Midshipman, just ask and cucumber.

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1. While unpacking, I picked Mr Midshipman Hornblower out of Nick's stacks and shuffled it on to the end of my reading queue. I was very taken by it -- he's a pleasingly frail creation, full of doubts and fears, but driven by determination to do well. C. S. Forster treats him so sympathetically that I felt Hornblower's pains and triumphs. The story clips along and I was almost afraid to put the book down in case something happened while I wasn't looking.   

2. To have a husband who can explain the intimate details of the Georgian navy AND knows what a taffrail is. 

3. Sparkling dew drops make a jewel of the cut end of my cucumber.

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