A Time That Was

MAGPIE 195

Autumn on the River - 1899  John Singer Sargent

Photograph courtesy of Tess Kinkaid

 http://magpietales.blogspot.com/2013/11/mag-195.html

Men wearing whites

Giggling flappers

Played here

By the lake

Long hot summers

Blissful idleness

Open Intimacies

Heady days

Heavy picnic baskets

Champagne and oysters

Prepared by

Those downstairs

A time that was

Pseudo intellectuals

Gone now

Another era

Barbara M Lake  ©

Trinidad WI

November 2013

Happy Thanksgiving 2013

To all my American friends,  a very Happy Thanksgiving.

May your lives be filled with blessings and an abundance of all things good.

May your day and holiday weekend be filled with joy as you give thanks and may you all be surrounded by love, peace and fulfillment at this special time.

All Souls,Another Birthday and Divali!

Yesterday, Saturday 2 November was All Souls.  For those who may be interested, I have done quiet a few blogs on this Feast so here is a link to save me repeating myself regarding the  Feast Day itself!!http://expatbeesblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-souls-and-happy-birthday-wishes.html

Yesterday was also a Public Holiday in honour of Hindu Festival of Lights, Divali.  Again instead of repeating myself for those of you who are interested, the link is here:http://expatbeesblog.blogspot.com/search?q=divali

Divali actually falls today Sunday 3 November and normally because the festival fell on a Sunday. the Monday would be a Public Holiday.  But because we have a bye election here in Trinidad on Monday, the holiday was given yesterday.  

So we had All Saints on Friday, All Souls, the Divali Public Holiday and my husband's birthday yesterday and today the celebration of Divali.  

Yesterday I had a lunch for the birthday boy - intimate and cosy.  Son with his wife and daughter with her boyfriend joined us together with a friend of my daughter's.   The menu was roast leg of lamb cooked with garlic and rosemary; cauliflower, broccoli and carrots au gratin,  garden peas tossed in mint and roast potatoes.  It was a good thing I did two legs!! A couple of cakes including a Black Forest Gateau drenched in alcohol followed with New York Vanilla ice cream!  It seems we went through a great deal of red and white wine too after the aperitifs!!  Lunch was served at 2.30 pm and our last guests departed at just after one this morning! I love long lunches - and so do they!  My 'children' are certainly my children when it comes to a good party - and my husband is a natural host.  The daughter's boyfriend has dubbed me " Gordon Ramsey"  as he has never seen me in full flow in the kitchen before!!  Something to do with the shouting I believe!!

I cannot believe that I did not take any photos of the actual meal. Not like me at all but I did capture the birthday boy!  He didn't want me to put it up but I cheated!! So here are followed by the children, both of whom were in full flow, long after lunch was finished!!

Today we were supposed to join my daughter and her boyfriend at a friend's home for a Divali celebration.   For one reason and another we didn't make it but daughter did and this is the photo that went up on Face Book earlier this evening.  The hostess is second from left and my daughter, second from right.  They all went to University together.

To everyone celebrating this Festival of Lights, all good wishes.