Claudia — Page 238

Outrunning the Rain

May 3, 2023 at 9:12 am by Claudia

I have yet to respond to your comments but thank you so much for your thoughts on Gordon Lightfoot. We played his music for much of the day yesterday. He will be deeply missed.

My goal yesterday: trying to outrun the rain in order to mow the front lawn. After so much rain it was still very wet in places. And we have more coming.

So, in the afternoon, when I thought enough time had passed to lessen the soggy patches, I got the lawnmower out and mowed. I did it at a faster pace than I usually do because I could see clouds darkening on the horizon. I ended up taking a short break when it started to rain, then I was back at it until I got to the lower third, where it was so wet I could no longer continue.

Needless to say, I’m tired today. But I am conscious that I am the only one who can mow this week and the grass is very, very long. So I had to make a start. Rain today. Rain tomorrow. And then, finally, a break. I’ll go back at it on Saturday after we’ve had a day to dry out.

Let’s not mention all the weeding and pruning that has to be done, all of which has been neglected due to the rain. It feels overwhelming.

Pip is wearing a new outfit that I got from a seller in Spain. Since she already had a yellow barrette in her hair, as well as yellow shoes on her feet, she was chosen as the model.

I still haven’t heard from Brenda, which I find very concerning. It’s not like her. Send some prayers her way, please.

Today I have to buy some more groceries. Don doesn’t have a follow-up appointment until Monday and he’s getting frustrated. Restless. I don’t blame him. Hopefully, in six more days, the bandages will be removed and he’ll have more mobility.

He talked to Adrian yesterday and he sounds like his old self. Our mantra here is “Think of Adrian” – we invoke it whenever we are tempted to complain too much about hand surgery or sinuses or allergies or sore joints.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Mourning a Treasure

May 2, 2023 at 8:45 am by Claudia

Impressionist paintings turned into jigsaw puzzles are always a bit more difficult. And I’ve been really slow with this one because of coaching, being sick, the whole thing. I got back to it this week, so we’ll see how it progresses.

My heart broke a little last night. While Don and I were watching an old movie, my sister texted me that Gordon Lightfoot passed away. Meredith remembers spending time in my bedroom listening to his albums when she was little.

I was a steadfast fan for over 50 years. I saw him in concert several times in the Detroit area and I saw him again about 14 years ago with Don. I had the honor of meeting him backstage at Masonic Auditorium in Detroit. (Those were the days you could just wander onstage or backstage and no one tried to stop you.) My dear friend Becky, who reads this blog, and I attended many a concert.

He was from Orillia, Ontario, the town where my mother was born. And her mother. So I always felt an extra-special kinship with him.

I remember the very first time I heard “If You Could Read My Mind” – I was spellbound. I had never heard anything like it. The beauty of the songwriting, that voice, that vibrato – it captured the love and longing of that song perfectly. I remember everything about that moment in time. From that point forward, I gobbled up everything he had done. I bought every album. I have photos of him that my friend Scott, who accompanied Becky and I, took backstage.

He was a troubadour. And beloved everywhere, but especially in his native Canada.

Oh, how I’ll miss him. Thank you, Gordon, for years and years and years of your beautiful songs and your voice, a gift from the angels. Rest in Peace.

That’s all for today.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Rain, Endless Rain

May 1, 2023 at 8:55 am by Claudia

Forgive me while I whine. We had torrential rain all weekend long. And we are to have rain today (the only day that was supposed to be dry) and every day through Friday. I can’t do any work outside. By the time this ends, the lawn will be impossible to mow. Insert scream here.

I did pot some impatiens yesterday, but I ran out of potting soil. I’ll get more today. It’s also damp and cold, so I have to hold off planting the coleus that I pot for the Secret Garden. As the little sign at my local nursery says, “Warning! Coleus does NOT like cold!”

Don is doing better. He’s still dealing with post-surgery pain. I washed his hair again yesterday, but I think today is the day he can actually shower. I bet that will feel good! We’ll rig up a plastic bag to cover his bandage – though plastic bags are hard to come by now that NY has outlawed them.

With the terrible gun violence in our country, including the recent slaughter of a family in Texas, and the complete misinterpretation of the Second Amendment, handily leaving out the words “a well-regulated militia,” with the weapon being a musket, I’ve been remembering a conversation that Don had when we were last in Paris. That would have been October 2019. We used to buy vegan hot dogs from a little shop just down the street from the Luxembourg Gardens. One day, while we were watching a game of pétanque, Don went to the shop to get some take-out hot dogs. He was chatting with the young owner about America and the young man said: “Oh, I would never go to the United States! It’s too violent!” That was four years ago. It’s only gotten worse since then. Between gun violence and the rise of fascism and ultra-right “Christians,” I wouldn’t visit here, either.

I try to stay positive these days, but I must have been willfully naive: I never thought our country would come to this. Anyway, that’s what I’m thinking this morning.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Outrunning the Rain

Mourning a Treasure

Rain, Endless Rain

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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