My dear blogging friends and readers, you are the best in the world. I’ve said it before and I said it repeatedly to Don yesterday. “I have the best readers!”
And he agrees.
Thank you for tuning in to American Experience: The Poisoner’s Handbook Tuesday night. Between the congratulatory comments here on the blog and those on Facebook, our cup runneth over. Again and again yesterday, I read your comments out loud to Don and he was simply delighted. He was amazed and grateful that so many of you took the time out of your busy lives to spend a couple of hours watching The Poisoner’s Handbook.
Don is a wonderful actor. He can do anything; he can move from Farce to a show-stealing and wildly funny Doolittle in Pygmalion to Shakespeare to the gravitas of Dr. Charles Norris. Though I’m pretty sure I’m his biggest fan, I’m not alone. He is highly respected by his peers and directors love working with him.
Yes, he is tall – over 6 feet 4 inches tall. The period look to the costumes he wore added a little bulk, as well. He’s an imposing presence on stage and on the screen. And yes, that was his wedding ring, the one I put on his finger, that you saw in the hand washing scene. (It gave me a little thrill, too.)
I, along with you, was fascinated by the subject matter. I found it riveting. PBS does this kind of thing so well, this mix of documentary, interviews, still photos and re-enactments. The production values were excellent, the design and look of the re-enactments were true to the period; it was simply wonderful. Edited to add: If you somehow missed it, you can watch it online at pbs.org.)
And now, Don has a message for all of you:
I am so moved by the wonderful relationship Claudia has with you, her readers and co-creators and family of Mockingbird Hill Cottage. I heard all your wonderful comments and great observations regarding the PBS program I was lucky to be a part of. I thank you each and every one for your kind words and insights. You make it all worthwhile.
Love,
Don
Thank you, thank you, dear friends. You made our day.
In other news: When I ordered our new mattresses, I was told that delivery would be on or around January 29th. Yesterday, I received a call saying they will be delivered next Thursday, January 16th. Yikes. Now I’m praying that everything I have ordered; a new headboard, bed frame, sheets, mattress pad, dust ruffle, arrives before the mattresses. I thought I had more wiggle room and it turns out I don’t. I surely wouldn’t have been quite so casual about the whole thing had I known they were arriving sooner rather than later!
There are other challenges. We have to rearrange the bedroom to accommodate the bigger bed. Then we have to coordinate everything else: moving the furniture out of the hallway studio (and where do we put that?), clearing space in and around the stairway downstairs, deciding where to temporarily stash our current mattresses that day because the delivery guys are going to take them away for us. There is so little space in this cottage that there is a domino effect for every move. If this moves, than that has to move. If I put this here, where do I put that? Needless to say, my head is spinning. I ordered everything, including the mattresses, online. The only thing I haven’t ordered is a blanket. If any of you have a California King mattress, can you answer a question for me? I don’t seem to see any cotton blankets that are that size. Am I to assume that King size blankets are used instead? That’s what I had to order for the bed coverlet, which, thankfully, has already arrived – I got it for half price at Garnet Hill. (That quilt on the bed that I made? Too small for the new bed. I will have to fold it up and place it at the foot of the bed.) I feel like I’m choreographing a highly complex dance. Help!
Just kidding.
Or maybe I’m not kidding…
Happy Thursday.
