Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Cranky, not-enough-sleep Claudia is writing this brief post. We were up later than usual watching the Olympics Opening Ceremony. But we woke up too early.

It was a stunning ceremony on every level. Using the entire city of Paris as the venue, not just a stadium, was a stroke of genius. It was brave, modern, wonderfully surprising, and glorious. There were so many moments I will remember. In the midst of watching it, I was on the phone with our alarm company in one of the most frustrating conversations I’ve ever had – so I’m ticked off that I missed portions of the ceremony. I won’t detail the call, but we’re not happy. ANYWAY, back to the ceremony: Bravo, Paris! You pulled off one of the best – if not the best – opening ceremonies I’ve ever seen.

The topper of course was the performance of Celine Dion. Having watched the documentary about her battle with Stiff Person Syndrome, we have a sense of her daily battle and the fact that she stood there, at the Eiffel Tower, and sang Edith Piaf’s Hymme à L’amour, full throttle, with complete commitment, daring to sing when her voice has been failing – my heavens, what bravery! And she was glorious. Simply glorious. Cheering erupted in our den!

Brave Paris – you did it!

Brave Olympic Athletes.

Brave Celine Dion.

I look forward to the next 16 days.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

The gardens are pretty darned lush at the moment. Everything  is blooming. I will miss this come autumn. I’m realizing how quickly the time flies by; even when we have hot weather that slows everything up and seems to last forever, suddenly we’re near the end of July. I want to stop time for a bit, freeze-frame this view, and keep it around as long as I can.

Today, I think it’s time for some weed pulling and trimming. It’s a bit cooler this morning and boy, is it a beautiful sunny day.

It’s been a tiring couple of days as we had problems with Don’s laptop and I was obsessed about finding the solution. Eventually, we did, but I worried that we’d have to buy a new one. Anyway, all that worry and the energy it takes to figure out what the heck to do really took its toll. We were wiped out yesterday afternoon.

We ran some errands the other day, stopping at the post office and the library and then at a bookshop in a neighboring town, where I found two used Jane Gardam novels I haven’t read. They are now on my TBR pile. I’m deep into Clete  by James Lee Burke. I’ve never been disappointed by any of his mysteries. He writes about crime and the subject matter can be rough, but my heavens, he is a poet. It’s a strange and wonderful combination.

I’m excited for the start of the Olympics. It will be a lovely distraction from the election and he-who-shall-not-be-named. Side note: a gymnast on the team from the Phillipines is the daughter of two of my former students. Yvonne and Anthony were students of mine when I taught at Boston University. They seemed as different as two people could be. Right toward the end of their time there, they started dating, which was a huge surprise. I remember talking to Yvonne about that and I was a little worried, since Tony was a bit of a playboy. Well, they’ve been together ever since, have three beautiful children, and live in Los Angeles. Tony is a fairly well known actor and has been a regular in a few TV series. Their daughter is Levi Jung Ruivivar, in case you’re watching. Jung is Yvonne’s surname, Ruivivar is Tony’s surname. Best of luck, Levi!

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.