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Frigid Weather = Nesting

January 27, 2022 at 9:53 am by Claudia

It’s very, very cold this morning! I’m wearing my flannel pajamas and a thermal top, a hooded sweatshirt and heavy socks and I’m still cold. This is an old house and it takes a long time to warm up on mornings like this one, where the temp is below zero.

It’s been a strange January. In the earlier part of the month, the temperature was warmish for this time of year, but that soon changed. It’s been frigid for most of the past two weeks. We’ll have some relief next week.

And we have a storm coming up the coast, but there’s a lot of uncertainty about just where the snow is going to have the most impact. As of this morning, all we’re supposed to get is wind and an inch of snow, but I suppose that could change depending on the storm’s track. Our snowblower is currently giving us problems, so we’d prefer the current forecast.

Hard. Darned hard.

It’s not helping that the other side of my lower back is giving me problems. I’m sure it’s exacerbated by working on the puzzle, so I’ve been working on it for 10 minutes at a time only a few times a day; sometimes standing, sometimes sitting on a cushion and limiting my work to the lower part of the puzzle which is closest to me.

I’ve started Julia Dahl’s book but I’m really just at the beginning. We’re watching something called Archive 81 on Netflix – a sort of supernatural/horror series. It’s pretty good. Last night, we realized that we knew three people in it – one is an actress that Don has worked with, and the other two are actors I have coached rather recently. That was fun!

Thanks so much for all your comments yesterday. I intend to have one of these ‘What are you reading?’ posts at least once a month. I sure learn a great deal and I know you do, too.

Stay safe (and warm.)

Happy Thursday.

Zoe and What Are You Reading?

January 26, 2022 at 10:27 am by Claudia

Speaking of the desk, Zoe decided to perch there for a while yesterday.

You’ll notice she’s wearing the new red and black boots.

Of all my girls, Zoe most reminds me of me as a child. I had thick brown hair, bangs, big dark brown eyes, and I was a serious kid who worried a lot. My hair was long, which is the only difference.

I guess Zoe is my “mini me.”

Waving hello to all of you.

I finished Cloud Cuckoo Land last night. Simply extraordinary. Anthony Doerr is an incredibly gifted writer. There’s no way I could summarize the plot here, as it’s complex, but suffice to say, it’s an ode to books and libraries and the human spirit, which spans generations, countries, space, and time. A book to savor and take your time reading for the sheer pleasure of it. I still can’t stop thinking about it. I spoke about nothing but that book to Don this morning during our coffee time on the sofa. I couldn’t stop!

I read a lot and, of course, you know I love mysteries. But if I had to sum up the most powerful and extraordinary books (and I’m talking new books) that I have read in the past 10 years, I would list these:

All the Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr
Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel
A Gentleman in Moscow – Amor Towles
Hamnet – Maggie O’Farrell
Cloud Cuckoo Land – Anthony Doerr

And I have Towles’ newest, The Lincoln Highway, here in the den.

But first I’ll read Julia Dahl’s newest mystery, The Missing Hours, which I purchased at the Mysterious Bookshop when I was in NYC. I reviewed Dahl’s first three books and was an immediate fan. (She lives in Brooklyn, by the way.)

Which leads me to my favorite question for you (one I’ve neglected for too long.)

What are you reading?

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

A Little Snow, A Little Change

January 25, 2022 at 8:53 am by Claudia

For the past several years, we’ve kept this little cherry spinet desk closed. About two weeks ago, we were sitting on the sofa drinking coffee and we wondered if the turntable would still be workable if we opened it up. It is. And we really like seeing the little cubbies inside the desk, as well as having two levels.

Sometimes it’s the little things that make a difference.

Speaking of sitting on the sofa having coffee, we had our own nature program going on out the back window as we watched deer slowly crossing the back forty. My heavens, they’re beautiful.

This is my current puzzle project. I’d take a photo of it in progress, but one of the hazards of blogging during the winter months is not being able to take pictures in the hours of the dark mornings and dark-too-early evenings. It’s very limiting, which is why I struggle with finding subject matter at this time of the year.

I’m a big fan of the New York Puzzle Company. They sell all the New Yorker covers, as well as other subject matter. The House and Garden cover I just put together is theirs. This cover is theirs. And the puzzle quality is excellent.

This one is a challenge, but I like the challenge. It’s a form of meditation for me.

We had some sad news yesterday. Don came home from the grocery store and told me our favorite checker had passed away. Frank, who was 75, was the cheeriest, most joy-filled guy you could ever hope to meet. We always had great conversations with him – he was in a band, so he and Don talked music – and he never failed to brighten our day. He died, at home, of a sudden heart attack.

He is in our thoughts and we are so grateful to have known him. He truly made a difference in the lives of everyone he encountered. I can’t believe he’s gone.

It’s relative, but these days, 75 seems young to me. Too young to have left us.

We had a very slight sprinkling of snow overnight, just enough to make all the old snow look fresh and white again.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Frigid Weather = Nesting

Zoe and What Are You Reading?

A Little Snow, A Little Change

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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