Claudia — Page 1367

A Nostalgic Find That’s Making Me Smile

July 24, 2013 at 8:25 am by Claudia

Detroit, the city of my birth, is the home of Vernors Ginger Ale. It originated there. If you aren’t familiar with this uniquely Midwestern soda, I understand. But those of us who grew up drinking Vernors are spoiled and refuse to drink any other ‘supposed’ ginger ale on the market. At one time, I lived just down the street from Vernors’ headquarters.

However, it is a regional delight and I haven’t been able to find it out here in the East. A couple of years ago, I was working in Wisconsin and I discovered that a local store stocked it. I was in heaven. I even wrote a post about it.

If I was visiting my home state right now, you may be sure that I would be stockpiling some Vernors to bring back to the cottage. It’s that good. Years ago, I found some in San Diego, of all places, and when my parents were visiting, my dad made Boston Coolers for us from Vernors and vanilla ice cream. A friend of mine who moved to Ithaca, New York, bought several cases and stored them in his bathtub. We love our Vernors.

I get it. If I had an extra bathtub, I might do the very same thing.

So….the other day I was browsing in a local antique mall. And what did I see? (For pennies, my friends, for pennies.)

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This. An oh-my-goodness, incredibly wonderful, calling-my-name vintage Vernors soda crate.

I’ve never encountered one out in this neck of the woods. I had to get it.

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Mustardy yellow and red. A nicely battered patina.

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Everything else that was on the table? Moved to a new home. Except for Riley’s Dish Garden. That stays.

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The other side advertises Squirt.

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It’s on the inside of the crate as well. So is the Vernors logo.

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My bakelite flatware seems to be made for the crate.

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I love it. It’s perfect for our kitchen. After trying all sorts of things on this table, I think I’ve finally found the right mix. Rustic, nostalgic, bright but faded paint and a memory of my childhood – could anything be better?

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I’m thinking I need to put some flowers in that vintage Ball jar.

I can see it from my blogging chair in the den and it makes me smile. We love graphics here at the cottage. This may be my best find yet.

I was born in Detroit, Michigan. I lived in the metropolitan Detroit area for 30 years. My parents grew up and attended school in Detroit. This post is a tribute to something that is uniquely Detroit. I must say that my heart is aching for Detroit as this once-proud and thriving city goes through a terrible ordeal. I lived on the edge of downtown Detroit for several years in an area called Lafayette Park and my friend who still lives there assures me that businesses are moving back to the city, young people are renting and buying apartments downtown, theater, the symphony and the opera are thriving, lots of urban farming is happening and that Detroit is far from dead.

I’m banking on it.

Happy Wednesday.

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Somewhat Random

July 23, 2013 at 8:49 am by Claudia

T minus 6 and counting.

I’m off to Hartford in less than a week. I can’t linger on that thought for too long or I get sad. The garden is looking pretty gosh-darned abundant, my husband is about to return home and my little girl will once again be confused and sad. So what’s wrong with this picture?

Two months away from the cottage this time.

I’ve got a lot to do between now and Monday. Finish work on the scripts, get my hair cut, find a new pair of shorts that isn’t torn, mow, figure out what to pack (don’t have a project in mind yet,) write up an extensive list of the chores that Don has to take over, and there are many; most of them to do with watering potted plants, filling birdbaths and watering the seedlings. Oh, and a reminder (again) on how to empty the canister on the vacuum which he simply ignored last time I was away. Plus I have to drive up to the Berkshires on Saturday to watch a run-through of Much Ado About Nothing, followed by attending the closing performance of Pygmalion and packing Don up to bring him back home.

The latest visitors to check in at the birdbath:

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A catbird and a male house finch. Finches sit on the edge of the birdbath and sip the water. Catbirds plunge in and dunk themselves with great exuberance.

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Sort of blurry, sorry, but I wanted to show you the elusive yellow-colored finch. I have tried to photograph this little guy so many times I’ve stopped counting. He always flies away before I can haul out my camera. According to my research, he’s another adult male house finch, yellow variant. Some males are yellow rather than red. Unless it’s a pine warbler. Or a goldfinch. Or a yellow-throated vireo.

I clearly have no idea.

This guy is often at the birdbath solo. Seeing him with another bird is a rarity.

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The liatris is just starting to bloom.

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More daylily beauty.

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A bench on the porch. The porch on which it’s been too hot to sit for more than a minute or two. Still humid here. Scout does not do well in humidity so I’ve had to turn on the A/C. But I leave it off for a while in the morning – just because I’m so sick of it. And because I’m dreading the next electric bill.

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Miss Scout. She’s barking because she does not like it when I disappear, camera in hand, while she’s outside. She’d like me to let her back in the house, thank you very much, and where am I? Taking more pictures of my gardens.

The nerve.

One of you commented on that tarp that lies on the ground, just to the right in the photo, saying it looks like a dead body. It does. But in reality, it’s a pile of hay we use to cover the ground in the dog corral in the muddy, rainy days of spring. The tarp keeps the hay under control so that it doesn’t fly all over the property.

Today: Shorts shopping. T-shirt shopping. Perhaps a summer dress shopping.

I do not like shopping for clothes. No sir. The combination of a body that no longer looks as thin and svelte as it used to, fluorescent lights, and very little patience for the whole thing makes for a potentially frustrating experience. I used to love shopping for clothes. But my life out here in the country calls for T-shirts and jeans. And comfortable shoes. What have I become?

Ah well.

Happy Tuesday.

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Butterflies, Coneflowers and a Bit of Swooning

July 22, 2013 at 8:18 am by Claudia

Saturday was sort of magical. Almost at every turn, I saw a butterfly. It was a day of swallowtails. From the den window:

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Flitting, floating, flying through the air while I was working in the garden.

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At first I thought it was the same swallowtail I’d seen from the den window, but this one’s wing is torn. It seemed to have no effect on this beauty’s ability to fly.

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Thank goodness. Because she was clearly hanging out with me. I thanked her for the visit.

My coneflowers have self-seeded. There’s a patch of them right by the maple, a hop, skip and a jump from a group that I did plant.

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There are more and more in this little patch every year. And then there is this lone coneflower that sprung up in the dog corral a few years back.

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Every year, I almost yank it because I think it must be one of the many weeds that grow alongside the chicken wire fence. In the space of time between summer and spring, I forget that it grows there. And every year, when I see this tenacious flower, I’m so grateful I didn’t.

This group, planted on the other side of the house, is giant in size and amazing in color.

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I did not do one bit of retouching or enhancing. This is their true color.

If I was starting a garden and I was unsure as to the quality of my soil and I was strapped for money (wait, I am strapped for money!) I would plant coneflowers. They are extremely tolerant of all kinds of soil. They self-seed. They last a long time. They look beautifully cottage garden-y. And if you leave them intact at the end of the season, the birds will thank you as they snack on them throughout the winter.

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Bees like them, too. What’s not to love?

On to another topic.

Because both Don and I have worked in the theater for years, plus lots and lots of television and film for Don, we’ve worked with a lot of well-known and in some cases, quite famous, people. It just goes with the territory. If I made a list of them all, I think you’d be quite impressed. But I won’t, because it’s no big deal. We’re used to it.

Do you remember the television series, Medium? We were big fans and never missed an episode. Both Patricia Arquette and Jake Weber, who played the two leads, had a natural, easy quality on the screen that was a testament to their formidable acting chops.

I had a little crush on Jake Weber. Husky voice, easy smile, good actor. Don’t worry, Don knew all about it.

Guess who was performing in a play at Williamstown? Yep. Jake Weber. Don got to know him and they had some good conversations. Jake’s play closed yesterday afternoon (he was excellent in it, according to none other than my husband) and when my phone made that little ‘ding!’ that means I have a message, look what I saw:

don&jake

Oh boy. My crush and my husband. Together.

Don later informed me that he told Jake he had to take the picture because ‘my wife has a crush on you.’

So, even though I’m not easily impressed or awed by ‘famous’ actors, I must admit to a little swooning here. Never mind that Jake is about 15 years younger than me. Or that my adored husband is in the same frame.

They’re both smiling. At me!

I’m swooning.

Happy Monday.

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A Nostalgic Find That’s Making Me Smile

Somewhat Random

Butterflies, Coneflowers and a Bit of Swooning

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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