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You are here: Home / Archives for movies

Sunny Sunday

February 23, 2020 at 10:38 am by Claudia

Another sunny day! And it will reach 51, which is a treat. We’re due for at least three days of rain mid-week, but I can’t complain as this stretch of sunny weather has been fantastic.

I slept in today, which was nice, but it throws off my ‘schedule,’ to use the word loosely. So I’m writing this post rather hurriedly because we want to take a little drive today.

I read a lot yesterday, straightened up my part of the office – which needed it, and watched The Music Man  last night with my husband. It’s one of my favorite movies for many reasons. It’s done so well, I love Robert Preston, the story and score are charming and heartwarming, and it’s one of the few movies that our family saw in an actual movie theater, right after it opened. My dad loved Shirley Jones. He loved the movie. We had the soundtrack and he played “Being in Love” all the time. It’s such a good memory. Paul Ford, as the mayor, is brilliant. Anyway, it was such fun to watch it with Don.

I got an email from Netflix yesterday – Season 3 of Babylon Berlin  is coming on March 1st. If you are a fan, I thought you’d like to know. I have raved about this series since I saw it last year. It’s the best series I’ve ever seen. Obviously, that’s my personal opinion, but the acting, the script, the level of period detail, the gripping storyline – all of it taking place in the last days of the Weimar Republic in Berlin – is impeccable. I actually shouted out to Don when I read the email and made him come into the den to read it. We can’t wait.

Okay. Have to run.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: Don, movies 20 Comments

Giving Up On A Book & A Reset

February 19, 2020 at 10:28 am by Claudia

Just something I noticed on our coffee table the other day.

It’s sunny today! Cold and windy, but sunny. I’ll take it.

Well, I got to page 68 in Lock Every Door  by Riley Sager and I chucked it. It’s clunkily written, predictable, improbable, and uses a plot device right out of the pages of Rosemary’s Baby, which was a better book on every level. It’s a young person’s book, I think, and I don’t mean to disparage young people. Rather, it’s geared to the mass market, Gone Girl  kind of audience. That’s fine, but it’s not my cup of tea. As I said on IG, when I’m rolling my eyes at least once on every page, it’s time to admit defeat. Also: if I read a book and think that I could have done better (and I have no illusions about being good enough to write a novel) it’s time to move on. Anyway, it’s going back to the library today and I’ll start Hi Five  by Joe Ide, a highly skilled writer. That makes 3 out of the 4 library books ready to return, with only one to go. Two read, one started but not finished. By the way, I very much enjoyed Blue Moon  by Lee Child. Finished it in bed last night.

We watched An Inspector Calls  last night on Amazon Prime. It’s a BBC version of the play by J. B. Priestly, a play I’ve seemingly always known about but have never seen. Excellent. Don and I are still talking about it this morning.

Other than that, life is fairly routine lately. Except for this morning when I was briefly locked in the bedroom, Don spilled a container of baking soda all over the floor, and knocked over my egg cups on top of the cubby. One fell to the floor, but nothing was broken. I told him that we need a reset!

Deep breath. And let’s start over.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: books, Don, movies, reading 44 Comments

Stair Art Again

February 12, 2020 at 10:38 am by Claudia

The other side of the wall. Looking at this, I realize some straightening needs to be done!

On the bottom, a needlepoint sampler I made for my mom many years ago – I’d say I was in my early 20s – and had framed. When she died, my dad gave it to me. It is priceless, of course, not because of my needlework, but because my mom had it hanging in their home for years and years.

Above it, the Use Other Stair sign which always gets a reaction. I found it in an antique shop several years ago. I loved the graphics and immediately thought it would be humorous on our stair wall, as we have no other stairs to use. It was about $25 and it’s quite heavy. It was the first thing we hung on this wall. I deliberately hung the Pointing Finger next to it.

Above that, a silhouette of me. My mom had them made of all three of her daughters. This hung on the wall of my childhood home and eventually it came to me.

Above it, a charming little print that we bought in San Diego – little boys dressed up as soldiers, playing with a water hose. It’s quite lovely.

And there you go!

We watched Parasite  last night. It was stunning. Brilliant on every level. I can’t begin to describe it to you, though it has generated almost non-stop dialogue between Don and me. (We did stop to sleep.) It’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen. It operates on so many levels, and it does so impeccably. I see why it won so many awards this year. Believe me when I say it deserves every one of them. Bravo.

I’m about 3/4 of the way through The Snowman  by Jo Nesbø. It’s a terrific read. Two books that I reserved have come to my local library, so I’ll go pick them up this afternoon. I want to finish the Nesbø so I can start in on the other books – there’s that library due date to consider, after all.

It’s been sunny off and on this morning, but we have a snow/ice/rain thing coming tonight. Then tomorrow morning, all rain.

There are two days this week where the temps are going to drop into the twenties during the day and single digits at night – Friday and Saturday. The same two days I have to walk around Hartford, going back and forth from the apartments to the theater. Oh, joy. I’m earning my salary!

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: art, movies 14 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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