View from the kitchen into the living room.
Boy, is it cold here! I hope my newly emerging daylilies can hang in there. It’s going down to the single digits tonight. What the ??? The weather has been so wildly inconsistent lately. 70 degrees one day, winds and freezing temps the next, and now this. Within another day or so the temps will be back up in the fifties during the day.
We even had a little snow squall yesterday.
I have to journey into Manhattan again today for a run through of Anastasia. There will be at least one more run through next week and then on Thursday, the whole production moves into the theater. As they start tech rehearsals, I’ll stay away for a bit and then I’ll be back in Manhattan (and staying there) as final dress rehearsals and previews start.
Don’s car is all tuned up. We had to make some repairs (the driver’s side window wasn’t working) and one of the wheels was locked. The timing belt needed to be replaced. But our beloved CR-V is now ready to roll.
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My longtime blogging friend, Tracie Truran of My Petite Maison, lost her husband this week. It was sudden and shocking and heartbreaking. Tracie and her husband, Shayne, lived in California for many years. They made a big change last year when they found a house in Nebraska, a short sale, and moved there in order to finally realize their dream of owning a home. And now Shayne is gone.
If you know Tracie, you know that, in addition to her exquisite taste and decorating skills, she has the biggest and kindest heart. Her love for animals is deep and profound. Her beloved Great Pyrenees, Bechet, is a beautiful boy. She has always been there for me, especially as I navigated the last years of Riley and Scout. Tracie is one of the first people I met through blogging and my heart is breaking for her.
I know that most of you probably don’t know Tracie, but some of you who have been around a while might. If you know Tracie, her daughter has started a GoFundMe campaign to help with funeral expenses and bills, to help ease the pressures on Tracie as she navigates this heartbreaking journey. Here’s the link.
Tracie blogged for years and now focuses on Instagram and Facebook. You can find her on IG here. How I wish I could wrap my arms around her right now. Rest in peace, Shayne.
Too much sadness now. Everywhere.
Happy Saturday.
So sorry for your friend’s loss. There is just never a right time to lose a loved one, as we all know.
That squash ad sign is nice. Great colors! I haven’t seen that aspect of the cottage before. So lovely.
Hope your city trip goes well, today. (I’d like to be a fly on the wall.)
I usually forget to photograph things from that angle, Shanna!
My heart is breaking for Tracie. Such sadness. I will try to help. It’s so hard when you lose someone you love and then have to face such financial burdens.
I love this view from the kitchen. Your home always makes me want to sit down with a cup of Peet’s and chat with you for hours. I hope your trip to the city goes well. It is exciting how close it’s getting to opening night.
I also have a CR-V that I love. It’s not as old as yours but has many many miles on it and many many more to go. Glad Don has a safe car to travel in.
I think Mom and I are going to a quilt show this afternoon. That should be fun. Hugs!
I wish we could sit down together and chat – I bet we’d be talking for hours and hours!
CR-Vs are really good cars. I know several people who have CR-Vs that are quite old!
You are a compassionate friend; I am sorry for her loss.
I don’t mean to make a crass segue but, I have to ask, was the timing belt problem a very expensive repair? I ask because I have the EXACT issue with my ancient 21-year-old everyday vehicle (now disabled and sitting in my driveway) and my husband is balking about spending another dime on the car…but I happen to love my old car (clearly, I keep cars ‘forever’ – my other car is age 44 but not for everyday jaunts) and I don’t want to buy anything else. I know costs for things might differ, west coast to east coast, but could I ask the question I normally wouldn’t, because it’s not very polite: Were you given an estimate of repairs, and for how much on that timing belt replacement? My husband feels the labor, as opposed to parts, would be very costly for that repair job. This would help us, if we had a starting point. Hubs doesn’t even want to pay for the cost of a tow into the mechanic’s garage at this stage, to hear what they’d say. He’s telling me my car is not driveable from what he sees under the hood. Thanks, Claudia. Kind of a coincidence! I’ve had to resort to our ‘spare’ car which is this horrible, also old-in-years boat of a thing (Oldsmobile) which doesn’t fit me at all (I am very short; I think the model of this line must have been created by a man, for a man…like a big, tall man; I prefer compact or subcompact cars, so I’m miserable in this gigantic vehicle although never ungrateful to have some kind of wheels).
Yes. A timing belt is expensive. They are supposed to be replaced every 90,000 miles. It was at least $600 to replace it the first time I did it. Since the car is now over 200,000 miles, it was past time to do it – I’m the one that told Don to mention it to his repair guys. If the timing belt goes, the car won’t run. So it’s essential.
Yes, this is precisely it; precisely. My husband said he figures it would cost at least $700. So, this info from you is very helpful, Claudia. I’m afraid I’m going to lose my dear old car, but I’ll keep talk’in!!! I should mention my car has nearly 300,000 miles on it; we bought it brand-new in 1996. It’s the only new vehicle we’ve ever bought in nearly 30 years of marriage. Everything we’ve bought since is always ‘used’ – there is no way we can afford a ‘new’ car now, in our senior years. I don’t know how people afford them at all! Thanx for answering my question. I’m not going cross-country like Don ; I do very little driving. To me, spending the $700 is well worth it compared to car payments or shelling out for another used car. Sigh.
We always figure that repair – unless it’s absolutely hopeless – is cheaper than buying a new car or even making payments on a used car. We can’t afford that either!
My heart goes out to your friend. It is never easy to lose someone you care for deeply, and with the cost of funerals, the financial burden becomes another worry.
Glad Don’s car is rip, roaring, ready to go….should put your mind at ease. Although, being female, I know you will worry. I don’t remember seeing the butterfly poster before….it has beautiful coloring. Hope things go well for you today…bundle up…the weather is erratic here too…and very windy! ;)
I will definitely worry. The car has over 200,000 miles on it!
That’s a wooden sign, not a poster! xo
I’m so sorry that Tracie lost Shayne. It’s most poignant when a shared dream can no longer be shared. I know it doesn’t help much now, but things do get a little better. The missing, however, never stops.
I know you understand, Wendy. Much love to you.
Isn’t this weather wacky? Sixty degrees one day, single digits the next. And in February!! For most of my life, March has been the wildy-up-and-down weather month. Hopefully the goofball climate change deniers will see the light soon, because rising temps and sea levels are going to affect them every bit as much as those of us who actually BELIEVE all the scientists. I guess DO NOT get them. WHAT are they thinking?? Or maybe the question really is: ARE they thinking?? So sorry about your friend’s husband. Any loss is difficult, but a sudden loss is just that much harder. 💔 Here’s hoping her pain will be short-lived & morph into warm, wonderful memories as quickly as possible. Peace.
#Resist
The question is: are they thinking? And they’re not. Like cult members they believe what they want to believe and live in their own reality. xo
I don’t know Tracie, but I am so sorry to hear of her devastating loss.
Love the views into your cottage. The french doors in your house are so charming.
The weather is crazy here, too. All over the place. We got a little dusting of snow last night, too.
Crazy! It got down to the low single digits last night!
I hope you’re feeling better after your surgery, Melanie. Thinking of you!
So very sorry to hear of Tracie’s loss. When the loss is so sudden there is an additional shock issue. Time does move along but you don’t get over the loss of someone you love dearly; the love remains and you have to learn ways to live with this unwanted reality. Hoping the presence of her family will help.
Without any doubt, MHC is absolutely the most charming, comfortably inviting, and authentically attractive home shown on the web. Always a treat when you share pictures of your lovely home! Don’t want to ignore Caroline’s gorgeous abode; she has beauty and charm galore in HHC!……Dianne
Aw, thank you for your kind words about MHC, Dianne!
Thank you for this Claudia. Love, Tracie
Love to you, my friend.