Moon, full, tomorrow

Also this:

N. Baker, the prequel.

Here's the Paris Review interview with N. Baker from a few years back. Quirky. And I came across it the other day because the Paris Review had tweeted it, and I very very rarely go on Twitter; maybe I do so once every six months. Another quirk. And I would definitely read The Anthologist before Traveling Sprinkler.

N. Baker

I know, I know. But I love most of his work. Here's a little piece on Salon.com about writing. And the house in the background? A twin to the one I lived in, in western New England. D once shoveled snow out of the attic. And the ghost; well, it didn't like me much but it loved L and D.

The Unthanks

A group new to me, mentioned by Rosanne Cash on a FB post as part of her current playlist this Thanksgiving eve:

Heston

I had thought he was all about translating and reconstructing. Not so, apparently.

La Mer

The original: I'm thinking about Libby Hillman, just to change the subject, and will post about her and her cooking/cookbooks and Le Petit Chef and Betty Hillman later this week. à bientôt

It's

1971 all over again

Today is the Feast of St Bartholomew

This is a fact I know only because I awoke in utter despair this a.m., not wanting to get up. At. All. Life in shreds. Work dismal. Projects uninspiring. And dispiriting. Plus this not paying me in a timely fashion for work done in a timely fashion is as unto a stone pressed upon my very head. Yes, crushing. And not very good for my credit score. Then, I was gripped by a notion that has been riding around in my head (yes, riding seems the correct word) for some time (every since I was there in the 5th grade, frankly). I was gripped by the notion that I have to go to Big Sur, California, as soon as I possibly can. Very soon. I was reading Kaffe Fassett's autobiography and was astounded to discover he grew up in Big Sur and his family still runs the restaurant Nepenthe there. And who could honestly remain comatose in bed, looking at all those colors he brings together? Anyway . . . So off I went into the interwebs, and found all kinds of things at bigsur.org, including a link to a monastery that hosts paying guests in need of solace and quietude. And so it was on its website I discovered that today is the Feast of St Bartholomew Plus I ordered a book, My Nepenthe, by Kaffe Fassett's niece . . . so that's something to look forward to receiving. Tomorrow is indeed another day.

I could have seen her in Northampton, but I didn't. Now I regret it.

Just looking over a few things, and discovered this: Quite a duet.

Unsung here

Elisabeth Luard . . . I suggest you search out her many cookbooks, some of which you can find on Abe.com. A writer of wit and intelligence, strong of will.

Merle Hazard explains the financial situation . . .

in song. Check out his website. His better half has her own website, Mason-Dixon Knitting.

warp/weft

I finally opened up my ancient Harrisville 4 harness, 6 treadle loom, after keeping it closed up for several years in the "living" room, only to discover that the leather strapping harness cables had broken or snapped on two harnesses. Argh. A week of broken things. First my computer screen, then D's laptop's mother board, or whatever it was, necessitating a new monitor for me and a rejuvenated 'new' computer for him. $500+. Not good. Good news is that I can replace these loom cables pretty inexpensively, from WEBS, which was the place I learned to weave (when I lived in Agawam!! so many years ago) and WEBS was still a mom and pop business in a house on a side street in Amherst. Now (or at least the last time I was there), they are in an industrial building in Northampton, on the way to Holyoke.

photo from Harrisville; certainly not me weaving there . . .

Just the thing

to combat the heat: an Advent piece by Byrd. Stile Antico.

Birdland

BBC has the Tweet of the Day, so I thought I'd send it along.

Twitter

About every 6 or 8 months I swoop back into Twitter, but I just can't seem to get the point of it. So many bon mots, so little time (at least on this end). To what end, all this thumb movement on expensive iPhones, Androids, and similar? I don't need to follow a celebrity's peevish rants. I don't have such computer capabilities on my phone. Since I work at home on a desktop, I don't require it, really. When I need directions, I consult a map, install a navigator in the shotgun seat, visit MapQuest, or, simply, call ahead for directions. So no GPS (the guidance system, not the school) for me. Saturday, I was sitting in front of my screen, working away, when suddenly all went black. D consulted Apple, and the technician suggested switching the cable connection on the computer. This solved the problem for half an hour, but then darkness fell again. D went out to WalMart (closest!) for a replacement cable; that didn't do it, so out further afield to test old cable. Turned out to be the monitor, so poorer by about $160.00, but reconnected to my Word files and the wider Internet world. Odd how not too long ago (in the general scheme of things) the computer was a complete mystery, clacking keys and difficult-to-learn almost programing to input anything. I'm on an Elisabeth Luard kick: Sacred Food; Classic French Cooking; etc. Also trying (again) to create a sourdough starter using a recipe in Diana Henry's Gastropub cookbook (the second one) but I'm not hopeful.

Diaries

I picked Joan Wyndham's Love Lessons: A Wartime Diary off the shelf and started to read. This is her diary of being a student-ish person in wartime London. A very fresh voice from so long ago. I recommend searching out a copy. Then a FB friend pointed out that Rumer Godden's books are being republished by Virago. Greengage Summer, Kingfishers Catch Fire . . . Which made me remember Persephone Books, a great (re)publisher of forgotten or underappreciated women writers/books. Great cover/interior designs. I saw Few Eggs and No Oranges, another wartime diary, which I will save to buy. Persephone also publishes Etty Hillesum's wartime diaries. I recommend reading what she had to say. Glasses frames need major adjustment, in case you're wondering. Will be dropping in there tomorrow.

hello

Finally picked up my glasses today; had been putting if off because of the expense. Infuriatingly, they still need an adjustment. Eye guy blaming my cataract. Hmmm. I read in an afternoon Thea Goodman's The Sunshine When She's Gone. I liked it enough (so much?) that I went to her website, where she lists some books she especially likes. So I got A.M. Homes's May We Be Forgiven, which is so quirky and well written that I went to HER website and found this little link of her talking about writing: Now I am going on an A.M. Homes marathon, I think.

Cricket & Snail

I may see them perform tomorrow.

Photos?

L dropped and broker her camera almost upon arriving in Paris, so her blog hasn't been really up and attem. However, funds were finally funneled to her for purchase of replacement, so watch her blog. I know I will be.

Hey

happy Spring! we are unexpectedly having a fire here in the fireplace.

I just received my information on Crown Point Road in Shrewsbury:

The Crown Point Road: An Introduction Across the state of Vermont a chain of markers stretches from the banks of the Connecticut River to the shore of Lake Champlain. Erected at different times, by different people, and made of different materials - granite, marble, stone, wood, metal - the markers have one thing in common; they mark the route of the old Crown Point Military Road. Built in 1759-60, during the French and Indian War, the Crown Point Road was of great importance in the early history of Vermont. It was ordered constructed by General Jeffrey Amherst following his capture of the French forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Its purpose was to connect the great stone fortress at Crown Point, then being built, with Fort No. 4, now Charlestown, New Hampshire. There was a suitable branch nearly straight west to Fort Ticonderoga. This military road was of prime importance in the plans of General Amherst. The new fort at Crown Point was to be a strong point in the defense [and future development] of the colonies, and a jumping-off point in the campaign against the French in Canada. The new road to No. 4, then the northernmost outpost in the Connecticut River valley, would serve to bring much needed supplies to the fort at Crown Point, as well as troops from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The road, though a poor one by today’s standards, was built well enough to serve its purpose. Portions of the road were graded, trees were cut, stumps removed, bridges and causeways were built, and corduroy sections were laid in swampy areas. Over this road, in the 1760 campaign, passed Colonial troops with supplies, munitions, cattle and sheep for the support of the army at Crown Point. The Crown Point Road was again used for military purposes during the Revolution when troops and supplies were sent over the road from Fort No. 4 to support the American position at Ticonderoga. But perhaps the road’s most lasting contribution to Vermont’s history was its use by settlers in the period between the French and Indian War and the Revolution. The road opened a large area of Vermont for settlement and, with the defeat of the French and the lessening danger from Indian raids, settlers were soon traveling the Crown Point Road and building their homes in the valleys and on the hillsides of Vermont. The Crown Point Road of today has changed greatly. Much of the road has disappeared entirely, reclaimed by the forest. Other parts have been plowed under or bulldozed away to meet the needs of the expanding population of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Some sections of the road are marked and can be followed as trails, while other sections are barely discernible paths through the woods, marked only by the lilac-fringed cellar holes and stone walls of abandoned farms. A few short stretches of the old military road are still in use as town roads. Written by: Martin J. Howe, First President of the CPRA

I'm glad I'm a member. If any of you can make it to one of the organization's outings, I would suggest it