It’s cooler today – I’d say a good 10 or 15 degrees cooler. Thank heavens! It’s been so hot that I couldn’t mow or rake or anything and today I will be able to do all of the above.
Don saw Anastasia last night and loved it. I’m so glad he could finally get there. Christy emailed me during the show saying she was going to put him on the list to get backstage, but he never saw my texts, so that didn’t work out. As it was, he had to catch his bus to NJ and it was late. He has a full day of rehearsal today and a press event at the end of the day. His text to me at intermission about Christy: I can’t figure out if she’s the best singer I’ve ever heard or the best actress! Maybe both.
Yes, she’s extraordinary. That spurred me to listen to her singing Journey to the Past on my iPhone after I’d retired upstairs for bed. She gives me chills.
Speaking of chills, I finished the Louise Penny yesterday and, once again, sat here clutching the book to my chest, tears streaming down my face. The same thing happened last year. There is no one better at weaving together the complex strands of a mystery while at the same time writing about the human condition, the fight between good and evil, the love that connects us all. I love her.
As I said on Instagram, it’s not fair to start another mystery right after reading Louise Penny because it will pale in comparison, so I’ve started the latest (just out) Jan Karon, To Be Where You Are.
My order of the main floor of the MiPad is due to arrive today. It just left London on Monday! Anyway, I’m excited to see it and start dreaming of what I’m going to do with the whole thing.
Finally, today is my dad’s birthday. He would have been 94. I miss you, Dad. I think about you every day. Happy Birthday!
Happy Thursday.
Every time I read on of Louise Penny’s books, I think she can’t get any better! I hope you enjoy the new Jan Karon. I could not get into it and had to put it aside. Put “When the English Fall” by David Williams on your list. Mind boggling!
Have a great day today; seems a little cooler.
I know I’ll love it. I always enjoy her novels. Thanks for the recommendation, Betsy!
I’m so glad Don got to see Anastasia! I know it’s fantastic! I know you miss your Dad. It’s hard even after all these years to think I can’t just call my Dad and say Hi. Thinking of you today. Hugs!
He had a great time – I got to use what would have been his comp ticket for opening night (because I’m given 2 comps and I only used 1)
I too miss my Dad. He would have been 97 in August. Looking forward to seeing the next MiPad addition to your collection. I don’t comment often but your daily post is my first ‘to read’ every morning and I do thank you for writing and sharing and reality. Hugs.
Joy
You don’t have to comment, Joy – it’s just nice knowing you’re out there!
We just finished the audio book of Louise Penny’ls yesterday. Now we have to wait a year for the next. I’ve got Woody hooked. Isn’t your dad handsome? I miss him.
Love you,
Eileen
Yay for Woody – I’m glad he’s hooked.
Dad was so handsome. I miss him a lot – Mere and I talked on the phone earlier today about that.
He loved you very much, Eileen. xoxo
Happy birthday to your Dad, and happy memories for you. I know you miss your Dad, your Mom, your brother, your canine children…your family. But I know you keep all of them in a special place within yourself. Nice that Don got to see Anastasia. I asked my local library to purchase the new Jan Karon. (I hardly purchase books anymore…I’ve run out of room in my bookcases.) I should be the first one allowed to borrow it after the library receives and processes it.
Glad to know you’ll be able to read the Karon. I’ve only read a little bit (had to mow and rake today) but I’ll try to get some more reading in later in the day.
Thanks for the kind words about Dad.
That photo of you and your dad looks like a still made on a movie set. I haven’t ordered the newest Louise Penny novel yet. I’m saving it for a time when I really need an escape.
I don’t blame you! I usually hang on to her newest book for a while but I couldn’t hold off this time.
Your picture of yourself with your dad is so speaking and lovely. It’s funny– it seems that people of a certain age (wait, I’m 56 and you may not be as old as that, so sorry ) all have a picture of ourselves with our dads and they are wearing the most dapper hats, while we are bundled into snowsuits. I feel like years from now people will feel the same way about all of those beautiful family shots people take at the beach, with everyone wearing white shirts. We all have the same wonderful pictures and they instantly remind us of our own fathers and how much we miss them.
I, to, cry at the end of a Louise Penny. I always feel kind of bereft when I finish one. In fact I read them with a particular tempo—-rushing through the first pages like a person whose thirst cannot be slaked, slowing way, way down at the end because I know that it is all almost over. And while I get to the end with a desire to know how it will all come together, I also don’t want it to end because I know how long I will wait for the next one. Sigh. So lovely! My book club is discussing this one in an hour and I can’t wait.
Have a lovely day–
Peace and peace.
Leslie P.
edited to add….sheesh, I wrote I, too,……but must have missed an ‘o’. Horrible typist.
xo
I feel like everyone in Three Pines is a friend. I want to hang out with them. I want to sit by the fire in the Bistro. Sigh.
I’m older than you Leslie! I loved when men wore hats like that – I liked it when women wore hats, as well!
This cooler weather is just fantastic. Loving being able to open a few windows again. The cat is also thrilled! Hope you enjoy your day getting things done in the yard. Will Don be able to get home again for his Sunday off? Have a wonderful Thursday!
It’s cooler here today, but it’s still over 80. Tomorrow will bring a bigger change and I can’t wait.
Don has to get home on Sunday as he has to drop his car off and anything he isn’t taking on the road. They leave a week from Sunday for New Orleans.
That photo of you and your dad is precious. I miss my dad, he would have been 111 in May. He is dead 27 years and it seems like he was just here with us. Happy Birthday to your dad. You must great memories of him.
Marilyn
I do. He was a good dad, Marilyn. We never stop missing them, do we?
No, we never do; miss my dad SO much. It’s coming up on 10 years since he fell ill and couldn’t recover.
And I agree; that’s indeed one precious photo, Claudia.
Well, if Don’s to be on the road soon, you won’t be far behind, will you? Do you know yet when you’ll join him for awhile in NOLA?
Yes, I wrote about it today’s post!
I read Louise Penny a couple of weeks ago. It was of course incredible. I don’t think we ever get over missing our dads. Mine has been gone 21 years and I still have so many days where I wish I could talk to him. Your porch looks so inviting. It has cooled down here today too and I am enjoying sitting by the open window. xo Laura
I know. Mere and I were saying this morning how much we wish we could talk to Dad.
Glad you enjoyed the latest Louise Penny!
Such a pretty Autumn picture of your porch…it looks so inviting I feel like I could spend a day there reading and daydreaming!..I love that picture of you and your Dad…he is so handsome and you are just adorable…I still miss my Dad too…always will…
Always will. We never get over losing our loved ones.
A terrific photo of you & your Dad – too cute. And a very Happy Birthday to your Dad from me. I’m sure he’s celebrating with your Mom, your brother & all the dogs [Winston, Riley, Scout & Max]. And who knows who else? Maybe by now he’s met Robert Frost. Or Henry Mancini. Or Jackie Kennedy [all these people are on my “list” as people I want at my table on my first night in Heaven]. It’s a game we play in our family, and you can’t name relatives because they’re a given… Peace. 🌟
#Resist
i agree with janet in rochester … i am sure your parents and pups are celebrating together in heaven! hope you know that in your heart, claudia!
i’ll have to think who – besides my family (because, she’s right, they are a given!) – i hope to share a meal with in heaven. with only a quick thought about it, i’d say billy graham (not that i’m rushing for him to get there!) and prince.
glad don got to see “anastasia” and that you have that very sweet photo of you and your father. happy birthday to your father!
enjoy the cooler weather, the addition to the mi-pad and the new book. will have to check out l. penny books after all the rave reviews here (thanks for the tip)!
kathy in iowa
did not write that second paragraph very well. i KNOW i will enjoy heaven with my family …
and i HOPE to meet billy graham and prince there. want to tell them thanks for the message and the music. :)
kathy in iowa
well, my second comment kind of reads like I think billy graham and prince might not/did not make it to heaven. that is not what i was trying to say!!! i just figure heaven will be crowded and busy in good ways and who doesn’t want to meet billy graham and prince? so …i’ll just stand in line and wait to give them a handshake and some thanks.
sorry for the poorly-written comments and implications. and shame on me for peeking at blogs (even faves like this one) while at work. :l
kathy in iowa
But you have to peek at blogs while you’re at work! It keeps you sane!
thanks, claudia. after being a social worker for 30+ years, i agree … but am trying to limit those peeks to certain times or else one link leads to another and then i have too much work to do later when i just want to go home, you know?! :)
i’ll add a couple more to my someday dinner guests in heaven wish-list: jimmy buffett, captain sully and jane goodall.
kathy in iowa
Jimmy was on the Today show this morning, according to some readers. I just went to the link and watched it. They had a press event last night, so Jimmy’s in town.
xo
Shakespeare for me. And Fred Astaire. More, I’m sure, but that’s all I can think of now!
I always wonder at what age I’ll be and what age they’ll be. Like, when we’re reunited, will I be a kid, or the age I am now? Will my grandma be that 20-year-old with her long, beautiful, chestnut hair before it was bobbed in the fashion of the day? Or will she be the grandma I knew when she was in her 60s (chestnut hair long since turned white)? Will my parents be the young and carefree couple they were after the war years, or will they be the age they were when I was a teen? It’s such a curious thing to sometimes ponder…like, I can’t imagine my brother being in his 60s, when I only remember him as a kid or young adult before he died in his 30s…
I wonder if we ‘see’ each other as we want to be remembered?
I hope he’s met everyone he’s ever wanted to meet! Peace.
Oh my gosh, Claudia, do you ever favor your dad! Scrolling down the page I only saw him first and thought, “well, that HAS to be her father.” Your emotional reaction to finishing your mystery book is tempting me, who has never cared for them, to pick up one of Louise Penny’s books.
But I also look exactly like my Mom! Go figure!
Louise Penny’s books are mysteries, but they are first and foremost novels. Don’t let the word mystery keep you from reading her!
Well, we had a day that was always our least favorites—annual checkups at the doctor’s. At least that’s the only Dr. this year, as I was feeling rebellious and refused to do another couple of appointments. Sometimes it just feels like too much!
Such a cute photo of your Dad and you. Yes, I remember when nearly all men and women wore hats. We used to get dressed up to go shopping, too. Oh, it was such a different world. I like to think that the loved ones we’ve lost are not really that far away. As long as someone remembers them they are near.
Always got dressed up to go the theater – now people wear shorts!
Precious pic of you and your dad…I have a similar one. Love those hats! ;)
Me too!
Actually, I wish now I would have saved one of his hats. They were special! ;)
I have my brother’s Fedora. I’m very grateful for that. And I have my dad’s golf hat.
Super cool! ;)
xo