Luvvie's Musings

One day left - Holidays

2012-01-01T21:39:00.001+10:00

An anonymous member of the family wearing his mother's hat on a hot day under protest while fishing.

There's one day left of my holidays. The house is a mess but I did blog today.

I have started a new blog - a family history one.

See if you like it.

Yes, yes - I know - a weird name...I like the colour green okay???

So I guess I'm saying I might not blog so much on this blog anymore....

I''ll see how I go.

I have had a delicious holiday - read, knitted, watched tv.

I read 40 books this year - well - last year now.

I have just finished watching Season 1 of Downton Abbey which is lovely mindless nonsense and I'm thoroughly enjoying Lark Rise to Candleford.

I did want to see Iron Lady before I go back to work - will it happen?

What's been happening in your neck of the woods?

I say Tomaarto

2011-11-19T23:23:00.001+10:00

A big thank you to Toni Henderson for teaching me to animate a tomaaarto.And to Candy Bowers for teaching me to Hip Hop Hack.We had fun at The Edge on Thursday and Friday last week....we were participating in libraryhack. stuff.If you're aged 15-25 you should get on down there. It's pretty cool.

Digital Poet in Training

2011-11-17T19:06:00.001+10:00

Here's a bit more stuff from the workshop today using Open Source software called Gimp. You can get Gimp here.Jason Nelson was our teacher today. You can see some of his digital poetry here.

Learning at the Edge

2011-11-17T16:07:00.001+10:00

I haven't blogged for a while because I've been busy working (hoorah) and studying.

Today we've been having fun at The Edge.

Check out what Amanda and I worked on today. We created a map on Google and tagged it with photos, video and embedded links. We think we're pretty clever.

View Points of interest at SLQ in a larger map

Confetti across Cyberspace

2011-08-02T15:27:00.001+10:00

Confetti by Delphine Menard
The licencse terms of this photo are here

Today a fellow blogger is getting married.

Verity has not one - but three blogs! A prodigious output indeed.

One is compelled to reflect on one's own happy day of yore....

At the time I believe my nephews thought I looked like a religious statue - my frock cleverly concealing any hint of the feminine form.

My beau had considerably more hair then than he does now.

And mine is of course now considerably greyer.

My bridesmaid is as beautiful today as she was 20 years ago.

Some of the children who were at our wedding are now themselves married.

Some are now no doubt are experimenting with love in all its forms.

I hope they are having as much fun now as they did on that day, playing in the 18th hole of the St Lucia golf course, which to their minds was a jolly good sandpit.

Dear Verity - the Virago-ites wish you all the very best on this happy happy day! And indeed in all the days to come. May your marriage be a fabulous sandpit - filled with buckets, spades, rakes, some water and not too many cranky golfers.

Dear Fleur has put together some of our thoughts about the venerable institution of marriage - bless her - such a power-load of work.

Love - whether or not you choose to frame it in marriage - is a splendid thing.

Happy days to lovers and golfers everywhere!!!

Trifles

2011-07-25T09:53:00.001+10:00

The wattle is out in our suburb and it smells divine. No doubt this is causing angst for some fellow hayfever sufferers but I love it.

I went for a walk this morning. It was a bit nippy in the foothills of Mt Coot-tha and I was rather sorry I wasn't wearing my mitts.

I ran into the cheerful wandering weeders near the Hut on my way back from the coffee shop.

And spotted this luminous beauty on the path. What is it? Can anyone identify it for me? Is it boronia?

I'm glad I walked. It's been a while and I needed to walk off the trifle I had made on the weekend in honour of the international guest who came to dinner on Saturday night.

I tried out the recipe for Lime Curd Trifle here . Of course Woolies and Coles only had lemon curd didn't they? Then I foolishly tried to make creme anglaise - twice. Eight eggs later, I chucked both efforts down the garbage muncher - such a waste I know - I could have cried. I jumped into the car for the 3rd time that day and went and bought custard in a carton. If I had been watching Masterchef this week apparently I would have picked up tips.

I really should have made the trifle the previous day. It is always better after a good long soak. It was the first time I had made a gluten free cake so that was interesting. I don't fancy this trifle as much as Aunt Jane's tipsy trifle in Babette Haye's 200 Years of Australian Cooking though.

And the quantity is ENORMOUS!! Please note this recipe would be marvellous for a function of say 30 people!!

Can you make custard? Or Creme Anglaise? What's your secret?

Bridesmaids

2011-07-22T13:04:00.002+10:00

Right! Who's seen this movie and wants to talk about it? I saw it last night with Maree and Melinda.

I wanted to see it last week but then I fell foul of a vicious tummy bug It was probably just as well I didn't go then because SPOILER ALERT!! there's lots of spewing and diarrhoea in this movie which is tough enough to watch in reality, let alone on the big screen. I must give a high five to the makeup artist before I forget....those girls looked really sick (and not in the way you young folk mean Caspar!)

Should you go and see it? Well yes, so we can talk about it silly. But don't take your mother or your grandmother because they're likely to be grossly offended and walk out. I have been ruminating all night trying to come up with a clever summary or logline - like "It's Borat meets My Best Friend's Wedding" - but part of the movie's problem is it is hard to define. It sure does divide its audience - they seem to love it or hate it. I of course, as usual, fall right in the middle. I hate being a fence sitter - apart from anything it's mighty uncomfortable. That reminds me of a funny scene in the movie....

There were some really knockout performances in this movie and some really great casting. I am now a devoted fan of Maya Rudolph who plays the part of Lillian who gets lucky and is about to be married. This woman seems to just glow and shine like no other. She is not typical Hollywood material by any stretch of the imagination. She is not conventionally beautiful but she radiates empathy and humanity and I was captivated by her. She's Gwyneth Paltrow's childhood friend apparently - lucky Gwyneth.

Kristen Wiig gives a fabulous portrayal of the deeply complex and flawed lead, Annie, for whom we can't help but feel sympathy. Annie is Lillian's besty and wrestling with the dubious honour of being crowned Maid of Honour.

Australia's own Rose Byrne is a stunner as the interloping new besty and bridesmaid with designs on the role of Maid of Honour, Helen. There is a raft of bridesmaids to absorb, including another Australian - Rebel Wilson as Brynn, Ellie Kemper who plays Becca (just delightful to watch) and the extraordinary Melissa McCarthy who plays the mega bridesmaid, Megan (yes, bad pun I know). Was anybody else disturbed by how much Melissa resembles Ricky Gervais ?

There's not much eye candy for the girls though - Michael Hitchcock does nothing for me and Chris O'Dowd, who is a kind of thinking girl's boyfriend, seemed uncomfortable with his role - at one stage I was even beginning to doubt he was a police officer !

I did laugh out loud in many places. There are so many good scenes and so many good lines....."Why can't you be happy for me and then go home and talk about me behind my back like a normal person?" is one of my particular favourites from Lillian.

But there were too many just plain uncomfortable scenes which didn't work that spoiled my enthusiasm. I walked out feeling that I had seen about five pilots for sit-coms jammed into one movie. Matt Lucas from Little Britain plays the part of an extremely oddball and funny flatmate for Annie (Kristen Wiig) and these scenes are typical of the ones that jar. It is as if the cast is too big for the movie. At 125mins I feel it could have done with some judicious editing.

The director, Paul Fieg is new to me and I think I'm correct in saying that this is his first feature. Interestingly his television credits include The Office (US version) and Arrested Development. I was also interested to read that he always wears a suit and tie when he directs. Right. A man of style. Paul does a lot of acting (he's got more credits for that on IMDB than anything else) and you can catch him as the Dad in the carwash in Bad Teacher which debuted in Australia last night.

To be fair the movie doesn't pretend to be anything it's not....the poster screams at you that it is produced by Judd Apatow, the same chap that produced Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin and Superbad. So of course there is going to be teenage toilet humour. Only I don't think that is meant to be the audience demographic. I suspect most of the audience going to see this movie were probably expecting something PJ Hogan-ish or Robert Luketic-ish.

Weddings on the big screen are the stuff of fantasy - they don't mix well with spew and well.....that other stuff. I don't think this movie knew what it was. Comedy is difficult. Its success does depend largely on making us squirm and laughing at other's misfortune. Only in this story the discomfort was too great and the tragedy too real. This is an important story - it's about girlfriends - something too little explored on the big screen - Thelma and Louise comes to mind and that other lovely little nugget of a movie Jucy. These worked because they were honest and I want to say modest but that sounds silly. Maybe I'm talking about that intangible quality - integrity. Bridesmaids thought it could eat the cake and have it too.

So what do you think? Am I right or am I right?

The Next Big Thing

2011-07-18T23:24:00.005+10:00

Jacob Wrestling with the Angel
Eugene Delacroix
Saint Sulpice Church Paris - France
licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial ShareAlike 3.0 License
http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48070

Isn't this rather beautiful? This painting features in Making Things Better aka The Next Big Thing by Anita Brookner.

It was long-listed for the Booker Prize in 2002.

I was a bit excited about reading it as this is the first Anita Brookner I've read that features a male in the lead role, so to speak.

Julius Herz is retired and reflecting on his life to date. It could be argued that he is in his dotage. He is ailing physically and mourning the lack of someone to look after him in his old age.

Julius did marry once - to a cheerful, practical sort of woman - Josie - but cramped living conditions, which included his demanding and morose parents, spelled the death-knell for any hope of proper intimacy.

Brookner's novels may be slim but they're never an easy read. She seems to delight in tackling the difficult subjects like old age and loneliness that other writers might choose to give a wide berth.

Not our Ms Brookner. She plunges in where angels fear to tread and paints a sobering picture of something that most of us will face - decline and decay - and possibly regret. As my father regularly intones in lines attributed to Bette Davis I think - "Old age isn't for sissies."

Like many of Brookner's characters, Julius was an obedient offspring. Not necessarily the favoured son by any stretch of the imagination...but the one that tidied up and tried to make things better. When his brother Freddy, a promising concert violinist starts to lose the plot, Julius is the only one who visits him in the Sanitorium and witnesses his decline.

Late in life, Julius is given a chance at freedom. His parents having passed on, a distant acquaintance, who helped the family re-settle in London from war-torn Europe, bequeaths a significant proportion of his estate to Julius which frees him from the necessity to work or worry about a roof over his head.

But is it too late? "He was not trained for freedom, that was the problem, had not been brought up for it." Poor Julius feels so overcome with the challenge of freedom he suffers "a feeling of unreality, so enveloping as to constitute a genuine malaise." A quite amusing dialogue ensues during an appointment with his doctor where Julius earnestly asks if he could be suffering a similar experience to Freud's on the Acropolis. The Doctor ignores the question of existentialism and pursues a comfortable line of enquiry - blood pressure.

Friends and acquaintances suggest that what Julius needs is a holiday. In his obliging manner, he attempts to re-visit the joys of his youth, when he sampled the delights of brief getaways in Paris with obliging young women. It doesn't take long to get to Paris from Waterloo...but the people have changed and of course Julius has too. He feels his age and decides to return home earlier than planned. Before he leaves, he pops into Saint Sulpice to check out Delacroix's painting. I'll leave you to read the book and find out the epiphany or new reading that Julius takes away with him from the viewing.

I always feel a wee bit more edu-muckated after I've read Brookner. I learn new words - this book brought me meretricious, which I always forget means "befitting a harlot - or showily attractive" - a most useful word - must use it more often. Then of course there is fiacre - which you might think is something to do with a fiasco - but no, it is a French four-wheeled cab - never enough cabs I say. Finally inanition.- emptiness esp of nourishment i.e. how I felt earlier this week after a particularly nasty tummy bug.

In conclusion I have to say that on the whole I found The Next Big Thing a bit of struggle - rather like Jacob wrestling with the Angel. There is a very telling line early on when Julius forms a friendship with a younger man - a co-beneficiary of the estate bequeathed to them. They dine together on a regular basis "Herz had little experience of dealing with younger people but understood instinctively that one kept out of their lives as much as possible but was curious and indulgent towards them....It was a matter of discretion not to talk about oneself. To do so would be to shock Simmonds with the prospect of what awaited him."

I guess I'm not shocked. More gloomily depressed. One doesn't want to shoot the messenger of course, but it has to be said that Brookner fair puts you off old age, so she does.

Making Things Better

2011-07-16T16:59:00.002+10:00

Some of us are very busy reading in celebration of

International Anita Brookner Day.....

There are prizes and everything......

Chip here is reading Brookner's Making Things Better....he sincerely hopes this foray into human activity does make things better and not worse, though he morosely suspects the latter.

Chip is a bit like a Brookner character...he is lonely and lives a fairly caged existence. His every need is provided for but he lacks companionship or any significant other.

Of course, there was a time in his youth, when he thought he fancied his cousin. Misty was a pretty, petulant thing but then the humans interfered, as humans do, and they've been separated ever since. He makes sure he sees her every day, as she lives right next door, but it's a quiet life.

Half the time he doesn't even know if she sees him. Misty's name became eerily prophetic that day she was gorging herself on nut grass, blissfully unaware of the danger lurking in the unclipped chicken wire which scratched her eye, making her blind overnight and detracting somewhat from her beauty. No other suitors come knocking at her door now but he admires and defends her foolish pride steadfastly.

It's grey and wintry in Brisbane today and Chip longs for the sun of summer although the oppressive heat brings the threat of exhaustion and prostration . A guinea pig's lot brings its own small trials.

Chip knows he mustn't grumble. Broccoli stems, carrot sticks and apple are provided regularly. The straw could be changed more frequently but the humans mean well. He is grateful for any attention really.

It's just that every day is the same with no hope of change on the horizon.

Chip has thought of travelling - his mother often told stories of the early years when she had been allowed to roam free around the small suburban block. But then the human mother and father took charge and any idea of "continental" travel was quashed. His mother became withdrawn and needy after that. No delicate morsels could tempt her. Her decline was slow and somewhat pathetic. Chip dreams about her still but in happier days which makes the pain of waking all the more unbearable.

Chip wonders if an iPad might provide some comfort but then demurs - it would jar aggravatingly with the Victorian decor of his hutch.

An old-fashioned book will make do and, if consumption proves indigestible, it can always be recycled as compost...some of us were not born for great deeds but take comfort in contributing, however frugally, to the great circle of life.

With thanks to Isabel for participating in this bit of nonsense and taking such an excellent photo of Chip.

Leaving Home

2011-07-14T23:19:00.003+10:00

The great thing about writing book reviews is it makes you think. The great thing about reading Anita Brookner is she really makes you think...and then want to talk to someone about what you've read.

Thomas at My Porch and Simon of Savidge Reads are co-hosting International Anita Brookner Day this Saturday 16 July. They remind us that "thirty years ago ...Anita Brookner had her first novel, the aptly titled A Start in Life (or The Debut in the U.S.) published at the tender age of 53." They're encouraging everyone to read and review her work.

Well, thirty years ago I was twenty and probably about to read Anita Brookner for the first time...I had in fact just left home. I haven't read Anita Brookner for yonks and welcomed the return. Leaving Home is one of Brookner's more recent titles and how curious and spooky that I should choose it from the library shelf after all these years.

Thomas is quite correct. There really is no excuse not to read an Anita Brookner - they are mostly under 200 pages and a relatively easy read. I polished off Leaving Home in less than a week but was left with a slightly maudlin feeling - or one of deep melancholy. Don't get me wrong - I tend to lean towards the melancholy in terms of taste, but this time I was feeling a bit impatient and disaffected with it. "Where's the drama?" I wanted to scream - reminiscent of my colleagues' John and Billy - who won't mind being called old (in the nicest sense of the word) friends/screenwriting lecturers from AFTRS days.

Peta Mayer says there are ten things you should expect from an Anita Brookner novel - my review is probably a reflection of Point Number 5 - Expect to see a reflection of yourself, not necessarily in the best light!

I was forced to reflect on my feelings...something which I think we should do more of....really critically analyse our responses to things. Why was I so disaffected? What is great writing after all? Had perhaps Anita Brookner drawn a very accurate depiction of a character that was perhaps just a little too close to the bone for me? What were my thoughts and feelings when I made the momentous decision to leave home? What was I hoping to achieve? What had I made of my life? Had I really rebelled or had I conformed in the end? And was that a character fault or the way of all things?

My memory of Anita Brookner's work is that she really hones in on one character's experience. It becomes at times somewhat claustrophobic - particularly if the characters don't do much or are great thinkers...which is the case in this instance. Our main character in Leaving Home is Emma. Emma is a writer reflecting on her journey to this point. The novel opens with her remembering a dream from her youth (there's another one of Peta's points no doubt - Point Number 9 - Freud). The dream points to the necessity of Emma leaving home in order to carve out, she hopes, a less sad and lonely existence than that of her widowed mother.

Emma is the epitome of Englishness. What do I mean by that? Well she is unfailingly polite, restrained, tactful, discrete. Emma writes thank you letters. Need I say more? I do not think Brookner chose her name lightly - Jane Austen's Emma must be one of the most famous character's in English literature - and yet Brookner's Emma is, I think, very different. Emma is anxious to leave home gracefully - "It would have to be managed, and managed, if possible, without disloyalty, more or less invisibly, above all in good faith."

Emma is an only child and a daughter - which can bring the double handicap of being expected to be very good - and whilst she cares genuinely for her mother's feelings, she wrestles with the expectation of her uncle to be her mother's supporter and provider. Emma in short needs to rebel. But, dear reader, Emma is English. People who queue find it hard to rebel. She settles on studying classical garden design, is offered a scholarship in France and away she goes, in search of "another source of authority, another agent of influence." Where better to learn to rebel than to ensconce herself in Paris - the very home of revolution?

We then witness Emma's various attempts to seek out real and/or satisfying relationships both with members of the opposite sex and her own sex. Of all the relationships, her friendship with the aptly named Francoise is the most complex and challenging. Complex because Francoise is almost a reflection of herself but not quite. Francoise is also an only child and a daughter. But Francoise could almost be the French version of Jane Austen's Emma. Whilst not beautiful, she is certainly striking and "electric with an energy that made her presence in the library dangerously welcome." Francoise is not a match-maker as such, but is certainly keen to see Emma "break out" and find an "amoreuse". Francoise only handicap is her controlling mother, who is keen to marry her off to the local prize beau - "Jean-Charles - a pale, slightly corpulent man of indeterminate age." The relationship is challenging because, whilst Francoise is an agent of influence and change, her authority becomes a threat to Emma's own self-determination.

It would spoil the book if I told you too much more. There is drama - eventually - in Leaving Home. Brookner saves it til the very end. It wasn't til this passage that my heart fluttered in recognition of the Brookner of yore..."It takes a kind of genius to save one's own life, the sort of genius that I so signally lacked." Now things were getting interesting! What would happen next?

For me Brookner's strength is her great depiction of character. Emma is by no stretch of the imagination a conventional hero. She says as much about herself and I don't think it would take too much away to quote some of the novel's last few lines....

"Not everyone is born to fulfil an heroic role. The only realistic ambition is to live in the present. And sometimes, quite often in fact, this is more than enough to keep one busy."

What do you think? Should we all be legends in our own lunchtime? Is Emma a victim of her Englishness which she can never escape? Or her cloistered upbringing? Or her sex? Is she a victim or a hero? Is she Anita Brookner's alter ego wishing she had been Simone de Beauvoir but rather glad she wasn't? And yes I know that is very naughty of me to say - I am being deliberately provocative, boys and girls! Who else has read She came to Stay - funny how the heroine is called Francoise - non? C'mon - what's your take on this slim but tardis-like novel?

Abbreviations

2011-06-25T10:25:00.001+10:00

ab·bre·vi·a·tion

1. The act or product of shortening.

This according to the freedictionary online....

Knitting can seem tricky....all those abbreviations...

k=knit

p=purl

psso=pass slipped st over

I invented a new non-standard abbreviation yesterday while doing a particularly tricky bit of knitting...in fact I can testify that I had an abbreviated arm in a manner of speaking

Henceforth feel free to use the following abbreviation at will...

hcuawk

or

Hold Cat Underarm While Knitting

It's tricky but it can be done....

Yes, I know I should do a You Tube video but you will just have to be content with a still image

Grand Purl Baa and I had lots of fun celebrating her birthday yesterday (her birthday is actually today)...Amongst others things, we inspected a Boys Town home and shoe shops, we sampled fish and chips....we knitted squares for a baby blanket ....birthdays...birthdays...birthdays....what fun!

I am using Mini Mochi for the squares....isn't it divine? It's machine washable....80% merino - spun in Taiwan for Crystal Palace in California....and yes, as they say, it is as soft as a kitten...but not as soft as Wes!! I love Crystal Palace's motto or whatever you call it - Straw into Gold....I was only saying to Robbie the other day as we were cleaning out the guinea pig cages..."All this straw... where is the gold?" I bought Mini Mochi at the wonderful Yarn Over (previously American Yarns).

Grand Purl Baa is using Schoppel Wolle's Zauberball which I really love and was hoping to use for this blanket.I think Yarn Over will be getting some soon too. The colourway is called Tropical Fish. The pattern we are following is available for free on Ravelry. It is called Squares on the Roll by Frankie Brown - but if you love the pattern please consider making a donation to the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation

Cats, Fish, Wool ... Heaven.....Happy Birthday Loani!!!

Cuthbert

2011-06-17T06:09:00.108+10:00

See that patch of green grass to the left of the big gum tree on the right? Well ...yesterday was another successful day digging into the Daw family history. Accompanied by Miss Pat aka SIL (sister-in-law), we climbed all over Balmoral Cemetery looking for Cuthbert John Daw's grave. And we found it in that patch of green grass!

Grave hunting is never easy. We had done our research. We knew it was in Section 4 Grave No. 215 but we suspected there would be no headstone and we were right. But we found it with the very patient aid of the lovely sexton at Hemmant Cemetery over the phone and here's a BIG TIP - always charge your mobile phone when you go grave hunting - so you can call the sexton when you give up and so they can call you back!!

Brisbane City Council has a fantastic searchable database for graves here.

Here's Miss Pat pointing it out for you.....

Here's another view.

Isn't Cuthbert a lovely name? It's old English and is actually two words - cuth and beorht meaning famous and bright (according to the Collins Gem First Names book what Jackie McKimmie gave me 500 years ago before Bel was born). Apparently it fell out of use as a name just after the Reformation until the 19th century when it was brought back into use by the Oxford Movement. What is the Oxford Movement you ask? So did I ...go and find out for yourself or we'll get distracted from Cuthbert.

We don't know if this particular Cuthbert was bright and he certainly wasn't famous. Cuthbert was Miss Pat's great-uncle. He was the older brother of her grandfather, Robert William. He was born 10 June 1896 at Bulimba. Cuthbert was most likely named in remembrance of his grandmother on his maternal side - Ellen Cuthbert.

Cuthbert and Robert had an older brother Thomas George. Unfortunately when the three boys were quite little (Cuthbert was 4) their mother Jane (nee Silcok) died of pulmonary phthisis in 1901 and they were placed into care. They lived with several families - their aunt for a while, and then a Mrs Morrison of Paddington.

Eventually (we're not sure when exactly), Cuthbert and Robert (he was known then as William but later became known as Bob) went to live with the Rex family of Bulimba.

Cuthbert died 22 January 1905 after suffering from pulmonary phthisis (aka consumption or TB) for a considerable time (according to a letter from the Department of Family Services sent to me in 1989). Four years later, at the age of ten, Robert was fostered to Mrs Sutherland of Coopers Plains.

There's a lot more research to do in this area. I have been able to dig up a little bit about the Rex family. In the 1903 electoral roll there are three Rexs living in Bulimba. Margaretta Rex in Riding Road and Eleanor and Ernest Samuel Francis Rex living in Parry Street. I suspect the boys were placed with Ernest and Eleanor. In 1908 there are four Rexs living in Bulimba - Ernest and Eleanor and Margaretta has been joined by Florence Annie. Having said that, Ernest and Eleanor are also listed in the electoral rolls as living in Lower Bowen Terrace Merthyr so I think they moved there during that time.

I found a birth for Ernest Samuel F Rex in Truro Cornwall in 1881. I found another birth for Forence Annie Rex in Truro in 1883. So I deduce that they are brother and sister and emigrated here. I found an Ernest Rex aged 5 emigrating to Brisbane from Cornwall on the Roma in 1887.

Ernest and Eleanor married 26 February 1902. So they were just a young couple (in their early 20s) when they took the boys in. Did they know them I wonder? Ernest Rex was a leadburner. I don't know much about leadburning, do you?

Test Pattern

2011-06-12T19:07:00.000+10:00

Remember Test Pattern on the tele?

Well this is a Test square for a baby's blanket...

What do you reckon?

Is it too trippy?

I love the texture of it and it is lovely and soft and I reckon will be as warm as toast....

It will be fun to toast this particular baby's head....

Wouldn't it be nice to propose a toast with these glasses from Etsy?

If you are a follower and comment on this blog you too could go in the draw for a $50 voucher in honour of my fiftieth year.....but I have to get to 50 followers first....

Go on...

Heaven

2011-06-10T17:15:00.032+10:00

My idea of heaven is a leisurely lunch with a very good friend on a Friday!

Just check out this platter.....

We had the best table in the lovely sun (it's been a bit brisk in BrisVegas of late)....

I think many people have vamoosed for the Queen's Birthday long weekend, so the restaurant was the quietest I had ever seen it and we were spoiled for service.

Which restaurant? Ouzeri in West End.

The last time I was there was after a book launch for Anthony Lawrence at Avid Reader. Was that really nine years ago??????

Time flies when you're having fun. Thanks for a wonderful lunch Maria!!!

Got any friends who want a gift voucher for Etsy? I'm still trying to get to 50 followers on my blog. Get them to follow me and they can go in a draw for a $50 voucher at Etsy.

If they were looking for inspiration to write poetry they couldn't go past these Greek Muses drink charms could they?

Remember - follow me and comment on my blog to go in the draw.

Hats off....

2011-05-31T07:38:00.000+10:00

To my new followers for joining the throng....

It was a lovely day in the park on Sunday....there was the smell of sausages smoking on the barbie...the birds were singing in the trees and humanity was out communing with nature and generally enjoying themselves....

Some lovely people delivered nature to my door last week....

The flowers are a bit past their prime now but they are still beautiful...

You could have flowers for ever and be donating to Japan Earthquake Relief at the same time...

if you bought this bag from Minaniemi on Etsy - a local Brisbane designer....

Minaniemi means 'Smile to everyone' in Japanese.

Isn't that lovely?

But remember - my goal is 50 followers, so we've a way to go yet before I can do the draw for the prize of a $50 gift voucher at Etsy...

Get your friends to follow now!

Minaniemi!

Giveaway

2011-05-28T20:36:00.001+10:00

These pelicans were hoping for a giveaway...

They were not disappointed....

Neither for that matter was I....

A very beautiful lunch at Brett's Wharf after a fantastic Citycat ride on the now peaceful Brisbane river....

Looking at our tall buildings

and the mangroves....

I love how in a mater of hours they vanish....

Don't you miss out on the Etsy giveaway.....

Once we get to 50 followers, all the names go in a hat for a $50 gift voucher at Etsy....

I don't think you can get real Pelicans on Etsy,...or lunch for that matter...

but you can get just about everything else.

Go on, follow and post a comment to go in the draw.

Fabulous Fifty!!

2011-05-25T13:51:00.000+10:00

On this day - fifty years ago - John F Kennedy declared his intention to put a man on the moon before the decade was out. Fabulous but true!!

Oh - and I was born...

Today is National Simultaneous Storytime, organised by the fabulous folk at ALIA.

When was the last time someone read you a story?

When was the last time you read someone a story?

Here's a fabulous story....Feathers for Phoebe by Rod Clement

Children all over Australia listened to this story at 11am today.

I'm a bit late but you can listen to this story anytime you want and a very good one it is too.

What's your favourite story?

Want to find out about some great free stories to read on your e-reader?
Check out this fabulous blog by friend Helen.....

I want to share the birthday joy by giving one of my followers a $50 (Australian) voucher to spend on Etsy. For you fabulous folk in the US of A - that's worth $52.5331!!!!

But I need to get to 50 followers.

When I get to 50 followers, then I'll use a trusty method from my good friend Grand Purl Baa (used on Melbourne Cup Day every year to pick the winning horse).

Everyone's name will go in an ice-cream bucket, they will be chucked ceremoniously across the kitchen floor and the first one wins!!!

But you have to follow my blog and you have to comment on this post.

Ready...set....go.....once upon a time......

Fog

2011-05-23T09:06:00.000+10:00

It was a foggy start to the morning.

People have been busy over the weekend getting ready for the Council clean up...

Other creatures have been very busy decorating trees and bushes.....

I enjoyed a fabulous coffee towards the end of my morning walk at our new coffee shop in Kirkdale Road - it will be a pizza shop too, but the oven hasn't arrived yet.

The coffee is SO cheap (by Brisbane standards) - $3 - and is made from Genovese beans.

Called Cap'lina, I wish the local owners all the very best - their service is cheerful and attentive. The shop is open from 6am til midday during the week and til 1pm on the weekends. It's where Saba hairdressing salon used to be.....

Hoorah for small business - 'tis the backbone of this great nation.

Daytripper

2011-05-06T06:49:00.001+10:00

I went to the beach this week - some people I know are still swimming but I am a wus of the first order so I declined. We went for a drive on the beach which I still find a surreal experience. Can you believe that the noise of the surf is so loud that people can't hear you when you're driving along? Bizarre. So everyone has to be very careful and look out for each other - not that there are many on the beach but still.....

We saw some of these chaps - about three pairs altogether - having their dinner by the sea.

They hopped away when we pulled up to take a look at them.

Main Beach, Stradbroke Island is very beautiful - that's for sure. You can't really see it in this photo but they have started mining on this side of the island - but not for much longer.

It's a contentious issue - mining. It has provided incomes for many families on the island for years and it will be very difficult to adjust. I hope that in the next eight years, other less damaging and equally rewarding enterprises can be found to replace it.

Guests

2011-04-24T09:41:00.001+10:00

Easter is a time of gathering with friends and family or puddling about at home fixing up the garden or the house...here is a photo of cousin Joe who has come to visit..he looks twice his size because he is trying to make Tweetie notice him....which she steadfastly refuses to do....as you can see here....

Back to back they faced each other....etc...

Cousin Hoss is here too....and he dearly wishes I would take him for a walk....

But I am about to participate in a Readathing on Librarything......

and read some more of Su Tong's Boat to Redemption

...and then figure out what to do with the fruits of our harvest......

Maybe tonight Hoss, when I feel sufficiently guilty about the amount of chocolate consumed....

Happy Easter in blogland everyone!!!!

Plus or minus one ear....

2011-04-22T10:35:00.000+10:00

Have you ever heard of a Smoot? I hadn't....until Librarything wrote to me this morning and told me that they had added some new measurements to our collections, bless them.

I am happy to report that, of the ones I have catalogued (which I calculate to be about half of our collection), we have 45,215 Smoots worth of books - that's if you laid all the pages in all the books end to end. "What's a Smoot?", you may well ask. As I did. Smoot, according to Wikipaedia, is a non-standard unit of measurement. Back in the day, before I was born, Oliver R Smoot Jr obligingly lay down on the Harvard bridge and let his fraternity from MIT measure the bridge in Smoots. It's about 1.7 metres or 5ft and 7 inches - plus or minus one ear. If you don't like that measurement, Librarything have obligingly provided other comparisons - blue whales, elephants and bathtubs. I am happy to say that we are 0.02% of the way to the moon with our books.

Our book stack is somewhere between the Taj Mahal and Big Ben. We would need 69 U Haul boxes to pack them up or 16 Ikea Billy bookcases to unpack them.

I do like counting and indexing. Do you? It has become a tad obsessive lately and the family is becoming worried. I catalogued the pantry this week in an effort to demonstrate to hubby that we needed no more noodles. So far, it hasn't worked.

PS My book review of James Kelman's How Late It Was, How Late: A Novel made it to the front page of Librarything - hooray! I also posted it on the Complete Booker blog which is a great blog site for reading up about Booker Nominees and Winners.

Where the Sky Meets the Sea....

2011-04-10T21:11:00.000+10:00

I don't know about you but I like to try to colour coordinate my icecream with what I'm wearing. You can't really see it in this photo but I assure you that there is pistachio icecream in this bucket...together with yummy meringue and amaretto icecream.

Here is my good friend at the scene of the crime... a rather good icecream shop at Noosa called Massimo's - check it out next time you go there.

We did walk some of the icecream off by going along the boardwalk and looking at the beach...check out this amazing cloud formation....very Bali Hai don't you think?

For those of you not familiar with the term Bali Hai...here is a link to the seminal video from my childhood....

Thank you for a wonderful 24 hours dear friends....

Julian cooked up a most fabulous meal...without fail, everytime, he exceeds my expectations...such a good cook....the Queen of the Tea Cosies is one lucky gal :) ...as indeed am I to have such a generous friends....my special islands....

Knitting with Millamia

2011-04-04T10:39:00.000+10:00

The Queen of the Tea Cosies is heading home and so one should get cracking on knitting projects to have something to show for all the time one hasn't been in paid employment.

I am knitting a vest for someone's baby....it is a Debbie Bliss pattern but I am knitting it in Millamia wool which I discovered at Threads and More. My first ball of wool was a disaster but the lovely people at Millamia replaced it straight away in response to a post I made on a Ravelry bulletin board. Millamia are Swedish sisters based in London.

I am really enjoying knitting with this wool now. Its very springy to the touch and I think will make a good vest for the baby. It is 100% extrafine merino made in Italy and machine washable. Fabulous stuff.

The colours I have chosen are midnight and putty.

This pattern incorporates cabling with a bit of intarsia. I will have to teach myself swiss darning to complete ...let's see how I go....

The lovely piece of pottery in the picture is from my dear friend Deborah in Melbourne. She gave it to me yonks ago and I had it on my windowsill at work. Now it's on my new study desk in our bedroom.

Man Booker International Prize 2011

2011-04-03T11:33:00.002+10:00

I've set myself a mini-challenge...to read at least one book from each of the Man Booker International Finalists for 2011. The winner will be announced at the Sydney Writers Festival 18 May. The shortlist can be found here.

The Brisbane City Council library has come to my aid with most of the authors. On Thursday night I snavelled up Anne Tyler's the Accidental Tourist and Su Tong's Boat to Redemption.

John Le Carre has pulled out of the running already, saying that prizes aint his thing. That leaves 12 writers in the running for 60k quid - not to be sneezed at.....including our very own David Malouf. Here's a link to a recent ABC Radio interview recorded with the lovely Richard Fidler talking about Happiness. He would be happy if he won the prize, yes? I've just realised I still haven't read Ransom ...I've only read Johnno...oops...better get onto that quick smart.

Anyway, today I finished Anne Tyler's the Accidental Tourist which was great - easy to read and laugh out loud funny. Nick Hornby endorses it which is probably a good thing but I still haven't read Nick Hornby...sigh...so much to read...so little time.

Anne Tyler has written heaps - Digging to America was one of those ones I meant to read last year, but never got round to doing so. It was shortlisted for the Orange Prize in 2007.

Anne has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize a couple of times including for the Accidental Tourist and won it in 1989 for Breathing Lessons. Yes, Accidental Tourist was made into a movie starring William Hurt and Geena Davis but I haven't seen it...I think. Has anyone else? Was it good? I think it would make a great movie.

Here's a nice bio of her in the Guardian. I will definitely be reading more of her stuff.

I particularly liked how the dog was such a big character in the book. We humans are often defined by our pets I think and they deserve more recognition in our fiction. So there.

Not happy Jan!

2011-03-19T10:54:00.000+10:00

Third Daughter by John Brack (1954) drypoint National Gallery of Australia purchased 1977 copyright Helen Brack

Look at this gorgeous card sent to me by my colleagues in Sydney on the day of my departure!

It was a perfect choice and I appreciate the effort that went into finding just the right card, don't you? I do like a good card and this is an excellent one.

I love John Brack's work though I must confess I did not recognise this piece. I am probably more familiar with works like Collins Street et al. I will enjoy hunting it down in the National Gallery next time I am in Canberra.

My last day at work was a bit frantic...colleagues from Sydney flew up to help me complete paperwork and tidy up odds and sods. There were lots of drop in visitors and banking and re-direction of mail and quick orientations for those left behind. Former colleagues and industry members met me for a drink after work at the very pleasant Merthyr Bowls Club. We used to use this as a venue for Christmas parties and other occasions when our office was in New Farm. There were shrieks of joy as I placed the box of old photos on the table and I was spoiled rotten with fine food, drink, pressies and companionship. People very sweetly listened to my five page speech (I kid you not!). I have, as they say, closure :)

And so it's on to new and interesting stuff....a librarianship course through University of Canberra which I hope will make me a better researcher. I am frightened, and excited, by how much I don't know, if that makes sense.

So stand by for some no doubt tedious discursives on information seeking behaviour and collection management...sprinkled with the odd bit of knitting, sewing and book reviews.

I will miss my friends at AFTRS more than I can say...it is a special special place, that's for sure. The good thing though is that there is life after AFTRS and I can still keep in touch.

Everlasting Cupcake

2011-03-10T23:09:00.000+10:00

One of my more tedious tasks is to fetch the mail from the post box every day.

I try and do it first up in the morning to get it out of the way...the walk to the post office can be quite a challenge at lunchtime - past the buskers, the bewildered and the desperate in the Valley.

In the morning business is a bit brisker but can be depressing where I park around the back. Broken bottles and evidence of homeless people sleeping in the alley the night before.

It's been a bit of a challenging week. I've made the decision to leave somewhere I've worked for a long time. I feel a bit like I'm standing on the edge of a precipice.

So what a delight to find a wee giftie from a colleague way way down south in the Apple Isle. An everlasting cupcake to make my day. It's really a very useful pincushion beautifully made by some very clever embroiderer. And such a beautifully designed and hand made card from the house of Little Snoring.

Dear Edwina, what a fabulous colleague and friend you are. We only got to meet in the flesh a couple of times on rare, feel good, love-in sessions in Melbourne or Sydney. What fun we had and what stories we shared. Thank you for your beautiful gift and most importantly the gift of your friendship.

The Golden Tardis

2011-02-21T09:00:00.001+10:00

It started when I gave a friend a kobo e-reader back in July.

“Ooh!” she said. “It’s great! Can you knit me a cover for it?”

I forgot her birthday in December. I rang and apologised profusely and invited her to lunch……..

……Today.

I started knitting……

…..Last night.

I found this great free pattern on Ravelry. Tardis Kindle Case

“Kindle. Schmindle” I thought. “She’ll be right.” (Australian for “I don’t know what I’m doing but trust me.”)

I didn’t have any blue wool - well, some, but not enough.

“It will be a golden tardis.” I thought to self.

I think it was worsted weight. I think I might have been a bit worsted too. It was very hot yesterday.

I didn’t have a 7mm needle. “6.5mm is close enough”, I thought.

And yes, you guessed it….I didn’t have time to do a swatch.

“What’s Judy’s Magic Cast On?…..” I thought. Three You-Tube videos later, much sucking of teeth and four false starts and I was away. Just like a pro.

”I’ll just go up to Row 40” I thought “and leave the Argyle-y stuff til the morning.”

But that’s the fun bit right?

And it was after midnight, so theoretically, it was morning.

I got the windows done but then I started to run out of yellow wool…..

“It will be a Golden Tardis with a blue roof.” I thought.

I finished it. 2:30am.

Then I measured it.

Then I googled “Felting”….

What should I do? Should I call it a hot water bottle cover and omit any references to Dr Who?

Should I felt it and carry on bravely?

Should I just buy her a book and be done with it?

Faster

2011-02-13T12:45:00.001+10:00

I'm a bit late reviewing this movie for which I apologise. It released in Australia 3 February.

I took good movie buddie Deb, who is up for most things, even though she does pale at the thought of vampires but, to her credit, grips her seat handles with white knuckles, keeps calm and carries on!

We were a smidgin late for the start of this movie - traffic in BrisVenice of late has been excruciating - so we may have missed some vital background information. I suspect not.

The screening was in the Myer Centre and I was rather off-put by the smell that assailed the olfactory senses the further I went into the cinema. Nevertheless, the cinema, and it was a big one, was packed to the gunnels. I was impressed. No-one else seemed put off by the public toilet smell, so I rebuked myself for being a ninny, kept calm and carried on.

Two minutes later Deb whispered into my ear...."I don't think this is a chick flick." Never were truer words spoken.

I suspect that this movie is for blokes a kind of secret guilty pleasure - a bit like those silly blowsy, shopping type movies are for girls sometimes - ridiculously impossible romances, fabulous clothes etc etc.
And the title says it all really doesn't it? It's like an ironic pun on the battle of the sexes really ...Faster, he wishes....slower, she wishes....

And I could leave it there but of course I won't. I had to do my research and I feel obliged to convey the results to you.

This movie, to me, sums up just how much I don't know about the industry and probably never will. I was, for example, surprised to discover that the lead is really somebody quite famous....Dwayne Johnson. I'd never heard of him but he really is somebody. Of course it depends how you define somebody but you should know that he entered the Guinness Book of World Records because his salary was the highest for any actor receiving top billing for the first time for the part he played in Scorpio - he earned $5.5million. He used to be a big football star, then turned wrestler. He's known as The Rock. There's a wax figurine of him at Madame Tussaud's for goodness sake. And yes, the poor chap cannot put his arms beside his torso - they are so bulging with muscles - he must walk with arms akimbo like one of those ghastly toys Caspar used to love so much growing up.....Last but not least he earned a 0.7 grade point average in college. As he says, "It's pretty hard to get a point seven. You have to do close to nothing." His co-star Carla Gugino earned straight As at high school. It takes all sorts.

The movie opens with Dwayne aka Driver getting out of jail. And then he starts to run...as you do when you get out of jail. And run. And run...and run....and I'm thinking...they look like steel capped boots to me....must be bloody uncomfortable...he'll get blisters if he keeps going. After he's run...oh I don't know....a long way...he finds the car of his dreams in a scrapyard (for those that care it is a Chevelle...okay okay - a photo)

He opens the door, pulls out a leather jacket and...puts it on.....Deb and I looked at each other in disbelief...would you run ten kilometres in the heat of the day dressed in army clobber and then put on a leather jacket?

But see...that's what I mean....I'll just never get this movie. It's not for me. It's got impossibly good-looking women in very little attire or very tight revealing attire, lots of guns and lots of fast cars.

Who was I rooting for in this movie?....well, Billy Bob Thornton I suppose even though his character was incredibly questionable...

What have I learnt? That the movie cost $24million to make and that it has just about made it back already since it was released in the states in November. Australia probably gave them that last $1m they needed last week at the box office. Let's take bets on how much it will have made by next year - $50million? A $100million. I could cry for the state of humanity.....

I have learnt that Dwayne Johnson is frightened of spiders just like me so he can't be all that bad...we have something in common I guess.

This was certainly an accomplished piece of filmmaking if you like stunts and action. George Tillman Jr. was the director. He is according to IMDB a native of Milwaukee Wisconsin. So, a bit like Ben Affleck's The Town, I wonder if this is a bit of a tribute to Milwaukee...which for a while ranked among the ten most dangerous big cities in the USA. George won the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Student Academy Award and the Black Filmmakers' Hall of Fame Award in the early 90s with his short film Paula. I would like to see some of his earlier work. I suspect it and his next project Men Of Honour may be of more interest to me and that Faster is just popcorn for the masses or Mills and Boon for the other half of this great big gorgeous world.

Less than Angels

2011-02-12T11:08:00.001+10:00

Less than Angels by Barbara Pym

I think it's important to have small comforts in life, particularly at bedtime. I am always intrigued by people's night-time rituals. When I was a child it was always fun staying with friends and seeing what their families did. Little friend Deborah's Dad, known to me as Uncle Warren, would bring each child (including guests) a cup of hot cocoa at bedtime and would soothe ruffled feathers, sibling rivalries and over-excited munchkins with firm but loving admonitions. Another friend would literally rock herself to sleep. She urged me to try it but I found it too exhausting. My mother always had a Georgette Heyer by the bed - somewhat guiltily - but it did the trick after a hard day of being a domestic goddess.

I think I have found my "blanky" in Barbara Pym. God's in his Heaven (or hers) and all's well with the world when I read Barbara Pym. I am using her books as relief from some of my more worthy and good for you (like multi-grain bread) reads.

Less than Angels is my second Barbara Pym. I was delighted to find a reference to some of the characters from my first - Excellent Women - but it is not necessary to have read it to follow the story. It just deals with a different group - a bit like those multi-layered films that are so popular these days like Short Cuts - where storylines slightly intersect.

A friend from bookclub has lent me four books from her Barbara Pym collection and lest I "forget" to return them, I assiduously returned this as soon as I had finished, so I'm sorry but I can't quote from it.

All I need say to encourage you to read it is that I laughed out loud and snorted on several occasions. Ms Pym has that marvellous ability to describe characters forced to live closely together in straitened circumstances - usually family members...and the way they carve out a modicum of privacy, self-determination and/or sanity in shared households. Her descriptions of the two sisters living together with one sister's adult son and daughter is classic. I'll leave it to you to guess which sister I wanted to smack on frequent occasions.

There's so much more I could say but doubtless others have waxed enthusiastic before me...if you haven't read Barbara Pym yet, don't waste another moment.

What's your nighttime ritual? It's a bit too hot for cocoa in Queensland at the moment.

The Lacquer Lady

2011-02-06T19:06:00.000+10:00

I started reading this for Virago Reading Week hosted by the wonderful Carolyn and Rachel a couple of weeks ago but have only just finished it now. It is my first F Tennyson Jesse and what a great introduction.

Tennyson Jesse is described as a criminologist, journalist and author. There is an interesting biography of her life here and she sounds like a character straight from a novel in her own right.

This was published in 1929 and is beautifully written. My copy is now flagged with lots of sticky notes and underlining of particular passages.

It is set in Burma in the late 19th century and gives an account of the reign of King Thibaw and his wife Supayalat. I don't normally go in for historical tales of royal courts but found this an intriguing account of colonialism, of male and female relationships and the pursuit of liberty - personal and national.

I found this photo of King Thibaw and Queen Supayalat and Princess Supayaji here.

The author tells the story of court life - warts and all. There is a chilling account of massacres during King Thibaw's reign which rivals modern accounts of reigns of terror.

Ultimately what impressed me most about Tennyson Jesse's writing was its contemporary tone...there are of course many politically incorrect phrases reflective of the times but perhaps a quote will give you an idea of what I'm trying to convey....

"Lyric ecstasies ...why are we all brought up to expect them, why is the whole convention of the book world a convention accepted by the world of living beings, based on the idea that sooner or later life is transmuted by something wonderful that is supposed to make everything different? Life is never quite round like that...it's all sorts of funny shapes, not enough here, too much there...."

See what I mean?

It's not any easy read - the characters are challenging - but I couldn't put it down and I've been reading about the history of Burma ever since.

If you'd like to check out more photos of Burmese costume et al, check out this blog.

I Heart Virago!

2011-01-30T19:14:00.002+10:00

At what point do they bring out the strait-jackets I wonder and cart you off to the home for the bewildered?

Is putting Viragos in the shape of a heart on the marital cot enough I wonder?

I do like a competition and this is the most creative contribution I can come up with for a photo of my Virago collection.

The wonderful Rachel of Booksnob and Carolyn of A Few of my Favourite Books have been hosting Virago Reading Week this week.

I'm afraid I haven't been very good at the reading bit.....more at the purchasing bit.....

But it has been an absolute pleasure to discover new blogs and fellow Virago afficianodos and re-ignite a forgotten obsessive compulsive disorder.

Long live Virago!

PS I hope you have noted the feminist colours of the bedspread. Purple for dignity, green for hope...the sheets needless to say are white for purity. I'm sure the Man of Wrath would have something to say about that!

Smile!

2011-01-29T08:06:00.000+10:00

It is Virago Reading Week this week hosted by the lovely Rachel at Book Snob and Carolyn at A Few of my Favourite Books . I was meant to be reading I Will Not Serve by Eveline Mahyere but I seem to have mislaid it - silly me - so I am reading F Tennyson Jesse's The Lacquer Lady instead.

There are all sorts of competitions this week running in conjunction with the Virago fest and I of course love entering competitions. One of them is to take photos of our Virago collection....so here I go. I don't have many Viragos which is why I'll be hitting the Lifeline Bookfest with a vengeance today...

This photo, believe it or not, took a bit of work. For a start I've got a pretty clunky camera. Secondly I don't hold them as still as I used to - not that I'm ancient or anything just hopeless at staying still. So it took 13 photos to produce one focussed one!! And what I really want you to look at is the leaf....don't you think it looks like a smile or a mouth? I do. I took 13 photos of the wretched thing. I found it on the carpark stairs at New Farm. See I am really turning eccentric - picking up leaves because they look like mouths.

I went to a business breakfast yesterday morning and got into conversation with a fellow businessperson. He asked me if I smile in interviews. Do I? I don't know. I think I do. Maybe I don't. I don't have a mirror with me at the time. Anyway - the point is - Viragos make me smile. Why? Because their familiar green cover assures me a good read is inside (and yes, I know the covers have changed) so now it is the logo that assures me - that naughty apple wot Eve gave Adam when all the trubble began.

Trubble does begin with Viragos - washing up doesn't get done, bathrooms don't get cleaned, Men of Wrath are ignored....such trubble it's a wonder the world continues to function whilst we metaphorically eat apples. Viragos are a window onto someone else's world - I can see, feel and hear their story. Sometimes I have to look hard or look twice, as I did with my leaf, because the author has found things that I haven't thought of or recognise but the effort is always rewarding.

What makes you smile? I sit in an office on my own all week so delight in silly things people post on Facebook or on their blogs or send me via email. This week two videos about animals made me roar with laughter. I hope you enjoy them. Animals make me smile all the time. Aren't we lucky to have them in our world?

Costa Novel Award 2010

2011-01-26T13:28:00.001+10:00

"The hand that first held mine" by Maggie O'Farrell

We chose this for our first bookclub meeting. A desire had been expressed to read some of the prizes this year. This won the Costa Novel Award for 2010 (the Costas used to be known as the Whitbreads).You can read more about them here (www.costabookawards.com). It is Maggie O'Farrell's fifth novel and it is the first of hers that I have read.

By and large it was a delightful introduction to O'Farrell's work. Of late, I feel I have been reading many worthy books and while I enjoy being stretched outside my comfort zone, I do enjoy reading a book for pleasure too, not just duty. This book was not a duty to read at all. I knocked it off in a couple of days.

There are two interweaving stories - one set in the late 50s/60s and one set in contemporary times. The reader knows (from reading the blurb on the inside front flap) that inevitably the two stories are linked and part of the compelling nature of the book is to discover the link between the two.

The characters are reasonably complex and engaging. The post-war story captures the essence of the era and has a touch of "Mad Men" about it. The contemporary story is about a young couple struggling with the demands of a newborn, complicated by the near-death experience of the mother at birth. This event triggers deep buried emotions in her husband which manifest as panic attacks and are at the heart of the stories' connection.

"The hand that first held mine" appealed to me because I like books about writers and writing and how having children changes us as individuals and partners. On a grander scale, it is a novel about love and loss and how those experiences carve us out and define us.

If there was a bit that disappointed me, it was probably pages 181-188. It would be a plot spoiler if I revealed their content so I won't, but I just thought the quality of the writing deteriorated at this point. It's hard to define exactly what I disliked about it, but let's just say I found it too sentimental. Lest I be accused of being a cold fish, I also loved the writing on page 315 which would also be a plot revealer if I quoted it. It could also be described as being too sentimental. So there you go ...go figure, as they say.

Read it and tell me what you think.

The Man of Wrath

2011-01-23T12:19:00.004+10:00

This is a bit cheeky because I finished this yesterday but I am going to submit it for the Virago Reading week anyway because it is so close in time.....

Elizabeth and her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim

You know how particular books give you phrases for life? For example,Winnie the Pooh - "elevenses", "horrible heffalumps" or Animal Farm- "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others" and so on. Well, this book has given me "The Man of Wrath". I shall be using this frequently from now on!

This was my second gift from my Virago Secret Santa - the lovely Juliette07. What a wise choice. I was a bit nervous about reading this book as I am the world's worst gardener. I have a black thumb - possibly two. Cactus struggle to survive in my garden. Weeds flourish. The sad thing is that I really do love a beautiful garden. I am just bone lazy and would prefer to knit or read. So, I thought, reading about gardening could be a challenge.

I was intrigued from the outset that the author, Elizabeth von Arnim, was Australian by birth and born in the very same city of my birth - Sydney - in 1866. She was, however, brought up in England and moved to Pomerania in 1894 with her first husband, Count von Arnim aka the Man of Wrath. This book is the account of her forays into gardening - delighting in experimenting with planting and designing a large estate.

This is a slim volume - just over 200 pages - and this particular edition has reasonable size print. All of which is very encouraging for those readers whose eyes are just beginning to require glasses at every turn and who lead hectic lives and read in short bursts on buses or in snatches, before the Man of Wrath discovers them somewhere and delivers yet another lecture with glass of wine in one hand.

The book is framed within a year - commencing in May and concluding in April. There are detailed accounts to be sure of the sowing et al and at times I felt the book would benefit either from illustrations or my having a Yates Garden guide beside me, being vastly ignorant of many of the species under discussion. I persevered however and really, in the end, Elizabeth is probably a much more acute observer of the human species, particularly in the second half of the book.

This is an account for sure of a woman who leads a privileged life. There are numerous servants and seedlings are ordered in the hundreds. But Elizabeth's observations are always told with tongue firmly in cheek or with a sense that, to many. her life and interests may seem rather odd and unconventional. There are many passages where, despite this being written over 100 years ago, one smiles in recognition, that some things never change. Just substitute your favourite vice (e.g. Librarything) for flower catalogues in the following quote and you will understand what I mean....

"I am very busy preparing for Christmas, but have often locked myself up in a room alone, shutting out my unfinished duties, to study the flower catalogues and make my list of seeds and shrubs and trees for the spring. It is a fascinating occupation, and acquires an additional charm when you know you ought to be doing something else, that Christmas is at the door, that children and servants and farm hands depend on you for their pleasure, and that, if you don't see to the decoration of the trees and house and the buying of the presents, nobody else will. The hours fly by shut up with those catalogues and with Duty snarling on the other side of the door." p. 94

Elizabeth is a woman who craves and enjoys solitude. At times I felt sorry for a visitor thrust upon her goodwill - the aspirant writer, Minora - whose efforts Elizabeth and her friend Irais, delight in mocking at every turn. But in the end I am forced to admire Elizabeth's own acute observation of her self....a woman not entirely without faults - but ones we all share.....

Good Citizen

2011-01-18T20:26:00.000+10:00

This is the mumble mumble bridge in Brisbane....I say that because I never know which bridge is which...we have so many...it could be the William Jolly....isn't that dreadful? I really should know...I am a grown-up for goodness sake......

It's such a bad photo that it's almost a good photo if you know what I mean....it's raining and taken from the back of a speeding bus.

Coronation Drive is now open and I think they go along it very fast in case Coronation Drive decides to fall into the fast moving Brisbane river.

It was freezing on the bus. I think they had the airconditioning up very high because it was such a stinking hot day. I shall proably die of pneumonia before I die of cholera or typhoid.

The dear Council sent me lovely thank you messages for being a volunteer on the weekend. "Too easy" - as the young folk seem to say these days. I was glad to help. It was frustrating sitting at home and watching it on telly. I was glad to be doing something.

Hopefully I can do more.

What's the worst photo you've ever taken? I do remember taking one of my poor godmother in two halves. The top half and then the bottom half - hilarious when you think about it. Waist up. Waist down. At the time it made perfect sense. She was way too big to fit in the viewfinder. It's all about perspective isn't it? When something is too big...think about taking a step back and then things might fit in the viewfinder.

Sunday

2011-01-16T20:50:00.000+10:00

Here we are in Weekes Road Moggill waiting for da bus.

Today we volunteered to help clean up the rubbish left by the floods in Brisbane.

Our day started at about 5:30 - up and at 'em and off to get Thommo from Ashgrove and then to make our way to Mt Coot-tha Gardens to register to volunteer.

The queue was long but moved reasonably quickly. They had hats, gloves and water for us - even tetanus shots - and handed out oranges on the buses. Today's mystery tour went to Moggill. I was glad. They are our neighbours.

It was a bit sobering driving down Moggill Road - a journey I have done for many years taking the kids to riding lessons and pony club. You could see the water line way up high in the trees where the leaves were all brown. We passed the McIntyre Centre and all the horse rugs were out to dry. The bus left us at the local store - 70 odd people standing beside the road starting to giggle and wondering where we should go. After a while an organised bloke directed us to cross the road and sit in the shade of the church until the next bus came.

It did and we were taken somewhere else...and then we walked...and walked and walked....I started to giggle thinking "Does anyone actually know where we're going...all the houses looked fine.

We got right to the end of Weekes Road and that's where the piles of rubbish were...there were volunteers everywhere and no trucks....some of us tried to clear out gardens but a lot of it had already been done. I was a bit reluctant to go into people's houses because there were so many of us there and we had been clearly told what our job was...get the rubbish in the trucks.. ..

So then the trucks started to come...but there were bobcats too and it became this mad game of avoid the bobcat and then try and throw stuff into the trucks....Well I've never been very good at throwing and, let's face it...I am a short arse......but I think we did help in a weird kind of way...

Certainly Thommo and Cas got into it and were called upon to lift heavy logs and other big boy crap like carpets and what not and Cas said he feels really good about it...and so I think we done good...and my legs are sore so I must have done something :)....We were very well fed by someone - sausages sizzles and bottles of water and cupcakes......The bus took us back to the Church and then I rang my walking mate who lived over the hill and she drove us back to the Gardens. I haven't seen her since she went overseas. She's been without power, water or phone for four days at Bellbowire. She was in fine spirits and waxing enthusiastic about the Queensland spirit in her thick Scottish brogue. Bless.

Here are the boys in their volunteer kit....they'll hate me for posting this but they really were just lovely and the kind of people I'd want around me if I needed help ....

Sandbags and Gridlock

2011-01-15T17:53:00.000+10:00

Well they're not very good photos I'm afraid but I'm trying to capture the last couple of days here in Bris-Venice as it is now called......(as opposed to BrisVegas)

There are sandbags lying outside shops and the traffic is chaos. It is so difficult to know what to do. We want to help but everytime we get on the road we can't get anywhere. Today Cas and I ventured out to Indooroopilly Shoppingtown.....mistake....it took us so long that we just parked the car a couple of streets away and walked the rest of the way. We were trying to get suitable clothing for him to wear as a volunteer tomorrow to help with the cleanup.....workboots, long pants, long sleeved shirts etc....stuff that teenagers in a tropical climate DO NOT wear as a matter of course....shorts and singlets being more favoured.....

Then we went in search of a medical centre to get Tetanus shots so we can volunteer tomorrow.

Taringa Medical Centre came good - though once again traffic was at a crawl all along Moggill Road...they had already administered 50 tetanus shots by 1pm when we arrived. I called Kenmore Medical Centre and they had already administered 25. The Volunteer Centres have been flooded (yes a poor pun I know).

Home via Kenmore MacDonalds when the reality of the disaster finally struck Cas full force....Maccas was closed at midday on a Saturday - quelle horreur!!!

Home by the local bakery and, whilst they were open, all bread, pies etc had been stripped. He had to make do with a finger bun.

But we are so very fortunate...we are high and dry....we have each other...we have food, power...everything really when so many have so little now.....

Have you been through a disaster? What did you lose? What was the worst bit? What helped you recover?

Brisbane Flood

2011-01-12T10:26:00.000+10:00

We are high and dry here at home but some other people are not so lucky.

This photo is taken from North Quay just near B105.

I made a mad dash into the city this morning to empty the freezer in my father's unit before the power was to go off at 8:30am.

It was tricky getting in as Coronation Drive and Milton Road are cut. Rosalie is underwater - hard to believe.

That is the Gallery of Modern Art you can see on the right. The galleries and museum are closed. The city was being blocked off by police cars as I left.

Take care everyone....

Green Revolution and Toowoomba Floods

2011-01-10T19:00:00.000+10:00

I'm back at work - with the all important coffee cup to keep me going.

What do you think?

This is my bit for the green revolution....a recyclable coffee cup which I bought at a place called Lamington in Noosa.

The Brisbane River continues to churn and boil with driftwood and looks like a big brown wide river. Its hard to focus on Coronation Drive going home it's so mesmerising......

Poor old Toowoomba copped it today. If you want to have a look at some amazing photos, befriend the Premier's Disaster Relief Fund on Facebook...oh and while you're at it...why don't you make a donation to all those poor families that have lost their homes...their books...their clothes...their sofas...their tvs?

You get the picture...You can make a donation here

Navmen and other delights

2011-01-09T18:08:00.003+10:00

I think it is important to log how much in love I am with my Navman...okay okay Bel...OUR Navman.

Bel and I went halve-zees in a Navman a month or so ago and I'm just beginning to use it and discover its delights.....

I love that it can re-direct you in the event of road closures et al....I love that it can tell you where the nearest petrol station is....we laugh at how it pronounces names - the woman says Caloundra like Maroubra***.....which won't mean much to people who aren't from Australia but I'm sure you have equivalents wherever you live....it tells me when I am speeding...it tells me where there are speed/red-light cameras. If you've ever wondered if it was an extravagance, I say to you...go and get one now....they are a godsend for those over 40 who find street directories hard to read at night or parents of kids who have to go to soccer-fields in godforsaken suburbs they've never heard of.....

It's very rainy here....I spent the day browsing in shops mostly...it's my last day of holidays before I go back to the proverbial salt-mine. I got caught in a downpour in the city. My shoes were soaked. My jeans were soaked. Luckily I could go to my father's unit and put my togs in the dryer, have a cup of coffee and borrow his shoes to drive home. Here's the view from the unit. You can't really see much from a mobile phone photo but I assure you that the river has broken its banks and is very brown with lots of interesting driftwood. The City Botanic Gardens are absolutely soaked.

I was grateful to find bandaids in the unit as well...It's the little things that make a difference isn't it?...a blister on the back of your heel can be hell....

God bless the person that invented Navman and God bless the person that invented Bandaids.

And a big PS - God Bless friends who share their very special champagne with you and teach you how to do Fair Isle and take you to Noosa so you can browse in fabulous shops to your heart's content. Love you heaps girlfriend!!!

***in case you are slightly interested ....in Australia we pronounce Caloundra as in Cal - ow - ndruh......and Maroubra as Ma- roo - bruh (the "a"s on the end of both names are short as in "up")....so you can understand why we giggle when the lady says Ca - loon - druh.

Cloche

2011-01-05T13:48:00.000+10:00

Yes! I can knit a hat in a day...for charity.....

for those who care it's a Thicket design....

and I knitted it in a lovely yarn called Dream in Colour Classy and the colour is Dusky Aurora....

I found it at Peppermint Stitches.

I do like a hat...do you?

Slip, slop, slap !

A Tisket A Tasket

2011-01-04T15:57:00.000+10:00

I do love a good basket!

This Christmas gift was from lovely Faith...and I have just filled it with books, magazines and DVDs from Kenmore library.....I borrowed the March and June issues of Yarn magazine which I've never bought. I borrowed The Last Picture Show and Affinity. I borrowed Kenmore Park by Jean Stewart, Patchwork for Beginners by Sue Prichard, a V & A publication, Around the World in Knitted Socks by Stephanie van der Linden and Closely Knit by Hannah Fettig......bliss, joy, rapture.....off to browsing land now.

Kenmore Library

2011-01-03T17:01:00.001+10:00

I've been meaning to say for a while how excited I am that Kenmore now has it's own new library.....it opened just before Christmas. I didn't get to see it until after Christmas and the joint was jumping.

I don't know about your library but our library has cheerful technology that "sings" when you borrow a book - a bit like those new fandangled washing machines that sing a little tune when the load is finished. The library was so busy the day I went all you could hear was the dinging of happy customers and their books being checked out.

There are all sorts of great spaces in the library particularly for young uns - (puts on old shaky voice) "Oh they're not like they were in my day...." ....well actually, I remember them being pretty fantastic in my day too.....

What do you remember about libraries in your youth? I remember listening to Elton John's Yellow Brick Road over and over again while my parents looked at books - it must have been on tape...and that would have been in a library in Canberra....I'm trying to remember which one it would have been - I think it might have been Kingston ....

Do you have a library near you? Do you like it? What do you like about it?

A photo a day....

2011-01-02T20:25:00.002+10:00

I've only just caught onto this suggestion for January - a photo a day....what an excellent suggestion...I've always liked taking photos and this morning I took quite a few....let's see if I can keep going every day.....

So, this is a photo of my big splurge this week at the post-Xmas sales.....a new wreath for our front door....half price from Crabtree & Evelyn ....I am very happy with it...the other one was starting to fall apart..it was my mother's and was probably at least 20 years old.

Happy New Year to you and yours......what's your new year's resolution? Mine is not to have the same old resolution next year....i.e. lose weight!!! Wouldn't it be nice to keep it off and never have to worry about it again.....but my father makes such excellent Christmas pudding...and brandy butter...mmmmmmm.....

Hoot!

2010-12-29T22:16:00.001+10:00

For the doubting Thomasina - Voila! C'est fini!

One has run out of buttons for all the owls eyes...one must head to the button shop tomorrow and find matching owls eyes.

Gawd I'm hot in this jumper!!

Only I would knit a jumper in summer......

The Owls The Owls

2010-12-28T19:24:00.001+10:00

Yes, I know this doesn't look like owls...they're coming in a bit.....this is more of The Adelaide Collection...

There has been much knitting today...and sucking of teeth...and a little bit of driving for the Learner driver...and eating of leftovers....and now a little bit of wine....

Yes, I know you can't see the owls yet but I want to assure you fervently that they are coming....I have indeed begun on the yoke and yes, one sleeve does look longer than the other...sigh...but I'm sure you won't notice once I've got it on, like....

Towns in Queensland now officially considered disaster zones are - Theodore, Dalby and Chinchilla, Alpha, Jericho and Warra with more to follow....it certainly has been raining....I got my raincoat out yesterday and discovered it was mouldy....time to buy a new raincoat.

The Adelaide Collection and Rhapsody

2010-12-27T13:42:00.000+10:00

It's raining buckets here in the Sunshine State. Perfect reading weather!

But it's Christmas too - people need to be fed, tables laid, floors swept, presents wrapped - you get the picture....so...short stories are perfect fare for the domestically distracted.

Rhapsody is a book of ten short stories written by Dorothy Edwards with an introduction by Elaine Morgan. This book is one of the Virago Modern Classics series published by Penguin in 1986. You can find out more about Elaine Morgan here http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A5316860 or watch her speak here http://www.elainemorgan.me.uk/. Elaine, like Dorothy Edwards, is Welsh and probably best known for writing The Descent of Woman and for many popular BBC TV series e.g. How Green Was My Valley, Dr Finlay's Casebook and Testament of Youth. Most recently she wrote Pinker's List.

Elaine's introduction gives us great context for reading Dorothy's work - she was the daughter of an idealistic Welshman..."a pioneering Shavian, socialist and vegetarian" and behaved "as if the world of letters was a genuine republic - as if here at least the age of equality had already arrived. She was presuming a little too much." For despite being "adopted" by David Garnett in the flush of her early literary success, he grew "irritated by her clumsy homemade dresses and her lack of any form of corset."

These stories were published in 1926 when Dorothy was in her early 20s. As Morgan says, Edwards ignored the cardinal rule to write about what you know best. She wrote about privileged life and, as such, much of what she writes comes across as stilted or awkward. Not much happens in these stories. People seem somewhat constipated or ill at ease in their environment. Things aren't explained. Thoughts are left hanging. The characters try their hand at creative endeavours - music, poetry, writing - with varying degrees of success.

But don't let that dissuade you from reading them - they are haunting in their quality and for people who are interested in writing, I think they are well worth reading.

The picture featured is another fabric from Michele Hill's new Adelaide Collection.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T19:29:00.000+10:00

Bubbly was drunk...

Lunch was served.....

and only a couple of presents left under the tree....

Merry Christmas everyone!

Book Reviews and More Adelaide Collection

2010-12-20T21:57:00.000+10:00

Here's another sample of the fabulous new Adelaide Collection of William Morris fabric from Michele Hill.

And here are some book reviews that I have finally got round to writing today about my most recent reads....

One of the great things about Librarything is the fabulous people you get to meet - even if only virtually. PaperbackPirate recommended I consider this book for my bookclub on the other side of the globe in the land down under. What an excellent suggestion!

Even though I do describe myself as a Bear of Little Brain and can truthfully say I spectacularly failed Science at school, I did manage to make my way through this amazing book. A couple of times I did stop myself and rehearse what I would say if someone asked me what it was about....aka "Well it's about cell culture thingummies" just wouldn't cut it with the scientific fraternity.

So what is it about? Well it's about one woman's journey to find out who Henrietta Lacks really was. Rebecca Skloot first heard about Henrietta in a community college biology class. She learned that she had died in 1951 from cervical cancer but that before she died, "a surgeon took samples of her tumor and put them in a petri dish." Her cells differed from other human cells in that they reproduced every 24 hours and didn't die. She wanted to know more but no-one could tell her anything about Henrietta despite her cells being omnipresent in most labs around the world today.

This book is, at face value, about scientific discovery and ethics. But it is so much more than that. There were times when I had to put the book down and take a big breath because some of the subject matter was so tough to read. It impressed upon me the immense vulnerability of those who through misfortune do not have access to education, good health or parents to protect their best interests in their childhood.

Ultimately what impressed me most was Rebecca Skloot's tenacity and compassion to work together with Henrietta's descendants to uncover the truth . She gives an honest account of that journey which was not easy by any stretch of the imagination. Yes the book is about science but it is also a story about a family's and an individual's struggle. This book is a tribute to Rebecca, to Henrietta and her descendants.

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

At long last ! My very first Barbara Pym! I wasn't quite sure to expect but being rather fond of a Pimms at Christmas I thought it couldn't be too bad and probably rather nice. An enthusiastic response from fellow Virago-ites confirmed my supposition and I leapt in with both feet.

This particular edition has an introduction by Alexander McCall Smith which is also an excellent sign as I'm very fond of his sense of humour. He sums up the world of the book very cogently by describing it as "a world of shortages and genteel drabness". Excellent Women is in fact the perfect tonic for these austere times. For our book-club this year we have decided to swap books for Christmas as a nod towards belt tightening. Some lucky gal will be snaffling this treasure tomorrow night.

So what's it about? Well it's about living in a small community where everyone knows who you are and thinks they know where you will end up - including you - only you sub-consciously wish it might be different. The story is set after the war when, no doubt, a lot of eligible young men were knocked off and there is a surplus of eligible young women - or spinsters as some unkind people used to call them.

Mildred is our heroine of sorts. She provides a wry commentary of the goings-on of her new neighbours, the Napiers, and the disturbance they cause to the delicate balance that is ultimately village life, even in the big smoke - London. When you discover that the lead male "interest' Mr Napier's christian name is Rockingham, you know you're in for a treat. Mildred is a clergyman's daughter and spends much of her time with the local vicar and his sister organising the odd bazaar and, before she can object, the rocky domestic life of the Napiers.

As McCall-Smith says, much of the joy in this book is to be gained from a reflection of our own human foibles. Chapter Two for example concludes with the following observation...

"I hoped the Napiers were not going to keep late hours and have noisy parties. Perhaps I was getting spinsterish and 'set' in my ways, but I was irritated at having been woken. I stretched out my hand towards the little bookshelf where I kept cookery and devotional books, the most comforting bedside reading. My hand might have chosen Religio Medici, but I was rather glad that it had picked out Chinese Cookery and I was soon soothed into drowsiness." Well I may not have Chinese Cookery or Religio Medici for that matter in my collection, but I am guilty of taking a good craft book to bed, secure in the knowledge that I will never complete one tenth of the projects therein but deriving great satisfaction from considering them nonetheless.

There are so many wonderful lines in this work. Barbara Pym celebrates the ordinariness of life - the sheer, at times, tedium of existence and how we invent ways to deal with it.....shall I share one more quote? Here Mildred is describing Everard Bone, the object of Mrs Napier's unrequited affection....

"He was certainly very clever and handsome, too, in his own way, but there was no warmth or charm about his personality. I began imagining him as a clergyman and decided that he would make a good one. His rather forbidding matter would be useful to him. I realised that one might love him secretly with no hope of encouragement, which can be very enjoyable for the young or inexperienced."

Fabulous stuff! Excellent Women - you know from the get-go what kind of book it will be and sometimes that is a very comforting place to be indeed.

What will you be reading over the Christmas holidays? What do you hope to be given for Christmas?

Battle of the Bulge....

2010-12-19T09:23:00.001+10:00

It has been quite a while since I posted and many lovely things have happened since then.

Today was the unveiling of my Secret Santa gift from a friend on Librarything.....a very thoughtful gift with lovely shiny new books and a special journal for recording Secret Thoughts by a Bear of Little Brain...my two new books are Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim and The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. I am very fortunate indeed.....

It's rainy weather again in Brisvegas today...just the sort of weather to get crafting really....but we need to get Caspar's hours up, so a trip to the Coast is called for to wish Fay a very Happy Birthday. Caspar and Fay are in that exclusive club of poor souls who have their birthdays in the week leading up to Christmas...it is a vexed affair trying to make them feel as though their birthdays are a separate affair from the celebrations surrounding Christmas....we never quite carry it off I'm afraid.

Please to peruse a sample of my latest winnings (it seems to have been my lucky year as far as winning prizes on blogs is concerned).....I was one of the lucky winners to win a stash of Michele Hill's William Morris fabric called The Adelaide Collection. It is absolutely beautiful and I will post a photo of the no less than nine (9) gorgeous designs here over the next few days so you too can luxuriate in their glory. My personal favourite is the one featured today and I have told Tweetie that she is of course the model for the border. One might say that she is getting a bit cocky about it all but she is a budgie and budgies don't do that sort of thing.....they merely budge....

I hope that you are not too stressed in the lead up to Christmas and can take the time to reflect on the little things in life that make it so wonderful....my week so far has included breakfast on the beach with an old and very dear friend, lunch with old work colleagues here and here, a drink (or two - hic!) in a new bar with a young and very hip colleague who works for this great company, some shared Christmas treats with Rob from Southside DVDs who delivers movies to us faithfully every week...I am very very lucky indeed...but I fear my waistline is assuming Titanic proportions....roll on New Year's resolutions!!

Dinner

2010-12-01T23:41:00.000+10:00

Tonight I ate very well. And in good company.

It is a blessing - yes?

I was with strangers ....and friends......

A complete stranger cooked a beautiful meal for me and new friends and old friends....

He threw food at us which we tried to catch with our mouths......

Not all of it mind you.....

Most was served elegantly in bowls.....and on plates.

The throwing bit was just to have fun and make us laugh at each other and with each other....

And to applaud those who could actually catch the food with their mouths....

I think we were noisier than the 12 year olds who preceded us......

We're not sure whether their event was a birthday or a graduation from primary school to high school.

I am reminded of how great cuisine and a bit of slapstick can conquer inhibitions and smooth the way to make new friends.

When was the last time you shared a meal with someone you didn't know?

Aviation History

2010-11-13T08:49:00.000+10:00

P1543_12

As an update to my last post, here is a photo of Jack Percival and Henry Purvis who were part of the crew who flew the Catalina Flying Boat "Frigate Bird II" from Rose Bay to Chile in 1951. Jack Percival, according to this source was the Sydney Morning Herald's Aviation correspondent that came up with the idea of delivering newspapers to country towns via converted warplanes. Harry Purvis was appointed Manager of the Herald Flying Services in 1946.

Remembrance Day

2010-11-11T11:22:00.000+10:00

In honour of Remembrance Day I am remembering my Uncle. His is not a story of great valour and great deeds. He did not die in glorious battle. He did not die in war. Nevertheless he did serve and was prepared to make the great sacrifice. And I think sometimes ordinary stories are interesting ones nevertheless.

I did not know my Uncle. I am in fact a bit short on aunts and uncles. I have none now. I did have an aunt once and loved her to bits but she died when I was 14. My father had three siblings and my mother was an only child, hence the shortage.

My father was the youngest of four children. His oldest sibling was Hazel, my aunt, who I adored. My father had an older brother, Edwin or Ted, who was much loved. There was a younger sister Trixy, but she died of scarlet fever as a baby. Here is a picture of Hazel, Ted and Trixy.

Ted was born 12 September 1926 in Marrickville in Sydney. As the first son he was named after his father, Edwin. I suspect his middle name, Oswald, came from his mother Ethel's side of the family. Ethel was the second eldest of seven children and she had a younger brother Oswald who was six years her junior. Ossie, as I think he was called, died the year I was born.

1926 was the year Queen Elizabeth 11 was born. And Dame Joan Sutherland. Andrew Fisher was Prime Minister and Jack Lang Premier. It was the year Winne the Pooh was first published. Ethel, Ted's mother was 23 years old, nearly 24. Hazel her oldest child was about to turn 2. Her husband Edwin was an Electrical draftsman with the Sydney City Council.

Trixy was born on Boxing Day a couple of years later. I have a copy of the receipt for her funeral expenses dated 6th January 1930. Hazel would have been five years old and Ted just three when Trixy died. These were the years of the Great Depression in more ways than one I imagine.

At the age of 30 Ethel gave birth to my father, Jim. Ted was nearly nine years old by then. Four years later Australia entered the Second World War.

There was military history on both sides of the family. Ted's grandfather on his father's side was in the Navy and had served in WW1. His grandfather on his mother's side had also served in WW1 in the Army.

Ted's sister Hazel enlisted in February 1943 a couple of months after she turned 18 and served as a Corporal in the General Hospital. Ted dreamed of being a fighter pilot. He put his age up and joined the RAAF as quickly as he could at the age of 17 in July the following year. He spent some time in Queensland during the war. His rank at discharge a year later was Leading Aircraftman. Here is a photo of him.

On discharge Ted was given a bit of money to help him on his way. He set up a model boat building business and my father remembers a beautiful workshop in the garage of their home at Undercliffe. However someone dobbed him into the local council so that was the end of that. I think it was then that he went on to get his commercial pilot's licence.

Ted died a couple of years after the war. He was just 21 years old. He and Geoff Hoskins, aged 33, died when their plane crashed south east of Muswellbrook at Black Hill early on the morning of 30 October in 1947. They were dropping off newspapers for the Sydney Morning Herald. The Aircraft Accident Report concluded that the "cause of the accident was loss of control probably resulting from the Centre of Gravity of VH-SMJ being considerably aft of the rearward limit....as a consequence of the incorrect disposal of the load."

My father found an article in the Daily Telegraph dated 31 October 1947 that contains gruesome pictures of the plan wreckage and photos of the airmen.

In my search for an image of a Lockheed Hudson type aircraft I came across this interesting article...I think this story bears further investigation.

Who do you remember on Remembrance Day?

The Finkler Question

2010-11-09T08:20:00.000+10:00

Just in case you have been living under a rock (which I sometimes do), this won the Booker Prize this year. On the back cover it is described as "A blistering portrayal of a funny man...." and "Our funniest living writer....". It is always dangerous to describe things as funny. A bit like saying to someone "I saw this great movie last night!"...a sure set-up for disappointment.

I finished this book today. I now owe the Brisbane City Council Library $1.75 in late fees for it. I was determined to finish it by hook or by crook. I think I laughed maybe twice.

This year for me seems to have been marked by books about vampires and books about Jews or Jewishness. I haven't deliberately chosen this path. I merely remark upon it and I mean nothing by the association. I am just intrigued by it. So far I am finding neither genre or subject matter an easy read - certainly not funny.

Let's talk about the Jews we know. Or what it means to be Jewish. Yes, let's talk about stereotypes. Bette Midler. Woody Allen. They come to my mind. I often quote Bette Midler's line in Beaches "But enough about me, let's talk about you,........what do You think about me?" Neurotic. Self-obsessed. Funny. Sad.

The Finkler Question is about three men who come together in grief. The main character Julian Treslove is a kind of an anti-hero. He was born to be miserable. He is excruciatingly pathetic. He is so miserable he secetly fantasises about being Jewish. A bit like you fantasise about being adopted....anything not to have been born into this awfully boring suburban family. Give me a bit of the exotic...make me Jewish! His best friend from school Sam Finkler is Jewish and all that Julian wishes he was - smart, successful, a bedder of countless women. They keep in touch with an old teacher from their school days - turned friend - Libor - an eccentric loveable Czech, also Jewish. Libor and Sam are recently bereaved and Julian revels with them in their misery.

Spoiler alert! The book is called The Finkler Question. And, of course, as the reader you thirst to know why. It is Julian's secret way of internally de-stigmatising the word "Jew". And I quote..."Before he met Finkler, Treslove had never met a Jew. Not knowingly at least. He supposed a Jew would be like the word Jew - small and dark and beetling. A secret person. But Finkler was almost orange in colour and spilled out of his clothes. He had extravagant features, a prominent jaw, long arms and big feet....If this was what all Jews looked like, Treslove thought, then Finkler....was a better name for them than Jew.....The minute you talked about the Finkler Question, say, or the Finklerish Conspiracy, you sucked out the toxins. But he was never quite able to get around to explaining this to Finkler himself."

That last sentence I believe holds the key to the book. Why doesn't Julian get around to explaining his labelling to Sam? And therein lies the genius I guess of Howard Jacobson. Because Julian is a loathsome character. He is in fact like some kind of small dark beetle...a secret person. He, like a vampire, sucks the lifeblood out of his friends and girlfriends/wives/lovers. He purports to be deeply interested in being Jewish but is frustrated when the going gets tough....His lover Hephzibah recommends reading Moses Maimonides' The Guide for the Perplexed when he seeks enlightenment with regard to Jewish thought.....but poor Julian can barely make it beyond the first sentence and feels "like a child lost in a dark forest full of decrepit lucubrations." He is lost because he is never honest with himself about his motivations and he is certainly never honest with his friends about his innermost thoughts.

I wonder if by The Finkler Question in fact Jacobson is referring to the Human Question. Ultimately I felt I loathed Julian because I was seeing a reflection of myself.....see it's all about me!!! He disappointed me the same way I disappoint myself. There was no great triumph or change in Julian's character...he was excruciating from beginning to end...failing to see what a tosspot he was...as indeed no doubt we all do of ourselves. For me, The Finkler Question is about the mystery of the human condition...about our eternal quest to label, categorize, blame and explain the inexplicable.

Laugh? I could have cried.

Walk

2010-11-08T08:27:00.000+10:00

I went for a walk this morning......at last. Purple petals were strewn in my path from the jacarandas.

This is what a jacaranda looks like in case you haven't seen one.

It rained last night so everything smelt fresh and damp....loverly.....

I enjoyed watching the fog lift off our moutain. We live in the foothills of Mt Coot-tha which is probably more of a bump by world standards...

You can see the television antennas peeking through in this photo.

Wish me luck on my "Get thin before I turn 50 challenge!"

Sur ....PRIZE!

2010-11-06T16:59:00.000+10:00

Look what turned up in the mail on Thursday! My lovely prize from Curlypops! Thank you. I feel very spoilt.

Look at all my lovely fabric.......

and I got special wool too in the most lubberly colours.....English Leicester it's called......now I must confess I don't know what to do with it when it is in this state...

does this mean I have to spin it or something? I'm such an ignoramus.....tell me Grand Purl Baa...what do I do?

Let's just have another look at that beautiful card designed by Curlypops herself. Isn't she wonderful? Don't you just meet the nicest people when you blog??

All the rest have ....

2010-10-31T10:30:00.000+10:00

31

My weekend has been a mix of triumphs and ordinary pordinaryness.

I fixed a zip in a skirt. I fixed a bra that got mangled in the wash.

Yesterday I went to the shop that must not be named but sounds like it suffers from measles or should be in showbiz to get new plastic tablecloths to shelter the guinea pigs from tropical downpours....

I of course came out with tea-towels....I do like a good tea-towel.

And some cat fabric - cushions perhaps?

I love looking up numbers on Wikipaedia...you find out so many interesting things.....

Did you know, for example that 31 is a centered triangular number, a centered pentagonal number and centered decagonal number.

It's also Turkish for masturbation - and I say unto you in Spanish, a la Manuel - "Che?????"

So has Blogtoberfest been a w---? Absolutely not!!

I say....it's been a lot of hard work...and a lot of fun....

God Bless Tinniegirl for bringing all 270 of us together. It's been a feast!

I will end this month of Blogtoberfesting by saying thank you to all of you for visiting and sharing your triumphs together with your ordinary pordinary days.

Bag Lady

2010-10-30T12:43:00.001+10:00

What's in the bag, lady?

A bomb?

Yes!

What else? A surprise?

A green-tea surprise!

What else? A bear?

Why yes! A panda cheese!

I do like it when new stores open.

This one has been open for 2 weeks according to the sales assistant at Indooroopilly Shockingtown who served me and business is brisk!

Have you ever tasted anything like these before?

Workhouse

2010-10-29T15:56:00.000+10:00

Sometimes when I come to work I feel like I'm working in a Victorian workhouse!!!

It's a bit foreboding isn't it?

But it really is a lovely building see.....this is the front.....

and the sun is shining in Brisvegas today after a terrific downpour yesterday afternoon.

The rain made the water feature in my office sing and carry on like nobody's business.

Can anybody else boast about having a downpipe in their office?????

This bike is often parked in our carpark....I've always wanted to zip around on one of these, haven't you?

Frustrated

2010-10-26T20:53:00.002+10:00

It's pouring with rain outside but we're all warm and toasty inside. The kids have gone out for a drive in this weather as only teenagers can....let's hope they return safely.

I'm a bit frustrated.

I've started knitting my owl jumper but I didn't have any 6.5mm circular needles....so I went to the shop to buy some (spent quite a bit on them actually) and now I find one of them keeps catching the wool....so I'll have to take them back. Drat.

I think I'm so cranky because the wool is really lovely and springy and produces results quickly...it's Cascade Ecological. The Owl pattern is very popular and from this wonderful woman here. She is really very special....takes beautiful photos...is very clever and, well...I hope you like her work as much as I do.

In good news, I finally made it to the American Yarns shop on Saturday. I had a good old mooch around and ended up walking out with stuff I never expected to buy.

The minute I touched the blue yarn on the left I was sold...it is the softest stuff you have ever felt....I think it is a mix of casmere and silk...sigh. The big red ball on the right, Moonnight is a mix of lambswool and cashmere. Think I'll try my hand at shawls with these ones. The owner was very patient with me (I think I was there for probably at least an hour). I was delighted when she gave me a loyalty card. It's a little thing but honestly I spend so much on this hobby, it's nice to be rewarded for good custom.

That's all to report really. It's been a tidying kind of day today while my wonderful mechanic fixed my car - broken engine mount and a timing belt that needed replacing. I read a bit of the Guardian and am stuck on the Quick Crossword AGAIN!!

Did you know that (according to page 31 of the Guardian) "walking may protect the brain against shrinking and preserve memory in the elderly, according to research by US neurologists who monitored 300 volunteers over 13 years......The study suggests that about 14km a week is the optimum distance for "neurological exercise". The paper, published in Neurology, the online medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found no discernible bonus in going further."

Right that does it....got to get back into walking. Apart from anything else....my jeans are too uncomfortable.

By the way, the kids did return safely :)

Baaria

2010-10-25T19:57:00.000+10:00

If only all milkos were this scrummy!

This is in fact Francesco Scianna who plays the part of Peppino Torrenuova in Giuseppe Tornatore's Baaria. You remember Mr Tornatore...He made that marvellous hearwarming film Cinema Paradiso. And a couple of others - like A Pure Formality starring Gerard Depardieu. Baaria is apparently Sicilian slang for the town called Bagheria - Tornatore's birthplace.

I am a complete sucker for Italian films. It all began back in the lates 70s when I enrolled in Italian at Sydney Uni. Our teachers encouraged us to avail ourselves of all the free movies at the Uni cinema.....I saw Bertolucci's 1900, I saw Padre Padrone...I probably saw a lot more than that...but they are the ones I remember...

I cheerfully confess that I learned about sex in Italian movies....and violence. They are a passionate people.

Rather like Bertolucci's 1900, this film attempts to encapsulate a great span of time - from about 1920 through to the 60s and more. One absolutely needs to suspend disbelief but in the hands of a master storyteller, I had no difficulty. From the opening scene where the little Peppino runs down the street so fast that he starts to fly, I was entranced.

This is ultimately a story about the human struggle - to live, to fight for one's beliefs, to dream and to believe. Strong stuff indeed. It is a story about love, family and politics. Here...in Sicily where poverty still is a grim reality, the personal is political.

Ennio Morricone provides the score to lead us through the raging torrent of emotions. I did not find it overpowering or intrusive - just complementary. What a powerhouse that man is - I get RSI just rolling through his credits on IMDB.

The cast in turn was stupendous and the cinematography stunning. Some of the scenery is breathtaking.

It is not for the faint of bladder running at 163 minutes but I loved every second and stayed til the last rolling credit. Of course there are others who would disagree, such as Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian who described it as epically dull and a colossal Stella Artois ad. Sniff.

This was part of the Lavazza Italian Film Festival which finished in Brisbane last night. If you're in Adelaide or Perth I think you may be out of luck for this particular film, though the Festival continues for a couple more days there.

The rest of you in Australia will have to pray that SBS picks it up or that your local DVD shop sees fit to buy it.

Salute!

Day 24

2010-10-24T13:06:00.000+10:00

Those of you who know me well would never leave a garden in my care.

I can water potted plants and that is about it.

Look what threw itself in my path on the way out the back to hang out the washing.

Some orchids have no shame!

Aren't I clever?

And guess what Grand Purl Baa....those socks is finished. I hope they fit now!

Whether to weather the weather or not....

2010-10-23T08:40:00.000+10:00

We fondly refer to our local paper as The Curious Mail.

Today it has reached new heights of curiousness.

I beg you to turn to Page 108 of today's edition to fathom the mysteries of the forecast for today.

Should I take my brolly or not?

It says Fine but what if I'm illiterate? That looks like a great big storm cloud to me. With lightening even...

Hubby is most put out. The weather is his favourite topic of conversation. It goes without saying that B.O.M. (aka the Bureua of Meteorology) is his Favourite website. Some women unfairly accuse their husbands of browsing the net looking for....well...I won't say....but not my hubbie...he's never happier than when musing upon the radar and all its dusky loops and pointers.

Normally the weather forecast is on the front page of the Curious Mail (well that's what Robbie told me...I've never noticed)....but today it isn't...there's some silly strip ad for Policelink....which forced him to hunt towards the back to find.....nonsense.

He's in the backyard now, pulling his whiskers looking up at the clear blue sky....wondering.

4 things...

2010-10-22T19:54:00.001+10:00

4 things I always carry

Donkey Daw they call me....

1. my basket - a tisket a tasket - it carries just about everything
2. if not my basket - my handbag
3. if not my handbag - my wallet
4. and my phone

4 things that are in my bedroom

1. a pew - yes a real church pew - a hangover from seeing one in a Seventeen magazine 500 years ago
2. books books books
3. toys - yes - it is sad - but all my soft toys are lined up on the pew
4. wonderful wicker chair that my step-mother gave me - so very beautiful

4 things that I would like to do but haven't done yet

1. Go on a cruise - yes - tragic
2. Go to Ireland
3. Go to Canada
4. Go to the US
5. Just GO!!! (Oh sorry it's 4 isn't it?)

4 things that you don't know about me

1. I can put up a spinnaker - well it has been a while but....
2. I can wolf whistle really loudly and do so without much provocation particularly at concerts - very inelegant
3. I studied Latin til Grade 12 - truly tragic
4. I am obsessed with True Blood and deeply in lust with Eric

4 things I often wonder

1. Would Eric be attracted to me?
2. What do dogs smell? (apart from the obvious)
3. Which poor sucker is going to inherit my stash?
4. What else could I be doing?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-21T08:07:00.000+10:00

Knackered

2010-10-17T20:04:00.000+10:00

Sunday is meant to be a day of rest isn't it?

No rest for the wicked this end I'm afraid.

I have been on the go all day....

Cooking...

Washing up....

Stripping and making the bed....

Washing.....

Handwashing (gasp!)....

Sweeping.....

Mopping...

Vacuuming...

Ironing......

Cleaning bathrooms....

Tidying cupboards....

Back to work tomorrow....

It'll be a relief!

Man those cats can really swing!

2010-10-16T18:11:00.001+10:00

Okay - let's have a bit of reminiscing ..

Remember when men wore paisley or harlequin shirts? and funny hats...and had long hair....and sung strange lyrics?

Deep Purple - Space Truckin'
Uploaded by kalmar. - Explore more music videos.

Originally performed by Deep Purple

Well we had a lot of luck on Venus
We always have a ball on Mars
With meeting all the groovy people
We've rocked the Milky Way so far
We danced around with Borealis
We're space trucking round the stars
Come on, come on, come on,
Let's go Space trucking
Come on, come on, come on, Space trucking!

Remember when we did the moonshot
And Ronny Trekker led the way
We'd move to the Canaveral Moonstomp
And every naut would dance and way
We got music in our solar system
We're space trucking round the stars
Come on, come on, come on,
Let's go Space trucking
Come on, come on, come on, Space trucking!

The fireball that we rode way moving
But now we've got a new machine
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! the frenks say
Man those cats can really swing
The got music in their solar system
The y've rocked around the Milky Way
They dance around with Borealis
They're space trucking every day!
Come on, come on, come on,
Let's go Space trucking
Come on, come on, come on, Space trucking!

Thank God for men.

Thank God for my man - who replaced the battery

in my car this week - a couple of times until it

was just right.

Thank God for my son who gives me good hugs and

texts me about the funniest things.

Thank God for my father who is the host with the

most, loving, patient and wise.

Thank God for all the sons out there who look me

in the eye, laugh with me and are resourceful

in the toughest of times.

It's Saturday night - put on your favourite record

and your dancing shoes - because you can!

Day 15 - Happy Hour

2010-10-15T09:50:00.000+10:00

Well it's happy hour for the guinea pigs. The rain has stopped and they are drowning in grass.

Don't you just love animals?

This is an old photo but a goody....Karen's dogs at the old house....waiting patiently at the bar to be served.....

Did you see this reindeer at the Asia Pacific Triennial at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane - it made lots of people smile with wonder.

What makes you happy?

Day 14 - My Creative Space

2010-10-14T08:33:00.001+10:00

So GrandPurlBaa will be pleased to see that the second sock is almost finished.....

I am ploughing on with Phil's jumper too....courtesy of lovely yarn wrapped lovingly and supplied by Thicket..

My mind is always on the next 50 projects though....recently I was inspired by Tangled Yarns latest newsletter which showcased Berrocco patterns and I am rather fond of a few there....

I want to make this hoody for Bel....and maybe this top for Lucy

So many patterns, so much wool, so little time.....More creative spaces at Kootooyoo

Self Portrait - aka Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-13T09:02:00.001+10:00

Want to see more self-portraits? Go to Tinniegirl's blog...she's responsible for this whole Blogtoberfest thing !

The Town

2010-10-12T08:22:00.000+10:00

Yes, yes, I know, I know.....I missed a day. What's my pathetic excuse? Have I been trimming roses like this guy?

I tell you what, if I didn't deliver on time for this character, who is in fact Peter Postlethwaite playing the part of Fergie in new flick The Town, I'd be worried...very worried about what he was going to do with those secateurs!

Last night, friend Karen and I got to see the latest from Ben Affleck. It was another movie courtesy of the BIFF Film Club and this time at the wonderful Blue Room Cinebar in Rosalie.

This is very much a genre pic....action all the way with a conventional doomed love story sprinkled throughout to keep the girls happy. Thinks to self, why do girls like doomed love stories????

The cast is a pleasure to watch...it's like having a box of Favourites chocolates....ooh look...there's Chris Cooper....ooh look there's whatshisname...what was he in ????

I salute the stunt team who choreographed the most exhilarating car chase sequences through the back streets of Charlestown. In fact perhaps the biggest salute should go to The Town itself because - despite the alarming crime figures and storyline - I really really want to go there now. The city's architecture is absolutely stunning. I want to get in there amongst it and see it for myself.

It's not the best movie I've ever seen and I was a bit cranky about the mushy ending. I prefer to see crims go out in style a la Bonny and Clyde and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Call me old fashioned.

But The Town certainly ticks all the boxes for those of us slaving away at our conventional day jobs, looking for an escape from the mundane for a couple of hours.

The Town releases in Australia this Thursday.

Rainday

2010-10-10T17:40:00.000+10:00

As opposed to Sunday you understand.

It is the kind of day where one just gets on and does homey stuff.....cooking and the like.

Beef bourguignon is on the menu for this evening.

Little things make one feel rich....Robbie bought this tin of olive oil the other day....I have longed for one of these for most of my adult life.....now I feel like a proper housewife

Bel came home with a whole tin of Earl Grey tea from work this week....it was past its "Use by" date and the boss bestowed it upon her.....thanks Linda

I've had many lovely cups of proper tea this weekend instead of those silly old bags....

Rain.....oil on troubled waters.....tea and sympathy.....I hope it's smooth sailing your end.....

and wish you little riches for your journey in life.

Confession

2010-10-09T18:31:00.001+10:00

The only good Catholics are bad Catholics my husband says.....so, with that in mind, I will show you my latest purchase.....

Isn't it beautiful? 1.5 metres of Etsuko Furuya fabric called echino. I couldn't resist.....I wanted to buy it all.

Now my question to you is...what do I make with it?

Daggy me was going to make a skirt...honestly I am hopeless....but Bel and I now think perhaps a bag....suggestions please.

I really am a greedy girl.....I have a huge stack of books...well four really....two beside my bed and two more growing on my desk...one can never have enough books....which one should I read first?

It's Saturday night....beautiful young things are walking in and out the door ready to party.

Hubby and me are eating fish casserole and will probably watch the 2nd disc of the 1st season of The Tudors...just to remind ourselves where bad Catholics began!!

Gifts

2010-10-08T06:44:00.000+10:00

Yesterday I received a couple of gifts.

Gift 1 - My boss approved my attendance at an AIM Masterclass.

Gift 2 - I met Jane Mara at a Masterclass and she gave me this apple.

Not for morning tea mind you....but to remind us that Isaac Newton was not slaving away in a science lab when he discovered gravity.

Jane has just written a book called "Intuition on Demand - Activate your intuitive intelligence for business success."

I'm feeling a bit lost at work - trying to drum up business and find new markets. This Masterclass sounded just the ticket.

Jane asked us about our personal experience of breakthrough or "Aha!" moments. I think we pretty much all agreed that they came when we had moved away from the vexing task at hand. We had gone for a walk or in my case, went to do the washing up.

Jane gave us some techniques for getting into the zone which mostly involved slowing down our breathing and focussing on our heart's rhythm. She gave us some very interesting insights into our phsyiology. Stress of course is a big inhibitor to accessing intuition.

Do you use your intuition easily? How do you solve problems?

Thirsty Work

2010-10-07T07:00:00.001+10:00

I went back to my local gym this week after winter hibernation and look what was there to greet me!!

My fellow gym-goers have been hard at work, creating beautiful bras for the Girls Night In as part of fund-raising for Breast Awareness month. Members were invited to purchase a bra (bought from the Salvos) for $5 and then decorate it with a movie theme in mind.

Can you guess the movies?

These women are just so inspiring. I love going to the gym. It's time for me of course which is essential but I also feel much more connected to my community by going....

The women who run the gym - from owner Sharon through to her crew - Norma, Jill and Anne Joel -are so supportive, thoughtful and enthusiastic. They are always organising a charity drive of some sort.

And the members are pretty special too obviously. They are a cheery bunch at 5:30 in the morning I have to say! Swapping recipes and sharing jokes. It's a great way to wake up.

More importantly I can move more easily when I go to the gym regularly and don't feel such an old crock.

Which bra do you like the best? Did you "get" all the movies?

Let Me In

2010-10-06T08:07:00.000+10:00

This will be a wordy Wednesday...no pictures because I am having difficulty uploading.

Today I am going to deviate from the plan to write about books...I will instead write about pictures or rather a film that friend Deb and I saw last night.....The screening was courtesy of the BIFF Film Club (formerly World Cinema Club). We always enjoy these nights so I confess to having sent off the invite without looking too closely at the subject matter and lo and behold before we knew it, we were watching a vampire flick.

Now, the experience was not so very shocking for me as I have to confess I have been a bit "into" vampire stuff of late. If you had told me last year that I would have willingly watching vampire stuff I would have pooh-poohed you. But ...well...things change....

I steeled myself to go and see my first horror movie earlier this year by the Spierig brothers - Daybreakers...and I survived. Nay, I positively enjoyed it !!

I bought Justin Cronin's The Passage because of all the fuss....and because it is 700 pages I'm still reading it.

Then I got sucked into the TV series True Blood which at first glance is possibly gratuitous in terms of the amount of sex but heck....the characters are so funny....I'm almost reminded of my Dynasty days with Joan Collins and how addicted I was to that. AND the Opening Credits are so compelling, I think they could be worthy of a thesis in their own right.

So....I already knew that if a vampire fastens their fangs around your neck, well you become a vampire...and that vampires have to be invited in to your home....But poor Deb had a lot of catching up to do....and well, this was on the big screen ...not the small screen, so gore has a bit more impact.....

There was that awkward moment about ten minutes in when I thought we might have to walk out it was so bloodthirsty. But Deb was an absolute trooper and we stayed...though she did moan to me at one stage "And they call this entertainment??????"

Let me say that I'm no authority on the genre of horror so there will be better folk than me to review this flick. Having said that, I enjoyed it and primarily because of the performances of the children.

If I have a criticism of the movie it's that there is way too much score.....the score is good if perhaps predictable/pedestrian.

Back to the good bits....performances by Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz are outstanding. You'll remember Kodi from The Road and Romulus My Father and a stack of other stuff. Chloe was that girl in Kick Ass. This is not a glamour vampire pic by any stretch of the imagination. There was no humour like there is in True Blood - well maybe a smidgin.... This is not so much hard-core vampire stuff as, well I'm a bit lost for words here - maybe doc-horror - bleak rather than a blood-bath.

What is clever about this movie is that it is a mix of genres I think....It is a coming-of-age story combined with a horror story combined with tragedy (there are references to Romeo and Juliet - only Abby doesn't die, she's already dead if you know what I mean). Being pubescent is a horror story in its own right. This movie just adds a whole new dimension. Imagine if you were a 12 year old boy, had incredibly good skin, were bullied mercilessly at school AND were going steady with a vampire. It sounds incredulous but these kids make it believable.

The cinematography also makes the movie. It was shot by the incredibly talented Greig Fraser who also shot Bright Star, The Last Ride and The Boys are Back.

This film is actually a re-make of a Swedish film "Let the Right One In" made in 2088 by John Ajvide Lindqvist. Unfortunately I haven't seen the Swedish version so I can't compare the two. Why do people feel compelled to re-make things? I daresay it's because teenagers may not be bothered to read sub-titles.

I think this will go down well with teenagers - older teenagers that is at is rated MA 15+. It deals with all the issues they face and all the dreams they have - how do I get out of this town? how do I survive being a teenager? will I ever go steady? how do I escape? am I normal?

Having said that, I think old fogies like me and Deb should venture out of our comfort zones a bit more. Horror movies probably have a bad name for themselves. Like much in life, for sheer convenience, we tend to stereotype them. Perhaps this is the function of horror movies, but this one brought home to me that everything is not necessarily as it seems...Young men who stand in their bedrooms at night wearing horrible masks, wielding a knife in front of the mirror saying "Are you scared little girl?" are not what they seem. ...and vampires can be victims in a strange sort of way....

Let me In opens 14 October at Dendy - if you dare!

Sense and Sensibility

2010-10-05T16:14:00.000+10:00

I sense rain approaching...

See the rusty red roof of the old workers cottage in the bottom left....I think that cottage is sensing its days are numbered as progress advances at a startling place in the notorious Valley.

And aren't air-conditioning units and vents an affront to the senses when one is above them?!!

Note the jacaranda tree blooming on the right hand side of the picture...that means Uni students are sensing dread.....exams are just around the corner....assignments are due....

What are you sensing at the moment?

Music to My Ears

2010-10-04T09:48:00.003+10:00

What is music to my ears?

The humming of a sewing machine....

The purring of a cat.....

Tweetie singing in the morning while I wash up....

Yesterday was a great day....

I didn't get to finish my gift before the Christening....in fact I missed the Christening altogether....silly me!!

Little Kitty will go in the post today....

Sights on Sunday

2010-10-03T09:08:00.000+10:00

Dinner's on...(Lamb Tagine) ..... Bread's baked....

Washing's on...

Garden's blooming....(no credit to me I might add)

Time to get crafting......

Can you guess what I'm going to make?

Yes, Grand Purl Baa ...the socks are coming....like Christmas, pet......

This is a little distraction for a little mite who is being Christened today......

Little Mikayla ...I can't wait to meet you !!

Sock-tober

2010-10-02T17:14:00.000+10:00

Before she asks....yes I am still knitting your socks Oh Grand Purl Baa.....

One got momentarily distracted.....willingly of course...by stepping into Peppermint Stitches again.....

Wouldn't you think one would learn?????

Out I came with this....

It took quite a few photos before I captured the amazing colours in it....It's called Baltic and is Tosh Sock by Madelinetosh

I wanted to take loads of stuff away with me but exercised some self control.....

Would like to tell you more about what I got but you will have to wait... I will hand it out like squares of precious chocolate.

A satisfying Saturday....clothes were taken to charity bins so Molly's boot is clean again.....plastic bags taken to supermarket (why won't Hubbie use the green bags I give him??????)...menu planning from one's new fabulous crockpot book wot Wonderful Aunty Denise gave one for one's birthday...we are having Hungarian Goulash for dinner tonight ....most suitable for a rainy day in Brisvegas.....

Molly was cleaned and vacuumed by the lovely folk at the car-wash place whilst I indulged in citrus tart and a skinny flat white (I kid myself don't I with the skinny coffee....????). I bought some mats for Molly so she feels quite special now.

Hubbie has been furiously tidying up his study and he and Bel have done a marvellous job of clearing out stuff from the guest bedroom so that Mark actually has somewhere vaguely sanitary to sleep on Monday night.

Okay okay....back to knitting Grand Purl Baa's socks.....

What are you having for dinner? Have you ever knitted socks? Are you wearing socks now? If so, are they special?

Doc-tober - Valentino

2010-10-01T08:13:00.000+10:00

Last week I had a bit of a holiday. Best friend Deb was up from Melbourne with her three gorgeous daughters. What better activity than to visit the Valentino Retrospective exhibition at GOMA. We had a ball. Each girl was instructed to choose her favourite frock.

A great exhibition is always supported by a great shopping experience afterwards. Mon Dieu!! The catalogue had sold out! Twice!! Catalogue Schmatalogue. Who needs a catalogue when you can take home the DVD? Valentino the Last Emperor was half the price and worth every cent.

If you enjoyed The September Issue you'll love this too. I always dreamed of being a fashion editor. My mother was a beautiful seamstress and studied dress design at East Sydney Tech - now the National Art School.

The DVD has special features including - The Perfect Life: Around the World with Valentino. It seems odd to have a behind the scenes component in an essentially behind the scenes documentary. Let's call them bonuses....If you didn't get enough...heck, here's some more.

I couldn't get enough. It was just amazing. Valentino can only be described as a phenomenon. You marvel that one individual can generate such a juggernaut. And indeed I think the documentary suggests that while Valentino is extraordinary, there is literally an ARMY of other extraordinary individuals behind him making it happen. From his adoring partner, through to the devoted seamstresses who realise his ambitions, to the worryingly skeletal models and the indefatiguable major domo who keeps the home fires burning.

I always like to know about the people behind the movies, particularly in this instance because to get close to this kind of guy has to have been a Herculanean feat. IMDB was of no use on this occasion. You're best just to go the movie's website. Matt Tyrnauer was the Producer/Director. If you read his bio it all becomes clear....He is Special Correspondent at Vanity Fair (formerly Editor At Large) ...one of my all-time favourite magazines. I might add that August's edition features an article by Matt on Valentino's New York pad.

I could go on but hopefully I've whet your appetite and you can find out more for yourself....who is your favourite designer? What's your favourite documentary? What's your favourite magazine?

(and because I work at AFTRS, I'd better mention that if you would like to study Documentary we are offering a Graduate Certificate in Brisbane for the very first time in 2011....to find out more click here - and I promise I won't mention work again unless it's absolutely relevant!!)

Blogtoberfest Planning

2010-09-30T20:08:00.001+10:00

Here I sit planning my blogs for the month of October.

Can I do it?

Yes I can!

The power of positive thinking!

I am glad of the opportunity and the discipline ...so here is the schedule (imagine much pencil sucking over this - should I theme it according to the seven deadly sins? the seven virtues? the five senses? the first letters of the days of the week?????)

And this is what I came up with ...

Fridays - Frame by Frame (Films)

Saturdays - In Stitches (touchy feely stuff - oh okay knitting/patchwork/laughing/crying)

Sundays - Sightseeing (travel/galleries - you get it)

Mondays - Music to my ears (radio, music, birdsongs et al)

Tuesdays - Scents and Sensibility (perfume/culinary delights)

Wednesdays - Wordsmiths (books/crosswords)

Thursdays - Thirsty work (family history/knowledge quests et al)

Do you like the dragon?

He was created on Noosa Beach last Thursday evening when I was holidaying with dear friend Deb and her tribe of daughters.

What fun we had playing "hangman" at the pizza restaurant. My best word was "Jaws" - they had to draw hairs on the legs of the hanging person before they got it!!

What's your favourite party game?

ReadaThing

2010-08-23T08:24:00.000+10:00

Here's a bad photo of me kicking off the ReadaThing at Avid Reader in West End yesterday. That's what happens when you have to take a photo of yourself, by yourself, with your mobile phone - all the time worrying that the people sitting beside you think this is the most overblown case of narcissim they have ever witnessed - either that or sheer insanity!! Ah - the things we do for social networking....

I chose to read The Passage by Justin Cronin - a futuristic vampire tale - which is a monster of a book at over 700 pages!!

And what a monster of an election!! There will be a few pollies with sore heads this week I imagine. Except for Bob Brown of course. That smile won't come off his face for a while :) A Greenslide indeed.

I've never seen such long queues outside polling booths .....and Bel voted for the first time bless her!

New culinary territory was explored in honour of the marginal election dinner party hosted for John and Julie - lamb, harissa and chickpea casserole....I've never used harissa paste before and it was a bit tricky to track down.....I should probably make my own in future instead of paying outlandish prices at the local wonderful but expensive gourmet deli.

The upside down apple tartin was a big hit too with lashings of whipped cream. There's nothing like baked apple to make you feel loved. Quick! Give some to poor Maxine....

Birthdays and Readathings

2010-07-27T23:07:00.002+10:00

Okay my lovelies - the challenge is on....

A couple of weeks ago we had a knit-in at Avid Reader with my good friend Grand Purl Baa.

Now we need to prepare for the Readathing in August.

August 22 to be precise.

Which also happens to be the day after my god-daughter's birthday. Happy Birthday in advance Lucy!!

And my father's birthday. Happy Birthday Jim!

Very shortly it will be my daughter's birthday. Happy Birthday Bel!

Not to mention my niece's birthday - ten days later. Happy Birthday Grace!!

Do you have months like that? Where it's everyone's birthday?

Anyway back to the Readathing as organised by Librarything.

I have to read in public for an hour.

Where should I do it boys and girls? Suggestions please.

I will be reading The Passage by Justin Cronin. It's about vampires and such like....

Pray for me - it's 766 pages....

Orson Welles and the Chelsea

2010-07-26T07:50:00.002+10:00

Good friend Karen and I took advantage of a free double pass to see Me and Orson Welles yesterday - a sneak preview before it opens on Thursday.

Directed by Richard Linklater (Waking Life, School of Rock) Me and Orson Welles is one of those great period pieces where the subject matter is rich for mining post-screening. Yes, I want to borrow books from the library and find out more about Orson Welles. Yes, I want to borrow all the Richard Linklater films I haven't seen yet. Yes, I want to buy the soundtrack. Yes, I want to find out more about the cast and crew.

It stars Claire Danes (Romeo and Juliet) and Zac Efron (High School Musical, 17 Again, Hairspray). Christian Mackay plays the part of Orson and is described as a newcomer. Brisbanites will be interested to learn that he studied at the Queensland Conservatorium, touring Europe and Australia as a successful and acclaimed concert pianist.

For an old luvvie like me, this film captures the magic of putting on a production. The magic of youthful ambition and all the other gorgeous sub-plots that go with being young - not least of which is falling in love! Orson and his company are putting on a ground-breaking production of Julius Caesar. Orson won't be pinned down on an opening date which as you can imagine was a source of great aggravation to his partner, John Houseman, played beautifully by Eddie Marsan (Vera Drake, 21 Grams, Little Dorritt).

Julius Caesar is amongst other things, a story of power and betrayal and this is reflected in the main plot. Shan't tell you too much more cause it will ruin the story. Karen and I stayed in our seats til the very end of the credits - reluctant to leave that wonderful world. I noted that Zoe Kazan played the part of Gretta Adler. "Hmmm" I wondered to self, "Is she related to Elia Kazan (On the Waterfront)?" Yes indeedy, she is no less than his grand-daughter. If I'd paid more attention to Revolutionary Road I would have known that.

Me and Orson Welles was shot by Dick Pope BSC, probably most renowned for his partnership with Mike Leigh on eight films. If you google the film, do choose the US website - for some reason it's much better than the UK website. Oh and use the back button on the website itself rather than the back button in your browser or you'll go mad being re-directed to the main website which is useless.

Afterwards Karen and wandered through all the restaurants at Palace Barracks, finally settling on the Chelsea. Zucchini and garlic soup with warm bread was sufficiently delicious and comforting before we attacked Coles. It was necessary to stock up on ingredients for lasagne and replenish chocolate supplies to sustain us for last night's saga - the Great Debate and the Masterchef Finale. What waistline? What gym? What youthful figure?

Slavery

2010-07-24T15:54:00.002+10:00

Okay - well, if you didn't know....one of my obsessions is family history. I have been doing a great online course in Caribbean Family History through Pharos Tutors. Guy Grannum teaches it. He works at The National Archives (TNA) specialising in Colonial history and genealogy and runs a website called Caribbean Roots. The course officially finished yesterday. Guy has written a very helpful book - now in its second edition called Tracing Your West Indian Ancestors. The next edition will be an e-book - very exciting.

Our last class was about slavery. To quote Guy, "People of African descent make up the largest population in most Caribbean countries. Their ancestors are among the estimated 1.6 million people transported from Africa to work in the British Caribbean colonies as slaves on the plantations and households."

Guy encouraged us to look at the slave registers - a census of all slaves held in the Caribbean from about 1817 to 1834. Original registers might have survived and be kept in the relevant country archive or register office. Duplicates were sent to London and are kept in The National Archives. Ancestry has digitised and indexed most of them.

So.....my husband on his mother's side has ancestors from Barbados....one of the surnames we are researching in that area is Proverbs. We've got a few Johns, an Isaac, an Ambrose and some Marys. For the time period 1817-1834 we've sort of lost our Proverbs....they've morphed into Donovans and Johnsons. But for argument's sake, we will look at the John Proverbs listed in the slave registers as....slave owners. Our Proverbs were from the St Philip part of Barbados.

This is what I found ....on 3 May 1823 John Proverbs of St Philip had 1 slave - in right of marriage with Mary:

Two are listed:
Phillis aged 17 Black Barbadian
and
Margaret aged 14 Black Barbadian -only Margaret was sold to Josiah Bladey.

George Donovan (our Donovans are Samuel or Mary - nee Proverbs) had 27 slaves ranging in age from 5 to 72. Some were inherited from John B Ashby when he died. Some were purchased from Andrew Donovan. Some were sold to Andrew Donovan. Some were born into slavery. Some were given up to the creditors of John Payne deceased to whom they reverted at the death of Mabel Payne.

Here's a link to a slave register so you can see what they look like....
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec/?htx=View&r=5538&dbid=1129&iid=CSUK1817_133766-00035&fn=Mary&ln=&st=r&ssrc=&pid=3305870

Sobering reading n'est-ce pas?

By the way, slavery officially ended 1 August 1834 but did not completely end until 1 August 1838.

PS Just realised that last sentence is a bit glib. Slavery, for the purposes of this historical exercise, ended in 1838 but of course still exists today in one manifestation or another - sexual, economic etc. If you want to find out more Stop the Traffik is probably as good a place as any to start. The Jammed was a great Australian movie made about this topic.

Grace Green

2010-07-15T13:45:00.000+10:00

Meet Molly. Molly is sister to Milly aka Milly Mazda. I named Milly Milly because Milly means hardworker and lord knows my car needs to be a hard worker - driving people to sporting events, horsey dos, parties, work, family etc. Molly is called Molly because of Milly Molly Mandy - my favourite book when I was a child. No, we will not be getting a Mandy. And no, Milly hasn't died...it's just that Robbie's van is on it's last legs and there are more drivers in the family now so competition for wheels is hotting up.....

Molly is a diminutive of Mary which could, according to the Behind the Name site, could mean "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness", and "wished for child". "However it was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from mry "beloved" or mr "love"." Let's go with beloved.

I would call the colour military green but according to the manual it is Grace Green. I have never heard of green being described in this way - have you?

And while we're on the subject of Grace Green...did you know that there is an author called Grace Green? She writes Harlequin/Mills and Boon type books with titles like An Eligible Bachelor, The Only Man to Trust, Forever Wife and Mother, His Potential Wife and oh my goodness ...it gets worse....A Bittersweet Promise and Trouble in Paradise.......Do I want to drive this car anymore???????!!!!!!

Let's go back to Milly Molly Mandy - much more reassuring.....

If you haven't read Milly Molly Mandy by Joyce Lancaster Brisley, you simply must. There is all manner of advice in this series of books from how to budget, how to redecorate bedrooms, how to be a friend and so on. When I was little, I was lucky enough to have a friend who looked just like Milly Molly Mandy and since I have grown up, I now have a friend called Susan who I meet once a year at the Movie Convention. I am truly blessed. What was your favourite book when you were little?

2010-06-30T08:00:00.000+10:00

Yesterday my work took me to Lone Pine Sanctuary in Fig Tree Pocket. I live not very far away from Lone Pine but am ashamed to say that in all the nearly 30 years I have lived in Brisbane, I have not visited it once.

It is VERY popular with overseas tourists and for good reason. Australia is blessed with the most extraordinary animals. We are so used to to them we forget that to people from other countries they seem quite exotic. And indeed they are. Look at these gorgeous koalas ! They can sleep up to 16 hours a day bless them. I was very impressed with the athleticism of the ones I saw - leaping from branch to branch rather like possums.

Lone Pine has been going since 1927 and is rated one of the top 20 zoos in the world. There are daily shows featuring birds of prey, wombats, snakes etc. There is even a barn for handling guinea pigs and chicks for the younger members of the family. Guests can walk freely in the kangaroo enclosure and get up close to the roos.The newest exhibition is the Platypus - Barak the platypus is the first to be bred in captivity in 55 years and arrived in Lone Pine from another sanctuary in Victoria, Healesville.

I was particularly taken with the Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat who I think looks quite prehistoric and like that model in the Queensland Museum.

Does anyone else remember reading The Muddle Headed Wombat by Ruth Park as a child? It was a radio show too wasn't it? ....google ....google...google...and there you are....I found out via Wikipaedia that in fact it was a radio show first ....through the Children's Hour and the Argonauts Club (of which I was a very proud member) and then it became a book. The Children's Hour was cancelled in 1970- there- showing my age now!! The Muddle Headed Wombat generated such phrases as treely ruly (for really truly) and Cindergorilla for Cinderella! Oh my goodness....one could Wikipaedia for ever really.....John Ewart played the part of the Muddle Headed Wombat....his first film role at the age of 18 was in Sons of Matthew by Charles Chauvel. In fact, if you look at his bio - he was in just about everything - Caddie, Newsfront, Bellbird, A Country Practice, Sunday Too Far Away, Homicide, Matlock Police....the list goes on!!

I tried to find my Argonauts badge but couldn't - it must be pinned to a garment somewhere. Have you got an Argonauts badge? Were you a member of the Argonauts?

40 Squares

2010-06-14T14:32:00.001+10:00

Isn't this luscious fabric?

I had my second "Yellow Brick Road" lesson at Patches on Saturday. Poor Christine was ill with the flu so Bev stepped into the breach.....

This was an exciting day because we are starting to see what we are creating and we had to choose our fabrics for our border...I could not resist this....and then Bev and Sharon helped me choose trim and relief border colours.....

so yesterday I spent sewing squares and then strips together making sure that where necessary seams were opposing...lots of ironing....this is what 40 squares looks like sewn together....this will be the size of a lap quilt...

Sneak Peak

2010-06-06T17:46:00.000+10:00

Of course it's nowhere near done but I thought you might like a sneak peak.....I don't think it looks too bad....

Spoiled Rotten

2010-06-06T14:40:00.001+10:00

One forgot to mention how spoiled one was on one's birthday. My birthday started before my birthday, if you know what I mean...Dad and Jen took me out to a concert at St Mary's Kangaroo Point with a picnic dinner to follow in the new park. We watched the bats glide across the river and the lights come on as we sipped champagne

and I cried over the beautiful design of various kitchen accoutrements given to me - how is it possible to get excited about a juicer....? or measuring jugs? If you've lost a measuring jug to a husband intent on mixing bog to fix the rust in his car..well, you'll know why I was excited to receive not one - but three beautiful measuring jugs with both imperial and metric measurements. And the juicer...well...check it out...space age n'est-ce-pas?

On my actual birthday family gave me a Blue Ant Hands free kit for my mobile phone which was lots of fun to install. Cas hunted down Wolf Hall for me in a bookshop which was a major feat for him as he is not a reader or a bookshop afficionado. My sister-in-law swung by with a bottle of wine on her way home from work which was much appreciated.

Later in the week a bunch of us gathered at Cloudland for lunch which really is a great place to go to with a big group. We shared tapas and I was thoroughly spoiled with flowers and books. Grand Purl Baa excelled herself by generously giving me some of her stash and a beautiful book on Patchwork and the Reader's Digest Guide to Needlecraft which is magnificent. Another friend gave me my very own cup and saucer together with some beautiful Di Bella coffee.

This week I made the momentous decision to buy a new sewing machine to pursue my new found interest in sewing....I christened the new Bernette H70 by finishing my first applique project - a cushion....

I took Grand Purl Baa's advice and changed my nook from a family history nook to a sewing nook as per the photo below so I was all ready for my first class in Patchwork yesterday at Patches.

Today is Sunday which is always a wonderful day being free of work. However one is always perplexed as to how to spend it as one is torn between various hobbies - to knit? to patchwork? to read? to go to the movies?. Inevitably one ends up experimenting with food ! I took the plunge and made some Fat Rascals, as inspired by the Needled blog (the recipe is on this blog). But I confess I wouldn't know a nutmeg if I tripped over it and used powdered nutmeg. Here is the result....

The scary faces with almonds for teeth seem to have met with some small acclaim. Dan likes 'em but they are too sweet for Caspar.

I think I can die happy now - books, wool, flowers, wine, coffee, fat quarters, fat rascals, friends, family. Thank you one and all. You're the best!!

Turkish Delight

2010-05-31T06:38:00.000+10:00

I entered my tea cosy - Turkish Delight - into the Brookfield Show this year.

Needlework Section 6B is a fairly broad section - Garments and other items - 6 months to Adult....so there was everything from jumpers to shawls to socks to tea cosies.

The Brookfield Show has quite strict and detailed regulations - No soiled items.........Must be made within the previous 2 years ....

Every tea cosy entered was one of Grand Purl Baa's designs.

Mine didn't even get a mention - sniff.

Some enterprising knitter from Coonabarabran entered a whole box of stuff (how can someone from NSW enter the Brookfield Show I ask you?????) and took out 1st prize with a man's jumper with some kind of fancy stitching - Aran I think they call it.

But I was mature about it.

I went to the Preview and hob-nobbed with the other entrants...it was the 100th year of the Brookfield Show so I wanted to enter into the spirit of things.

The patchwork as always was stunning.

And I caught up with some dear friends from another lifetime.

I went to collect my tea cosy the following Monday night - Entries must be collected by 7pm.

I had carefully kept my handwritten receipt in my wallet so I didn't lose it.

Turkish Delight was patiently waiting for me like a kid at childcare - the last item left on the long trestle table....I rushed down the dark path towards the brightly lit Brookfield hall - apologising profusely for being the last bloody entrant to collect her stuff....

As I reached for Turkish Delight, the woman behind the trestle table bid me "Wait!"....my hand fell obediently to my side....

"I'll get the judge's comments" she said "What entry number are you?"

"203" I replied earnestly....thinking to self ...."Judge's comments...an unexpected bonus"......

The woman rifled through the sheaf of judge's notes endlessly, then eyed me and observed...... "No comment."....

It really was quite extraordinary how many emotions I went through in the space of 90 seconds - from tired stress commuter to chastened schoolgirl to hopeful undiscovered artist to sheer bloody humiliation.....

Turkish Delight and I crawled out of there resolving to pack off a box to Coonabarabran next year.

Pastimes

2010-05-02T13:39:00.001+10:00

aka diversions....

Am feeling very content today....dinner is in the slow cooker (lamb shanks)...bread is in the bread oven....so there are lots of lovely smells brewing.....

The house has had a bit of a spit and polish (don't want to get too carried away - just enough so I don't flinch when I walk into particular areas)...

and lots of little projects on the go or about to be on the go...

Yesterday I went to Patches to have a good old squiz at fabric...in preparation for an Applique workshop this month. I am very keen on William Morris stuff and purchase Michele Hill's book on William Morris Applique whilst on my sojourn with Grand Purl Baa last year... I met my tutor who helped me choose fabrics for the class...thanks Beverley!

I also had a mooch around Henderson's looking at sewing machines. There are some good specials on at the moment in preparation for Mother's Day. Janomes seem to be all the go but I've been a Husqvarna girl to date and am worried about changing brands. I've received lots of good advice from everyone....go in, sit down and try them out....so I will!!

Started knitting Phil's jumper last night. On the advice of Grand Purl Baa I bought some yarn from Thicket so got quite a good bargain. It's very different from knitting with baby wool though!

I watched Seraphine whilst I knitted and was absolutely captivated by the character Yolande Moreau portrayed...what a great actress! You may remember she played the concierge in Amelie. I love Seraphine's artwork - described as naive or by some as Modern Primitive.

Here is an example...

Isn't it beautiful? Seraphine de Senlis was a cleaner/domestic by day and artist by night....inspirational stuff.

Who Killed Betty Shanks?

2010-04-25T13:56:00.000+10:00

Book Review

Who Killed Betty Shanks? by Ken Blanch

This is a very short (120pp) easy to read and interesting account of the murder of Betty Shanks. It is one of Brisbane's most famous un-solved crimes to date. This account was published in 2006 and written by Ken Blanch, one of the reporters from The Brisbane Telegraph at the time of the murder. The introduction is by Des Sturgess Q.C. - one of Betty Shanks' friends at University of Queensland. It is part of a True Crime series published by Jack Sims.

The book is interesting in a number of ways. It reflects the social mores of the time and Blanch says that the murder transformed the lifestyle of Brisbane forever..."in twenty-four hours...the city was changed from a place of unlocked doors and open windows, where women walked the night streets without a care to a place of shutters and bolts where they did not dare to venture out unescorted." And...."The effect of the crime on Brisbane social life was immediate. Within days of the murder, picture theatres were reporting massive declines audiences, city restaurants were complaining of dwindling dinner patronage, and taxi companies were experiencing a boom in business. Both new car distributors and used car yards reported a sales boom as young men invested in vehicles that would ensure the safe movement of their female companions at night, and the City Council and railway authorities noticed a sudden decline in night bus, tram and train patronage.' (page. 52)

This was an era when women wore gloves to work (even in the steamy heat of Brisbane) and when the trams were still running. It was an era when Lottery winners' names were published in the paper. This practice ceased shortly after the murder as this was one of the suspected motives behind the crime; Shanks having won a share of First Division earlier in the year.

The account is also interesting because it attempts to reveal as much as possible about the personal life of Betty Shanks. Whilst there was no evidence of rape, the body was left in such a manner as to indicate an attempt at sexual crime. Ms Shanks' virtue, as always seems to be the case in sexual crimes, was the subject of much debate. Her friends staunchly defended her honour, as did the pathologist.

There was also much rumour and innuendo regarding her membership of the Queensland Civil Liberties League and the University Radical Club. This was the Menzies era of fear of "reds under the bed" and the like.

The book concludes that heinous crimes such as this affect not only those close to the victims but also the rest of society in many ways. One of Betty's friends included Barbara Blackman, first wife of famous Australian artist Charles Blackman. Blanch says "The unsolved murder of Betty...is said to have affected Ms Blackman deeply." (p. 104) This in turn is alleged to have had "a profound influence on the life and fortunes of her former husband, who was in Melbourne at the time. " His well-known Schoolgirl series of paintings/sketches was inspired by an unrelated murder over 30 years earlier in Melbourne - the rape and murder of a 12-year old schoolgirl Alma Tirtschke in a lane in Melbourne's old Eastern markets.

Charles Blackman - Schoolgirl

The book cannot offer a solution to the crime. Many possibilities are posited e.g. Betty Shanks was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am forced to conclude that it was most likely a case of mistaken identity or sheer bad luck. I look forward to the release of the official police files of the case (one of the most extensive files in the CIB's collection) in 2017.

Blanch is to be commended for his multi-faceted account and also for the inclusion of detailed maps and murder trails of the crime scene, which may seem gruesome to some, but are invaluable to local historians and those interested in the history of Brisbane.

The book is available at the Brisbane City Council Library or if you would like to purchase others in the series click on this link

http://www.jacksim.com.au/Pages/orders.html

To market ...to market...

2010-04-24T13:56:00.001+10:00

to buy a fat pug?

No we admired the pug...and moved on....

This morning, dear friend Deb and I hit the New Farm markets.. and oh what fun we had....

with our trolleys. They are not old lady trolleys...they are sensible and necessary...otherwise one gets tired and fractious lugging around baskets of stuff. They are useful as battering rams against all the prams....which my friend remarked contained an extraordinary number of TWINS!!

We saw and bought amazing things...not this....

beehive ginger...amazing isn't it? But I did buy some bitter-melon......and then we went and sat under the big moreton bay fig tree.....I rushed back for figs but they had sold out....

Do you like my gerberas? What's your favourite flower and why?

Here's the latest progress shot of modern primitive....I told you he was BIG!!

Boutique Markets BLOG

2010-04-19T12:58:00.001+10:00

Boutique Markets BLOG

How cute are these?

Scroll down to see knitty cupcakes......