Colorado and on Long Island.CometbrbrPhilip married Adele on a day in June. It was cloudy and the wind was blowing. Later the sun came out. It had been a while since Adele had married and she wore white: white pumps with low heels, a long white skirt that clung to her hips, a filmy blouse with a white bra underneath, and around her neck a string of freshwater pearls. They were married in her house, the one she’d gotten in the divorce. All her friends were there. She believed strongly in friendship. The room was crowded.brbr— I, Adele, she said in a clear voice, give myself to you, Phil, completely as your wife . . . Behind her as best man, somewhat oblivious, her young son was standing, and pinned to her panties as something borrowed was a small silver disc, actually a St. Christopher’s medal her father had worn in the war; she had several times rolled down the waistband of her skirt to show it to people. Near the door, under the impression that she was part of a garden tour, was an old woman who held a little dog by the handle of a cane hooked through his collar.brbrAt the reception Adele smiled with happiness, drank too much, laughed, and scratched her bare arms with long showgirl nails. Her new husband admired her. He could have licked her palms like a calf does salt. She was still young enough to be good-looking, the final blaze of it, though she was too old for children, at least if she had anything to say about it. Summer was coming. Out of the afternoon haze she would appear, in her black bathing suit, limbs all tan, the brilliant sun behind her. She was the strong figure walking up the smooth sand from the sea, ?Р (less)

not a girl. I am the grandmother of six. I bake cakes for all my grandchildren. My name is synonymous with "cake." I have taught them this. Nana, Cake, and they clap their little hands. Apple cake, this is my specialty. In the past twelve days I have baked seven apple cakes for seven separate occasions. These cakes contain walnuts and raisins as well as golden oil and apples. You would beg me for a slice if you could see these cakes. You would beg for their perfume alone. They do well for holidays. Thanksgiving, for example. Anniversaries. I have had my good times and my bad. This was long ago, my dears, before most of you were born. I was not a prudish girl. Nor was I wise. When I was young I gave myself away; it was all I had to offer. But not today. Today I will bake a cake. The cake is not a metaphor. Say the words "apple cake." Apple cake. See how the mouth fills with desire.brbrbrNot Meaning to BragbrbrI remember one summer I was slim enough to wear a yellow polka-dot two-piece bathing suit, and still, I could see him looking sadly down the beach like a dog on a rope. No matter what, there was still only one of me. Which later he regretted taking so long to find out.brbrbrI Ate There OncebrbrShe never thought he'd get old this way. Never thought his defenses would come down one by one, dismantled, she realizes, by children. She imagines a split-rail fence coming apart over the years. He wasn't wise, she understands now, he was depressed. They both had mistaken depression for wisdom. She has married again, the third time, and she sits up front with her new husband, the nicest man in the world. Her old husband sits in back, bundled in blankets, blowing his @+Â? (õÃÿ¾Û€  (less)

in 1999 and will be published this year. She is also developing and writing a new TV series about life in the theatre. She and her husband, the actor Albert Schultz, live in Toronto with their two children.iTo see a World in a Grain of SandbrAnd a Heaven in a Wild Flower,brHold Infinity in the palm of your handbrAnd Eternity in an hour./ibrbrWhen I first read those lines, they struck me with the force of something I had always known, but somehow forgotten. They are by William Blake, from an unfinished poem called “Auguries of Innocence,” about the interconnectedness of all things, and especially the profound connection between faith and truth. To me, they perfectly describe the way a small child sees the world, before she learns to hurry up, settle down, and pay attention to what the grown-ups think is important.brbr***brbrThis is the story of a remarkable friendship, which began when I was five years old, and has nourished me all my life.brbrI have a photograph taken that summer on the platform in Toronto’s Union Station. My mother, dressed in a tailored suit of robin’s egg blue, is holding my little brother Andrew by the hand. My nine-year-old sister Nancy is in braids and a skirt and blouse. I am wearing a smocked cotton dress and ankle socks, holding my doll, Lazy Mary, by one arm. On the back of the photograph my mother has scrawled the date: June 1963.brbrWe are on our way once again from Toronto to Kenora, on Lake of the Woods. Our train is called the Trans-Canada Limited, or “The Fastest Train Across the Continent.”brbrOnce inside the car, we pressed our faces to the window to watch as the train pulled out of t?ä(õÂ? )ÿ¾Û€  (less)

road australia's hardest working harmonic quintet are packing away the ray bans, putting the suits in moth balls and heading into the studio for a long dark night working on their second album. So, before sunshine fully fades (thanks global warming!) And the winter winds set in (brrrrr!) The boys are setting out for one final run of shows playing tunes from their debut lp 'listen to little red'. To mark this final roll of the dice the band have re-packaged the current album 'listen to little red' with a bonus tour edition dvd that features 3 x clips including the clip for the track "waiting" (only available on this re-package) as well as a 3 song live performance filmed by channel v. The tour pack is strictly limited so get in quick.  (less)

month of the year. In June, they play at being bride and spoof soap opera clichés with their shared puppet-husband; they try on bathing suits but never quite get around to swimming in August. Who the fairies are and why they live on Senseisan's desk is never explained. The ultra cute mini-characters recall A Little Snow Fairy Sugar , but this quartet doesn't cause changes in the human world. The artwork features odd dot patterns in some scenes that suggest a miniature Roy Lichtenstein painting. As each adventure only lasts about 10 minutes, all 13 episodes could easily fit on a single DVD. (Rated 7 and older: cartoon slapstick violence) --Charles Solomon  (less)

at the same time, not miss out on the action? If so, you have just discovered your new home from home in the lively heart of Munich – the CONRAD-HOTEL de Ville MÜNCHEN. Decide for yourself which of the hotel rooms is your favourite – a living room to sleep in, or a sleeping room to live in? What requires the most space? Your evening dress or your laptop? You have the choice of 89-times space to live, breathe and feel at home. Or would you like a little something more? The Junior Suites for business, la dolce vita and holidays with the family? We have 12 of them. After your first visit, you may well describe it as charming, its style Mediterranean, and its garden idyllic. You might praise the breakfast buffet as excellent, and find our staff warm and friendly. One thing our establishment will not do is leave you cold – except on hot summer days. Free Wi-Fi available in the guest rooms.  (less)