A Treasure Trove of Reading at Nat and Val's House

We woke up late today at Nat and Val's house in Blawenburg. The season is ahead of our colder New England climate, so her garden is in full bloom. One thing I'm always amazed about when I visit here is the smorgasbord of reading materials at hand. The New Yorker, The NY Times, print-outs of fascinating emails from their friend who traveled in Pakistan, an old booklet describing life in olden days in NJ; everywhere you look there is something I want to read.

That's always been a preoccupation of mine...reading everything around me. Here it's hard to find time to talk 'cause I want to read these intriguing things around me. A friend of their sent a clipping from the UK, showing the enormous new US Embassy being built in London. My dad showed me a collage of black and white photos from their beach camping trips in Southampton in the '50s.

So many different things to catch up with...and of course, sisters who want to see us and have us come over, and old friends who want to get some face time. I'm glad we're not leaving until Monday so we can try to fit this all in!