jigsaw puzzles — Page 23

February

February 1, 2022 at 10:07 am by Claudia

Why did Caroline dump Christmas decorations on the porch?

Actually, I’d like to blame this on Caroline, but it’s all on me. And this has been there for a year. None of the dollhouses were decorated for Christmas 2021. Perhaps it’s time to take these upstairs and put them away?

Also, it’s time to dust the dollhouse interior and exterior. And Don’s mini studio, as well, as that’s right in front of a window and it gets dusty rather quickly. (I use a small paintbrush to dust.)

The “blues” are driving me nuts. I think I might have found 5 pieces that fit yesterday. To say this is slow going is putting it mildly. Don suggested that I start a new puzzle and just let this one go, but no! It’s a challenge and I’m not going to move on until I fit each and every piece in place.

Then I’ll have a piece of sugar-free chocolate to reward myself.

It’s sunny today and cold, but it will be milder during the afternoon than it’s been recently. We’ll have a couple of days respite until we get snow and ice on Friday. Oh, joy.

I’m almost finished with The Missing Hours, which I read for a big chunk of time yesterday. It’s okay, not great, but whether I like it or not, Julia Dahl is a very good writer. It’s simply that the plot doesn’t interest me a great deal. Her first books revolved around crimes in the closed Hassidic community and I found them incredibly fascinating. I kind of wish she’d go back to that.

I’ve just started reading It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again by Julia Cameron, who wrote The Artist’s Way – a book that both Don and I read and studied when we lived in San Diego. Subtitle: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond. It was a gift from Todd, a producer on Spoiler Alert and Jim’s husband. Todd and I had so many conversations about creativity and Covid isolation and finding our way through it all. Todd was trained as an artist and he’s rediscovering that part of himself. He walked onto the set the last day and said he had a present for me and it was this book.

One of the highlights of working on the movie was getting to know Todd. Because so much of the time on the set is spent waiting, we talked a lot. He’s a wonderful person and I adore him.

Okay, my friends.

Happy February.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Snowfall

January 29, 2022 at 9:18 am by Claudia

Snow is falling as I write this. I suspect we’ll have a couple of inches of new snow on the ground – not all that much when compared to what’s happening on the coast. The winds are going to be an issue and the wind chill will plunge temps to below zero, but as for the actual snowfall, it’s not a big deal. I’m thinking of those of you in the path of this storm and sending prayers for your safety. Stay inside. Stay warm. And I hope your power stays on.

We watched an old Hitchcock movie last night, though I missed about half of it because I fell asleep. That’s what happens when you wake up at 4:15 am. I’m glad to say I caught up on my sleep and feel much more rested today.

Yesterday’s session was devoted to the bride and her gown. It was quite complicated, but ultimately satisfying. Now for the dreaded ever-so-slightly different shades of blue.

Oh boy.

In cases like this, I often resort to looking at shapes, though I do know that the darkest shade of blue is at the top of the puzzle. There are a few butterfly bits to add here and there, as well.

Stay safe, my friends.

Happy Saturday.

Frigid Weather = Nesting

January 27, 2022 at 9:53 am by Claudia

It’s very, very cold this morning! I’m wearing my flannel pajamas and a thermal top, a hooded sweatshirt and heavy socks and I’m still cold. This is an old house and it takes a long time to warm up on mornings like this one, where the temp is below zero.

It’s been a strange January. In the earlier part of the month, the temperature was warmish for this time of year, but that soon changed. It’s been frigid for most of the past two weeks. We’ll have some relief next week.

And we have a storm coming up the coast, but there’s a lot of uncertainty about just where the snow is going to have the most impact. As of this morning, all we’re supposed to get is wind and an inch of snow, but I suppose that could change depending on the storm’s track. Our snowblower is currently giving us problems, so we’d prefer the current forecast.

Hard. Darned hard.

It’s not helping that the other side of my lower back is giving me problems. I’m sure it’s exacerbated by working on the puzzle, so I’ve been working on it for 10 minutes at a time only a few times a day; sometimes standing, sometimes sitting on a cushion and limiting my work to the lower part of the puzzle which is closest to me.

I’ve started Julia Dahl’s book but I’m really just at the beginning. We’re watching something called Archive 81 on Netflix – a sort of supernatural/horror series. It’s pretty good. Last night, we realized that we knew three people in it – one is an actress that Don has worked with, and the other two are actors I have coached rather recently. That was fun!

Thanks so much for all your comments yesterday. I intend to have one of these ‘What are you reading?’ posts at least once a month. I sure learn a great deal and I know you do, too.

Stay safe (and warm.)

Happy Thursday.

February

Snowfall

Frigid Weather = Nesting

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives