Last week we held a 90th birthday party for my mother. Just family, but I have never entertained 20 people at my house before. My 3 siblings came from Toronto and Halifax, along with 10 of our 12 children (Mom’s grandchildren), plus a few spouses and significant others, the first great-grandchild, and 2 dogs. The…
From the local library, as usual. This book, subtitled “Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity” is nonfiction but it reads much like a novel. That is a complement, although I had to go internet surfing to satisfy myself that I could trust the author, Katherine Boo. I recommend it. It was unusual and compelling. For…
Some years ago (31, to be exact) we bought our first sofa together. I remember that it was difficult to reach agreement (which has not changed one bit in the 31 ensuing years) and we ended up paying somewhat more than we expected. However, I thought at the time that it was a well-made well-designed…
I am not usually very interested in photo blogs, even though I respect the art, admire many photos and enjoy my own snapshots. Let’s face it – there are millions of great photos to look at. Today 101 Books has a link to a very clever blog Underground New York Public Library blog. Go have a…
A few years ago I wanted to go walking in England with my sister-in-law, but we didn’t quite know where to start planning without committing ourselves to some formal tour arrangement. Coincidentally I saw an article in our local newspaper about an “open garden day” planned in our town – this is where 10 households would volunteer to open…
I have been busy recently with summer projects – upholstering and other activities that I hesitate to start when my husband is hanging around constantly going about his business normally in his own house. Nor does he like to watch me scatter fabric scraps throughout the house, drop pins where they will impale themselves in someone’s foot (and it never…
Interesting article in the New York Times Magazine of Feb 26, 2012. (I’m a little late, since I read an assortment of magazines from the neighbourhood library whenever I notice them.) The article, “I have taken some liberties,” addresses fact-checking and the fine lines between fact, non-fiction, essays and outright fiction. And, of course, the question…
Best TV: Villa Fontaine Jimbocho. I will comment on the hotels on our recent trip. I reserved 3 different hotels on http://www.Hotels.com in advance. You have to pay in advance, although the refund conditions appear to by quite reasonable. The process went perfectly smoothly. Here is where we stayed. Although there was no grandeur, we were very happy…
Seeing Clarely 