Anniversary

“My life closed twice before its close It yet remains to see If Immortality unveil A third event to me. So huge, so hopeless to foresee As those that twice befell- Parting is all we know of Heaven, And all we need of Hell. “—Emily Dickinson The first was that January 8 years ago, when … Continue reading Anniversary →

I Never Liked It…

..the New Year holiday, that is. I’m flashin’ back to a time before I could even write, had no clue ever what date it was, or even what a date was…..I knew when summer was here, and I knew when Christmas was coming, and always, sadly, when it was OVER. Saddest time of the year. … Continue reading I Never Liked It… →

A Song in the Air

I’m wakey early on this good Christmas morn. I reckon Simon will just be sitting down (or lying down😜) to his Christmas feast, halfway around the world, and for some members of our far-flung readership, the day may be over already. I never could grok the international dateline thing. But here in NEPA the eastern … Continue reading A Song in the Air →

I’ll Be Seine Ya!

…Soon now, all of you, I hope!🎄🎄🎄 Today was our last taste of the vie Parisienne. We started at the Marché de Noel d’Alsace at Gare de l’Est, then walked all the way down Boulevard Sebastopol to Place St. Michel, and had lunch at Au Bon Couscous, Rue Xavier Privias. Lamb and merguez, and we … Continue reading I’ll Be Seine Ya! →

Mis En Seine

My kind husband woke me at 7 this morning —with coffee!—so I could see our departure from Rouen. It was pitch dark then; now I’m sitting by our picture window at the stern, watching the heavily wooded banks of the Seine, their white limestone cliffs, slide by as we head for Les Andelys.(The limestone is … Continue reading Mis En Seine →

Caux Conspirators

Caux (kō, as you know) is what this region of Normandy is called. We’re in a town called Caudebec, only has about 2500 people, but lots of festively decorated shops and a splendid Gothic church , which miraculously was spared the German bombs—even its oldest stained glass, which fortunately had been shipped off to Provence … Continue reading Caux Conspirators →

Love of Monet

Thick fog on the Seine last night: twice when I woke it was like being in a plane, I couldn’t see anything outside our windows. When we woke up we were docked at Vernon. This town is across the river from Giverny. Monet couldn’t afford the rent in Vernon so he stayed over there. Look … Continue reading Love of Monet →

French Letter

We arrived yesterday and all we managed to do was stroll up to the Eiffel Tower. We were docked very close to it. You now have to go thru, like, airport security before you can enter the immediate environs, although it’s difficult to imagine what you could bring in on your person that could damage the … Continue reading French Letter →

My Fave Advent Poem

“Softnesse, and peace, and joy, and love, and blisse, Exalted manna, gladnesse of the best, Heaven in ordinarie, man well-drest, The Milkie Way, the bird of Paradise, Church bells among the stars heard, the soul’s bloud, The land of spices; something understood.” These lines, dorm George Herbert’s poem Prayer, are of course not about Advent, … Continue reading My Fave Advent Poem →