• I took a photo of my view this morning and realized I hadn’t turned the calendar to April. So I started over. My usual cluttery desk; eye drops, filofax, coffee cup, pens notes to myself all over the place.
• Yesterday was sunny and in the upper fifties. That may not seem very warm to some of you, understandably, but to me? Oh joy! I actually felt the warmth of the sun on my back. I didn’t do much, but I did start to clean up the porch. And I took the two white chairs (which had been stored on the porch) back to their home on the Funky Patio. Today promises to be at least partly sunny and a bit warmer than yesterday. I have some errands to run and I aim to stop and feed the horses for Don. He really misses them. I think I’ll send Don some pictures.
• The honey bees are back. They seemed a little wary of me – maybe they were surprised by a human! They weren’t there last week, so they’ve just reestablished their home in the catalpa. I spoke to them and told them they had nothing to fear from us. Hopefully, they’ll behave. All that being said, I am very happy when I see bees of any kind. We need them.
• The Manchurian Candidate was on TCM last night. It has always been a chilling and brilliant movie, but at this time in our country it’s more powerful than ever.
Quote from one of the characters: “I despise John Iselin and everything that Iselinism has come to stand for. I think if John Iselin were a paid Soviet agent, he could not do more to harm this country than he’s doing now.”
Hmmmm. “paid Soviet agent…” This has always been one of my favorite movies, but last night’s viewing was the first time I’d watched it since that man came to power and I was riveted.
• Egg cups that live in the den:
Egg cups and a little lamb.
They’re awfully charming.
Happy Monday.
How could you not enjoy and have a happy smile looking at those egg cups? Their whimsey brightens the day. Getting your white chairs out is a signal to the weather it better behave; hoping no more named storms for you. Couldn’t help but be amused by the names chosen for the last two: Stella and then Theseus. It would just be too much if the forecasters expect to reach z and use Zeus. There has been more than enough and it is time for spring! Dianne
No to Zeus! No more storms. It looks like the worst is over, Dianne. Thank goodness!
Isn’t it amazing what sunshine does for the spirit? We have had it so seldom lately, that when we do, I feel a bit giddy!! We are in gloom again ~ and for several days ahead. BUT, by weeks end, it is to be sunny and mid to upper 60’s. We shall see………….
Hope you get to see the horses and that your Monday is a good one.
Yes and now it’s rainy and gray again! Didn’t get to the horses – the ground is too muddy and you have to walk through a lot of it to get to the horses.
Have a relaxing fun Monday, Claudia. I went to the nursery yesterday and bought some plants to replace the irises that died…i decided to replace them with lavender, and another Rosemary. They will do better in that spot, I think. After spending all afternoon in the garden yesterday, pruning, I’m going to play today. Then planting later this week. I have lots of bulbs I’d better get into the ground. Love the egg cups.
I’m gardening vicariously through you Wendy. Still way too early to do anything here!
You do have the sweetest collection of egg cups. I love your desk and keep thinking I need a wider space to paint but if I did, I’d just junk it up like the one I already have! Maybe I’ll get a little organization done in there while I wait for paint to dry. Tiger is here this afternoon with a day off from school. We have played school already and he is playing with cars right now. Good day to stay in with all the rain. Hugs!
Rain here today, Linda. Give that Tiger a hug for me!
Those cups are precious and I love them.
I would call them pure charm, Claudia
Thank you, Katheryn!
Well…any day is brighter with those cute egg cups! As Chris said…gloom for us! Enjoy your visit with the horses! ;)
Gloomy here today (Tuesday) as well. We’re usually a day behind you Midwesterners!
enjoy the warmth and the bees. glad you’ve got them. :)
don’t know that i’ve ever seen that movie, “the manchurian candidate”. think i need to watch it soon.
those egg cups are very charming! i enjoy seeing other people’s collections (especially if i can hear the “why” and stories behind everything) and studios/desks. because i am a collector and because i seem to need inspiration, especially at the moment, to tidy up my sunroom/ craft room. thanks for some inspiration (found in every post you write) and for visiting the horses. if i could send you some carrots for them, i would!
happy monday.
kathy in iowa
It’s a great movie. Frank Sinatra got it funded and made but it’s release was, unfortunately, going to be in November of 1963. We know what happened then. So its release was delayed for a while – it was all too close to home.
All I remember about the remake of this film, like a dozen years ago it seems, was that it was based on the same book (and somewhat [not entirely] on the earlier film)…and, even though it had a great cast in Meryl Street, Denzel Washington and others, there were credible film critics/actors who said, at the time, “Why a remake? Why not just leave it alone?” – but of course Hollywood sometimes just can’t leave a good thing to rest on its own merit. I think the remake did okay at the box office, though, and I believe Frank Sinatra actually owned certain rights to the story, such that one of his daughters kept involved on the production side of the second film. Her dad had died a few years earlier.
I don’t know if it’s my arthritic hands, fatigue or my EYES but I am making too many typos. The great Meryl STREEP is most definitely not a street.
xo
I didn’t watch the remake. Why even do it? The first was chillingly excellent. Yes. Sinatra bought the rights to the book and he was behind it getting made. It was pulled from release when that release coincided with the assassination of JFK. It was eventually released, of course, but I think Sinatra lost his enthusiasm for the whole thing.
We had a beautiful, sunshinny day yesterday & it hit 70 but today it’s kind of gloomy & rainy. I planted arugula in one of my new raised gardens….feels good. Haven’t seen many bees but they usually come when I set my flowers out. I have a sheep collection so love the sheep. I’m definitely putting Manchurian Candidate on my to-watch list Guess we’ll see what happens with the supreme court judge vote this week. I’m certain they will get Gorsuch in one way or another. Wish so much that Pres. Obama was a good friend so I could have a long talk with him. I want him to tell me everything is going to be ok…..I think I’d believe him!
It’s gloomy and rainy here today, as well. I guess for every sunny day we get a rainy day, as well.
So often since November, I have wanted Obama to come save us!
Hi Claudia,
I just recently found your blog, I’m not sure how I missed it all this time! I’m completely enchanted by your charming cottage, and I have a feeling we may live in the same general region. I added your blog to my sidebar so I can keep up with your posts and I look forward to reading more!
Think Spring!!
Welcome aboard Debbie You Will Love it here!
A faithful reader for 7 years. – Judy A-
PS Claudia, sorry I just couldn’t help myself!
We do Love it here. Judy
You are too sweet, Judy! xo
Do you live in upstate NY, Debbie? I’m so glad you like the blog! Thank you so much for your kind comment.
Always love seeing your egg cups! Glad Spring is springing, finally.
Our weather here in SoCalif is very hazy but that’s typical of our Springs.
Another day trip today before getting back to my quiet life at home: We hit the road to the High Desert of California (Mojave Desert) to L.A. County’s Antelope Valley, specifically the Lancaster area (famous for Chuck Yeager breaking the Sound Barrier in the 40s; one of my fave movies, The Right Stuff from the early 80s). Our plan was to go to the Poppy Reserve which is a state ‘natural reserve’ with miles of trails and fields of our state flower in orange bloom. I haven’t taken this trip in 35 years. And I wasn’t prepared for the thousands and thousands of people coming to this one place…lines of cars which we finally turned out of and said, ‘forget it’ (who needs an L.A.-style traffic jam in the middle of nowhere!). And on a Monday? As I’ve realized, it must be Spring Break/Easter vacation. The Grapevine (Interstate 5; The Ridge Route) was flowing…but packed. Heavy traffic.
Thing is, you didn’t need to really be at the park as the wildflowers are blooming all over this area anyway and it’s truly a sight to see in this Year of Rain for us. The colors are amazing in the mountains, hills, meadows, desert floor; sides of the road. We saw lots more yellow mustard (I so love that yellow mixed with the spring greens); pale pink ‘filaree’ and another yellow wildflower called fiddleneck as well as Goldfields. (No lupine; I understand it’s all at the beach [next day trip!], like Palos Verdes area ‘way to the south at the coast.) But, oh, those poppies darting their bright orange heads up out of the green…one slope far in the distance was solid orange, like an orange mountain. And another thing you see in the desert out here is the famous Joshua Tree (yucca), which is a woody-looking thing I’ve never been particularly drawn to, although my mother always liked yucca. I saw patches of a purple wildflower…sort of lilac-colored…called lacy phacelia which was gorgeous but I’m pining to see blue lupine; soon!
It was disturbing to see so many tourists disrespecting the environment, though. You can get a ticket for picking poppies and we saw it all. And people were doing this in the outer reaches of the preserve and also tromping all over people’s private land…crushing the flowers, letting dogs run around (there are rattlesnakes!); and, lots of times, all in the name of getting the selfies, selfies, selfies. You destroy those wildflowers and it leaves a scar that can last for years (no blooms).
The wind was fierce but they harness the wind in this area, so you see a lot of the windmill/turbines as well as solar farms (acres of solar panels) because this locale also gets extremely hot in summer, so I guess that’s all in the newer trend of cleaner energy/alternative power sources. There’s a lot of land out here but it’s becoming more urban. As you head back south, you descend a few thousand feet and I was somewhat surprised to still see so much show on the distant peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains but we’re actually supposed to get more rain this coming weekend, so we Californians in this neck ‘o the woods continue to be somewhat awestruck by our current natural wonders.
I’m too tired to be writing this late at night after a long day! (…’surprised to still see so much SNOW on the distant peaks’..)
Emerging from these years of severe drought, we’re seeing a different natural world around us. There’s a lake (manmade; actually a reservoir, called Pyramid Lake) in the Angeles National Forest, seen from the interstate, which is very full, so it’s certainly encouraging.
Wonderful news!
What a day you had! It sounds lovely, except for people who disrespect the fragility of the beauty around them. So glad you are able to witness all the beauty this spring has brought you!