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Making Music on a Chalkboard

November 16, 2012 at 8:53 am by Claudia

Early morning. I’m in that stage where I’m just beginning to ease out of sleep into wakefulness. And what flashes through my foggy mind? Being in music class as a kid and wishing I could use the cool chalk holder thingy that the teacher employed to draw the musical staff on the chalkboard. Remember those? They were wire contraptions attached to a wooden handle and there were 5 holders for chalk. The teacher would glide the chalk across the board and suddenly there was a musical staff. The next thing to appear would be the treble clef, then notes, measures, sharps and flats.

I wanted one. Or rather, I wanted to be able to walk up to the front of the classroom, take that holder in my hands and make a muscial staff magically appear. (I was that kind of kid – always wanted to write on the chalkboard, be class monitor, that kind of thing,)

I hadn’t thought of them in years and assumed they were no longer in use. Because I now think that anything used in my childhood must be vintage and retro nowadays. (If I see one more item from my childhood labeled “Antique” on Craigslist, I am going to scream.) Surely there must be some new high-tech way of drawing a staff?

So, hoping to find a photo of one, I googled ‘musical staff chalk’ and found lots of them available. New ones. On eBay, on Amazon, everywhere. Teachers are still using them. Sigh of happiness.

This one is made by Quartet. It’s officially called a Wood Music Staff Liner.

I want one. I could use it on my chalkboard.

I could pretend I was the Music Teacher. I could compose a little melody.

But even better? Finding a vintage liner. I could hang it on my wall. Wouldn’t that be cool? I suppose if I can’t find a vintage liner, I could ‘age’ a new one. But I like vintage, as you know.

One sleepy thought = a search and a Friday post.

Thanks for all the wonderful tips on getting back to sleep. It looks like I am in good company. So many of us struggle with this. And I can’t blame it on menopause because that particular pain-in-the-tush is over, thank goodness. In fact, next Wednesday is my birthday and it’s rather a big one.

How can that be? I’m still around 39 in my head and heart.

I’m wearing black that day.

I’ll be back at 8:00 EST with A Favorite Thing.

Happy Friday.

Question Of The Day: What Do You Do When You Can’t Sleep?

November 15, 2012 at 7:03 am by Claudia

I’ve been awake since about 4 am.

I finally gave up on more sleep and arose at 6 am.

Don has been having some serious problems sleeping lately. He gets restless and when he moves around in bed, I wake up. And sometimes I simply wake up on my own. Then my head starts going and I can’t get back to sleep. At times, my head is filled with worries. But sometimes it’s filled with nonsense. Either way, it keeps me from sleeping.

I don’t do well without sleep. But the truth is, even when I get up after a sleepless night and think that there is no way I can get through the day, I usually get through it just fine. I have stingy eyes and I’m this close to being irritable, but I get through it.

Don’t you envy the way dogs and cats sleep? Scout will get up, go outside to do her business, come back in, drink some water, and promptly fall right back to sleep. For hours.

Of course, our animal friends live in the present. They don’t worry about the future, they don’t regret the past. They live in the NOW, a place that few of us humans can exist in for more than a minute or two.

So here’s my question for the day. What do you do when you can’t sleep? Do you get up and read? Do you do a crossword puzzle? (I’ve been known to do that.) Do you just stay in bed and toss and turn? Do you watch television?

Please share.

Happy Thursday.

Throwing Caution to the Winds: A Quick Trip to Manhattan

November 14, 2012 at 9:55 am by Claudia

Yesterday’s post about the disturbing trend of bookstores stocking less and less books sparked a lot of wonderful comments. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts. I love the discussion that happens here!

You remember that I mentioned the Strand bookstore in my post? My favorite bookstore in Manhattan? I’ve written about it before on this blog. In that post, I used some photos of a previous trip to the Strand, whose long red awning is emblazoned with the words “Strand Bookstore. Old. Rare. New. 18 Miles of Books.” About the time I was ready to hit Publish, Don came downstairs, bleary-eyed, and chatted with me for a while. He had to go into Manhattan for an audition. I sighed and spoke of the Strand. I’ve been missing Manhattan. I really only go there for work or the rare special occasion. I can’t justify the price of bus fare otherwise.

Don said: Why don’t you come with me?

I said: Oh no – too much money, it’s rainy outside, what about Scout’s dinner at 4:00 and, no, we can’t spend the money.

Then I thought about it. My nickname as a child was Cautious Claudia. I always hesitate. Don is much more spontaneous. It makes for a good balance in a marriage. I ended up deciding not to go. It would be better on another day. We’ve had and have a lot of worries and stress here at the cottage. I didn’t want to spend the money, yes, but oh lord, did I need a day away from everything.

Don: Oh come on. Just do it.

And I did. In a quick 30 minutes, I showered, fed Scout, and we were out of here.

For both of us, who usually travel solo into Manhattan, it was so nice to travel together. It was sort of a date. Don went to his appointments, I immediately headed down to Union Square and walked the two blocks to the Strand. I ran into an old friend on the walk – an actress who I adore and have worked with more than a few times. The perfect, unexpected pleasure. It’s all in the timing, my friends. And who you know, of course.

After hugs and catching up, I proceeded on to the bookstore and immediately got lost in books, books and more books. Oh my goodness, there are so many books that one gets overwhelmed quickly. The building is old and wonderful with wooden floors and radiators that produce so much heat that I always have to take off my coat. I spent a couple of hours there. Don eventually came down and met me. Then some quick food to go from Pret a Manger and off to the Port Authority Bus Terminal for the ride home.

Isn’t he a cutie?

I nearly left the bookstore without any books – it can be that overwhelming. But I remembered two books I had seen about American Popular Song and I ran back to get them. One is out of print and one is impossible to find anywhere else.

I’m so happy I found them.

An escape from our reality for an afternoon? Priceless. A ride with Don, a chance encounter with an old friend, hours spent in an enchanting bookstore, walking in Manhattan? Just as priceless.

Happy Wednesday.

Making Music on a Chalkboard

Question Of The Day: What Do You Do When You Can’t Sleep?

Throwing Caution to the Winds: A Quick Trip to Manhattan

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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