Mary Oliver ‘Upstream, selected essays‘. What can I say about this book. Exquisite. That’s all it needs. Just exquisite. As poetic as her poems. It gives you so much to think about too… I had to read it with a pencil by me to underline all the amazing resonating phrases. This is not a book …
10 days. 10 items of clothing. (excluding underwear/pjs or coats or work out clothes). Doable? Should be. In my ‘urge to purge’ mode (still going strong) I toyed with the idea of ‘mary kondo’ my wardrobe but I just can’t do it to that extend. I have got rid (either charity shop or eBay) of …
Why oh why have I never heard of The Avett Brothers? People!! you must tell me these things… Sigh. Just listen to this and feel better, or feel something… … then go out into the world and be nice to everyone…
I finally made something!! Two weeks into the new year and I finally had time to sit at my sewing machine and make something!!! You can totally tell I’m out of practice… this baby is WONKY… but No 2 liked it and is using it and, let’s face it, there is no better compliment than …
Last week I popped into IKEA with my parents; they were looking for a bookshelf and a guest bed, and I was under instructions from No 2 to purchase a new desk. We were very successful in our endeavour although the desk wasn’t ‘like the picture’ (eye roll) and somehow that is my fault (double …
The first book in this year’s challenge is an Italian one. It was a present from my oldest friend when she came to visit last year and what a lovely surprise it turned out to be. ‘Magari domani resto’, loosely translated as ‘maybe tomorrow I’ll stay’, follows a period in the life of Luce (Light) …
And the days are not full enough (by Ezra Pound) And the days are not full enough And the nights are not full enough And life slips by like a field mouse Not shaking the grass
You may or may not have picked up on the fact that my parents have left Italy and moved to England a couple of months ago. Very brave move at their age, but also one that has had unexpected consequences for me on two fronts. First, and I’ve mentioned this already, I feel like I …
I have a love hate relationship with the sheer amount of ‘sales’ happening this time of the year. ‘Love’ because let’s face it… who doesn’t enjoy saving a few pennies, but also ‘hate’ – actually ‘resentment’ would be a more accurate description – because there’s a sort of subliminal pressure in having to buy ‘in …
Last year, in vain, as it turned out, I attempted to read through the huge basket of books by my bed. I had the brilliant idea of reading books in alphabetical order by author… one book per letter, A through to Z ,and as a boost, I even gave myself the permission of buying …
while you're ahead... 