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You are here: Home / Archives for Don

Chatting on Tuesday

December 3, 2013 at 8:33 am by Claudia

candleden

It’s a foggy morning here at the cottage. We woke up early, a little too early. But then again, the days are so short at this time of year that we want to grab all the daylight we can. It’s now December 3rd and I have yet to clean up the porch and stow things for the winter. Honestly, I seem to do this later and later every year. The reason? I tend to be a procrastinator about things I don’t want to do. This is one of them. It symbolizes the end of all things green and growing. Since I am about to decorate for Christmas next week, I think I’d better get a move on.

I included this photo because I have a candle burning this morning and you can see the flame reflected in the glass of vintage frame on the wall. And I didn’t have any other photo to share! Goodness, what will I do now that I can’t take endless pictures of the flowers in my garden?

You’ll notice that Scout is not in this photo. Since Don has recently started to get up at the same time as me, her ‘schedule’ has been thrown off. She goes back and forth between us. She settles on the loveseat in the living room where Don is sitting, then she comes into the den and gets in the ‘tunnel’ and, after about 5 minutes, she heads back up to the living room. She’s like the child of divorced parents, shuttling back and forth between houses. I think she’s fed up with both of us. But you know all of that, since she recently absconded with the laptop and wrote a blog post. That girl!

I’m in the midst of Daniel Silva’s newest thriller, The English Girl. He is a wonderful author that I discovered a couple of years ago and, like Lee Child, Deborah Crombie and Louise Penny, I ended up reading all of his books in chronological order. Don’t you just love it when you discover a new author and absolutely have to read all of their books? In order? Such an unexpected pleasure.

I love reading. I remember being a young girl and thinking to myself, “There are so many books to read and so much music to listen to that I will never be able to accomplish it all in my lifetime!” It was thrilling and overwhelming at the same time. While I might not say it quite as dramatically nowadays, I still feel the same way. I wish I had the foresight many years ago to record the name of every book I read and continue it right up to the present. Can you imagine how staggering it would be to see a list of every book you’ve ever read? Oh, darn it, I wish I’d done that!

Finally, a little teaser for you. The Poisoner’s Handbook (which Don filmed in Prague last winter) airs on PBS on January 7th. Just a little over a month away! Don’t worry, I’ll remind you about it. If you click on this link, you’ll see a preview!

We’re very excited.

Oh for heaven’s sake, I keep forgetting to post the winner of a copy of The Alligator Man. Missy, you are the winner. I’ll shoot an email your way.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: books, Don, Scout 62 Comments

Presents, Work on the Dollhouse and a Fateful Day

November 22, 2013 at 9:15 am by Claudia

Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes! You warmed my heart, but then you always do. Don had to go into the city for an audition, so I hung around the cottage with Scout and did something that makes me very happy: I worked on the dollhouse.

fridaycuttingpainting

I cut, I painted, I trotted back and forth from the dollhouse to the kitchen island. Scout didn’t quite know where to ‘settle.’ That order from Miniatures that I received the other day had several pieces of trim that I planned on using to trim out the windows in the bathroom and the office/craft room. But then I had an Aha! moment. I knew I had to do some trimming of the bits of wallpaper that extended beyond the walls, especially around the doorways. I was never happy with the way they looked. I was ready to pull out the exact knife (which I will do, eventually.)

Ummmm, Claudia? You might want to consider trimming out the doorways, just as you did the windows. Why didn’t I think of that sooner?  I grabbed the trim I had on hand to do this:

fridoor

firdoors2

Much better! There’s more on the kitchen side of the doorway and in the bedroom. I also added a lot of molding around the baseboards and ceilings. Still more to do on that front.

I cannot tell you how much I love creating this little dollhouse world. It makes me so happy!

Today I have to place an order to replenish my stock!

Don came home around 2:30 and we went out to dinner around 6-ish. We decided to go local and by local I mean just down the road. Incredibly, I’d never been in this restaurant in the 8 years we’ve lived here, even though it is local hangout. Lovely waitress…hold on a moment, is ‘serving person’ the correct way to say it nowadays? Anyway, it was Keri’s first day on the job, so we made sure to give the manager a thumbs up on her work. We had angel hair pasta with olive oil and tomatoes and onions and garlic, along with a salad and garlic bread. Keri surprised us with a mini pumpkin pie in honor of my birthday that was out-of-this-world-delicious!

Back at the ranch, I opened my presents. I like to open a wrapped present so I put the brakes on the idea of snow boots, which I would have had to select and try on, leaving the element of surprise completely out of the picture. Not that I was entirely surprised by my gifts, as I had specifically requested two of them.

fripresents

The newest Lee Child, as I have been on the waiting list for it at my local library for a few months and I’m still number 163 in the queue. And Mary Oliver’s newest book of poems, all about dogs she has known and loved. Mary Oliver is my favorite poet. She makes my heart sing. She is wise. She is a nature and animal lover. She speaks to me.

Scout’s present for me was that little Keep Calm and Eat Cupcakes sign.

Speaking of cupcakes, Don had four of them waiting for me. They were decorated with my name – in icing! I haven’t had any of them yet as I was too stuffed from dinner. But, they’re waiting for me. Yummy!

Lots of Birthday wishes on Facebook and on this blog, so my cup does indeed ‘runneth over.’

Finally, like many of you, I have been watching a lot of vintage footage from the day President Kennedy was assassinated. I remember exactly where I was. I had just turned 11 the day before. I was in art class at my school when we were ushered back to our classroom with the words “The President has just been shot.” We were sent home and by the time I reached my house, which was just two blocks from school, the world knew he had died. We sat in front of our television for the next three days. We saw Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald, as it happened. We cried and cried.

Such a terrible time, such a horrendous loss. I truly believe that everything changed from that moment. Nothing has ever been the same. Innocence was lost, hopes and dreams were crushed.

Fifty years.

Today, I’m honoring the memory of President Kennedy and of Officer Tippet, who was also gunned down by the despicable Oswald on that fateful day.

Have a good Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: birthday, books, dollhouse, Don, life, Scout 45 Comments

Books and Bookcase Dreaming

November 13, 2013 at 9:25 am by Claudia

mony

How could you not love that face? Monty the cow has lived with us at least 10 years, maybe longer. We found him a little shop when we were living in our rental. The shop no longer exists, unfortunately. Monty is named for the town we lived in before moving to this cottage. His wide-eyed, slightly startled, but always gentle look is what sold us on him. A year or so after we acquired Monty, we rescued Riley, who had that same look in his eyes. Maybe Monty and Riley were really brothers, separated at birth? Clearly, I’m drawn to those big dark eyes. They say “Rescue Me.” And Don and I are most definitely rescuers.

Baby, it’s cold outside! We are in the middle of an Arctic blast that has caused the temperature to plunge. Despite the cold temps, we took our regular late afternoon walk yesterday. Don remarked that the walk wasn’t nearly as charming in the cold, cold weather. Ah well. We stuck to our guns and did it, that’s the important thing.

By the way, Don’s American Experience is supposed to air on January 7th on PBS. It always pays to check your local listings but that’s the official date. Mark your calendars.

I’ve also added a link on the navigation bar to my coaching website, in case you’re curious about that aspect of my life.

books

I’ve got a stack of books to get through. These are the books I have checked out from the library. I have another stack on the desk that I need to read for review purposes. And I’m nearing the end of How the Light Gets In. I find myself in that place that only occurs when reading a newly discovered and now favorite author. I can’t wait to see what happens, how the plot is resolved, but I know that the minute I close the cover, that will be it for my blissful Louise Penny reading experience until her new book comes out. And I really can’t prolong it because I have to read a book that is scheduled to be reviewed next Monday. Drat!

Okay. You’re probably sick of hearing about her. But truly, she is one of the best writers I have encountered. Ever.

densofanight

Since I’m thinking books, books, books all the time lately, I find myself staring wistfully at the wall that is behind the sofa in the den. Remember I said that I’d love to have built-in bookcases on that wall? The minute I saw this house for the very first time, I imagined them there. It’s now eight years later and, still, no bookshelves. There’s always something else that needs whatever spare cash we have on hand.

We don’t know any handymen. Or a carpenter. My husband is many wonderful things, but handy he’s not. I don’t have a relative living nearby that can come over and help me.

There’s also the fact that there is baseboard heating all along that wall and that has to be taken into consideration.

Here’s what I envision: shelves all the way to the ceiling with some crown molding at the top. Beadboard behind the shelves. The long stretch of bookshelves would be divided into sections. One section would be from the wall on the left to just past the screen. The next section would stretch from just past the screen to the window. This section would require a special shelf placement because I want that painting on the wall to stay there. So the shelves would be built around it. The next section would span the window, with a shelf just above the window frame and one below it. The final section would stretch from the right side of the window to the wall.

Can you picture that?

Now, if only a carpenter would magically appear on our doorstep, we’d be in business.

Happy Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: books, decorating, Don, Riley 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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