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You are here: Home / Archives for books

Trash, Books & Minis

May 14, 2016 at 9:01 am by Claudia

5-14 kitchenmorning

I know a good trash can is a necessity in a kitchen – in ours, we need one that is really secure, since various critters fly inside our house during the summer months. We had one for years that was made by OXO and it was great; except for the lid, which had structural flaws in its design. Eventually, no matter how careful we were, the plastic portions would disintegrate and it wouldn’t work. OXO was very helpful, sending us replacement lids throughout the years. We must have had at least 6 different lids. But the flaw actually got worse, and the latest replacement fell apart in less than two months.

So we bit the bullet yesterday and bought a new one. Not the most exciting thing to buy, but a necessity. We rewarded ourselves by going out to breakfast and stopping at the bookstore.

5-14 bookfinds

I picked up Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty – a memoir by Diane Keaton (I am a huge fan) and then I got a discount copy of The Shining Girls  by Lauren Beukes. I read her newest novel, Broken Monsters, a few months ago and really liked it.

I also ran into Michael’s to get some plastic storage bins for my minis – right now, they’re all over the place.

5-14 redminitable

And I found this mini table – I like the color and the lines.

Then we came home. Driving up and down a busy highway full of stores and strip malls isn’t really our cup of tea. We were relieved when we got back to our little cottage.

All this running around meant I didn’t get the seeds planted in the Chicken Wire Fence Garden, so I’ll do that this morning.  And by the time we got back home, I realized that I had to pick my health plan before the end of the day, so that became a priority.

But there was a little package waiting for me in our mailbox. It was from my pal, Linda.

5-14 eggcupsfromlinda

Oooh! The egg cup on the left is Harlequin by Homer Laughlin (in my favorite color) and the egg coddler is a lovely one from Royal Worcester.  Thank you, Linda! We both collect egg cups, by the way, so we are definitely enablers.

She also sent along three mini record albums for the TSP, but I am unable to get a good shot of them this morning. I’ll remedy that later in the day.

We might get more rain later in the day, so I’m going to attend to gardening and potting later this morning.

Happy Saturday.

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Filed Under: books, bookstores, egg cups, gifts, miniatures 24 Comments

Oh, Rain…Go Away

May 2, 2016 at 9:34 am by Claudia

Rain. Dreary. Dark skies.

For the entire week.

I’m trying to stay upbeat in the face of dreariness. I need to plant my morning glory and zinnia seeds and weed the garden bed so I can put some mulch down. Doesn’t seem like that’s going to be on the agenda this week.

So, all I have to share with you are these photos I took rather hurriedly the other day.

5-2 hosta

The hostas (and there are many) are really growing. This one, in the sunniest bed, is the furthest along. I never tire of hostas. There are so many varieties and they’re so dependable.

5-2 hostas etc

More hostas, along with coneflowers, daylilies, and sedum Autumn Joy. They will eventually fill out the entire bed.

Now I hear thunder.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading – both fiction and nonfiction. I just finished That Darkness  by Lisa Black, which I will be reviewing today on Just Let Me Finish This Page. Now I’m reading In the Clearing  by Robert Dugoni (I’ve reviewed the other two books in his series and I’m a fan.) I’ve got several eGalleys in the queue on my Kindle, as well as the slew of books in my TBR pile, including the next two books in Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole Series.

I also just got to download the eGalley for John Connolly’s next book, which doesn’t come out until August. That makes me very happy!

I have to go to Hartford later in the week to watch a run-through of  Anastasia.

And of course, ongoing work on the TSP. I tried making a sound board yesterday and I ended up not liking the final result. I haven’t trashed it yet, but it’s definitely been shoved off to the side. As much as I’d like to make one, I well remember Don recording and mixing all his compositions via Garage Band, which is on all Macs. So the computer monitor that is on it’s way from Thailand via the post office just might do the trick.

Okay. Have a good day, despite the rain. And if you’re not getting rain and the skies are sunny, I’m jealous.

And stop by Just Let Me Finish This Page to read my review of That Darkness. It’s awfully good!

Happy Monday.

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Filed Under: books, garden, reading 31 Comments

The Ongoing Planning That Goes On In My Head

April 27, 2016 at 9:41 am by Claudia

4-27 books3

The sun has finally come out this morning after a day of rain yesterday. I can still smell smoke from the wildfire. I hope the rain helped to bring it under control and that what I’m smelling is just the residual smoke that will be hanging around for a while.

I sat at my desk yesterday, staring at the TSP, and got absolutely nothing done. I did come up with an idea for a desk, so it wasn’t entirely a bust, and I decided to hold off on the final paint color for the deck/porch until I add some stonework at the base of the building. See? Even though nothing seems to be accomplished, I realized later that I did  in fact accomplish something, even if it’s simply sorting things out in my brain. Planning.

I finished the first book in the Harry Hole series, The Bat, by Jo Nesbø, which was excellent. Uh oh. I’m hooked on another series. Next up is Cockroaches. So I just might be taking a little drive to the bookstore today because once I’m hooked, I’m hooked. I have to get a dowel from Michael’s (which is right next door) and maybe some raisin bread from Target…

I just started That Darkness by Lisa Black – which is in the form of an eGalley from NetGalley. It was officially published yesterday, so I’ll write a review when I finish it. So far, so good. I’m thoroughly engaged.

What else? I’m trying to juggle the demands of Anastasia’s  schedule with a couple of other small projects. Since I don’t know when they’ll want me to come into Anastasia  next (this is all very complicated) and rehearsals in the rehearsal room will be winding down next week, I’m assuming I’ll be going to Hartford to watch a run-through on the weekend or early next week. But I have to wait for them to ask for me as I am contracted for only a certain amount of days. In the meantime, I have to go into the city sometime this week or next to consult on another project (about Martin Luther) so I think I’m going to try to get there tomorrow. And then I have to decide whether I want to take two days to go down to Washington D.C. to watch a performance of the other project (about C.S. Lewis) that I’ve been consulting on. That would be toward the end of next week.

This is the kind of stuff that is going on in my head most of the time, along with all the work I have to coordinate on the TSP. Planning – if only in my head.

Back to Jo Nesbø. If you like police procedurals, I think you’ll like this series. Extremely well-written and engrossing. I sat in my little old chair and read for several hours yesterday – completely into it – and had to shush my husband several times as I headed toward the end of the novel.

Happy Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: books, bookstores, coaching, reading, Top Secret Project 25 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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