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On Sunday

January 14, 2018 at 10:13 am by Claudia

Good morning. I’m moving slowly because I slept in. It seems that the older I get, the more a change in my normal routine seems to throw me ever-so-slightly off for the rest of the day. Grateful to have caught up on some sleep, of course, but I’m just a wee bit behind.

It’s turned very cold again here and will be for the next 3 days or so.

But it’s sunny! Yesterday’s dire predictions for ice and a wintry mix changed around noon and the sun came out. Immediately, my mood lifted. The sun makes an enormous difference, especially when you feel a bit housebound.

I just noticed how tall the new growth on this ZZ plant has become. Goodness! I love these hardy houseplants – any plant that survives in the shadows of the den is a winner in my book. I’m going to buy one more for my office.

A closer look at the top of the new shoot. I love the glossy, thick leaves.

We watched The Darkest Hour last night. It’s the story of a few weeks in 1940 when Winston Churchill became Prime Minister. Riveting. Gary Oldman is brilliant as Churchill. I learned a lot, as there was much I didn’t know about that particular time and its challenges for Churchill and Great Britain. I recommend it highly.

In a rare instance for us, we watched about 20 minutes of Mudbound before we turned to each other and said, “Let’s stop.” There were too many directorial ‘devices’ and screenplay problems that didn’t work and were annoying. Every time yet another character became a narrator, we groaned. So we moved on. I’m sure some of you have seen it and liked it and that’s great. And I’m sure there’s solid acting. But we weren’t in the mood to put up with the rest of it to get there. It just wasn’t our cup of tea.

So far, our favorites are The Shape of Water, The Darkest Hour, and Get Out; each of them completely different, but all of them brilliant and inspired.

Oh! Forgot to add – we enjoyed I, Tonya, as well. It’s darkly funny and very well done by all. Allison Janney is wonderful.

Today? I might get out there and do something, but only if we can get rid of the ice surrounding my car. The warm weather melted a lot of snow and ice and then the sudden very cold weather promptly froze it all.

Happy Sunday.

A Slow Saturday

January 13, 2018 at 9:14 am by Claudia

We’re due for a yucky day today: rain which will turn into ice and a bit of snow. There are winter weather advisories up.

Can I just go back to bed?

The snow on the ground that you can see through the window is gone now, due to higher temperatures and a heck of a lot of rain yesterday. Fear not, we’re due for more mid-week. Note to self: take price tag off pot.

This is what happens when you bring your big old porch plant inside for the winter. I’ve forgotten what this is – a dracaena? an unknown grass? – but I’ve had it in this pot for several years and I bring it inside every winter. It’s become so big that I can no longer just stash it on the floor in the office. So it’s in the hallway. There are self-seeded impatiens surrounding it at the base. Hopefully, they’ll bloom at some point this winter.

The contents of the cupboard in the office. There’s some Roseville, some McCoy, an old candy box which holds letters sent to my grandmother by her adored little sister, who died in the flu epidemic of 1918. (She lost another sister as well.) Let’s see, what else? Some glove boxes, some little pieces of pottery, a mug given to me by Christy, aka Anastasia, a putz sheep and two spun cotton bunnies made by Vintage by Crystal. Oh, and some crystal bunnies and a puff made by a former blogger who does beautiful work.

I took this yesterday as I sat at the desk for a spell, due to a desire to change it up a bit. The den seems to be my home lately, but too much familiarity can breed contempt, you know? Anyway, I hung the newest Nutting up in the office – I’ll take a picture of it today – and I putzed around that space, listening to the Kenny Rankin channel on Pandora.

Happy Saturday.

Rediscovered While Cleaning

January 12, 2018 at 10:44 am by Claudia

I think I need a few more green McCoy vases for the top of that cupboard, don’t you?

The cupboard remains one of my favorite deals; it’s big and substantial and has shelves inside. I scored it for $100 at a local auction and I’ve never regretted it. We needed storage and the room needed something tall. This guy fulfilled the bill.

We watched Lady Bird last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a coming-of-age story about a teenager in her senior year of Catholic high school in Sacramento and it’s absolutely charming. I’m a big Laurie Metcalf fan and she is excellent, as usual. Saorise Ronan is luminous as Lady Bird. Excellent cast, excellent screenplay and direction (both by Greta Gerwig.) Thumbs up.

I just threw this in here as I posted it on Instagram yesterday. And I’m thinking of starting to do some needlepoint again, spurred by that framed project I made for my Mom years ago. I inherited it after my mom and dad passed away. I used to do a lot of needlepoint in the seventies and eighties, with each new niece and nephew getting their own needlepoint Christmas stocking. I’m thinking about doing some pillows for the sofas in the living room and den.

I cleaned out the closet under the stairs yesterday; a daunting project because it involves crawling about on my hands and knees. I threw a lot out and it looks much better. It holds paint cans and the pillows used on the Adirondack chairs and extra vacuum cleaner attachments and the Christmas trees. I wanted to make it easier to access all of that without having everything fall out of the closet when I open the door.

While there, I rediscovered a little shelf that I was using to hold paint cans and towels. The towels are a story in themselves. I stashed them in there and often used a stack of them when we gave the dogs a bath. We don’t need them anymore and they take up valuable space, so I washed them all and I’m going to see if I can donate them to an animal shelter or hospital. I used to work for a veterinarian and we always needed towels.

So, back to the shelf. We used it in our bathroom when we were living in San Diego. It’s not my best paint job, but it still sort of works. Don suggested putting it behind the couch because I had been talking about wanting more space for plants and pottery. (Big surprise, right?) It doesn’t take up much space so it doesn’t overwhelm the sideboard or access to the front door.

There it is. I’ve always loved the scallop-like edges to the shelves. And it’s appropriately chippy. (That’s the back of Don’s head.)

See? He’s wearing headphones so he didn’t even know I was there.

I rather like that splash of color. It will look even better when I’ve added some things to those shelves, but I’m in no hurry.

Yes, the tree is still up. Every day I ask Don if he’s ready for it to be taken down and every day he says no. We have reached a deal. I am taking it down on Sunday. I took down the tree in the den and the little green tree upstairs in the office yesterday. This one is still pending.

On reflection, Don said that he thought he was reluctant to say goodbye to the tree because it symbolized his vacation and he’s not quite ready to go back to work. I understand.

So it will be up through the weekend. Who knows? I may wait until Monday!

Happy Friday.

On Sunday

A Slow Saturday

Rediscovered While Cleaning

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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