decanters, jugs, beakers and glasses

If ever an image and passage went together these two do.

'... down the path which led from the magna domus to the tennis court, a trolley with rubber wheels, also laden with decanters, jugs, beakers and glasses. Within the porcelain and pewter jugs were tea, milk and coffee, and within the Bohemian cut-glass decanters, beaded with pearls of moisture, was lemonade, fruit juice and skiwasser - this last a thirst-quenching drink made of water and raspberry syrup in equal measures, with the addition of a slice of lemon and a few grapes.' Giorgio Bassani The Garden of the Finzi-Continis

trolley

Shall we all just stop and meet at the tennis courts at 4pm for a skiwasser?

and a chaise longue

Our new house started to feel like home as soon as we unpacked the boxes of books. They are in no particular order, and we already need more book space.

'Thus: of windows, there were two. Both of them faced south, and were high off the floor... Between the two windows was a fourth shelf - the shelf for English and French books. Against the left-hand window was an office-type desk, flanked by a small table for the portable typewriter on one side, and on the other by a fifth bookshelf, this one for Italian literature, classic and modern, and for translations: mainly from Russian - Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekov. On the floor, a large Persian carpet, and at the centre of the room, which was long but rather narrow, three armchairs and a chaise longue to stretch out on while reading.'The Garden of the Finzi-Continis Giorgio Bassani

Hope you get a moment to laze and read this weekend.

a beautiful world

Eleven in the Morning

Oh I had such a wonderful sleep last weekend. I awoke at 10ish and about 11 Warmth made a comment about still being in bed. I promptly read him this.


'And so you're phoning me now from your bedroom?'
'I certainly am. And from my bed as well.'
It was eleven in the morning.
'You're not exactly an early bird.'
'....Do you know what time yours truly got up, my dear boy? At seven. And you dare to wonder that I'm back in bed again at eleven! Besides, it's not as though I were sleeping - I've been reading, scribbling some notes for my thesis, and looking out of the window. I always do a whole lot of things when I'm in bed. The warmth of the blankets undoubtedly spurs me into activity.' The Garden of the Finzi-Continis Giorgio Bassani

warmth of the blankets

I'm hoping for the same this weekend.