Yes, I know. Another shot of the apartment. That’s all I’ve got for you, my friends. It is gray, cold, rainy, cold, gray – and getting outdoor shots of Hartford is decidedly unappealing. After rehearsal, I quickly walk back to the apartment building and disappear inside. I emerge again in the morning to go to – you guessed it – rehearsal. And the cycle continues.
We had our first complete run-through yesterday. The choreographer has arrived, as well, so the actors are having a great time dancing up a storm – especially in the ‘Bollywood’ number, which I can’t wait to see. The last day of rehearsals in the rehearsal room is Friday. Then it’s on to the theater. Boy, this rehearsal process has been fast!
Between the stage manager’s puppy and my friend Noble’s dog, Petey, I’ve been getting some quality time with adorable animals. Last night I got to meet Huckleberry, the stage manager’s dog. Both Huckleberry and Petey are adorable and understandably doted upon. Tina (Noble’s wife) took Petey back home on Monday. He will be missed! (Tina and Noble are neighbors of ours back home and Tina is a frequent commenter on this blog.) This apartment building always has a lot of dogs and seeing Huckleberry and Petey brings back memories of my time here with Scout. Good memories, but bittersweet, as well.
More flowers from Trader Joe’s. The flowers in the vase on the coffee table have been going strong for two and a half weeks, but a petal or two has been dropping to the floor, so I had to have backups on hand.
I’m in the midst of Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George – 200 pages into a 600 page mystery. It’s excellent – George is brilliant with plot and her character studies are incredibly detailed and rich.
Since what I’m up to is more of the same, tell me what you’re up to now that the new year is here.
Happy Wednesday.
Good Morning! I think I’ve finally turned the corner on this cold. I’m still taking it easy but feeling much better. I took down my Christmas decor yesterday and it felt good to get that done. I’m now starting the slow task of a major downsizing de-cluttering effort that will take months I’m sure. The sun is peeking through the dark clouds so there is hope in the sky today.
Hugs to you, and I’m so glad you got some dog love time this week.
So glad you feel like the cold is fading, Linda. But take it slowly, okay? xo
I hope the weather turns soon so you can spend a bit of time outside, giving us a tour!
My dh went back to work yesterday after being home since the 22nd (all of us were done that same day). Lovely break and we had a great time. We used some of the time to paint walls, hang curtains and finally, art work. Today, I’m heading in to town to do some shopping with my girls ~ Costco, Ikea and the hardware store. Our fridge is bare, we need a warm and cozy carpet for our great room and more hardware to hang art. Looking forward to our day out. We don’t go back to work until mid January, so using our down time well.
Have a great rehearsal today.
Chy
Sounds like you had a lovely break, Chy. Have fun with your girls today!
sounds like Hartford’s gray winter weather is giving you a bit of cabin fever. The “cabin”, however, is looking good. Very Claudia-ous! I was in Hartford once and all that I remember from walking around was a building—a bar, I think—with a very imposing front/overhang of huge, classically carved figures. Wish I could remember where it was. It was quite low to the street and, though beautiful, a little creepy…like being up close and personal with the statue of liberty…face to gigantic face!
A Bollywood version of Shakespeare? How fun! I’m choosing to ignore my ToDo list right now. Just don’t feel like accomplishing anything, I guess.
It’s perfectly okay to ignore your to-do list, Shanna. Enjoy! And yes – a big Bollywood number. I cannot wait to see it!
Glad you got to enjoy those pups Claudia. The new year always inspires me to purge and declutter. I am also looking at all of our furnishings with a critical eye, imaging new ways to make them really work for us. One of my favorite things to do in our home is change things around for a new look and I’ve been doing a bit of that. We got a lovely surprise yesterday when a young woman I once babysat (she was a newborn back then) brought her baby to visit us. What a treat!
It’s always fun to change things up a bit, Janie. I have a very strong urge to continue my purging at home, but that will have to wait a few weeks!
I have just finished sewing a quilt block for a quilt along that I am following. I am keeping up so far. I usually fall behind after a couple of weeks. So this is a great accomplishment for me. I am also reading three books. “Early One Morning” by Virginia Baily (just started it yesterday). “The Woman in the Photo” by Mary Hogan ( I am not sure about it yet. I like the fact that there are pictures in it showing before the Johnstown flood. I am also reading “A Late Phoenix” by Catherine Aird. This is my fourth book that I am reading that is written by her. It is a British mystery. Makes me think of Midsomer Murders that is based on Caroline Graham’s novels except for the fact that the books written by Catherine Aird were written in the late 1960s. Also trying to get some serious decluttering here done. I am working on my sewing room which is in a serious state of disarray. Yesterday my daughter and I were watching our cat Maggie chattering at the squirrel that was eating the birdseed that I threw out there. The squirrel did not have any concern about Maggie coming after it. The squirrel came right up to our glass door and it was so funny to watch Maggie watching her “crittervision”. I hope the image of Maggie and her squirrel brings a smile on such a glooming day. It is glooming here too. We may have snow this weekend. Did you make the quilts?
Trina
I remember Catherine Aird! In fact, I think I read some of her mysteries, Trina. Thank you for that image of Maggie and the squirrel – it absolutely brought a smile to my face!
Yes, I made all the quilts.
Well…it’s super cold here again…but the sun is shining. I took the holidays off from my purging/organizing…now I guess it’s back to work. We will be taking the tree down….and any ornaments we did not use will be sent on to another life. That’s my starting point. And, I’m desperately trying to find a brass Chinese symbol I had hanging by our front door. It was my MIL’s and I took it down to hang a wreath. Now…I can’t find it….and it’s driving me nuts! I can’t imagine where I possibly could have put it? It’s safe alright…that’s for sure! I did read another book by ELizabeth George once…and I believe I really enjoyed it….have to check her out again! Enjoy your day! ;)
You’ll find it. Remember my earring? It took two days, but I finally found it. Have a great day, Donnamae.
Petey’s mom Tina here. Took Petey to his regular vet Monday for further testing and just got results back now and his thyroid levels are very low, which has been causing his neurological problems. Going to vet to pick up medicine that should make him better. He loves you, Claudia, and will save up his puppy kisses for you when next we meet. Which should be for opening of Comedy of Errors. Booked a train ticket to NYC for Women’s March early the next morning and returning that same night to Hartford. You are my dog guru as this is my first! I bought area rugs for Petey because I remember you doing that for Scout so she wouldn’t skid across floors. Noble is jealous he won’t be included in Bollywood number but knows it’s because it’s wrong for his character.
Such wonderful news! I hope you don’t mind, but I mentioned the good news to Noble, thinking he already knew. He didn’t, because he hadn’t had a chance to talk to you, and I have to say I was so happy to be the bearer of good tidings. What a relief! Entirely treatable and Petey will be in tip-top shape very soon. The area rugs will help. Slippery floors are not a dog’s favorite thing!
Much love to you and to Petey.
Not doing too much of anything right now that’s interesting. Putting away holiday decorations, straightening up in general. Looking through cookbooks & my recipe box for a few things to make & stock away in the freezer. January is a great month for having pots of yumminess bubbling away on the stovetop. And baking away in the oven too. Maybe this will be the year I start making yeast breads again. A minor obsession of mine when home on college vacations years ago. And something that always put a smile on my Dad’s face when he’d walk in the back door at 5 pm and smell bread in the air! ☀️
I went through a bread making stage when I moved back home for a while after college. It was a lot of fun and there isn’t a better smell than that of bread baking in the oven.
The skies are crystal clear here, for once, which is why it’s so cold (for us). I’ve got the GK’s cold though so am taking it easy. Love your flower arrangement! We received a bouquet of those Peruvian lilies, but the leaves seemed to have gotten frost bitten; the flowers are hanging in though. Great to see another of your quilts! Oh, and have an awesome rehearsal!
It was a good rehearsal, Judy. I’m home now. It’s gray and depressing out there! I hope it’s sunny tomorrow.
Quite cold here again,,, but the sun is shining!! The days of January and February always seem to sludge by with the “same old” most every day, don’t they? Still working on packing up Christmas. The tree is down, it is the rest of it that I tend to do a few things and then sit down and read for a bit…. and you know what happens then!!
I just finished Fannie Flagg’s newest ~ The Whole Town’s Talking. Elmwood Springs is my 2nd favorite place to escape to… right behind Jan Karon’s Mitford. It was a fun read. Now I just started War Brides. I had 3 books come in on my Hold List at the library today. That always makes me a bit crazy when they come in that many at a time. (Especially if they are 2 week books!!)
Have a good day at rehearsal. Adding the music is always such a fun part!!!! Enjoy!
Oh, I know what you mean. When there is only a 2-week window in which to read more than one book…that is pressure!
I miss the theatre. My daughter did community theatre in high school and college and some since. Of course, that’s on a small scale, but it was fun! Since I’ve moved to Nashville, I haven’t been to one show at TPAC. It’s so very expensive. I’m hoping for a birthday gift in the Fall. That’s what I’m asking for.
Don and I can’t afford to go to most professional theater! I only see things when I get comps or I’m working on the show or Don is in the show!
I’ve been rolling through my sewing projects, as I go on an archeological dig through the layers of my dining room table, which morphed into a cutting/projects table. I’m going to email you a photo of the pillows I finished for daughter. Continuing to sew today, and not going out until my dental appointment tomorrow. It’s cold and wet out. Lots of rain.
I loved the pillows, Wendy!
I’m having a wonderful day, as long as I don’t turn to news feeds. I’ve finished the rough draft of my first adult novel. The previously published ones were YA’s. I’m beginning the process of integrating the flashback scenes in another voice in a manner that (I hope) adds tension. I have always preferred the revision process over the initial writing. After a morning of work on the novel and plunking around on the keyboard, attempting to learn “Musette’s Waltz,” I attended an exercise class, a glorious and literal step forward for me. I’ve had brain surgery because of a debilitating and terrifyingly painful condition caused by a nerve at the base of the brain that was being compressed by tangled-up blood vessels. I also have an auto-immune illness with increasing weakness that caused me to need a cane for the last several years. A walker was being discussed. Two months after the brain surgery, I discovered that the neurological condition and not the auto-immune condition was causing the inability to walk without falling. I no longer needed the cane. Today, I attended a Latin Zydeco dance exercise class! This time last year, I was grieving. Having been a vigorous woman, I was coming to terms with the fact that after recovering from each setback, I never quite returned to the previous level. Plus, I was dealing with pain levels that sent my blood pressure to stroke levels. (Narcotics don’t work with that type of pain, and I wouldn’t have wanted to take them anyway.) I was going to have to make a decision between brain surgery with the possibility that the surgery would result in a worsening of my condition versus taking ever-increasing amounts of anti-seizure medications, and my rheumatoid arthritis was progressing. Now this! I traded some of my hearing for so many benefits! This surgery is not considered a cure although some lucky people do get decades of relief. Sometimes it fails as soon as a few weeks or a few months after surgery, so I’m determined to pack this (still-introvert-appropriate) life with all I can, while I can.
Oh, this makes me so happy, Linda. What an uplifting story. Bless you. Prayers are with you as you move forward, literally and figuratively. xoxo
What fun you must have had with the pups there Claudia…The red and yellow lilies really make a bright spot don’t they…I am work on purging and organizing like some of the other ladies…How do we ever accumulate all of this stuff ladies?..Every time I take a box or two to the thrift shop to donate…my son says to me..”Now Mom, you know that this only works if you take this stuff there and then don’t bring any more stuff home with you, right”…lol..such a comedian he is…I think I need to get rid of some furniture too…it seems too crowded here…Stay warm Claudia…the frigid temps are headed our way again!
I need to do some more purging back home, but obviously, it will have to wait!