Par Avion take flight
I have to come clean. I’ve been harbouring a secret. And in the world of full-frontal bloggery, that’s tantamount to sin. I mean, what is a blog if not a license to read and judge a total stranger’s faceless life? So I’ll start at the beginning. * A million years ago, I resolved to do … Continue reading
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Have you seen the Lizzie Bennet Diaries? This show is AMAZING (and I don’t use caps lightly). Now if I gave you the 30 second pitch normally ascribed to such projects, you may rightly balk: a modern Pride and Prejudice adaptation told through video blogs and social media. (The website is also quite hideous.) But … Continue reading
Burns and other legends
If I were to describe the delicious, wonderful, humble sausage — all juicy and tender and flavoursome — as a pig’s grissle-bits stuffed in its own intestine, you would probably curl your lip and shudder slightly. Likewise, if you ever give serious thought to deep-fried chicken livers or steak and kidney pie, noses would wrinkle … Continue reading
Newness Abounds
It is a shiny New Year, and one that is already jam-packed full of adventure. [Warning: since I cannot construct a sentence to save my life today and frankly, I have some furniture which needs sanding, this is less of a poetical post and more a list of rambling nothings.] We are firmly ensconced in … Continue reading
Darkness & Light
Today, 21 December 2012, in Edinburgh the sun will come up at 8:42am. It will go down at 3:40pm. According to people who know such things, I will have 6 hours, 54 minutes and 33 seconds of day. It is easy to feel panicky this time of year. With shopping and parties and frantic getting-ready-ness. … Continue reading
Festive (Quick & Easy) Fudge
Sometimes Christmas presents are a conundrum, but this year takes the cake: my future step-in-laws. The cousins, aunts and uncles of a Bean’s new(ish) step-siblings, including The Baroness (I’m not kidding, the whole affair is honestly out of a novel). I’ve met them twice, including at the wedding. It’s going to be a hoot and … Continue reading
The Holiday Wishlist
Our hybrid holiday continues with treats and tunes and traditions from both our fair nations. Though, sourcing my Americano snackage is always a struggle. While it’s not impossible to get import goods — the Mexican deli runs a good trade in Reeces and flavoured popcorn, and the fancy department store stocks bourbon and poptarts in … Continue reading
The Holiday Spirit : Music
In my ongoing quest to encapsulate our varying British and American Christmas experiences, I’m mulling on seasonal songs. There is nothing that says Christmas to me so much as carols and festive tunes. There is a great tradition, both classical and pop, in both our adopted countries, and it always amazes me that nary the … Continue reading
The Holiday Spirit
While Christmas is constantly bemoaned as overly commercial and increasingly homogenous, I still thrill at little peculiarities, personal traditions, and culture clashes when it comes to St. Nick. I’m not the first, of course. May I strongly suggest you listen to David Sedaris muse on Christmas traditions, particularly in the Netherlands. 6 to 8 Black … Continue reading
Que Sera Sara? 