Last Month of Summer.... A List

Last Month of Summer.... A List

This week, here in my little corner of the world, the school buses rolled.  Incredibly for someone like myself, who grew up with three long, long months of summer holidays each year, school started here on August 1st.  This seems almost unbearably cruel.  The air is still as thick as cream soup, the sun still glares straight down from high.  Each afternoon brings thunderstorms, fierce, vociferous answers to the searing heat.  And yet there they are at the bus stop, all pressed and combed, impossibly young and a little bit glum, waiting to be shuttled off to a brand new school year.  Once more, I realize that adulthood has its perks.  

There is one more month of summer here at The House of Edward.  (Though for cold-weather-loving Edward, this is hardly a celebratory fact.)  One more month of watermelon for dessert, for fresh corn and fried okra.  One more month of bare feet and white linen.  Of Astrid Gilberto playing at dinner and bird song as our morning alarm.  Of the heady fragrance of nicotiana and rose drenching the pavement on our evening walks, lines of robins waiting their turn in the birdbath, and driving through the city with an ice cream cone in my hand.

Summer’s puzzle is just not complete without August.

So here are a few more pieces for you to enjoy.

xoxo, 

Pamela
***

1. Prince George

No doubt many of you saw these photographs of Prince George,

 released last month to celebrate his third birthday.  

(Three years, already?) 

  But I simply couldn’t resist. 
 Cutest kid in the world.

***

2. Jacobites

Of course, for me, one of the most exciting things
 about the last month of summer,
 is that autumn is getting ever closer. 
 This autumn will find me visiting Culloden moor for the first time,
so I was thrilled this new book on the Jacobites was just released. 

 I’m in the middle of it now, and it’s brilliant.  

For all of you Outlander fans, this is for you.

Find it HERE
***

3. Florence Foster Jenkins

I’ve always found this woman’s story completely fascinating

 and I’m a total fan of Meryl Streep. 

 So boy, oh, boy,  

am I looking forward to this…..

***

4.  Love, Nina

Having adored this book when I read it a couple of years ago, 

I cannot wait to see Love, Nina.  

The true story of Nina Stibbe’s experiences 

as a nanny in 1980’s London.

It looks every bit as delightful as the book.  

And I cannot wait to read her new one, Paradise Lodge. 

Find it HERE

And here's the trailer for Love, Nina...

***

5.  The Shepherdess

I found this fascinating woman on Instagram before 

I knew anything of significance about her. 

Following the links to her website, I was just enchanted.  

Her name is Alison O'Neill and what a remarkable life she lives.  

And what gorgeous clothing she makes.  

 Take a look for yourself, HERE

***

6.  Eat, Sleep, Knit

Two years ago, I traveled fourteen hours by ferry from the mainland of Scotland to the Shetland Isles.  Upon docking, I drove up island forty minutes to catch another small ferry out to the Isle of Whalsay where I was to take a class on Fair Isle knitting.  The only people on the ferry that grey morning were other knitters bound for the same class.  As we made our introductions, I told them where I lived.  A woman from Australia brightened and said, “Oh yes!  Eat, Sleep, Knit!”

It’s true, my local yarn shop is world famous, and rightfully so.  I’ve been in yarn shops all over the globe, but none, and I mean none, compares to the one just ten minutes from my front door.  I feel almost unfairly blessed.

Now, it’s always dangerous to share one’s most treasured resources.  You all could, it’s true, clear out their shelves and leave no treasure for me.  However,  whenever I post something I’ve recently knitted on Instagram, (like the shawl I finished last month, above) I receive so many requests for information on the yarn I’ve used, I feel I owe it to the knitting world to share. 
 And besides, ESK is really an online business first,
 so I feel they are prepared for any onslaught of purchases.

So here you go…. all the world’s beautiful yarns… HERE 

***

7.  Harry Potter

Yes, I have the book.  Now the question is….

should I read it now, 

or wait a few years till I can get a ticket to the play?

Sigh.
Who's seen it?  Who's read it?

Find the Book HERE

Website for the play HERE

***

8.  Gilmore Girls

Like many people, I adored this show.

Witty and charming, it was a most enjoyable place to go every week.  True, the writer left in the last year and the quality suffered, but now I’m thrilled to say she is back and four new ninety minute episodes are scheduled to premiere on Netflix at midnight on Thanksgiving here in the states.
  I am tickled!

Till then, check out the old episodes
 and see if you don’t get hooked like I did.

Find them HERE
****

9.  This Book!

Has anyone read it yet?

Find it HERE

***

10.  Escapes

This time of year, I can almost physically feel the pull of the sea.  It happens every August.  I lie in bed at night haunted by the sound of phantom waves beating against an unseen shore.  I search the late summer sky for seagulls, only finding cardinals, mockingbirds and doves.  This annual feeling is stronger this year, no doubt due to the turbulent sturm and drang of American politics, and I find myself longing more than ever for an escape.  Happily, my toes will be in the sand before too long and until then I’ve been dreaming of these two enchanted places. 
 Who wouldn’t gratefully escape to either one of these?  

Nothing but good books, good food, good drink. 

 Maybe a couple of jars of bubble bath.
Edward.

  And Debussy.

Find the one above HERE

and the one below, HERE

How are you enjoying the last few weeks of summer?

***

PS:  The delightful sketch at the start of this post

was done by Kevin Nichols, 

who illustrated Edward Speaks at Midnight.

Christmas is coming, so get your copy HERE!