Flight

Where I waved at the sky 
And waited your love through a February sleep, 
I see birds swinging in, watched them multiply... 
Like beauty spots marking a still perfect cheek. 
I see them bending the air, slipping away, for what birds seek. 
-From "The Balance Wheel" by Anne Sexton

Morning at the former Princeton Inn, a 1920s hotel (now student residence) overlooking a spot where the British made an almost-last stand in 1777. Enjoy your weekend!

PRINCE-ton

I wouldn't mind having this car bumper sticker! 

Growl

More tiger (Princeton mascot) hunting - a close-up of artist/activist Ai Weiwei's Chinese zodiac tiger (also here). 

Bounties of winter

Apples, pomegranates, satsumas, pears and sun! We are fortunate to have so much produce from local farms (like this one).

Returning to Princeton

Trinity Church last week, on my first back-to-Princeton stroll. The second shot was my view on the train home from the airport.:)

Postcard from London: The Codebreaker

{One of the first general-purpose programmable computers, based on Alan Turing's 1945 design}

This is my last London post. A current Science Museum exhibit highlights the life of Alan Turing, famous for his WWII codebreaking work at Bletchley Park and pioneer of the modern computer. Sadly, Turing was treated horribly, forced to take hormones to "cure" being gay. He died aged 41 of apparent suicide.
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A brief but lovely article, humanizing Turing, was published by Princeton University when he was voted one of its most influential alumni (Turing received his PhD from Princeton in 1938).

Postcard from London: The Foundling Museum

The Foundling Museum tells the story of the Foundling Hospital (1739-1954) for abandoned infants. Founder Thomas Coram was appalled by the sight of children left to die on London streets. Among the poignant artifacts are notes left by mothers with their babies, including a 1789 poem ending: "That I in better plight may live/I'd try to have my Boy again/And train him up the Best of Men".

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Across the museum, on former hospital grounds, is Coram's Fields, a children's park. Adults may enter only if accompanied by a child.

Philanthropist Thomas Coram

Happiest New Year

Back from travels and hope your New Year is off to a great start! This was a brief moment of London sun by the British Museum last week. May your 2013 be filled with bright moments, no matter the forecast!