A Happy Life

Not a bad day today, tho' a chilly wind. Not as sunny as yesterday, but still dry. Given up the gardening for today - sore back for reasons unknown.

Decided yesterday to reread Marianne North's autobiography.  For those who don't know of her, she was a Victorian lady who travelled the world between around 1869 and 1889, painting largely flowers. If you're ever at Kew, do visit the gallery devoted to her works. You can read up about her here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_North

The coloured book is a 1980 publication, full of her wonderful paintings, but the three older volumes, which I'll be rereading, are early editions. The first two are second editions, published 1892 - 'Recollections of a Happy Life', vols. 1 and 2, and the third, 'Further Recollections of a Happy Life, is a reprinted 1st edition of 1893. I love these old books - the first two are gifts to 'Emmerline Cave, with Penelope's love, January 1893'. I wonder who these people were!

Anyway, the books are great and the contents wonderful. She was a very good writer, an educated woman from a well-to-do family, and travelled with her parents from an early age. She died in 1890 at the age of sixty.

Quote of the Day:

Ed Low - “To leave something beautiful behind is the noblest of pursuits.”