A List to Feed Your Soul
Hello from the woods of New Hampshire!
Some of you might have wondered if Mr. H and I took off for a destination unknown, off to the next expat assignment. It has been a while since my last newsletter. I am happy to report we are still here, keeping it real at Tahilla Farm. Life has taken a few twists and turns, as it does, I reckon it is all part of growing up, and am heartened to feel that in our 60’s we are still learning. I am writing to you today, with a few things that feed my soul and hopefully yours too! The kind that inspire and entertain. But first, I would like to mention the photo above, taken by my lovely and talented friend, Christine Harris. We were sitting in my studio, catching up on life one-weekend last fall when she grabbed her camera. We laughed a lot, the kind that spills into a fit of giggles. This photo reminds me of the things that feed my soul, the company of good friends.
What I am loving these days…
For Book Lovers: I just finished Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May and enjoyed it as much as her last book, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. She feels deeply in the restorative properties of the natural world. Lest we forget, she reminds us. I read I Am An Island by Tamsin Calidas, about her experience living on a remote island in the wilds of the Scottish Hebrides and was in awe of her grit and determination. It is one of those books that sits with you and lingers. Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro is an another book that spoke to me, it is powerful and soulful, written by a master storyteller. I loved it! For more book ideas, visit The Brown Paper Book Club at Tahilla Farm.
Film and TV: Mr. H and I enjoy our winter evening TV time, it is hard not to when you subscribe to nearly every streaming service on offer. We quit one service to sign up for another and before we knew it we subscribed to two more. I gave up on the math long ago. We enjoy the international world of crime drama. I relish surprise plot twists, especially when a cast of characters are involved. When my dreams start to take a Nordic noir twist, waking at the faintest sound, I know it’s time to take a break from sleuthing. I was recently enchanted by a French film, The Rosemaker ( La fine fleur) and am happy to say I slept well that night. The movie will fill your flowering French soul. Don’t be surprised if you run out to buy roses shortly after or decide to move to France. Another charming one, is a British film, Love Sarah. If you ever thought it would be fun to open a little bakery in London and fill it with sweet love, this is a movie for you. Many of you will recognize Celia Imrie from Calendar Girls, which reminds me, it’s time to watch Calendar Girls again! Girls movie night anyone?
Spring Garden: It’s snowing outside and a winter storm is brewing. You might say it’s a little early to jump into gardening gear but that doesn’t stop me from dreaming. Daylight Savings is upon us and the first day of Spring is ten days away. Mr. H is eager for the snow to melt to see his latest spring bulb plantings. In 2020, a few months into retirement, he surprised me by planting 1000 bulbs around the property. His only instruction was not to look as he planted them. I have to admit, it was a gorgeous surprise and a lot of fun to see sweeps of snowdrops and brightly colored daffodils popping up in the spring. Two years later, he was still planting, now taking pride in planting 5000 bulbs since he exchanged his international business career for that of a budding gardener and woodsman. I had to laugh when he said this might be his last year planting bulbs. I reminded him he said the same thing last year. Either way, I anticipate an exceptional bulb showing in a few weeks time. Fingers crossed that little critters haven’t made a meal of them over the winter! Such is the life of a gardener. If you are feeling the gardening bug, I highly recommend the book, Grow and Gather, by Grace Alexander. An English country gardener at Malus Farm in Somerset, England, Grace guides you on intentional gardening, allowing for a deeper connection to your garden and yourself. I also enjoy her website and membership to Gather.
Heartbeat of Home: One of the things I enjoy most about winter is the chance to lean into the stillness of home. This winter I slipped back into the past, into travel journals, photographs and my blog archives, to guide me on a writing project. Long snowy walks and time reading gave me an opportunity to process the years and miles of our life. I often wonder if it is an “age thing” when you hit that mid-decade milestone and start to think in five and ten year increments. All of a sudden life feels like it is moving quickly. I waver between bracing myself and jumping right in. For now, I plan to swim into my soulful pondering, to let nature guide me and a write a couple of essays along the way.
I enjoy listening to podcasts while I walk, here a few of my recent favorites.
The Kim Klassen Podcast on journal writing
The Nutrition Couch- on eating habits
Chat 10 Looks 3 interview: Australian author, Helen Garner
Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books interview: American author, Dani Shapiro
Everything Happens interview: American author, Liz Gilbert
How We Live Now with Katherine May interview: Priya Parker on gathering well
Dog love: Jimmy Stewart wrote a lovely poem for his dog Beau, I recommend having a tissue at hand when you view it. It will make you want to cherish your pet even more. Our soulful English Springer Spaniel pup, “Tani,” fills our hearts with equal measures of love. He rules the roost just as much today as the day he arrived three years ago. Since then, several dogs have joined the family tree. “Roo,” an Australian Labradoodle lives in Manhattan with our daughter, Christine. A big bundle of energy, Tani loves playing with Roo. In two weeks, a seven week old springer puppy, “Zuni,” will be coming into the Henriques fold with our daughter, Claire. We can’t wait to meet Zuni! You can see her in the photos above being held between two hands. Tani also enjoys visits from “Winston,” his NYC springer spaniel cousin. He is a sweetheart. Life is full when all the dogs visit at the same time. We are grateful for the freedom the dogs have to run and play outside. They feed our dog loving souls everyday.
How about you? Any pets filling your heart with love?
Thank you!
It is so nice to be writing again, thinking of the many faces and names that have been in and out of my blogging life over the years. I see many of you over on Instagram and always enjoy saying hello. If you managed to read this far along, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being here.
I would love to know if anything in this blog post resonated with you. Please feel free to leave me a comment or write to me.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
Jeanne xx
“A single rose can be my garden;
a single friend, my world.”
– Leo Buscaglia.
