Post 2/2024. I'm sorting files of our winter/spring stays in County Cornwall, England. What to keep, what to toss. Some sorting hours later, on a cold and getting colder, stay-indoors-weekend, from my 2019 Notebook I extrapolate a few thoughts on what holds true for our planned return this year. 2024 2019 Benefits of being outside …
Post 1/2024. New year. New opportunities. New challenges. Still, the old comes with us. We face forward on the wings of all that has gone before, whether "before" spans thousands of years, a few generations, or last year. With the new, humans can review and renew the kind feelings we have for each other. The …
Post 50/2023. Rather than write a Year in Review blog, I've opted to comment on memories that were biding their time among a collection of things stored in a box. With almost each item memories came flooding back, along with questions of "What now with the stuff?" Sorting through boxed memories Assorted items from a …
Post 49/2023. I do not remember ever reading A Christmas Story, by Charles Dickens. The movie, yes, but not the wonderfully written text published in 1843. For the youngest set, Dickens (1812-1870) tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley and …
Post 48/2023. Sister-in-law Doris recently came up with a joke that flips the frenetic dash of shopping, holiday preparations, yearend planning. "'It won't be long now,' said the monkey when it lost its tail in the lawnmower." Good time to pause and immerse oneself in a book or two. Hot chocolate alongside. Set in Scotland …
Post 47/2023. Chicago delighted us again. "Us" included Jan and John Schwartz. Weather was perfect. Christkindlmarket came through festive and tasty, if crowded. Sadly, there was an empty spot, our friend Oscar, who always met us at the Millenium train station, now lives in Austin, Texas. Jan, John and Marty queue for a visit inside …
Post 46/2023. The words "happy" and "merry" are part of festive season greetings in December. As the first season of the Christian church year, Advent, in a four-week observance, anticipates the birth of Jesus by focusing on the themes of hope, peace, joy and love. Those are hearty themes in a heavy world. An idea …
Post 45/2023. Sunday. It's snowing. I'm burning a soy wax candle in a jar, called "Grandma's Garden." No distinctive scent stands out, though Marty came wondering where the strange, sweet smell was coming from. Maybe the candle's more about memories than smell. Memories of flower beds. Lettuce. Potatoes. Tomatoes. Onions. Carrots. Peas. Strawberries. Raspberries. Fruit …
Post 44/2023. Our neighbors gave us an article from The Wall Street Journal (Journal Report l Encore, November 16). Title: "Two Minnesotans Retired in Cornwall, England. They Love It--Even the Food." Subtitle: "But the thing that makes them most happy are the people around them." The writer is Ellen Hawley, who with her partner moved …
Post 43/2023. Between obligations and appointments at home we sallied forth for a few days around our favorite destination on Lake Michigan, South Haven. We took back roads that revealed fading fall colors, many corn and a few bean fields yet to be harvested, and surprises in Paw Paw on the way home. Let photos …
It's About Now 