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Bits of News

December 22, 2022 at 9:41 am by Claudia

• Today we start in with rain, snow, sleet and everything else under the sun. It will be dangerous out there for the next few days. Tomorrow’s high in the mid-fifties will drop almost 50 degrees overnight. High winds, also (you know how much I dislike that.) Insane. Lots of rain predicted, more than 2 inches. Yikes. And frigid temperatures on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If we get any snow, it will only be a bit. And that seems highly doubtful. I know the same storm is dumping lots of snow on many of you. I’d much rather have the snow.

I guess I’ll have to blare Christmas music to mute the sound of wind.

• We watched The Bishop’s Wife  last night. Love that movie.

• Don only needs 8 more subscribers to his YouTube channel to qualify for his own URL (a unique address on the web.) Thank you to those of you who graciously subscribed! Brenda, give a listen to “Nova Scotia” – I believe Don left you a message. He loved your comment yesterday.

• I received a lovely package from reader Kathy yesterday. In it were two lovely holiday plates from Target (we’re going to use them for the Linzer Tart Cookies I’m making this year.) And also included was this:

To Kill a Mockingbird  published in Estonia! It’s the hardcover version with a copyright of 1964, just two years after it was first published in America. This is the original dust jacket and the illustration/artwork is stunning! Oh my. Thank you so much, Kathy! This is amazing. I wrote you a note in yesterday’s comment, but my question is: Where, oh, where did you find this???

• Update on my job offer – The woman who is coordinating the workshop managed to come up with some more money from the producers, so I will be paid my normal fee with a little extra money to cover six days of commuting back and forth from here to the city. It worked out! And, once I got out of the way, it was effortless. A lesson I have to learn over and over again. It turned out better than I had even hoped. So, that’s taken care of and I can work with dear Darko again. Hurrah!

• And finally, the last sweater-ornament-turned-into-Blythe-sweater. This one is modeled by Madeleine.

It’s been fun adapting these sweaters to fit on my girls. I, of course, will be looking for even more of these next year. I have 8 of them and goodness knows, all 12 of my girls should have one.

• Okay. Don is baking a pie this morning. I am baking cookies tomorrow. I have to run to the library at noon (they don’t open until then) to pick up a book that has arrived – Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman. I could try to do it tomorrow, but the weather will be horrendous. As it is, I will be trying to get there and back before it starts snowing/sleeting/raining. The only other option is Tuesday and who knows if it will still be icy around here? This subzero weather that’s on the way is supposed to last through Tuesday or Wednesday.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: books, Christmas, coaching, To Kill a Mockingbird 26 Comments

Heading toward Christmas

December 21, 2022 at 8:48 am by Claudia

Spoiler Alert  is still playing in movie theaters, but, as is the case nowadays, it is also streaming as of yesterday. It’s the initial release/early access via various streaming platforms, which means it’s still a bit pricier than it eventually will be. For us, it’s still cheaper than going to the movie theater.

I think we’re going to purchase it through Amazon Prime, so I can watch it whenever I want. I still haven’t really “seen” my scene. I was so surprised at the additional lines that I sort of froze and didn’t take it in. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a short segment, but it’s not as short as it was.

Also, there was an article in the NY Times about Jim yesterday and I was mentioned – though not by name.

This isn’t entirely accurate. Ben met with two coaches, one of which was me. I have no idea who the other coach was. And Ben made the final choice. But Jim sure gave me the opportunity and made sure I was one of the options.

I spoke with the woman who is producing the workshop and she is doing her best to find a way for me to do the job. That’s all I can say for now. I really want to help my colleague, so we’ll see what happens. We had a good conversation

I spent an hour or two herding the girls in order to take a group holiday photo. I’ve yet to pick one but I used both my big girl camera and my iPhone.

I have two more sweater photos to share; one today and one tomorrow.

Zoe and bokeh. You know how I love bokeh.

And because I loved both of these shots and couldn’t decide what to post, here’s another:

I would be happy to accept a life-sized version of this sweater.

We’re due for awful weather tomorrow and Friday – over two inches of rain. The temp will reach 52 degrees on Friday and then will drop 30 degrees on Saturday, with high winds. That makes for dangerous driving on Christmas Eve. Frigid temps on both Christmas Eve and Christmas – highs only in the twenties.

And no white Christmas. Sob.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Christmas, Spoiler Alert 26 Comments

Tuesday Thoughts

December 20, 2022 at 10:05 am by Claudia

• Flowers from Don.

I needed some cheering up, I suppose. I came up against the same thing I almost always have to deal with as a dialect/text/voice coach in the theater; an offer that is problematic. I don’t want to go into details, but it’s for a workshop so the budget is understandably low. I get it. But it will require me to commute into the city for several days and at about $50 a day, the travel costs add up. I would be earning far less than my standard fee – which, by the way, is much less than many other coaches. I thought I had a way to get around it, which would have been to stay at my former student’s apartment in Brooklyn, but she has already rented it for January. Living far from NYC is always a problem when negotiating a contract.

Sometimes when I’m wrestling with something, I turn it over to my Higher Power and wait for guidance. And I did that. The next morning, I received the clear thought to contact my former student. Since this seemed like what I call a God-Shot, I was sure it would work out. But no. So I was a bit crestfallen and Don got me the flowers.

This is a job I want to do because it’s for a longtime colleague and friend of mine. I don’t have an answer yet and I know I’ll be talking to the person who is arranging this today. I don’t need advice. I’m just sharing this particular struggle. Theater budgets are, by necessity, small. It’s just the way of the world.

• I had a paragraph or two here about success and applauding each other’s achievements, but it’s being misinterpreted – most likely because I was clear enough in my intent. So I’m going to delete it as I don’t want it to be overblown. Sigh. Moving on…

• Don has a YouTube channel and he has begun posting his new work and some of his older songs, as well. If you have any interest in his songs and are so inclined, would you subscribe to his channel? If he reaches 100 subscribers, he will get his own URL instead of the very long address that he has now. This is the link to his channel. Thanking you in advance.

And finally:

The girls in the slammer. (Late afternoon sun and the blinds in the den.)

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: life 29 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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