Jessica McFarland

The last topic was about Nashville, and now we’re going just an hour to the northeast.

Still in Tennessee, of course. As mentioned previously, I’ve spent quite a bit of time there, as my mother’s side of the family has some land on the Cumberland River, about an hour’s drive from Nashville. And although I would never claim to be “from Tennessee” (because a) I wasn’t born there b) I didn’t grow up there and c) even today my driver’s license isn’t from there), it is probably the one place that has been a constant in my life. Even now, although I only get back to the U.S. once or twice a year, I must go spend at least a few days at the farm.
(more…)

Ever read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein?

It’s a classic, and it’s how I feel about Opryland USA. In one form or another, it has been with me throughout the stages of growing up.

When I was a kid, Opryland was a theme park in Nashville, Tennessee (very slightly north east of it, actually). Growing up in the midwest as I did, amusement parks were the pinnacle of entertainment. There was simply no better way to spend a day than riding roller coasters, watching Motown revues, and eating park food. After I moved away, I realised that some people grow up with mountains and kayaks and nature, but in Illinois, not so much.
(more…)

Yesterday I spent a good couple of hours looking at swimsuits. (All in a day’s work.)

After a while, the strangest thing happened. I suddenly had this wild and weird urge to be in Florida.

Now, I’ve felt like I’ve needed a vacation for quite a while now. The weather is usually cold or windy or rainy or some depressing combination of the three here, and I inevitably spend the rare occasional sunny day indoors. It’s supposed to be summer, and what’s more, my American upbringing has implanted the desire for 3 months off deep in my psyche.

But Florida, really? I had no idea my situation was that bad.
(more…)

On one of the first glorious days of late spring, I donned flip flops and decided to go for a walk after work to explore my neighbourhood. I brought only my phone and my camera and had a mini-adventure, which I documented with the camera. (Not the phone, I’m not that technologically advanced.)

I walked up quiet residential streets. I met many commuters on their way back from the train station. I stopped to take a picture of a lamp post:

(more…)

I have escaped London for Somerset (see figure 1). As I write this, I can feel the stress of living in the capital letting go and drifting away through the open window. Good riddance.

So today I’m going to write about something nice. I feel I need it. For the past several days, every time I look at the news it seems there is some new and previously unimaginable horror in the world. I continue to be, well, frankly impressed at how awful we can make life for ourselves and for each other.

So I’m taking a stand against it. The revolution starts here:

Right now, it is late May, and therefore, early summer. Contrary to all my previous experience of this country, it is pleasantly warm today. There are quite a few clouds, sure, but the air is still bright. There is a gentle breeze blowing. The trees are in full leaf, and they are swaying gently to it, as if it is a song they love but haven’t heard for a very long time. (more…)