Notes from my kitchen table....
From my kitchen table to yours…
Hello!
I would like to say welcome to my new subscribers…and to those of you who have come along to say hello, it’s so lovely to have you here again, welcome back!
I am writing from my kitchen table today, the first of a “coffee and a chat” series, written from different spaces around our home and gardens. This is what you do when you need to think outside the box in the time of a pandemic, you look for ways to appreciate your living space in unusual ways.
The house is quiet at the moment with the exception of little excited whimpers from our dog, Tani, who desperately wants to go outside and chase the birds diving back and forth from our birdfeeder to a neighboring tree. A cheeky cardinal likes to taunt Tani, knowing dog’s can’t fly…although Tani seems to think he can. His window to the world is a fascinating one, so I thought I would hang out a little longer…and write to you. First, let me pour a cup of coffee.
Book Lovers…
No surprise, chatting with me invariably lead to books. Have you read any good ones lately? I have a few books going at the moment Wanderlust by Rebecca Solnit, A Wood of One’s Own by Ruth Pavey and In The Kitchen—Essays on Food and Life by Nina Mingya Powles . They are all “steady as she goes type” of reading, a chapter here and there and I am enjoying them all. Walking, Nature and Food..that about sums up life on Tahilla Farm. J
I am in the mood for a page turner for our cold days by the fire…any suggestions? We have a big winter storm coming up, the timing is perfect.
I set myself a Goodreads reading challenge this year of 40 books, last year I read 38 to a goal of 35. As of today, I am on track…lets’ see if reading 3-4 books at a time works or not.
I blame this on Slightly Foxed, do you know it? It is an independent-minded literary magazine based in Hoxton Square, London. They feature books that are timeless, ones that might have been forgotten but have lasting appeal. I started with the podcasts and have become so enamored…more like obsessed, that I am on a mission to listen to two years worth of podcasts, all 27 of them. I wish they counted as reading a book.
If you listen to the podcast, you will hear creators--Gail Pirkis, Hazel Wood and Steph Allen interview guests about books from their kitchen table along with background sounds from a few dogs, cats and the builders next door. It just makes me smile…and inspired me to write today.
Intrigued? Check out their website and enjoy!
BookCrossing and the Little Free Library
Bookcrossing
A few years ago I clipped a charming article from a Sunday newspaper, Good Weekend, in Australia. The author, Alisa Piper, wrote about finding a clear plastic bag randomly tucked into a traffic sign on a street corner in Paris. Standing on tiptoe she looked at it more closely and saw that it was a book. She opened the bag to discover a pristine copy of a novel written by a writer, Nicolas Fargues. The title of the book made her gasp, “Tu Verras” “You will see”.
She took it as a sign ( I love signs) to… “Slow down. Be in the world. Look.”
Inside the book was a sticker, a cartoon of a little yellow book hurrying across the street and at the bottom, a web address for www.bookcrossing.com
Another sticker place under it had a number and a message saying the book had been left to find a new reader. It instructed her to go to the website to find out who had left the book for her to find.
I LOVE this idea….it has a Brown Paper Book Club feel to it, sending books wrapped in brown paper to book lovers…with the hopes they will pass it on.
Yesterday, I signed up for BookCrossings and will receive stickers of the little yellow book hurrying across the street. I can’t wait to get started!
Little Free Library..
I have come across a few Little Free Libraries in my travels and have always wanted to host my own. It is a natural spot for a Bookcrossing book and when the time is right again, it will be a great way to connect with neighbors. I took advantage of the map on the site to see where the closest free libraries are to me. I was surprised to see we have one just up the road. As soon as my Bookcrossing stickers arrive, I will add a book to it!
More book talk…
The latest catalogue from John Sandoe Books in London is out, it’s a great site if you are searching book ideas for yourself or for a gift. When life returns to normal and you are next in London (I like to think positively) this is a gem of a book store. Plan to browse for a while…it is that good.
I highly recommend shopping local wherever you live in the world, in the USA, Indie Bound books allows you to do just that. Just plug in your post code and your local stores will pop up.
I recently updated The Brown Paper Book Club on my blog, you will find a few book suggestions there as well.
This is cool! PastBooks
My friend Diana suggested I look into PastBooks and compile my 2020 Instagram photos into a book. So I did. It arrived the other day and it’s better than I could have imagined. It is filled with each and every photo I posted on Instagram along with the date and the first few lines of each post. Seeing Tahilla Farm through the seasons and remembering the Tani puppy tales has been a lot of fun.
Life in the woods these days…
One second…going to top off that coffee!
Our corner of the world has been pretty quiet. So far, knock on wood, we have stayed Covid free. There are days when I feel we are living the life of recluses in the back woods of New Hampshire…because we are. A bonus was having our kids home, working remotely for months at a time. As of today, we are back to three; Tani, me and Mr. H. I am making the beds and setting out towels in all the kids bedrooms (four)…because you just never know these days.
Mr. H hit his one year retirement anniversary last month. At the beginning of 2020, we nicknamed ourselves Eddie and Eva after the characters in the 1960’s American TV show Green Acres. We rocked up to a local farm equipment business to talk about chainsaws and utility vehicles as if we were going in to buy a kitchen appliance. Knowing nothing about either, we asked a lot of basic questions. I guess their average customer has a pretty good base knowledge of equipment so it was no surprise when we got that “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” kind of look from the salesperson. We left with one chainsaw and have yet to return, vowing to bring along a well versed friend in farm equipment when we do. That may be coming up soon. Mr. H started to talk about tractors yesterday.
The Hero Pocket and Your Inner Warrior
Mr. H mentioned the idea of building a home gym a few months ago. I broke out in a sweat when he said it. One house, a barn and a carriage house is enough construction for me thank you very much. I suggested we start out with an exercise bike and see how we go from there.
Enter Peloton and the world of fun loving enthusiastic instructors and classes to inspire and motivate. We bought it last November and it arrived two weeks ago. We are getting in the groove, each peddling away and exercising to our own routines in our own time.
I have to say…it’s been a blessing and surprisingly fun. I never thought I would associate fun with a stationary exercise bike…but I am. Mr. H started talking about putting his cycling accomplishments in his Hero Pocket, something his instructor told him to do at the end of a ride. I burst out laughing and am still laughing. I made him promise he will not mention the Hero Pocket when he goes shopping for a tractor! Just in case, I am staying home!
And that’s two cups of coffee for me and the latest from Tahilla Farm. Here I am yakking away as I usually do. What’s new with you? 😁Any questions for me for our next chat? Many of you are new to Collage of Life, please feel free to ask a question. I will save them for my next coffee chat and answer them. If there is something you would like to see more of or less of with Collage of Life…please let me know. You can leave a comment or write to me here
Until then, take care, stay healthy and think curiously!
Jeanne xx
