Claudia — Page 774

Thirteen

September 2, 2018 at 10:20 am by Claudia

A coolish Sunday morning with swallows circling, landing, and swirling up to the sky. We watched them as we sat on the front porch. Every once in a while we heard the sound of the wind chimes. Lovely.

I completely forgot that August 30th marked our 13th year of living here in Mockingbird Hill Cottage. Don tells me that is the longest he’s lived anywhere. 13 years! It was so hot that day and even hotter on the 31st when we had to drive back to our rental cottage and thoroughly clean it. We were so exhausted by the end of the day that, when we discovered some things that we had forgotten to pack, we were so over it that we put them out by the curb for someone – anyone – to take. We didn’t want to pack one more thing. We just wanted to get back to our new home. I remember it very well.

There were no gardens here then. The big garden bed was there, but it held two plants. There were some hostas – one by the porch, one on the side of the house – and some sedum Autumn Joy. That’s it. As it was late in the season, we didn’t even try to tackle the garden bed. We cleared out a bed in front of the house and planted four teeny tiny boxwoods there and that was it. Those boxwoods are now huge – in fact, they really need to be pruned because they’re sort of out of control.

We changed out the wood block print that was here for this painting that Don purchased. It’s an interesting story. Someone Don was following on Instagram painted it. Don fell in love with it because it reminded him of road trips and driving out west, his favorite things to do. When he complimented the guy on the painting, he was told that it was the artist’s first attempt at oil painting and a conversation ensued with Don offering to buy it. The artist said that whatever Don wanted to pay was fine because he was just happy someone liked his painting. Don, of course, didn’t stint on the payment. An artist should be paid well for his/her work.

I think it looks stunning with the lamplight on it.

Makes me want to get in the car and drive west.

We watched John McCain’s funeral from start to finish and I can’t remember when I’ve been as moved. Simply beautiful and powerful beyond words. America as it should be and as we hope it will be again. And a stunning rebuke to the Trump administration and the partisan agendas that now characterize Congress. We were shaken and we most definitely cried; in my case, several times.

Happy Sunday.

September

September 1, 2018 at 8:13 am by Claudia

Early morning in the den.

Our early morning routine: Don makes the first cup of coffee (pour over), I open all the blinds, he brings my coffee to me in the den. He retreats to his spot on the loveseat in the living room, I sit in my chair in the den, and we slowly wake up, doing whatever early morning reading we’re into at the moment. An hour or so later, I get up from my chair and make the second cup of coffee for both of us. Since Don came home from NYC, we’ve been taking our second cup outside – either in the Secret Garden or on the porch. We sit and talk and listen to the birds and the bullfrog and the sound of the river across the road. We hatch plans for the day or, lately, for our trip.

Routines are comforting, aren’t they? For many months, we were apart, so our routines included a morning FaceTime call.

It’s September. I can’t say I’m ready, but I’ve been noticing the changes in the light that herald the onset of autumn. It’s most definitely on the horizon.

I mowed a lot yesterday because it was only in the 70s and I wanted to take advantage of the cooler weather. Plus, as I mowed the front lawn, it started to drizzle – very lightly – and I played that game in which I tried to outrun the rain. I had a hat on and the light rain felt good and I managed to finish before the rain got any heavier. Claudia for the win.

I’m going to watch the service for Senator McCain this morning. I want to hear Barack Obama’s eulogy. I listened to Joe Biden speak the other day in Phoenix and I cried. I expect to cry again today.

The end of an era. At least, for now.

Happy Saturday.

Traveling, Resisting

August 31, 2018 at 7:47 am by Claudia

Thanks for all the supportive comments on our upcoming trip! I’ve been to London three times, so I know what to see there and I’ve been to Edinburgh, as well, where I was fortunate to spend two weeks working on a show for the Fringe, giving me a lot of time to get to know that beautiful city. But it’s been a long while since that visit. Don has never been to either city, so it will all be new to him. He has been to Paris, whereas I haven’t.

As far as whether Parisians might be rude or any of that kind of thing, Don and I are open, friendly, respectful travelers, and I don’t expect, nor do I look for, any problems. Let’s just say that people are the same everywhere. Some are friendly and open, others aren’t. That doesn’t bother me. I’m not a Parisian. I’m an American who will be visiting a foreign city and there’s no way to disguise that fact. I’m not going to try to blend in, I’m going to be me and that includes dressing comfortably because we will be walking everywhere. I have a smattering of high school French and I’m going to refresh my skills over the next month. And I’m a nice person, as is my husband. Just another way of saying I refuse to go into anything with a negative attitude. It’s all positive. And it will be positive.

We went to one of our local bookstores yesterday evening to hear a guy that I follow on Twitter, Greg Olear, speak about his new book – Dirty Rubles, an Introduction to Trump/Russia. I had no idea he lived in this area and when he mentioned he would be at this bookstore – one that we often frequent – I was excited. He read from the book and there was an excellent Q & A afterwards. It’s a smallish paperback and Don and I each purchased a copy.

Always good to be with like-minded members of the resistance and hear their thoughts on where we are and where we need to be.

I’m throwing this in because it’s hard to get a good shot of the dollhouse as it’s in a corner of the often dark den; however, I was sitting on the sofa the other day and the light perfectly illuminated it, so I grabbed my phone and took a picture. It’s awfully pretty.

The humidity has dropped, thank goodness. Recycling today, a little mowing, and we have to sit down and map out the days of our trip and book our flights.

Happy Friday.

Thirteen

September

Traveling, Resisting

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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