It has been another busy week, but we’ve been enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. Join us in looking back at what has captured our attention this week.
Three children in five years and a house to manage meant that multi-tasking, when possible, was often my goal. In other words, I would try to “kill two birds with one stone.” After one of my darling, sensitive children pointed out how cruel that sounded, our family shorthand became “doing the bird thing.”
I love this water bottle. Like gloves, I used to lose these things easily. This one, however, which travels with me everywhere, has stayed by my side since August, 2022, when I visited my daughter in England and saw a play at the Globe Theatre! It is a visual reminder that I have gotten better about hanging on to my belongings, and it also reminds me of possibly the best vacation I’ve ever had. “Doing the bird thing.” – Maria
Does your family have any shorthand that you use among yourselves?
These are my utensils. I love them. They are the perfect shape, size, weight, design. The are practically perfect. I bought two sets of 4 place settings. Foolish to not have bought more. I bought them at this store, but they no longer sell them and as is the way with your favourite socks, some of the pieces have gone missing.
What I appreciate most is the minimalist design, the smooth, round feeling beneath my hands, the curve of the handle and the weight. Whoever designed this line of utensils understood both form and function.
Dear Debbie Travis, please bring back your utensils. They are perfection. And I want more. – Cris
Are you starting to see a pattern? Clearly, I love green and scarves. I don’t remember how all of them entered my life, but the top left one is from a long weekend break my sister and I took about 10 years ago to Ottawa. One of the highlights was a visit to the National Art Gallery, especially the Van Gogh exhibit.
These are some of my scarves, against a backdrop of a green blind, curtain and headboard. My walls used to be green, but my sometime fashion consultant, aka my daughter, advised me that maybe green was beginning to overwhelm the house. Better to cut back a little and let some other colours share the space. – Maria
What is the main colour in your surroundings? Do you think walls should be a neutral colour? or not?
Never trust anyone who does not show up without a book.
Lemony snicket
These days I rarely go anywhere without bringing a book with me. I read on the subway, at my mother’s house, on the balcony, in the car, at the beach or on the bus. I love slipping away into the world of the novel.
From the time I started to read, until I was in my late ’20s, I always had a book on hand. I stopped reading very much when my kids were born and for much of the next 20 years, but, starting last year, I have made reading more of a priority.
I use Goodreads as a tool to document what books I’ve read during the year. I have a list of books I want to read and hope to get to one day, but I don’t let that dictate what I read next. Sometimes I’ll look at my bookshelf and find something, to read, while other times I find something interesting at the library.
I just finished reading The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom. The book belongs to one of my children, but was sitting on the coffee table. I loved Tuesdays With Morrie, so I decided to pick it up. I really enjoyed it. It’s about faith and trust and forgiveness. I recommend it.
What are you currently reading? – Cris
Do you recognize him? This is a portrait of Henry VIII when he was 45. It was hanging in the National Gallery in London, England when I visited in 2022. He looks like the kind of person who is used to getting his way. He is extremely important because of the profound changes he brought about to English society: the major ripple effect of ending his first marriage after almost 25 years mainly because their only child who lived beyond childhood was a daughter. I wonder how he would react to knowing that his main claim to fame is that he had six wives, and his daughter, Elizabeth I, whose mother, Anne Boleyn, was beheaded, was arguably England‘s greatest monarch . . . – Maria
Do you like to visit museums? If so, which has been your favourite? Which one would you recommend?
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