O’keefe and Merritt

Husband, Reading & Life

August 17, 2017 at 9:16 am by Claudia

Sometimes I grab my phone as I’m walking home and I quickly take a picture of a Hartford street because I need something to put on a post. Let’s face it, my friends, you’ve seen Hartford many times over the past six-going-on-seven years. I had a very long day coaching yesterday and I have another one today and I’m tired, so this is what you get.

Well, not just this, but basically? This.

I thank God every day for my husband, but last night I was especially grateful. I was very tired (sinus/allergies are getting me down, along with the news) and I was about to head to the bath. We were face-timing and he was sharing a detailed story and every time he looked at me, I was yawning. Big yawns, the kind that make your eyes water. Finally, he just stared at me, features not moving, and I started giggling. Every time I would recover and look at the phone, his face was closer. This happened about six times, his features never changing, until all I could see was his eye. You probably had to be there, but I couldn’t stop laughing.

No one can make me laugh like he does and boy did I need a laugh.

He has also urged me to stop reading Twitter or watching Rachel Maddow for a few days, to give myself a mental health break. I think that’s a good idea. So far, so good – no Twitter this morning.

I haven’t been able to lose myself in the plot of a novel the way I’d like to. I’m reading The Late Show, Michael Connelly’s newest, but my attention span has been less than optimal. So I’m taking it along with me today for those periods when I have a few minutes between coaching appointments. Instead of automatically checking Twitter, I’m going to make myself read.

My newest decorating tip:

When a lamp is sitting too low on a table and it starts to annoy you, risk running into the stinky, smoky cigar shop and buy three empty cigar boxes for $5.00. Bring them back to the apartment, spray perfume all over yourself to get rid of the smoky smell, and stick them under the lamp. I have a pretty white box under the other lamp. Don, who collects these boxes, ends up the winner because he’ll get these after I get home.

I’m keeping the white box. I’ll show that to you some other time.

Don has been busy. I asked him to take the crap that we have stashed next to the shed to our local dump, aka Transfer Station. He cleared out the whole area yesterday and made several trips there and I’m so proud of him because, believe me, that’s a whole heck of a lot of work. I started doing it when he was away, but could only carry so much in my car. The CR-V is better for this type of thing. Thank you, husband!

And guess what?

The stove is ready to go. It’s being crated this week and will start it’s journey to Mockingbird Hill Cottage next week! Oh my heavens! I can barely contain myself.

Of course, we had a moment of “Gulp” when we totaled up the entire cost: Stove, crating, shipping and whatever Gino is going to charge us for hooking up the propane and trimming a bit of the cover on our baseboard heat so that we can fit the stove in.

Gulp. Gulp. Gulp. And a bit more Gulp.

It’s a big expenditure for us, but it will only appreciate in value. And we’re besotted by it, plain and simple.

Okay. Have to go get ready for another busy day.

Happy Thursday and Stay Strong.

Text Work, Subtasks, Butterflies & Bugs

August 2, 2017 at 9:05 am by Claudia

Act One of Midsummer: check. Today, Act Two.

The eventual delivery of the O’Keefe & Merritt stove has set up all sorts of subtasks. Isn’t that always the way?

Cleaning under and behind the stove. Cleaning the walls. Deciding to paint the wall before the stove arrives so we don’t have to move the stove for future painting. Picking out a paint color. Deciding I need to paint the trim around the windows as well. Don picked up the yellow paint yesterday, along with the primer. I need to buy some TSP and trim paint today.

Don came in the house yesterday and told me that he had decided that we needed to open up access to the back of the house, where the propane tank will be. So we opened up the fence, then we assessed the area directly behind the kitchen and decided we needed to pull all those weeds and perhaps put some gravel down so that there will be a flatter surface for whatever we put the tank on. Which means I may have to buy some gravel. And Don bought some pavers to make a little path in that area.

Then, as we stood outside, I asked Don if he thought it would be a good idea to take down the fence that we originally put up to keep Scout in the lower part of the corral when she began to have difficulty walking. At first, he said no because he considered it part of the Memorial Garden, but then he rethought the whole thing and we took it down.

It looks so much better! We reminded ourselves that our memories of that section of the fence are not happy ones, as Scout often fell there when she lost her balance in her final days. The memorial garden is not the fence, it’s the plants and the ribbons and the prayer flags.

I tracked this beauty to the butterfly bush, late yesterday afternoon. Since he was completely absorbed in the blossoms, I was able to snap a few pictures.

Beautiful.

Then, as I was walking around the house, I saw these tiny bugs on the milkweed plants.

Aren’t they incredible? The markings and colors are beautiful!

A closer look. I’ve just identified it. It’s a candy-striped leafhopper. They’re pesky little eaters that often feed on plant sap. I’ve never seen them before!

But they’re pretty.

I’m off to make another list. I leave a week from tomorrow, which is too soon.

Happy Wednesday.

Monarchs, Flowers, Paint & The Stove

July 29, 2017 at 9:14 am by Claudia

The butterfly bush has started blooming.

I spent time yesterday walking around the garden beds. Camera in hand, I wanted to record just what is blooming right now. And then I saw a Monarch butterfly.

I’m always so thrilled when I see them – usually around this time of year, and, I assume, emerging from our milkweed plants that are scattered around the property.

Anyway, that butterfly wasn’t about to sit still long enough for me to take a picture. He sensed my approach, even if I was far off. Not to be deterred, I kept up the ‘stalking’ while trying to water the porch plants at the same time. I finally captured a couple of pictures when he landed on the coneflowers on the far side of the house.

Then a second Monarch appeared and the two of them chased each other around the property. This one kept flitting around the area in front of the porch, never landing on anything for long, as if unsure where to go to get the nectar she needed. I found myself wondering if she had just emerged. It seemed that way – as if there might be a learning curve until she landed on a proper source of nourishment.

She landed on one of my hanging plants and, as I was trying to get a picture, she took off. This strangely wonderful photo emerged from that moment.

I’m completely fascinated by it. Her wings are beating furiously and I can see her body. Amazing!

I stopped off at Noble and Tina’s house to give them a little gift for watering my plants and we had a nice chat in their beautiful garden. Petey (their little dog) slept on my lap for a long time. He’s adorable.

And we officially paid our 40% deposit on the O’Keefe & Merritt stove. Huzzah!

We’re so excited about the stove but it will take a while until we get it. A bit more work needs to be done on it, then Antique Stove Heaven will crate it, then we have to call a shipper (recommended by them) and arrange pickup and delivery. In the meantime, our local plumbing and heating guy, Gino, will figure out where to put in a line for propane and get that ready. I also need him to trim some of the metal covering on our baseboard heating so that it doesn’t interfere with the placement of the stove.

Oh, and now we’re thinking of painting the kitchen a pale yellow. All of this came out of my suggestion that we paint the section of the wall behind the stove before it arrives so that we don’t have to move that heavy stove later. There’s lots to do and I only have less than two weeks here before I have to go to Hartford. Some of those days will be taken up with doing prep work on the text. Yikes.

We’re probably going to paint the kitchen a section at a time. Over time. So it may look like a crazy quilt for a while.

Happy Saturday.

Husband, Reading & Life

Text Work, Subtasks, Butterflies & Bugs

Monarchs, Flowers, Paint & The Stove

claudiahillsparks

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