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Painting, Masks, & The Letter T

May 19, 2021 at 9:36 am by Claudia

The gorgeous weather continues. It’s going to get warmer, into the eighties, which is a bit too warm for my taste. We’ll be putting in the bedroom window a/c unit later today because that upstairs bedroom gets warm at night.

In case you ever see a missing letter “t” on this blog it’s because my keyboard T is hardly working, which means I’ll have to visit the Apple store soon. It’s annoying, to put it mildly. It gets a bit better as the computer warms up, but I almost always have to hit it 3 times before it works. (Now, after typing this post, it’s working well. Go figure.)

A frustrating painting session yesterday. Nothing seemed to be working, I couldn’t mix the colors I wanted, I didn’t like the way it looked. So, my second attempt was not a happy experience. Don, as always, brought me back to reality and reminded me that I’ve barely started this journey. It’s all about learning. I do watch some teaching videos and they help me with the basics. I just have to go for it and experiment and see what works and what doesn’t. I was feeling sorry for myself, but thankfully, that is over. I’m going to do a couple of small studies today on paper. Start small.

I watered everything yesterday; grass seed, morning glory and zinnia seeds, all the potted plants on and off the porch. I have gently urged Don to water the grass seed today…we’ll see if he remembers.

I’m really enjoying my reread of Nine Coaches Waiting  by Mary Stewart. I haven’t read it in many years. Such a wonderful sophisticated romantic mystery by the Queen of that genre. I read a chunk of it every night before I go to sleep. What would I have done without Mary Stewart in my teens? I specifically remember a car trip with my parents to visit old friends who lived in New Jersey. I fell asleep while reading The Ivy Tree  and my mom removed the open book from my hands when she came in to check on me.

Gov. Cuomo has gone along with the recommendations of the CDC as of today, although individual stores can set their own policies. Oblong Books, for example, is requiring masks until sometime in June, partly to ensure the safety of staff members who haven’t been fully vaccinated yet, as well as for children and the immunocompromised. Don’s going to the grocery store this morning, so we’ll see if they still require them. No masks for those who are fully vaccinated, but you know that those who refuse to be vaccinated will also not wear masks, and there’s no way to check on that unless you require those who are fully vaccinated to show their card upon entering the store. Anyway, both Don and I have decided we will continue to wear masks indoors (in a public setting.) I was talking to our next-door neighbor the other day and they are also continuing to wear masks indoors – and each of them had COVID early, in February/March of 2020.

I don’t love it, but I surely don’t mind wearing a mask if it keeps myself and others safe. No big deal.

Okay. Another attempt at painting in oils on the docket for today.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: books, oil painting, painting, reading 32 Comments

Flowers and a Paperweight

May 14, 2021 at 10:01 am by Claudia

The bridal veil spirea is in full bloom. Oh, how I love this bush! It’s down by the road. I’ll get some more photos with my big girl camera later today.

Aside from rampant allergies, all is well. We have to do some mowing today or tomorrow, but Don’s recycling this morning, as well as running to the grocery store, so I assume we’ll mow tomorrow.

I have had my eye on this paperweight from John Derian for almost two years. Derian is known for his decoupage, using vintage images. Once a year, he has a sale on seconds with minor imperfections. Last year’s sale did not include this particular item.

But this year’s sale did! There was only one available and I grabbed it for half off the original price. It was delivered the next day. All of these items are handmade in their studio. The glass is very heavy and it’s simply beautiful. I can see a couple of teeny bubbles, but they’re hardly noticeable and more importantly, they don’t bother me at all.

Isn’t it pretty?

Well, the CDC has given us new guidance on mask wearing and it’s very exciting. I am still a wee bit hesitant about not wearing one indoors, and for the time being, I’d have to wear one anyway as Governor Cuomo, as well as the Governor of New Jersey, have stated that our mandate is still in effect until they review the guidance with experts.

But it does give us a view of what might be happening soon.

All that being said, I think everyone has to do what he/she is comfortable with. We’ve been in the grip of this pandemic for over a year and hesitancy is to be expected.

I’m trying to figure out what I want to paint next. The jury is still out on the next ‘experiment.’

In the meantime, I finished the latest Jane Casey – she is such a wonderful writer! – and I’ve started to read Nine Coaches Waiting  by Mary Stewart for the 100th time.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: books, flowers 26 Comments

Day Four Hundred Fourteen

May 1, 2021 at 10:01 am by Claudia

What is that sound I don’t hear?

Wind.

It went on for hours and hours yesterday; I stopped counting the number of times I had to run out to the porch to retrieve something that had fallen or had blown across the porch. It’s rather cold this morning, but it’s sunny and I cannot wait to get out there and do a bit more potting.

Don is making something in the crockpot for dinner – we’re trying to get through the next two days with the little we have on hand so we don’t have to grocery shop until Monday. We avoid our local store on the weekends. Too crowded!

Our neighbors across the street are having an outdoor birthday party today and invited us, but we’re not really party people. They have a Grateful Dead cover band playing from 6:30 until 9:30. But, like good neighbors, they gave us a heads up and the band will finish at a sane time, so we plan to watch The Wizard of Oz  on TCM instead of our current subtitled series (Baron Noir) because it will be too noisy to concentrate on the subtitles. And obviously, we know Oz pretty well by this point in our lives.

I gave up on The Paris Library. I tried, but it’s not my cup of tea. The prose is clunky (only my opinion, of course) and since The American Library’s activities during the Occupation of Paris are documented, I’d rather read the non-fiction version of this story. As you know, historical fiction is not my thing; I have definite opinions about that genre. So. It is now in my DNF (Did Not Finish) pile and I’ll donate it to our local library whenever they start taking donations again.

I started More Fool Me, the third volume of Stephen Fry’s memoirs, and I think I’ll read it and some fiction at the same time. Fiction title is yet to be determined.

A question: are you enjoying these little posts about my career? I woke up this morning thinking, “How boring this must be!” and started to question whether I should continue with them. Part of me says “You’re rattling on and on about your past and who cares?” but then again, this blog is all about me rattling on and on, isn’t it? Anyway, let me know. I’m perfectly fine with it either way.

Today marks 27 years since we lost our beloved student John Lentz to senseless gun violence. He was murdered walking out of Balboa Park after a closing night party. His girlfriend, Dhyana, was also shot, but survived. I miss him every day. He was kind, talented, bright, and could make me laugh like no one else. He was about to graduate with an MFA and had a bright future ahead of him. It was taken away in a second. I don’t think I’ve ever cried as much as I did that day and for the week that followed as we journeyed to Kansas for his funeral.

Rest in Peace, dearest John.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: books, garden, reading 66 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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