Notes from Poughkeepsie, NY
One-Line-a-Day Journal
Monday, August 18 -
London. I’m drowning in boxes, post-it notes and spreadsheets. I eat, sleep and dream this move. In fact, the only difference between being awake and being asleep is that when I’m asleep I’m not holding a clipboard.
Tuesday, August 19 -
Travel day! Somehow managed to pull myself out of the moving spiral to pack for this trip. We’re taking our baby girl to college! LHR —> JFK —> Poughkeepsie.
Wednesday, August 20 -
Poughkeepsie, New York - Vassar College! Today was an international admin day. We set-up Sasha with a US bank account and telephone number. Sounds simple, took all day. It rained all day, which didn’t dampen our excitement for move-in day. I’ve had three rootbeers and I’ve only been here for 36 hours.
Thursday, August 21 -
International student move-in day! Daniel wore so much Vassar gear that it looked like he was the coach of the baseball team. We hauled three giant suitcases and a dozen amazon boxes up three flights of stairs because the elevator was broken. Great dorm room with a nice view!
Friday, August 22 -
Explored campus (stunning) and stumbled into a gem of an art gallery - The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center.
Saturday, August 23 -
Took a 2+ hour hike through the woods and wetlands at Vassar Farm. Lunch from a taco truck, which was decent - but honestly, this region is set up for vegetarians to survive, not thrive. Came home and found an acorn in my bra.
Sunday, August 24 -
Walkway across the Hudson River! More walks around campus! More pizza! More rootbeer!
How long is your past, how far is your future
Laura Battle, Collection of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College
Hi friends! I’m at Vassar College this week, dropping off my youngest daughter and helping her get settled. There’s so much I could tell you about her journey to this specific place and time. Alas, she is a private person, so I’m authorised only to say this: I’m so proud of her!
Everyone keeps asking if I’m okay.
Reader, I am very okay. No shade to my mother friends who are sad and a little freaked out - but I feel happy and free as a bird. After all, we raised two kind, intelligent daughters who are reasonably healthy and well-adjusted. I’m so relieved! And frankly excited about what’s next…
Second half of 2025
We’re moving out of our family home in London and into a smaller, two bedroom loft-style apartment. We still need a London footprint for work purposes - but we’re happy to have something smaller and easier to manage. Our lake house in France will become the new “family” home.
Travel! Our travel schedule is no longer dictated by school breaks! In the next four months, I have trips planned to New York, Prague, France, Indiana and India. Yes, INDIA! I’m so excited.
Writing more books! I’ve got two book ideas in my head that are banging around and trying to get out. I think if I set my mind to it, I can finish one of them by Christmas.
First half of 2026
French! I’m looking into various French intensive courses. I’m embarrassed about how bad my French has become and I need to course correct.
The Haute Route! We’ve long daydreamed about this trip and it’s time to make it happen. The Haute Route is a multi-day, hut-to-hut trek through the mountains from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland. We’ll do this in the summer, when the terrain isn’t so punishing, but even so this hike is no joke. I need to start training asap.
All of this has me asking myself - what is this blog about, now that my life is shifting? I’ve been struggling to keep up with weekly posts. I think mostly because I don’t like to write about my family/friends - and this summer has been all about family/friends.
So then what should I post about? Especially, when so much of my life moving forward will be about travel and creative projects…. Here’s what I’m thinking:
A Sunday photo dump. And if I have the time/energy for it - one line a day from my journal. Like instagram, but just for me.
Once a month: an update on my works in progress. What I’m working on, how it’s going. (Like this post!)
The overachiever in me would also like to post one poem a week, but that’s probably pushing it if I’m also trying to write a book before Christmas. So I will resist the temptation for now. Maybe do this in 2026?
Look at me! Making progress on my goals.
Xo, L
Notes from Prague, CZ
One-Line-a-Day Journal
Monday, July 7 -
Flew to Prague to visit Sasha and see her new place. Sasha has a place! Where she lives. Alone. wtf? Wild. Sophia flying in for the week also - we’re staying at The Hotel Paris which is now my favourite hotel in Prague.
Tuesday, July 8 -
Walked around town and visited some of our favourite places… Frank, of course! Plus Old Town Square, The Globe, etc. Bought three books. Dinner on the water, overlooking the castle.
Wednesday, July 9 -
Explored Holisovice which is becoming a super cool area with an art gallery, hipster cafes and boutique shops. Went into DOX and fell in love with two exhibitions: The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk and Up in Flames, the David Lynch Exhibition. Walked home by way of Mala Strana and bought three more books.
Thursday, July 10 -
Took a tour of the Jewish quarter because we hadn’t done that in almost a decade. Later, we met up with A and Frank for dinner and some live music at The Jazz Dock. Even later - Sophia and I went to open mic night at a comedy club!
Friday, July 11 -
Quick tour of the new Mucha Museum, before heading to the airport to fly back to Geneva. Had dinner with B at Le Pecheur to talk about the week. xo
Wild Geese
Artist: Lucy Grossmith
Our first set of guests have come and gone. Among them, my sister-in-law who, among other sparkling qualities, is an amazing cook. This woman can turn an ordinary vegetable into a dazzling culinary experience. I don’t know how she does it, but I’m going to convince her to let me help her publish a cookbook. (She doesn’t know this yet.) As per usual, I took NO PHOTOS because I was too distracted by the food and the conversation. I really must do better. I really do want to capture this summer in all its beauty.
Instead of photos, I will leave you with this - my favourite poem.
Wild Geese
By Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing yoru place
in the family of things.
Champagne Problems
You’ll have to get your serious news elsewhere.
Just another sunset on Lake Annecy, France.
It’s been so hot here on Lake Annecy. We don’t need to talk about it, do we? Chances are it’s hot where you live too. And yes. I realise the world is on fire both literally and figuratively, but you’ll have to get your serious news elsewhere. I tend to write about ridiculous problems, so buckle up.
Pool Emergency
My first day at the lake house. It’s 86° and the water in my swimming pool is so thick and slimy that you can’t see the bottom. I can’t get anyone out here to look at it for at least two days because… apparently every single swimming pool in the region is affected by algae??? The reason I keep getting is: well, it’s been very hot…. But isn’t that the whole POINT of a swimming pool? To provide refuge from the heat?
Outside temp: 86°
Pool colour: pond-scum green
Pool Emergency, Day 3
The pool guy came over! Like many of the local pool guys he was a delicious 20-something who cleans pools in the summer and teaches skiing in the winter. My friends like to be here when the pool needs to be serviced and that’s all I’m going to say about that. Anyway, he repaired something in the pool room, gave the system a “shock treatment” and said the water would be clean and clear in 24-48 hours. Thank God!
Outside temp: 88°
Pool colour: pond-scum green with patches of cloudy yellow
Pool Emergency, Day 4
The pool is a little better, but definitely not swimmable. I’m worried because I have a girls weekend planned in just a few days. I called the pool guys again, but they said to wait the full 48 hours and then call back if it’s still bad. I can’t look at it, so I left the house and spent the day shopping for summer essentials: cases of sparkling water and rosé, some extra water shoes and beach chairs.
Outside temp: 90°
Pool colour: infected-wound yellow
Pool Emergency, Day 5
I can see the bottom of my pool now, but it’s murky and slimy, instead of blue and sparkly. Apparently “it’s fine - it’s just dead algae.” But, seriously, NO. I’m not swimming in dead algae. I begged the guy to come over again and he just said, “I’ll put you on the list.”
It was bad time for the pool to be beige because we had a previously scheduled commercial photoshoot here today. But in the end, the pool colour was no big deal - the producers decided they could fix it in post production.
Outside temp: 92°
Pool colour: dirty-dishwater
Pool Emergency, Day 6
A new pool guy came. He was more like a pool man and he seemed to know what he was talking about - the problem is I didn’t know what we were talking about. He used words I don’t understand in English, much less in French. Plus I only know the grammatical basics of past, present and future. I don’t know how to say: The last guy did this, because the time before that he did this other thing. But if he would’ve replaced that part from the beginning, we wouldn’t be in this situation now.
I’m super frustrated because it’s clear that the previous guy was just distracting me with his shirtlessness and clearly he had no idea what he was doing. There’s literally a giant piece of plumbing missing in the pool room. But I couldn’t show my frustration, because I don’t want to be a whiny rich woman complaining about her swimming pool when these guys are working, like, 14 hours a day. Actually, we’re in France, so they’re probably only working 6 hours a day, but still. They are knowledgeable and this guy was trying to be helpful so I tried to be friendly and grateful.
But just as we were nearing the crux of the issue (with the aid of google translate) a small swarm of bees (maybe 5?) flew up my kaftan and started stinging me on the butt. I started shrieking and spinning around in circles and spanking my own ass. But you know what? It’s really hard to kill bees when they are angry and swarming under your clothes. The only option was to lift up my dress and try to swat them off me. The pool man smirked and took this opportunity to try to leave- but I didn’t want him to go. Wait! I said. We’re not finished! Don’t leave! I took a deep breath and tried to regain my compusure, speak calmly with him in French about plumbing parts and filtration systems while simoultaneously, nonchalantly picking stingers out of my butt.
He said he would come back tomorrow with a new pump and a new robot to clean the pool. I made him promise, which was super awkward and I regretted it as soon as it left my mouth.
I have three red welts on my right butt cheek and I can’t sit down properly.
Temp: 94°
Pool colour: dirty-dishwater with dead floating bees on top
Pool Emergency, Day 7
He came back! He replaced the pump and brought an aquatic electric vacuume cleaner that properly cleans the pool and doesn’t just kill whatever’s in it. The only catch is that in order for him (his name is SuperAquaBob) to be efficient, I need to scrub the pool floor just in front of wherever he goes, so that the dead algae floats and he can suck it up. Picture underwater curling. My arms are super sore but thankfully my butt welts no longer hurt, they are just super itchy.
And just like that…
My pool is pristine blue again! My girlfriends are here from London and we've had the most perfect few days - swimming in both the pool and the lake, long walks, boat rides, incredible food, and best of all, 48 hours of non-stop laughter and conversation. They are worth every bee sting. ;)
Creative Projects ~
I’m supposed to be writing short essays and poetry for my collaboration with Sophia. But so far, I’ve just been daydreaming while scrubbing the pool.
Books ~
I’m currently reading Orbital by Samantha Harvey and listening to The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton. Will let you know my thoughts next week!
xo, L
Summer hours, reinstated
Floating, swimming, reading and daydreaming
View from my bedroom. Sunset over Lake Annecy, France.
Travel ~
Yesterday I woke up in London, loaded the car with six boxes of books and drove to our lake house in France. It took 13 hours - during which time I drank way too much coffee and listened to every single podcast ever recorded until all the words and ideas turned into noise and I had to switch it all off.
But I made it here safely, and the dog didn’t puke, so life is good.
The house is quiet. I like to arrive a week before everyone else - to stock up on essentials and see what needs fixing. June has been super hot, and the garden needs some love. The path down to the lake needs clearing. And where did the deck chairs go? They’ve disappeared. Later this week I’ll dig through the plastic storage bins and look for the life vests and bicycle helmets and flip flops and beach blankets. The pool needs to be serviced and the propane tanks need to be filled. And then, finally, a big trip to the supermarket for essentials: bags of ice and cases of rosé and sparkling water, plus more toilet paper than seems necessary - but it will never be enough.
But today was a day of rest. :) I banned myself from listening to podcasts and instead listened to this playlist. I also went to the market and came home with a beautiful bounty:
One cavaillon melon
Three heavy peaches
Two handfuls of sweet cherries
A single perfect tomato (the kind you can’t find in a supermarket)
A handful of fresh green beans
Some new potatoes
A handful of fresh spinach
Salted butter from Normandy
Local goat’s cheese
Some local yogurt for breakfast
A fresh baguette, still warm
All of it went into this super cute basket that I bought in Provence ten years ago which was handmade exactly for this purpose. It was such a main character morning! I even wore a sundress. But I didn’t take a photo because I never think to take photos and now the moment’s gone so you’ll just have to believe me. The scene was cinematic, the soundtrack was awesome and my hair looked f.
Books ~
A writer friend told me once that the hardest part of writing dual-timeline books is that readers are invariably drawn to one storyline over the other. I thought of that recently when I read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It was a fine book - but I found myself speeding through the love-story timeline so I could get back to the outer space one. I love TJR! Maybe I was just in the mood for something different, something more adventurous? So then I read a Dean Koontz novel, which was exactly what I thought a Dean Koontz novel would be like. And then Heartwood by Amity Gaige, which is a mystery set on the Appalachian Trail, which was fun, if forgettable.
Creative projects ~
Sophia and I are working on a collaborative poetry/photography book! I can’t say more because that will suck the joy out of it. But it’s so fun to be working with her!
Other important goals for the week: floating, swimming, reading and daydreaming.
xo, L
Not exactly Jessica Fletcher
On first drafts, the Women’s Prize Summer Party, and planning a road trip
Jessica Fletcher, Murder She Wrote
This week’s project ~
You know the opening credits of Murder She Wrote, when Jessica is sitting at her desk typing away while the cheerful theme song bops along in the background? I love those opening credits. I never skip that part! By the end of the song, she’s written the final page of the book and has closed the manuscript cover.
My writing process is… not that. It’s more like having food poisoning. You know it’s in there and it needs to come out - but you have no control over when it happens. All you can do is be in the right place at the right time and hope for the best. That’s my writing process. It ain’t pretty. I wear noise-cancelling headphones and every now and then, when I realise I’ve turned into Quasimodo with a tech neck, I lurch my shoulders back into place and groan.
I’m trying to write six chapters per week - but do NOT be impressed by that number, because my chapters are only a few pages long. Also, it’s a pretty shitty first draft. So when I’m done with this stage of the process, I will have a lot of work to do. But I’m writing again! Hooray for me!
Books!
I just finished Anthony Bourdain’s book Kitchen Confidential - WOW, it was so good! He narrates the audio version and I highly recommend it - his voice is commanding and so entertaining. I also finished The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. It was slow-going but cinematic - the movie is on my list to (eventually) watch.
Earlier this week, I went to the Women’s Prize Summer Party which was a fabulous and friendly event - but mostly I stood around looking awkward and tried not to stare at the literary LEGENDS who were in attendance. Seriously, every year this event gets more and more star-studded. I felt like a Huge Nobody - just a 53-year old girl from Indiana who conned her way into a ticket. I took a glass of champagne, put my head down and tried to blend in. Rachel Clark, author of The Story of a Heart, won the prize for Non-Fiction. Yael van der Wouden, author of The SafeKeep, won the prize for Fiction.
Travel / Where I’m at, where I’m going ~
I’m still in London and I’m still looking for a new place to live - it’s not going well. We might end up putting everything in storage and living the nomad lifestyle for a while. Honestly, I’d prefer that option! But it would be hard on other members of the family, so the search continues.
I’m also prepping for my summer relocation to France. My office is the staging area: boxes of books, a few yoga mats, extra dog food, etc. This time, I’ve decided to make the drive to Lake Annecy in one day. It’s a long slog, but totally do-able. The key: entertainment and nourishment. The only thing worse than airplane food is rest stop food, so I’ll pack a food bag for the road: whole grain/seeded crackers, good cheese, hummus and veggies, fruit and nuts, a stack of PB &Js, air-popped popcorn, some dark chocolate, a thermos of iced water and a thermos of hot water for tea. I’m even bringing a package of Rummo spaghetti and a jar of Belazu Aubergine and Parmesan Pesto for when I arrive late that night and need a hot meal.
Today’s fun project: queue up a bunch of podcasts and buy three extra credits on Audible. The next time you hear from me, I’ll be in France!
xo, L
Print by Liana Finck 2022, Gifted to me by my daughter. :)