lately.

i spent the better part of saturday afternoon and evening and sunday morning and afternoon reading the hunger games.  while it is a teen fiction, it's incredibly well written, and an extremely interesting exploration of good and evil, and of redemption. i heartily recommend it. 

on another note, i had this sicilian orange today. it is without a doubt or an exaggeration, the single best orange i've ever eaten. i'm glad i took a picture of it. 

i've been podcast crazy at the moment. radiolab has been overwhelmingly good recently.

and i did my first spin class in more than eight months - it felt good to move again, to have my heart pound so hard against my chest it felt it would explode, to pour sweat, to feel the energy again.

i must finish with the single best recipe i've found in a long time. le boy is in love with this dish. skinny enchiladas...oh. my. word.

the act of remembrance.

They shall grow not old,

as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them,

nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun

and in the morning

We will remember them.

This was my brother

This was my brother
At Dieppe
Quietly a hero
Who gave his life
Like a gift,
Withholding nothing.

His youth...his love...
His enjoyment of being alive...
His future, like a book
With half the pages still uncut –

This was my brother
At Dieppe -
The one who built me a doll house
When I was seven,
Complete to the last small picture frame,
Nothing forgotten.

He was awfully good at fixing things,
At stepping into the breach when he was needed.
That’s what he did at Dieppe;
He was needed.
And even Death must have been a little shamed
At his eagerness!

- Mona Gould

{a repost from the archives, food friday will return next week}

remember.

This was my brother

This was my brother
At Dieppe
Quietly a hero
Who gave his life
Like a gift,
Withholding nothing.

His youth...his love...
His enjoyment of being alive...
His future, like a book
With half the pages still uncut –

This was my brother
At Dieppe -
The one who built me a doll house
When I was seven,
Complete to the last small picture frame,
Nothing forgotten.

He was awfully good at fixing things,
At stepping into the breach when he was needed.
That’s what he did at Dieppe;
He was needed.
And even Death must have been a little shamed
At his eagerness!

- Mona Gould

let the light come in.

or stay out?

my rented room's roller blind was passable at best, but actually it was sad. very, very sad. frayed edges, sun bleaching, years of hands (not mine) pulling up and down. frankly, it was tragic.

but, a fine tutorial from one my favourite blogs: Design*Sponge and i was off to the races.

really, it was easy, taking less than an hour, a series of straight stitching seams and a little RadioLab podcasting to help pass the time. a major change in the room for less than £10!

 

i smile as a i enter my room now. regardless of time - day or night. and the whole thing just brightens my day.