Do We Need a Support Group?

It's over!  And wasn't it wonderful.  But first, be advised, spoilers to follow if you haven't seen the finale of "Downton Abbey" yet.   

 The last episode finally brought Cousin Matthew and Lady Mary together in a magical snowy scene outside Downton Abbey as he got down on his knee and asked her to marry him.

What will we do without our Sunday nights at "Downton Abbey."  I know many people who will miss it, including myself.  I will miss those dinners around the dining room table with the family dressed in formal attire, the men in white tie and the women in gowns.  Can you imagine getting dressed up like that every night for dinner in your own home?

I will miss the exquisite library with its leather bound books where so many great scenes happened, including the exchange of Christmas presents in the season finale.  This was the room where Lord Grantham was endlessly working at his desk or reading the paper and Mr. Carson or Mrs. Hughes were forever popping in to inform his lordship of some new crisis among the staff or on the estate.  

I will miss Lady Mary and her complicated personality.  She had that icy aristocratic demeanor in the beginning of the show (and maybe it never completely left her), but as the series went along the depths of her character were revealed and we ended up understanding her better and liking her more. 

And oh, the anguish and frustration of the star-crossed romance between Cousin Matthew and Lady Mary.  It's resolution was a glorious moment.

I will  miss the servants such as Thomas and Mr. Bates and their complicated relationships with the Crawleys.  Thomas, who was found to be a thief, is later forgiven after being wounded in the war and is welcomed back to the house.  Lord Grantham and the family seem to feel a responsibility towards him and the other servants.  We feel that the Crawleys will take care of the them forever.     

I will miss Maggie Smith more than anybody else, because her memorable lines and verbal zingers were delicious and nobody could have played the Dowager Lady Grantham with greater confidence, humor and talent.  She is one of England's greatest treasures. 

I will miss the beautiful English countryside and the sumptuous costumes.  Did anyone notice Lady Mary's lovely green hat in the shooting party scene?  

I will miss the family dynamics of the show.  There are, after all, two "families" that live at Downtown Abbey.  Lord and Lady Grantham are the parent figures that preside upstairs and Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes are the "parents" downstairs.  It was fascinating to watch all the interactions within both families.

I will miss the two villains, Thomas and O'Brien.  They were so good at being evil.  Though O'Brien's feelings of guilt eventually lead to some kindness and empathy in season two.  And even Thomas had some sympathetic moments.

And oh, Mr. Bates, your silent suffering, dignity and selflessness will be missed.

 I will miss the coming together of the Crawleys and the servants to support Mr. Bates.

And I will miss the Crawley sisters with all their hopes, dreams and jealousies. 

Here is how one group is dealing with the loss of "Downton Abbey."

A friend snapped this photo of a flyer at a library in Vermont.  A "Downton Abbey" support group will meet in the "cozy" reading room of a Vermont library.  How fun!  Costumes are optional.  This could be the answer for all of us who loved the show.  There is really nothing like a costume drama for escapist entertainment.  Hopefully the wait won't be too long until season three.  In the meantime, I need to find a good old-fashioned, sprawling English novel to read.  Or maybe a marathon viewing of the excellent costume dramas by Merchant/ Ivory.    

Can't wait for season three!  

All photos of "Downton Abbey" via here

English Country Kitchens

I have always had a thing for English country kitchens.  They just exude coziness.  The Aga stove, the larder cupboard, the dresser, the copper pots, the storage baskets, the big farmhouse table, the hearth, and the promise of homemade jams and freshly baked breads.  They make me want to pull out my mixing bowls and whip up some scones and brew a pot of tea.  I spotted these images recently and they take me to that place of comfort and warmth that the best country kitchens convey.  After all, isn't a country kitchen where we all want to hang out?  I can imagine a cook setting aside a day each week for baking in these kitchens, producing scones, pies and  cakes --  the baked goods that have always made an English tea so delicious.  

Pale blue Aga stove set within a brick recess 

A larder cupboard provides storage for baking supplies, as well as crockery and linens.  I love the blue and yellow colors that have been used here.  The floral linens add a prettiness to the look. 

Country-style gingham shade on the door

English cheeses like Stilton are often kept in a cool space, stored in a cheese safe like this glass dome

 A door rack adds additional space for spices, herbs and dry goods and looks so charming

All ready for baking day, marble counters look great in a country kitchen

 These pretty beaded linen covers for the jugs add to the old-fashioned look

A pretty magnetic board to keep shopping lists and other materials visible

Jams and pickles are canned and covered with decorative lids, pretty labels and charming fabrics

This storage piece for an apple harvest allows the air to circulate

Great storage ideas for the pantry
All photos above via Country House and Interiors

Ben Pentreath owns a home decor shop in London, Ben Pentreath Ltd., and spends his weekends at his lovely country home in Dorset.  He is also the author of one of my favorite blogs, Inspiration/Ben Pentreath.  I love reading about his adventures in the Dorset countryside.  This dresser displays his lovely china plates and Wedgewood biscuitware terrine.


With many of us going into nesting mode in the winter, there is a comforting feeling of warming ourselves, both body and soul, in the kitchen.  

I pull out my coziest country-style cookbooks for inspiration.

One of my favorites is "Home Cooking" by Laurie Colwin.  She was one of the best food writers around.  I read her articles for many years in "Gourmet Magazine" with great affection.  She cooked honest and delicious food without any pretense and her feelings about being in the kitchen often resonated with  me.  She wrote:

"When people enter the kitchen, they often drag their childhood in with them.  I was brought up on English children's books, in which teatime and cottage life play an important role.  These formed my earliest idea of comfort:  a tea table in a cozy cottage.  As an adult I have reinforced these childhood notions by reading English cookbooks as if they were novels..."

When I read these words I knew I had met a kindred spirit in Laurie Colwin.  My influences were also English books, especially English novels.

English food writer Elizabeth David is another one of my favorite food writers.  In "Elizabeth David's Christmas" she gives a recipe for "Sugared Oranges" that sounds delicious:

Sugared Oranges

"Halve and quarter the oranges, scoop the flesh from the pith and skin with a serrated knife and, adding white sugar, store the orange segments in a wide covered glass jar in the refrigerator, adding to them whenever you have a moment to prepare a few extra.

Serve the oranges chilled, in deep wineglasses.  Pour a tablespoon of Kirsch or Cointreau into each glass just before the meal, or perhaps a little lemon juice and a sprinkling of freshly chopped mint leaves."

This recent book on the domestic life of Bloomsbury promises an interesting look into the kitchen of Virginia Woolf who had houses in London and the Sussex countryside.   

I love reading Melissa Clark's column "A Good Appetite" in the New York Times especially at this time of the year when she features comforting country recipes.  Recently she wrote about these savory scones and suggests serving them with stews and soups.   Here is the recipe for her "Savory Scones with Onion, Currants and Caraway."  They would be so good with a great lentil soup.

And finally here is the English country kitchen that we see every Sunday night on Masterpiece Theatre.  I love this scene in "Downton Abbey" when Lady Sybil decides to learn how to cook.  Those kitchen scenes with Mrs. Patmore and Daisy bustling around and producing meals are some of my favorite scenes on the show.

I am inspired to get cooking.  How about you?

Camellias and Shakespeare

"Love... is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark."

-- Shakespeare, Sonnet 116

 

 Camellias at Robinson Gardens

With Valentine's Day coming up I couldn't resist going to the beautiful Virginia Robinson Gardens to hear a lecture on Shakespeare's Sonnets.  After all, the sonnets may be the most beautiful and famous meditations on love ever written. In his excellent discussion the lecturer compared the formality of the sonnet to the formality of French gardens during Shakespeare's time.

Since I was in one of the most beautiful gardens in Los Angeles I decided to take a walk after the lecture to see what was in bloom.  Tim Lindsay, executive director of Robinson Gardens, told me not to miss the camellias.  He was right, they are magnificent.   

Gardens and Shakespeare --  a winning combination to provide inspiration for Valentine's Day.  And  isn't this the perfect Shakespearean sonnet for your Valentine?

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"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometimes declines,

By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd:

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou growest;

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."  --  Shakespeare, Sonnet 18

Here's to a Valentine's Day of love, flowers and poetry.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Romance of the Sketchbook

Like many people, I have always been fascinated with the talent of artists to render the world around them in drawings and paintings.  And so when I opened up this gift from a lovely friend it struck a chord in my imagination.  At first I wasn't sure what this object was.  There was an enticing tag from the company that made it:   

 "Our many free-spirited travel adventures and time spent admiring the splendours of nature has inspired us." 

When I untied it and spread it open, I discovered that it was a sketchbook with a dozen colored pencils.  The little silver object at the end of the tie is a pencil sharpener.  Looking at it made me smile.  I thought about travelers in the past who would sketch the wonders they saw on their travels in a sketchbook such as this.  I thought about the lost art of drawing which was typically taught to young people in the nineteenth-century.  Many young men and women at that time could actually draw fairly well.  I  also thought about many of the books I have read with characters who did not venture further than their small village, but because they learned how to draw and paint would spend hours sketching a lovely view or members of their family.   This seems to occur regularly in the novels of Jane Austen.

  

I remembered a book filled with sketches by Queen Victoria that I owned and I pulled it off my bookshelf to have a look.  I flipped through the pages and saw many charming drawings and watercolors done by Victoria throughout her life. Here was a young woman who learned how to draw and paint and immortalized many events and scenes in her life, including travels to her beloved Scottish Highlands.  She was a passionate recorder of everything around her.  We learn a lot about her from a book like this; her sketches show her delight and pleasure in the ballet and opera,  her coronation and wedding, her ever-increasing family, and her travels abroad.  In her case keeping a sketchbook was just another way of keeping a diary.  And she was a prolific writer of diaries throughout her lifetime.  Here are a few images from the book: 

On the right is Lord Melbourne shown at Victoria's coronation in Westminster Abbey 

On the left is the view of Westminster Abbey from Buckingham Palace 

A family scene at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight where Victoria lived with her family 

Ardverikie Lodge in Scotland with the dramatic scenery that Victoria loved

Her children dressed in Highland costumes

This sketchbook also made me think about the great artists such as John Singer Sargent and their romantic fascination with travel to places such as Italy.  Sargent had a lifelong love of Italy where he was born and he painted many watercolors there out of his passion for Italy's people, land and culture. 

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Thinking about those who would chronicle their daily life and record their travels in drawings and watercolors has made me think about the quickness of everything we do today.  The camera is the tool  that most of us choose to record the moments we want to preserve.  But wouldn't it be fun to travel to a country we love such as Italy or Scotland and take art classes, learning how to draw and paint landscapes or other scenes   It would be a luxury to take the time and sketch the things we see.  To draw and paint our world would require us to really look at things.  I would imagine that we would be more connected to the beauty all around us if we tried to capture all those moments that really touch us through drawing or painting.  

"The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible." 

--  Oscar Wilde 

"True life is lived when tiny changes occur."

--  Leo Tolstoy

Here's to noticing the beauty all around us and doing something new.  Is there an art class in my future?

Happy Monday

How was your weekend?  We have been having the most beautiful weather!  I have been appreciating the simple pleasures that come at this time of the year in Los Angeles. 

  I love going to the local farmers market in February and gazing at all the beauty there, such as these luscious tangerines and lemons.

I am inspired by the promise of spring in these beautiful flowers from Holly Flora

  Of course nothing is cozier right now than staying home and cooking.  I love pulling out my favorite cookbooks, they are like old friends.

And speaking of old friends, I am rereading "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and in awe of the beauty of Truman Capote's nostalgic masterpiece.  I wonder if it is a uniquely American trait to write about characters reinventing themselves.  ("The Great Gatsby" comes to mind)   This love letter to New York conjures up youth and glamour, and is a great book to revisit.  Did Truman Capote know he was creating an iconic figure with Holly Golightly?

Yesterday I saw the magical film "Hugo" -- if you haven't seen it, go immediately!  Part "Oliver Twist" and part "Amelie," this movie is pure magic.  And it is about the birth of motion pictures.  I think I cried the whole time.  Part of me was in awe of the beauty of this film and the other was truly touched by the poignant story.

And finally this is where I went on the last weekend of January with my college alumni group from the east coast. They were so happy about the weather!   The Getty Center has views that go on forever and the day we went was beautiful and crystal clear.  Although we were there to see the incredible art exhibition "Pacific Standard Time," we could barely tear ourselves away from the views and spent much of our time outside enjoying one of the prettiest days in January I have ever seen.

The Queen and Her Diamond Jubilee

 Heir to the throne, Princess Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace in 1946

Photo via New York Times

With Julian Fellowes of "Downton Abbey" bringing the Edwardian England of our imagination to life each Sunday night on television,  many of us have been thinking about English history and it's been exciting to read about Queen Elizabeth II who is going to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, a truly historic occasion.

Did anyone see this gorgeous picture of a young Queen Elizabeth in the New York Times on Sunday?  You can read the accompanying article here.  There is a new book on Queen Elizabeth "Elizabeth The Queen" by Sally Bedell Smith and also a new book on her husband "Prince Phillip" by Phillip Eade.  This year is the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Elizabeth's reign, which is only the second Diamond Jubilee in British history.  Queen Victoria's in 1897 was the first.  In the year 2015 Queen Elizabeth will have been Queen longer than Victoria or any other British monarch. With her Diamond Jubilee coming up, there are new books about her and Prince Phillip, upcoming museum exhibitions, as well as some big events in London this summer connected to this historic event.

Maybe it is the pomp and pageantry of the monarchy or the thousand-year history of Great Britain with the many kings and queens that have gone before and the continuity from one generation to another that captures my imagination,  but I get goosebumps when I watch an event such as the recent wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton or anticipate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

The remarkable story of how Elizabeth became Queen involves much fascinating English history.  It is a saga that includes the love story of King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.  Elizabeth was not supposed to be the Queen.  Her uncle King Edward VIII was expected to be King, which is what happened.  But when he surprisingly abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, the woman he loved, Elizabeth's father -- Edward's brother --  reluctantly became King. We saw this story last year in the movie "The King's Speech, which starred Colin Firth.

I recently read that on hearing the news of their father's accession to the throne, Princess Margaret asked her older sibling, "Does that mean that you will have to be the next Queen?"  "Yes, someday," Elizabeth answered.  "Poor you," replied Margaret.

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I have been spotting some great articles here and here about Queen Elizabeth and have also started reading the book "Elizabeth The Queen" by Sally Bedell Smith and am learning some fascinating details about her life and the life of Prince Phillip.  She fell in love with Prince Phillip of Greece when she was 13.  A distant cousin, he was a dashing and handsome young man with an interesting life.  In 1922 when he was a baby, he was smuggled out of Greece in a fruit crate as his father King Andrew of Greece was escaping execution. His mother was institutionalized when he was 8 and after that his father spent most of his time  in Monte Carlo and Paris, abandoning his son.  The young prince was basically homeless, and would spend boarding school vacations with his mother's relatives.

When he began courting Princess Elizabeth he was a 22-year old naval lieutenant who had spent the previous summer on a British destroyer.  After the war ended the young war hero began courting the princess and would arrive at Buckingham Palace, driving up in his MG.  She was quite smitten with him.  They married on November 20, 1947 during Britain's bleak post-war era.

Five years later her father King George VI died at age 56 and she and Phillip were in Kenya when she got the news. They were in a treetop hotel, filming elephants and unaware of the drama unfolding in London.  They descended to discover the momentous news.  Elizabeth's cousin Lady Pamela Mountbatten said that Elizabeth had "climbed up that ladder as a princess" but "she was going to have to climb down again as a queen."  She was 25 years old.

It is fascinating to think, as Sally Bedell Smith reminds us in "Elizabeth The Queen," that from the mid-nineteenth century to the present time -- for 123 of the past 174 years --  the British monarchy has been dominated by two remarkable women, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II.  No one else has had a longer reign.

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And so there will be many celebrations in London in her honor.  One of the most exciting is happening at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  The museum is celebrating the event with what looks like a fabulous photography exhibition:  "Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton:  A Diamond Jubilee Celebration."  It opens this month.

Princess Elizabeth by Cecil Beaton, 1945

via Victoria and Albert Museum

Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton, on June 2, 1953 at her coronation
via Victoria and Albert Museum

Queen Elizabeth was still a young princess when she first sat for Beaton in 1942.  He was the Queen's official photographer and over the next three decades he would be invited to photograph the Queen on many special occasions, including her Coronation Day. This exhibition will include many of these famous photographs.  Photographs, diaries, personal letters, and press clippings have all been included in the exhibition to tell the story of this collaboration between Elizabeth the  Queen and Cecil Beaton the photographer.  Oh to be in London for this exhibition!

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With the new books on Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, the Cecil Beaton art exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum, recent films such as "Young Victoria," "The Queen," and "The King's Speech," and of course the hit television show "Downton Abbey," it is obvious that there is an insatiable appetite for the fascinating topic of English history.

If you would like to know what is happening in London to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, read a recent post from one of my favorite bloggers Jeanne Henriques at "Finding my way... in England."  Jeanne lists many official events happening in June of 2012, including additional art exhibitions, concerts and a royal river procession that will include the ringing of church bells, fireworks, and music.  It looks like London will be having quite a summer!