Rolling Merrily Along... #4
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| To the flower market...Hanoi, Vietnam |
Life has been rolling merrily along...from Tahilla to Vietnam. Mr. H and I were in Hanoi last weekend where I happened to be in the right spot at the right time. I caught this charming cyclist coming down the street long before she happened upon me. I stood, patiently, with my camera at the ready.
Branches upon branches of peach tree blossoms are for sale along the streets of Hanoi. A sure sign that Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, is only a few days away. More flowers on the streets of Hanoi on my other blog, Expat Diary: Viet Nam here.
As promised in my last post, I am going to keep this one brief. I will leave you with a few parting shots of the past few days. My morning rituals are paying off. If I can keep up the pace, I might just have a habit.
Until we meet again...
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| An early morning start to my walk. |
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| Thinking Be Still-52. Bicycle postcard by Liem Tran |
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| A gift from me to me. |
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| The latest addition to my Little Book of Hope. Book passage...memories of Vita Sackville-West |
Speaking of books..can you help?
What are you reading now?
Would you recommend it?
Would love to know!
Jeanne :)
Feb 4, 2015
28 Day Writing Challenge, #4
Writing from Chateau Mango
Vietnam time
LOVE the PASSAGE ABOUT VITA!!!!!!!!!I am OBSESED with HER!
ReplyDeleteWE are so much a like............I wonder..........I just wonder...............
Without a doubt Contessa...you and Vita could be soulmates. ;)
ReplyDeleteWonderful shots, Jeanne! I love the peach blossoms!!! It must be so incredibly beautiful. And the passage about VSW is a favorite. I love the photo of it, too! As far as books go, Todd and I just finished co-writing a book review for The Virginia Woolf Miscellany on The Bloomsbury Cookbook (speaking of Vita, et al.). I think it's less a cookbook than a book of wonderful anecdotes and snippets, including recipes, of course, about the Bloomsberries and their contemporaries. I really enjoyed reading it. Next up for me is Lobster Coast, about the history of the coast of Maine. Todd's been reading it, and he keeps sharing passages with me. It's fascinating. I'm also rereading The Odyssey for an Ancient Lit class I'm taking. I guess my reading is sort of all over the place at the moment! xo
ReplyDeleteJeanne my Sister just read Somewhere in France and loved it and I just read Big in China by Alan Paul
ReplyDeleteand really enjoyed that..........I love your everyday blog postings. Keep up the great work.
Love Jeanne Also recommended to me was Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery
I just finished The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho + loved it + charming cyclist with peach blossoms + when is Vietnamese New Year? + same as chinese new year?xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
ReplyDeleteYou are positively radiating creativity these days my friend.
ReplyDeleteThis bodes very well for Tahilla!
And I repeat.... travel book, travel book, travel book!
xoxo
I love that passage ....i love the description...i should read this book.
ReplyDeleteI am actually reading two at the same time...i strongly recommend them...Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and the second is "Rituals" both are amazing Rituals is like poetry...lyrical...as for Anne is just written beautifully... hope you will enjoy them :) Maria
Jeanne, there are so many wonderful things to read and so little time. However, anything by Beth Kephart (pure genius). Also, if you are looking to write more, I can seriously recommend her website, Beth Kephart books. She is pure substance; a generous writer who not only offers insight into the writing process, but shares other's works, as well. Yet, another discovery for me, Maeve Binchy. I have never read any of her fiction, but recently came upon "Maeve's Times: In Her Own Words". In addition to being a novelist, she was a journalist for the Irish Times and this is a collection of the essays she wrote for that newspaper. Wonderful, real, hilarious, witty, plus, plus, plus. Happy reading and writing! Angela Muller
ReplyDeleteHello Jeanne,
ReplyDeleteHave you been to Sissinghurst?
You probably did when you lived in the UK.
It's a dream.....isn't it.
Have just finished Vivienne Westwood's biography.......loved.
Cheers
Anita
Love the flower gift
ReplyDeleteReading blogs is as far as I am with reading this week.
Reading "The Goldfinch" from Donna Tart. Well written. The background of the world of antiquity. Intriguing.
ReplyDeleteMAny years ago I have read about Vita SW. What a strange life she had. Reading about it made me sad.
Nice pictures of Saigon... A comfort when seeing all that snow outside my window ! Forgive me for my mistakes. English is not my first language.
Hello Jeanne,
ReplyDeleteIT has been so nice to see your post everyday. I have missed your wisdom, spirit, and the beauty that you create!
I have been reading, baking, cooking, etc a lot more this past year because I am blogging less. I guess it is a trade off.
I read The Perfume Collector which I loved, light reading and features Paris what is not to love about that. Now reading the Weird Sisters. My husband are also reading a ton of cookbooks that we received or gave one another for Christmas. I love the back stories of dishes, ingredients and the chefs.
Love the photos!
Glad you asked the question; I am going to the library tomorrow and have added to my list from your commenter's suggestions. I am just finishing up Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux. It is a travel book about his unconventional trip from Cairo to CapeTown. I have enjoyed it. For me, there was something to enlighten, laugh at, think about, argue with and forgive in it. I have never read anything by Vita Sackville-West but your quote has won me over. Something--anything--by her is on the library list.
ReplyDeleteHighly recommend "Arctic Summer" by Damon Galgut. New, receiving great reviews. Biographical fiction about E. M. Forster's years in India, which turned out to be his "gathering time" of ideas for A Passage to India. World-wanderer that you are, I think you would like this one.
ReplyDeleteSince Paris is always tucked away into some corner of my mind, on someone's blog I picked up a tip about "Memoirs of Montparnasse" by John Glassco, found an old HB first edition, dug in, and liked it very much. Non-fiction, Glassco was a young Canadian who went in his late teens with a friend to Paris around 1920 or so. Wrote this book, but it was never published until the 1970's. Gives one a great feel for being right there among the greats of that time period, quite a few whom he met. I could almost follow him around street by street. What a life!