egg cups — Page 15

Tuesday Cups & An Introduction

April 4, 2023 at 9:23 am by Claudia

Still sick. So is Don. This morning I spent my first two hours coughing. Lovely way to start the day.

Anyway, we’re hanging in there. I did a bit too much yesterday, so I’m cutting back today. I do have to vacuum – it’s been way too long. And I have to go back to rehearsal this week – hopefully, not until Thursday or so. What a damn pain in the tush this is.

Egg cup tour continues:

• On the left, an egg cup from Prague. A gift from my husband. Darn it, he’s so sweet.

• Two morning glory egg cups found at the Paris flea market. First of all, morning glories! Secondly, PARIS! I think they’re fairly modern, but I love the design. You can still see the price tag in one of the cups.

• One of my favorite egg cups from a line by Carlton in England. This one was made in 1973. The name of the line is “Walking Ware” and consists of, you guessed it, egg cups with feet and shoes and socks. Some of them have long legs. I think they’re so whimsical and charming.

We have a few more to go and then this year’s tour will be over.

Oh, almost forgot! (Just kidding.)

I’d like you to meet Ella.

Yes, she arrived yesterday all the way from England. Ella is a Ferro Doll – like Harper – and I’ve often mentioned on this blog that I wanted one of her dolls with curly hair. They’re hard to find as Elena is concentrating on a different sculpt lately. I’ve missed out on a few over the past two years, sometimes due to my relative ‘newness’ to Blythe collecting and not being sure about what I wanted and sometimes due to timing. I’ve had a long back-and-forth with Ferro Dolls about it and, though she doesn’t take commissions, I asked her to let me know when another one of these curly-haired girls might be coming up for adoption. But she hasn’t – mostly because, like any true artist, she is expanding her designs and going in a slightly different direction. Long story short, one morning as I scrolled through my Blythe feed, a woman from the Liverpool area mentioned that she was going to let go of some of her dolls and to please let her know if there is one we’d like. I responded with the speed of a cheetah because I knew she had this girl. And somehow I ended up first in line for her.

Like most Ferro girls, she has an intense, slightly fierce look. I love her coloring, which is darker than many of my girls, making the combination of her skin tone and her blondish tousled hair quite striking. Her face-up is beautifully painted.

Harper (my other Ferro) is pleased to meet her sister and I’ll try to get some photos of them together today.

Side note: This is the first time – ever – that I received a doll without any clothes on. Nothing. And in a cardboard box rather than the original wood Ferro box she came in. I remember watching a video of her ‘unboxing’ and she came with a little romper and a hat and shoes and socks in the always beautiful Ferro box.

I was rather shocked when I signed for the package. It was so light in weight that I thought something had gone wrong! Anyway, there are no hard or fast rules, but every new or second-hand doll I’ve ever seen both here and online has arrived wearing something. I was a little miffed, I’ll admit it. But I let it pass because, in the end, I’ve got what I really wanted, which is this beautiful girl, and I’m sick and don’t have much energy. Also, I have plenty of wood Blythe boxes so I really don’t need another one!

I renamed her because ‘Ella’ just kept coming to mind when I looked at her. She already has a new body because she came with a licca body and I don’t like them. My friend Tania calls them ‘noodle legs’ and she’s right. So some of my time yesterday afternoon was spent replacing her licca body with an Obitsu 22.

Too much info I expect, but I’m sick, so give me a pass.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Sunny Monday Egg Cups

April 3, 2023 at 9:22 am by Claudia

It’s still a degree below freezing, but it will warm up to 61 today. Quickly scanning the week ahead, it looks like this will be the last week where it goes down below freezing at night. Next week? In the forties. That means I’ll soon be able to begin garden cleanup.

But not until I’m feeling better. And I’m not feeling much better. I felt crappy most of the day yesterday and it wasn’t until about 6 pm that I began to feel human. Today? Can’t tell yet.

This group is on the petite side and not one of them has a marking. So I don’t know who made them.

• A blue and off-white egg cup, fairly heavy. I believe it was a gift. Lovely design.

• A plastic Art Deco-inspired egg cup that I found at the Paris flea market. I love all things Art Deco and this was so unlike anything I had that I grabbed it. Also: PARIS!

• Another Paris flea market find. It’s a bit battered and not in great condition, but it’s red transferware (if that is even what it’s called in France) and it’s very old. Also: PARIS!

• This is a very heavy egg cup, Asian in design. I have no idea where it came from (did I buy it?)

I’ll show you the other side of this one:

An Asian design with dragons – there’s even more, but it’s hard to get the whole picture because of the curve of the cup. It might be stoneware.

And these two:

You might remember me knitting these bunny egg cup cozies several years ago. I believe that happened when Don was away somewhere; Boston, La Jolla, somewhere. I was so charmed by this pattern that I couldn’t resist. The one on the right is Mom. The one on the left is her son. If I had eggs in the cups, they’d be sitting up higher. (Note to self: Do that.)

The son is perched on a tiny lustreware egg cup that was one of my very first purchases. Mom is perched on an egg cup from Prague – a gift from Don that he found when he was filming The Poisoner’s Handbook for PBS.

Speaking of films, thank you to those of you who have taken the time to watch Spoiler Alert. I can’t tell you how important it is to me that you see it, and when you let me know you’ve seen it, my heart is full. I’ve had a full and rewarding life in the theater; teaching, training actors, working with all sorts of wonderful people including many, many actors who would be called ‘famous.’ I’ve worked on Broadway. Pretty much every dream has been fulfilled and I’m profoundly grateful

But this movie, such an unexpected event in the later years of my career, is the most visible and important thing I’ve done. Attending the premiere was one of the biggest things to ever happen to me. And the icing on the cake was acting in it – completely unexpected and a gift from God. I’m very, very proud of my work on this movie – Ben sounds completely American – and I think I make quite a believable nurse.

It’s available everywhere now. You can buy a DVD, you can rent it for a modest price on most all the streaming platforms. Obviously, I can’t make you watch it. But, you know how much it means to me that you see it. It’s a beautiful movie full of wonderful, heartfelt performances. You’ll cry. You’ll laugh, You’ll get to see me in a scene with Jim, Ben, Bill Irwin, and Sally Field.

Thanks! I don’t ask much, if anything of you. It would mean a great deal to me.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Sunday Egg Cups

April 2, 2023 at 8:54 am by Claudia

I’m still quite ill, but I have pockets of time during the day when I feel quite a bit better. Then, the next morning comes around and I feel like crap. That’s always the way with these things. I’ve made Don promise not to run any errands today and I am very grateful NOT to have to coach today. I sound like Tallulah Bankhead with a raspy cough and that ain’t pretty.

I think I have a few free days before I have to go back in the city, so I’m laying low.

I can’t even concentrate on reading at the moment, though I’ll give a try again today.

More egg cups:

• On the left, an egg cup from France that I purchased many years ago when was back in San Diego to do some coaching. From my favorite shop at the time, Vignettes. There’s a slightly different flower design on the other side of the cup.

• A lovely little cup from Holland; it’s Delft. This is a very special egg cup because my mom found it somewhere and sent it to me. When I started collecting egg cups, she got right on board and looked for them wherever she went. I cannot tell you how much I miss her. (This cup was included in the Country Living spread.) I love you, Mom.

• I love this one. It was one of my earliest purchases because I love brown transferware. My one regret was that I didn’t collect more of it. I have a few pieces here and there. Anyway, this is Mason’s Vista series (from England) – each design showing a view of some well-known place in the world. Note the design inside the rim.

• And this last one I know very little about. I really love it as it reminds me of Clarice Cliff’s designs. I found it in a local shop. It’s very heavy, and quite old, with crazing. There’s a big yellow flower on the other side. I’d love to know more about it!

Vicki, I’m glad your husband made it through surgery and that he is safely home with you now. Sending prayers for an easy and relatively quick recovery though I know it will take time.

We’ve scheduled Don’s hand surgery for April 28th because I’ll be done with my commitment to the show by then. I can drive him around and take care of him.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Tuesday Cups & An Introduction

Sunny Monday Egg Cups

Sunday Egg Cups

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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