miniatures — Page 71

Mini Gifts for Caroline (I’m Not Jealous. I’m Not.)

April 16, 2016 at 9:10 am by Claudia

I guess it’s no secret that Caroline has a boyfriend. This is rather a big deal because she likes to stay unattached. She has a busy schedule. She’s fiercely independent. She earns a good salary and bought her house a few years ago. She travels. She likes her own company.

She’s kept the whole thing fairly quiet (she’s very private.) I respect that, having been through much the same thing when I first met Don.

However, yesterday she called out to me and asked me to drop by Hummingbird Cottage. She wanted to show me something. She was clearly excited. I’d venture to say she was almost giddy.

He had given her a present, seemingly out of the blue. “Look!” she said. “He gets me!”

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Oh my goodness! Bravo! He definitely gets her.

I can see why she was so excited. Two beautiful pieces of Roseville in the White Rose pattern. I have one piece in White Rose. Caroline now has three!

They’re beautiful.

I watched as she walked around the living room, searching for the best place to display each piece. The shelf that holds four pieces of Roseville is rather crowded, so she needed to branch out.

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She moved some things off that little blue table and replaced them with the salmon colored jardiniere. She thought, and rightly so, that it worked with the rug and the Aubusson pillow on the sofa. Beautiful, Caroline. (She does have good taste, doesn’t she?)

Now for the vase.

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Ah. The mantel. It looks lovely there. (We won’t go into my jealousy over Caroline’s mantel. It doesn’t speak well of me.)

A closer look:

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I love it. In fact, (yes, the green-eyed monster is rearing its ugly head again) I’m rather coveting that vase. Note to self: must check out White Rose patterns on eBay. STAT.

I tried to get a good photo of the living room this morning so I could show you how the Roseville is placed throughout the living room, but the light is lacking. I’ll get one this afternoon. I have to say that the Roseville adds a lovely, warm, vintage touch to the room.

This guy sounds like a keeper.

Happy Saturday.

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Caroline Wants Equal Time

April 13, 2016 at 9:01 am by Claudia

Yesterday, as I was wandering around the downstairs, I thought I heard someone talking.

But Don wasn’t home and it wasn’t me, so how could that be?

Curious, I tried to find the source. As I moved nearer to the den, the voice grew louder.

I might have guessed. It was Caroline and she wasn’t happy. Once I got her to calm down and speak clearly, I understood. Apparently all these posts of mine about Roseville Pottery and my growing collection have ticked her off.

“Where are the photos of my Roseville? And why do I only have four pieces?”

“Well, Caroline,” I said, “The answer to your second question is simply that it’s very, very hard to find miniature Roseville Pottery. There is only one source and I think I’ve found all I can find.”

She wasn’t happy.

I quickly interjected, “But I can take a few photos of your Roseville and some of your other pottery. I’ll post them tomorrow, okay?”

This seemed to do the trick. At least, for now.

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There you go, Caroline. She does have some pretty pieces, doesn’t she? Like me, she prefers to display them, rather than actually use them to hold flowers. “They’re works of art,” she says. “They don’t need flowers.”

Left to right: Bleeding Heart vase, White Rose vase, Columbine vase and Fuchsia vase. (These are exact replicas of life-sized Roseville vases, by the way. I looked them up in my reference books.)

She urged me to take more pictures.

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She loves this vase in the den. Barbara gave it to her.

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And she loves the pottery in her cabinet. Although I should urge her to straighten that cream colored vase on the right. It’s going to tip over.

Am I stating the obvious here when I say that Caroline seems to be modeling her collection after mine? Right down to the Singing Bird? They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I guess I should be flattered.

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I used to have a couple of these Fiesta pitchers. I regret selling them.

Hmmm. I wonder if I should collect them again?

Then it would be me copying Caroline who originally copied me. If you know what I mean.

I wrote a post about beloved children’s author Beverly Cleary’s 100th birthday, which was yesterday. I’d love you to come by and share some of your favorite Beverly Cleary books with us.

Happy Wednesday.

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On My Mind This Morning: Words and a Gift

March 5, 2016 at 10:12 am by Claudia

Thank you for the fascinating discussion yesterday! I loved reading your comments.

You know by now that my life largely centers around words. It’s what I do for a living; I teach and coach speech, dialects, text and voice. All of that is about words and their use and how that changes according to the context in which the words are written. That includes regionalisms and dialects and how they change the texture and rhythm of speech.

I write this blog daily. Words. I write another blog that is all about books and literature. I read and review books. Words. I minored in English Language and Literature. I majored in Drama and Speech. Words and the use of them and, yes, misuse of them, and topics like ‘trendy’ word usage are always on my mind. Occasionally I will write about those things because they fascinate me. And I will have opinions about those things, just as you have opinions about them. No one, including me, uses words ‘correctly’ all of the time. If I tried to do that, I would be so self-conscious and self-aware in the moment that the emotion that fuels my words would be stifled. Who could live that way?

So, I hope you understand that I can comment on current trends in word usage and the ways in which words have been changed, for example, from a noun to a verb, and still respect and honor the incredible variety of sounds, speech, regionalisms, and dialects that are out there. Try as I might, and as careful as I am about the posts I write, I write a blog post every day and chances are I will offend someone at sometime. That is never my intention. Nor is it my intention to make anyone feel self-conscious. Everyone’s voice is welcome here.

Okay. On to something else.

My friend Barbara sent me a package. I picked it up at the post office yesterday and had to wait while I got an oil change and my tires rotated and then stopped at Target before I finally got home and could open it! Do you want to see what was inside?

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These are acrylic jewelry stands which are being repurposed as tables and desks by miniaturists. Since I have a couple of modern projects going, these will be perfect!

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Love this cup and saucer! Barbara ordered it from the Etsy shop Twelvetimesmoreteeny. I’ve several plates from that same shop in Hummingbird Cottage.

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This modern table is from The Little Dollhouse Company. Perfect! The question is: will it go in the Top Secret Project or in the Loft that I got from Target?

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And this miniature dollhouse is also from The Little Dollhouse Company. It’s for Caroline to work on. Somehow, Barbara knew that Caroline had been bugging me about getting her own dollhouse.

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Cool!

Also in the package was a piece of pottery belonging to Barbara which she decided should be in Mockingbird Hill Cottage. I am very grateful.

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A gorgeous basket in the Clematis pattern. Isn’t it lovely?

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The other side.

Thank you so much, Barbara! Goodness, you should have seen the smile on my face as I was unpacking everything!

And speaking of words, Rest in Peace, Pat Conroy. I loved your writing and the passion you had for words and literature. Thank you.

Happy Saturday.

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Mini Gifts for Caroline (I’m Not Jealous. I’m Not.)

Caroline Wants Equal Time

On My Mind This Morning: Words and a Gift

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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