"Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin."

Those words have always been with me. Funny how a quote or a saying can stick in your mind forever. Listen With Mother was a BBC radio program for children which ran between 1950 and 1982.  It was a fifteen minute slot every weekday afternoon at 1:45 PM consisting of stories, songs and nursery rhymes.  At its peak - probably before television - it had an audience of over a million listeners. Ah, the great old days of real radio - how wonderful they were. One cuddled up with mother or grandmother, listening to presenters speaking perfect Queen's English, soaking in simple songs and rhymes which have stayed with one throughout life.

When readying for a lengthy trip away from home, I always find nostalgia enveloping me at every turn. I get a feeling that I must look at everything close up, imprint it on my mind in order to have total recall of the contents of the cottage and the garden to accompany me on my journey.  Although I love to travel, home will always be the safest and most-loved place.  I always say a prayer that I will return to sit again in a much-loved corner.........sit comfortably and then begin to tell the travel tale to someone ready to listen.

These next couple of weeks will be hectic, lots to get done before leaving for California to hook up with Paula, then onward to New Zealand and Australia for our expedition.  The house, the garden need attention, organizing things so DH can manage without me - he always does just fine - packing, and a dozen other things required to get shipshape before leaving.

Always, at the back of my mind will be home.  I'm going to miss birthday celebrations, Halloween, the turning and falling of the leaves, the drastic garden changes once the nights turn cold......but I just know I'll be back sitting comfortably in a favorite spot, ready to begin.

If you're British, do you recall that sweet program? I'd love to know.

It aired right before Woman's Hour, which I also recall listening to with my grandmother who cared for me when my mother was at work. The exquisite theme music, which became synonymous with the Listen With Mother program, was the Berceuse from Gabriel Faure's Dolly Suite for piano duet, Opus 56.

The places we've been.............and the memories we hold close.