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You are here: Home / Archives for Claudia

Morning, Evening, Bugs and Tattoos

September 21, 2016 at 9:08 am by Claudia

Let’s start with last night’s spectacular sunset:

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And move on to this morning’s fog:

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Taken from the point-of-view of a morning glory. I’ve dubbed this photo: Foggy Morning Glory.

I do love a foggy morning, something that seems to happen in the fall in these parts. Fog is mysterious and wonderful; the world is slightly out of focus, and memories of foggy mystery stories come to mind.

I’ve ordered some basic wooden dollhouse furniture handmade by a seller on Etsy  for Little Z’s dollhouse. It will take a week or so to get here, but I really like the idea of buying from someone who makes the furniture by hand.

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A newish zinnia with a little bug. I often take pictures, not realizing at the time that there’s a bug on the flower.

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The same thing occurred with this morning glory.

Okay. I have a question for you. How do you feel about tattoos?

Personally, I can’t stand them. Neither can Don. When we see a picture of someone with lots of tattoos, we invariably say, “Yuck.”

I don’t need to have Don’s name permanently inked on my body. I know who he is and I’m quite confident that he’s my husband and the love of my life. Neither would I want him to have my name on his body. It creeps me out.

I fully realize this is a generational thing. When I used to work for a local vet, a couple of the younger staff members loved tattoos and kept going back to their favorite ‘inker’ for more.

I didn’t get it. But that’s because it’s not my thing.

I often work with actors who have tats.  They have to be artful about where they’re placed. You can’t be working in the theater and have designs all over your arms. And some of our family members have highly intricate tattoos covering a great deal of their appendages. Again…not attractive to yours truly.

First of all, that’s a lot of money to sink into inking one’s skin. Think of it. They’re putting a foreign substance on their skin and that skin has pores.

Also, as a member of another, albeit older, generation who can see the larger picture, it ain’t going to be pretty when those arms start to sag and wrinkle. And they will.

You can get a tattoo removed, but it’s painful.

I’d rather buy some earrings. Or a bracelet. Or, even better, a good book.

But you may view tattoos as art, as many people do. They may be a part of your life or your loved one might be sporting them. Your opinion might be very different than mine.

What are your thoughts?

New book review on Just Let Me Finish This Page. It’s for M. J. Arlidge’s newest Helen Grace Thriller, Little Boy Blue. Click here.

Happy Wednesday.

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Filed Under: flowers, garden 109 Comments

Butterflies, Spiders and Morning Glories

September 20, 2016 at 9:40 am by Claudia

We’re in a fairly humid stretch here in the Hudson Valley – I thought those days were past, silly me! And we’re due for some very warm temperatures for the rest of the week. Oh, September, you fickle month, you!

A big chunk of time was spent in the waiting room of the car dealership yesterday. Oh, how I wanted to escape! The television was on – turned to the NYC Fox affiliate – as news was breaking about the capture of the man who was behind the bombs in the city and in New Jersey. I was happy to know he’d been caught, of course, but I had to listen to endless filler as the anchors ‘guessed’ and ‘supposed’ to fill time until they actually knew the facts. When an ‘ex-FBI agent’ got on the horn and decided to use his questionable expertise to attack Democrats and Obama when the breaking news had nothing to do with them; and said something like ‘they let this guy in this country,’ when in actuality, he immigrated with his family at the age of seven, I had to get up and move far, far away. Too many people with a political agenda spouting off when they don’t know what they’re talking about.

Another reason I don’t watch that crap at home. Being a captive audience did not make me happy. Fortunately, just after I moved, a woman asked one of the staff to change the channel. To Seinfeld. Sigh of relief.

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A great spangled fritillary on the butterfly bush yesterday afternoon.

And this guy spun a complex web that extended from the porch railing to the gutter.

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The black and yellow garden spider. You can see that he’d caught his prey and was protecting it. I saw a little gnat caught in the web, over on the edge, so I freed it. That didn’t make my spider friend happy, but I figured he had enough food for dinner.

He promptly moved very quickly to the edge of his web, presumably to guard against intruders.

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Don came out to take a look. These guys are fascinating. I usually see them in the garden or down by the culvert. They spin this complicated web, with that seam you can see in the first photo, and then take it all down again rather quickly. I checked this morning. It’s gone.

If you’re squeamish, sorry! But really, you’re looking at a photo. Not the real thing!

Morning Glories to soothe the soul:

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They’re still blooming!

Louise Penny’s beloved husband, Michael, passed away yesterday after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Louise and Michael showed us what true love is throughout this challenge, with a steadfast devotion that was unending as they made this journey together. May he rest in peace.

Happy Tuesday.

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Filed Under: butterfly, flowers, garden, media, morning glory, spider 26 Comments

Finds: Books and Records

September 19, 2016 at 9:00 am by Claudia

That photo yesterday. The  photo. I don’t know if you remember from the many times I’ve told our story in the past, but Don had been sitting in that exact place on the sofa, catching my eye and smiling at me, whenever I entered the living room of Kathy’s cottage. This happened several times. So I finally bit the bullet and walked over to him. I assume I introduced myself. I ended up sitting next to him and we started a conversation that hasn’t ended.

I’m not sure when Rick entered the picture. Was he there before I walked over to the sofa? Or did he come along later and join in? That part I’m a bit foggy about.

A few of my friends have remarked on our body language. Definitely in sync. And if you look at my eyes, you can tell I’m already smitten.

I love that picture. It will soon be framed, I promise.

Alright, on to yesterday. We were out and about and stopped at our favorite antique center – the one where I could do some major damage quite easily. I didn’t do that, of course, but I did find some unexpected treasures.

A long time ago, I wrote on this blog about my desire to collect vintage Nancy Drews. This was prompted by my discovery of a vintage Nancy Drew with a cover illustration by Russell H. Tandy; the best, in my humble opinion, of all the cover illustrators. He designed the covers from 1930 – 1949 and was a friend of Edward Stratemeyer, the actual author of the Nancy Drew books.

Look what I found yesterday:

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Two of them! They were in the middle of a stack of books in one of the booths. Only $8 each, which is a steal, and in pretty good condition, with normal cover wear. Needless to say, I’m thrilled. This makes 3 Nancy Drews and we all know that equals a collection!

Gosh, I love the vintage look of his illustrations and the vivid colors.  I also love the font used for “Nancy Drew Mystery Stories.” I grew up reading the standard fifties and sixties books with the yellow spines and I know a lot of people collect them, but once I saw Tandy’s work, I was a goner.

In a recent conversation, Don mentioned that he had read all the Hardy Boys books when he was a kid, so, you guessed it…I am determined to collect them for him. I found one yesterday.

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And here they are on the shelf:

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They sit in the middle of a shelf full of childhood favorites, including books that belonged to my mother and my father.

I also found two record albums.

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I own both of these, but they are…class? anyone? anyone?….yes! In the shed. Though the cover of Tapestry looks worn, the actual record is in great shape.

And then we stuffed our faces at a local restaurant and I ate too much, so we took a trail walk to counteract the calories.

Today, I take the car in for an inspection and some scheduled maintenance. I hate sitting in that waiting room, but it’s raining today, so I just might get stuck there. If the rain lets up, I’ll walk to Barnes & Noble.

Happy Monday.

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Filed Under: books, collecting, record albums 55 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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