It should I suppose become tiresome to repeat the same thing day after day but it does not. I am too much like an old dog for that to bother me. Besides there is an element of healthfulness to the routine which saves it. No matter how long we linger over coffee, breakfast and our computers every morning, by noon or slightly later we’re eager to get on our bicycles for fresh air and exercise.
Little Ingrid and her younger brother, Sven, live with their mother and father in Lapland. It is very far north where there is a great deal of snow, powdered mountains of snow on the roofs of the houses, on the boughs of the trees and rising high from the valleys of the walkways and drives. Once there was so much snow they had to go to church through the steeple! Lapland is in the geographical region of Fennoscandia within Northern Europe, comprising Norway, Sweden, Finland and parts of Russia. In Lapland the dark winter evenings come quickly as the sun drops below the horizon at 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon and does not reappear through the crystallized frozen sky until ten o’clock the following morning. Until then the welkin is a cobalt blue dome ornamented with millions of glinting stars. Sometimes the sky is so clear and the moon so bright that the snow on the ground below sparkles like a flawless carpet of diamonds. You may know Lapland best as the place reindeer inhabit. Of course there’s no proof that Rudolph, Santa’s famous Christmas Eve red-nosed guide, is from Lapland but it is virtually assured. Continue reading
Full Definition of GRITTY
1. containing or resembling grit
2. courageously persistent : plucky <a gritty heroine>
3. having strong qualities of tough uncompromising realism <a gritty novel>
The business of “finding one’s voice” is customarily associated with the plight of a literary author; however I suspect it is ultimately the preoccupation of any one of us if we want to achieve personal importance and lasting value. Continue reading
“What day is it?”
It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.
My favorite day,” said Pooh.”
― A.A. Milne Continue reading
My head has been awash today with distracting thoughts and atypical reminiscences. I’ve contemplated – or rather I should say, I’ve cogitated on – murder, suicide, death and religion, admittedly a peculiar agenda. This is especially curious as I spent the day blissfully cycling on the beach in the sunshine.
The velvet fog which obscured the early morning view of the Sound signalled we were in for some warm air. By ten o’clock the soft grey mist had burned off, revealing a cerulean sky and a yellow orb. The waters glittered. Continue reading
I have re-instituted the habit I formed a year ago when we were on Hilton Head Island; namely, laying in bed until as late as 9:30 a.m. Granted the extension of my wake-up time has occurred gradually as I have contemporaneously begun staying up later and later at night, often until 11:30 p.m. or after midnight instead of hitting the hay by 10:00 o’clock at night as I had been doing for some time. One reason for the difference is that I have set up my keyboard here and I play it late at night. That always gets me wound up. Frankly for most of my adult life it was my routine to go to bed late anyway. I could never bring myself to go to bed any sooner. I had to run myself into the ground before I’d succumb to the iniquity of sleep. Besides the reality was I would sleep better if I were tired even if it meant I slept less. When I was working I always got out of bed by no later than 7:00 a.m. no matter when I went to bed; and when I had my little French bulldog I got up even earlier so I had the time to take care of his needs before taking care of my own. Those days are now gone. No more work. No more little dog. Continue reading
I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. I believe the equality of man, and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy. But, lest it should be supposed that I believe many other things in addition to these, I shall, in the progress of this work, declare the things I do not believe, and my reasons for not believing them. Continue reading
We knew of course to expect some rain today. We could see it on the horizon. The dreary clouds were a marked departure from what had been weeks of blue skies and yellow sunshine. Continue reading
We have apparently fallen victim to another addiction – food! Perhaps it started yesterday when we succumbed to Sea Shack for lunch. Or maybe it was days ago when I spied a pecan pie at Fresh Market. Whatever the proximate cause, restraint went to Hell in a handbag today! The effect was similar to that “one drink” when falling off the wagon. When for example we cycled this morning to Fifth Avenue Salon to check the place out in anticipation of my hair appointment this afternoon, we ended by detouring to Sea Shack for lunch. No doubt the indulgence whet my appetite because later this afternoon when I went to T.J. Maxx to buy a cheap little bathroom mirror (and I mean cheap, and really ugly – pink with rhinestones), I diverted my mission to Whole Foods Market to “inspect” their bakery department. I believe they make their own stuff so that was the impetus to “test” the Cayenne Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies. And – oh, yes – the pecan pie. Had I mentioned pecan pie? Continue reading
