THERE is a word in Greek—meraki, (pronounced may-rah-key) that translates to “essence of yourself.” There is no English equivalent, but it means doing something with soul, creativity, or love; to put something of yourself into your work.
IT WAS A chilly, rainy, blustery weekend and we’ve become very disenchanted with winter now. It’s true that the longer days make everything a little better, but it still feels like spring is a long way off, despite all the pink magnolia buds on the trees and beautiful falling cherry blossoms.
THIS WEEKEND we made it out to the riverside pub that is our favourite summertime place. Saturday was a warm spring-like day, so we were able to sit outside, although not for long, as it began to cool down around 4:00 pm. Before the pub, we stopped in at a patisserie that’s well-known in the area and picked up a delicious strawberry custard tart...
ON FRIDAY P brought home a box of fortune cookies he found at the supermarket in celebration of the Lunar New Year. Neither of us is entirely certain of all the traditions associated with this celebration, but according to the Chinese zodiac, this is his year.
ON FRIDAY afternoon, met with Anna, my new hairstylist (no, Eugen did not work out) for a maintenance cut to trim away all the dry and split ends (winter) and add some shape and layers back in. On Saturday we ate cake and drank wine and on Sunday afternoon, we stopped for some oysters and a glass of English sparkling
LAST WEEK, we stopped by the Tate Modern for a brief visit. Long enough to view a Klein, a few Lichtensteins, and a Modigliani. We prefer the Tate Britain, but we hadn't been to the Modern yet, so it was time.
Have a puzzle mindset—really resonated. It goes something like this: Rather than viewing the problems we face in the world (either individually or collectively) as crises, which can cause us to feel despair, seeing them—whether financial, environmental, health-related, or political—as puzzles can help us to think about new approaches to solving them...
TODAY, the third Monday of January, has come to be known in the UK as "Blue Monday", the most depressing day of the year. The idea originated in 2005 via a press release issued by a travel company. Using a formula accounting for factors like weather, debt, post-holiday gloom, failed resolutions, low motivation, and the need for change, they calculated this date to be the saddest day of the year.
IT WAS a beautiful sunny day in late December when we stopped by The Orange gastro pub, an historical gem nestled in the heart of Belgravia. Thought to be named after William of Orange, its origins trace back to the 1800s when it was originally established as a brewery on the grounds of a former coffee house.
YES, I KNOW, the holidays are over, and we (sadly) took down the tree yesterday and all the lights, but there are still so many beautiful photos we took in the past month that just didn’t think it would be right not to share them.
HELLO again and Happy New Year! After unintentionally taking off more time than had planned (and missing two Weekend Links in the process), it’s good to be back. Did stop in briefly on New Year’s Day to share my resolutions for 2024, but other than that, for the most part of the past four or so weeks, we’ve been on holiday, which is extremely rare.
THERE ARE many ways to measure time – by years and by minutes, by months and by days. Perhaps with each falling second, or the small everyday moments as they unfold, or big once-in-a-lifetime events of grand importance. Perhaps time is marked by a first kiss, or the first time you knew you loved someone; or the anniversary of an important milestone, maybe even with that person.
LAST WEEK I read an article about a couple who had such trouble staying offline when they wanted to be, that they did the most drastic thing they could think of: they disconnected their internet. They had a landline installed to make calls, and used the Yellow Pages to look up telephone numbers.
BETELGEUSE, the red supergiant star in the shoulder of the constellation Orion, will disappear from the sky briefly tonight, at 8:17 p.m. EST in what scientists are calling a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. An asteroid called 319 Leona will pass in front of Betelgeuse and block its light for a few seconds as a shadow falls across Earth’s surface.
OUR FIRST Christmas film this year wasn't actually one of our usual old favourites (Christmas Vacation for P, The Holiday for me⏤although we've seen them both so much now that we mainly put them on as background ambience), but The Holdovers...
