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Ice Station Zebra

January 22, 2025 at 8:55 am by Claudia

It’s 8 degrees below zero as I write this.

It’s frigging cold! I’ve been up for 2 hours and the house is still cold.

We had snow starting Sunday afternoon and this is what it looked like on Monday morning.. I’d say we got about 4 or 5 inches. It was light and fluffy, so Don was able to shovel the long driveway. My back was bothering me – too much bending over repeatedly as I removed all the ornaments and lights and packed them away in the bins on Saturday morning. We were moving fast so as to beat out the storm.

Did I say it was cold out? We are in a subzero stretch here which should improve by Friday. “Ice Station Zebra,” – a reference to an old movie that takes place near the North Pole.

(I just got up from my chair to add another layer of clothing.)

Oh and I went outside late in the day on Monday to start my car (because it was so cold) and the battery was dead. Somehow Don had turned the lights on without knowing when he moved the car the day before. So, there we were outside in the frigid weather jumping the battery. I ran it again yesterday and I’ll do it again today. We don’t have a garage, unfortunately.

So that’s what has been happening. COLD, batteries, COLD, shoveling, COLD, wearing extra layers, and some cuddles thrown in.

I spoke to my friend Jan yesterday – it’s been hard to make contact, lots of voice mail messages. She’s still in rehab, but she’ll move into hospice care next week. Her voice is weaker than it was and Joe tells me she’s not eating very much. It’s so hard to know what to say. I could hear some guy shouting continuously from across the hall. Jan said that he should be “voted off the island,” which made me laugh. It was good to hear some of Jan’s particular brand of sarcasm. When I asked her about her state of mind given her prognosis, she said she mostly felt numb. She wants to know more about what to expect going forward and hopes to get more information when she moves into hospice care.

It’s so heartbreaking.

I did another tour of the studio because I was unhappy that YouTube cut off the top of the first video. The Gene Marshall dolls were missing their faces, Don’s Japanese print was cut off, as well as the Putz sheep. I’ll post it here and you can watch it if you want to. Or ignore it, if you want to do that! It’s all part of the process of learning how to do videos via YouTube.

Visit YouTube – my account: claudiathechroniccollector

A Longer Tour of the Studio

Okay. Don just made my second cup of coffee and I’m going to try to warm up.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Behind the Glass Doors

January 18, 2025 at 10:05 am by Claudia

Good morning. We are taking the Christmas tree down today, spurred on by the approaching snowfall that will hit us tomorrow. Have to get the tree out in the woods for food and shelter for the critters, and get the ornament storage bins packed and back in the shed. That’s this morning’s agenda.

On the shelves in the kitchen hutch.

Bottom: a pitcher full of bakelite utensils. Behind that, a Fiesta teapot with more old utensils. And an Emma Bridgewater pitcher sitting on top of two pieces of Fiesta, and the beautiful set of china I purchased many years ago. A green Harlequin plate in the back. Harlequin was manufactured by Homer Laughlin, who made Fiesta, as well.

Middle: some brown transferware, a small pitcher that was my grandmother’s, Emma Bridgewater mugs, a favorite vase in the back, a candleholder given to me by my mom, the very, very old red transferware pottery shard found in our yard, a Harlequin tea cup and saucer, and a very old piece of early McCoy pottery. Plus some vintage plates along the back wall.

Top: More Emma Bridgewater, a yellow pottery shard (looks like Harlequin) found on the property, a ruby red glass cup with “Lee” on it – which is Don’s middle name and the name of his dad, a Jadeite mug, a Fiestaware teapot, a platter in the same pattern as our dishes (same pattern my grandmother had) and one of my favorite pieces of McCoy.

The outside (there are two doors at the bottom.) The cabinet had those stainless steel 50s modern handles and I replaced them with glass handles. On top: vintage Fiesta mixing bowls and a gravy boat, two pieces of McCoy, a glass bottle we found on the property, and some sheep.

The Fiesta is all from the large collection I used to have. I sold the majority of it when we were still living in San Diego, but I did keep several pieces that I couldn’t bear to part with.

Okay. Off to get the bins from the shed. It’s time to say goodbye to our beautiful tree.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Sunsets and Video Attempts

January 17, 2025 at 9:03 am by Claudia

Last night’s sunset.

We had a bit of snow yesterday – not much – but it’s still on the ground this morning. Of course, the temperature is very cold, so of course it would stick. I’ve been reading of a potential winter storm headed our way Monday into Tuesday and, as I said before, we are headed for temperatures in the single digits next week.

Oh, what fun. Actually, the storm might be cool, but doing any sort of shoveling or snow blowing might be problematic if the temperatures are dangerously cold. I’m saying a little prayer that whatever happens, everyone stays safe.

My heavens, I spent way too much time yesterday trying to do a video tour of the office/studio. First of all, I talk too much. The videos were too long. In one, I cursed, so I had to toss it. I know you can edit those things out, but I’m new to this, and that kind of thing is above my pay grade. In another, I accidentally showed all the extra crap (Etsy boxes, paper towels) that I had removed from the room. Then I didn’t like way I filmed it. And on and on.

I finally filmed the tour without narrating it. Then I added my own voiceover. It came out better, but I want to do another one in landscape mode (horizontal) because when I use the portrait mode (vertical) on my phone, YouTube cuts off part of the top of the video. So annoying! Other than that, I like the way the video and my voiceover worked, so I think I’ll show that to you today. And later today, I’ll shoot it again, but in landscape mode. If I don’t end up throwing my phone across the room and it works, I’ll include it in tomorrow’s post.

Visit YouTube – my account: claudiathechroniccollector

Tour of the Tiny Studio/Office

Even though I’m complaining, it’s kind of fun. I just had to let the pace of the video edit the length of my narration, which is a far better way to do it, as I’m a talker (see my ‘solitary’ message in the sidebar!)

I figure you’re accompanying me on this new phase, so I can share my growing pains with you.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Ice Station Zebra

Behind the Glass Doors

Sunsets and Video Attempts

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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