Don — Page 119

Potpourri on Friday

August 19, 2016 at 10:05 am by Claudia

• Late start today, as I slept in a little and had a nice long phone conversation with my sister. My nephew is going away to his new college today. It’s a big day and a big transition. I’m very proud of him.

• Yesterday, I weeded for about 2 hours, cleaning up all the garden beds. Usually, at this time of year, I’ve given up on the weeding. But, though it was tiring, I’m so glad I did it. Everything looks much better and more defined – and my rambling, country garden needs some definition.

• Around the property:

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The limelight hydrangea blossoms are the bigger than ever this summer. Very impressive!

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Another zinnia is opening.

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And the wild Queen Anne’s Lace is blooming down by the mailbox.

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It always evokes memories of my childhood, when there was still an open field across the street from our house, and I’d see Queen Anne’s Lace everywhere.

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• Look! There’s a baby springing up from the soil! This is the mother-in-law’s tongue that my parents nurtured for over 40 years. I was so happy to see this little baby that I had to send a picture via text message to my sister. Mom and Dad would be pleased.

• This morning I woke up missing my dad’s voice and our phone calls. The other day, I lost it and sobbed about Scout – about all my dogs. I explained to Don that I missed talking and singing to Scout. I talked to her all the time, explaining what I was doing, explaining what I wanted her to do, telling her about my adventures, telling her how beautiful she was and how much I loved her. And I sang to her all the time; little songs I would make up on the spot.

I miss that.

I know that some of you will say, “You can still talk to her.” I do, at times. But, let’s be real: it’s not the same. I did it all the time. And there’s a quiet now, an emptiness of sound, that sometimes knocks me down and brings me to tears.

• Our dear friends of many years lost their home to a fire a couple of days ago. They live in Los Angeles: it wasn’t due to a wildfire but most likely an electrical fire. I think that has yet to be determined. Thank goodness, all are safe, including their two dogs. I can’t even begin to imagine how devastating this is for them. They will rebuild. They are in our prayers. Everything can change in a moment.

• For all of you who missed Don on Mr. Robot: You can see it On Demand, if you have that option with your cable package. Or you can do what I’ve done in the past and will do again. You can watch episodes on the USA network’s web page. Here’s the link to his episode. He did some fine work in this one.

Happy Friday.

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A Monarch & Mr. Robot

August 18, 2016 at 9:36 am by Claudia

Patience is a virtue that I don’t always have. But I do seem to have it when trying to capture flora and fauna on my camera. I’ve noticed that butterflies tend to come to the butterfly bush in the late afternoon/early evening. Around 6 pm I ventured out to the porch and peeked around the corner at the butterfly bush. Aha! A monarch! (And a hummingbird moth, I might add.)

I ran into the house grabbed my camera and then proceeded to contort myself into a position that entailed leaning out over the porch railing and then torquing my body to the right with camera in hand. For a long time.

Here’s what I got:

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And, in flight:

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There’s more, but I picked the ones I thought were the most interesting. I like to think this one emerged from our very own milkweed plants.

This butterfly bush has been a joy. I planted it a few years back and now it grows very tall each year, with blooms emerging in August. I love its graceful lines. It draws small, beautiful moths, all sorts of butterflies, hummingbird moths – and hummingbirds. If you don’t have one, consider planting one next year. The bloom time isn’t all that long, but boy, is it worth it!

The morning glories and moonflowers are lush with green leaves and are climbing all over the place. Still waiting on some flower buds….

We mowed yesterday and it was exhausting. Since the grass was so long and wet because of the humidity, the mower kept clogging and we’d have to repeatedly stop and scoop up all the cut grass from underneath the mower.

Just under two weeks until the newest Louise Penny is published on August 30th. I will be at the bookstore that day, that I can promise.

Don was on Mr. Robot last night and we kept flipping back and forth between the Olympics and Mr. Robot to try to catch his scene. We were successful! He was wonderful in a scene with his daughter; heartbreaking, sad, bewildered, angry – very real, which, on film, is much more difficult than you might imagine. I’m very proud of him. We haven’t actually watched any episodes in the second season as of yet. We will. So we didn’t try to understand what the heck was going on with the rest of the show; we just caught his scene.

By the way, we didn’t find out that his episode was airing last night until mid-afternoon. I edited this post to include that information and mentioned it on FB and IG. Sorry if you missed it!

Happy Thursday.

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Sadness, Lists, Flowers and Rain

July 9, 2016 at 9:54 am by Claudia

What a terrible week it has been. Last night, watching the news, I saw the photos of the policemen who were murdered in Dallas, each of them there to protect those who were peacefully protesting. And now they’re gone. I can’t wrap my mind around all of it. Innocent men all – and that includes the two men who were murdered by officers in Minnesota and Louisiana. All of it such a waste of life. I’m reading Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me. If you want to get a sense of what it’s like to grow up as a black male in our country, I’d urge you to read it. It’s beautifully and poetically written; it’s also raw and unsparing. The winner of The National Book Award, it is sometimes difficult and uncomfortable for me to read because that world is so different than the world I grew up in as a white girl living in suburbia. Oh, but let me tell you, that reaction tells me I need to read it.

There is much that needs to be done to bridge the divide.

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It’s been so unbelievably humid here that it feels like walking around in a thick soup. And each day there are thunderstorms and torrential rains that smash down my hollyhocks and hydrangeas. More today and then, fingers crossed, we’ll get a break.

Don and I went out and tied up the hollyhocks for some support while we’re in the midst of these storms.

This daylily is in the flower bed that is right next to the porch.

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I remember that it was just a week or so ago when I was complaining about the lack of rain.

The joke’s on me!

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The night before last, All the President’s Men was on TCM. Don and I love that movie. In fact, it’s one of those movies that, should we happen upon it, everything else is immediately dropped. Whether it’s mid-story or almost over – no matter. We watch it.

There are others (this is my list):

Any Fred Astaire movie
Any Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers Movie
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Big Country
The Music Man
On the Waterfront
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Hannah and Her Sisters
The Awful Truth
Dinner at Eight
Most any Screwball Comedy
Most any Frank Capra movie
Stagecoach
Red River
Alien and Aliens
Charade
You’ve Got Mail
Any Hitchcock movie

I’m sure there are more, but this list is what immediately comes to mind. (You know me, I’ll probably be editing and adding to it as the day goes on!)

Do you have a list like that? I bet you do.

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I got so mad at those dreaded Japanese Beetles that I ran in the house, grabbed my clippers, and snipped off all the buds that that were in danger of being eaten. Take that, Japanese Beetles!

I suppose more reading is on the docket for today. I miss working in the garden and, gosh darn it, I’d love to mow the lawn.

I’ll stop complaining. Our rivers are getting higher and our well is getting fuller. All good.

Happy Saturday.

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Potpourri on Friday

A Monarch & Mr. Robot

Sadness, Lists, Flowers and Rain

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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