Swiss Alps, on the trail
I no longer have a sense of time. I don’t know what day it is and I don’t know which mountains these are. I just walk.
Swiss Alps, Warm up Hike
Lake Brienzersee
No biggie. Just 8.8km, 300m up, 300m down. Getting ready for an early start tomorrow!
As of… Monday, August 17
I survived my big Swiss hike! It was incredible. Death defying and life affirming! I’m currently sorting through hundreds of photos and thousands of memories in order share the experience in a digestible way.
I’m in London at the moment, helping my daughters unpack from their summers and repack for college.
Reading The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett and I love it!
Posted my first video update last week, which was both fun and terrifying. I want to grow my creative circles, so I’m experimenting with ways to do that. Thoughts?
Heading to the US next week, but have SO MUCH to do between now that I’m a little intimidated.
xo, L
This week’s book haul
Image 1
Actually, these two books I already owned - but I pulled them out because I’m trying to find other poetry chapbooks… let me know if you have any suggestions?
Your Tears Fall Like Pearls by Adukeh the Poet
Every House Needs a Ghost by Timothy Fox
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Accidental Devotions by Kelli Russell Agodon - I pre-ordered this so long ago that it was a complete surprise when I received it! Like a little poetry gift from my past self. xo
Image 3
My World of Books haul came in saturday morning, just in time for the weekend! you’ll find me on the couch for the next two days…
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson - A grandmother and her granddaughter spend spend the summer on an island in Finland.
How to Cook a Wolf by MFK Fisher - A cookbook written during and for those living under rations during the second world war. (Wolf refers to hunger.)
An Omelette and a Glass of Wine by Elizabeth David - A collection of essays about travel, food and the occasional recipe.
The Measure of her Powers, an MFK FIsher Reader edited by Dominique Gioia - An anthology of Fisher’s writing on food, hunger and appetite.
Savoie: the Land, People and Food of the French Alps by Madeleine Kammam - French alpine culture and history as told through food.
Savoie: The Land, People and Food of the French Alps
I found this out of print GEM and so glad I picked it up! Less of a recipe source, and more of a history of the regions as told through the food.
It’s dense, and not for everyone! But for my current projects, it’s been an absolute goldmine of information and inspiration.
Breakfast - Dinner - Supper
Charles ate his dinner at noon.
Here is why I love AI: “Your husband is wrong, and the historical record is squarely on your side. The Indiana pattern — a big midday dinner, and a lighter evening supper — is the older, more traditional arrangement.”
I knew it! I feel so vindicated.
So, for centuries, the biggest meal of the day was around noon and it was called dinner. This was when families dined together and consumed the most calories, so that the labor-intnsive agricultural work could get done. By evening, the family was exhausted and tired and so they would have a simple meal of soup (souper —> supper) and leftovers from the earlier meal.
Industrialization changed this eating pattern. Once people started working in factories and offices, their main family meal slid to the evening hours and the mid-day meal become smaller. Wealthy urbanites started dining at 8pm.
Rural farmers and agricultural workers, by comparison - couldn’t wait until 8pm to consume major calories. Which is why in my family, “dinner” always referred to the biggest meal of the day, not necessarily the evening meal. A perfect example of this was Sunday Dinner at Grandma Record’s which was always a noon meal.
So agricultural and working-class communities often retained:
breakfast → dinner → supper
while urban/middle- and upper-class usage increasingly became:
breakfast → lunch → dinner
Today the terminology largely depends on social class, occupation and region.
Alice Wears Blue
portrait by Arthur Paine Garrat
Alice Roosevelt Longworth was the eldest daughter of Teddy Roosevelt, who said of her: "I can either run the country or I can attend to Alice, but I cannot possibly do both."
Menthon-Saint-Bernard
The morning before the morning before our Big Swiss Hike.
1 - A tiny public library with an insect hotel built into its attic.
2 - Breakfast at Bernoline’s on the square, where I had thebest soft boiled eggs on toast. Why does making soft-boiled eggs at home scare me? I need to figure this out, they are so deliciously elegant.
3 - Memorial to WW2 resistance fighters in the region. including…
4 - Jeanne Arragain ran cafe in Annecy that served as an underground hub for the secret army. She was eventually arrested, deported and died at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp on March 20, 1945.
Welcome to my blog!
I write about books, travel, food and my creative life. Every few weeks, I gather the best of the blog into my newsletter, I’ll Have What She’s Having.
One for the Beach, One for the Nightstand
I just read two VERY different books about mothers and daughters. You might like one or both! Here’s my brief review of each.
Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand. What can I say? This woman has mastered the art of the summer beach read and I’m here for it every single time. The story revolves around female friendships and how they change over time - the mother/daughter story is secondary. Peacock/Sky just released the series starring Jennifer Garner, which just makes the reading even more vivid. It’s not my favourite Elin Hilderbrand book (that would be Summer of 69) - but if you generally like Hilderbrand, this one hits the spot. Stick with the book version though - I didn’t care for the Audible version.
You Won’t Get Free of It by Rachel Aviv. This is a collection of highly-researched essays, most of which have been previously published in The New Yorker. The mysteries of mental illness play a recurring theme - as does childhood trauma. I KNOW! It sounds heavy. And while it’s not exactly light reading, the essays are compelling and kept me coming back for more. If you wish you could read The New Yorker, but prefer the accomplishment that comes from finishing a good book - this is for you! :)
A quick trip to Seattle
We moved from Seattle to London in 2015… and although I have been back a few times over the last decade, it’s been quite a while!
So it was a real treat to go back, if only for a long weekend. The occasion: a friend’s 60th Birthday! I danced my fool head off - so much so that I woke up in the middle of the night with leg cramps - but it was so worth it! :)
I don’t typically share photos of friends/family, so instead - here are a few snaps for flavour. Clicking on each image will enlarge and give context…
xo, L
Good Eagle and Laura
I just finished watching the new Little House on the Prairie and I Ioved it so much!
I’m tempted to download the entire season and watch it again on my way to Seattle. LOVE!