Westminster Abbey is the site of the Royal Wedding of William and Kate ~

"Over-protective in the way that single parent families are, she [Diana] lavished William and Harry with love, cuddles and affection. They were a point of stability and sanity in her topsy-turvy world. She loved them unconditionally and absolutely, working with a singleness of purpose to ensure that they did not suffer the same kind of childhood that she did.

It was Diana who chose their schools, their clothes and planned their outings. She negotiated her public duties around their timetables. A glance through the pages of her official diary signified as much: the dates of their school plays, term times and outings were all highlighted in green ink. They came first and foremost in her life. So while Charles would send a servant to Ludgrove School to give William a tray of plums from the Highgrove estate, Diana would make time to cheer him from the touchline when he played left back for his school soccer team."
~DIANA HER TRUE STORY ~ Andrew Morton, 1992, Simon & Schuster

(Diana's funeral took place in Westminster Abbey, September 6, 1997. Inscription on the gates of Kensington Palace during the days of mourning: To live in the hearts of those we leave behind is not to die ~ Thomas Campbell 1777 - 1844)

Dark Skies Over the Grand.

Crews work to clear fallen trees. . .No sunshine lighting today.

May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade your every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.

~ Traditional Irish Blessing

Photo by Lorna

Word Watching ~

Fascinator / n. As we recall, we first heard the word when a Scottish friend returned to Canada from a wedding in Scotland. Describing how essential it was to own a "fascinator" and the skirmish to purchase one, she was obviously traumatized over the thought that attendance without one would have been a travesty. At the time, we had no idea what this essential was. What could so insult a bride and groom? Since that of course, the British Royal Wedding news has made "fascinator" a household word. It is a type of hat! It appears to us to be a whimsical, feathery, perhaps lacey item ~ flamboyant in nature ~ worn on an angle on the side of the head.
The Canadian Oxford Dictionary The foremost authority on current Canadian English lists but does not define the word "fascinator" ~ only "fascinate"/ v. capture the interest of; attract irresistibly. deprive of the power of escape or resistance; transfix.

Webster's New World Dictionary appears to get it right. Fascinator/ n. a woman's scarf made of lace, net, yarn, etc., worn around the head and neck.

Mired in election hype? Disillusioned with the endless attack sound bites? Feeling that the politicians are just bickering again?

"Indeed, part of what makes the juxtaposition of competing press releases so alluring to reporters is that it feeds that old journalistic standby -- personal conflict. It's hard to deny that political civility has declined in the past decade, and that the parties differ sharply on major policy issues. But at least some of the decline in civility arises from the fact that, from the press' perspective, civility is boring. Your quote doesn't run if you say, "I see the other guy's point of view" or "The issue's really complicated." Go on the attack, though, and you can barely fight off the cameras. Often, reporters will go out of their way to stir up the pot, asking questions in such a way as to provoke an inflammatory response."

~ Barack Obama, p. 125 The AUDACITY of HOPE, Random House, Inc., 2006.

"Happy Easter" Everyone