Monday, August 27

Berries

Yesterday we head outside London to berry pick at the Home Cottage in Buckinghamshire - this being one of Sonnet's favorite Martha Stewart things (we will return in autumn for the pumpkins). We find blackberries, raspberries, sweet and sour plums and early cooking and munching apples both red and green. Sonnet spends the afternoon preparing berry crumble which we have with vanilla bean ice cream - it is out of this world and Madeleine's eyes glaze over as she eats. In the afternoon Eitan and I practice football while Sonnet and Madeleine ride Madeleine's bike. Madeleine no longer needs a hand getting going and is skilled on her wide turns. Nearby, our common offers the perfect manicured grassy field where falls don't skin. The common is otherwise the home of our local cricket club who meet Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays during the summer (all newcomers welcome - goofy gear not provided). I learn that the common has been a public place since 1040. It was once used as a gentlemen's shooting grounds then a ladies golf course. Almost one thousand years - go figure.