CV - favourite fiction

As long as I can remember I've been a bookworm. No matter the difficulties of life I've never stopped reading. It's a haven. A place for me and my thoughts. On my own but yet in the safety of not being alone. It's impossible to name my favorite fiction, there are too many. But to me the best novel is slow when it comes to plot but digging deep into the essence of being.  I think my favourite writers would be:
Colm Toibin
Alice Munro
Kazuo Ishiguro
John Irving
But I find it hard to list. I have had periods devoted to Agatha Christie, Ed McBain, Enid Blyton, Ernest Hemingway, Erich Maria Remarque...
But I also enjoy Curtis Sittenfeld, Dave Eggers, Jeffery Eugenides (the foreword to his collection of love stories is among the most heart breaking things I've ever read), Nick Hornby, Sarah Waters. There are so many and I am deeply grateful. Their words, their work have enriched my life in so many ways.

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Every weekend I spend most of my time at the stables. Either at the riding school with my daughter or at the small stable where my weekend horse lives. "My" horse is an old workhorse and even though he is quite the dressage master if he feels like it we spend most of our time together ambling in the woods. Today was a warm day with the sun gleaming through the leafage and the scent of lilies of the valley heavy. Yellow islands of cowslip everywhere. I stopped on my way home and picked a bouquet. Now their scent fill our house.

Friday dinner. Haloumi, aubergin, hoummus, carrots in garlic sauce and bulgur salad. Listening to Tom Waits, having a glass of wine and quitely celebrating the weekend.

We have four 80 year old apple trees in our small garden. To much apples actually but the trees almost holy beautiful. Their branches heavy with snow in winter, their craggy naked stems on a wet November day, the "fump" sound when the apples fall to the grass in August. And now the overwhelming blossom. This tree however is not well. It looks almost like a japanese cherry tree with the pink flowers on bare branches. Albeit the beauty, no leaves is not good  and I guess we will have to call an arborist to see if there is anything to do to help the tree. Excuse me for being a bit dramatic now but the garden would be mutilated without it.

I am always looking for/thinking about recepies without meat. Here's one I came up with earlier this week and the great thing about it was that even the kids loved it.
It goes something like this:

Parboiled broccoli tossed into a sauce made of soured cream (28%fat at least)and spices/herbs (I used home made veggie stock, lemon zest, salt and black pepper). Mix the sauce with pasta and sprinkle with roasted sunflower seeds and fresh cut basil.

garden galore. Last week's confusing weather (tuesday snow, saturday sunny 25 C)is reflecting in my garden. Fortsythia, apple blossom, hagberry and lilac blooming at the same time. I am all dazed.

The sea still. Grey fog holds the dream of another life. Promising more violent weather. Nothing to do but to hold on. Life is a journey.

CV, by the sea. We are looking for a small farm not too far from the sea. This pic is from one of our recent hunting travels. So far no luck but a lot of beautiful places seen and explored.