Hartford — Page 17

Back in Town

January 26, 2016 at 8:54 am by Claudia

I’m back in Hartford. My trip back included a stop at the post office to mail the green scarf to its new owner, a stop at the gas station to fill ‘er up, a stop at my local supermarket to buy some Peet’s FR and Ghirardelli Hot Cocoa as well as fresh vegetables, brown rice and other essentials, and a stop at Trader Joe’s for a couple of things, but mostly fresh flowers.

I pulled into the parking lot at the apartment building at 4 pm. Perfect. I like getting back in time to relax, have dinner, take a bubble bath and get a good night’s sleep so that I’m fresh and ready for the next day’s work.

As I was taking my trash bag to the trash room, I saw this (I ran back to the apartment to get my iPhone.)

1-26 sunset over the capitol

Sunset over the Capitol Building.

1-26 red alstro

More flowers.

1-26 white stock

And more flowers. I now have three vases full of beautiful flowers and oh, what a difference it makes in a temporary living space.

I also grabbed couple of smallish potted plants at the grocery store, loaded them into my cart, and they are now sitting in front of the windows. I’ll get some photos of them today.

I’ll be here for another month, so the more I can do to make this space home, the better. But I only purchase things I’ll also use at home. The plants will probably end up in the shared office space back at the cottage. (I said a brief hello to it yesterday. Sob.) Everything else that I’ve added to this space has been brought from home. I’m fortunate in that I can load my car up and drive everything here. But even when I was spending ten weeks or six months coaching in San Diego, I managed to do the same thing. I sent a couple boxes of things from home that I wanted around me and I filled in the rest with a couple of visits to IKEA. Everything I purchased there has since been used in the cottage. No waste. If it won’t work in both spaces, I don’t buy it. (If the job is less than three weeks, I’ll usually refrain from bringing anything, though I’ve been known to pick some wildflowers and put them in a jar.)

One other addition:

1-26 Wayfrum

Wayfrum Holmes. After apologizing to him profusely for actually considering being here without him, I nestled him in the car and here he is.

For those of you who are newer readers, several years ago – in 2009 – I had to work away from home for six months. Don gave me this little bear so that I’d have someone to cuddle when I was missing the dogs and him. When I mentioned that he needed a name, Don came up with Wayfrum Holmes. Usually Wayfrum is accompanied by Maggie Rabbit and a little lamb, but this time, I decided that Wayfrum and I needed some quality time together – just the two of us.

Thank you for your kind words yesterday. It’s a tough time right now, with some good days and some bad days for our girl. Yesterday was a wee bit better for her. Lately, the stuff of life has been a bit too much for yours truly.

But, I’m very grateful for my work and the opportunity to work here on this beautiful masterpiece of a play. That is a blessing. As is my supportive and incredible husband.

Happy Tuesday.

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Between

January 25, 2016 at 9:16 am by Claudia

1-25 scoutie

I arrived back home around 1:00 to find this girl waiting for me. She was sleeping. Frankly, she was having a bad day, poor girl. I spent a lot of time lying beside her on the floor telling her how much I love her. She’s not doing very well at the moment. And I imagine the very cold weather is very hard on her. I’m just grateful there hasn’t been a lot of snow and ice this winter.

We know that we don’t have that much longer with our girl, so we’re treasuring the time we do have.

It’s lovely being home, but it’s strange. As always in this situation, I feel like I’m between two worlds, my life here at home and my life on the road. Not quite here, because I’m only here for about 24 hours, and not quite in Hartford, because it isn’t my permanent home. But since I’m working in Hartford and I have a lot more work to do there, Hartford has the pull at the moment. Don tells me to just enjoy it and he’s right. It’s a gift to be able to just concentrate on doing my work, without the distractions that are always present at home. And by the time my work in Hartford is winding down, I’ll be ready to come home and stay home for a long while.

But Scout is worrying us. And that pull, that worry, weighs on me when I’m in Hartford, as it weighs on Don at home. She was in the den with me yesterday afternoon and she kept raising her head to look at me as if she wanted to make sure I was still here.

And I’m leaving again.

It’s a good time for us but it’s also a very tough time. Add to that my ongoing grief for my father, the moments when I am taken aback by the tears that appear suddenly in my eyes and that I try to hide from everyone when some part of the text in Romeo and Juliet speaks of death, or when I’m driving home, as I was yesterday, and I remember moments in the last hours of my dad’s life, how everything changed so suddenly, when I’m reminded of the look in his eyes as he knew he was dying – in those moments I gasp at how quickly I am overcome with sorrow.

I have to work and I love my work. And, to be perfectly honest, sometimes the distance that living temporarily in Hartford provides is welcome. There is an escape from worry, from grief, from facing the inevitable, as I concentrate on doing my job. Losing myself in my work, in getting to know the actors I am coaching, in attending to the task at hand, is a much appreciated respite.

I’m so grateful that Don is here taking care of Scout, keeping the drips going in the taps as the temperatures go well below freezing, watching over the house, salting the driveway, all the things that need to be done. But especially taking care of our girl.

I am reminded, when I am in Hartford, of my last stay there when Scout was with me. When she was still able to enjoy a walk in the park, when she loved meeting lots of people and dogs, when she magically galloped under the glow of the lamps in the park with a power that astonished me. Lovely and precious memories, though bittersweet. There’s no way I could have her there with me now.

Anyway. It’s lovely being home. It will be lovely to back in Hartford as well. And there you go.

See you back in Hartford.

Happy Monday.

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Strange Snow

January 24, 2016 at 9:26 am by Claudia

1-24 snow in park

What a strange storm this was. So many areas of the East have been hit with huge amounts of snow. Others have very little accumulation. As it was, the snow didn’t start falling here until mid-to-late afternoon, much later than predicted. I was able to get to the library and back with no snow except for the occasional flake. The museum, where I planned on spending a few hours, had to decided to close, surely thinking the snow would start falling much earlier than it did.

By the time it started to come down heavily, it had become very windy. Instead of partaking, I stayed inside.

Don had stocked up on food and supplies. He also ran to buy some coffee yesterday morning, after having woken up in the middle of the night with the realization that he had none on hand. He waited all day for the snow to start falling.

No snow. Not one bit. The cottage remains snow-free.

I, having found out late in the day that I didn’t have to be at rehearsal today, realized I could have driven home yesterday. But really, who knew? I expected that the snow would start any minute, as did Don. And I sure didn’t want to be caught in a snowstorm while driving home. Better safe than sorry.

Mother Nature is only so predictable, right? She likes to keep us guessing.

So I spent a cozy day in the apartment and sat out the storm. We had about 4 or 5 inches of snow here, not all that much. I watched figure skating on the tube, I crocheted. (New scarf in the shop, by the way.) I read. I ate. I talked to Don on the phone.

1-24 snowyviewfromwindow

Taken from the apartment window. I do love the sight of snow falling in the glow of city lights. And I sure like not having to shovel!

So. Today, I’m headed home. I’m not sure when. I’m going to wait until the sun has a been out a while and the roads are clearer than they are at the moment. I’ll come back Monday or Tuesday, depending on what the rehearsal call for Tuesday is. I don’t like coming back at the last minute.

I’m going to do my best to relieve Don of his Scout Duties while I’m there. He needs a bit of a break.

I hope those of you who were caught in the worst of this storm take it easy – don’t overdo. It’s Sunday. Relax and shovel a bit at a time. Have hot chocolate. Watch a movie.

Happy Sunday.

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Back in Town

Between

Strange Snow

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Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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