Don — Page 201

Good News and More Egg Cups

March 20, 2013 at 8:31 am by Claudia

gloveboxes

A pretty picture for this snowy Wednesday morning. And why not?

Much shoveling yesterday, but made so much easier by the presence of two of us! The snow was heavy and wet. Such a strange day; while we were shoveling, it was sleeting, then raining, then snowing, as if Mother Nature couldn’t quite make up her mind what she wanted falling from the skies.

I rewarded myself with a nice hot cup of hot chocolate.

We’ve had some good news here at the cottage. Don has been cast in an episode of American Experience for PBS. This episode, tentatively titled Murder by Poison, is based on the bestselling book, The Poisoner’s Handbook. It’s a fascinating book that tells the story of two men, Charles Norris (the chief medical examiner of NYC) and Alexander Gettler (a toxicologist) who, in the early twentieth century when murder by poison was the perfect crime and corruption in the coroner’s office was a fact of life, “set the justice system on fire with their trailblazing detective work, triumphing over seemingly unbeatable odds to become the pioneers of forensic chemistry and the gatekeepers of justice.” (From the publishers’s blurb on Amazon.)

Don is playing Charles Norris. And he looks a great deal like him. He’s growing his goatee as we speak. Whoops, Don tells me it’s a Van Dyke.

He’s filming in Prague.

Prague!

Oh my goodness! I’m so thrilled for him. (Can I somehow miniaturize myself so that I can hide in his suitcase? I’d love to see Prague.) He leaves on Easter and is there for about 9 days or so.

Isn’t that exciting news?

Don goes to Prague. I go to Hartford (but not until he gets back). Hmmm. What’s wrong with this picture?

eggcups3

Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry…..

Today’s egg cups:

On the left: a duck holding up an egg and looking a wee bit tired.

Center: One of my favorites (but then again, I have many favorites) a chicken eating seed and a duck who is peeking? hiding? holding up the egg? Whatever, it’s adorable.

Right: A rather elegant goose pulling an egg cart.

Happy Wednesday.

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A Little of This, A Little of That

March 14, 2013 at 9:25 am by Claudia

scoutie

• Don’s been back home for almost a month now and I’ve noticed a change in Scout. She’s been with us over 13 years and has lived through the prolonged absence of one or the other of us many times. It comes along with working in theater and film. She doesn’t like it when one of us is gone, but she’s pretty resilient. This time, however, when Don leaves the house to run an errand or go into the city for an audition, she goes into a funk. Though she hangs out with me for a little while, mostly she waits for Don. She goes into the living room and stares out the window. She parks herself on the floor of the kitchen facing the door. She starts at every noise, thinking it’s him. I will call out to her and ask her to come in the den with me, but she won’t. She never used to be that way.

More evidence that she’s getting older, that these things aren’t as easy for her anymore. She lost her brother recently, then Don went away for a long time. It’s too much for my little girl. Now I will be going away in a month. We really have to take her into account now as we make decisions as to who’s working where and for how long. We always have, of course, but now she is more needy, more vulnerable than ever. She’s our child and her comfort and peace of mind has to be a top priority.

• I’m finishing up an Obsession Scarf which will soon be on its way to a customer. Then I will start on more banners as they are currently sold out! Wow. I’m so glad you like them. Thank you to everyone who purchased one. Meredith and I just made our 99th sale on Etsy! How can that be possible?

hydrangea

(I just realized that the color of this vase matches the color that’s used in my menu and the titles on the sidebar.)

• I want to steer you toward one of my favorite blogs – that of my friend, Martha. It’s called Poetry and a Cup of Tea and it is simply wonderful. Martha loves poetry and literature and all sorts of other things. She writes beautifully and shares her heart in every post. She also has a great sense of humor.

I think we were separated at birth. I cannot tell you how many times she has written about something that I remember from my childhood, or an author that I was sure no one else loved as much as me. Yesterday she wrote about The Fighting Prince of Donegal, a Disney movie from our youth, and the Scholastic paperback version of Disney’s story that she still has.

I had that book, too. And I watched that movie countless times when I was a kid. I had a huge crush on Peter McEnery, who played the lead.

And I thought I was the only one.

She’s written about The Barbie Game (yes, I had one) and The Girl of the Limberlost (one of my very favorite books ever.) She tells a great story and she always shares a poem with her readers.

Stop in and say hello. I’m crazy about her.

• I often talk about my grandmother and her skill as a needlewoman. She was a strong influence in my life and the life of my siblings. My sister, Meredith, just wrote a post about her. Click here to see some of my grandmother’s incredible handwork.

• Did you know I almost always respond to your comments? Yep. Right there under your comment. If you’re interested, you can either check back here or you can put a check in that little box that says you want to see the response via email. Then, as if by magic, my response is sent to your inbox. I can’t guarantee something profound every time, but I do my best!

• Today is your last chance to be entered in the giveaway for a copy of Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright. Just scroll down and leave a comment on that post, if you are interested. I’m picking the winner this evening.

Happy Thursday.

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A Potpourri on Monday

February 25, 2013 at 9:30 am by Claudia

littlepinkchair

The past week or so has brought the usual adventures and misadventures.

• One morning found me filling up the glass coffee carafe with water, then dropping it on the wood floor where it shattered in a zillion pieces. Not a good thing for a girl who needs her coffee in the morning. I figured out how to insert a bowl where the carafe should be and catch the coffee. (Where there’s a will there’s a way.) Once that bowl was full, I had to insert another. And another. Then I poured it all into a thermos. The sad thing was that I had to do this for two days as I was snowed in and couldn’t get to the store to buy a new coffeemaker. Must have coffee. Peets French Roast.

scout7

• Right before I was to leave to get Don at the bus station (after 2 months apart) I was trying to wipe Scout’s dirty paws, as she had just come in from outside. Scout does not like me wiping her paws and she is very impatient. By the time I’m working on the third or fourth paw, she manages to elude my grasp and I have to chase after her as she trails water or mud all over the kitchen. This time, I happened to be near one of the kitchen chairs and as she squirmed out of my grasp, my head went down, meeting the chair. Result? Stinging pain and a gash in my forehead. As you can imagine, I was not looking my best for the reunion.

New nickname for Scout: Bronco Scout. She bucks her way out of my grasp like we’re at a rodeo.

bride&groom

• Now that my husband’s back home, I’m being treated to far tastier dinners than I managed to put together in his absence. Don’s the cook in this house. I’m the baker. Cooking bores me. Thankfully, it doesn’t bore Don and he’s been whipping up all sorts of appetizing meals. Heaven.

He even made a special dinner to commemorate my Five Years of Blogging! How’s that for a good guy?

guitar

• I’ve also been treated to the sound of my husband’s voice and his new guitar. For those of you who missed it, Don’s childhood friend Rob, who lives in San Diego, is a wonderful musician who has his own recording studio. The two of them just might have recorded a CD of Don’s music while Don was in town. Rob has lots of guitars and he lent this one to Don to use during his stay. It worked so well for Don’s voice and the kind of songs he writes that Rob gave it to him. Rob is one of the most generous guys I know.

Don is over the moon and loves this guitar. It’s a Martin. Named Maggie. (Have you noticed that we tend to name things around here?) Now we have two Martins in the cottage. The other one doesn’t have a name. Get going, Don!

• I have a couple of blogs to recommend to you.

First up: Heart Handmade UK. Claire, who I believe lives in Ireland, gathers the most gorgeous design posts from the web – most of them in beautiful pastel hues. She manages to find blogs and sites that are absolutely beautiful. When I first discovered her, I was so enthralled that I went back through most of her archives. She’s on my blog roll now and I look forward to her daily posts. And she has a sense of humor. Always a good thing.

Next: This blog is written by my friend Lynn. When I first moved out east, I worked part-time for a Veterinarian. Lynn was also working part-time at the same animal hospital as she pursued a post-graduate degree. She is a great girl; funny, kind, compassionate and talented. Fast forward a few years: I no longer work there because the commute was too long when we moved to the cottage and Lynn no longer works there because she got married, moved to a farm in Virginia and had a little boy. We are friends on Facebook and I was thrilled when I discovered Lynn has a blog! It’s called Kid and Goat. Lynn’s personality shines through on her blog, with pictures of life on the farm and of her house and her darling little boy. And wait until you see her goat, Sarah. Sigh. Stop by and visit her.

pjparty

• Don’t forget our Flannel Pajama Party next Monday! We’re going to share our pajamas, adventures in our pajamas, thoughts on pajamas…be there or be square.

scarfgiveaway

And finally:

The winner of the Obsession Scarf Giveaway is Debbie Hibbert! Debbie, I sent you an email last night. Pick one of these colors for your scarf and I will merrily crochet one for you. Thanks to everyone who left such lovely and kind comments on that post. They warmed my heart.

Happy Monday.

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Good News and More Egg Cups

A Little of This, A Little of That

A Potpourri on Monday

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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