her mother’s name was duckworth once. virginia woolf.

When I think of everything there is to know and learn, I get so excited my stomach hurts.

This evening Steph and I went for sushi but had profiteroles and petite fours instead. Then we watched The Hours and talked about Virginia Woolf and listened to the radio broadcast she did for the BBC in 1937. After that we looked through the photo album of Virginia’s father, Leslie Stephen, and wondered at paintings by her sister Vanessa.

We decided to read Mrs Dalloway together and then to buy “Afterwords: Letters on the Death of Virginia Woolf”, but only once. We reminisced about our time in Bloomsbury when we walked past the Tavistock Hotel every morning and every night and sat in Gordon Square just because our feet hurt and we could.

There are too many things I want to read and so much more I want to say but my stomach really does hurt from the profiteroles and I’m just flat out tired. The lady in the photo is Julia Jackson Duckworth Stephen, Virginia’s mother. Something about her reminds me of my own mother when she was young. I think it’s the eyes.

7 Responses to “her mother’s name was duckworth once. virginia woolf.”

1. howie says:

   11 November, 2009 at 14:04

   oh yes, the profiteroles. the wedding cake wasn’t enough for my wife. she also had to have those profiteroles. now that i think about it, i don’t believe she ever touched our wedding cake except when she was feeding it to me.
2. steph says:

   11 November, 2009 at 19:34

   now that was a wonderful nite………..
   love you
3. Flynn says:

   11 November, 2009 at 21:29

   Woolf’s short stories are TOPS, too. And I totally see your mom’s resemblance to Julia J.D. Stephen in the eyes AND the mouth.
4. steph says:

   16 November, 2009 at 3:14

   10 years old..
   hummm
5. Mallorie says:

   5 December, 2009 at 3:10

   yep.. I definately see boo.
6. Paul says:

   18 December, 2009 at 17:33

   I love Woolf’s writing. I’m dedicating myself to studying her work (my PhD is going to be on her work). I can’t recommend The Waves enough, to you or anyone. It’s a hard book to get into, but it’s incredibly rewarding and moving in the end.
7. Snowbrush says:

   25 March, 2010 at 23:43

   My friend, Chrisy, just referred me to your blog because I referenced the subject of your photo on my own blog. I don’t think I’ve seen your photo, and I couldn’t help wonder what kind of tree is in the background–an oak, I suspect.