flowers — Page 195

And So It Continues

January 4, 2017 at 8:20 am by Claudia

Yes, I know. Another shot of the apartment. That’s all I’ve got for you, my friends. It is gray, cold, rainy, cold, gray – and getting outdoor shots of Hartford is decidedly unappealing. After rehearsal, I quickly walk back to the apartment building and disappear inside. I emerge again in the morning to go to – you guessed it – rehearsal. And the cycle continues.

We had our first complete run-through yesterday. The choreographer has arrived, as well, so the actors are having a great time dancing up a storm – especially in the ‘Bollywood’ number, which I can’t wait to see. The last day of rehearsals in the rehearsal room is Friday. Then it’s on to the theater. Boy, this rehearsal process has been fast!

Between the stage manager’s puppy and my friend Noble’s dog, Petey, I’ve been getting some quality time with adorable animals. Last night I got to meet Huckleberry, the stage manager’s dog. Both Huckleberry and Petey are adorable and understandably doted upon. Tina (Noble’s wife) took Petey back home on Monday. He will be missed! (Tina and Noble are neighbors of ours back home and Tina is a frequent commenter on this blog.) This apartment building always has a lot of dogs and seeing Huckleberry and Petey brings back memories of my time here with Scout. Good memories, but bittersweet, as well.

More flowers from Trader Joe’s. The flowers in the vase on the coffee table have been going strong for two and a half weeks, but a petal or two has been dropping to the floor, so I had to have backups on hand.

I’m in the midst of Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George – 200 pages into a 600 page mystery. It’s excellent – George is brilliant with plot and her character studies are incredibly detailed and rich.

Since what I’m up to is more of the same, tell me what you’re up to now that the new year is here.

Happy Wednesday.

Sunday Morning

November 27, 2016 at 9:26 am by Claudia

11-27-nutting1

I read quite a bit of Night School this morning – Lee Child’s latest – and I’m finally getting into it. That’s good news. It took a while, but now I’m immersed in the part of the book where things are ramping up. In fact, I had to force myself to put it down in order to write this post.

I’ve took some pictures in the late afternoon yesterday, when the sun pours in the front of the house. Instead of trying to avoid a reflection on the glass in a picture frame, I went with it.

11-27-nutting2

You can see the windows and the blue ice cream maker that holds the dried hydrangeas reflected on the glass.

11-27-rockwell

Same here – the reflection of the window, and yes, that’s a crack in the window that we haven’t yet repaired. I love this Norman Rockwell print. We got it years ago up in the Berkshires.

11-27-coffeetable

More of that golden glow from the sun, which, by the way, never showed itself until very late in the afternoon.

11-27-impatiens2

The big pots filled with impatiens came inside with me the other day. They were budding and in pretty good shape, so, being someone who can’t abandon anything, I brought them in. There’s a little pot on the kitchen windowsill, one on my dresser, and one in the office. They need a little pinching back, but so far, so good.

11-27-impatiens1

Of course, this means more watering for Don when I’m in Hartford, but what the heck? It gives him something to do! See? I’m always thinking of him.

Today seems to be a day for reading; finishing the Lee Child, reading the New York Times, starting another book (to be determined.) And doing the crossword puzzle, of course.

On the docket for the week ahead: Starting my text research on Comedy of Errors.

Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Patina, Flowers, Light & Nasty Women

November 1, 2016 at 9:28 am by Claudia

11-1-lateafternoonstilllife

Late afternoon still life.

I am still taken by surprise when I see that table and its patina. What a treasure we found!

This is the scene in the cottage this morning:

11-1-flowersstayingthenight

And they go all the way to the front door. It was to go below freezing last night and as I obsessively scan the Weather Channel app on my phone, I look ahead 15 days or so to see if it’s worth trying to save the plants. And it is.

At some point, I’ll give up. In fact, I forgot to cover the geraniums that live in the barrels last night. I could kick myself. They may be gone. I’m afraid to look.

But these beauties are still budding and blooming, so in true tag-team fashion, Don and I bring them inside around 6:00 and they’ll go back outside later this morning.

By the way, I straighten that little red lampshade about ten times a day. Oy.

11-1-dogs

Frost is covering everything this morning, but the sunlight is warming up the living room, slowly but surely. One of my favorite things in any house I’ve lived in, but especially in this many-windowed cottage, is watching the play of light on the walls and floors and furniture. I think that’s what keeps me sane in the winter. That bright winter sun.

11-1-chairwithtimes

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved reading the Sunday New York Times. When I returned to my parents’ house to live for a couple of years after college, I would look forward to Sunday morning, when I could buy a copy of the Times and read it while sitting in my dad’s recliner. Since then, wherever I’ve lived, east coast or west coast, I’ve tried to keep that habit going. There have been times when I couldn’t get a copy or was just too busy to find the time to buy one. But lately, we’ve been grabbing a copy every Sunday.

Happiness is the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle.

I read the latest edition of Louise Penny’s newsletter this morning. She wrote about Michael. I cried.

Those of you who are friends on Facebook have already seen this photo. I want to share it with all of you today because I love this t-shirt (it came in the mail yesterday) and we had such fun taking this picture:

nastywomenbest

Oh yes, we do.

Vote. Nasty woman or otherwise.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

And So It Continues

Sunday Morning

Patina, Flowers, Light & Nasty Women

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives