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You are here: Home / Archives for Claudia

Allowing More Time for Reading

September 9, 2019 at 10:10 am by Claudia

The mornings are definitely cooler nowadays. Our walks include wearing a hooded sweatshirt. It’s brisk out there!

On today’s walk, we kept hearing (and seeing) acorns drop to the ground, black walnuts falling from trees, bird skirmishes up in the branches, and squirrels running up and down the trunks.

Speaking of noticing things, when I mowed the back forty last week, I stood for a moment on the edge of our property that borders our neighbor’s property and looked at the trees that abut that huge grassy field I showed you the other day. I noticed – for the first time – that we have two catalpas there. I guess I had to be standing in just the right place to identify them, as it’s on a slight hill. That makes at least 6 catalpa trees on the property. Since they’re one of my favorite trees, this discovery made me happy.

It’s 9:53 am and I haven’t turned my phone on. This is part of my new attempt to not have it on, and therefore, tempting me, for most of the day. I want to read more and look at the phone (and my laptop) less. I read a post by a young woman who I follow on my other Instagram account, which is for books and reading. She may be only 29, but she is very wise. She also felt that her attention was too often being diverted to her phone and iPad/laptop. It all came to a head when the Wi-Fi in her apartment kept failing. She didn’t have it for about 3 weeks. During that time, she read far more than she had been and she liked it. Eventually, she made the decision to have no Wi-Fi.

Now, I can’t do that, because I write this blog and do other things that necessitate having Wi-Fi. But, I can severely limit my time online. I’ve written about this before and it can be a struggle for me. But both Don and I are of the same mind on this one. I’m going to work hard to turn my computer off after I write this post and check back in later in the day. Likewise, I’ll do my usual Instagram check-in and then turn the phone off. If there’s a phone call/message, I’ll know soon enough. And we still have a landline, so there’s that.

We’ll see how it goes.

I’m reading John Connolly’s latest, The Book of Bones, which is 694 pages long. Interestingly, I had just ordered 3 books from the library when I picked up this book to read. Those books are going to come in this week and I will still be immersed in this almost 700 page long book. A quality problem, but a problem, nonetheless. I couldn’t help it, the Connolly is what I was in the mood for.  I’m a bit less than a quarter of the way through it.

We’re off on our weekly visit to the grocery store.

Don had a good day at the Farmers Market. His photos are wonderful.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: autumn, books, life, reading, trees 24 Comments

Houseplant Mysteries & Cleaning

September 8, 2019 at 9:48 am by Claudia

This is intriguing. My now-quite-big monstera (aka split leaf philodendron) needed repotting a couple of months ago, which I did – with the help of Don. Several leaves on the bottom had yellowed and died, which often happens with plants at certain times of the year. But I must admit, this plant is very special to me (it was found in the sale area of Terrain and I nursed it back to health) so I was worried. I though it might be root-bound. After the repotting, I started to notice the beginnings of new stems, which was a good sign. All in all, 6 new stems/leaves appeared!

Here’s the interesting part: usually, once a monstera gets mature, the new leaves have several splits in them. When a monstera is young, the leaves are either whole, without splits, or have one split. Out of the 6 new leaves, 4 were whole, and 2 had a split. I’m not sure why. Did repotting it have an effect on the leaves themselves? If I’d kept it in the smaller pot, would they have had several splits?

I don’t know. But I’m glad I repotted it – it was getting very top heavy. This is why I find all plants – indoor and outdoor – so fascinating. I also repotted my parents’ sansevieria – it definitely needed it as the roots were breaking through the pot – and I’ve since read that they only bloom when they’re more root-bound. Since mine has bloomed for the past 3 years, it will be interesting to see if it blooms this year.

Don is at the Farmers Market today. We both woke up way too early, so we had a lot of time to chat before he took off. Sleep is erratic lately. Ah, well, nothing I can do about it, except stay in the moment.

Another lovely day, partly cloudy – though it’s sunny at the moment – temps in the seventies. I plan to yank some weeds and water the plants. I thoroughly cleaned both bathrooms yesterday. I don’t know why I hate doing it so much, but I’ve decided I need to create a bathroom cleaning schedule, so that big cleans like yesterday’s aren’t so big. I have this app I use called Wunderlist, which is a great way to create reminders. I’m going to add ‘bathroom cleaning’ to the list. Anyway, I felt a great sense of accomplishment once I finished, so there’s that.

Hope you’re having a nice weekend.

Happy Sunday.

 

Filed Under: cleaning, houseplants 22 Comments

Saturday Thoughts: Decorating

September 7, 2019 at 11:20 am by Claudia

Another beautiful morning. Another great walk with my husband.

It’s beautiful here.

We’ve walked six days in a row and we’ll probably take tomorrow off as it’s Farmers Market day and Don has to get going early in the morning. I’ll probably mow the lilac side of the front lawn, so that will give me some exercise.

There’s much I could and should be doing around here, but all I want to do is sit on the porch and read. Maybe I’ll clean somewhere in the house this morning so I’ll feel as if I’ve earned my reading time – maybe the bathroom – my least favorite thing to do around here.

I’ve been thinking about decorating and the continual emphasis on defining one’s style. I’ve never understood this need to categorize something. Is it that it makes one feel secure in a style choice? Like, “country” or “mid-century modern” or “boho?” Does it bring comfort to conform to one style? Or maybe it’s simply that the home/apartment owner likes that style exclusively?

As you know, I like things eclectic and undefined. I think it’s much more interesting, because that lack of confinement within just one style allows the owner’s personality and passions to shine through. We’ve definitely become more eclectic in the past several years. Almost everything here is vintage/used; different time periods, different styles. We have an overall color scheme and I think I have a pretty good eye for pulling it all together. You can’t look around our house and say that it is anything  definitively. It’s just us.

You could say it’s funky, I guess. I’m fine with that.

And hopefully, cozy. I’m fine with that, too.

I’m always bemused by the whole ‘boho’ craze. I’m of an age, you know, and boho is basically the way everyone decorated their dorm rooms and apartments when I was in college. It was an inexpensive way to adorn a space. Been there, done that. And I have a confession to make: I was never a fan of macrame, except when necessary as a plant hanger. Macrame wall hangings? No. Houseplants, yes. But houseplants are eternal and are not defined by ‘bohemian’ or ‘boho’ even though we see a lot of them in those spaces.

But we know that decorating styles recycle and eventually become the hot ‘new’ look.

Except they aren’t.

It’s all personal taste, of course, and that particular look was never my taste even when I was living it in the seventies. Neither was mid-century modern, because my parents decorated in that style. And just as my mom eschewed her mother’s style, I’ve apparently done the same. The difference being that I admire the lines of certain mid-century furniture and like to see how homeowners use it in their living spaces. (And I like decorating my modern dollhouse in miniature versions of mid-century furniture, but that’s another story.)

Anyway, I’ve always tried to dodge any sort of label, whether it’s about me, my personality, my reading choices, my political beliefs, my spirituality, or my home. I think labels are limiting and we’re all much more complex and interesting than that.

Just a little of what I’ve been thinking about on a Saturday.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: decorating, flowers, garden 30 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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