bokeh — Page 3

Lights

December 17, 2014 at 9:19 am by Claudia

I love playing around with bokeh at Christmas time – or anytime, really. You’ll be seeing a few Holiday Bokeh shots over the next week because I can’t help myself!

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One of my vintage putz houses and the tree lights in the background.

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This little guy is an ornament on our tree. He graciously agreed to pose for this shot.

Speaking of putz houses, a package arrived on my doorstep yesterday. The return address was unfamiliar. When I opened it up and undid the bubble wrap, this is what I saw:

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I gasped! I had no idea who sent this to me until I read the lovely note attached to the present. A reader named Chris wrote that she read my blog every day and was inspired to start making putz houses when I did my first post about the Necco Snow Globe (which has a putz house as part of the snow scene.)

She made this. Oh my goodness!

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Simply beautiful. And pink bottlebrush trees! I mean, what could be better?

She included a bulb because….

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It lights up!

I’m blown away. Thank you so, so much, Chris!

It’s funny. I haven’t put up the little white tree this year. I don’t know why, but I haven’t felt moved to. I also didn’t put up any of my white bottle brush wreaths. I just wanted ‘simple’ this year. So the only decorations in the living room are the ones in the dollhouse.

After I ran upstairs to show this to Don, he said that this seemed to be the perfect substitute for the little white tree this year. And I think he’s right; it’s the perfect touch for that room. Last night, I turned on the switch and the gentle glow from the light filled the room.

I love it.

I am blessed. For whatever reason, this blog has attracted the most loyal, giving and kind readers. Don thinks I have the best readers in the world.

He’s right.

Happy Wednesday.

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My Dream Bathroom

December 22, 2013 at 9:12 am by Claudia

I like our bathroom for the most part. We need more storage. It gets cold in there because, for some reason, there is no baseboard heating. We have hard water and, therefore, hard water stains. But it’s fine. The walls are painted in a lovely aqua, the trim is white. All fine.

There is another bathroom that I have begun to covet. (I know coveting is a bad thing, but I’m being honest here.) It has become my dream bathroom. This particular bathroom isn’t something I found on Pinterest or in the pages of a magazine. It’s right here in the dollhouse that stands in my living room.

I ordered a bathroom sink a while back and it was on back order. It arrived in Friday’s mail. I did some tweaking and here it is:

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The whole thing was originally in the stain you see on the top of the cabinet. But I kept seeing red, the red that is in the shutters and in the wallpaper. So yesterday, I painted it.

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The red changes, depending on the light. No faucet yet, I have to order one.

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I’ve played around with the placement of things. The slanted wall on the left is definitely a challenge. I like the idea of the tub by the window. Originally, I had the sink on the opposite wall. But then I thought it might be fun to place it on the angled wall and have the mirror (when I find one) also at an angle. Why not? When I get a toilet, it will go on that same wall and won’t be the focus of the room, thank you very much.

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These rooms on the left side of the dollhouse are so narrow and tunnel-like that taking pictures can be frustrating. I can’t really fit the camera inside the room to get close-ups. Oy. And I have to turn on the floor lamp that is next to the piano to get some light into the room.

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The cabinet works nicely on this wall. The glass jar filled with sea shells was a gift from Marsha, generously sent along with some other starter items when I first bought the dollhouse. The wooden container on top of the cabinet was in the box that Maryanne sent. I painted it red yesterday. The flowers were in the living room. They look better here.

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Do you see what I mean? This is my dream bathroom. I want to take baths in that old-fashioned tub, surrounded by all this wonderful color.

I see a chandelier over that tub in the future. And sconces on either side of the mirror-that-will-be. Towels will be in the cabinet, along with all sorts of beauty essentials. Maybe a little table near the tub that holds a book or two, ready for reading while nestled amongst the bubbles?

Oh, yes. Count me in.

Your Holiday Bokeh shot for today:

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Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

A Cornucopia of Chat on a Saturday

December 21, 2013 at 8:32 am by Claudia

Say what???

The temperature is going to reach 62° tomorrow.

Remember my earlier comment this week that I was sure we would have a White Christmas? Hmmm. The temps during the last few days have been in the forties, so there’s already been some snow melt. But 62°? Yikes.

Dear Mother Nature: I would like you to leave at least a couple of inches of snow on the ground for Christmas. After all the shoveling and salting we have done, you owe us that, don’t you think? Thank you, your pal, Claudia.

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Shopping is just about done here. I don’t think there will be any surprises, as we were both very specific about what we wanted. That happens more and more as we get older because we already have so much ‘stuff.’ And we have a very limited budget. Scout needs some presents from Mom and Dad and Santa; that will be taken care of today. I need to see just how much wrapping paper I have left from last year. And tape. A year or so ago, I ran out of tape and had to use blue painter’s tape on the presents. I hang my head in shame.

I wish I was one of those people who love to wrap gifts and make pretty bows. I’m not. I get very impatient with the wrapping process. I start out with high hopes but, after wrapping one present, I’m already tired of the whole thing. Sad, but true. All that effort and then it’s torn off immediately. Sort of how I feel about cooking – lots of time and effort and in ten minutes, it’s gone. And to add insult to injury, you have to clean everything up.

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Yesterday, Don and I took a little trip to a neighboring town north of us. They have a funky little country store that I wanted to explore. The advertisement said they had model trains and dollhouses, among lots of other things. Well, the dollhouse section was pretty pathetic. Nothing for me there. But the train section was amazing. Don has been talking about model trains a lot lately. He’d really like to start in on that hobby. But it takes money and space (which we are sadly lacking.) Heck, I’d love to see him indulge in a fun hobby like that, especially since my dad had a wonderful HO train set up in our basement. I grew up with model trains.

So we looked and asked questions and Don bought a book about starting a model train collection. I had this idea that we could buy some plywood that would fit over the bed in the office/studio/guest room. He could build a little set up right on the plywood. And then we could remove it on the rare occasion that a guest stays the night.

Speaking of Don, I took some pictures of him the other day and this one is going to be his newest headshot:

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Hello, handsome! (I’ve got a crush on this guy.)

Today’s Holiday Bokeh:

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Judy gave me that little snow-globe-in-a-salt-shaker last year.

Upcoming dates to remember:

January 5, 2014: Scout’s 15th birthday (I see a party hat in her future.)

January 7, 2013: The Poisoner’s Handbook airs on PBS, starring, among others, Don Sparks.

And, if you’re interested, I posted a book review yesterday. Be sure to leave a comment if you’re interested in winning a copy of The Seduction of Miriam Cross.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Lights

My Dream Bathroom

A Cornucopia of Chat on a Saturday

claudiahillsparks

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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