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You are here: Home / Archives for Claudia

Oh, Christmas Tree

December 13, 2024 at 8:23 am by Claudia

Endlessly windy around here. Non-stop. We were out running errands yesterday and it felt like we’d topple at any moment! It’s also much colder, but that was expected.

It’s Friday the 13th – Don’s lucky day.

We decorated the tree on Wednesday and darned if I didn’t break 3 vintage ornaments. I’ve never done that before. I admit to getting a little teary about the losses.

Here she is:

There will be more views in the next couple of weeks.

A low-key day ahead, though I have to mail an Etsy package. Our local post offices are overwhelmed at the moment. Earlier this week, our mail didn’t arrive until 10 pm. Insane. They are short-staffed, apparently. We really felt for the drivers. As we’re in the country, there are no street lights, and driving around on an unfamiliar route, looking for the right mailbox must have been exhausting. And one of those days involved torrential rains, as well! I’m waiting for a package that was sent from Spain – OB22 and 24 bodies for Blythes – and it arrived last week, went through customs, then went to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and now it’s back in Queens. What the heck? I live 75 miles northwest of Queens – in the same state. It should have been here days ago.

Queen Zoe. (mini me)

Queen Miranda.

Two more to go.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Christmas 26 Comments

Tree Lights and Rain

December 11, 2024 at 8:40 am by Claudia

It’s been quite rainy since Monday. It was so dark this morning that it was almost impossible to get a good Queen for a Day photo. I had to wait longer than usual. You’ll get no complaints from me about the rain – as you know, we desperately need it.

The lights are on the tree. One string wasn’t working, but we still had enough on hand, thank goodness. After we finished, the tree looked like it was leaning to the right, so I kept turning it, with Don giving me updates, until it looked fairly straight. We were busy yesterday, so we didn’t add the decorations, but we will today. It will be a nice rainy day activity. Besides, we rather like seeing just the lights for a while and, true to form, I briefly considered only lights this year. But I think, in the end, we’d regret it, as we have such a nice collection of vintage ornaments.

I have to take my car in tomorrow or Friday as I’m hearing a metallic sound when I brake. It’s probably a brake pad that needs replacing – or a rotor. Crap. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another.

FYI: I don’t know if I mentioned it on the blog – I don’t think I did – but the day after the election, I got two messages. Very clear messages. The first was an image of Dump and “Leon”  in handcuffs. I saw it at least twice that day. I also received a simple message: “They’ll be found out.” And I became very calm and have remained so since November 6th. I still believe Kamala will be inaugurated.

We’ll see.

Queen Imogen.

Queen Madeleine. Taken this morning; getting a good photo took forever, as it’s so dark and rainy out there. Her hair is a bit flyaway, but that’s the norm. She’s French; she has her own style.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Christmas 12 Comments

Christmas/Winter Prep

December 9, 2024 at 8:00 am by Claudia

Another photo from the other night. Gorgeous.

We got our tree yesterday. It’s really lovely. No decorations or lights yet, as we’re giving it time to settle. Photos will be coming, of course. They’re ridiculously expensive but Don still wants a real tree, so we consider the tree our Christmas gift to each other.

We also removed both window a/c units, which is heavy work. We packed them up and put them in the shed. (Our backs were complaining by the afternoon.) At the same time, we stacked the bins of Christmas ornaments on the floor and we’ll bring them inside later today.

It was a busy day and I’m glad we finally dealt with the air conditioners – something we seem to be doing a bit later every year. I’ll bring the furniture cushions in from the porch today and we’ll carefully move the egg cup cubby so we can stow them under the stairs. Since we don’t want to move the cubby more than twice a year, this will also be the time when Don switches out a guitar (yes, in addition to all the guitars upstairs in the office, Don has a couple stored under the stairs.)

We’ll put lights on the tree this afternoon. Hurrah!

Queen for the Day: Katie.

And four more:

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls 20 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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