Congratulations Your Majesty!

Official Diamond Jubilee Portrait

It's a funny thing but apparently if one is frantic busy  and never has time to watch the world news, let alone the BBC world news, you miss what's going on in the world. When my brilliant friend sent me a copy of the Daily Telegraph for February 18th, I realized that one's monarch had recently (February 6th) celebrated the date when 60 years ago she took the reigns of our kingdom upon the death of her father, Colin Firth (not really).

I believe that the hoopla that celebrates this epoch making event will take place on June 5-8 but it seemed a shame to me not to recognize the real date right here, even post de facto!

It was a really strange feeling to read an English newspaper though. I can't say that I have read an English newspaper in 13 years, or since I arrived here. I was blown away by how intelligently it was written (apologies for implied criticism of Austin American Statesman) and how much of a cultural nature I am missing out on by my mourned lack of proximity to London. Theater, galleries, museum collections, public lectures. Wow. I am impoverished by my inability to see any of them. But...who am I kidding? I work full time, drive 3 hours every day and have 3 children...AND as I have already told you, I don't have time to watch any news so it's highly unlikely that I would have time to do any of the cultural things I miss even if I was living in Bloomsbury with all of it on my doorstep!

So...I will continue to be virtually cultured and live it vicariously through the Internet and other publications. It's all good!

Off to a State Latin convention in San Antonio today after practicing for it for 3 months. Can't wait (for it to be over.)

next blog, I think we'll go royal! I've a renewed interest in the monarchy!

Not quite Jan Constantine!

The Countdown has begun!

Spring is here. In fact, Spring Break has been and gone, but the light of the summer is on the horizon and with that comes for me a new venture, one that gives me a sense of relief and hope and endless possibility - but one that I am oh so annoyingly not permitted to blog about just yet. I will reveal this great mystery just as soon as I can! You will hear it here first and just be assured that at last it will allow me more time to write.

Traditionally Spring Break seems to make me feel more English. Perhaps this is because the weather seems so much gentler and more akin to what we experience in the U.K. or maybe it is simply that I have more time to do things that interest me and they are often to do with my heritage country.

So, in terms of baking it was a luscious golden fruit cake that filled the house with a rich fruity aroma that had the kids all running to the kitchen to see what they could scrounge. Then there was a very tasty leek and potato soup and a shepherd's pie. I don't really like making shepherd's pie because it never takes me less than an hour to go through all that peeling and chopping, but my middle offspring loves it and I'm too frazzled to make it during the school year.

In terms of reading I was captivated by C.J. Sansom's 'Sovereign', a murder mystery set in Tudor England. I've never really been a big fan of the Tudor period. It's so harsh and dark and I grew up a stone's throw from the Ann of Cleve's House in East Sussex which had a horrible spooky atmosphere that just compounded everything I sensed or knew about that time of history, but Sansom's hero, an unlikely, hunchbacked lawyer was plausible and compelling and I found myself sucked in to the plot. In fact I will go on Amazon after this blog post and try to get a used one cent copy of another of his books!

Another book I picked up at Hobby Lobby was Jan Constantine's 'For the Love of Hand Stitching', a beautiful, slightly (who am I kidding, completely) above my level of ability embroidery and applique book. It has been a lot of fun to resurrect sewing skills learned at my rarified private girls school! My first two offspring were gung-ho about learning this art and creating some of the gorgeous projects in this book. Sadly their enthusiasm lasted as long as it took to make their first mistake and now they are back to their previous passtimes which is how I have the time to blog this post :)

 

I'm looking forward to more adventures as the spring blossoms into a highly anticiipated summer....