hurricane

Wednesday Potpourri

September 28, 2022 at 8:15 am by Claudia

• For some reason, Don and I both woke up at 4:30 am, so you can imagine how thrilled I am about that. And we’ve had to turn the heat on this morning – just for a bit. We ordered more oil yesterday. $$$$$$$$

• I’ve chatted with Meredith this morning. They’re getting tons of rain and some wind, which will increase to about 60 mph as the day goes on. The hurricane has veered to the south of Tampa and will probably hit the Fort Meyers area. The worst bands will be south of the hurricane. So, what is a relief to us is devastating to others. Praying for everyone.

• It’s my dad’s birthday today. He would have been 99. I miss him. Happy Birthday, Dad!

• And now, because I haven’t posted any photos of the girls in 3 or 4 days and I’m tired and on the edge of being irritable:

Sophie on the puzzle.

I think she needs an Alice in Wonderland dress, don’t you?

And this little beret arrived yesterday::

These are made by a woman in Germany. She makes whimsical hats out of felted wool for Blythes, these little BJDs, and other dolls. She uses natural dyes. They are utterly charming. The beret arrived in yesterday’s mail, along with some beautiful dried flowers and little cloth carrot with a face. Someday, I’d like a Blythe-sized hat as well. Wren looks adorable, I must say!

• I cleaned up my section of our shared office/studio and it’s looking much more organized. Why do I have so much old income tax stuff in my file drawers? I mean, way older than I need to have on hand? I have to do a major clean out of those file drawers. They’re also crammed with dialect sheets and notes and old contact sheets from various shows I’ve coached and I’m reluctant to part with them until I’m officially retired.

Okay.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Puzzles, Netflix, and Hurricane Ian

September 26, 2022 at 9:01 am by Claudia

It’s going too quickly! I’ve spent a fair amount of time on this puzzle in the past couple of days because it’s such fun. I’m a bit panicked because I don’t have another one on hand. There’s Agatha, sitting on her chair. The puzzle is full of little details and, as always with this particular line of puzzles, I’ll wait until I’m done to read the notes as to the clues scattered throughout the scene.

I hope they come out with a new puzzle soon.

I’m completely engrossed in The Ink Black Heart. I read a chunk of it this morning after I got up. Excellent.

Don and I have been unable to get Netflix on our older Smart TV for some reason. It just stopped the other day and I’ve done everything recommended and it’s still not working. We can get Netflix on our laptops so it’s not due to Netflix being down. I’m now considering getting either Roku or the Amazon Firestick. If any of you have experience with either, will you share how it works for you? I need some advice!

In the meantime, we’ve been watching old episodes of What’s My Line? (from the fifties and sixties) on YouTube. We are thoroughly enjoying them. We’ve traveled back to the days when everything was civil and polite and being educated and knowledgeable was a good thing. We’ve also noticed that everyone who ‘signed in’ on the chalkboard had beautiful penmanship; the days of yore when cursive was taught in the schools. It’s fascinating and we love it. I remember watching it with my parents; also I’ve Got a Secret and To Tell the Truth.

All of you in the path of Hurricane Ian (including my sister and her family): take care. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday

For The Rain It Raineth Every Day

August 23, 2021 at 9:29 am by Claudia

If this picture could only express how sodden the ground is! Listen, we’re very lucky. Yes, rain, torrential rain, over a long period of time, but no high winds. Actually, no wind at all. It’s still raining and that will go on throughout the day, but at the moment, we’re in a lull. In the midst of all of this I heard a bird singing this morning, as well as the sound of crickets.

So we’re very grateful this morning. Don’s appointment at the eye doctor isn’t until late this afternoon. They squeezed him in because the next available appointment was in mid-September and by that time, he wouldn’t be able to see out of that eye. More gratitude: we will be able to get there today.

One more thing: our well is nice and full.

I know many are without power in the aftermath of this storm. I hope that is resolved quickly. The tragedy in Tennessee is heartbreaking. Water and wind are so powerful, things can change in a second.

_________________

The new Louise Penny should arrive in my mailbox tomorrow. And I’ve pre-ordered two other novels which are coming out soon. Simon Doerr, who wrote All The Light We Cannot See, which is one of the most powerful novels I’ve ever read, has a new book coming out in September: Cloud Cuckoo Land. And Amor Towles, who wrote A Gentleman in Moscow, which I’ve now read twice because I love it so much, has a new novel coming out in October: The Lincoln Highway. I’m very excited. Not every book that I want to read gets ordered in hardback, but these two authors, three, if you count Louise Penny, definitely make the cut. I don’t usually pre-order, but in the time of COVID, the less running around, the better.

We just finished watching the original Danish series, The Killing. It inspired the American version, which starred Mireille Enos, who I worked with a few years back in Shakespeare in the Park. But, we always go with the original and, in this case, it paid off. Brilliant. Unsettling. And it had a protagonist that I didn’t always like, often got frustrated with – just like in real life. Last night, we started the second season.

Okay, my friends. Today is about rain and vacuuming and doing something other than sitting around, which I’ve done far too much of for the past few days.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Wednesday Potpourri

Puzzles, Netflix, and Hurricane Ian

For The Rain It Raineth Every Day

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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