Feb 8

Springtime Miracle

I want to shout from the rooftops that Hope and Mystery have re-entered our realm. My youngest daughter and her husband are expecting twins!

Oct 23

Kirsten

My oldest daughter, Kirsten (Norlund) Johnson, passed away in September, from injuries sustained in a terrible car accident. My life is forever changed. She leaves behind her partner, Brad Garrett, and four teenage children, Anna, Aaron, Abby, and Amelia, as well as an extended family and a large community of friends. Born and raised in…

Oct 31

Great Socks of Love

Candy corn is a contentious subject- you love it or you hate it, and rarely is anyone happy to agree to disagree. I love it, a fondness I owe to my dad – or so the story goes. As I have told you on past Halloweens, after the trick-or-treaters have gone home I make an…

Jan 16

The Church on the Hill

St. Peter’s Church in Thundersley always looks disappointingly modern to me, but it is actually quite old and definitely stands on ground that has been holy since ancient times. The original church, dedicated to St. Michael, was built in 1120, but burned down less than a century later, in 1209. A new church erected on the…

Dec 22

The End of an Era

Sixty years ago, Audrey and Peter fell in love and began to build a new house together on land that was already in Peter’s family. When the house was finished, they got married, moved in, and subsequently raised their family in the home they christened St. Cloud. Jeff is their oldest child, and we live…

Oct 11

Beachcombing

Beachcombing runs in the Saward family. While I walked along the seawall this morning, Jeff and our granddaughter, Lucy, shuffled along at the edge of the water, looking for (and finding) shells and fossils. From my vantage point, I could enjoy watching the similarity of these two souls as they moved in total sync with…

Jul 19

Barbecue Weather

No matter where you are in the world. there’s nothing quite like a Saturday barbecue with good friends. The long hours of daylight here at 51° North make for some lovely summer evenings, though I must say it got a little too hard to wait until dark to set off the birthday fireworks.

May 10

Birthday Treats

The rains that were predicted for the weekend never really materialized, so yesterday afternoon we admired the flowers and gardens that are growing and changing day by day as we walked through the village en route to a Very Special Birthday Party. My friend Jasper turned 2 years old and he celebrated by throwing a party for his family…

Jan 1

Tracking the Gruffalo

We started this year as we mean to go on…. with a walk into the wild

Walking in the World