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You are here: Home / Archives for flowers

Friday Potpourri

September 21, 2018 at 10:38 am by Claudia

• This gloriousness is down by our mailbox. I ran for the camera when I saw these big New England asters. They always show up in early fall, but these blossoms are particularly large. That purple and gold combination can’t be beat. Goldenrod in the background.

• Turns out, I was mixed up on the day for the mini show. It runs on Saturday and Sunday, not today. And Don isn’t going into the city today, so basically everything I told you yesterday was a lie. I’ll go to the show tomorrow morning.

• There has been a bit of improvement on the professional front. One of the situations has been slightly resolved, though it was handled badly and I remain disappointed in the overall lack of communication. But, there’s a crack where maybe some light can get in. (Paraphrasing Leonard Cohen.)

•  Second moonflower sighting this morning. More gloriousness. This one is high enough that I was able to breathe in the scent without contorting my body, as I had to do with the first flower.

• I urge you, really  urge you, to read this extensive reporting in today’s New York Times. It’s running as a special section in Friday’s edition. Title: The Plot to Subvert an Election, Unraveling the Russia Story So Far. You will be stunned. This is what Mueller will flesh out, I’m sure, along with much, much more.

• I love receiving a package in the mail! This one was from reader Kim, who wrote me to say she had two egg cups she wanted to send my way. Goodness, you are all so generous! The box contained these beauties:

Each of them is hand painted and each has Fanny and Farmer written on the base.

“Farmer” is on the other side. You might recall that I have two other Fanny Farmer egg cups. These were part of their Easter tradition. Each year, a new design would come out, filled with chocolate eggs. Kim thinks they were also included in boxes of Fanny Farmer chocolates.

My very first egg cup was a Fanny Farmer egg cup, given to me as a wee child by my godparents. I held on to it for many, many years (ahem! we won’t say how many.) When I saw an article about collecting egg cups in a 2002 Martha Stewart Living magazine, one of the cups pictured was the same as mine and then I had the lightbulb realization that I could collect them. One of the very first egg cups I added to my collection was also by Fanny Farmer, a rooster in yellow and red, coincidentally made by McCoy.

So I’m thrilled to add two more FF cups. They’re already in the cabinet, Kim. Thank you so, so much!

Off to do a bit of mowing – really, just a bit.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: egg cups, flowers, friends, gifts, Trump/Russia 18 Comments

Needed: A Massive Rap on Some Knuckles

September 20, 2018 at 9:33 am by Claudia

Thank you for all of your wonderfully supportive comments yesterday. You sure can make a girl feel good. I do appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts. They help me and I’m sure that they help other readers.

I took it easy yesterday, all the while monitoring the ongoing crap in Washington DC. Someday I’ll write about the patriarchy that pervades our culture and how it’s time for it to go. But not today. Suffice to say, I’m signing petitions, making phone calls, and tweeting at the pompous old farts who think women should be seen and not heard. A few of them (I’m looking at you, Orrin Hatch) pulled the same thing on Anita Hill. I guess they thought their performance was so magnificent that it merited an encore. I  think they didn’t learn their lesson. It’s time for a massive rap on their knuckles. And a March on Washington.

There’s a lot to do before we leave on our trip, but I’m curiously loathe to start in on a To Do list. Maybe it’s the procrastinator in me. Actually, it’s partly that, but it’s also an acknowledgment that I need a little peace and quiet right now.

Don has to go into the city tomorrow and I’m going to drive a couple of hours to visit the miniature show that I went to last year. Maybe I’ll find something for my modern dollhouse or for the new project, which I’m envisioning as an English stone cottage. We’ll see. I’ll take pictures.

Okay. I’m off. I have to drive Don to the place where he takes portraits, as the CR-V is in the shop. He got it inspected yesterday and it passed, but something on the wheels is loose. which could be quite dangerous. Gulp. So he’ll pick up the car at the end of the day.

Happy Thursday.

 

 

 

Filed Under: flowers, life 22 Comments

Fog, Moonflowers & A Cutie Pie

September 17, 2018 at 10:17 am by Claudia

Another foggy morning.

I got up, did my usual opening of the blinds in the kitchen and what did I see?

The first moonflower had opened overnight! I made Don come outside to see it. It’s huge and beautiful and the scent is heavenly. I was completely surprised because I hadn’t seen a bud. Usually, the heavenly blue morning glories open up first. But this year, nothing as of today.

I have lush growth everywhere, big leaves, healthy vines, but…no flowers yet. If they don’t get a move on, I’ll be in Europe when they bloom. I’m always aware that an unexpected frost can come in October. It’s happened for the past two years. So, by the time we get home we could be looking at shriveled leaves and vines that are kaput for the season. So come on, morning glories!

Back to the moonflower. A little later, it had started to close up.

And then, a bit later:

Thank you, sweet moonflower.

The maple leaves continue to change color and fall.

Sigh. I guess summer is just about over. I refuse to fully acknowledge autumn until September 22nd. Then, I guess I’ll have to face reality.

I mowed a heck of a lot yesterday, spurred on by a forecast of rain which is now holding off until tomorrow when we’ll get a deluge. I’m sore today. Definitely taking a break, in fact, ordered to take a break by my housemate. That housemate spent all day yesterday sitting in the blazing sun, taking photo portraits of people at our local Farmer’s Market. He came home with a big old sunburn. He worked very hard.

Someone took this picture of him.

He is darn cute, that guy. So scrumptious!

Happy Monday.

 

Filed Under: Don, flowers, garden 38 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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