Remember when I told you that Google was no longer going to support Feedburner, which sends emails of my posts? And I told you to bookmark the blog and that I was not going to pay for an email service? Well, if you haven’t bookmarked the blog the time is now. Since I’ve been back posting regularly, the email version of the post has gone out at all times and hours. Yesterday morning’s post went out at 2 am today. I can always tell when this happens because I get no comments on the blog – or very few – and the number of people visiting the blog drops sharply. I’ll check on the blog and sure enough, the email hasn’t gone out. It’s clearly the beginning of the end for Feedburner.
I am not going to change over to another email service. I already have to pay quite a bit of money to keep this blog going and I have to draw the line somewhere. So it comes down to you. I always post by 11 am EST. I am back to posting every day. Come to the blog directly. Thanks!
Final coat of primer. Except for the green parts, they need one or two more. I’m ignoring the porch floor at the moment.
The list of Broadway shows that are closed because of Covid grows longer. My friend Derek Klena’s show, Jagged Little Pill, just announced that it would not reopen again. My heart breaks for everyone that is finally – after two years – working again only to have the show close because of breakthrough infections. (Derek was the lead in Anastasia.)
I could go into a rant right now but I’ll spare you that. You know how I feel and I know you feel the same way, too. Just imagine a stream of cuss words coming from my mouth.
An outfit arrived in yesterday’s mail and I immediately put in on Pip. Since she has never worn something her sisters haven’t worn first, I felt she deserved it. Oh my heavens, she is adorable in it!
The scarf, the dress, and the tights are from Miema Dollhouse, based in Germany. The little bunny came with the dress.
I can’t stand it, she’s so cute. I really love this dress.
Why can’t I get away with something like this? The only real-life designer that I know of that does stuff like this is Gudrun. Maybe I should shed my jeans and t-shirts and start wearing striped tights and print tunics…
Stay safe.
Happy Tuesday.
Pippa is so cute !!!
She really is!
Stay safe, Dawn!
Hope you have a Merry Christmas
Bittersweet as we have lost many
Enjoy your time with Don as you seem to totally do!!!
Thank you, Brenda. The same to you!
Stay safe.
You house is coming along beautifully. Soon you you’ll be adding all you own creative choices. It reminds me of the Bank’s house in the original Mary Poppins movie. I will have to put that treasure on my watch list after the holiday! Love the dolls and the clothes too. Closures on Broadway heartbreaking for everyone who has worked so hard to bring them back.
To be out of work for nearly two years, reopen finally and then have it shut down. I feel terrible for everyone.
Thanks Sherry.
Stay safe.
Glad you are relaxing with your hobbies and enjoying your time at home. I look forward to a bit more daylight each day coming now!
Me too! Imperceptible for a while, but it all adds up.
Stay safe, Ellen.
Good morning Claudia. I’m right there with you. I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be the only gals in tights and cute dresses with bunnies in the pocket! The world could use some fun.
Don’s guitar is lovely. Pip is lovely. The home remodel is looking good (but wow is that yellow hanging in there!). Things look fun and cozy at Mockingbird Hill Cottage.
Have a lovely first day of winter. Verna
The yellow is almost gone now. It’s just a faint cream. Maybe the photo makes it look stronger than it is.
Stay safe, Verna!
Happy Winter Solstice!
Take Care,
Kaye
Park City, UT
The same to you, Kaye.
Stay safe!
House looks great!
Pippa’s cute forehead looks like one of my grand daughters. I say go for tunics and leggings! You are tall enough to carry the look off beautifully.
But my touche is ample, which is what stops me!
Stay safe, Betsy.
Yup! Ample Tush, here— the length of the tunic is critical.
Absolutely!
The dollhouse looks great already with the Primer. It will be gorgeous. In case this helps anyone I read your blog through Bloglovin. It is an easy to use feedreader. No email notices are necessary to see your daily blog on there.
Happy Holidays to you and Don!!
Pip is adorable in her new outfit! Why can’t you dress in tunics and leggings? Life is far too short to not have some fun with your wardrobe! Have a great day, Claudia.
I can, but I don’t have the body for leggings.
Stay safe, April!
Some how I can’t visualize you in a dress that wild. It is a beautiful pattern.
You must be getting your energy back to start another big project on the doll house. Good for you.
It is so sad that the shows are closing down. I feel bad for all the people getting laid off yet again.
Yes, the emails from your post have been sporadic. I do go to the blog site if I don’t get an email. Usually I read your post in the late afternoon. Thanks for all the hard work posting. I did miss it while you were working on the film.
Oh, I’ve worn plenty of wild dresses in my day! Now, I tend to wear jeans and dark colors.
Stay safe, Kay.
Agree totally with the tunics and tights or leggings— I sorta do that now, though in FL it tends to be short sleeveless dresses and short leggings. (Damn weather!) Big bright prints are fun, a la Marimekko or Lilly Pulitzer. Anything unfitted and comfy. I do need to find some striped leggings, though!
Seriously, your girls have become my fashion inspiration. I do wear leggings and a long top or tunic around the house sometimes but I just can’t bring myself to go anywhere public in leggings. I checked out Gundrun and there are some clothes that I would wear, some are a little too “arty” for me. I don’t want to draw THAT much attention to myself. I’m tall so finding long tunics (that are cute) is hard. I still live in jeans most of the time.
It is sad that Broadway and other performing arts are having such a hard time. Your film finished just in time, before covid surged again.
Happy Solstice!
I’m tall, as well.
I’m heartbroken for everyone who finally got back to work and suddenly had it all taken away again.
Stay safe, Marilyn.
The house does look great….nice and toned down. Pip is adorable! And, I’d definitely try the tunic and leggings. It just sounds comfortable!
Do you think you could record Don playing a little something for us on his new guitar?
And, in case I don’t get another chance, I’m wishing you and Don a very Merry Christmas filled with love, peace, and fun! Enjoy your day! ;)
Not yet. He’s learning how to play it, so I know he wouldn’t allow it!
Merry Christmas to you and your family, Donnamae.
Stay safe.
I think Pip is my favorite. And I love the no bangs. Her face just says love me please❤️.
You just want to hug her, don’t you?
Thanks, Judy.
Stay safe.
I’ve always had your blog bookmarked. I didn’t know there was any other way to do it. You are at the top of my list. I am on the west coast so you are usually updated by the time I go online. Love to start the day with one of your blogs.
Aw, thank you, Jan!
Stay safe.
You would look great in striped leggings and a tunic. Go for it. Even a bunny pocket, if you are so inclined.
ceci
A bunny pocket would be an awful lot of fun!
Stay safe, Ceci.
I try to keep up & read your blog everyday even if it’s in bed at midnight or later. If it’s that late, I usually feel like I shouldn’t post unless there is something pressing (news or my ramblings), obviously subjective pov.
If the email didn’t arrive, I seek it out. Always have.
Catching up: I like the muted yellow/cream on your house. Pip appears to me to be the ‘youngest.’ Somehow no bangs = younger/less sophisticated. She’s darling!
Spoiler is a fantastic gift. Wishing Don many days enjoying its playing. Hope S shows up on a recording in the near future.
Broadway and all other live theatres: so sad, so annoying, hoping the streaming can come back for some, though it doesn’t 100% help the revenue stream.
I went to NM for our small family reunion. Hoping to retain calm & enjoy it here.
Patience, Peace, & Keep Well XO
Ah, but sometimes the emails never arrive because Google is letting Feedburner die.
Are you in NM now, Martha?
Stay safe!
Yep, in NM Santa Fe. DH David & daughter. Ahh, the ups & downs of those near and dear. 8-))
Cases going up here also though there are some Zero days.
Yes, I had noticed the dropping of the newsletter, odd arrival times. You warned us & I have kept it in mind. Not fun for you in the coping, I’m sure.
Be well, also.
Santa Fe sounds nice – pretty, at least!
I truly got out of the habit of checking for your posts while you were gone. I am getting better at it now, though. Good to have you back!!
Don’s guitar is beautiful! Can’t wait til he is ready to let us hear something on it. Practice! Practice!! Practice!!! I know for a musician of his caliber, that is total joy!!
Your new doll looks like a wee one who visits us every Monday! Yesterday she had no pigtails or braids in and her hair kept falling in her eyes and I put down on my list (I am a real list person) Barretts!!!! And she carries her little Bear everywhere she goes. That bunny is just perfect!!!!!
The doll house is looking quite lovely and it is always fun to follow your progress. Glad you are out of the city now that everything has gone crazy again. This is just madness. In other “news”, Meet Me in St. Louis is on TCM tonight. Such a great Christmas movie!! Take care.
I got out of the habit of even thinking about blogging when I was gone! That’s a first.
I need to get some more wee little barrettes for Pip. I bet your sweet grandbaby looks adorable!
I just watched Meet Me in St. Louis about two weeks ago when I was laying low on my day off. I love that movie.
Stay safe, Chris.
Those girls are the best! If I were younger I would dress exactly like them.At 86 I may not be able to pull it off.Then again… xo
Then again…you might pull it off very well!
Stay safe, Annette.
It has crossed my mind a couple of times of how fortunate you are, Claudia; that you are not now STILL working on the film in Manhattan/NYC with the explosion of the new virus variant, the huge lines for testing, etc. Thank God you are out of the city and back in the countryside, not exposed to so many other humans as you had been. How did Jim slip that in RIGHT at the opportune time, to get you all in, get it done, get out, while you still had a modicum of safety.
I’m disheartened to hear with a CNN panel after Biden’s speech today about the virus, that opinions of top medical people, if I interpreted it correctly, are that my third shot of Moderna will already wane from Christmas-forward, since I got the jab back in October. And that one of my cousins who won’t go beyond her one-dose J&J is likely not protected from either Delta or the Omichron (I need to figure out how to spell it, since it’s not going away).
My husband just went for his last in-person run to a grocery store; I can’t believe we’re back here to this, gonna have to return to curbside pickup and get stuff mailed to the house instead of doing the picking ourselves (our personal choice to go back to more chains on our life). Thing is now, he’s got a part-time job, and it’s a nice one; he doesn’t want to give it up. He thinks he can distance enough from people to protect from virus although, have to say, I’m feeling the hint from some of these medical types that it’s going to be harder and harder to avoid getting the new variant even if we’re boosted; hopefully with the break-thru infections, most people who have the 3rd shot won’t get too, too sick (but, of course, they just don’t know, not yet anyway).
I have a friend right now who doesn’t know what to do in the next four days about gathering with her family or not, since most of them don’t have the third shot; she’s figuring if she braves our SoCalif rain (and probably snow at her destination some 120 miles away but up in the mountains), she’ll probably spend Christmas Day in a mask among her closest loved ones, with no hugs, if she still goes at all. (She knows that their houseful of relatives will probably not get a test this late in the game.)
I caught myself in tears watching those epidemiologists/physicians talk on the TV. So many of us have tried to do all the right things in order to stop this pandemic. But then I pulled myself out of it because I refuse to let this Christmas week be spoiled by bad news. The word ‘virus’ will be banned from inside our house (or in my writings/conversation) til the new year. Call me selfish, but I’ve been thru a lot the past two months, and I need this week to relax, if I can get myself to truly relax. I get that privilege. All the doctors and nurses don’t.
Yes. I don’t believe we had any positive results, at least among those who would be on set. We are very lucky. I’ve said that to Don a lot in the last week – we got out just in time. I’ll feel better, however, when I pass the two week mark back home on Saturday.
We went to the store this morning to get some stuff for Christmas dinner, and stock up. We are also thinking of delivery again. I’m not looking forward to it, but my goodness, it’s getting so bad out there!
Stay safe, Vicki.
Hello my friend, I absolutely love the idea of striped tights and tunics, it’s the comfiest way to dress. xoxo
I know! I’m wondering if my little dolls are pushing me to loosen up and wear fund things!
Stay safe!
I love the dolls Claudia! They are delightful.
I don’t comment often, but I do read every single day.
I read from my phone. Could you please explain how to bookmark on my phone? I did try, but doubt it worked. I also saw something about adding to home screen. I have no idea. Any help would be appreciated.
Have a very merry Christmas!!
You know, Trudy, I don’t read blogs from my phone so I’m not sure how to do that. You could just google ‘how to bookmark’ from whatever browser is on your phone and see what you can find out.
Merry Christmas, my friend!
Stay safe.
Slightly good news: my husband and my daughter’s entire family are participating in a Texas CARES study in conjunction with a branch of UT of volunteers at certain points. Last week, it was time for the second round of antibody tests. My husband’s antibodies from double vaccination had been 587 back in October but were 2500+ last week, after his booster. My daughter’s test result was the same. Even older dudes can benefit! My son-in-law’s did not bounce much, though. So, some of you are in much better shape to fight off Covid than you were in October, even if the vaccinations might not prevent all breakthrough cases.
We sure do appreciate this good news, Linda! Thank you so much for sharing it here.
Stay safe!
Jerry is headed to NYC a couple of days after Christmas, hopefully to see some theatre. I’m not sure what he’s going to find. I’m so sorry for all the actors and crew.
I’m following you with bloglovin’ and bookmarked. (I never seem to look at my bookmarks!)
There may be something running, but they’re dropping like flies.
Give him my love.
Stay safe.
claudia, i appreciate all the time you take to document and share parts of your life, mind and heart with us and so am sorry you’ve had any hassle and expense with it. keep doing whatever is best for you! for what it’s worth, i check in each day via my phone, typing in the name of your blog through an aol shortcut/icon thing (i am obviously not tech-y) each time. i come back later in the day or at night to check on everyone else, too, and hope the repeated visits add a bit through your ad-counter thing (see? not tech-y).
i am sad for everyone connected with the shows that have closed again and for the world. and i am so angry that there are still … after nearly two years of it … people who think covid is a hoax or a political thing and can’t make an easy sacrifice (like wearing a mask, keeping a safer social distance and staying home if sick) for the common good. ugh.
pip and her outfit are, like all the others, darling. i say wear a tunic and leggings, patterns and different colors if you want! if you can sew a quilt (which you’ve shown you can do very well), you can sew a tunic too. :)
i will do some sewing tomorrow morning (a Christmas present for my sister), then make treats for my family (including peppermint bark, something made only at this time of year … because i like it too much … ha not ha). we may drive around looking at lights tomorrow night, too. and definitely watch “it’s a wonderful life” on Christmas. :) for now, though, i may start knitting a hat or read. yes, read! :)
hope you are having a nice night.
stay safe, everyone!
kathy
I’m actually not someone who can sew clothes. Quilts, yes. Clothes, no!
We’re going to watch It’s a Wonderful Life tomorrow night and The Bishop’s Wife on Christmas Eve.
Stay safe, Kathy.
i bet you could sew clothes, with all your other talents and creativity. or find something online perhaps. :)
happy wednesday.
kathy
xo
I have always had your blog bookmarked and so glad I have. Love seeing your girls. They are so adorable ! COVID is not done with us. I read that Broadway shows are closing. So sad !
Thank you for your blog, I look forward to reading it everyday.
Merry Christmas to you and Don !
Thank you so much for your kind words, Sandy.
Stay safe and Merry Christmas to you and yours!
I have been mostly following your blog online since you told us you would transition away from the email version, and I am not inconvenienced at all. The house is looking better already – I look forward to seeing it progress. I have been following Gudrun Johnston for a while and I believe I will order something fun from her and just enjoy it!