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A Ride, Some Fries & Sherlock

January 20, 2014 at 9:22 am by Claudia

We never made it to Philomena yesterday. It turned out there wasn’t a matinee. But the day was lovely and slow paced, with both Don and I reading our books of choice, classical guitar music playing on our record player (yes, on vinyl!) and Scout snoozing at our feet. The day looked like it could stretch in that direction indefinitely, when Don suddenly suggested we go for a ride; the idea fueled, in part, because he needed new guitar strings.

I thought Dame Scout, who gets bored very easily on these winter days, should come along. That girl loves to ride in the car.

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She stands up most of the way, panting and looking out the window, a big old grin on her face. A ride in the car, whether for two miles or, in this case, lots of miles that spanned the Hudson River and back again, is one of her very favorite things to do.

We cover the back seat with an old sheet because Scout’s hair gets on everything, quickly covering the whole surface. This was taken when we made a stop for some food.

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Waiting for daddy to return to the car.

What did we eat? We each had a big order of fries from Five Guys. Sadly, that was our lunch. But oh, was it good! (Best fries ever.)

Don got his guitar strings, I got a magazine. Shocking, I know. But one of the few magazines I will buy is Vintage Style, which comes out quarterly. I happened to be reading another blog that mentioned it was out and I thought I might treat myself. I haven’t even opened it yet. Perhaps this afternoon with some hot chocolate?

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Scoutie got to have an adventure. All in all, a lovely Sunday, topped off by the new season of Sherlock on PBS. I think this series is one of the best things on television; smart, witty, complex, brilliantly filmed and edited, and Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Sherlock and Watson are simply superb.

I had a dream last night that Benedict Cumberbatch was my boyfriend.

Don’t worry, I told Don all about it. He gets it.

It’s so satisfying to watch something that requires the audience to think, to stay with the twists and turns in the plot, that doesn’t dumb down the writing. The writers assume we are more than capable of keeping up with the words, that we have sharp minds and appreciate keen wit, rather than moronic humor.

Thank goodness.

Does most everyone have this day off? In the theater, Monday is almost always the day off, so a Monday holiday is no big deal. What are your plans for the day?

Happy Monday.

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Some Sunday Morning Thoughts

January 19, 2014 at 9:27 am by Claudia

Greetings from Topsy-Turvy House, where I stare at a mattress propped up against the wall as I write this post, where the vacuum is on display for all to see in the living room because the aforementioned mattress is blocking the closet where it usually lives, where paintings and anything that would have been in the way of the new mattress and its travels up the stairs are stashed in corners, piled up on desks, and shoved behind pieces of furniture. Where we sleep in one room but our clothes are in another room and I’m not sure exactly where anything is.

And where Claudia is so sore from sleeping on the guest room bed that she actually groans during the night. I think I’m headed for the sofa in the den tonight. Don mentioned the fact that we used to think of the guest room bed as the most comfortable bed in the house. I reminded him that I said that based on the memories of a forty-something Claudia, not the realities of a person who is now quite a bit older. And that I really haven’t slept on that bed since long before we moved here.

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This sunset greeted us as we left for our late afternoon walk yesterday. We’ve been rather lax about our walks lately, mostly because of frigid and/or rainy weather. I’ve missed our daily ritual, so I suggested we reinstate it yesterday. The cold air felt bracing, the scenery was beautiful, and once again we were reminded of how lucky we are to live here. This area is so gloriously beautiful, even in the dead of winter; mountains on the horizon, a river across the street and one just down the road, nights filled with millions of stars in the sky.

See? Just writing about this makes me feel better. Gratitude is a powerful thing.

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We might go see Philomena today. It’s at our local movie theater which has a $5 matinee. I love Judi Dench and would be quite happy simply hearing her read her grocery list. I have to say that most of the films nominated for Oscars this year leave me curiously flat. I really don’t want to see them, with the exception of 12 Years a Slave and maybe Nebraska because I really like Alexander Payne’s work. American Hustle just looks like a lot of over-the-top costumery gone amok. The Wolf of Wall Street? No. I’m going to be frank. I am probably the exception here, but I’m not crazy about Leonardo DiCaprio. I never have been. He’s okay, but just okay. His voice is too lightweight, it doesn’t have the gravitas necessary to match the roles in which he is cast. I’m also not a fan of Matthew McConnaughey, who is nominated for Dallas Buyers Club. Don’t get me started on his new HBO series, True Detective, which we watched last night. I tried, Matthew. I gave you a chance, but I regret to say I am still not a fan. To be fair, you weren’t helped by your director or your co-star, Woody Harrelson. All in all, an exercise in self-indulgent acting by both McConnaughey and Harrelson that could have been reined in by a stronger director.

So there you go. That rules out three of the top films nominated. Would I watch them someday on HBO or Netflix? Maybe, but doubtful. Oscar voters seem to be unduly impressed by outlandish costumes and wigs and actors who lose or gain a lot of weight for a role.

I’ve seen Gravity and loved it. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Philomena. The two other films I would really like to see are Enough Said with the late, great James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus and All is Lost, starring Robert Redford in what many critics have said is the performance of his career. So why wasn’t he nominated? Ridiculous. Too often the Oscars are all about films made by big studios with the money to wage an expensive campaign. Hmmm. Sound familiar? Just like our elections.

Anyway, these are just my opinions, obviously – Claudia as critic. (I seem to be speaking about myself in the third person today.) But for the first time that I can remember, I have no interest in watching the Oscars. I’m thinking an old movie on TCM might be a better option.

Okay. I’ve indulged in enough opinion for today. Thank you for putting up with it!

Oh, my favorite, Sherlock, starts tonight on PBS!

Happy Sunday.

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A Dollhouse Day

January 18, 2014 at 9:13 am by Claudia

I know this will be shocking and not all in tune with the rest of the blogging world, but here goes. I’m not a fan of Cath Kidston’s designs. Never have been. There’s something about her version of flowery prints that I just don’t like. And you know I like flowery things. They’re all over my house.

I do, however, love the designs of GreenGate, a company based in Denmark. I could easily go crazy there, buying china and tea towels and mugs and aprons and all things home. I love the way GreenGate uses color and flowers. Their design work is gorgeous. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) there’s no way to buy their products here in the States. So my house has nothing from GreenGate inside its walls.

Oh wait, my dollhouse is another story:

greengateplate

This little plate was made by Carrie Lavender. It’s one of my favorite GreenGate designs. It was inadvertently left off my order, so Carrie sent it to me separately and here it is. Just to prove to you that it is indeed a miniature plate, I give you this.

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Adorable. Beautiful. I’m in love.

Yesterday, taking advantage of Don’s absence while he worked in the city, I cleaned the bathroom like a crazy woman. I straightened up the topsy-turvy areas of the house as best I could. And I did a little work on the dollhouse. Girding my loins, I thought I might try a little project from Léa Frisoni’s book on Miniatures (the one that Don got me for Christmas.) I had to translate all the directions via Google Translate but fortunately, I did that a few week ago, so I was ready to go. It looked fairly simple; deceptively simple, I might add. But I figured, what the heck? After a couple of hours I came up with a chair.

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This is a bit of a variation on Léa’s design. I couldn’t find the same kind of florist wire, so I substituted something else. It’s ever so slightly wonky, but it works. I was thinking it might be a nice addition to the bathroom.

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What do you think? A little vintage chair to sit on for a second or two, or a place to toss a towel or a robe? I am rather proud of my first foray into mini-making. I want to make another one someday when I can find the kind of florist wire Léa recommends. But right now? I’m liking this sweet little vintagey-looking chair.

Then I moved on to the craft room/studio/office. I’ve had this idea for a while. I wanted a counter-like desk on the the planked wall, long and narrow, where the owner could set up her sewing machine or write a letter or work on her computer. It’s meant to function as a space saver, as the owner also has a work table for larger projects.

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I found a nice piece of wood at the hobby shop, cut it to the length I wanted and then decided to stain it. I like the contrast of the stained wood with the white planked wall. The legs are left over spindles from the stair railings that I cut down. (I’m realizing that my mini copy of To Kill a Mockingbird is a little off scale, a little on the large side. I’m going to think of it as a special edition – a coffee table size edition of my favorite novel.)

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That’s the sewing machine Julie sent to me – all the way from Canada. It looks like my Featherweight.

All in all, a productive day. I had another call from QVC. They are doing their best to check in with me every day. The bed we’re sleeping on is from the days when I really liked a firm mattress. My bones no longer prefer that level of firmness and I’m very sore and creaky upon waking. The bed is in relatively good shape because I only had it for a year or so before Don and I moved in together and bought a bigger bed. It hasn’t been used all that much. However, it’s a full size bed that was meant for single girl Claudia. Not Claudia and Don twenty years later…. Ah well.

Happy Saturday.

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A Ride, Some Fries & Sherlock

Some Sunday Morning Thoughts

A Dollhouse Day

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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