The There There Letter: Doughnuts, Daunt, and Dalmatia
Three things from DAH.
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I pen, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Doughnuts …
I inherited my joy in puns and word-play from my Dad. And I've long had a word-invention habit (yes, I've been Humpty-Dumptying). Sometimes I'm convinced that my word-invention may have actual meaning. Take the doughnut. I determined long ago that it was derived from dough-nought ("nought" being an English word for the "zero"). A dough circle: of course! Of course, I was fooling myself. Etymologists suggest that doughnut comes from an 18th Century usage: Small, nut-sized lumps of fried dough. Another "of course": Not all doughnuts are round with a hole in the middle, despite the ubiquitous doughnut-making machine (I saw my first at Seattle's Pike Place Market). There's fried dough around the world, which is unsurprising. I'm inspired to pen one of those food-travel books. I'd title it "Baker's Dozen: Around the World in 13 Doughnuts."
The History of the Doughnut
Second up this week, Daunt …
I really like London. Which doesn't make a lot of sense because I have only the slightest personal connection to the city (the London suburb of Twickenham was important in my mother's life, but not so significant in her memories as Oxford). Nevertheless, I've so enjoyed my many London visits. I always seek out interesting bookshops when we travel. In London, we ventured to Marylebone to find Daunt Books, a beautiful shop focused on travel books. Achilles James Daunt, bookseller, became CEO of Waterstones and spearheaded that bookshop chain's business turn-around. Now Daunt is also CEO of Barnes & Noble. Whether he's successful with B&N or not, I will delight when our London travel again includes that travel bookshop in Marylebone.
The Picture-Perfect Bookshop That’s Designed For Travellers
Third up this week, Dalmatia …
Armchair travel is a joy I take in wine. I much prefer wine with a specific place attached. Single-vineyard Zinfandels were how I cut my teeth in California wine so many years ago (they were a key component of the winery at which I first worked). Zinfandel wines of all types have remained favorites. From light and tart to full and rich, I delight in them all, particularly when they are of-a-place. I think it would be fun to journey to Zin's birthplace, in Croatia on the Dalmatian Coast (and there are a number of luxury tours focused on the Croatian source of Zin -- tourism always needs a hook). The origin of Zinfandel vines is a relatively recent discovery (DNA-detectiving and good luck). It makes me happy that a long-time favorite winery, Ridge, has put so much effort into the Dalmatia-to-California connection.
Discovering the Origin of Zinfandel
And a bit more … Carrie Richard's haiku titled tug-a-war:
two squirrels on the fence...
our old Dalmatian
ignores my command
And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's poem "Sometimes" …
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I pen, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Doughnuts …
I inherited my joy in puns and word-play from my Dad. And I've long had a word-invention habit (yes, I've been Humpty-Dumptying). Sometimes I'm convinced that my word-invention may have actual meaning. Take the doughnut. I determined long ago that it was derived from dough-nought ("nought" being an English word for the "zero"). A dough circle: of course! Of course, I was fooling myself. Etymologists suggest that doughnut comes from an 18th Century usage: Small, nut-sized lumps of fried dough. Another "of course": Not all doughnuts are round with a hole in the middle, despite the ubiquitous doughnut-making machine (I saw my first at Seattle's Pike Place Market). There's fried dough around the world, which is unsurprising. I'm inspired to pen one of those food-travel books. I'd title it "Baker's Dozen: Around the World in 13 Doughnuts."
The History of the Doughnut
Second up this week, Daunt …
I really like London. Which doesn't make a lot of sense because I have only the slightest personal connection to the city (the London suburb of Twickenham was important in my mother's life, but not so significant in her memories as Oxford). Nevertheless, I've so enjoyed my many London visits. I always seek out interesting bookshops when we travel. In London, we ventured to Marylebone to find Daunt Books, a beautiful shop focused on travel books. Achilles James Daunt, bookseller, became CEO of Waterstones and spearheaded that bookshop chain's business turn-around. Now Daunt is also CEO of Barnes & Noble. Whether he's successful with B&N or not, I will delight when our London travel again includes that travel bookshop in Marylebone.
The Picture-Perfect Bookshop That’s Designed For Travellers
Third up this week, Dalmatia …
Armchair travel is a joy I take in wine. I much prefer wine with a specific place attached. Single-vineyard Zinfandels were how I cut my teeth in California wine so many years ago (they were a key component of the winery at which I first worked). Zinfandel wines of all types have remained favorites. From light and tart to full and rich, I delight in them all, particularly when they are of-a-place. I think it would be fun to journey to Zin's birthplace, in Croatia on the Dalmatian Coast (and there are a number of luxury tours focused on the Croatian source of Zin -- tourism always needs a hook). The origin of Zinfandel vines is a relatively recent discovery (DNA-detectiving and good luck). It makes me happy that a long-time favorite winery, Ridge, has put so much effort into the Dalmatia-to-California connection.
Discovering the Origin of Zinfandel
And a bit more … Carrie Richard's haiku titled tug-a-war:
two squirrels on the fence...
our old Dalmatian
ignores my command
And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's poem "Sometimes" …
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
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