Author Archives: Jennie

Linky Love: Monday’s Child Is Fair of Face

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This week I’ve decided to hook you up with blogs that I follow and love EVERY day. Using the ancient British nursery rhyme, I’ll take you on a tour of my favorite blogs. Everything about Mike’s photos are “fair of face.”

Monday’s Child is Wilden Marsh: Another Year of Living With Nature at Hoo Wood and Wilden Marsh Nature Reserve. Mike’s photography is crazy good — and I’m hooked on his stories about life at the reserve.

In addition to being funny, witty, occasionally sarcastic, and all around entertaining in a low-key kind of way, Mike teaches us about the beauty of flora and fauna in his role as Warden of this Nature Reserve in Worcestershire, England.

After having followed his blog, I am enchanted by his stories (especially about the foxes) and want to visit the next time I am in England!

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Flower Stories: Bridal Veil Spirea

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Today would have been my father’s 89th birthday — 05/11/23. He loved plants of all kinds, but he especially loved flowering bushes and perennials. Happy birthday, Daddy.

I wait somewhat impatiently every year for the bridal veil spirea to bloom. It’s not actually in my yard; the roots are in the garden of the abandoned house next door.

We had a punishing rain last weekend and lost some of the fresh glory of the blossoms, but most survived. This post makes me realize that I need to plant my own spirea on my side of the fence, because when the bulldozer comes, I’ll lose all of this beauty.

I do my best to honor Oksana’s memory and to take care of her garden; it’s time to go to the nursery again in honor of my Dad and Oksana.

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Flower Stories: First Peonies

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Peonies are synonymous with Dad in my family. My dad became enamored with peonies and soon we had every variety he could find. We visited peony farms and he got them through mail order. You can imagine my happiness when our new house had mature peonies already planted — and we also brought some from our old house that have traveled from Dad’s garden through several houses with me in the Chicagoland area.

What’s not to like about peonies? They are dependable and gorgeous — the perfect companion to May’s beautiful days. We always used to expect our peonies to open just before Memorial Day, and took armloads of them to decorate the family graves at the cemeteries. This crazy early spring, while welcome, is wreaking havoc on the normal plant cycles in our area.

Remembering that I just got a new camera and have mostly used the automatic settings, I tried to take a photo of the peony in my cobalt blue vase against the outside door. This one’s not bad, but there were lots of others that were. 🙂 I’m loving the challenge of creating a new artistic expression in my life.

I’m also loving that my husband came home from the store with a bouquet of white roses and alstroemeria, our wedding flower. Insert double smiley face here. 🙂 🙂

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Book Club: The Expats

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I picked up The Expats from the library shelves thinking that I would encounter a story about living abroad. I barely noticed that it was an espionage thriller, but I’m sure that I decided at the time that it would be interesting anyway. After all, the jacket had glowing praise for the book.

The basic premise of the book is that Kate, a CIA agent who has been keeping her job secret from even her husband for fifteen years, quits the assassination business when her husband gets a new job in “international banking” that requires the family to relocate to Luxembourg. As Kate struggles to rebuild her life in Europe as a stay-at-home mom to their two small sons, she can’t escape her propensity to look at her new world through the eyes of a spy. Author Chris Pavone creates an intricately woven plot in which no one is who he or she appears to be, including Kate’s husband Dexter.

I’m not going to spend much time here critiquing the plot of the book. As many of the reviewers on Amazon said, although the story has great promise and is just itching to be made into a movie, there are bits that just don’t ring true. That being said, it’s a good first novel and is worth a beach or weekend read.

This is the second time in recent months that I’ve been uncomfortable with the voice and behaviors of a female character who was created by a man. I don’t think I notice this as much in books written by female writers, and it seems as though I’d see lots of negative reviews by men if the male character’s voice was off-kilter. Or perhaps it’s just the types of books that I read; maybe there are more problems with this than I know. Any opinions?

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Saturday Linky Love

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I’m pretty excited that my niece, known out there in the blogging world as Vanderbilt Wife, is the new moderator of a Saturday link-up. I’m proud of her and of the success she has had as a writer, so I’ll be supporting her efforts on Saturdays.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, my goal is to connect you with some bloggers and writers that you might have missed, and will share stories that I think are worth reading.

  1. For the word-lovers and haters among you, this post from The New Yorker discusses words that should be eliminated from the English language. Of course it’s witty and beautifully written; it’s The New Yorker! There’s also a warm tribute to Adam Yauch from the Beastie Boys here that is quite touching.
  2. I ran into Tracy at iOS Affairs this week when she visited my blog. I was entranced by her concept, All Apple, All Apps, All the Time. There’s a lot to be learned from Tracy (and a lot of time you might waste playing with her recommendations!).
  3. Although I’ve been teaching English for fifteen years, I used to be a music teacher. I really enjoyed this look at student motivation and what we can learn from it in our classrooms.
  4. If you’re not up on your Australasia news, you might not know that there is a Marmite crisis going on. Apparently a factory that makes Marmite was damaged in an earthquake and it’s big news that for the moment, stores are on their last jars of Marmite. The blogger made it REAL with her photograph.
  5. I was really excited when I found that my friend Tricia has launched mini-meal planning at Once a Month Mom. With just two of us in our empty nest, the once a month bulk cooking isn’t really necessary, but I can make a recipe and freeze it in smaller units that we revisit twice in a month. Another thing I can try when I retire!
  6. Finally, whenever I have a chance, I encourage people to visit my friend Michelle. Her gentle way of looking at the world of reading  at The Great Read never ceases to inspire me.

As always, I welcome your feedback. Who do you think we should have read this week?

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Food Cult: Sweet Home, Chicago

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It’s plastered all over my media; it’s on my lips pretty much constantly. We’re going back to France next spring and I can barely contain my excitement and anticipation of a very good time.

Every chance I get, I’m looking for French inspiration around me in my suburban Chicago “real life.” While friends were visiting last month, we discovered a new-to-us French restaurant one of Chicago’s trendy downtown neighborhoods. Kiki’s Bistro was fabulous.

The Thursday special was bouillabaisse…

And the salads were fresh and also creative…

From the minute we walked in, dressed in our mixed bag of work and tourist clothes, we were treated as friends. Kiki helped us choose wines, and our waitstaff could not have been friendlier or more knowledgeable. It was a wonderful experience; put Kiki’s Bistro on your bucket list for your next Chicago visit.

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Food Cult: The Perfect Beef

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I already blogged about our gastronomic extravaganza at the extraordinary Richard Phillips restaurant at Chapel Down Winery just outside of Tenterden, in Kent. Unfortunately, in checking my links, I found that the restaurant just closed. So, so sad. I hope you enjoy the photo anyway. It makes my mouth water for a taste of that perfectly cooked beef.

Does your blog need a restaurant bucket list? The idea’s not mine; I really appreciate the link-up at Hamburgers and Hotness!

Food Cult: Avocado Couscous at the Three Chimneys Freehouse, Biddenden, Kent

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Whilst staying at the sublime Sissinghurst Castle Farmhouse, we dined three nights at a local pub just a mile down the road (or a good hike across the fields) from the bed and breakfast. I’ve talked about our Sissinghurst experience here and here and here, but I couldn’t resist showcasing this beautiful piece of food art again.

The bottom layer is a vegetable melange with eggplant, zucchini, and onions in a tomato sauce. Next is the couscous mixed with avocado. Then there’s a slice of potato that’s not overdone, so it can hold up the next layer. It’s topped with goat cheese and it looks like it was torched because the cheese would likely melt in the broiler.

The Three Chimneys Freehouse is a very special place, hidden away in the heart of Kent, and is frequented by locals and the guests at the Sissinghurst Castle B&B. Although we ate there three nights, enough to be recognized and seated at “our table” by the hosts, we barely scratched the surface of the delectable menu. We highly recommend The Three Chimneys if you are near Sissinghurst Castle.

You’ll need reservations — a fine restaurant in the country fills up — so call ahead if you find yourself in the neighborhood of The Three Chimneys at suppertime. It’s worth the trip.

Another hint — I keep Pinterest boards for all the areas I want to visit on vacation. You might want to start one for Kent in southeast England!

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