Claudia — Page 592

Signs of Spring

March 10, 2020 at 9:57 am by Claudia

Yesterday was gorgeous: warm, sunny, breezy. Interestingly, both Don and I remarked at the end of the day that it was too warm…too sunny. I think that means we weren’t quite ready for such a big change. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the day.

I walked around the property. Another old and dead tree had fallen up in the back forty. The shingles on the back side of the shed roof are being destroyed by high winds. Time for a tarp, because we won’t do anything to repair them until we have to replace the roof on the house – then we’ll do it at the same time.

Day lilies emerging.

Daffodils on the edge of the woods. They were completely hidden by leaves. I had to uncover them for this picture.

Buds on the lilac! No question; this is an early Spring.

There’s a heck of a lot of cleanup that needs to be done, but I’m not uncovering the garden beds yet. I’ll give it a couple of weeks.

I will say that by the end of the day yesterday, Spring Fever had taken over. I’m almost happy that it’s going to rain today as it’s too early to do anything out there and I need to tamp down on that fever. Heck, we still have the snow blower and shovels on the porch because we don’t want to jinx things.

Today? Cleaning the tub. As we have hard water, cleaning anything involving water is a pain in the tush. But I’m in the mood, which is rare, so I’m going for it.

Happy Tuesday.

Books & Chocolate

March 9, 2020 at 10:04 am by Claudia

We had a lovely day yesterday. The high reached 60 degrees and it was sunny so we climbed into the car and drove to a neighboring town. We visited two bookshops that are across the street from each other, bought some sugar-free chocolates (Thank goodness for these! I love chocolate but hadn’t been having any because of the sugar. Don found these at Christmas and I have to tell you, you would never know they are sugar-free!) and stopped off at an art supply store for some markers.

This was my book haul from the used book store. Usually I can’t find anything, but this time? Three books.

A lovely Penguin edition of The Return of Sherlock Holmes.

A book I see on on the IG accounts of many British book lovers – Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. The Ransome books are a childhood staple of many Brits and I’ve wanted a copy for a long time. Much to my surprise, there it was in the children’s book section. Beautiful artwork on the dust cover, as well.

And an even bigger surprise among the gardening books, Derek Jarman’s Garden. Jarman was a British filmmaker who died too young from an AIDS-related illness in 1994. He had a home in Dungeness, Kent, in the shadow of a nuclear power station. His garden became famous for Jarman’s ability to grow and nurture plants in an inhospitable landscape. I really look forward to reading this.

All in all, a great used book day!

Today promises even warmer weather, with sun and a high of 69. Tomorrow, rain. But we need it, as there is a fire danger around here at the moment. Today, I’m going to venture out and see just what’s happening in the garden. I noticed buds on the shag hickory yesterday. I know I have some day lilies emerging. I’m looking forward to seeing just what else is coming up.

Happy Monday.

A Sunny and Warm Sunday

March 8, 2020 at 10:32 am by Claudia

So sorry about the lack of a post yesterday!

I woke up in a very dark mood. That happens rarely. I couldn’t shake it and it followed me throughout the day, though it was less intense as the day went by. I was still going to post, but Rick and Doug stopped by unexpectedly and by the time they left, it was too late.

My mood is much improved today.

After Rick and Doug left, we went out to a late breakfast at a local eatery and the woman next to us decided to talk to us about the coronavirus. Didn’t ask her to. But she did. She has apparently worked in some way on previous outbreaks, though she’s not a scientist. Anyway, she went on and on and on and on, until she finally left. Don and I looked at each other. Too much information. And it all happened right before we were going to eat. I couldn’t decide whether she was slightly off or just a zealot about it. She was obviously very intelligent. Anyway….we could have done without that little pre-breakfast talk.

It’s going to be in the high fifties today and it’s sunny. Huzzah! Tomorrow? Even warmer. I am not in the throes of spring fever, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t looking at photos of gardens and thinking about beginning the big cleanup outside. It’s way too soon to do it, but maybe in a couple of weeks?

I finished Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith and started in on the The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler, a book that has cropped up on Instagram posts. I needed a mystery/crime novel and this will hopefully fill the bill.

I don’t think this has ever happened before, but Don was talking in his sleep last night. No words you could recognize, but he was having a conversation, that’s for sure. I happened to be awake and I don’t mind telling you I was fascinated by it. He would mumble something and then there would be a pause while he listened to the response and then he would respond. Sometimes he was asking a question. His voice was quieter and higher than usual and it felt like he was younger, like he might have sounded as a young boy. There was a vulnerable quality to the ‘conversation.’ I felt very protective of him.

When I told him about it this morning, he said that he had been having intense dreams and they involved his brother, so it makes sense that he sounded younger.

It was darned sweet.

I don’t know what we’ve got going for the day ahead, but I imagine we’ll do something.

Happy Sunday.

Signs of Spring

Books & Chocolate

A Sunny and Warm Sunday

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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