These plates are among my most treasured possessions. They were gifted to me on the occasion of my birth, and except for my years away at college, they have both been on display in a place of honor everywhere I've dwelt all my life ( Read more... )

New acquisition! For those times when the 18 steps to the loo seem just a bit too far...


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One less item on my 'grail' list now. :-) I've wanted one of these slick puppies since trig in high school (and that's a lonnng time ago!). Keuffel & Esser made the best slide rules in the world, but they cost way more than my mom was willing to spend, so I had to settle for a Pickett, instead. Still not bad, but the Picketts were aluminum, not ( Read more... )

My various favorite beers throughout my life, chronologically from left to right. Actually, Buckhorn wasn't really a favorite but a practical necessity when I first moved here and was poor as a churchmouse. $1.89 a sixer. That plus a pack of Marlboros for 95¢ and I'd be happy as a clam!


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24 September 1989


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10 September 1989Back on the train, I quickly got over my disappointment at the Otter Trust. I was on my way to London! I was super excited at the prospect of being able to go anywhere and do anything in my favorite city in the world without Mother or anyone else to complicate my plans. Finally, I was traveling on my own, and I loved it. These next ( Read more... )

13 August 1969

Today, we visited the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, Yorkshire. Having never read anything that the Brontë sisters wrote, however, the house tour must have bored me, because I don't remember a single thing about it ( Read more... )

12 August 1969

The story I'm telling today is actually the one that inspired me to write this whole series of posts to begin with.

This is my favorite photo of all the ones that were taken of me during our 1969 visit to the UK. It shows me letting a handful of pebbles slowly fall from my hand into the River Wenning in Low Bentham in the rural ( Read more... )

8-10 August 1969

Besides the Ring of Kerry, Mother's other sightseeing destination this trip was to visit The Cotswolds in the south of England. Other than what she had told me, I knew little about the region, and probably thought it would be boring. Some of it was, but several of the places we visited were very enjoyable and memorable, indeed ( Read more... )

1-2 August 1969

There's a first time and place for everything, and it was here at Craven Books, 50 years ago, that I discovered the joys of browsing an antiquarian bookstore. Alas, it's no longer there, but this was the place: 23 Newmarket Street in Skipton.

The shop was run by Misses Katherine Farey and Megan Fluck, and was, I believe, opened ( Read more... )