From my seat on the porch this morning. I slept longer than usual and Don had to leave early to catch the bus to NYC for an audition, so all we had time for was hello and goodbye. Normally, we sit in the Adirondack chairs for our second cup of coffee, but I chose the glider this morning.
I took it easy yesterday, turned the A/C on by mid-morning and, though it was hard for me to stay indoors, I did. I listened to one of my favorite radio programs, read, putzed around the house, checked Instagram, read some more, and had lunch. I’m thinking I’ll do the same today, after I finish watering the seedlings, which I had to do twice yesterday because it’s so damn hot!
Grace’s beautiful capture of Scout arrived in the mail last week. We will be framing this eventually, but it’s currently propped up on the piano’s music rack. (It has a protective covering at the moment, which is why it’s a bit blurry.) This Scout is ‘old Scout’ and we love that because it captures her at a time when she was starting to have real trouble getting around, but could still run from the back of the corral, down the little hill and, with a big jump, land on the elevated threshold of the house.
Gosh, we miss her. Thank you so much, Grace!
The coneflowers – mostly purple, but we also have white and yellow coneflowers – are popping out everywhere in the gardens. I think they may be my favorite flowers. I love peonies, of course, but they’re short lived. Coneflowers last a long time in the garden.
Thank you for all of the incredibly supportive comments on yesterday’s post. I am so grateful for all of you.
Have to go over to Rick and Doug’s mid-afternoon, to let Sam out. They’re gone for the day and won’t be back until this evening. I love that boy, so I’m looking forward to it.
Happy Monday.
wow … that painting of your scout is wonderful. am sure you will find just the right place of honor for it.
to grace … you have a great talent! do you also have a website or instagram account? would love to see more of your art … and maybe commission some! thanks.
time with sam sounds fun. know you will enjoy that.
hope you are keeping cool and that don gets the role!
kathy in iowa
He’s not even sure he wants the role, but we’ll see!
Thank-you Kathy!
My Instagram account is @alightinglightly where you are very welcome to visit.
Claudia, thank you for sharing the portrait of Scout. Is it watercolor? It will give you years of pleasure in remembering “your girl”. Good thoughts as Don goes through his auditions.
I think it’s watercolor, but I haven’t looked closely enough to say for sure.
It is a watercolor sketch on mixed media paper.
Thank you, Grace!
What a lovely gift that painting of Scout is! Her spirit is truly captured. I share your love of coneflowers. : ) Just as the first flush of roses drop their last petals, and the daisies and lavender in my garden begin to languish, the bright blossoms of the coneflowers and black-eyed susans perk everything up again.
Exactly! And my black-eyed susans and coneflowers are blooming right on schedule!
I always think of Scout and what fun she had when you took her with you to work in Cambridge?? She so enjoyed the park playing and prancing about!
Not in Cambridge, Hartford. And yes, she loved it there!
What a wonderful gift from Grace! I love how your coneflowers are mixed in with your hostas…great naturalization.
It’s very sticky here today…I watered earlier, and have lots of housekeeping things to keep me busy today. I think it’s a good day for that.
I hope Don’s audition goes well. Enjoy your visit with Sam! ;)
Oh, “sticky: is the part of summer I’m not crazy about. Thanks, Donnamae
Good afternoon, Claudia,
Thank you for writing about the Merry Hall Trilogy. I got them through an inter-library loan and just finished the last book. They were delightful.
Again, thank you.
I’m so glad you liked them, Cara!
Really nice painting of Scout—kudos to Grace. Good job!
I’m once again jealous of those cone flowers. Those I planted last year don’t seem to be coming back. Bummer.
I wonder why? They’re pretty sturdy flowers.
Scout was so beautiful! I know you miss her so much! I miss reading about her. If only our pets lived as long as we do….
I miss her terribly. Thanks, Lily.
What a beautiful painting of Scout. Grace is a talented lady. Hope Don gets the part.
Marilyn
Thanks, Marilyn.
Your gardens are amazing this year and I really enjoy the pictures. You have a good eye with the camera and in positioning your plants so they get just the right amount of sunshine and look fabulous. My pansies have melted in the heat and I trimmed them off. They may come back.
That Scout, she was a beauty queen!
I have to do the same with my pansies, Kelly. Fingers crossed they come back!
I love that painting of your Scout. She was a lovely girl and I know you miss her. I’m so glad I have Annie but I miss Charlie every day and probably always will. The kids got home late last night and so today I went for a visit and we went out to lunch. They were almost as happy to see me as I was to see them. They had a good time but are so glad to be home. So busy for the next few weeks as school will be starting soon. The summer flies by. I’ll have some special times with each of them before school starts. Making Grandma memories.
So hot today and I stopped at Lowe’s to get some bags of mulch trying to keep some of the weeds down. I almost passed out. So home and taking it easy tonight but tomorrow is another day. I’m staying hydrated and trying not to do more then I have too.
I understand you need for some days off. I miss blogging but I don’t miss blogging. Oh well right now my plate is full. Hugs to you and Don.
Hot here today as well – 91 degrees. They’re saying that it will be 98 on Saturday!!
Glad your family is back in town.
Beautiful painting of “old” Scout. Our animals in their aged years have a special beauty (as our loved humans do too), but the old animals I’ve loved touch me especially as their reliance on us grows, and so does their trust. When our health was better, my husband and I got to travel a lot, mostly thru the Southwest which I loved. We got along best when we were in some rental car together taking new roads into the Rockies or along the desert or into empty Wyoming where there were more sheep than people. He grew up in Wyoming and Colorado and had plenty of stories to tell. Then we’d stop in for a few days with his marvelous mom who also had awesome stories of coming out from Nebraska at about 18 to teach–in a one-room school house. She lived with a family and often spent her salary helping to feed them during the winter. It was like time travel listening to her. I can’t say how deeply I miss those times with my husband. He loves to drive and had a knack for finding the most obscure “roads” on the map. I spent many hours clinging to the passenger door. LOL. But the company and views were wonderful. He was always a traveler and I was always a wanna be, so only with him was I able to achieve as much wandering as I’d hankered for. I’m very glad, as I know you are, that you and Don had those adventurous years, and who knows, life is funny–the opportunities may roll around again. Until then, as a reader of your blog, I love hearing about your thoughts on the seasons changing in your little piece of paradise, the chairs on the porch, the secret garden, the horses at the end of the walk, your friends’ brunches and dogs, what you’re reading, the movies you’re watching, the photos that Don is taking (I wish I lived close enough to have a portrait done by him) and whatever you are working on in miniatures. So blog when you please, about what you please. You owe us nothing, but give us so much. Life is beautiful lived large or small.
Don loves nothing more than a road trip and, like your husband, loves to go off on sideroads and have adventures. We’d love nothing more than to take off on another trip, but it isn’t to be this summer. Thanks so much for your kind words, Nora.
I love coneflowers too, but I have never seen a yellow one! I bet they are very pretty. Lovely porch. I would be tempted to take a third cup of coffee. ;)
I hope Don’s audition went well.
Cindi
Thank you, Cindi. The porch is our haven!
What was the radio program you were listening to? Thank you
I am a longtime listener of Jonathan Schwartz, who had a radio show for years out of NYC. He is the son of Arthur Schwartz, who wrote “Dancing in the Dark” and is an expert in the American Songbook, which is my favorite music. He had a show on Saturday and Sunday. His show ended a couple of years ago and many, many fans were in mourning. He recently resurfaced on an internet streaming service – thejonathanstation (dot) com, where American popular music is played 24 hours a day, with Jonathan live on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. I’m thrilled to have him back!