My trip to a local nursery resulted in this: a Chinese Evergreen that doesn’t need a lot of light and is therefore perfect for the den. The den has been sadly lacking in greenery. I just plopped the pot inside the McCoy jardiniere.
It’s sitting on the floor in front of the dollhouse.
Lovely.
I love the way the various shades of green pop against the creamy McCoy.
I’m crocheting one last scarf for my friend, Lynn. Lynn worked at the Old Globe for years and when she asked me if I could make her a scarf from one of her favorite skeins of wool, I said yes. It’s taken me a good long while to get round to it and for that I apologize, Lynn! I had to let my hands rest after crocheting more scarves than I can count last Fall.
Cindy, if you’re reading this, I finished the other scarf you ordered and it’s listed on Etsy.
We are mourning the death of two colleagues and friends who have recently passed away. Larry Drake, a wonderfully fine actor, passed away last week at the age of 66. Larry had a long career on the stage, but you probably know him best as the character Benny on L.A. Law. I was fortunate to coach him on two different occasions; in a play at the Old Globe and in another play in NYC. He was such a kind and lovely man and he died much too soon.
And now we are reeling at the news that Garry Shandling has passed away. Garry was a friend of Don’s. They first met when Garry was a writer working on the short-lived The Harvey Korman Show. Don was a member of the cast of that show, recruited by Harvey himself. A few years later, after Garry had started working as a comedian, Don was on It’s Garry Shandling’s Show. Though many years had passed, their connection remained. Not all that long ago, Garry and Don were chatting online about their memories of the work they did together. Garry was brilliant and his shows were groundbreaking.
Don tells me that Garry was a truly nice person. Gone at 66.
Both actors were extremely gifted; both have left us much too soon.
May they rest in peace.
My mom used to make us sit quietly between the hours of 12 and 3 on Good Friday. We couldn’t go outside or talk loudly. I think this happened more to my brother and I than to my two sisters. As often seems to be the case, my parents were much more relaxed in bringing up my younger sisters than they were with the two oldest.
So, it seems strange to say Happy Friday on Good Friday, but Happy Friday nonetheless.
So sad of the passing of both of these gentlemen. Also Ken Howard passed away in the last few days. Seems so many are gone too soon already this year.
I hope you both have a lovely holiday weekend. Blessings.
Yes, I saw that Ken Howard had passed away. Very sad.
I love that plant and it is so pretty in the McCoy planter. I have been saddened by the loss of so many good actors lately. So young at 66 (which I will turn in June), I was a fan of Larry Drake and Garry Shandling. My allergies have now turned into a sore throat and continued headaches. I am so tired of feeling sick. This too shall pass.
hugs to you and Don,
Linda
Mine have blown up the past few days. Yucky sneezing and congestion! Why do we have to pay for the prospect of Spring?
I remember the character Benny of L.A. Law……sorry to hear of his passing along with Garry Shandling. Too young…too soon. I remember some terrific spring thunderstorms on Good Friday…and always going to church. It does seem strange to hear Happy Friday on Good Friday…but there’s no reason to not be happy! The sun is shining…and our snow/sleet is melting! Enjoy your day! ;)
I plan on being happy today, Donnamae! So happy your snow is melting.
Me too! I really like the plant you chose too…and that pot is perfect! I have two…one in a low light place, and it barely grows. The other is near an east facing window, and gets lots of indirect lighting…it’s really enjoying that spot…growing like a weed! ;)
We’ll see what happens with this one. I may have to move it at some point.
I do remember always having to stay inside from 12-3 on Good Friday when I was young. And there is a saying that if it rains on Easter Sunday it will rain for the next 7 Sundays. It is supposed to rain here on Sunday. However, the rain will be much more welcome than the snow and ice of yesterday.
Yes, both of those actors gone at age 66…. the age I currently am, also. Life is short.
The new plant is lovely!! Mine seem to be perking up with the prospect of Spring. I think we all are!!
It’s definitely raining here today, Chris. I told Don that, more often than not, it rains on Good Friday.
Spring is bringing me allergies, but I still can’t wait to see everything start to bloom.
I like your new plant very much. It looks as though it would make a yummy salad. For as long as I can remember, the Easter weekend has been a time for contemplation, a scalloped potatoes & ham supper and snow. As long as the snow stays big and fluffy, I’m going to treat myself to a day off and take a trip into the next town to the one-of-a-kind bead store. Your lovely photos of the Faience pottery have inspired some mini ideas!
Oh, do take the day off! You’ve been working overtime for far too long!
Claudia that plant is beautiful, especially in that pretty pot. I think I need some low light plants for our cloudy winters. I hadn’t heard of either of those two deaths. It seems so many have passed this year already, and many of them young. I consider 66 very young.
Easter. The most important day in my year. A day of celebration, even more so than Christmas. Good Friday is a day of sorrow and intense suffering. The clouds we have here today remind me of that fact and how blessed and loved I am that He was willing to suffer so for me.
Blessings always Claudia,
Betsy
I also consider 66 very young!
Have a wonderful Easter, Betsy!
Today is six years that our first Bella passed. We were moving that day; she didn’t have the heart to move with us. We buried her in the garden and moved to our new home. You understand we still miss her. She came with us to the new house the night before; we thought she just had a bout of arthritis after the blizzard of Feb ’10. We brought her back to the house she knew and I pet and loved her, fully expecting her to be ok. She lifted her head and her last words in dog talk — but I understood it as well as English — was I love you. Then she passed.
Thinking of you today, Patricia. I understand your pain and how quickly tears can come when we think of our beloved dogs. Take care, friend.
My goodness! My mother used to have us doing the SAME exact thing on Good Friday when we were little, although as you said, Claudia – it’s something only we three oldest kids remember. No television, no friends, no roughhousing allowed – we basically had to stay in and read or color or play with anything quiet from 12-3. I’m sure my littlest siblings were napping at that time, and I guess maybe it became too difficult to “enforce” that kind of policy with SIX kids, when they became old enough as well. Gosh, I always thought we were the only family on earth that did that,. Nice to learn now that we had company. To honor my Mom’s memory [she was very devout} I still leave the TV off all day on Good Friday – and because mine is all day every other day of the year, the house is preternaturally quiet. But I get a ton of things accomplished while not being distracted by the “idiot box” [Mom’s word}. Every year I think “I should do this more than once a year” but then I never do. Oh well – a peaceful Good Friday to you too.
Yes, no television, if I remember correctly – although after several years, I think we persuaded her to let us have something quiet on the tube.
Thankyou Claudia….Sorry I missed the email, I was off the grid for a bit. All paid for as of 5 minutes ago. I will love it.!!!
No problem! I’ll get it out to you on Monday, Cindy. Thank you so much for your patience!
I remember sitting quietly and reading, we weren’t allowed to make a lot of noise but by then you were probably out and about so you might not remember us having to lie low. I always expected the clouds to turn dark during those hours.
Love and miss you,
M
Ah, you DID have to lie low. Did you have to do it for many years, Mere? I can’t remember.
I, too, expected the same thing with the clouds. Or rain of some sort.
Miss you, sister.
Hi Claudia,
I was sad also to hear about Larry Drake and Garry Shandling. Loved LA Law and The Larry Sanders Show (Hey Now!).
I saw a spot for a show called ‘The Poisoner’s Handbook’ that’s going to be on one of our local PBS stations soon. Was Don in that? I swear that was him in the spot.
Cheryl
Yep. That’s him. He plays one of the lead characters. He filmed it in Prague. It’s really good!
Happy Friday to you too! Being Orthodox, my Good Friday is not for another month, our calendar follows the Jewish one more closely, Pascha is in May this year!
I’m sorry to hear of the loss of your friends, may their memories be eternal.
Love the plant in your jardiniere
Thank you! Are you Greek Orthodox?
The Easter holiday sort of came up quickly on me and I actually had forgotten it was Good Friday. I was out and about in the car and suddenly felt a need to get back and get quiet by noon. This goes ‘way, ‘way back into my childhood; same thing as you described, Claudia. I felt a deep need to be respectful. My neighbors next door are devout; I’ve noticed them gathering today. I just want my husband to get home and out of L.A. traffic; he said it was very heavy this morning, clearly the start of holiday travel.
We’ll have a quiet Easter Sunday; the weather here in SoCalif is warm, in the 80s, but there’s a lot in bloom and it all feels pretty nice outside. I have one rose bush that we transplanted from our first home when my husband’s career took him to a job out of state. I wasn’t about to leave that rose bush when our house went up for sale (I left the new buyers enough other things!). It was the first rose bush I’d ever bought, in my life, when I finally had a home with some dirt. We planted it in my parents’ yard, hoped it would ‘take’…and off we went. Ironically/serendipitously, we’re now living at that house and the rose bush is again ours. It’s over 25 years old now. I just counted 32 big, fat blooms on it. All of my rose bushes are blooming like crazy along with everything else. We’re so accustomed to not seeing green and color in the California drought that I feel like March has magic-carpeted me into the land of Oz. We didn’t get all the rain in SoCalif we’d hoped for, but we got enough to do this wondrous thing for gardens and hills.
Yes, two more well-known people dead in their 60s. A staggering number of deaths like this for us boomers since the start of the year. Creeps me out; makes me feel bad. I know it’s not the case, but I feel like once I hit 60, people in my consciousness and surroundings began to drop like flies. In Shandling’s case, like my brother, sudden/unexpected death leaves the ones who survive with no chance to say goodbye or anything else that should have been said and possibly wasn’t. But how can there be a good way to die? If you linger, you get in the goodbyes, but you’re the one suffering. If you go quickly, no goodbyes, your suffering is brief but you leave those behind in shock.
Your new plant is suited to the white pot. Hope your Easter Sunday is tranquil and nice. How’s your weather?
I should say, with sudden/unexpected death, like Shandling, my brother…and the victims of the Brussels bombings. Every day, the news from Belgium gets worse. My friend is on a work assignment in Rome right now and I feel wary for her. But we can’t let fear overcome us. I told her to stay away from places where people gather…but that also just stops her life and this singular travel opportunity she’s been awarded in Italy.
Exactly. We can’t give in to them or live our lives in fear.
The weather is nice. It’s in the low sixties today. It was very rainy this morning but now it’s sunny. Spring is starting to show itself. Have a lovely Easter, Vicki.
Has anyone else had the theme to the Gary Shandling show going through their head? Its been running on a loop since last night . Each time it played I remembered more of the words and now I have the whole thing running .
Love the plant in the McCoy!! beauty in simplicity
You and Don have a nice quiet peaceful Easter
Yes, it’s been going through my head, too!
Your new plant looks very nice in the McCoy pot…I am sorry for the loss of your friends…they were both talented guys and Garry gave my so many laughs…Happy Good Friday!!
Garry Shandling was so brilliant, Nancy. He’ll be missed.
Hi Claudia, I have been reading your blog for about a year and would like to read posts from earlier years. How would I access them? Also have you shared your scarf pattern or a link to where I might obtain it? It looks similar to one I made for myself using the pattern, Queen Anne’s Lacy scarf (mysouthernexpression.com) but yours looks nicer.
You go down to the bottom of the blog, where you’ll see Archives. That’s where you can access the older posts. I have shared the link to the scarf pattern – just go to the sidebar under Search and you should find it.