The Clematis Armandii sent us the last blooms today.
Choir was on Zoom tonight and was great fun! What a lovely lot we are! Thanks to Claire for a fabulous lesson. 
It’s my kid brother’s birthday today and despite us posting on 7th April (to Atlanta, USA) his card has not arrived so here is another! 
Our government tells us that in a few days, because of the Coronavirus, they will tell the over 70s that in a few weeks they should self isolate to protect themselves. With a warning like that, we and many of our friends are already self isolating. However, we are very lucky because we live outside the town and can walk out of our front door to be straight into the countryside . We can also drive to the coast and walk along in the beauty of our Cornwall where there are other walkers but no-one close by which was what we did this afternoon along a short stretch of the South West Coastal path.
Daffodils along the roadside
The view from the path towards Chapel Porth and Porthtowan
Looking out to rocks from the cliffs at St Agnes Beacon – Does anyone local know the name?
On Radio 4 this morning, we were being advised that laughter is the best medicine and that, just as we should be eating 5 a day fruit and veg, we should be finding 5 things a day to make us feel good. I might have to upgrade MBT to 5 a day when I can.
It is Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s birthday. We first learned of her when she was a much admired Law Professor at Columbia University School of Law in New York, USA. My brother was in her classes. Happy Birthday!
“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court (b. 15 Mar 1933)
Okame Cherry
My lovely Sister-in-law sent me a photo of the Cherry trees at the end of their road in Atlanta and I thought I would share it.They have had lots of rain there too and the rain-beaten blossom lies on the ground as a colourful carpet.
Last week was Random Acts of Kindness week. Every week should be as this Peanuts cartoon suggests.
An afternoon of resting, reading and Jelly Babies!
Who knew that Oak trees have catkins? I didn’t. I knew about acorns, of course, but didn’t have any to add to my glass Oak tree. Little beads to mimic catkins, now, that I could do!
Our Niece-in-law who lives in Olympia near Seattle is a poet. She has given me permission to share this very powerful piece with you, with her introduction.
“Here’s an old thing I wrote in an attempt to talk about the racial injustices that consistently hurt everyday people and I want to share it again on what would have been Sandra Bland’s 33rd birthday.
I hope one day for a better world. It starts with you and me. Let’s remember people like Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice and Michael Brown and Philando Castile and continue to speak their names so that people who wish to cheapen their precious lives will know that we do not, will never, stand with them.”
Precedent
A Cleveland child’s melanin was Just enough Cause
for murder-
Cold blood under the warm sun.
Six million dollars will not be enough
to sook his mother’s ache,
You can’t tell her this was an honest mistake.A man had his breath pressed out of his lungs
On a live stream, on a street corner,
The world watched him beg for his life.Protect/Serve/Seek/Destroy.
She was from Waller County, a pin drop on a map
That’s now a black hole void
where precedence discards prudence.
Where a woman can be detained at a traffic stop,
Found hanged in a jail cell,
and forgotten.A Fort Worth teen plead guilty
to assaulting a mentally challenged child.
Cold concrete, wire hanger, steel locker, chipping paint
Are the canvas onto which he scrawled the slurs,
the acid words and acrid variations
of the Purity of Hate in America.He served no jail time,
It wasn’t a hate crime.A small town in Michigan runs on brown water,
Their babies have rashes and their hair is falling out.
Never mind lead poisoning causes death and developmental delay-
Those kids have bed rolls over at Genesee,You see,
They are pre-enrolled in the prep school for slavery,
The cops will let them know when it’s their time to go.Their mamas smoke foil and rise above the pain-
Flesh of womb claimed commodity before the
cord stops pulsing
Gaslighted by the streetlights
which always blink red and blue.If five white teens went missing
from the nation’s capital,
the whole world would mourn and wring their People magazines
Until their salty fingers all had sliver on sliver of papercuts.
Would put out a special on dateline NBC with
a reward for any information that
might lead to their discovery.Tomorrow is a smog cloud,
Tomorrow no one is safe.It’s polluted by the precedents we set, today.
I didn’t pack this decoration away with the other things as I like seeing it twist and twirl in the warmth above the radiator.
To round off the lovely Mr Smith’s birthday weekend, I have made a Chicken and Hatch Chilli Stew, using proper American Hatch Chiles and it was scrumptious, a proper treat!
Chicken and Hatch Chile Stew
Eva Cassidy was born on this day in 1963. She died far too young. Here is one of my favourites of her songs and you can read about her here.
On January 1, 1943, the American folk music legend Woody Guthrie jotted in his journal a list of 33 “New Years Rulin’s.” Nowadays, we’d call them New Year’s Resolutions. Adorned by doodles, the list is down to earth by any measure. Family, song, taking a political stand, personal hygiene — they’re the values or aspirations that top his list. For a clearer view, you can click here to view the list.
My favourites are No’s 13,14, 19, 31 and 33. I wonder which ones you favour. Happy days to you all.
Before the gales came in this morning, I had a brisk walk around the block. The moss down Lovers’ Lane was vibrant and very green.
I started the Christmas decorations today, beginning with the beautiful fabric wreath on our inner front door. I inherited this from my Mum and Dad who were given this delightful American decoration.
Dear friends came for dinner last week and brought two lovely little angels to add to my collection. They were first on our tree.Thank you very much, P&A.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends, family and readers across the pond.
After singing this morning, I was delighted to see a Robin on the decking just outside the door of the cafe, Muddy Beach, where we all go for coffee and a catch-up.
After coffee time, I walked up through Penryn to call in at the gallery, Fannie&Fox, with my new work as there is a re-hanging today. Outside there is an enormous beech tree with some masts still hanging on. There are Christmas trees along the streets (but too soon to show such things!) and it seemed as if Nature had left her baubles hanging on the tree.
We’ve been doing some sorting out and came across this mug given to our son by my parents. The surprise when all the milk had been drunk was a delight to see! D loved playing the trick on visiting friends!
We weren’t the only ones enjoying the view at one of the overlooks into Bryce Canyon.
Overlooking Bryce Canyon
Later in our trip we visited The Devils Garden of the Grand Staircase Escalante in south central Utah where there are the most amazing hoodoos to wander between.
Hoodoos in The Devil’s Garden
We have recently been in America, driving in Arizona, Utah and Nevada seeing stunning landscapes and meeting wonderful people. I found this little painted stone on the wall at the Navajo Bridge over the Colorado River on our way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Found at The Navajo Bridge, North Arizona
The wall where I found the stone
On the way there we called in at the Cameron Trading Post where I was delighted by the display of naturally dyed yarns.
I love the cacti in Arizona! They are Saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) and are familiar from lots of films.
Commentator Award
