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You are here: Home / Archives for winter

Day Two Hundred Seventy-Eight

December 16, 2020 at 9:40 am by Claudia

16 – 24 inches.

Yep. And high winds at times, which will result in drifting.

And temps in the 20s during the day and the teens at night.

Our biggest concern is losing power, of course.

As I write this, the oil company is delivering oil. Check.

We prepped a lot yesterday. Check.

Don is recycling this morning so we can empty our bins before the snow hits. Check.

We will be charging phones, my iPad, and our chargers.

And bringing in bottled water we have stored in the back of Don’s non-functioning car. (We bought it when the hurricane was coming.)

And that’s about all we can do.

Most of the snow will come down late tonight, overnight and into Thursday morning.

It’s a monster of a storm, so keep us and everyone impacted by this storm in your prayers. We’re nervous, but also sort of excited – that thing that happens when Mother Nature is in charge and you can do nothing about it. We’ve already had a hurricane this year, now we have this.

2020, I’ll be glad to see you leave.

After we finish last minute prep, we’ll just lay low here at the cottage and do things that make us happy; writing music, playing with dollhouses, that sort of thing.

If I don’t post tomorrow, it will be because we don’t have power. Fingers crossed that all goes well on that end.

To all of you who will be dealing with this winter storm, we are sending our love and prayers your way. Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Filed Under: snow, weather, winter 61 Comments

Sepia

February 18, 2020 at 10:58 am by Claudia

More from my little jaunt the other day. Some hydrangeas are still relatively intact – but only a few. There’s such a sepia look to the gardens right now. Beautiful. I need to be more aware of that when I feel that everything is gray and gloomy.

It isn’t.

Thank you so much for your kind comments yesterday. They make all the effort over the years worthwhile. Bless you.

Yesterday was marvelously sunny but we’re back to darker skies today. We were supposed to get a smattering of wet snow overnight, but that didn’t happen. I haven’t checked the weather but I wouldn’t be surprised if we got some form of moisture today.

I’m almost done with Blue Moon  by Lee Child. Complete escapism: that’s what Lee Child books are. I’ve read nearly all of them. They’re really a modern take on the gunslinger that saves a town or a family from the bad guys. Jack Reacher is the equivalent of Shane. If you go into them knowing that, you’ll have a great read that truly takes you away for a while. It’s comforting knowing that the bad guys will be dealt with, the good guys will win, and then Jack Reacher – ever the wanderer – will move on.

Next up? Either Hi Five  by Joe Ide or Lock Every Door  by Riley Sager. Since Lock Every Door  is supposed to be very scary, the choice will definitely depend on my mood later today.

I’m looking forward to spring, but I’m trying to stay here, in this season. I’m doing surprisingly well with it and so is Don. That was one of our goals this winter – not to wish the time away. Of course, we may be helped by the lack of snow this year, but we had plenty of it in December and we’ve had lots of ice and freezing rain since the first of the year. In other words, lots of weather to contend with, but hopefully, with some grace.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: blog, books, winter 22 Comments

Books, Wind Chill, and Off to Hartford

February 14, 2020 at 9:25 am by Claudia

Okay. I read The Family Upstairs  by Lisa Jewell in one day – not because it was particularly good, however, just because it was somewhat engaging and a fast read. It’s what I call “Mystery-Lite” – somewhat like popcorn or sugar – after eating it, you don’t feel particularly nourished. Empty calories. Apologies if some of you are Lisa Jewell fans. The premise is an interesting one and Jewell is good at writing from the point-of-view of multiple characters, but, in the end, it was fluff.

So, I’m moving on to the Lee Child – Blue Moon. I’ll take that with me to Hartford today.

Speaking of Hartford, the wind chill is in the teens right now. Oh joy.

So, I’m packing up my stuff (even for one night, it’s crazy what I need to pack!) and making lists. The one good thing about this, besides actually being employed, is that today’s driving weather is not snow, ice, fog, or rain, all of which I’ve dealt with during my two previous trips to Hartford. So I’m very grateful for that!

It’s Valentine’s Day and I was able to wish my husband a Happy Valentine’s Day this morning, even though we won’t be together tonight. Don spoke the truth this morning, “Actually, every day is Valentine’s Day here.” He’s right. I have mixed feelings about this day because there’s so much pressure involved. I was single for many years and even though I was happily single and uninvolved by choice, I still felt that pressure to have a Valentine of some sort. And that’s ridiculous. As you know, I tend to avoid what I call Hallmark holidays. Tell your mom you love her every day not just on Mother’s Day. Same for your dad on Father’s Day. Same for your loved ones, your partner, your mate – tell them you love them every day. I can only speak for us, but we say it several times a day, every day.

I’m not going to post tomorrow, as I don’t want to take my laptop for this short visit. And I have to spend the morning tomorrow writing up notes for the actors. I’ll be back home later in the day on Saturday and I’ll post again on Sunday.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: books, reading, winter 16 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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