Claudia — Page 607

Nails And The Painting Thereof

January 24, 2020 at 10:19 am by Claudia

I’ve been playing with paint:

This was taken just after I applied the polish and before I cleaned up the edges.

Every once in a while, I flirt with nail polish because I love the look of it. Only in winter, mind you, it’s not at all practical in the spring when I’m in full gardening mode. I saw this shade at the grocery store and bought it on a whim. I really like it, but I eventually encounter the same problem I always have: it chips. Unless one doesn’t have to do any work around the house, takes obsessive care of their finger and hand movements, and has it done professionally, it isn’t going to last that long.

I’m already planning to remove it all this morning and put on a fresh coat. And eventually, I’ll get sick of it and that will be it for a while. I do paint my toenails in the summer, but that’s always been the case.

For a couple of years about 11 years ago, I had someone apply acrylic nails to my nails and got them done every two weeks. I’ve never liked my nails, which grow exactly like my mom’s did – the sides of the nails angle outward instead of a straight vertical, making it impossible to grow my nails to any length. Plus they’re smallish. The acrylics became a pain in the tush and I started to worry that they were ruining my natural nails, so I stopped.

Does anyone out there wear nail polish? If I’m foolish enough to continue this for a while, do you have any tips for me as to the brand of polish and top coat you use?

Changing the subject, I started The Night Circus, but I’m so sleep deprived at the moment that I’m not reading it today. I’m barely into the story and when I’m sleep deprived my perceptions are off. This is not a mystery which flows easily for me, it’s a different genre that I have to read carefully. It would be too easy for me to give up on it. So I’ll look at a couple of magazines today, instead.

Don is off to NYC this morning for an audition.

Happy Friday.

Reading, Watching, and Art

January 23, 2020 at 10:33 am by Claudia

I keep thinking it’s Friday and it’s Thursday. I’ve been like that all week. I’m also going through one of my bouts with too little sleep. I’m just trying to maintain some calm about the whole thing. I don’t have to be anywhere, I don’t have to travel to Hartford or NYC, I can fall asleep in my chair in the late afternoon (like I’ve done for the past two days.) It’s all good.

Finished The Night Watch by Michael Connelly. Excellent, as always. And I do mean ‘as always.’ He’s one of my favorite writers. Now, on to The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Hmmm. ‘Night’ seems to be the theme in this post so far; 3 nights with too little sleep, and two books with night in the title. What is the universe trying to say to me?

We’ve also been watching Hinterland on Netflix. It’s an excellent police/detective procedural which takes place in Wales. It’s been around for 3 seasons, so I’m sure we’re late to this party and that some of you have already seen it.

More den artwork:

A very old lithograph by Currier & Ives – a famous one at that. I don’t know how old this particular print is, but I’d hazard a guess that it’s one of the earliest printing runs. The paper is foxed, there’s quite a bit of damage near the top. I got it at an auction several years ago. I had no idea that it was this old until I looked at it more closely after having won it for $25.00. I bid on it because I love the sentiment and I absolutely love the colors, especially that vivid red. It hangs above our television set.

And this one, which you’ve seen before in my McCoy photos. Both of these shots had to be taken from strange angles because the den has windows on 3 sides, making it virtually impossible to get a shot of anything glass without a reflection appearing in it.

This is a watercolor of a winding road with a windmill in the distance. It’s signed, but I can’t quite make it out. We bought this when we were living in San Diego. We loved the watercolor, but we really loved the frame! Isn’t it gorgeous? It really makes a statement and looked great in our Craftsman house in SD with all its dark woodwork. I hung it above the sheet music cabinet here in the den because it seems to go with the dark mahogany of the cabinet. The minute I added the McCoy, the whole thing popped.

I didn’t reply to comments on yesterday’s post as I have to count them for the giveaway and adding mine in only makes it more difficult.

Some errands to run today. It’s going to be warmer, thank goodness!

Happy Thursday.

Brrrrr! (And a Giveaway.)

January 22, 2020 at 9:39 am by Claudia

Heavens, it’s cold this morning! We had already been up 3 hours and the thermostat had only climbed 2 degrees. The good news is that it’s going to warm up after today and this bitter cold will be moving on.

I’m driving Don to get his car this morning. It’s been fixed and all is well. What a relief! I’m going to run some errands after that. I’m almost done with Michael Connelly’s newest and then I’m going to start The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, a book I’ve been meaning to read for a long time.

We watched Judy the other night, starring Renée Zellweger. She is simply superb. She captures the essence of Judy Garland toward the end of her life and her performance is powerful and moving. Don worked with her on a movie several years ago and he thinks very highly of her. She was warm and friendly and kind. They played their guitars together and sang. So, we’re pulling for her in the Oscar race.

I want to share something from reader Barbara, who lives in Canada. You might recall that she did this once before. Barbara recently received a parcel of books from a local independent bookseller that she knows. One of them, The Overstory, is a book that Barbara has already read. She would like to give this copy to one of you. Aren’t we lucky? If you remember, I loved The Overstory. In fact, it was my favorite read of 2019. I’m an evangelist for this book and would love nothing more than to see one of you win a copy. So. This is officially a giveaway post. If you’re interested, please leave a comment on this post. The usual rules apply. Don’t leave a comment via the email version of this post. You have to come to the blog and leave a comment here. I’ll keep the giveaway open until Saturday morning, and then I’ll pick a winner via the Random Number Generator. Good luck!

And a big thank you to Barbara!

Happy Wednesday.

Nails And The Painting Thereof

Reading, Watching, and Art

Brrrrr! (And a Giveaway.)

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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