This is supposed to be a McCoy-free post, as the series continues tomorrow, but I had to share something with you.
My godparents lived on the next block over from us when I was growing up. I called them by their first names: Edith and Nick. You might remember that they gave me my very first egg cup, the second one from the left in the picture below.
Luckily, I held onto that egg cup for years and eventually it sparked the desire to start a collection.
Edith and Nick had three children and all of us grew up together. Kay, their daughter, was just a few years younger than me. We played together all the time. I call her my godsister – is there such a word? She’s also my friend.
Kay and her husband lived in Maine for many years but when Edith and Nick, now living in Florida, grew ill, they moved down there to watch over them. Sadly, Edith and Nick are gone now, as is my mom. Kay reads this blog, much to my delight. When I started the McCoy series, Kay sent me an email with a photo of a piece of McCoy pottery – a pitcher – attached. Did I want the pitcher? It had been her mother’s and Kay remembered it being around for years. Of course, I said yes. Having something of Edith’s here at the cottage, something sent to me by Kay, would be a wonderful thing indeed. It arrived yesterday.
This pitcher is from the 1940s and its simple lines are lovely. The design reminds me of the Strap Vase I showed you in an earlier post.
Thank you, Kay (and Edith)! Kay wrote me a few days later to say that she saw the basketweave jardiniere pictured in a post and recognized it as an aqua pot she had stowed away in her shed. She ran out to the shed to retrieve it. Needless to say, it’s all cleaned up now and Kay has a beautiful piece of McCoy.
I’m headed to Hartford this afternoon to spend the night. I am working a few days here and there on their new production of Kiss Me Kate, directed by my pal Darko Tresnjak, the Tony Award-winning director of the musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Kiss Me Kate is based on The Taming of the Shrew, so it includes text from Shakespeare, which is where I come in. I’m supposed to put in a total of five days work on the show, so I imagine that will include a few rehearsals and a Preview performance. I’m excited, because musical theater is my first love and Darko knows how to stage and direct a musical like nobody’s business.
Since the rehearsal day is 8 hours long and the drive there is 2 hours, the result would be a 12 or 13 hour day, so the theater is putting me up for the night. That makes things much easier!
But I have to leave these two.
And I have to take our only car. Don will be hanging out at the cottage with his little girl, no doubt playing his guitar and watching the Red Sox.
I’ll be back here tomorrow night. In the meantime, I’m writing the next McCoy post ahead of time so that I have access to all my reference books.
The winner of a copy of Threshold, by G.M. Ford, is Debbie Price. Congratulations, Debbie. I’ll send you an email right away.
Happy Tuesday.
Love the pitcher. The lines are so simple but so pretty. What a special gift. Enjoy your trip to Hartford and working on ‘Kiss Me Kate’.
hugs,
Linda
Thanks, Linda! I will.
The new to you pitcher is beautiful. It will invoke lovely memories as well. Have fun doing what you love and you’ll soon be home with those you love.
Just a little over 24 hours away, Wendy – not bad at all.
I’m so enjoying your McCoy exploration Claudia, and enjoying my new found excitement over the VERY few pieces I have and the thought of maybe collecting a few more. (Where am I going to put them?) For years I’ve been addicted to old ironstone, fiesta ware, and hobnail glass. Maybe McCoy will be my new ironstone…lol. :D
I think I’m becoming a McCoy enabler, Veronica! Yippee!
The pitcher is lovely! Beautiful lines and beautiful memories can’t be beat.
I agree. It’s priceless.
Hi Claudia. Loving your McCoy series. Im a collector of many things so I love to know about other peoples collections. How lovely to receive that gorgeous gift. You must be thrilled. Pieces given as gifts from lovely people are 100 times more precious. I think your beautiful collection would look great all grouped together in a lovely cabinet or dresser. The colours look so nice together. Ive got my eyes open for McCoy in Western Australia now. Much love. Julie from OZ xxx
I hope you find some, Julie. Oh, if only I had the space for a large group of shelves. I would display all the pieces together. Ah, well!
I love ‘Kiss Me Kate’ Howard Keel …swoon. Now there was a real man! I’m really into Shakespeare (just don’t mention his name to my husband) I had a wonderful English teacher at school (nearly 60 years ago) and she instilled a love of our language in all of us. I hate to hear it mangled nowadays, but I suppose I’m showing my age! Blessings
Oh, I’m with you on that one! I cringe at the use – or misuse – of language nowadays.
Lovely to have received the pitcher; how very meaningful for you and also probably to your god-sister. I love how its design almost looks like a fold of material/fabric and there is just something so pure sometimes about a neutral color for as much as I’m a color freak.
I can see why you two moved to the East Coast as you get these great theater opportunities for work…didn’t Don have the play i n Boston last winter, and here you’ve just recently been employed in Brooklyn and now Hartford. I think it’s certainly important to work when you can (for all the many reasons!) and thank goodness Don is off when you’re not, etc., so that somebody can be there for Scout in these times when somebody really needs to be monitoring her quite frequently which only a paid house sitter could do, and it’s sometimes hard to find that special person to come in your home and actually do that job and ‘know’ your pet. Admittedly, though, being vehicle-less always makes me feel a little weird…you know, like if ‘something came up’ – makes me feel like I’m shipwrecked, on an island – but I’m gonna have to get accustomed to it because when my husband retires, we’re definitely going to reduce cars to one when on a fixed income.
Just gotta say, when I see that beginning here, of your post, with those four darling egg cups, I just light up. Your egg cups are smile-inducing! I would never know about egg cups if not for you! I look for them all the time now and I never see anything like what you’ve got; they are so whimsical, just adorable. Love them!
We have to live on one coast or the other, I fear. That’s the only way for us to continue working. Hartford Stage has become a second home to me. I’ve coached at last 6 shows there, this will be number 7 I believe. I could be forgetting one or two. Darko is very loyal and I’m very lucky!
Well, whatever you do, don’t move back to Southern California. The drought only gets worse. We’re several years into it now, and they really have no idea what’s ahead; I mean, this could actually be the 40-year drought scenario and who knows what kind of wasteland we might wind up being, with decreasing property values, etc. (gotta have water to live; survival!). I saw a headline…didn’t read the story yet…of actor William Shatner proposing we pipe down water to California from Seattle…or something like that. Ugh, I drove up a little while ago to my husband’s rideshare partner’s house because Hubby thinks he dropped his case of eyeglasses while getting into the other guy’s car (nope, I didn’t find them) and this guy has taken out his entire lawn and put in loose, coarse, gray sand (I’m sure neighborhood cats will love it). It looks so, so bad. ‘Yard of The Month’ just got applauded for replacing their lawns with artificial turf. What is the world coming to. City Hall just ripped out a bunch of lawn and put in wood chips…for ‘mulch;’ very plain and ugly, but Governor Brown is especially laying down the law to public buildings/properties; it’s mandatory, no choice. A huge amount of money was expended a few years ago for our citywide bike path and now they’re ripping out all the bushes so they don’t have to water them, and there goes the beauty of what was our meandering and very-nice bike path/walk path that workers spent months on, creating a pleasant and natural environment where there’d been a lot of blight and weeds. Our residential water rates are going to skyrocket; we’re just waiting for the bomb on that one. The two of us are down to 5-minute-or-less showers, which is a problem because we both have relied on a long, hot shower to ease arthritis pain, so we’re getting into quality-of-life issues now. We’ve cut back using the dishwasher by half, we pay to have the cars washed (an extra expense we didn’t need) because they recycle the water somehow there and our local restrictions make it difficult to wash a car in the driveway now (plus you feel like you have all eyes on you, with any water running down the driveway; neighbors are reporting other neighbors as our city has a water-violations anonymous reporting phone line (folks are getting testy!). I’ve already got a water-saving washing machine and there’s simply not much more we can do except to go a long time between toilet flushes and I just can’t quite get into that yet. There’s a hint from forecasters we could get a bit of rain tonight but what happens is that it never seems to really quite reach us and seems to stall in Santa Barbara County although sometimes East L.A. County will get something as a storm veers away from the coast and toward the desert. So frustrating. I have to quit ranting about weather and drought; I’m sorry. It just permeates everything here and is on ‘everybody’s’ lips; we’re all a little jumpy. My point is, you don’t want this, Claudia. Stay in your gorgeous little cottage in the woods, especially when some of your work can be just a train/bus ride away (whereas, you know how screwed up we are in SoCal, with everybody solo in their vehicles and ‘way-below-par public transit. You got through winter and your spring is gonna be awesome; you have some nice months ahead!
Well, the other side to the coin is that Don had to take a deer tick off my head the other day. Lyme Disease sucks, let me tell you, and I’m not about to get it again! But that comes with warmer weather and will be a threat until the temps stay below freezing again.
Not to make light of what you’re going through. It sounds absolutely terrible and such a worry for everyone out there. It’s a terrible way to have to live.
I’m dominating comments here which gets annoying to people…sorry again!…but, OMG, Claudia, this tick disease is so serious from everything I’ve read. I have no idea what a tick looks like; did you just see it on your head in plain sight or was it hurting you like in your hairline or something? How do you know if you have one? Every time you go outside do you have to now inspect yourselves and the dog, too? What do you DO if you have one…how do you get it off of you? Scary to me. I think one of the dog flea/worm preps has a monthly guard against ticks but you sure can’t put that pesticide on YOU!
We check each other whenever we’re doing any sort of work outside. We don’t check each other when we just sit on the porch, for example, but when we’re mowing or digging in the garden or raking and picking up leaves or, like I was the other day, sitting on the grass picking up rocks….then we check each other. I had no idea it was there. I took a shower and had Don check me and he found it on my scalp. Fortunately, it hadn’t really attached itself yet.
You take it out/off with tweezers. I often wish I could put something on like we used to give to Scout and not worry about ticks anymore. We love it here, but that is a definite downside to the whole thing.
Creeps me out. Imagine the thing even survived a shampoo/shower. Obviously you are super-careful after having Lyme’s before…and clearly, people deal with and have dealt with for centuries, a wooded and tick-prone surrounding, but I just sorta forgot about it since it’s nothing for which I have any knowledge. Makes my skin crawl just thinking about it, though. My husband says we have to remind ourselves that there’s no perfect place to live. At least we haven’t found one yet! Do you remember the musical duo Daryl Hall and John Oates (I loved that song, ‘Sara Smile’)? I watched those handful of jam-session shows that Daryl Hall televised from one of his country houses. I guess he restores historical homes on the East Coast and I’ve just read, because I looked this up as I thought of it, in England. Somewhere I remember reading that he hated deer on his properties because he’d contracted Lyme disease. So, yes, it said he got it 10 years ago and had to cancel a portion of a tour in order to recover.
The pitcher is so simple and yet so beautiful. What a wonderful gift.
It is. I really love it, Kathleen.
So wonderful to get a gift of something that you know lived with people you loved. I have an old tin measuring cup that I take out to sit upon the counter when I bake large batches of cookies. It was my Grandmother’s and then my Mom’s. There are teeny tiny holes in that tin that makes it “useless”, except to keep me company in the kitchen.
How special to receive that lovely pitcher! I know you will treasure it.
I’m sure the 24 hours will fly by on your trip as you will be busy. And we know how much you enjoy your work. yay!!
I do enjoy my work. It will be hectic, but fun!
What a beautiful pitcher! I know it’s even more special because it belonged to Edith. What a treasure that Kay passed along to you. Safe travels to Hartford!
Thank you, Melanie!
How nice you have something from your godmother, and that it’s a piece of McCoy is even better. Love that little piece too – could be used for a lot of things. My godmother was also my aunt and a china painter. She made me a full-size china tea service for my college graduation. An oval tray, a teapot, a coffeepot, a lidded sugar bowl, a creamer and something called a waste bowl [apparently for the used tea leaves]. Unbelievably pretty pastel colors and my favorite sage green too. It now occupies the place of honor on my sideboard. Thank you, Aunt Babe. Enjoy your time in Hartford!
What a lovely gift from your aunt/godmother! Priceless, I am absolutely sure.
Claudia, Have a safe trip to Hartford. Doris
Thank you, Doris!
What a perfectly lovely gesture on the part of Kay. I think Edith would be pleased.
I hope she is!
Such simple lines do so much for that pitcher..How sweet of Kay to share a memory of her mom with you..Have a safe trip Claudia!!
Thank you, Nancy!
It’s wonderful to have something that once belonged to someone you loved. Good vibes. Safe trip and wishes for a happy time.
Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley
Thank you, Susan. I just checked into the hotel and about to order room service. Don insists that I treat myself.
Love that pitcher! Isn’t it nice to get a gift like that? Travel safe. Glad Don is going to be home with Scout..
Judy
It’s awfully nice, Judy. Such a wonderful surprise and a piece that was loved by Edith. Couldn’t get better.
What a wonderful gift! It is a lovely addition to your collection! Enjoy your time in Hartford…it’s good to work…and it won’t be long at all! ;)
Only 24 hours or so, and then I’ll be on my way home. Until the next time they need me at rehearsal.
Sounds like the perfect gig…drive safe! ;)
“I would even give up coffee for Sanka, even Sanka, Bianca, for you.” All I know of “Kiss Me Kate.” A hundred or so years ago my sister and her best friend decided to mount a production of it, probably based on the Broadway cast album since they were too young to have seen either the play or the film. They spent a large part of one summer on the flagstone terrace in front of our house dancing and singing “Bianca.” Have fun in Hartford.
Bi – an – ca – I can hear the melody right now. I’m looking forward to watching this musical grow.
Claudia, I don’t know if this is the right place to tell you about a problem I’ve been having viewing your blog, but I didn’t know how else to connect with you.
For at least a week your blog has been hanging up and I’m not able to read it at one sitting. It stops and starts, and I’m finding it maddening since yours is the only blog I read faithfully every day.
I’m wondering if it is related to the fact that on the right hand side of the page there are ads that having changing pictures.
Even to write this comment it has taken me three times as long as it should because of the starts and stops.
Have any of your other readers mentioned having this problem?
Gosh, Sandi, I’m sorry you’re having trouble. I’m not having any trouble here and I haven’t heard any other complaints. Ads do sometimes slow up a blog, but I see the kind of ads you’re talking about rarely, although I know they’re there at times. And they surely wouldn’t be there every time you try to visit the blog, so I don’t think that’s it. Of course, ads that you see on a blog often have to do with you, the reader, and your browsing history.
I can check into it, but I fear the problem probably has to do with the server on your end. I know that sometimes my server – through my cable company – is slow and things don’t load as quickly as usual. But no one has mentioned the starting and stopping you’re talking about.
In the meantime, why not subscribe by email? You’ll get it delivered every day and you won’t have any problems.
Yes! As if it’s being taken over by outside forces. Most annoying, although it seems to be on the wane.
Margaret
I’ll check with the guys who handle some of my ads and see if anything can be adjusted.
I have the same pitcher……found at an estate sale last summer for only $5……I couldn’t grab it quick enough. Enjoy yours and have fun in Hartford.
What a deal, Jana! Good for you!
I love that Kay had a piece in the garage and ran to clean it up. So many times we think something is pretty and we keep it and reuse it in different ways. Then one day we learn it is a collectible and many, many people love it. Then we are pretty proud of our taste. I think the McCoy is gorgeous and I’m so glad you are sharing the pictures and history.
Thank you, Barbara!
Thank you for the sweet words. I still remember seeing you in the King and I. You must have been in high school. I was in awe.
Aw, what a nice thing to say, Kay. Thank you, my friend.
Enjoying your blog Claudia, and thank you for your honest answers and perspective on various subjects. Our water shortage isn’t a new concern for most of us here in Temecula, Riverside county, CA. Golf courses, and many businesses and some homeowners have been using recycled water for landscapes for years. It would be wonderful if the news media would report the positive ways all of us could & sometimes do work together on this issue as well as others!
I grew up in new England and do recall a few pros and cons there too, especially the cold winters…but alas, I loved the four seasons… Challenges and opportunities are part of everyone’s life.
You’re so right – the media tends to concentrate on the negative and not the positive. It can be challenging wherever we live!