readers that despite this, we have been blessed by our dear readers, and it is our hope that our readers have been blessed and inspired by the Corgyncombe Courant.

If you receive or hear of any obnoxious, nasty, comments about me, we would appreciate it if you would please send us an email at:

atthecottagegate@yahoo.com

If you see anyone using or selling our work please let us know by sending us an email at:

atthecottagegate@yahoo.com

A Corgyncombe Dairy Goat Carmella Lucille cookie!

Carmella Lucille the goat looks so cute! She likes to have behind her ears scratched and under her collar and I always give her a good back scratch after milking. Sometimes if I stop scratching she nuzzles my hand to say she wants me to continue. So very sweet!

We have written before on the Corgyncombe Courant about telling our version of the "Three Billy Goats Gruff" story to the goat kiddles during bottle time.

Added July 21st: Thank you dear readers for all the kind comments. We also appreciate your keeping an eye out for my work that has been stolen.
Gratefully,
Diane and daughter Sarah

http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2013/07/blog-thieving.html
copyright © 2013 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
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