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Day Four Hundred Nine

April 26, 2021 at 9:59 am by Claudia

I’ll just get this out of the way: Best Actor and Best Actress should have been Chadwick Bozeman and Viola Davis.

I loved Nomadland. I wrote about how much I loved it here on this blog. And I am a huge fan of Frances McDormand. Everything she does is excellent. But I don’t think this particular performance was Oscar-worthy. Davis was brilliant. Take-your-breath-away brilliant.

I can’t speak to Anthony Hopkin’s performance, but I am absolutely sure it is excellent because…he’s Anthony Hopkins. But Chadwick Bozeman’s performance was incandescent. Stunning. Transformative. Heartbreaking in its brilliance. I don’t remember ever being that blown away by a performance and between my 40 year career in the theater and a lifetime of watching film, I’ve seen a lot of wonderful performances.

The ceremony itself? The less said about it, the better. They should have stuck with last year’s Virtual model, which was excellent. It either has to be grand and sparkling or, in the time of COVID, like the wonderful virtual show of 2020. Anything halfway in between doesn’t work. I would have much rather seen clips of the actors’ performances than hear a story about their first movie going experience. Anyway, I’m going on too long. The only reason we kept on watching is because we wanted to see the late, great Chadwick Bozeman’s win. Ah well.

Puzzle finished. Except for three missing pieces. So frustrating! Believe me, I didn’t lose them. When a piece falls to the floor, I know it because we have hardwood floors and I immediately pick it up. One missing piece? Possible. Three? Impossible. I really loved doing this gorgeous piece. It deserved better.

I finally started installing baseboard in the dollhouse. It’s tricky as the floors and walls are slightly wonky because it’s a rescue.

And I hung this oversize ‘ironstone’ platter above the AGA.

Today, I’m going to do a bit more clean-up work outside and tomorrow I’m going to buy some plants for my pots.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Day Four Hundred Eight

April 25, 2021 at 10:08 am by Claudia

It rained overnight. It looks like a cloudy day lies ahead. Yesterday was sunny and gorgeous and we got quite a bit of work done outside. I cleared the garden beds, Don took down the old chicken wire, we raked a ton of leaves onto a tarp (several trips to the yard refuse pile) and I mowed the corral and the lilac side of the lawn. I’m slowly getting back to outdoor-work-shape. We also taped an audition for Don. All of this before 12:30! We came back in to dine on a soup that Don had made the day before.

There’s still lots and lots to do outside, but we’re taking our time.

Looking at the low temps for tonight and tomorrow night which will be in the mid-thirties, it seems like the best day to start getting plants from the nursery will be Tuesday. After we get through Monday night, the nighttime temps should be in the forties and fifties.

There was more Christopher and Jenny watching yesterday, along with our groundhog eating the grass right outside the kitchen door when a bird called rather loudly and he panicked and ran across the yard to the shed. So cute!

I’m almost done with the puzzle. I expect to finish today. I really love this one – the colors are so beautiful together.

I hope you’re all well. I’m gathering that you’re all outside now, doing house and garden things. Enjoy!

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Day Four Hundred Seven

April 24, 2021 at 9:46 am by Claudia

I grabbed the camera and snapped a quick photo of the cubby. I loved the way the light was creating shadows behind the egg cups. Maybe that’s happened before, but I’ve never noticed it.

Yesterday ended up being very windy – will it never stop? – so I worked outside for only a short while. Trying to get anything done was exhausting, and my allergies were on overdrive. Very frustrating. Even Don, who loves wind, said that after three days of it, he was done. Today is much calmer, thank goodness, so I’m going to try again. I need to rake the leaves out of the chicken wire fence garden and mow the grass in that same area. It’s going to rain tomorrow.

Christopher and Jenny are back at it this morning. Just like yesterday, I heard one of them sing, looked out the window and there he/she was, standing in front of the trailer. By the way, Christopher is named after the famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren, who designed St. Paul’s Cathedral, among other famous buildings in London. It’s one of my favorite churches, I might add. Jenny is a traditional nickname for wrens, especially in Great Britain and Europe, hence “Jenny Wren.”

Today is the seventh anniversary of my mom’s passing. It seems to be hitting me particularly hard this year. I can’t believe it’s been 7 years and I really miss my mom. Don does, too. My mom had a lovely little habit of calling our respective spouses when she knew one of us was away. She loved having a long conversation, just the two of them. I would be away somewhere coaching and Don would say, “I had a great conversation with your Mom today.”

Anyway. I didn’t respond to comments yesterday because I was feeling under the weather after my battle with the wind. Sorry about that. And now I have to help Don with an audition self-tape that has to be in today. We did another one just two days ago. Self-taping is definitely going to be the norm going forward. It was already happening before the pandemic, but it’s really taken off. For us, it’s invaluable. No bus trip to the city. No expensive bus ticket. Traveling to an audition ends of taking up a whole day. Now? We just set up, I read the other lines in the scene, and when Don is happy with it, he sends it in. Easy peasy. It works for television and film rather nicely.

After that, I’m headed outside.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Day Four Hundred Nine

Day Four Hundred Eight

Day Four Hundred Seven

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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