I had so many projects going yesterday morning that by noon, it felt like I'd lived a full day. I collected some tax information online so I could sit down and do our taxes -- always my favorite activity of the year (NOT). But I didn't actually do them because Dave needs to give me his W2 and there's a long story why he couldn't do that, basically involving a forgotten password. So it looks like taxes will wait until next weekend.
I vacuumed, I did two loads of laundry, and then I took Olga to the cemetery for a walk among the daffodils and primroses. It was bright and sunny when we left the house and, no kidding, ten minutes later it was gray and raining. So Olga got a little damp but surprisingly she didn't seem to mind.
Oh, and I hung up our newly framed pictures:
Here, above King Zack, are our Egyptian geese and Vivian's watercolors of Olga, along with a framed picture of Olga (this one) that was hanging in our hallway. I moved it because I used that space for...
...our needlepoint wall! Yes, not only did I hang Dave's birth announcement, but also a needlepoint my stepmother made me when I was a kid (the bicycles) and one my maternal grandmother made back in the 1930s (far right). They look good together, don't they?
In the afternoon I polished off an issue of The New Yorker, reading about Afghanistan and (in a separate article) Wendell Berry, whose work I have never read. He sounds like an interesting guy, an advocate of a simpler, agrarian life and the family farm. Maybe I should try one of his books.
In the evening we returned to watching "The Gilded Age," It's gotten better since that first clunky pilot episode. The actors seem to have settled into the characters and I'm sure I'm getting more used to them too. I'm trying to narrow our proliferating TV subscriptions -- I cancelled Apple TV and Disney+ for the time being. Each subscription doesn't seem like much by itself, but when you're paying £5 or £10 per month per channel, it all adds up pretty quickly. Now we've just got Amazon Prime, Netflix and Now TV (which I will probably pause once we're done with "The Gilded Age").
54 comments:
I noticed Dave's unusual surname on the needlepoint wall. From which European country does the name originate? It sounds like it might be Danish but there's a place with the same name in northern Germany. Has Dave been there? It would be cool to see him photographed next to the town sign.
Both walls look so good! The Olga photo looks like a beauty and holds its own next to the exceptional water colors. As for the needlepoint wall, heartwarming. I’m so glad you framed THAT.
Yes, Dave's ancestors are that part of Germany. We haven't been there yet but we've talked about it. I think it's a very small village -- basically a wide spot in the road. I'm not sure there's even a sign!
I am too, and that it gave me the impetus to display our other needlepoints.
Love all the pictures on the walls, especially the "needlepoint" wall! They all look so good! Which reminds me about my own bare walls...
I like your needlepoint wall; it's a nice collection.
We just started season 1 of The Gilded Age yesterday. We'll see how it goes, though Carrie Coon is killing it.
I love the needlepoint collection. Olga looks so sweet looking over her shoulder, "Come along Steve!".
I just don't have the slightest desire to watch any more of the Gilded Age. Not one bit.
Your framed items are nicely arrayed, and it is always great to see your girl. I've always enjoyed Wendell Berry.
Good job on hanging those frames! It all looks great.
Very nice arrangements of all your framed pieces. And I like the photo of the cemetery.
You've made a great display there. All meaningful, too.
The walls of art look beautiful. Makes me want to change some of our arrangements, which we've had hanging for many, many years.
Olga looks so happy there.
There's always much to do when running a house. Full time working makes it that much more of a challenge.
The artwork walls look great. You should definitely read Wendell Berry - one of my favorite poets.
The artwork all looks very nice hanging on the walls. Nice Job. I need to get my taxes done too. I think I have all I need, it's just a matter of sitting down and doing it.
That's a great photo of Olga in the cemetery. Your groups of pictures hung on the wall look really nice. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
To introduce you to Wendell Berry, one of my favorite of his poems:
The Peace of Wild Things:
"When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free."
The needlepoint items are so special because they require a lot of time to embroider ... love and care go into them!
All of the pictures look great!
A busy day! Good to get a walk in, even though you got wet.
That is a nice and intriguing group of pictures..and beautiful needlepoint. One to treasure
I love that needlepoint grouping. Such intricate work. I love Wendell Berry, he is a favorite of mine. I think A Place on Earth is a good place to start with his books because it's a bunch of stories about characters he has created in a fictional town (Port William) in Kentucky, and I really love Jayber Crow, a more in depth story of one of those characters.
I love the needlepoint wall. It's so personal and I love things that celebrate heritage and memory. The Olga photo is one I hadn't seen -- I love that. And the cemetery daffs, too.
I got the taxes dumped at the accountant a couple of weeks ago and hopefully a refund is on the way. I'm trying not to check every day! I will be dropping my cable April 1 and adding some streaming -- I think I'll get Amazon Prime and Apple TV for a bit. I have Acorn and Netflix now (Netflix courtesy of my massage therapist). Might get Britbox -- we'll see. I can see how streaming could count up as high as cable!
We have cable, and one streaming that comes with the cable. I guess I am old, but just the logon process, which I have not completed, seems onerous.
The art looks very nice, Olga in the forest is very atmospheric.
The pictures and needlepoint look great! It's always difficult for me to hang anything because I hate putting holes in the wall and the added stress is that I usually need to do so more than once. (too high, too low, crooked, etc.) I hate this time of year because of taxes. Ugh.
No Prime here too, just Netflix.
Both walls look very nice and I love the photo of Olga!
I think I've read some of Wendell Berry's poetry.
The wall with the needlepoint looks especially good.
O.K., O.K., the needlepoint wall does look good.
Maybe you'll be inspired!
In a good way or a bad way? I like her but Dave thinks she's terrible.
She's always giving me that look. Like, "The camera AGAIN?!?!"
I'm not raving about it, but it has become mildly entertaining. It's not Downton.
I always get Wendell Berry confused with John Berryman. Not the same thing at all, I know.
Thanks! :)
Thank you!
Yeah, it's nice that all the pieces have a story.
Time to rearrange! The eye stops seeing things when they don't change in a long time.
It's surprising how busy I can stay around here.
I'll give him a try. Apparently he's a novelist and essayist too.
I think next weekend will be tax weekend. Ugh.
Thank you! (And Olga says thank you too.)
Thanks, Marti! I appreciate the introduction! Reminds me of Mary Oliver in some ways -- that communion with the natural world.
Yeah, they took a lot of time, I'm sure.
Getting wet isn't so terrible, I suppose!
Yes, they mentioned Port William in the New Yorker article. Apparently it's modeled on the town near where he lives, Port Royal.
I wish we had an accountant! I am our accountant!
LOL -- I feel the same way! Passwords make me crazy. In fact I have more than one password that's some variation on the words "fuck off."
We've long avoided putting any holes in the wall here, but at some point I figured that living here eight years, we've earned the right to hang a picture.
Yeah, if I had to choose just one streaming service, it would be Netflix.
Apparently he also writes novels. Somehow this guy's work has gotten completely past me!
Thanks!
Ha! SEE?!
Both walls look really nice. Simple, but eyecatching.
I was thinking of this poem too! I think that you'd really like his work.
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