Treasure

My daughter sent me this photo of flowers from her garden.  Significant to me because many of them came from my garden last spring before we moved.

The peony is one I purchased from the Philadelphia Flower Show many years ago.  It never bloomed for me.  It was good to see that it bloomed for Emily.

Random Windows in Helsinki

From our vacation last year to Europe here are some random photos of windows and their embellishments I found interesting.

A market place

Top of a building

A storefront window

Inside a church

Inside another church

Above a door

What I'm Reading Now

Sometime this past year we saw a production of Nicholas Nickelby at Everyman Theatre.  In the program they had a listing of all the books written by Charles Dickens.  It got me thinking I'd like to read all those books in order written.

This past week I started Pickwick Papers.  It's rather funny in places, intentionally.  It's also a picture back in time more so than a historical novel would be.  Dickens is writing and lampooning characters in his time period.

I got the book from the Vantage House library.  I've checked out two more since our library here will be closing for renovations.  I'll need to find Oliver Twist though.  It's number 2 on the list but it wasn't on the shelf.  The public library should have it.

Have you read any Charles Dickens books lately?

Last Year at This Time ...

... we were on our way back from a European vacation and then preparing for our move to Vantage House.  Our one year anniversary of moving here is approaching.

Here are some highlights from that vacation trip previously featured in many posts.

Helsinki

Budapest

Bratislava

Scenes from the river boat

Vienna

Durnstein

Linz

Cresky Krumlov

Passau

Vilshofen

Munich

Landesberg

Notice all the food photos?  Lots of memories involve food.

Looking forward to our next trip across the Atlantic at the end of September - two weeks in Scotland where we will be based outside of Stirling and taking day trips from there.