Dear Friends,
After my previous post of January 26, I’ve been in regular contact with Lash’s wife. She has read all your messages to Lash, who was very touched and very happy to know so many people cared about her.

But over the next week, Lash’s situation grew steadily worse. The drastic measure of intubation was taken, and she was kept sedated. Then it became a roller coaster of first doing better, with higher oxygen levels, and then doing worse again, with a fever and a new course of antibiotics.

And now the unthinkable has happened. Our dear friend lash_larue passed away on Tuesday afternoon. P was with her, and the end was very peaceful.

Lash was one of the most extraordinary people I have ever come across, and I consider myself very fortunate to have met her both on LJ and in real life. As I reflect on our times together, I remember her wicked sense of humour, and her uncanny ability to tell a funny story against herself. Lash’s Helpful Household Hints were the stuff of legend. As were her tales of the outrageous things she got up to.

While we were staying at Crone Manor, those stories got even better in telling than they were in writing. Especially when Lash and her soul-sister redbeargrl remembered their youthful exploits. We relative youngsters sat at their feet in awe and we learned and listened, smiling.
I particularly recall the story that combined magnesium and gasoline, and most of us still listened smiling, except for albalark, our resident scientist, who listened with a look of absolute horror.

So here is another Helpful Household Hint: Do not mix these ingredients and then set fire to them..

Everyone who was at one of the two Crone Manors in person will recall those halcyon days and will have memories that will last a lifetime, and Lash was the one who made it all happen. She prepared everything, organized everything, took care of everything and was everywhere at all times to look after our comfort, to the point where we had to use physical force to make her sit down, relax, and enjoy the moment.

And in the world of LJ/DW, too, Lash was a friend extra-ordinaire. She was interested in everything we did and always left a comment to our posts. Frequently, hers was the first comment to appear. She sent supportive messages and her loving presence did so much to turn our LJ circle from a group of assorted Potter fans into a true online family.

Lash was also an extra-ordinary writer. She could do every genre. She wrote light-hearted femslash, but she was also a leading light in the Old Lady Smut Brigade. And she wrote a Fenrir Greyback story that managed to show his human side without excusing him, a feat I’ve never seen repeated.

Was there anything that Lash couldn’t write? We never got the chance to find out. She was game for every challenge. Someone mentioned femslash between two pianos once (believe me, there was a reason) and Lash delivered. She even managed a Dolores Umbridge/Percy Weasley story, and if you haven’t heard Lash doing Umbridge’s voice on a balmy Florida evening at Crone Manor, you haven’t lived.

With her unfailing loyalty, support and kindness, she was a moderator’s dream. In the fourteen years of hoggywartyxmas she took part in every edition, commented to every single entry, beta’ed countless stories, and was the life and soul of the Grand Opening.

It was only occasionally that we got glimpses of just how much our little circle meant to her. Lash’s path through life was not always an easy one. Her greatest source of happiness was, first and foremost, her beloved P, who was her sun, her moon, and her bedrock, too. But for Lash, our LJ circle was a source of profound happiness as well, a safe space, a refuge where she could be exactly who she was, and where – she never stopped to marvel at it – she was loved exactly as she was.

The Crone Manors made that beloved, safe space a living reality, and they meant the world to her, as did all of her LJ/DW friends.

I’m so glad she heard all of our messages and knew she meant the world to us, too. I will always remember her friendship, her sense of humour, her warmth and love.

Perhaps the final lash_larue Helpful Household Hint should be:

Whenever we are in trouble, whenever bad things happen to us, let us remember our friend and think, ‘How would Lash respond to this?”

A great light has gone from our world, but as long as people are remembered, they are not truly gone. Let us all keep Lash alive in our memories, and remember our wonderful friend.


Any memories, messages, or thoughts you wish to share will be passed on to P. I know from personal experience the comfort such messages can bring.
>.

This is your chance to do your bit for the Greater Good today.

In a few weeks, I have to teach my teacher training course in English, for a school that offers bilingual education (meaning the majority of the lessons is taught in English).

I'm now busy translating my course material into English, as the teachers who work there aren't fluent enough in Dutch to follow a Dutch training.

I need a good word for stappenplan. The stappenplan is the very foundation on which our didactical approach is based, so it is rather important to get it right.

This is how a stappenplan works:

You have this particular type of exam question that you need to answer. This is your plan, your approach:

step 1: Do this.
step 2: Do this.
step 3: Do this.

Thus we break down the process of finding the right answer into easy, clear, precise steps (stappen) that our students must follow. Hence the word stappen-plan. The idea is that for every exam question they have a clear plan of approach: the thing to do is to follow step 1, step 2, etc.

Any suggestions for stappenplan? The current suggestion is 'step by step plan'. The word 'approach' was suggested, but given the fact that the students are Dutch, we'd like to keep the word 'plan', since that is also used in Dutch.

My second question: do you have one word (verb) for 'surreptitiously telling a fellow classmate the correct answer'?

As in, Harry doesn't know what to give a person in case of poisoning. Hermione does, and softly whispers "Bezoar, Bezoar" in the hope that Snape will not hear this but Harry will.

We have one word for this, and I use it frequently. Is there one in English?

Thanks a million, dear flist, for your input!

Here's a Christmassy image by one of my favourite Dutch artists, Anton Pieck. The lines in his work remind me of the curlicues in mywitch's beautiful medieval border (see yesterday's ravings about my 25 Days of Christmas gift. Taking into account how many drawings this man produced in his lifetime, each so very detailed, in a time-consuming ink and watercolour process, he must have worked like a medieval monk. All day long, and just as carefully.

I think it's ink and watercolour, by the way. That's what sigune used for Rejoicing in the Greenhouse. One sees the same curly lines, and I referred to Pieck in my mails. Sigune knew all about him and confirmed the influence. And she did her beautiful piece in ink and watercolour.

Also, this is a drawing of the artist at work! Tip o'the wand to those generous and talented artists who work in the Potter fandom.

*both on LJ and DW*

I'm the happiest fangirl alive. The fabulous mywitch, who is doing her 25 Days of Christmas at the moment, has gifted me with the most fabulous art possible.

I'd suggested an illustration for what I think, in my heart of hearts, is the best story I've ever written, Above, Beneath, Betwixt, Between, the history of Cuthbert Binns and Helena Ravenclaw.

You must all go and look! mywitch has taken the bits about Helena wishing to be an illuminatrix, and admiring the Limbourg Brothers, and she has turned it into the most perfect illumination for the story I could wish.

I'm so incredibly happy with this gift. You'll find it here.


*hopping around in happy dances both on DW and LJ*

Facebook suddenly showed this on my feed, saying they thought I would enjoy it. Which I certainly did.

Good thing there are so many book-related things on my facebook page. They are usually good for a couple of smiles a day, but this little gem I wanted to share.




*in a world where everything moves some things still have to be hand-copied to DW*

A fitting tribute to you on your birthday, I hope!

Have a lovely day!

You may have a bit of time on your hands.

If you're still looking for the Champagne bar, our co-hostess with the mostest, lash_larue has sent a few hints as to the whereabouts of bubbly and Sancerre.

They are:


Hints to the wine/champagne bar


Hint # 2 - It's outside


Hint# 3 - It might be a bit wet

The reveals will be on December 31, when there is another entry-free night, and the need for a quality tipple may be keenly felt.

Happy Hunting!

Dear flist,

I have an internet problem. It looks right now as if the modem needs replacing.

So until that is solved, I will be remiss in commenting or responding to mails.

I'll let you know as soon as the situation is solved.

The best and brightest birthday to you, dear Lash. I hope this new year in your life will be full of happiness and health. And, perhaps conducive to the latter, full of wise forethought.

I guess you're in the mood for something sunny and uplifting right now, so I've selected two pictures from the Italian holiday that brought you Othello.



The gardens at Isola Bella.

And, because a birthday isn't a birthday without cake, a pic of Lord S eating his cake and sharing it.



With lots of love to you and to P!

What's happening? What?

What??

A party?

Where's the party? Get us to that party!




It's minervas_eule's birthday!

Many happy returns from all of us, and have a wonderful day!

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Another month went by, with me considering posting and having absolutely nothing to post about. Everything is still closed, so between getting up in the morning and going to bed at night, there is, for those who live alone with very little work, books, Netflix, and walking. Or making up household tasks one can then check of a to-do list.

I had about 5 days of work since my last post. There are four more coming, two of which an unexpected bonus I heard of last Wednesday. This was so the highlight of my week.

Another I did was pick up a little chair for a friend who had bought one on the Dutch version of Ebay. She lives in an other town, and the owner was in a hurry. It looked like a very light chair, and if I would get tired carrying it home, I told myself, I would have a chair to rest on. But it was a very easy job. Nice, walk, too. Pretty street. Rembrandt learned to paint in that street, and Jan Steen the painter had his inn there. And a family of the Pilgrim Fathers lived there as well. That's the fun of Leiden streets - always something happening, although right now we have to make do with this 17th century equivalent of 'share your memories' facebook posts.

But I was probably thinking about the 17th century fun of Leiden on account of abit of good news: a new book in a favourite series will appear on April 20th and it is set in that period. See the recs!


The friends have now picked up the chair with their car, and they stayed for dinner, which is lovely, and invited me back to their place, lovelier still.

The usual Sunday Dinner suspects have a few helpers in the DYI project this Sunday. A cheese fondue is planned, and they invited me as well. First time in months I'll be sitting down to dinner with a dazzling group of 5 people (self included) and I'm so looking forward to it.

I've promised to bring the dessert; there's a Jamie Oliver recipe for a cake with blood oranges I wanted to make, but it serves 8 people, and there's not much point making it for three. But five! I'm happy to get the chance to try it in blood oranges season.

And we had snow for Easter. We are still talking of how we sat in our gardens on the lovely warm Tuesday and Wednesday, and during the weekend weekend there was snow and hail.

That is well and truly all the news from here. How are you all doing?

Also, small question: I see that some of you manage cross posting to LJ again. I still cross post manually, since DW doesn't do it. Cross posting is flagged, and all the settings are as they always were, before the cross posting misery started. Tips, anyone?


( Here's a book rec and a netflix recCollapse )

Here's a cake I saw in Oxford, last time I was there, and I hope you'll enjoy it.

Have a wonderful day!

Here is a cake that won't spoil for being a day late. I hope you had a lovely, festive birthday, even with the current situation.

The happiest of birthdays, dear magnetic_pole. I hope you'll have a lovely day with the Better Half.

Now that you haven't had your fair share of travels and interesting architecture all over the world this year, I thought you might like a few pictures Lord S took in Beijing. Had you gone there, I'm sure you would have checked out this building, too.

I'm just so happy! Off to have a glass of bubbly with my dinner.

Wonderful news.

I'm so happy for my USA friends, and so happy for us in Europe, too.

Sad tidings: Sean Connery has passed away.



This does feel a bit like the end of an era. There are quite a few films, the Indiana Jones one among them, that were worth watching just because he was in it - only because he was in it, even, as far as I'm concerned.

Dearest Lash,

Have the most wonderful of birthdays together with P, and a good and healthy new year in your life! I know how much you love the Precious Ramotswe books, so here's one of Lord S's African pictures for you.

Lots of love!
TRS

Dear flist,

I know the official rule is to post the picture without comment. I think it's a rather silly rule, and I want to encourage everyone to break it. At the very least, provide the name, under a cut or in a comment to your own post if you want to be coy or live in fear of the meme police, but then we would at least have some chance of learning something about the person in the picture. Some look as if they might be interesting human beings.

So far, I think I've spotted Bette Davis. And I recognised the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz but that was more from knowing the person who posted it really well. Other than these two, it's just an endless row of faces.

There are clearly a great many crush-worthy people in the United States whose faces never became familiar in Europe. Give them a name, please. It might make this meme interesting for us, Europeans.

There was a similar meme on Facebook - seven books (covers) that mean a lot to you, without comment, and the very reason that worked much better is that in that case there was a title and author to google on if you wanted to know more. So people started commenting and responding to one another, because there actually was something to talk about. I noticed very few comments to the crush meme - might well be that not just the Europeans are clueless as to who they are looking at.

( And here's my first contributionCollapse )

Everyone, gather together. The lovely magnetic_pole and I were talking on my DW/LJ about missing our friends and what to do about it, I mentioned a friend in the same neighbourhood and I have a daily Covid Coffee Corner, and she said, "Let's do this online."

Great idea.

So now the comm is up, and everyone who wants to join can do so. It's on DW. If you neither have nor want a DW account, you can probably still comment anonymously. In that case, please do sign your comment with your LJ name so that we know who you are.

There will be a post at least once a day, made by various volunteers. You can sign up for a post, or just join in the commenting and conversations.

It's certainly a time when we should all stick together and keep in touch with one another.

And, it'll be great fun.

So come all and join the group at covidcoffeecorner. For LJ users, the ink is HERE

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