garden — Page 208

What’s Rattling Around in my Head on a Wednesday Morning

September 11, 2013 at 9:04 am by Claudia

wed2

I’ve been without air conditioning in this apartment since Friday. Most likely it was before Friday, but that’s when I got back here and that’s when I discovered it wasn’t working. Of course, it wasn’t until after 5:00 that I made that discovery and suddenly we were at the weekend, when nothing gets fixed. Monday? No one came by. Tuesday? A guy from Maintenance came by, played with the fuses, flipped a few switches and announced that it was the compressor. He would tell the front office, they would call a technician who would order the part and lord knows when this will get fixed.

Since it’s going to be 90 degrees and humid today and tomorrow, you can see why I’m a bit concerned. Company management has given me 2 fans and I’m currently sleeping with one of them aimed directly at my sleeping self. My allergies and sinuses are going a little haywire with this weather pattern and I’m sort of cranky. Actually, not ‘sort of’ – I am cranky.

wed1

I had breakfast with Erika, my former student, yesterday morning. We had so much to catch up on that we ran out of time and we’re remedying that by meeting for breakfast again tomorrow morning. And trust me, we still won’t have covered everything by the end of that meal. I just adore her and yes, she’s someone I taught and nurtured, but she’s now a friend first and foremost.

Speaking of former students who are now friends, thanks to all who alerted me of Jim Parsons’ appearance on Who Do You Think You Are? I’m currently in the phase of coaching that centers on afternoon rehearsals and nighttime performances, so I couldn’t see it. But I will. That rascal, who I just chatted with via email, didn’t mention the program at all. But his plate is rather full at the moment with new episodes of Big Bang Theory being filmed and the upcoming Emmy Awards.

My priority last night when I got home was to catch the end of the final episode this season of So You Think You Can Dance, the only reality-type program I watch. And the end of the Red Sox game. Crap. So You Think You Can Dance is over for the season. Only one more episode of Newsroom. And only three more episodes of Breaking Bad. Those are the only shows I really care about in the vast and arid land that is cable television; the only shows I make time to see. Yes, I love Big Bang and Modern Family, but I can catch up with them any old time.

wed3

Let’s talk shopping cart etiquette. We all learned to drive, right? And when we’re on the highway, there is, at the very least, a lane for slower moving traffic and a passing lane. We wouldn’t think of stopping our car in the middle of a road or highway. If we had to stop for some reason, we would pull over to the side of the road. Simple. And we certainly wouldn’t double park. We might get a ticket or cause an accident.

So why do shoppers routinely stop their carts smack-dab in the middle of an aisle? Or pull up along side an already ‘parked’ cart, making it virtually impossible to get by? And what about those shoppers who meander down the aisle, oblivious to everyone around them? The ones you have to say “Excuse me” to in order to get by. What about the carts of other shoppers that you have to physically move to the side of the aisle in order to get by?

This seems to be a simple concept. Drive your cart like you do your car. Be aware of other drivers, cede the right of way, pull over to the side of the road/aisle when you need to park. Don’t drive slowly in the fast lane.

This makes me nuts. It makes me especially nuts when I’m in the store on a quick visit to pick up a few things and I have to run the gauntlet of carts parked every-which-way and the inevitable cart pile-ups that result in a traffic jam.

Don’t get me started on umbrella etiquette. That’s another post, for another day.

wed4

Just had to include Scoutie because I miss her. Love those pink ears. Just two and a half more weeks, sweetie, and I’ll be home.

Don’t forget my book review of The Returned which I posted yesterday. I loved this book and I’m giving away one copy. Leave a comment on that post if you are interested.

Happy Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

What’s the Story, Morning Glory?

September 9, 2013 at 7:54 am by Claudia

morninggloryupdate

The latest morning glory update from Don’s iPhone. It changes daily as those pretty blooms only last one day. Seems wrong, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t they last weeks at a time? I’m thinking there might not be any left when I get back home.

This faint thread of melody (from Bye Bye Birdie) keeps going through my mind:

What’s the story, morning glory?
What’s the word, hummingbird?

Which resolves to:

Have you heard about Hugo and Kim?

It’s from the opening number, The Telephone Hour, where lots of teens are on the phone with each other passing on the news that Hugo and Kim going steady. Ah, a more innocent time. I directed a high school production of Bye, Bye Birdie many years ago, pre-moving away from my hometown and going to grad school. I’m still in contact with several of those kids, who are, ahem, in their forties now.

What? How could that happen? They were 16 and 17 years old when I met them and they are still that age in my mind.

Speaking of productions, Don tells me his American Experience won’t be aired until January – something about starting off the new season with this episode. He learned this when he was doing some voice-over work in the recording studio the other day. Oliver Platt, who was also in the studio, is doing the narration. Just keeping you up-to-date!

The weather has been pretty spectacular around here lately and on Friday, when Don drove me back to Hartford, the sky was a gorgeous shade of blue with lovely wispy clouds. Here we are on a local road we often use:

drivetohartford

I made Don stop the car so I could take a picture of the yellow barn and the vine-covered silo.

yellowbarn

silo

yellowoutbuilding

How often do you see a yellow barn? I wonder how old this farm is? I’d love to explore the innards of that barn.

We stopped at Trader Joe’s along the way, of course, and Scoutie worked her charm on a fellow shopper:

scoutcharming

Everyone loves that girl. By the way, in the “Don’t assume things about a person of a certain age” category, that lovely lady and her husband were driving that red Jeep. Unexpected and, I must say, delightful.

This is shaping up to be an all-iPhone photo post. Today is my day off and I have to run some errands this morning. Hopefully the air conditioning in my apartment, which is not working at the moment, will be fixed today. Please. And I think I’m going to meet my former student for coffee, which makes me very happy. We have a lot of catching up to do.

It’s still summer, by the way. I repeat: it’s still summer.

Happy Monday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

A Glimpse of Blue

September 7, 2013 at 8:40 am by Claudia

No sooner had I published my post yesterday morning (using photos I had taken on Thursday) than, while on a trip to the kitchen for some more coffee, I glimpsed a bit of blue in the Chicken Wire Fence Garden.

I went to the door and looked out the window. “You’re seeing things!” I said to myself, wherein I promptly sat back down in my blogging chair for another hour or so.

Fast forward an hour. Don is up, drinking coffee. I keep thinking about that mysterious flash of blue. Still in my pajamas, I put on some shoes, go outside and see this:

morningglory1

What??? It’s as if the Universe listened to my pleas for “just one morning glory bud to open before I leave for Hartford.” I couldn’t believe my eyes. A big fat, gorgeous morning glory had opened in the early morning hours.

morningglory2

Perfection.

I ran back into the cottage, yelling to barely-awake Don.

“Oh my god, you have to come outside! You have to come out now! One of the morning glories has opened! Just come outside, now!!” I grabbed my camera and hightailed it back outside.

Wait…what do I see? Another bloom.

morningglorysmall

I had to pull this one through one of the openings in the chicken wire. It was sort of hidden. Hello, bloom! Get some sun!

And wait….what do I see on the other side of the fence?

morninggloryback

Another bloom. For Scoutie’s viewing pleasure.

Three blooms for Claudia on a Friday morning.

Don, to his credit, emerged somewhat sleepily from the house about 5 minutes later. Bless his heart. He couldn’t believe how big the flowers were. His assignment? Take a daily photo of the morning glory progress, because there are lots and lots of buds ready to pop open.

morningglory3

I’m so friggin’ excited! I know that many of you are saying, “Claudia, what’s the big deal? Morning Glories are a dime a dozen. Some ‘experts’ even call them invasive.”

Well, my little heart is pumping with pride because I had just about given up on any bloom this year, since I sowed those seeds a little later than I had planned. (The first batch didn’t take.) It’s September. Everyone in blogland is chatting about fall, though it’s still technically summer, my friends. And I will keep celebrating summer until the first day of autumn. Oh, who am I kidding? It’s summer as long as things are blooming in my gardens. End of story.

Invasive? Have at it. Go for it. Make yourself at home.

morninggloryside

Such old-fashioned, cottage garden gorgeousness.

Why did I have to leave when all of this wonder is popping out along my fence? Doesn’t seem fair, does it?

On the other hand, I think Mother Nature took pity on me and said, “She’s leaving again, you know. Give the girl a thrill. Open up a few of those Morning Glories.”

Thank you, Mother Nature. (My mom taught me to say please and thank you. I’m nothing if not polite.)

morningglorywideview

A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.

Walt Whitman

High praise, indeed, from Mr. Whitman. Here’s to the glories of the Morning Glory.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

What’s Rattling Around in my Head on a Wednesday Morning

What’s the Story, Morning Glory?

A Glimpse of Blue

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives