It’s today, the middle of a very fraught month. I’m catching my breath.

I’ve always said that September feels more like the New Year with everyone starting up again, hoping for renewed strength and purpose and a better way to get things done. No time has been more true for me. than now. Ii’m sitting in my living room full of boxes containing my kitchen. I have to wash everything before putting things back in (freshly washed) shelves. Well, not everything is going back. It will all be subject to a new purge.

I keep thinking of Laurie Colwin.

“Laurie Colwin (June 14, 1944 – October 24, 1992) was an American writer who wrote five novels, three collections of short stories and two volumes of essays and recipes. She was known for her portrayals of New York society and her food columns in Gourmet magazine.” Wikipedia

I’ve told you about her before—a novelist who wrote a couple of darling cookbooks using limited space and equipment with ingenuity, grace, humour and good recipes, always a pleasure to re-read. I’m thinking of her now because I am about to discard many of my last used-to-be essentials. My dwindling energy and strength make this possible and less traumatic because I don’t cook as much as I used to and certainly not for as many people.

I’m going to have to finish this when I get back from Stratford. I certainly didn’t plan on cockroaches last June when I booked tickets for this weekend.

Anon.