kitchen — Page 3

Sun and Color

November 30, 2017 at 9:50 am by Claudia

I don’t think I’m going to get around to painting that wall in the kitchen this week. Don’s one-day-earlier arrival is throwing a spanner in the works, plus, to be honest, I don’t want the hassle of moving everything around and besides, I can start in on all of this in January when he’s back in the city for Margaritaville. (That was a long run-on sentence!)

Speaking of Margaritaville, my cousin and her husband were in the audience last night. They drove down to Chicago from their home in Northern Michigan to see it. Hopefully, though I haven’t spoken to him yet, Don met up with them at the Stage Door after the show. Actually, Don and I haven’t ‘spoken’ very much at all as he’s babying his voice this week. We speak in texts. Thank goodness for technology. When I had vocal problems as an actress, I didn’t have that option.

Forgot to show you these Rae Dunn pots that I picked up a few months back. I wasn’t sure what to put in them until I saw little sansevierias at Terrain (they’re marketed for terrariums) that I thought would do nicely. I need to do a little more excess soil removal!

Sunny pictures from the kitchen and living room:

I like color. I like sunny, bright, and welcoming rooms.

I like my house.

Though we could use a lot more storage and a mudroom (still dreaming about that possibility) the truth is, we’re fine. (Oh yes, and a garage!) If we never get those things we’ll be okay. We’ve been okay for the 12 years we’ve lived here, so all indications are that we can handle it indefinitely. That doesn’t stop me from dreaming, however.

I won’t even go into yesterday’s news. I had to talk myself down last night in order to fall asleep.

Happy Thursday.

Cue Maurice Chevalier

November 29, 2017 at 9:31 am by Claudia

I posted this photo on Instagram yesterday because the sun flooding into the kitchen was amazing.

I hear that we’re not supposed to post the same photos on Instagram that we post on our blogs. And then I roll my eyes because who made up that rule and how did he/she become an “expert?” I am reminded of one of my favorite movies, Gigi, and one of my favorite songs in that movie, sung by Maurice Chevalier: I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore.

And I am. By ‘young’ I mean my chronological age and also my blogging age. I’m coming up on 10 years as a blogger and I’ve reached that happy place where I simply don’t care what should and shouldn’t be done. I don’t care about followers and numbers and my brand, because I don’t have a brand and don’t want one. I will leave all of that to the younger and more energetic, bless them.

I’ve really been thinking about this a lot lately, both in terms of blogging and my professional work as a coach. And I’ve had talks about it with my best friend, Laural, and my husband. We’ve all reached that point in our professional lives where we’ve accomplished a great deal and are proud of our work. We no longer feel competitive. We don’t need to grab another rung on the ladder. We’re not retired, we’re all still working, so this isn’t about that. But we are accepting of who and what we are and, boy, is that a peaceful and wonderful feeling.

It took a while to get here but it was worth the wait.

Look! My parents’ sansevieria is going to flower again! There’s another budding stalk on the other side of the plant. Hello Mom and Dad. I know you’re here.

And I have a succulent baby. This one will take a while, but I’m cultivating patience.

The kitchen table has morphed from being a mail catch-all (still is) to a conservatory for some of my plants. I posted this on IG so that Don would see it and therefore have some warning before he arrives home on Sunday. Yes, Sunday. He thought he had shows on Sunday and was coming home on Monday until he learned differently yesterday.

His second recording session went well and he felt better about his voice. There will be some overdubbing done on all the vocals this week, but other than that, the cast album has been recorded. Everyone is now packing up their trunks (which will be picked up on Friday) and sending boxes home.

I, on the other hand, am dealing with the mundane: recycling and taking things to the dump. And running to the grocery store.

Happy Wednesday.

Patchy Frost, The Elusive Yellow, and a New Houseplant

October 17, 2017 at 8:44 am by Claudia

I’m watching and waiting.

Waiting to see if the the ‘patchy frost’ – which I can see on the grass – finished off my plants. In anticipation of the freeze advisory for last night, I bought some bamboo poles which were about 4 feet tall, thinking I would stick them in the ground and drape sheets over them that would span the memorial bed and the chicken wire fence bed. I thought that might work to protect the morning glories and roses. But, after putting the poles in the ground and attempting to drape a sheet or two, it quickly became clear that it was too windy. The sheets kept flying off – as did the cover I had fashioned for the porch plants. So I gave up. What happens, happens. Right now, everything looks okay, but that can be misleading. We’ll see.

I keep trying, but the combination of cloudy skies and a kitchen with a lot of windows makes it hard to capture the new paint job. Someday…someday, the gods will bless me with just the right light and I’ll get some good photos.

I have to go into the city today for one last look at the show I’ve been coaching. The cast is so good that I’ve had to do very little. They wanted me to come tonight for the first preview, but that would get me back to my bus station around 12:30 or 1 in the morning. I was not looking forward to that. But then I saw that they are having a run-through this afternoon at 3:30, so I asked the director if she was okay with me coming then instead of in the evening. I got the okay, so I’ll be leaving later this morning. That leaves tomorrow to get everything else done before I leave on Thursday.

My newest houseplant – I had to order it online from a nursery in Connecticut. This particular plant, the pilea peperomiodes, is also called the Chinese Money Plant. It’s very popular right now among houseplant enthusiasts. I can see why. The leaves are shiny and almost succulent-like. There’s a lovely arch to the stems. And it can be shared easily because it grows babies. It came in this small 2-inch pot with instructions to let it sit for two days to acclimate, and then repot it into a 4 inch pot, which I did, after this picture was taken. It’s so sweet.

I also rescued a plant from the dreaded Shelves of Neglect at Lowes yesterday, which I’ll tell you about tomorrow. It brings back memories of my youth.

Okay. Have to get moving.

Happy Tuesday.

Sun and Color

Cue Maurice Chevalier

Patchy Frost, The Elusive Yellow, and a New Houseplant

claudiahillsparks

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives