Category Archives: Terroir

It’s not science fiction either (for which the author is well known).

this is an excellent study of human ingenuity overcoming challenges before we had modern machinery, no ancient astronauts needed.

A fun read if you are even slightly interested in the engineering behind ’stuff’ we use every day.  

Entertaining and non-technical. Unfortunately this is very little on Eastern development, such as China.

It was written in the 60s, so it’s time for an update!

The Ancient Engineers, L. Sprague de Camp, 1965, ISBN 0-88029-456-6

A hungry bear won’t dance (Greek Proverb)

 Lebenskunst – the art of living

Tell the Truth and Run – Yugoslavian proverb

There is no little enemy – French Proverb

Great sorrows are silent – Italian Proverb

Affection is a bad advisor – German Proverb

Example is an eloquent orator – anonymous

Gratitude is the heart’s memory – French Proverb

Divorce is the Sacrament of adultery – French Proverb

Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is – German Proverb

A father is a banker provided by nature – French Proverb

The apple does not fall far from the Tree – German Proverb

Those who wish to sing, always find a song – anonymous

Sickness comes on horseback and departs on foot – Dutch Proverb

Since the house is on fire, let us warm ourselves – anonymous

Advice after injury is like medicine after death – Danish Proverb

Beauty without virtue is a flower without a sword – French Proverb

The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected – Swedish Proverb

Mules are always boasting that their ancestors are horses – German Proverb

The dog may be wonderful prose, but only the at is Poetry – French Proverb

After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box – Italian Proverb

Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow – Swedish Proverb

You are permitted in time of great danger to walk with the devil until you have crossed the bridge – anonymous

Fear less, hope more; chew more, whine less, breath more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours. – anonymous

How Europe has evolved

What OUR plan is:

Have done in past 6 months

Already reduced my probiotic yogurt snacks by 8 containers to 1 per week

One less vehicle trip per week

Have turned down the hot water tank 8 C

Going to do:

Continue with one less vehicle trip per week, making it two less vehicle trips per week

Grow two more herbs on the deck rather than purchase from the store

Purchase more environmentally friendly packed products

Turn down the hot water tank another 2 C

Encourage only sustainable projects

Let’s all doing at least two new things each this coming year to reduce climate change.

A novel for humans.

Visually the movie was well done, but what I really enjoyed about the book was the ability to go back and leaf through some of the earlier experiences. I guess if you’d recorded the movie you could do that too.

It brings out all the emotions: laugh. cry. smile. ponder. and reminisce about your own pets of the past. It make one wonder where they been before they landed in our lives.

All dogs go to Heaven … unless they have unfinished business here on earth.

Others by the same author (A Dog’s Journey and 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter) are just as delightful.

A Dog’s Purpose, W. Bruce Cameron, ISBN 978-0-7653-3034-5

Shadow of the Silk Road

Rather than follow the Silk Road as the Western world thinks of it, Colin Thubron starts in Xian, China and travels west, terminating in Antakya, Turkey (Antioch). On the two places the Silk Road diverged onto alternate paths, Thubron chose to follow the lesser travelled routes. The net result of this journey is a fascinating portrait of Western China, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Persian and Arabic lands.

He takes a couple of interesting detours, including one into the fringes of Tibet. This is eye-opening and enjoyable to read.

His first books were about the Middle East – Damascus, Lebanon and Cyprus. In 1982 he travelled by car into the Soviet Union, a journey he described in Among the Russians. From these early experiences developed his classic travel books: Behind the Wall: A Journey through China (winner of the Hawthornden Prize and the Thomas Cook Travel Award), The Lost Heart of Asia, In Siberia (Prix Bouvier), Shadow of the Silk Road and To a Mountain in Tibet.

This is a rewarding, elegantly written, travel adventure.

Shadow of the Silk Road, Colin Thubron, ISBN 978-0-06-123172-8