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You are here: Home / Archives for life

Music in the Barn

September 7, 2024 at 8:30 am by Claudia

We’re due for some rain this afternoon, maybe a little thunder. That’s okay with me, as we plan to take it easy this weekend and a rainy day sounds rather lovely. Oh, it just started to rain!

Last night, we attended the last concert in the series that Don coordinates. It was a lovely night and I got to see several of Don’s musician friends again. Sometimes it takes place in a park, but last night it was in a barn – Don’s favorite venue. I can see why. It’s very old, the inside is covered in a warm, natural wood. There’s a little area for a stage and two chandeliers hanging down from one of the beams. It’s an intimate space and the two barn doors – one on either side of the room were open, letting in the night air. Simply magical.

The first act was a group that Don discovered on one of his many searches for local musicians. They’re called Hammerhead Horns, and they play New Orleans style blues. They’re terrific. They have a lot of personality and a lead singer. Utterly charming.

The second was our friend Michele, who brought along some fellow musicians. One of them, John, played in the band for Escape to Margaritaville  and performed earlier this season with his own band in this same summer series.  Michele said it was the first time they had performed together in public and boy oh boy, were they great! It’s good to know that Michele is writing music again after the untimely death of her husband, Rick. Rick was an extraordinary person – he had a long career in big business, was a musician, and an incredible painter. He specialized in the glorious scenery of the Hudson Valley and his attention to detail was exquisite. He also had a recording studio and it is there that Don and his friend Dan recorded their CD. We miss him. So, it was a emotional and beautiful night. Michele is so talented.

Since I haven’t posted a photo of one of the girls in a while:

Here’s Pru.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: life 10 Comments

Brisk Mornings

September 6, 2024 at 8:53 am by Claudia

Fading goldenrod.

Another chilly morning. I’m wearing a sweater over my pajamas. I know we’re in for some warmer temperatures in a week or so, but so far the change in overnight temperatures has been quite dramatic. And it all occurred in the first week of September.

Both Don and I are indulging in book reading. I always am, of course, but Don is often doing things other than reading. He’s cracked open another Jim Harrison book. After doing my morning walk at the library yesterday, I checked out yet another Harrison that I had on hold. So he’s set for the time being. I’m just about to finish Hellbent, and then I’ll start the next book in the Orphan X series.

I’m liking these chillier, cuddlier mornings. The air is brisk!

Don books the talent for a concert series in a town north of us – the concerts are on the first Friday of the month. Tonight is the last one for the season and I’m going with him. A friend of ours is singing. If you remember, one of our friends died last year from a rare form of pneumonia and Michelle was his partner in life and art. They performed together. One of the first things Don did last year was to ask her if she would be willing to perform in this series. She said yes. She has been slowly getting out there, performing solo. I can’t wait to hear her.

And we have appointments for a Covid vaccination next Monday, as well as the flu shot. We’ll also get RSV, but on another day. We had a little reaction to that last year, so we’re handing that separately. Edited to add: Thanks to my cousin, I now know that RSV is a one-time shot, so we don’t need to get it this year.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: life 20 Comments

Reading, Movies & Pancakes

August 31, 2024 at 8:49 am by Claudia

Another shot with my long range lens. Everything looks slightly, but only slightly, out of focus and rather magical.

I had to crop the upper left hand corner because my neighbors have some ugly old truck parked there. Looks like the kind of truck an electrician would use. Plus, the grass is really long which leads me to believe their rider mower is temporarily out of commission. Truck, unmowed grass – all we need is an abandoned sofa to complete the picture. Normally, they mow regularly, so I just have to let it go until they can mow again.

But it does mess up my photos…don’t they know I’m a blogger?????

There’s not a whole lot to share since yesterday’s post. We’ve been taking it easy. Don’s reading a book by Jim Harrison, I’m reading Wicked Prey  by John Sandford. Two more books arrived at the library yesterday. Yikes. I think I went a little overboard with the ‘hold’ button. So I read a big chunk of the Sandford this morning and will try to read more later on today.

We were going to watch more of Babylon Berlin last night but we noticed that TCM was running Top Hat  and Swing Time with Fred and Ginger. You know I’m a huge fan of Fred Astaire and have been since I was about 12. I have pretty much every book ever written about him and I have all of their movies on DVD. However, our DVD player is broken and it’s always fun to discover that the movies are being run live on TCM. So we dropped our plans and happily spent 4 hours in Art Deco/Astaire/Rogers heaven along with brilliant supporting cast members Edward Everett Horton, Helen Broderick (I love her, she can land a comeback like no one else) Eric Blore, and Victor Moore.

We’re still talking about it this morning.

Don is making pancakes and fried eggs while I write this, so I’ll have to sign off soon.

I hope you’re having a good weekend. Labor Day is Monday so it’s a long weekend around here, full of weekenders and campers. We’ll stay close to home.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: life 18 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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