I don’t know about you but I have no idea what day of the week it is. I actually thought today was Monday.
The craziness that is the kitchen china cabinet. Or hutch. Or whatever. I’m never sure what to call things. What makes one piece a hutch, another a cupboard? I’m sure there’s an actual definition, but I’d love to find something that works for all my free-standing cabinets. There’s one in the kitchen, one in the den, and one in the office.
Suggestions welcome.
We watched Cheers again last night. I finished Eight Perfect Murders. I felt manipulated – and not in a good way – just as I felt when I read Gone Girl. I didn’t have as strong a reaction as I did with GG, as I will dub it, but I felt curiously empty of any feeling. Surely that’s not what an author wants from a reader? So if you want my official recommendation? Meh. Don’t buy it. If you’re curious, reserve it from your library or wait until it’s out in paperback. My only consolation is that I purposely bought it online from Oblong Books to help them out during this time so I don’t regret it.
I have limited funds, but I just placed an order with John Sandoe Books, in support of my favorite bookshop in London – they’ve had to close. I ordered three books that are not yet published here in the U.S. I feel it’s my little mission to place at least one order from all of my favorite independent bookshops during this time. I can only do it once, and now I have. I would order from Shakespeare and Company in Paris, but they aren’t doing mail orders. At least, I’m pretty sure they aren’t. I’ll check that again later today.
We tried to reserve a home delivery spot with a local grocery store, but they are booked for at least the next six days. I have a feeling I’ll have to stay up until midnight in order to grab the next open slot. We really don’t want to visit a grocery store and we still have food, but we’re running out of a few essentials. I’ll keep you posted.
It’s a beautiful, sunny day – the high will be 61. Then a few days of rain will follow. Very grateful for some sunshine today. I’m seeing robins and woodpeckers and cardinals and bluejays and all sorts of little birds. I can tell the birdbath is being used (hurrah!) and Don saw a bunny rabbit run by our kitchen door. The peepers are serenading us every night. All is well.
Note: At the end of yesterday’s book review, I made sure to say that only comments made directly on the blog post would be counted; not via email. But two of you sent your request via email anyway. I cannot count those. If you’re serious about being entered in the giveaway, come here to the blog and leave your comment on the post. Thank you.
Happy Friday.
I don’t know what day it is anymore either. The only way I know it’s Friday is because I hear the garbage trucks outside.
I’m still walking outside every day though looks like rain here all weekend, so now I’m truly stuck inside. Honestly, I’m feeling pretty stir-crazy and crabby.
We watched Go Ask Alice last night. I found it a rather depressing movie. Not a good choice.
Starting a new book today – The Beekeeper of Aleppo.
xoxo
Only watch feel-good movies. We’re steering away from anything ‘dark.’ I’ve heard great things about that book, Melanie. Enjoy and stay safe.
We didn’t know it was a depressing movie until we watched it! And when I looked online about it, I didn’t read that it was depressing, so I thought it’d simply be a good movie.
I’ve read just the first two chapters of the above-mentioned book and I’m already hooked.
Good! xo
Well, I would call it a hutch. I like he bunny cup. Exact the same weather in temperature and sun and forecast as here in Germany thousands of kilometers apart, funny! Please, stay healthy, Claudia… and do your garden!
Too soon for the garden as it’s still very cold at night. Another week, perhaps! Thanks, Helga. Stay safe.
When in doubt of a definition, I consult the dictionary. Both hutch and cupboard have the same definition in my American Heritage Dictionary. I would boldly go a step further and say that your kitchen cabinet is a cupboard. It looks as though it had doors that were removed. I think of a hutch as more a dining room item. But that’s me. I have a hutch, but I refer to it as a Welsh dresser. I know it actually isn’t, because a Welsh dresser is more of a homey, useful kitchen furnishing, with a wide shelf that can be used for slicing bread and meat. I use mine for a changing display of thrift shop finds, family photos, and other various other stuff.
The doors weren’t removed. I opened them to take a picture. I think it’s more likely a kitchen cabinet…but who knows? Thanks, Leslie.
i thought I remembered a cabinet with glass doors, but then I thought you might have more than one.
xo
I think it’s like “divan, davenport, sofa, couch”. All the same thing, just your choice of word to use. Sometimes it’s regional, sometimes it’s just what your family called it when you were growing up—kinda like a cupboard in England is a closet in the US. Words can be interesting, huh?
Hanging in there, but cranky.
Words can be very interesting! Take care – I’m under the weather with sinus stuff, so I’m definitely cranky!
Hi Claudia, glad to read all is still well with you and Don. My son is feeling much better today and seems to hopefully be out of the other side if it was a mild case of Coronavirus. I am feeling okay too and I think if I feel the same over the weekend then I haven’t caught his illness (but I still can’t leave the house for another seven days).
Prince Charles and Boris Johnson both have it plus the Health Secretary which is quite sobering.
Last night at 8pm, there was a national round of applause of thanks for all the health workers. We were asked to stand at our door or window and clap to show our appreciation. Cities illuminated buildings in blue lights which is the colour of the National Health Service. It’s happening again next Thursday but I think it’s for everyone, delivery drivers, supermarket workers etc.
I would call it a cabinet and on ‘Trimgate’😀, I’m on the side of no trim for the Cotswold Cottage.
Keep safe, everyone
So happy to hear your son is feeling better, Dee Dee! Take care of yourself!
Thank you, Claudia x
xo
What a nice diversion…thinking of what to call your piece of furniture that holds your dishes. Can you tell I need a diversion?
I’ve been amusing myself this morning watching the myriad of birds trying to eat from the suet feeders. We’ve got red-winged blackbirds giving it a go, along with grackles. The blackbirds are amazingly good at securing pieces of suet and flying away.
And, our picture sending of the day with my family, and to each other has proven to be a success. And it’s keeping us together, even though we apart. Especially with London son! We are all supposed to be together this June, when our youngest son gets married. Guess Covid-19 will decide that for us.
And…I like the name cupboard. It connotes a vintage item. And I believe that the object in question is vintage. But…it’s your cupboard, cabinet, hutch….whatever. You have the naming rights. Thanks for the diversion! ;)
We all need a diversion right about now, Donnamae! Take care!
First, I love all the things in your china cabinet. Second, I hated Gone Girl, and I thought the movie was worse. I remember walking out thinking there were several things that were so implausible (can’t remember them now), and that in reality she never would have gotten away with her crimes. Oh, well. I have a dvd of Good Will Hunting that I have never watched for my weekend entertainment. And the first season of Gilmore Girls. Have a nice weekend!
Good to know you have things to watch, Lynda. Good Will Hunting is a wonderful movie.
Take care!
I think when I finished reading Gone Girl, I may have thrown the book across the room. I was so intrigued at first but then felt like I was being ‘had’; it just got so ridiculous. It affected me to the point of not wanting to see the film. Still haven’t seen it. (Even though it had some good actors.)
Needing something vintage and light, I’ve recorded the (color!) movie “Houseboat” with Cary Grant and Sophia Loren, from 1958. Looking forward to watching it again. Those two had a lot of chemistry; I think it was reported that ‘in real life’ he was, at the time, in love with her, just as he was in the film, unless that was all just about good publicity.
I DID throw it across the room. I wrote about it on the blog!
Hi Claudia. I’ve been reading your posts now for quite awhile but for whatever reason have keep my distance. I look forward to reading them and I continue to learn about new authors to me. I originally found your site when I was frantically searching for some innovative storage ideas for my new 1940s cottage with little to no storage. I loved your sideboard kitchen island which I have borrowed and I still love it. Thanks for being there during this tough time. Petie G.
I’m glad I could be of help, Petie! Thank you for commenting and stay well.
We used to call it a hutch when I was growing up in CA but we didn’t actually have one. I’ve heard them called Dutch somethings. LOL. Brain is going. I think dresser is more of an English name. But if it were mine, I’d call it a cupboard. Whatever it’s called, it’s full of wonders! Did I remember the china set was your grandmother’s? It’s a lovely pattern very much to your taste. As the pandemic rolls on, I find myself wanting to bring out all the knick knacks from my aunts which are stored in the basement. It would be a big job–the bins are heavy. I want to repack all of the things I have out now and just put out the ones that comfort me. One of my aunts painted ceramics, my grandmother collected china tea cups, and all of them had multiple tea sets. I even have a set of Royal Doulton baby dishes that were a gift from when I was born! They have bunnies on them and would be perfect for the season. I admit that I’m jealous of all of you who have seen and heard lots of birds. We’ve seen a few here, but a murder of crows has become increasingly comfortable in our woods. I love them and love to hear the raucous conversations, but I think the littler birds don’t like the neighbors. I had to laugh at your response about thatched roofs on Cotswold Cottages! I never intended to suggest you do that. Can you imagine straw by straw? Bricks are hard enough. I do love seeing photos tho of the thatch and the amazing designs they can weave into it. Thanks for listening to my rambling. I really love tours of your home and collections. BTW, for feel good movies I have one of my favorites from many years ago. One Fine Day, with George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer. It’s charming and fun and sweet. Two of my best friends agree, so how bad can it be? LOL. Be safe!
No, that china set is one I purchased on eBay. The set that was my great-grandmother’s is white and pink and is in the den cabinet.
I can’t imagine doing a thatched roof but I sure love to see them. They are incredibly complex and wonderful.
I think putting out objects that comfort you is such a good idea, Nora. Just do it a bit at a time!
Take care.
We took advantage of the early hours reserved for seniors at the local market (6:00 to 7:00 AM). There were very few shoppers and we kept our distance easily. We found everything we needed and used the self-serve checkout. All-in-all, not too bad – a reminder of how resilient we humans are.
Be careful, stay safe, there is always something to be grateful for.
I think we’re going to do that next week, Anne. Our Hannaford has an hour from 6 to 7 for 60+ shoppers. Stay safe, Anne.
I love that you’re supporting independent book stores!
Thank you, Jenny!
I have no idea what day it is anymore. All day Monday I though it was Saturday. I just saw where Instacart workers are threatening a nationwide strike on Monday. I should be okay for the next couple of weeks unless I keep eating at the rate I’ve been doing. I’ve been going outside every day this week to get some fresh air. It is in the 80s here today. I live in an Atlanta mid rise apartment building so I have to be careful when going through the lobby to get outside. xo Laura
Take care of yourself, Laura! It’s good that you’re getting outside.
I love peeking into others’ china cabinets. The Fiesta teapot caught me today and your rabbit mug. It’s a bit like checking out someone’s bookshelves!
Thank you for your support of local bookstores. I’m doing much the same with independent businesses. It feels like a way we can help.
I started Julian Fellowes “Belgravia.” So far I’m not finding the wit of “Downton” or his other novels, “Snobs” and “Past Imperfect,” but I’m not far along — maybe it’ll shape up.
Sometimes I have to plug away at a book for a bit until it grabs me. Here’s hoping this one grabs you, Jeanie! Take care.
I tried online ordering too and couldn’t get anytime slot. Oh well. We have been to the grocery store but are limiting our trips and being very careful to disinfect what we can. The store I shop at most seems to be very very clean. They disinfect the cart before they give it to you.
Best of luck getting food. Some items of food are limited and it is odd to see empty shelves but I found plenty of food. No toilet paper, wipes or hand sanitizer still. Luckily I don’t need toilet paper.
I have heard the term sideboard for what I would call a cabinet. Isn’t language interesting.
I think a sideboard is more like my former kitchen island – a piece that goes with a dining room set – about waist high, with drawers and storage for dishes. At least that’s what I’ve heard. We have a sideboard in the living room. Take care of yourself, Kay!
Hi Claudia, day 18 here in Southern California. We don’t leave the house either so I have had to wake more than once in the wee hours to place an instacart order (thank goodness for instacart!) Some stores are more popular than others so it is next to impossible to get an order from Costco, for instance. I’ve learned to schedule ahead with any store that has an opening. I currently have 3 orders I have placed ahead to keep a continuous supply of food coming in. Crazy! I am currently putting together an order for my kitchen garden from one of our favorite garden centers, Rogers Gardens. They are delivering which is a relief because I had just cleaned out the raised beds a couple of weeks before this fiasco. Oh how I regret tossing out those over grown tomato vines!! Next time you are on instagram look up @rogersgardens, they have some lovely content in their stories, etc. Thank you for your daily posts. I adore your sweet cottage and look forward to your springtime adventures! Hang in there!! Hugs, Christy
I’ve been to Rogers Gardens – many years ago. I don’t think any of our local nurseries are delivering. I’m worried that I won’t be able to get my porch flowers! Take care, Christy.
Oh! I am so glad you have been to Rogers Gardens! It is so lovely :) You may want to reach out to your local nurseries and inquire about delivery and/or curbside pick up. If they aren’t offering now, maybe they will consider it. If worse comes to worse, order seeds! Are you familiar with @floretflower? They sell seeds/bulbs online!
I need mulch and potting soil! Hopefully, I can get some at my local nursery when no one else is around.
We have a hutch. I grew up w/it. It’s an old New England maple piece. No doors on the top 3 shelves, but doors on the bottom cabinets. It sure holds lots & has lots of marks to go its age! It’s most likely at least 80 yrs old.
San Diego is sunny but very cool still. After a nice walk today, at least I don’t feel crazy after going to the store yesterday! Think I just need to stick to Trader Joes. They’re the best right now.
Have a good day Claudia.
Thanks for letting me vent!
You’re welcome! We all need to vent occasionally, especially now. Take care, Priscilla.
I think we are all getting a little short tempered. Well, for sure, I am!! We DID get to meet our sweet little granddaughter on Tuesday which helped me down to my very soul. And our son and DIL send pictures 3 or 4 times every day. My video frame makes me smile every time her little face appears.
This morning my husband did a virtual saxaphone lesson with a student from our garage. They played duets. It was a bit surreal. It is a new world.
So glad you met your darling granddaughter, Chris! And bravo to your husband. This is the current way of the world, I guess.
Take care.
A rose by any other name… I just love your cheerful colors within! Does it get any better than aqua and yellow?
We arrived for senior shopping hours (which I prefer to call Adults Only) at 6:05 a.m. and stood in line behind a dozen others (!) as we waited for the true early birds to finish their shopping. Lots of fresh air with a storm front blowing in and a gorgeous sunrise on snowy peaks to enjoy as we practiced patience. There’s no running to the store for a single bottle of lemon flavoring or because I’m craving fresh strawberries.
No. We have had to completely alter the way we shop. Such a strange time we’re in! Take care, Roxie.
Claudia, I thought Wednesday was Sunday. I ordered groceries on March 15 th and the delivery was for the next day. The next day I received an e-mail to choose another delivery date. I could not receive the groceries until March 25 th. I then ordered from another store on that Sunday. I did receive the groceries the same day. I did receive the original grocery order on the 25th. Yesterday I ordered from the other store. It was going to be delivered today, but I received a phone call telling me that it has been pushed back to tomorrow. Fortunately, we have enough right now. It is a struggle just to order groceries. Hope you can get the groceries soon.
Marilyn
The good news is that I managed to snag a delivery slot this morning! Huzzah! Thank you, Marilyn, and take care.
Love your dishes. Mine are at home at my children’s homes…this is day 14 I think…Facetime is great for the home schooling with grands…fun…the days fly by despite not going anywhere. I still have food, but I will have a list for my family when they can get out next week…Reading and reviewing on Netgalley is keeping me going also. I don’t have to look for things to do because I always have so many…the stress of the virus and the financial aspect is enough to keep us worried. Stay safe and keep writing.
I will, Brenda. We’re laying low and doing well. I’m glad your days are full. Stay safe!
Well, I know one thing: My husband and I both simultaneously hit our limit today on ‘news’. We are news’d out. The headlines will only get worse. It’s a fine line to straddle between staying informed and knowing too much which will only pull down our hope and positivity (and ramp up our fears). When he looked around at me and said, ‘I can’t take this anymore’, I’m listening. Anybody is prone to depression at a time like this and I want my loved one to stay as healthy as he can, mentally and physically.
But, ah, staying off the subject of ‘virus epidemic’ … how can it not dominate our lives, when life is so changed so fast … the latest one being how to possibly calculate the risks if we go ‘out there’, one more time (famous last words — ‘one more time, ‘ ‘one last time’ when there doesn’t seem to be one more ‘last time’ [for food shopping, primarily] which could be safe now; but, because life goes on and we’ve been at this home-confinement thing pretty early-on [and seem to be too rapidly using up our supplies on hand]; yes, we can think of how we’d like to resupply right now/this very minute{!!}, yet ‘later’ will be even more dangerous, at least where we live in the shadow of Los Angeles).
The #1 answer is: Don’t go. Stay home. (Try not to resist! Curb The Urge.)
In the meantime, my mail is piling up the post office (post office box renter) for a good 10 days and I know it’s overflowing. “They say” (nobody of course knows for sure) that , where I am in SoCalif, critical time NOT to be out at all anywhere if can possibly be helped, is from (just my own calculations from a variety of sources) April 5, with the positive cases escalating to the worst week of April 19 (but who knows the aftermath in terms of ‘time’); and, frankly, for me as high risk for complications from the virus, I’m wondering if I’ll be out of the chicken coop even by August. Except that with my cocktail of already-existing disease and conditions, not going to the doctor…ongoing…for my ‘normal’ doctor appointments isn’t without risk either. I usually ‘live’ with tests and medical-lab stuff.
When will it be safe to leave home, to do anything or go anywhere, if you’re in my shoes? It’s just a waiting game to know; we’re all on ‘hold’. I’m having talks with myself, to become accustomed to the idea, that I personally may be living a life largely indoors for even 18 months. (Unless a vaccine can be used earlier.) Maybe we’ll all just have to live with a certain degree of risk and everybody will have to continue to be very careful with germs, months into the future.
We just were watching (earlier today, before we shut down ‘news’ for the day [I’ll record Biden’s interview on CNN for another time]), some higher-up guy with Walmart saying that, yes, they for instance are doing everything they can to protect their employees AND shoppers, but a store like that (food items and household supplies; so, also any grocery store) is one of the last bastions of ‘gathering’ (his wording & my wording blended [an incubator for virus germs]) and, as I told my husband, I’m not willing to get sick and die over a roll of paper towels I need, or a fresh bunch of lettuce (which I happen to be craving).
We’re just constantly mulling the dilemma. I’m in, essentially, a one-store town (for food) and as far as we can tell, they’re not delivering. We know we have some options for online ordering from other sources and will nail that down tonight. (Of course everybody is doing it who has online/internet [many of the very-elderly do not; it wasn’t their ‘generation’], and deliveries are running behind.) A big part of the problem is that my husband and I are not very good meal planners. (Note to self: A skill to develop, like now!!) We have to be like those expert homekeepers or home chefs who know how to look at what they’ve got on hand and make some excellent meals that fill the tummy and stretch the budget & supply. I go back to my 20-something cousin who, in the 1960s, had a husband who only got paid once a month and, even as a kid, I can remember her coming home from the grocery store, spreading out the foods on the kitchen table in their tiny apartment and saying to me, “See this, Vicki? This is the only food I can have for the whole month and I’ve gotta make it work for myself, Steve and the baby.” She learned to do it; she had no choice. Day by day, week by week, she had a plan; and every meal was carefully crafted.
All you’ve gotta do is listen to one news program and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to grasp the aggressiveness of this virus; to me, it doesn’t sound like people with risk factors and multiple underlying issues like myself (my asthma particularly) even come off the ventilators (one physician said, ‘very few’); you just get too ill too fast. I said to my husband, “Okay, so this is what we do; we run out of Kleenex, we take an old bed sheet, tear it into strips and make our own handkerchiefs. We run out of frozen veggies and then canned veggies, maybe by then we’ll have something come up in the new veggie garden.” I’m lucky I have an abundance of oranges (navels and mandarins) right now in my trees. Our avocado tree is young, but even if we get a half dozen avocados, it would be so great. My bananas on the kitchen counter all ripened at once and I’ve frozen all I can (limited freezer space); so, tomorrow, this will be interesting (for me, the non-cook): I’m baking banana bread.
But, even as I say this, I’m not entirely convinced. Which brings up whether or not we go to the grocery store before the worst of things for SoCalif (in April upcoming), like in the next three days or so, with utmost care and disinfecting and distancing, or not. My brain is saying NOT. I don’t want the unknown to deter us from what we’d planned; I felt we had enough on hand to last til May 1 although our consumption is disappointingly more than I’d figured on. I just think it’s psychological (with my husband and me) … buying more stuff as further prep for what lies ahead. It comes down to timing, on so many levels. Will we be inconvenienced at home, yes; again, we’re running out of stuff already, obviously. But everybody’s going to be in the same boat; they initially told us to have enough food on hand for two weeks only.
Thing is, you go out, if you have one slip-up and get contagion, that one slip could mean your life (if you’ve got the risk factors which make the virus much worse, when it’s already a bad-enough virus to begin with). I personally wouldn’t be the one leaving the house; it’s on my husband’s shoulders. He’s physically tougher than I am although not bullet-proof … but even with his upmost care, should he get exposed to ‘the droplets’, he then brings it into the house, and to me (and I have no armor to fight the enemy).
So, what to do. We keep dancing around the question, feeling we’re down to the wire about a decision, and we’re adults; we’re supposed to be more decisive than this! Very personal decisions, clearly. But I feel…as an alternative…that my husband and I could make some modifications to our lifestyle; we’re sitting around and eating too much; we don’t need to be doing that. (Stress eating. Not healthy.) Make the food last longer! My husband is, unfortunately (it’s not healthy), a soda drinker (Pepsi, Coke, Ginger Ale, etc.); I told him to start rationing what he’s drinking in a day if he wants his little stash to last. It’s not a time to mindlessly eat/snack and drink. He hates casseroles; well, it’s what’s on the table tonight. (Can I just say, absolutely overjoyed when, in the back of a cupboard yesterday, I found a small/unopened & not expired case of canned cat food I’d forgotten about [having enough food for my pets is always on my mind].)
To a lighter subject: I have a couple of hutches. My mom referred to them as china cabinets; to my aunt, it was a china cupboard. My neighbor calls it her china closet. I also have a buffet which of course sits lower and has no glass in which to display anything. One of my hutches was always a bit dark to display glassware (a lot of wood and only glass doors, no glass sides), but it’s really large. Borrowing an idea from my lawyer (who’d repurposed an antique one, to hold her law books in, at her office), this particular hutch is now packed with books (which is nice, as it keeps the dust off). The other hutch is a mish-mash of dishes and glass objects which needs to be changed! I’m weird how I do things: Although I complain about a lack of closet space, I have a cedar chest in one closet for blanket storage; I have another built-in clothes closet which has not one but two bedroom dressers inside of it, one on each side (we just removed their vertical mirrors). It of course prevents me the space I need for hanging clothes, but you do what you do in a small house with a dearth of storage space, and I need a lot of cubbies.
So, slap me, does your crockery bowl in the cabinet say ‘naked’ or ‘baked’…
Well, New York is now the epicenter of the whole thing, with the most cases, so we’re in the thick of it. Locals don’t want weekenders from the city coming up here – it’s a real bone of contention at the moment. If I were you, I’d look into delivery of groceries through Instacart or something like that. We finally got a delivery slot – I got up early this morning – and it will be delivered on Wednesday. It is an enormous relief to us. If you guys can do it, you should. That would eliminate a lot of stress for you right now.
Yes, I’ve been seeing the news about people from NYC ‘escaping’ to the countryside and taking the germs with them when you guys would have otherwise been away from it to a greater degree. I know you and Don are taking the best of care!
Good advice. I’m gonna let my husband work with the local grocery store again as he knows most of the people there. Maybe they got it together about their delivery options. May I ask, because I don’t know anything about it, is the ‘slot’ you’re speaking of, with this Instacart thing, or was it your own local grocery market? I could look it up; but my eyes are burning a hole in my head from all my nighttime online searching…for food. And a lot of things.
You are very lucky to get that Weds slot. I’ve been looking at sites I’ve shopped with before where they aren’t resupplying on all kinds of packaged goods and canned items til May. It’s really quite unbelievable…yet, believe it.
Well this comes directly from our local grocery store. And they’re restocking all the time.
It’s with our own market – not the closest one but one that is about 15 miles away. They’re a larger store and they are the ones that deliver.
Love looking at other people’s crockery. You have some nice pieces in your cupboard and the dinnerset design is quite a nice one.
Thank you, Robyn.
Yup. I successfully got a delivery slot at 12:04am … but it’s not getting delivered until Thursday and I’ve already run out of brown sugar and I am not allowed to amend the order (like I was used to)
We can’t amend ours either! Stay safe, Leanne.