butterfly — Page 14

I’d Rather Read than Pin

September 2, 2014 at 8:30 am by Claudia

As I was walking through the kitchen yesterday, I spied a butterfly in the Chicken Wire Fence Garden.

Me: Oh, there’s a big butterfly in the garden!

Don: (silence)

Me: Do I dare try to get a photo? It will probably be gone by the time I get out there.

Don: I wouldn’t bother.

Me: (ignoring him, because I wasn’t really asking his advice) I’m going anyway.

These kinds of conversations go on all the time here.

It was hot and humid and sunny. And the butterfly stayed long enough for me to get a few pics.

And now for the gist of this post:

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’d rather read than pin.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been on Pinterest. It simply hasn’t been on my radar. Oh, I know that Pinterest can bring a lot of visitors to a site and that means more ad income. A lot of bloggers strategically pin images (and also pin for pleasure, of course) that will hopefully go a bit viral. I get a fair amount of visitors from Pinterest and I’m grateful. I’m also flattered and grateful when others pin images from this blog. Perhaps I could get more income by strategically pinning. It’s one of those “I know I should, but I just can’t bring myself to do it” situations.

When I’m working on the dollhouse, I’ll usually end up pinning some images and tutorials. I know my sister loves it for crochet and knitting patterns. I totally get why so many people love it. The truth? I don’t go back and ‘visit’ my boards very often. Once pinned, usually forgotten.

I just can’t seem to get excited about it. I am bombarded with images (especially decorating photos) on a daily basis, simply by visiting other blogs. And let’s face it, both on blogs and on Pinterest, there is often a sameness to the designs and color choices, so it’s very rare that I see something startling and unusual enough to want to pin or repin it. More often than not, the images/designs are variations on the same theme.

Heck, I’ve had a copy of Flea Market Style sitting on the coffee table for a week now. I bought this particular copy on Tuesday in NYC. I’m sure it’s full of beautiful photos and great ideas for repurposing.

Have I cracked it open? No.

I am sadly lacking in the Pinterest gene.

Is it simply a matter of Decorating Photo Fatigue? Or, just plain Photo Fatigue? Probably a little of both. I just don’t want to spend hours on Pinterest. Or even an hour. I have no desire to be a Pinning Pro.

But I know lots of you spend time on Pinterest and love every minute of it. It provides lots of good tips, ideas, and inspiration. It’s like an uber-magazine.

So, I have a feeling I’m the exception here. The oddball. That’s okay. I’ve certainly been in that position before and most likely will be again.

I’m sure you’re thinking, “What are we going to do with her?”

Sigh.

My name is Claudia and I’d rather read a good book than pin.

(New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page.)

Happy Monday.

Roses are for Remembrance

August 31, 2014 at 8:05 am by Claudia

Not long after my mother died, my friend Martha, who blogs at Poetry and a Cup of Tea, told me she was sending me a rose bush called Remember Me in honor of Mom. It arrived while I was away in Chautauqua. After writing to Heirloom Roses, I found out it was okay to keep it in its original container until I got back home. Don dutifully watered it.

After I got home, we found an appropriate place to plant it – near the side gate in a very sunny location. I wasn’t counting on a bloom this year, but lo and behold, a bud appeared.

remembrance rose 1

Then this.

remembrance rose 2

And now this. Gorgeous. It’s quite a large flower. The scent is heavenly.

Thank you, dear Martha. I stood by the bush yesterday and thought of my mother. Your thoughtful gift brought tears to my eyes.

Yesterday morning, I was reading about Monarch Butterflies and their soon-to-be migration south. I lamented that I hadn’t seen one this year.

Later, I went out on the porch and there was a Monarch in the Chicken Wire Fence Garden! I, of course, ran for the camera.

monarch

monarch 3

So, so happy to see one! The markings on a Monarch remind me of stained glass.

What a beauty.

Birds and butterflies and critters. They make me smile.

I’m just about to finish The Heist by Daniel Silva. I’m in the can’t-put-it-down stage.

And we watched Dead Poets Society last night. Oh my heart. That movie is so haunting and beautiful. I can’t stop thinking about it. We are friends with Robert Sean Leonard and watching him in this movie, so young and so impossibly heartbreaking and wonderful in that role, made me cry. And then to add in the layer of now, the loss of Robin Williams, so recent and so raw, well, it’s almost overwhelming. I hadn’t seen the movie since it first came out. I’m so glad we watched it.

If you’ve been doing the Christmas Critter Felt Along, scroll down one post for the newest patterns.

Happy Sunday.

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Weekend Thoughts

August 24, 2014 at 8:25 am by Claudia

The weekend so far has been nicely slow, an unhurried pace of a weekend that suits me fine.

I talked Don into making his Vegan Blueberry Pancakes yesterday morning. Need I say more?

We went to the grocery store and to our little library where a copy of The Heist by Daniel Silva was waiting for me. I had been in a long queue for this book so I was surprised and happy that it was now available. Since I had barely started The Marco Effect by Jussi Adler-Olson (which is on my Kindle) I made a U-turn and started The Heist. I also checked out two other books which I will probably talk about on Just Let Me Finish This Page. Two books written by writers about their love of reading – I love books about books, if you know what I mean.

I watered all the potted plants and The Chicken Wire Fence Garden. I read. I did a NY Times crossword puzzle (a tough one, I modestly say.) I scrubbed the bathtub. We watched Marty on TCM.

Today? More of the same. Reading, writing, a little cleaning.

Work will soon begin on Hamlet, the show I’m coaching next, but I think I’ll wait until next week.

Currently blooming all over the property:

yellow beauty

Beautiful Goldenrod. It’s right alongside some Purple Loosestrife and the combination of the yellow and purple is gorgeous. (I’m not worried about the Purple Loosestrife, it isn’t invasive here. It just blooms in the wetter parts of the property and it’s beautiful.)

I was watering plants on the porch and I saw this beauty on the Butterfly Bush.

giantswallowtail 1

Yes, it’s blurry, sorry, as the butterfly was moving its wings very quickly. The butterfly was very large in size, so I did some research. It’s the Giant Swallowtail. I had to crop this photo down from one I took from a distance. Right after I took this, I cautiously walked around the porch to the bush and got this view:

giantswallowtail 2

Stunningly beautiful. Nature is stupendously wondrous and amazing.

I don’t understand why anyone would ever capture a butterfly. They should be magical and elusive and free. I should try to take a photo and be frustrated because the butterfly moves and flits and then disappears. That’s the way it should be. Those moments, those seconds in time, where the butterfly appears and then soars into the air and over the trees, those moments make me smile.

Today is my last day on the antibiotics. Tomorrow? I can have coffee with half and half first thing in the morning. Cannot wait. And we can start hiking again this week – no more worries about the sun.

Happy Sunday.

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I’d Rather Read than Pin

Roses are for Remembrance

Weekend Thoughts

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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