All Purls. No Swine.
Tradition has it that, on April 23 in AD 303, a young and promising Roman soldier in the army of the Emperor Diocletian was beheaded after gruesome torture, and died professing his Christian faith to the end. Very little is known of his life, but it’s believed he was born into a devout Christian family,… Continue reading A Bloody Cross
These words were spoken by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, to the family members of those who perished on September 11, 2001. And I’ve often thought she must have been channeling C.S. Lewis at the time: To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken.… Continue reading “Grief is the price we pay for love”
Thirty-five years ago, Mr. Right and I sold our house in one of Pittsburgh’s lowest-rent districts, moved ourselves into a tent in a field in Washington County, PA, where our prospective new home was nothing more than a hole in the ground, and started to build. I’m sure the neighbors thought we were nuts. Nevertheless,… Continue reading The Snowman Cometh
There surely must be a horticultural corollary to the well-known maxim, generally attributed to Winston Churchill, that “a woman’s skirt should be long enough to cover the subject and short enough to be interesting.” And it has to do with “ground covers,” those low-growing, fast-spreading plants that (one hopes) form an attractive carpet, especially in… Continue reading Covering New Ground
And today, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Member of the Order of Merit, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order upon whom had been conferred the Royal… Continue reading “Just stick me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor”
My grandmother Molly could be a rather stern old lady. She was born when Queen Victoria was still on the throne, on April 16, 1898. She died in 1988, long-lived, like many in my family. If I were to tell you just one thing about Granny, it would be this: She. Never. Gave. In. Every morning… Continue reading On Granny. Oh, and On Chocolate, Too. And a Few Other Things As Well
https://youtu.be/8iwBM_YB1sE David Austin, PBUH (this is the US link; it's originally a UK firm) says that they've been shipped at exactly the right time for planting in my plant hardiness "zone." (My zone number is somewhere between 6A and 6B--worst case indicating that the temperatures in the winter might go down to about -25F, or… Continue reading I’m So Excited–My New Roses Will Be Delivered Tomorrow!
Oh, to be in England, Now that April’s there, And whoever wakes in England Sees, some morning, unaware, That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf, While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough In England – now!! Perhaps it’s the fact that I can’t go to… Continue reading Thoughts of Abroad, From Home
There have been so many posts on the Internet lately, and many more over time, about relations and dynamics between the sexes, the state of Western Civilization, the role of men and women in it, and how soon the handcart we’re all bouncing around in will reach the gates of Hell (not long, FYI), that… Continue reading On Household Relations and the Natural Order of Things
Hey, guess what? My Granny knew what she was talking about! About lots of things actually, but in relation to this post, about only one. She was a great believer, on a stinking hot day (remember, we’re taking about England, so any day on which the temperature goes above 60 degrees Fahrenheit qualifies as scorchio), in… Continue reading Want To Cool Down? Have a Nice Hot Cuppa Cha!