flowers — Page 128

Flowers, Sears & Movies

January 14, 2019 at 11:00 am by Claudia

Thanks for all the wonderful comments about Sears (and other beloved stores) and for sharing your memories. I shop online, yes, but sparingly. I rarely buy clothes online, as I want to try them on. I prefer to hold a book in my hand before I choose it. And I’ll be the first to say that mall shopping makes me tired and cranky, and my eyes hurt from the lights, and the sheer amount of territory to cover is too much. I miss the days when you could walk into a department store that wasn’t connected to a mall. But those days are gone.

My cousin left a comment as to the Sears Modern Homes that were sold as a kit. She thinks our family cottage was a Sears home. Interestingly, I had just had that same thought right before I read her comment. I know that my grandfather and his sons built the cottage themselves – I’ve seen photos of them building it. I wish we could ask my dad or my aunt about the kit they used. That comment from Eileen led me to look at all the different house models that Sears sold and I think I found one that might have been the model for the cottage Not sure yet, but it was so much fun to look at all the designs.

It’s that time of year again. My parents’ 40+ year old sansevieria is blooming again. There are five of these flower stalks nestled among the plant spikes.

The scent is heavenly.

Hey, Mom and Dad. Thank you.

My decluttering mojo has been missing for the past week or two, but it’s back. I’m going to start tackling the closet in our office today. Wish me luck!

We’ve been watching screeners of movies and television series that are nominees for the SAG Awards. So far, we’ve watched The Wife, Vice, The Favourite, BlackkKlansman, and Beautiful Boy. Tonight, we’re watching Can You Ever Forgive Me? We received a copy of Black Panther, as well, but we’ve seen that twice. I’ll refrain from commenting in case you haven’t seen these movies and plan to, but I will say that my favorites so far are The Favourite and Beautiful Boy. Though I liked certain aspects of each film, including some wonderful performances, there were serious flaws that keep me from giving them a rave.

We’re grateful to have the opportunity to watch them this early in the game. Normally, we’d wait until they hit the small screen.

Okay. Have to get a move on!

Happy Monday.

A Favorite Appears

November 18, 2018 at 9:48 am by Claudia

Look who was at the birdbath this morning. Our very own lonesome dove! Don pointed him out to me. I had just been wondering if the doves were still around and I got my answer. I can’t tell you how happy this made me. He drank quite a bit of water and stayed perched on the rim for about 5 minutes.

I still feel like crap, especially first thing in the morning. But I have to get it together because we’re going into the city this afternoon. Don is singing in a concert version of a new bluegrass musical called Johnny and the Devil’s Box. It’s still in development and this concert is being done to get a good recording of the score. It’s at 7 pm at the Rockwood Music Hall which is on the Lower East Side. Should be fun. Don plays a character called Pappy and has one song.

I’ve taken to calling him Pappy.

We’re taking the bus because we don’t want to be bothered with driving. So it will be a long day. And I have to go back into the city on Tuesday for a run-through of Anastasia.

Great new series on Netflix alert: There’s a new series called The Kominsky Method, starring Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin. It premiered on Friday and we’ve already watched all 8 episodes (wish they’d done more!). It’s really good. I like both actors, but I’m a big fan of Alan Arkin. He never makes a false move. Such an incredibly gifted actor. It’s funny and sad and lovely.

In the midst of the snow, and they were covered in snow the other day, the pansies are still blooming.

The nighttime lows are going into the teens later this week, so I don’t know how much longer they’ll be around. But it’s a blessing to see this splash of color on my porch right about now.

I love pansies.

Happy Sunday.

Short and Sweet

October 5, 2018 at 10:47 am by Claudia

I shot this from inside the kitchen this morning, which is why you see a smudge or two and the reflection of the kitchen door. But it was so pretty out there with the sun coming through the trees and the leaves on the ground that I couldn’t resist.

The posts for the next few days will be on the short side simply because I have so, so much to do before we go! Every day, there is a new list. Today, errands this morning and this afternoon, mowing the front lawn. It should be dry enough then. Because…you guessed it…yesterday’s beautiful morning turned into clouds and rain in the afternoon.

Tomorrow we clean the gutters and rake and that kind of thing. Since we’re not leaving until Sunday night, we also have Sunday to do laundry and pack.

This morning, we sat on the loveseat and looked at maps of Paris, figuring out where the hotel is in relation to everything else in the city. I must say, we couldn’t have picked a better place to stay! A short walk to the Luxembourg Gardens, another shortish walk to the Seine and Notre Dame and the Louvre. Not far away is the Pont Alexandre, the bridge referenced in Anastasia. You can bet I’ll be walking across that bridge. I am so excited – more excited about Paris than London, but that’s just because I’ve never been there. Taking some time together to look at the maps and talk about what we want to see and do made us both so happy and eager to start our adventure.

Paris readers: Do you know the best way to get into the city from Charles De Gaulle Airport? Any advice would be most welcome.

Before I forget: Don and I saw the most wonderful movie on Netflix the other night. It’s a little gem that I didn’t know about previously. It’s called The Man Who Knew Infinity. It’s based on the true story of a young man from India who is a brilliant mathematician and travels to England in the early part of the 20th Century to study with a well known mathematician who teaches at Cambridge. It stars Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons and a cast of wonderful supporting actors. The acting is impeccable. It’s very moving. So it you’re looking for something, we recommend it highly.

This beauty greeted me this morning. I’m so happy there are blooms, especially since I didn’t get any morning glories this year.

By the way, I am taking my laptop with me so I will be blogging. Not every day. Just when I can. When they will post is anyone’s guess because of the time difference. Just check in every couple of days or so. I have to take you along, right?

Happy Friday.

Flowers, Sears & Movies

A Favorite Appears

Short and Sweet

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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