So the end may be a long time coming, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a way of sneaking up on you.

There are times with your friends when you just have to put their whole mess out of your mind for a while.

The road to hell is paved with leeks and potatoes

Sometimes, if you want to be happy, you've got to run away to Bath and marry a punk rocker. Sometimes you've got to dye your hair cobalt blue, or wander remote islands in Sicily, or cook your way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year, for no very good reason.

There, I was just a secretary-shaped confederation of atoms, fighting the inevitability of mediocrity and decay. But here, in the Juliaverse... energy was never lost, merely converted from one form to another. Here, I took butter and cream and meat and eggs and I made delicious sustenance.

But hard bitten cynicism leaves one feeling peevish, and too much of it can do lasting damage to your heart.

If there's a sexier sound on this planet than the person you're in love with cooing over the crepes you made for him, I don't know what it is.