Claudia — Page 939

Random on Monday

April 3, 2017 at 9:43 am by Claudia

• I took a photo of my view this morning and realized I hadn’t turned the calendar to April. So I started over. My usual cluttery desk; eye drops, filofax, coffee cup, pens notes to myself all over the place.

• Yesterday was sunny and in the upper fifties. That may not seem very warm to some of you, understandably, but to me? Oh joy! I actually felt the warmth of the sun on my back. I didn’t do much, but I did start to clean up the porch. And I took the two white chairs (which had been stored on the porch) back to their home on the Funky Patio. Today promises to be at least partly sunny and a bit warmer than yesterday. I have some errands to run and I aim to stop and feed the horses for Don. He really misses them. I think I’ll send Don some pictures.

• The honey bees are back. They seemed a little wary of me – maybe they were surprised by a human! They weren’t there last week, so they’ve just reestablished their home in the catalpa. I spoke to them and told them they had nothing to fear from us. Hopefully, they’ll behave. All that being said, I am very happy when I see bees of any kind. We need them.

• The Manchurian Candidate was on TCM last night. It has always been a chilling and brilliant movie, but at this time in our country it’s more powerful than ever.

Quote from one of the characters: “I despise John Iselin and everything that Iselinism has come to stand for. I think if John Iselin were a paid Soviet agent, he could not do more to harm this country than he’s doing now.”

Hmmmm. “paid Soviet agent…” This has always been one of my favorite movies, but last night’s viewing was the first time I’d watched it since that man came to power and I was riveted.

• Egg cups that live in the den:

Egg cups and a little lamb.

They’re awfully charming.

Happy Monday.

Bird Song, Quilting & Egg Cups

April 2, 2017 at 9:19 am by Claudia

Slow and steady wins the race, though I am far from the finish line. Each of these squares measures 12 x 12, so hand quilting one of them takes some time. Since I find that after about an hour and a half or two hours max, I start making mistakes, that’s about all I do a day. Yesterday, I hand quilted while watching figure skating in the evening. But I often do it in the late afternoon while listening to Randi Rhodes’ daily show on YouTube. I was a big fan in the Air America days, though that radio station is long gone. I recently rediscovered her and 4 – 6 pm in the afternoon is now my listening/hand quilting time. She’s whip smart and tough as nails.

It’s still very cold at night around here and I wake up in the morning to frost on the car windows and ice in the birdbath. Spring is taking its sweet time. But as I look at the trees, I see the beginning of buds. And I hear lovely bird song in the morning, along with the beautiful cries of the mourning doves. It’s coming.

This morning I walked outside in my flannel PJs and a winter coat to retrieve the New York Times from its place on the driveway. Cold, but lovely. I decided to substitute for Don, who cries out “Good Morning!” to our trees and animal life every morning. He’s not here, so I took over. I think I’ll do that every morning until he returns. He’ll be happy to hear that. And I just might visit our horse friends this afternoon with some carrots. We’ll see.

When the heck is Easter? I never know from year to year. Okay. I looked it up. It’s April 16th. I’m not into doing a whole egg cup series this year. There are plenty of post in the archives about my egg cup collection. But I’ll throw in a photo or two or three in upcoming posts.

Like this one:

Happy Sunday.

Review & Giveaway: The English Roses by David Austin

April 1, 2017 at 10:22 am by Claudia

Today, I get to share a gorgeous book with you, The English Roses by David Austin. If you love roses, you have certainly heard of David Austin, the creator of English Roses and owner of one of the world’s leading rose nurseries, David Austin Roses. Whether you know of him or not, you’re in for a treat.

This is a sumptuous book, full of gorgeous photographs as well as essential information. It’s divided into three sections: Part One – The Origins and Nature of an English Rose; Part Two – A Gallery of English Roses; Part Three – English Roses in the Future and Rose Cultivation.

You’ll read about the rose and its ancestors, the qualities of an English Rose, the first English Roses, along with a host of helpful information.

Yes, I’d like a garden exactly like this one, please.

Part of the Gallery of English Roses.

This is in hardcover, 319 pages of beautiful photos and essential information. It is large – perfect for your coffee table.

I love roses, though I do battle with them every year! This book is a gem and I’m so enjoying what it has to offer, not the least of which is its sheer beauty.

One of you lucky readers will win a copy of this book. Just leave your name on this post and I’ll pick a winner on Tuesday night. Good luck!

Thank you again to Firefly Books for so generously sending me these gardening books and, in equally generous fashion, sending a copy to one of my readers. Beautifully done.

One of my readers mentioned that she received a questionable email from me. I’m assuming it’s from an earlier hack. If you get one, let me know what email it originated from. And don’t open it, of course.

Happy Saturday.

Random on Monday

Bird Song, Quilting & Egg Cups

Review & Giveaway: The English Roses by David Austin

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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