Lunch today in our garden with my darling, under an arbor of fragrant, pink tea roses; a white platter on the glass table before us, piled with coral smoked salmon and green capers; ripe summer tomatoes and finely sliced red onion; slender wedges of lemon; parsley from the garden. Tiny brown-spotted quail eggs nestle in… Continue reading BLISS
More Dorset –
Dorset is Hardy country. Dorchester, its capitol, is said to be the model for Casterbridge in the novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge. Did I bring a copy with me? No. Didn’t plan to do much reading in our two day visit, though I wish I had re-read some Hardy works before we came down. But… Continue reading More Dorset –
Dorset and the Jurassic Coast.
We went south this week to reconnoiter for family visits this summer. Dorset boasts a World Heritage site, the Jurassic Coast, where, it is said, the sea washes up fossils every high tide. Nico, my 6 year old grandson, knows more about dinosaurs and the periods in which they lived than most adults, and is… Continue reading Dorset and the Jurassic Coast.
Sunshine
That is actually the name of a book. Written by an Englishman, of course, who is obviously so obsessed with the sun that he has written a whole book about. The complete title is, SUNSHINE: ONE MAN’S SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS. His name is Robert Mighall, and you can read the review, if you want to,… Continue reading Sunshine
SPRING
At last. The white drops drifting through the air are petals from flowering fruit trees, not snow ; the breeze wafting through the leaves is warm, not cold, and the sun glints off shiny new foliage instead of rain-drenched tree trunks and side walks. Excuse me. In England, we say pavement, confusing to a Yank… Continue reading SPRING
Clotheslines
I received an email from an old (I use the term advisedly – we are now in our 7th decade) friend, talking about clotheslines. It hadn’t occurred to me that Americans no longer use them much. I have lived in France and England for the last 15 years, where most people hang laundry outside… Continue reading Clotheslines
TaTa takes over Ford’s Jaguar/Land Rover
Or, India’s revenge In an ironic twist arising out of an imperialist past, Tata, the low-cost automobile manufacturer of India, has just bought out the US/ Ford, who had bought the UK‘s financially ailing Jaguar and Land Rover in 1989. Ford succeeded turning Land Roveraround, but Jaguar‘s sales have continued to decline. Now, India‘s Tata… Continue reading TaTa takes over Ford’s Jaguar/Land Rover
New Format
I would be glad to have feed back on the new format. Easier to read? More difficult? Suggestions? Thanks. Kathleen
Post Office Closures May Affect Health
Loneliness is bad for your health. Most of us intuitively know there is a mind-body connection with regard to anger, stress and heart disease. Now, research launched in 1994 by a psychologist, John Cacioppo, at Ohio State University, has shown that loneliness has physical consequences as well. Lonely people get sick more often, and… Continue reading Post Office Closures May Affect Health
MT. KILIMANJARO OR BUST
No, no, are you dreaming? Not me. The daughter of friends of ours in France, Monica Browning, is climbing this 5985 METER mountain for a charity, VSO, or Voluntary Service Overseas. Monica is an amazing woman, who has done more in her short life than I will have done at the end of my already… Continue reading MT. KILIMANJARO OR BUST