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Wet Lilacs. Wet Everything.

May 4, 2016 at 9:13 am by Claudia

Weather forecast: More rain. I’m feeling soggy just thinking about it.

5-4 wet lilacs

The poor lilacs are trying to open, but the relentless rain is beating them down. We’re sick of the rain here at the cottage, though we certainly realize that this is nothing compared to the terrible rain and flooding in Texas. It’s inconvenient and not at all fun, but it isn’t dangerous. (Just keeping things in perspective.)

Last night I had trouble falling asleep. That might have been due to watching a certain someone speak (incoherently, of course, and always with ‘me, me, me’ as his focus – ‘they were good to me’ ‘I won by this much’ ‘I’m wonderful, I’m the best thing since sliced bread.’) No details as to how he’s going to accomplish what he so blithely promises. No seeming realization that the government has checks and balances and three branches and, therefore, he can’t just do anything he wants. Did he ever take a class in government?  Demagoguery, of course, appeals to fears and prejudices, not to any rational argument. I don’t know about you, but I like my presidential candidates to be a wee bit more prepared for the job. And when I say wee, I’m being about as sarcastic as I can be. The “Party of Lincoln,” as I so often hear it described, is rallying around a huckster, a megalomaniac, a narcissist, and a liar. I had to narrow it down to 4 adjectives. There are a whole lot more. Misogynist, bigot – I’d better stop.

By the way, I’ve ordered my Woman Card.

Consequently, I tossed and turned for a while. I can only imagine what the rest of the world is thinking. Actually, I don’t have to imagine – I read a lot of commentary on the subject. We look like fools.

5-4 wet lilacs2

Today, I’m off to Hartford to spend the night. I was hoping not to have to do that, but the run-through tomorrow morning is at 10 am and, if I left tomorrow morning, there is no way I could guarantee getting there on time during the morning rush hour. I-84 in Connecticut really is a mess during rush hour. So…off I go to spend the night in Hartford once again. The hotel screwed up, by the way, and billed both of my previous visits to my card, rather than Hartford Stage. It took a while before I figured that out. Eventually, it was resolved, but that means I have to make sure that this visit is billed to the theater, as in “I want proof.”

I’m looking forward to the run-through, as I’ve never seen the whole show and they’ve been doing a lot of rewrites in the past week or so. It will be fun and exciting.

Happy Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: coaching, flowers, garden, On The Road, politics 70 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

A Bit of Everything on Saturday

April 23, 2016 at 8:09 am by Claudia

4-23 hartfordstage

I’m back home after a long and satisfying day working on Anastasia.

When I pulled in the driveway around 8 pm, Don had dinner waiting, bless him. What a guy! He also spent the morning putting in our new mailbox. When the guys were here working on our culvert, they had to pull the mailbox out of the ground and when they put it back in, it was too low in height. Our wonderful post person, Lori, had to lean way over to open the box. As the mailbox itself was incredibly rusty after almost 11 years of service, Don replaced the whole thing. And he mowed the lawn.

First things first: today is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. And April 23rd is also considered to be his birthdate, though we can’t know that for sure. Since a great deal of my work has to do with Shakespeare as I gradually work my way through the canon, I couldn’t let this anniversary pass without saying – once again – that I think Shakespeare was the greatest writer ever to walk this earth. I never tire of his work. No matter how many times I’ve worked on a particular play, I learn something new. He understood the human heart. He understood good, greed, temptation, passion, joy, love, jealousy, hate – everything we humans feel and fall prey to. He understood the metaphysical. He was simply a genius. Thank you, Will!

4-23 redrobinfarm

I posted this on Instagram the other day. When we were out and about on Primary Day, I saw this in our local antique barn. Oh, my heavens. It’s a dollhouse – or rather, a doll barn – called Red Robin Farm. Those doors slide open and the inside is a barn with stalls for animals. The roof lifts off.

I did a little research and this building was manufactured by an American company – Converse, based in Massachusetts – in the early part of the twentieth century. There were varying sizes of these buildings. It looks like this one was one of the largest.

If I’d had an extra $265.00 on hand, I would have seriously considered this beauty. It’s in great condition. Made of wood.

But I must tend to other things, like this little project:

4-23 tsp

As you can see, I have yet to deal with the front porch or the trim around the bottom of the building. And I suppose I have to put a roof on, though I don’t want to.

Decisions, decisions. Will I get it done in time for Don’s birthday on June 24th? I have ordered a few more components, but I need some sort of work table that is a bit taller than the temporary farm table I have in there at the moment. I need to figure out how to make a sound board. I’m ordering a couple of stools and I need a coffee maker. What else? A large rug to absorb sound while recording. Lots and lots of vinyl records. I want to make some sort of shelf to hold the records – something I can hang on the wall.

Can I do it? Cross your fingers.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: antiques, coaching, dollhouse, Hartford, miniatures, Shakespeare 32 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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