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You are here: Home / Archives for Scout

Sleep, Heat, Spiders, Books and Scout

March 22, 2014 at 8:55 am by Claudia

Spiderring2

Oh yes. I have a cool orange plastic spider ring, courtesy of my dentist.

Admit it. You want one, too.

Let’s see, what’s new?

• Don’s been talking to me on the phone about not getting enough sleep lately. I’ve decided we can no longer talk about that subject, because now I’m not getting enough sleep. Thursday night? About 2 hours. Last night? I woke up at 4:45 am and couldn’t get back to sleep. Enough already. I didn’t know sleeplessness was catching.

• I’ve had a heck of a hard time controlling our thermostat this winter. It always seems to be either too hot or too cold, never consistent. I finally called our oil company and they sent someone out yesterday who confirmed that I wasn’t going nuts, the thermostat was indeed off by 4 degrees. He replaced it (it was the rather old fashioned kind with a dial that had little degree marks and was unbelievably hard to read) with a digital version. No more squinting and shining a flashlight on the dial to figure out what the heck the temperature is! And it works! I had also been hearing weird knocking/thudding sounds when the oil burner came on, so he did some adjusting and all is well. I should have, of course, called them about a month ago but I kept thinking I could figure it out. Silly.

• I finished reading The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (who is really J.K. Rowling.) What a great book! It’s a wonderful mystery with a lead character who is a private detective. I didn’t want it to end and I kept thinking to myself, ‘I hope she’s going to write another one! This would make a great series.’ Well, one thing about a Kindle that is extremely handy is this feature at the end of the book that lists other books you might be interested in. And there I learned that the next book in the series is coming out in June. Instant answer to my question. I preordered it. In that same listing I also discovered that Michael Connelly (one of my favorite authors) also has a new book coming out in a few months. I get excited by these things.

Anyway, I recommend this book highly. I never got into the whole Harry Potter thing. I tried to, but it just didn’t do anything for me, though I could clearly see what an amazing writer Rowling was. I really admire her for writing in another genre, for taking a risk when she obviously has more than enough money in the bank to never work another day in her life. Boy, she’s good!

Now I’m reading a book that I will review on Monday, so stay tuned.

• I managed to get some photos of squirmy Miss Scout. If she sees me pull out my camera, she immediately looks away, so timing is everything.

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MissScout2

MissScout3

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Oh, she’s a handful, but she makes my heart sing. Yesterday I saw her loping along in the dog corral. The furnace guy was here and she loves visitors and it was warmer and the snow has melted in her corral, so she was happy. And that makes me happy.

• Tomorrow is our Linky Party for the Christmas Critter Felt Along. But the post will go up this evening at 6 pm. So, even though it is posting this evening, it’s officially the Sunday post for the blog. Does that make sense?

Happy Saturday.

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Filed Under: books, Christmas Critter Felt Along, life, Scout, spider 36 Comments

Chatty on Friday

March 14, 2014 at 9:16 am by Claudia

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• Weather-wise, we were fortunate compared to some of you, who I know got lots more snow. We got a lot of rain, then sleet, flash freezing and ice, and a dusting of snow. The ice continues to be a pain in the tush for Scout. That poor girl has to navigate a dog corral that one moment is squishy and slippery with mud after a 57 degree day and the next moment is full of treacherous ice patches because we had a flash freeze. This morning she stopped right behind an ice patch that was outside the kitchen door and just stared at me with an expression that said, “I have to deal with this again? Enough already.”

I get it, my girl. I echo your sentiments. I have more than had it with this bizarre winter. I feel like most of the time Don has been away, I have been putting all my energy into coping with the elements. Chopping ice, shoveling snow, figuring out how to get the ice dams on the roof to melt, trekking through four foot high snow drifts to rake the roof, salting, clearing several feet of snow to find the downspouts and gutter extensions, worrying about the weight of snow on the roof.

I might not be cut out for the role of a pioneer woman.

• I’m feeling a bit stir crazy here at the cottage. I’m contemplating a trip south to IKEA and Trader Joe’s. I need a change in scenery. TJ’s has the best deals on fresh flowers and heaven knows I could use some around here. And sometimes I simply need to take a jaunt through IKEA. Today might be the day.

• I’m reading The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith. It’s a very well written mystery that got great reviews in Great Britain when it was published.  Then it somehow got out that Robert Galbraith was really J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series. She wanted to publish something under another name, free of all the expectations that would come if she published a new series under her own name. She is a wonderful writer.

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Photo © T. Charles Erickson/The Huntington Theatre Company

• The Seagull by Anton Chekhov opened Wednesday night in Boston. Here’s a photo of Don with Kate Burton (a wonderful actress and the daughter of Richard Burton.) Now all the rehearsals and long days are over and Don can settle into the run of the play.

I love Chekhov. I was in The Three Sisters when I was an actress and it remains one of my favorite experiences. I’ve coached several different productions of Chekhov’s plays. He was such a wise man, so attuned to the complexities of the human spirit. And very funny, as well.

Check out those mutton chops on Don!

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• My girl with a look in her eyes not unlike the look she gave me this morning. She’s a beauty. And a handful. She misses her dad. We would go visit him, but he’s staying in an apartment that is only reached by stairs – a lot of them. She just can’t handle that many stairs these days. And she’s too big to carry. So we have to stay here. If only there was an elevator there! There is Don, in the city where I lived for many years and still love, and I can’t be with him. (And no, we really can’t afford a hotel.) Ah well. It’s frustrating, but Scoutie’s health and well-being has to be our top priority.

• On a very sad note, my brother-in-law lost his mother yesterday, just two weeks after he lost his brother. Gracie was a wonderful woman who was the proud matriarch of her family. Loving, strong, wise – she was a role model for everyone. At what one would consider an ‘advanced’ age, she was helping build houses for Habitat for Humanity. John adored her, as did Meredith and my nephews. Rest in peace, Gracie. You will be missed by so many. We are blessed to have known you.

That’s all for now.

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: Don, reading, Scout, Trader Joe's, winter 41 Comments

Creature Feature

March 3, 2014 at 8:24 am by Claudia

There are several of us living here, you know.

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There’s Lamb Chop, who lives in the studio. She’s my muse.

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There’s the Lamb with the Party Hat. She hangs out with her pal Lamb Chop. I can hear them whispering up there.

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And, of course, Maggie and Wayfrum, my traveling companions. When not on the road with me, they like to hang out on the bookshelf in the bedroom.

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And Monty, who surveys the downstairs from his perch on an old lab stool in the living room.

There are dolls, more lambs, jumping jacks.

Come to think of it, it’s rather crowded here.

And there’s this girl:

scoutina

She runs the whole place.

We managed to avoid all the dire predictions as to snowfall. For once. I am grateful that I don’t have to shovel today. It is very, very cold out there, however, and tonight’s low is going down to 7 below.

You don’t want to see how much we’ve spent on heating oil this year. The mind boggles. And the price just jumped by 40 cents a gallon. Do you think the oil companies know they have us right where they want us?

I escaped my snowy, icy prison and drove over to Tina and Noble’s for lunch yesterday. Good food, good conversation, good friends – I had a lovely time. Not that I don’t love my conversations with Scoutie, but it’s nice to change it up a little.

Besides, she sleeps a lot of the time.

Happy Monday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: animals, collecting, Scout, sheep 45 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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