Posts in category Stories of Life


BritainStories of Life

Christmas Day ~ when I was a child

Christmas day would always begin in our parents’ bedroom, just as it has for our children. Three excited little people, (and as the years slipped by, not so little people!) would drag their bulging stockings to our parent’s bed, it was …

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Christmas table
BritainStories of Life

Christmas Eve ~ when I was a child

The time next week it will be Christmas Eve, the night before Christmas, probably the most magical night of the year. One when children everywhere (big ‘children’ too) really want to ‘believe’. Excited, eager, little faces press their noses to …

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BritainStories of Life

Christmas cooking preparing for Christmas!

As a child, just as it is now and probably has been for several generations, the days before Christmas were always busy, collecting greenery to decorate the house, finding the tree, buying and wrapping presents, writing cards, standing in endless lines …

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Christmas Traditions in England, mince pies
BritainStories of Life

An English family’s Christmas traditions

I grew up in a family with an abundance of Christmas traditions, many from my incredible grandmother, my father’s mother, who, despite having twelve children never set a table without a fresh flower and who could make the simplest of …

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A day in Oxfordshire England at Thanksgiving
An Hour from LondonBritainExploreStories of Life

Spending a day in Oxfordshire, England on Thanksgiving week

It is strange this week to be in England as Thanksgiving is almost upon us. Here there is no ‘Thanksgiving’ anywhere, just lots of ‘Christmas’! I’m not rushing around food shopping or thinking about how I am going to decorate …

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Hartz Avenue, Danville, California, USA
California & USADanvilleExploreStories of LifeThe Bay Area

Danville, the place we call home

Recently I have been busy networking with other writers, talking mostly about Provence. When the Franco-British Chamber of Commerce tweeted about me last week they referred to Shutters and Sunflowers as ‘a fun Franco British blog with a US flavor’. …

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DanvilleStories of Life

Recipes to warm your heart and soul

Spoiled as we are by the continuing warm weather in Northern California, there are still signs everywhere that Autumn has danced her way back into our lives. Leaves carpeting the ground, acorns scattered below the trees and a distinct chill …

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In Market Hall, Rockridge, Gourmet Grocery store, Oakland, California
California & USAExploreStories of LifeThe Bay Area

A visit to Market Hall in Rockridge, expect the unexpected!

I have found in life that things often happen when you least expect them. Yesterday morning I stopped in a wonderful store, I am seldom in the neighborhood to visit, Market Hall in Rockridge, (just along College Avenue from Berkeley) As soon …

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