Claudia — Page 1099

Morning Glories I Have Known (If Only For A Day)

October 1, 2015 at 9:59 am by Claudia

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It’s cold and blustery today and I find myself saying to Mother Nature: “No early frost, please!” I’m not ready to say goodbye to these beauties or to the zinnias that keep blooming.

I’m not ready to haul all the porch plants inside for the night in case there might be a frost.

Nope. It’s only October 1st. There’s a hurricane headed up the coast and we’re due for a lot of rain. But no frost, okay?

Good. I’m glad we’ve got that sorted out.

I’ve just finished reading A Song of Shadows by John Connolly. I’m reviewing it on Just Let Me Finish This Page today. Here is the link. Connolly is an incredible writer. Over the past year, after having read The Wolf in Winter, I’ve gone back and read all of his books in order. Now, I’ve become yet another Connolly fan who has to wait a year for the next book to come out. Sob. He’s going to be signing this book at The Mysterious Bookshop next week and I’d love to meet him, but I don’t think that little trip is in the cards for me.

Now, I’m reading Mrs. Pargeter’s Principle by Simon Brett. I’ve read all of the books in his Charles Paris series, but this is my first crack at the Mrs. Pargeter series. As always with Brett, the mystery is very well written and I find myself chuckling throughout the book. He’s very, very witty.

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(Photo courtesy of Atomic Disc)

This is currently speeding its way to us via Federal Express. Don is so excited! I have to tell you that I’ve listened to all of the mastered tracks and it’s truly excellent, by far the best recording Don has made. He and Dan sound great together. Rick Gedney, the producer, recorded and mixed it in his studio (all of the tracks were recorded in one day.) Atomic Disc mastered the tracks and put it all together in this package.

It will be available as an MP3 for download or as you see it above, a CD that you can hold in your hands and play on your CD player. I’ll have more information available next week.

We’re very excited. This means a great deal to Don and Dan. And to me. They’re having a CD Release Party at our local venue on October 17th, where Don and Dan will perform, along with several other musician friends.

All of the songs were written by Don.

I’m so proud of that husband of mine.

Happy Thursday.

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Blessed

September 30, 2015 at 9:16 am by Claudia

Thank you, my friends. Thank you for reading, for wise counsel, for sharing your own stories with all of us. I debated writing about my worries yesterday. Actually, I wasn’t going to do it, but as sometimes happens, I started writing about the horses and my grandfather and somehow that tied in to other people in my life and, eventually, brought me around to our situation. When that happens, it’s as if the post is writing itself. I just step back and let it happen.

I’ve repeatedly witnessed what happens with that sort of post. It resonates in a way I hadn’t expected. And that’s exactly what happened yesterday. The discussion we had in the comments section was simply wonderful; honest and brave. Knowing we are not alone is a huge comfort. It also puts things into perspective and keeps us from playing the victim card. Everyone is dealing with change and struggle and, sometimes, fear. I’ve said it before on this blog: I refuse to be a victim. But that doesn’t make my struggles any less real. Or yours. We take responsibility, we acknowledge the ways of our current world, and we do our best.

So, thank you again. I’m blessed by your presence in my life.

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I looked up the other day and saw this.

After my heart had melted, I grabbed the camera. Wouldn’t you?

He’s petting his girl. I’ve seen this a few times since – always in the late afternoon – and it always fills my heart to overflowing.

Scout is very thin these days. It wasn’t that long ago that the vet told us she was overweight. Now, I can pick her up easily – she’s like a feather. She struggles when moving about the house. Her hips and back legs are weak. But she’s still our girl. She eats heartily. She is demanding (thank goodness!) She’s hanging in there.

But day by day, we tick off things she doesn’t do anymore. She doesn’t jump up on the loveseat anymore. That’s happened within the past few weeks. She doesn’t pounce. Though she still ‘gallops’ she doesn’t do it as much as she used to.

And we miss all of it.

She’ll be seventeen in early January. She remains the light of our lives. We’ve been extraordinarily blessed by her magical, wondrous being.

Okay. Let’s look at a pretty flower.

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It rained heavily overnight and it looks like we’re going to have rain nearly every day for the next week. How I wish I could send some to my friends who live in drought-stricken states! We’re going to be getting too much rain. You would give anything for some moisture.

Hopefully, the advent of El Nino will help to ease some of the drought conditions. I so hope that is the case for all of you.

Happy Wednesday.

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Tuesday Thoughts

September 29, 2015 at 9:31 am by Claudia

On our trail walk yesterday, almost hidden under a canopy of trees on the side of the path:

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These beautiful creatures.

The iPhone didn’t particularly like me shooting into a darkish area, so this is the best I could do. There was the smell of horses and hay and manure, instantly taking me back to my childhood – to the days when my grandparents lived on four acres and had horses. Pa (with a short a, as in pat – that’s what we called my grandfather) usually had two horses living in the barn and occasionally boarded other horses. I was pretty young in those days. I rode the horses, but always with an adult at my side.

My sisters never knew that property, for by the time they came along, my grandparents had moved to a more populated town. The upkeep of the property in the country had become too much for Pa. He sold the property and the horses.

Now that I write about it, I realize how hard that must have been for Pa, a Canadian guy with the nickname ‘Slim’ who drove racing sulkies when he was a young man, and was truly a cowboy at heart. He wore Stetsons. He loved bolo ties. He subscribed to American Horseman magazine. He loved everything about his horses and all horses. He went to horse sales every Friday night. He had a collection of horse bits from all over the world.

How heartbreaking it must have been to reach an age where his leg was acting up, emphysema was starting to take its toll, where the upkeep of four acres was too much, where he had to sell the property and the horses.

What was there for a guy like that to do, after all those chores were no longer necessary?

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Life can be very tough, especially when getting older means having to leave behind a long-held passion. Or, in my parents’ case, leaving their beloved northern Michigan behind to move to Florida in order to have one of the children nearby. Or facing the reality that you can no longer handle driving a car with any degree of confidence anymore.

As we are in our early sixties now, I feel more and more compassion and empathy for those decisions that had to be made in the face of a shifting reality. We are feeling the stress of the shifting financial realities that seem to be a constant in the life of two freelancers. Unless I win the lottery, or some stranger leaves me a large sum of money, we’ll eventually have to sell our beloved Mockingbird Hill Cottage. The mortgage is too high, the upkeep will get increasingly tougher for us to handle, we’ll never have any cushion if we’re forced to keep up those mortgage payments – and what way is that to live as we get older?

I’ve been thinking about that a lot for the past few days.

Then I turn it over to God/a Higher Being/Divine Intelligence, because I have no idea at times how we’ll get through any given month, but somehow we do. And I have to trust that the answers will be provided; a gentle nudge here, an opportunity there, a door opening (hopefully) that was previously closed.

But, boy oh boy, can I be swallowed up in fear just like that. In a flash. In a millisecond.

Deep breath. Affirm truth. Trust. Move forward.

My watchwords for the day.

I hope your day is peaceful and happy. That’s what I’m aiming for.

New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page.

Happy Tuesday.

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Morning Glories I Have Known (If Only For A Day)

Blessed

Tuesday Thoughts

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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