books — Page 59

Day Three Hundred Forty-Eight

February 24, 2021 at 10:31 am by Claudia

A little corner in the cottage – this is in the den. On the shelves: books, of course, a vintage lint brush, Scout’s paw print, and a little gem from Vintage by Crystal. Some egg cups are on their own set of shelves – most of these won’t fit in the cubbies, they’re either too tall or too wide. And a little duck family I found in a shop long ago.

It’s supposed to reach 47 degrees today. The melt will begin. I have no idea how long it will take to melt the 30 inches of snow we have on the ground, of course, but I’m ready for it to go.

We watched Supernova last night. It’s a new movie starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci, about a couple dealing with Alzheimer’s. We rented it on Amazon Prime. Simply beautiful. Firth and Tucci are, as always, excellent. I don’t want to give away the plot, but Don and I spent a good deal of time talking about it afterward. It is very, very powerful.

We’ve seen Nomadland, The Dig, and Supernova in the past week – all of them excellent.

A book delivery yesterday – I’ve been wanting to read Underland for over a year. I just heard about London Fog (nonfiction) and it’s time to start reading some vintage British mysteries in the form of Edmund Crispin. Come to think of it, I think I read one of his books long, long ago, but I don’t remember it. My TBR pile is getting taller.

Other than that, we’re tired of isolating, tired of not being able to eat at a diner, tired of not being able to go to a bookstore in person, or to wander through an antique shop. Zoom and FaceTime are invaluable, but it’s not the same as seeing someone in person, is it? I’d like to be able to smile at people I see in a store or on a street without the smile being hidden by a mask. We’re in a temporary funk and we’ll come out of it. But this winter has been long and the pandemic has been even longer.

Ah well. I’m resting my back today, so I’ll be reading. But it’s sure hard for me to stay out of trouble. I like to do things and a surprising number of those things involve my back. So I have promised Don I will be a good girl today.

I just heard that my dear colleague, the stage manager of Anastasia, lost her husband to COVID yesterday. I can’t imagine her pain. I’ve worked with her on two Broadway shows and she is the most wonderful person. My heart breaks for her. And for her daughter.

Update: We have appointments on April 9th! It’s about an hour and a half away from us, but they’re back to back appointments and it’s worth it. We’ll call it Vaccine Day!

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Day Three Hundred Forty-Seven

February 23, 2021 at 10:09 am by Claudia

A different view. This was taken just inside the kitchen. The pantry is on my left and next to that, the kitchen door. As is, of course – Don’s laptop and headphones on the coffee table. I don’t usually highlight the clock that I bought 10 or 11 years ago, but I do love it. It’s mounted on the side of the pantry and the antique marionette plates that we bought in Paris are right below it.

Of course, I bought it because of the style and that Jadeite green color. It’s two-sided, so you can see the time from the living room and the kitchen.

Did some work on the puzzle yesterday but my lower back has been bothersome of late and leaning over the table aggravates it, so today I’m going to take it easy. I finished Mrs. Tim Carries On this morning. I’m definitely going to read more by D. E. Stevenson. For those of you who love British books and books in general, I thought I’d mention an account I follow on Instagram that I’m sure you’d like. Her name is Miranda Mills and she frequently writes about books and reading. She also records a lot of videos, which I love. Her mother joins in on some of them, talking about books and baking. Until last year they lived in London, but they moved to Yorkshire, so you get to see a lot of the Yorkshire countryside, as well. She has two accounts: Miranda’s Bookcase, and Miranda’s Notebook. I was just watching her most recent vlog this morning, this one centering on humorous books. She is the person who turned me on to the Mrs. Tim books and many others.

And we watched The Dig last night. We’re a little late coming to it. I have heard nothing but raves about this movie, as has Don, so we carved out some time to watch it. Simply stunning. Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan are superb, as is the rest of the cast. We’re going to watch it again in a few days. As far as I’m concerned Ralph Fiennes can do no wrong. He is a superb actor – one of my favorites. If you haven’t seen it, it’s on Netflix.

Don is out shoveling. We got about 2 inches of heavy, wet snow, so for now, it looks like a winter wonderland with snow on all the branches. That will change as the day goes on and the temps reach 39.

I can appreciate it, and I do, but I’m pretty much over winter. I have to force myself to acknowledge its charms.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Day Three Hundred Forty-Five

February 21, 2021 at 10:11 am by Claudia

In 20 more days, we will have reached the one year mark in this strange pandemic-land. It’s hard to believe, but then again, it’s not.

Puzzle Central. I worked on the puzzle yesterday, but only a little. Sometimes I need to rest my back and yesterday was one of them. I’ll do a bit more today.

It’s sunny and cold, but the sun should shine all day today, unlike yesterday. I’m grateful.

Thanks for all the positive comments on Don’s latest song. He’s so talented, that guy. I was happy to assist with some background vocals in which I used the higher part of my range and sang with a light touch, because it was not about me. It was about enhancing the story and Don’s voice. I’m actually an alto/mezzo soprano and I’ve got a big voice. I started out in musicals, so I’m perfectly capable of belting out a song, sans microphone. This kind of thing, doing a light background vocal, is something new to me and it was fun.

Speaking of voices, there is no voice that makes me happier than my husband’s. I love hearing him speak first thing in the morning and I love hearing him sing. His voice is deep and resonant and soothing. Since my career is all about the voice, that’s high praise indeed. I’m a lucky girl.

We watched Nomadland the other night, the new Frances McDormand movie. It’s excellent. It’s in theaters and on Hulu. We don’t subscribe to Hulu, but we did a free trial just so we could see it. It’s a bit annoying, this trial, because it pauses for what would be commercials (the least expensive version of Hulu.) Rather than wait out that break, I hit “back” and and resume the video. But it was free, so I’m not complaining. The movie is based on a book of the same name, which I now want to read, and the cast consists of actors and non-actors and it’s fascinating. My love for McDormand’s work just gets stronger. She is fearless. She doesn’t have to fill every moment with ‘something.’ She can just be. And she has stayed true to who she is – no plastic surgery, no fillers. She embraces her age. We’re going to watch it again this week.

Last night we watched The King’s Speech again. We’ve seen it several times and we love it. We were both feeling a bit tired and under the weather, and for us, it’s a comfort movie.

Back to Mrs. Tim Carries On, which is delightful. I’m now a D.E. Stevenson fan and plan to read more of this series, as well as her other books.

A bit more snow tomorrow then, fingers crossed, warmer weather. And by warmer, I mean in the 40s, which is positively balmy compared to the deep freeze of the past few weeks.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Day Three Hundred Forty-Eight

Day Three Hundred Forty-Seven

Day Three Hundred Forty-Five

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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