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You are here: Home / Archives for Claudia

A Book

February 26, 2019 at 10:17 am by Claudia

The wind went on well into the early morning hours. Even Don, who usually says he likes the wind, was over it. Relentless. But this morning, after a fairly good night’s sleep, I awoke to very cold temperatures, a sunny sky, and no wind.

Thank goodness! What a difference that makes!

A couple more Oscars things: if you haven’t seen Olivia Colman’s acceptance speech, find it online. It was perfect. Real. In the moment. Charming. Self-effacing. Her honest and heartfelt gesture to Glenn Close was the perfect salve for that moment. She’s amazing.

And if you haven’t seen her in Broadchurch, you must. Especially season one. That’s when we fell in love with her work. She’s extraordinary.

Also: if you haven’t yet seen Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper singing Shallow  from A Star is Born, google that, as well. And Better Midler singing The Place Where Lost Things Go  from Mary Poppins Returns. And Spike Lee leaping up into Samuel Jackson’s arms.

The best.

Okay. I recently received an email from a fellow miniaturist alerting me to the fact that I was listed in the index in a book about miniatures published last year in Great Britain. Several of us had photos in the book. I suspected it was related to the article about Hummingbird Cottage that was in Doll’s House Magazine, a UK publication. They hadn’t asked our permission, but it is from the same publisher and in my case, it’s just one photo, so I’m okay with it. (They’re sending me a copy of the book.)

In truth, I’m rather chuffed that I’ve been published in a book!

I ordered it from Amazon last Friday (because patience isn’t one of my strong points) and it came yesterday.

Sure enough, the photos inside the book are from Doll’s House Magazine and span about five years of articles and tutorials. (My article was published in 2016.)

My name is in the index and also in a list of thank yous at the back of the book.

Just one photo, but here it is:

Pretty neat! Even though I said “fellow miniaturist” above, I never really think of myself as a miniaturist. Just someone who loves to refurbish and decorate dollhouses. However, I have built a dollhouse and have constructed miniatures, so I guess I qualify. But just barely.

It’s a neat book, full of photos and text and many helpful tutorials. I can’t wait to dig into it.

The whole thing was a delightful surprise and just might help to push my tush upstairs to my desk and the forlorn dollhouse that is waiting for me to work some magic.

Happy Tuesday.

 

 

Filed Under: dollhouse, miniatures, movies 38 Comments

The Day After

February 25, 2019 at 9:18 am by Claudia

Oh heavens. More sleep deprivation. I was thrown off by staying up late to watch the Oscars and then when I got in bed, the high winds were so loud that I couldn’t sleep. I’m exhausted. Two nights in a row with not enough sleep makes me virtually incapable of doing anything for the rest of the day. Well that’s a slight exaggeration, so let’s edit that to “doing anything of any complexity.”

Most of my predictions as to the Oscar winners proved to be correct, but there were some surprises. When Olivia Colman (a favorite of ours) won, Don and I turned to each other and gasped out loud! Everyone was so sure that Glenn Close would win. We found ourselves simultaneously thrilled for Colman, yet feeling badly for Close’s very public loss. We were torn. But Close was gracious, as always, and Colman was delightful. We’ve long been fans of her acting chops. And her performance in The Favourite  was brilliant.

As I’ve said before Green Book  is one of the few nominated movies we haven’t seen. But its win last night for Best Picture was controversial. I’ve been reading up on that this morning.

Thrilled for Roma  and Alfonso Cuarón. I still think it should have won Best Picture, but the fact that it won Best Foreign Film probably cancelled out that possibility.

Thrilled for all the groundbreaking Black Panther  wins. And for Spike Lee to win his first Oscar (not counting his honorary Oscar.) His joy was infectious. Thrilled for Rami Malek, who was pretty damned incredible as Freddie Mercury. And for Regina King – I haven’t seen the movie yet, but she is a consistently wonderful actress.

Loved Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper singing Shallow.

And Bette Midler. (My favorite dress of the evening, by the way.)

Anyway, those are my thoughts off the top of my head.

I thought the ceremony was quite good – I’m thinking they don’t really need a host!

The wind is still howling.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: movies 38 Comments

Too Early to Rise

February 24, 2019 at 10:31 am by Claudia

I woke up early this morning, even before Don. Then he woke up and we chatted a bit and when I looked at the clock, I saw it was 5:30 am. Which means I was awake at 4:30 am.

Not. Enough. Sleep.

I don’t do well on ‘not enough sleep.’

Lord knows if I’ll make it through the Oscars tonight.

Don and I chatted about the Oscars this morning. Because of his membership in SAG/AFTRA, we were able to see almost all of the movies and for free. We very seldom go to the movies because it’s just too expensive. The only movie that is nominated that we saw in a movie theater was Black Panther, and that was in NYC last year.

Anyway, unlike other years, none of the nominated performances blew us away. They’re good – in some cases quite good, but not, “Oh my god, so-and-so HAS to win!” kind of work. We feel curiously detached. Observing from afar. And there are some nominations that I just don’t get. Oscar nominated? Really?

It will be interesting.

I finished Less  yesterday. What an extraordinary novel! I see why it won the Pulitzer – beautifully written. Simply wonderful. Recommend it highly!

I’ve started (about 100 pages in) Andrew McCabe’s book, The Threat. Very well written, with a lot of information as to how the FBI works, how it investigates. Just a bit about “that man” so far, but much more to come, which I eagerly anticipate.

Otherwise, it’s a rainy day, with a high wind warning for tomorrow. You know how I hate very windy days, so I’m not looking forward to Monday. This year, every snowfall includes ice and every front that moves out includes high winds. Like a broken record.

I’m feeling much better in general and my energy level has improved. But it took me four weeks to get there. I’ve never had anything quite like it before and hope to never have it like it again. It got scary there for a while. Don is feeling better, as well, still coughing and congested, but doing better. By the end of this next week, he should be back to normal.

We are grateful, believe me.

I’m still not up to working on the rescued dollhouse. I’m not quite motivated yet, but I’m thinking about it and I have decided how I want the exterior to look. It’s just getting up my energy to start in on it. And I will. Hopefully, soon.

Happy Sunday.

 

Filed Under: books, dollhouse, miniatures, movies 33 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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