Love Notes

How is it possibly Labo(u)r Day?   Shakespeare knows, "Summer's lease hath all too short a date."  

As we begin to enter the slow windy curve which chauffeurs us into fall, I think at least some of us are excited - soon we can wear boots and cashmere sweaters on a daily basis!    Scents of the harvest will beckon from the kitchen - roasted delicata squash, baked apples and hearty autumn soups.   Evenings by the fire pit await, along with crisp nights sleeping with the windows wide open.    READ MORE

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"One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats"
Iris Murdoch

'Nough said. 

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One of my favorite summer memories is from a late afternoon in July, about five years back.  It was a blue bird sky day, and I was sitting on a beach on Martha's Vineyard, with my dear friend Beth and her husband.  My flight back to Washington was taking off around 7:00 that evening, and I was dreading leaving what might go down as one of the best beach days of the summer.    Worse still would be dragging my favorites hosts off the beach early, in order for me to take a shower before heading to the airport.    Gazing out towards the few remaining swimmers, a little voice popped into my head, inadvertently channelling my ten year old self, "So what if you don't take a shower before your flight?  What would be so bad that would happen then?"     READ MORE

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This weekend, I am thinking of some of my favorite people in life, and I've noticed they share a few traits:

warmth
wit
a spirit of giving
a zest for life

Having already started on an ornithological theme for this morning's note, I got to considering the expression "a rare bird", turning it over in my mind like a pebble in my hand.   READ MORE

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Who remembers doing this?  It sort of embodies youthful carefree days of  summer.   I'd like to have some of that chuztpah back.  (I had to look up the spelling on that one; no idea it started with a "c").   This weekend, I got to thinking about summer camps.   Camp can be a place where young people get to try on a new persona with a blank slate behind them.   Or it certainly seems to work that way in lots of novels.  READ MORE

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