Claudia — Page 572

Day Seventy-Nine

May 31, 2020 at 9:38 am by Claudia

Heavens, it’s so beautiful out there today that I threw a jacket on and started taking pictures at about 7:15. The play of light and shadow was simply gorgeous.

It’s much cooler today. The birds are singing, it’s relatively quiet (we live on a busy road) and Don has already taken his morning walk. We’re now on our second cup of coffee.

We mowed yesterday – it was especially tiring as the grass was very long due to the rain we’ve had. But it sure looks pretty now! Next up (probably tomorrow) the corral and the back forty. I think we’ll take a break today.

We have declared today to be a break from all news. We will relax, do whatever brings us joy, and that’s it. That’s more than enough.

I am always grateful for my home, though we pay a hefty mortgage. To us, it’s worth it. I am blessed with a shelter that I love, with gardens and paths through our woods (all of which we have created) and all sorts of wildlife. It’s never more beautiful here than it is in May and June. One of the gifts of the lockdown is a renewed appreciation for simple things. For this fleabane that is blossoming all over the property. For the play of light and shadow in the living room and kitchen. For the yarrow that has self seeded up in the corral. For the view of the mountains. For quiet time together sitting on the glider. For books to read. For Peet’s Coffee. For the wee little buds on the hydrangea, just beginning to emerge. For the chance to rescue a wasp that had flown inside the house this morning. For flowers and trees and wildflowers. For bird song. For the things we love and collect which surround us every day. For my husband, the greatest gift I have ever received. For my family. For my sister and nieces and nephews. For the lovely conversation that I had with my brother’s eldest child the other day. (Her daughter is graduating from Boston University – a place I know and love.) For the play of light on the antique dollhouse which I can see from my chair in the den.

For all of you.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Day Seventy-Eight

May 30, 2020 at 9:40 am by Claudia

We had a very warm and humid day yesterday with severe thunderstorm warnings. We did get a big old thunderstorm later in the day with sheets of rain blowing every which way. I took this shot after it was over.

You’ll note that the catalpa is finally leafing out. It’s always the last to display its magnificence – maybe it likes having the stage all to itself?

I worked on the puzzle yesterday and got a lot done. I had been reading Twitter and getting more and more angry at the events I referenced yesterday, so I finally pulled myself away and walked directly to the puzzle.

I calmed down immediately.

Know when to pull away. We have been held hostage by a madman for four years. It’s impossible not to let him get under your skin, impossible not to worry about COVID-19, but it is entirely possible to make a deliberate choice to read a book, to listen to music, to do a jigsaw puzzle, to garden, to take a walk, to sing a song, to watch old episodes of Cheers that make you laugh out loud, to cook, to create, to call a friend.

The view as I made our second cup of coffee this morning.

I just finished A Room of One’s Own and am now reading Maigret and the Old People, by Georges Simenon. Simenon’s Maigret mysteries are so well written. They’re also relatively short, about 150 pages or so. He wrote scads of them and Penguin has been reissuing them with new translations. They were originally written in French.

We’re going to mow the front yard today. You know I love to mow and I actually woke up and got excited knowing this is a mowing day. We’ll tag team. But even if I had to do it all by myself, and that has been the case many times, I’d still be excited.

It’s a gloriously beautiful day out there; blue skies and fluffy white clouds, birds singing, wind chimes moving slightly in the breeze. Good news by the way – my zinnias have sprouted and so have some of the morning glories and moonflowers.

I’m having an “I am blessed” day. Hope you are, too.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Day Seventy-Seven

May 29, 2020 at 9:57 am by Claudia

This post is a bit of a mishmash of my thoughts lately.

I just started work on the puzzle yesterday afternoon. I had to move to another chair as the a/c was blowing directly on me.

This is the puzzle I am currently working on:

It’s stunning.

In addition to our crazy day the other day, I’ve been immersed in and enraged by the horrific murder of George Floyd by a police officer. And the woman in Central Park who called 911 on a black man who is a birder because he politely asked her to leash her dog. And Ahmaud Arbery who was stalked and murdered by two white men while he was jogging. And the murder of Brionna Taylor, innocent victim of a no-knock warrant, shot by the police, who, it turns out were searching for someone who was already in custody.

Now there are protests throughout the country. I don’t condone violence, but I see the truth in this quote of Martin Luther King, Jr: “A riot is the language of the unheard.” He went on to ask, “What is it America has failed to hear?”

I think we know the answer to that.

Armed white men are allowed to storm the capital of Michigan with no police response. Those protesting against the murder of George Floyd are hit with tear gas. What’s wrong with this picture?

If anything, America has regressed. Either that, or it’s always been this way and we were fooled into thinking otherwise.

And, finally, I want to share this message from my longtime online friend Jill (we met through our love of miniatures) about her work in a facility in California during COVID-19. She works in rehab with elderly patients. She was responding to my post in Stories about wearing a mask.

I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but I thought Jill’s perspective, what she has seen, was worth noting. Most of the staff at this excellently rated facility tested positive because of one employee who attended a party right at the beginning of all of this before we knew as much as we do now and before masks had been mandated. By the time her symptoms appeared, she had already infected others. Jill did not test positive. But she’s been off work since April 6th, when the Rehab department closed, and will be returning next week.

Keep wearing your masks. Don and I have discussed this as recently as this morning. We are not relaxing our vigilance in this matter. Stay strong. Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Day Seventy-Nine

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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