Late Spring

This is my favorite time of year here, yes, even more than the autumn. When the peonies, lilacs, iris, roses, and aliums are in a riot of bloom...I just love it:

A La Maison in Ardmore

Found a little bit of Montreal bistro in Ardmore, PA. We love this place. Polished wood floors, high ceilings, bistro tables, warm tones on the walls, lots of light, and great food. A simple but delicious menu...we've eaten there 3 times in the best few weeks (once for lunch, twice for dinner). Its BYOB which is great. So far? Lamb Shanks on white beans, Fried Soft Shelled Crabs, Escargot, Moules and frites, mesclun salad, pink grouper on ratouille, Cassoulet. All perfect in taste and presentation. Oh and mixed berries with perfect creme and a pot au creme (chocolat with a few raspberries). yum. good service, a bit inexperienced but willing to find the answers quickly...make a point of making a stop at A La Maison. here is their website for more info and address. http://www.alamaisonbistro.com/

Kindle

I have a Kindle2. Never thought I'd want one. Never thought I'd really like it. Wrong on both counts. I decided that the new Kindle (being smaller/thinner and lighter) might make a great travel aid when we take long trips so that I don't have to lug along 15 lbs of books in my suitcase. Then I tried one and discovered that a) you can make the font bigger (great for aging eyes), b) you actually can make annotations on a page (great for book club reading), c) its easier to hold in bed when you are laying down than a really big book, d) you can share e-book purchases between family members with different kindles (as long as they are registered to the same Amazon user), e) it has really good battery life (especially when the wifi is turned of), f) its really light weight and, g) important for traveling - you can store an AMAZING amount of books on it. So I'm sold. And I haven't even explored the world of blogs, newspapers, and magazines yet. One learning curve at a time.

An unexpected note of good wishes from abroad.

Several years ago Jerry and I traveled to China where we bought some pearl earrings from Fanghua Pearls in Beijing. It was a delightful experience and I remember looking at all the pictures on the walls of foreign heads of state who had bought pearls from them at one time or another (for some reason I particularly remember a photo of Margaret Thatcher). Since that time they have never pestered us with emails or advertisements (even though we gave them our email). Today we received this from them:

Dear Sir or Madam:
This is a letter from Fanghua Pearls in China.
The A ( H1N1) influenza outbreak in some nations reminds us the days in 2003 when SARS epidemic spread in our country. We hope everyone is fine this time in your home town. We will stand together with you and believe that you and your great country will conquer all the difficulties.
Wish you and your family always be health and happy!

Fanghua Pearls

I have to say I was touched and responded back with thanks. It was a good reminder that we are not in this life alone, as individuals or as countries).

A Royal Visit

Last Tuesday night I hosted the Main Line Newcomers Bookgroup at my home. This bookgroup is one of my favorite activities and one I will miss greatly when I move. With Newcomers, I started the bookgroup 6 years ago last February. We've grown from 3readers to an average of 10 (with another 5 to 7 "sometimers"). We've read a diverse set of books over the years, some books I would never have picked for myself. We've enjoyed long conversations, good food and wine, and many interesting books.

This Tuesday we discussed one of my favorite books of the past few years, "Queen of the Road" by Doreen Orion. It is hysterically funny in parts, touching and revealing in others, and all in all thought provoking. I've had the good fortune to "friend" the author via Facebook and email over the past year. And as has become her custom she was willing to "attend" our bookgroup via speaker phone. So we came in our favorite shoes and drank martinis (you need to read the book to get the connection) and enjoyed a wonderful 45 minute chat with Doreen.

A great evening was had by all.