Thank you so much for your beautiful comments on Wednesday’s post. Oh, how lovely they were! Several brought tears to my eyes. You are so appreciated, my friends.
I’ve been a bit under the weather with… what? Sinus? Allergies? On Wednesday, I must have sneezed 40 times! I felt a tickle in one nostril all day long. Yesterday was a bit better, but there was still some sneezing. Anyway, the whole thing was odd and – given all the sneezing – exhausting. I hope today is sneeze-free.
Miranda was my comfort doll on Wednesday.
It’s been quite warm for this time of year – yesterday, the high was 51 degrees and today will be a bit warmer. It won’t last, of course, but yesterday was one of those days where I had a real bout of spring fever – that hopeful flutter inside that spring is on its way. That kind of ‘tease’ is wonderful, I think. Though you know spring is not on the way yet, for a moment, you allow yourself to believe it could be and everything seems hopeful and, somehow, lighter.
I just looked at the forecast and it’s going to be 59 tomorrow!
Of course, we’re due for a bit of snow on Tuesday, so there’s that.
I read first thing this morning, as I was behind on my reading of Wolf Hall. I needed a chunk of uninterrupted reading time. Now I’m all caught up. Hilary Mantel was a brilliant writer. I’m still reading The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang, as well. And I have a couple of books on hold at the library – the much anticipated new book from Terry Hayes – The Year of the Locust. It’s a thriller. It was published on Tuesday and I think I’m first in the queue. And then, because we watched a documentary on fungi last night, I remembered a book that came out last year about the same subject – Entangled Life, how fungi make our worlds, change our minds, and shape our futures. I ordered that last night. I remember the author – Merlin Sheldrake – was referenced in Underland, a book I read last year.
Don has a gig this evening, north of here. He’s printing out his set list as I write this.
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
I have a question for you being curious. When you read Do you set time aside to read 1 to 2 hours or how many pages to read each day?
Wolf Hall sounds interesting. I find myself wanting to read books from that time period , because of the book I am reading right now. The book I am reading is set during the early 1900s in New York and in the book was the mention of War of the Roses. I found myself wondering about Alice in Wonderland (the movie) and the scene of Painting the Roses red if that was reference to the battle between the families of Lancaster (red) and York (white) for the throne of England. Anyway the name of the book is Secret of the White Rose by Stefanie Pintoff. Dreary day here.
No. I don’t set aside time to read. Some days I don’t have the time to read a book. Other days, I do. All I did this morning was sit down and start reading Wolf Hall before I got distracted by email, the blog, etc. Since the readalong involves a certain number of pages a week, I read 20 or so pages until I was caught up. When I’m reading for pleasure I never set a goal of a certain amount of pages a week. That would take all the pleasure out of it! Nor do I track my pages and record them on some app.
You might enjoy Wolf Hall, Trina. It’s so well written and it’s fascinating. As someone who has coached many a history play by Shakespeares, I know just enough about that time to want to know even more.
Stay safe.
agree about your post and everyone’s comments yesterday. bittersweet. tearful. grateful. i pray you all have peace.
i love winter (minus ice and severe cold and the hardships they can cause), but admit that 63 and sunny felt so good yesterday … we set a new record high with that … so definitely been having a case of “spring fever” here, too. enjoy!
glad you have some books to read now and another to look forward to. i am now halfway (!) through “war and peace” (!) and continue to enjoy it very much. grateful that you mentioned that read-along again, claudia.
also glad don has a gig tonight. loved him in “escape to margaritaville” (in chicago) and hearing his songs online. would be fun to hear him in person someday.
need to get some birdseed and other supplies, then heading over to my apartment for a while (been staying with family members; grateful). been feeling like i want to either move to a bigger place or redecorate (donate more stuff so i can rearrange furniture, make new pillow covers, etc.) to like my little 500 square feet more than i have lately. haven’t found a different place so decluttering and puttering will have to do. then i will come back here to spend more time with members of my family.
hope you’re having a sneeze-free, tickle-free day. stay safe. that goes for don and everyone else here, too.
kathy
I’ve lived in more than one 500 square foot apartment – two of them were considerably less than that. It’s all about how you arrange the furniture and the space and having enough storage space. Hopefully, you’ll find a bigger place someday, Kathy.
Do you stay with relatives just because? Or do you take care of your dad? I’m just curious.
Stay safe.
thanks, claudia.
i too have lived in places smaller than 500 square feet. in order to save money and find an apartment close to my job, on a month-by-month basis i rented a bedroom and shared a bathroom with strangers (disgusting) in a house when i first moved to minneapolis. not good, but thankfully that lasted less than two months. and when i moved to ohio for grad school (in 1988 when i was 30), i lived in a studio that was less than 350 square feet. that was a much better situation.
agree; the furniture arrangement makes a huge impact, no matter the size of a place and especially in a small one. brought out creativity, repurposing and patience for me. and storage is always a very good thing! where i live now was built in 1950, when people didn’t have as much as most do now, so the closets are small (all four of them could fit into the largest closet of my last place), but i do what i can to make it feel good. and i remind myself that it is probably very much like the place my parents moved into after getting married (in nebraska) and that helps me see its sweetness.
i spend lots of time with family members, and sometimes spend the night, for several reasons … love mainly. and yes, i do help my father every chance i can (i think my cooking has improved, though my baking still needs improvement!). also, covid. i know we can’t make up for lost time and had to be separated that way, but i’ve always enjoyed spending time with my family and covid and all it has wrought has made me want to spend even more time with my family. :)
happy saturday and sunday to you and don! stay safe.
kathy
xoxo
Hope you’re feeling better, Claudia. Miranda looks a tad annoyed, lol. They do have expressive little faces but I think its their eyes that speak volumes. Enjoy your “spring” weather. It’s a beautiful, sunny warmish day here, too. So hope we won’t pay for this with snow storms in March. Enjoy your weekend. Hugs, Elaine
That’s what I love about Ferro Dolls – they’re feisty! That’s what first drew me to them.
Stay safe, Elaine.
Good morning, Claudia…I missed your post yesterday…I understand your feelings of missing your mother and feeling thankful for the special times you spent together. I am now my mother’s caretaker, as she’s been unable to care for herself and was recently diagnosed with dementia. But, it’s all the collected happy memories that are important that I fall back on.
We are having very cold weather, after several days of all rain…nice to see the sun shining this morning. Glad you are having some warmth, too. I’ve also been sneezing much more and not sure what that’s about.
Glad Don has a gig. Enjoy your reading!
I’m so sorry about your mom. She is blessed by having you as a daughter, Barrie.
Stay safe.
I was just able to read your Wednesday post this morning. What wonderful memories you shared of your mom and watching old movies together. And when you mentioned questions you wished you’d asked her, I had an OMG moment because I’ve been having similar thoughts this last week. I’m sorting through old family photos and berating myself for the same thing. Why didn’t I ask when I could. It reminds me yet again to not take this life for granted because the status quo is only temporary.
I especially regret not gently questioning dad (who died in ’16) about his WWII experiences. He never talked about it except to say he loved England and the people there. I had a chance in the late 80’s when they came to visit. I overheard him sharing with a docent at the Air and Space Museum as they stood in front of a mural of the B-17 flying fortress he flew in. We’re watching the “Masters of the Air” series on Apple-TV about those B-17 crews and I understand a bit more each episode why he spared his children. Watching recreations of those grueling and long missions brings back some of the awful things I accidentally overheard him share with that museum docent, a man who was about his same age. Maybe that’s why I just couldn’t push him. He did make one kind of funny reference back in 2011 when I told him about our upcoming trip the first time we went to Paris. “Paris?” he mused, “I flew over Paris when we bombed the railroads.”
We reached 53 yesterday. and had a spectacular thunderstorm last night. This morning I read about a tornado southwest of here at the same time that destroyed 20 homes. In February! 30’s are coming back this weekend so hopefully those green shoots stay underground where they belong.
Take care,
Kay
My dad was in the Air Force and for most of his life, refrained from talking about WWII. He was 18 when he enlisted and it took me years to realize that it traumatized him. That he had PTSD. He flew on bombers and what he saw was horrific. He was too young and saw too much, too soon. I understand your dad’s reluctance, Kay. It was only in my dad’s last few years that he began to have nightmares about the war again and had the need to tell us about some of them.
Stay safe.
Yes, I’m sure my dad had some PTSD his whole life as well. He enlisted at 21. Our dads were part of a whole generation that gave up their youth to serve.
K.
Yes, they were. xo
I missed your Wednesday post, Claudia, and it popped up some time between yesterday and this morning. I’m gratified that you always have your deceased family members in your heart and mind.
I miss my husband, my Dad, and my grandparents and the one great-grandmother I got to know. All of them had stories but I heard most of the stories from my Mom. Except, of course, I know my husbands stories, but my Mom added to them with her recollections of him as a little boy of 5 or 6. I met him when i was 8.
Unfortunately, I spoke enough Cantonese to have every day conversations with my grandparents and great-grandma (most revolving around what we were going to eat for the next meal!), but not enough to ask questions or understand the stories. Fortunately, Mom is bi-lingual (actually, she knows a few Cantonese regional dialects) so she was able to listen to the gossip and stories, and over the years, share them with me and my brothers.
Enjoy the peek-of-Spring day. We’re in between rain storms. My daffodils are once again blooming early but I managed to cut all the ones that bloomed or were close to blooming before the last big atmospheric river hit.
Thankfully, your mom was able to pass on those stories to you and your brothers, Wendy.
Stay safe.
Hi Claudia! I’m late to the comment party, but I have two. That hat!! Sooooo adorable. And I notice the dollhouse in the back of the photo. From other photos II knew it was sizable but not THAT large! It’s a beauty. What fun. Have a lovely day!
And the Beacon Hill is even larger!
Stay safe, Verna.
Catching up! So I hope by now the allergies have eased and you are enjoying another fabulously beautiful day as we are here. Glad you had a comfort doll. That makes me smile!
Thanks, Jeanie.
Stay safe.