SUNDAY MORNING was spent on the sofa with a 15-minute sheet mask on, poring over the FT Weekend. There was an interesting article about the concept of time, and how not to waste it by using the time you have now to do at least a little of what you care about, instead of banking on finding time for it in the future. That novel that you always wanted to write? Now is the time.
IN THE SECOND week of May, just after the Bank Holiday, we decided to spend some time back in London. We normally visit several times a year, but since 2020 was the year of the Great Lockdown, the last time we had been was the May previously to meet up with a friend from Spain—it was hot then and perfect for traipsing about. P had heard that there would be a heat wave this time around
Early in 2004, a buoy was released into the waters off Argentina. Half of the buoy was dark and the other light, like a planet in relief. The buoy sailed east, accompanied by the vastness of the ocean and all the life it contains, the long-lived great humpback whales with their complex songs that carry for kilometers, and the short-lived Argentine shortfin squid. Along the way, many thousands of minuscule creatures were colonizing this new surface, which had appeared like a life raft in the open waters of the South Atlantic.
RANDOMLY CAME across a Pinterest board last week entitled "Beautiful Women". The man whose board it was had been diligently collecting busty blondes and me. It was a mildly amusing, slightly strange discovery to say the least. It's the early May bank holiday weekend here, and while we're being more lounge-y than normal for a Monday, we're back at work for at least part of the day ...
A CLOSE FRIEND recently remarked that she was low on energy, inspiration, everything. I brought it up to P who wondered, Do you think that maybe it's late-stage pandemic? He said that he was reading an article about how when we were in the height of lockdown, we accepted it and could mentally cope, but now that vaccines have been rolled out and it feels like we're nearing the end of lockdown life, we're remembering what life used to be like and it seems so very nearly within reach ...
BEING ONE WHO tends to overdue things, I thought that to make the best of this lockdown, I could use this time to begin writing a book, or learn another language, but these ambitious goals might be easier to reach if one weren’t in a constant state of anxiety due to the current state of the world.
OUR LONGSTANDING LOVE affair with the little white dress always goes into overdrive at this time of year. When long summer days are so near, one can't help but dream about this magical season, our favourite. We're looking forward to countryside picnics and morning walks along the shore, early evening dinners on the terrace by fairy lights and the sound of chirping crickets, all of course, in a favourite little white dress...
IN THE MIDDLE of an actual hardcover book (after a long series already this year), but on a whim, decided to pick up the new Amazon Kindle Paperwhite this weekend, despite being an analog sort who still loves the feel of actual pages to turn and still uses notebooks and a pen everyday for to-do lists.
Call this their couples’ therapy trilogy. From Lemonade to 4:44 to Everything Is Love, Beyoncé and JAY-Z have taken us through their (apparent) conflict, resolution, and reconciliation as lovers. Though their narrative has been carefully curated and packaged for our consumption, the themes are nonetheless universal: Love and marriage are not easy, a bond between lovers will be tested, and the reward for surviving those turbulent moments is a stronger union.
THIS WEEKEND had moments of bliss: there was the tennis, insanely beautiful weather, glasses of wine at old favourite places, and most of all, time to spend together; these moments, however, were punctuated by pure dreadfulness. At some point last week, must have somehow caught what had thought was an innocuous (albeit poorly timed) summer cold, but in actuality turned out to be a most unpleasant chest infection...