On The Road — Page 89

A Not-So-Blank Canvas

August 31, 2013 at 8:43 am by Claudia

It’s a holiday weekend, but not for me. I work today and tomorrow. Monday is just another day off, since it’s always our day off. So I will continue to merrily tap away on the keyboard of my laptop and write posts to share with you.

I suppose if one wanted to call it that, I have a logo. Or to use Big Bloggers’ Speak: a Brand. I’m talking about that little lamb with the party hat that you see in my header and on my watermark. It’s also on my blog/etsy business card. I certainly didn’t create it with a plan in mind. I just took a picture some 4 years ago of a little lamb and the party hat I created for her.

But she stuck. She wormed her way into my heart. She landed in a couple versions of the header I used on the Blogger version of this blog. When I made the move to WordPress, I decided to go with clean and simple and there she is, right there among the letters that spell out Mockingbird Hill Cottage.

Well, all this recent talk about that little partying lamb got me thinking. Look what arrived yesterday:

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I ordered a wrapped canvas version of my photo.

My stars! I’m in love.

It’s 16 x 20 inches. There was a special offer from this particular company and I got it on sale. At deep discount.

I like whimsy. This, to me, is exceedingly whimsical. I might hang it in my studio at home. Or in the den where I blog. I’m not sure. I just know I thought it would be really cool to have a canvas version of My Little Lamb with the Party Hat. I’ve never had a canvas version of one of my photos. This might well become addictive.

I decided to hang it on an already established hook here in the apartment. I’m sure the landlord here wouldn’t appreciate me adding a largish hole to the wall. Little pinholes, fine. Big ones? A no no.

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She’s hanging above my desk, where I can see her as I blog and surf the web and type up notes for the actors. She is making me smile on this early Saturday morning and that’s no small thing. I’m still groggy with sleep and I’m in the midst of my morning coffee ration. As Don knows, getting any sort of reaction out of me when I first get up is tricky at best.

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Love, love, love this canvas. I ordered it from this company. It was created and shipped within a couple of days of placing my order. It took about 3 days to arrive here in Hartford.

Here she is this morning:

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There are different options available as to the actual wrap, but I chose to have the photo on top of the canvas and to have the sides wrapped in aqua.

Is this temporary apartment in danger of becoming too warm and cute and cheery?

Nope. I need all the warm and cute and cheery I can get.

Happy Saturday.

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Hand Quilting, Scout and Moving On Stage

August 30, 2013 at 9:08 am by Claudia

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I have to admit, I haven’t been getting as much hand quilting done as I would like to. In fact, I’ve only had one stab at it this week. I’ve been getting home around 7:30 and, after making some dinner and tending to blog comments and emails, I have been too pooped to tackle it. My eyes get tired from following along in the script, writing tons of notes for the actors, and sitting at the computer screen.

Here’s what I’ve done so far:

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I’m going to hand quilt random, interlocking, different-sized circles all over the quilt top. A simple design and that’s fine by me. I like to do something curvy when a quilt is very linear in design. The circles will also spill into the white borders on each of the blocks. I started in the center and will work my way outward. Today I will have some pockets of free time and I’m looking forward to a bit of meditative stitching. Looks like rain today.

Sob. I finished watching the last episode of House of Cards last night. It’s so, so good! Now I have to find something else to watch and, thankfully, several of you have made suggestions! I’ll have to go back and read them all. We had our last rehearsal in the rehearsal room and both run-throughs went very well. Today, La Dispute moves onstage with what is called a spacing rehearsal. The director and actors spend time adjusting to the set and the demands of the set. I’ll drop by to check on their voices in the space and offer advice as to the vocal adjustments that have to be made.

I thought I’d share a photo of Scout when she was here in the park a couple of weeks ago. Look closely and witness the hyper, slightly crazed expression on her face. She didn’t want to stay still and she definitely didn’t want me to hold her in place. She wants to get going! She makes me laugh, that little sprite. At the age of 14½, she is still up for adventure. Gosh, I miss her so much.

scoutieandmeinthepark

Maybe Don and Scout can come for a visit next week? Fingers crossed.

Happy Friday.

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Walking Around Hartford

August 28, 2013 at 8:06 am by Claudia

I took a walk on my day off. It was dark and cloudy all day long, with the threat of rain, but I needed to get outside and do something. I decided to explore the streets around the State Capitol. (All photos taken with my iPhone.)

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First stop: the pond, where there it was Rest Time for the ducks. There are 19 of them in this photo. Trust me. One is hard to see because he’s behind another duck. There were also 4 ducks resting on the fountain in the middle of the pond.

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The rear of the Capitol. Such a gorgeous, gorgeous building.

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Outside the Bushnell Center, Hartford’s big performing arts venue.

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A statue of Columbus.

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The State of Connecticut Supreme Court building.

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Roses

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Another statue – this one of Lafayette.

Over the weekend, I was walking home from rehearsal, it would have been around 7 pm or so, and I saw this:

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The reflections from the windows on a building across the street. It reminds me of strands of DNA and the double helix. I really love this!

By the way, you know how much I’m loving House of Cards on Netflix, right? The other day I did a status update on my personal Facebook page about that very thing. And I got a message back from a former student telling me she has a recurring role on the upcoming Season Two of House of Cards. She said she thought I would be proud of her. I am. I love seeing my students succeed on the stage, on television, on film and behind the camera. I’ve got former students working in all aspects of the performing arts and that, my friends, makes me smile.

I’m more than a bit tired. Rehearsals days are long and I don’t get home until 7:30 or so. Yesterday, we had run-throughs of both plays. Since I have to take notes on what I’m hearing and not hearing, which involves lots of concentration and writing while trying to keep up with the dialogue and then re-writing everything so that the notes are clear and understandable for the actors, I feel wiped out at the end of the day. More today. And tomorrow. Then we move onstage on Friday.

What are you up to? Feel free to sends a masseuse my way.

Happy Wednesday.

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A Not-So-Blank Canvas

Hand Quilting, Scout and Moving On Stage

Walking Around Hartford

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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