Sara and Spring

The little bird who tapped on my window was leaving me a message. I began to notice isolated bird song cutting improbably through the fog, and now patches of Snowdrops are popping up in meadows and woods, sometimes with purple crocus alongside. I haven’t examined the bare branches of our Japanese maple or rosebushes yet,… Continue reading Sara and Spring

Pilates and a frosty morning

Helen, our local physiotherapist, teaches Pilates several mornings a week to the ladies of the parish. Not only do I make the 5 minute walk to the Village Hall, where the classes are, but also spend an hour gently stretching and pulling and using those deteriorating “core” muscles so I can stand up straight, and… Continue reading Pilates and a frosty morning

Art Class in Albury

Wednesday mornings I go to a painting class in the nearby village of Albury. Our  teacher lives off Rectory Lane just down the road in Shere. I’m not feeling much like a painter, today. Well, yes, a painter, but rather of walls than of canvas. The thing is, this man is really teaching us to… Continue reading Art Class in Albury

Snowed In

We awoke yesterday to a snowfall which had been going all night. Roads were invisible beneath 6 to 8 inches of snow, sidewalks indistinguishable from them. I jumped out of bed –a very unusual occurrence for me – eager to discover our transformed world. We also wanted to get down to the corner store to… Continue reading Snowed In