July 2020 – MakeCookGrow.com

What’s in the Box, The Winter Garden, Mussels and a Book Review

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MATTRESS IN A BOX

We needed a new mattress and went to the bed shop to start looking at what was available. We’d done some online research and knew the level of support we’d prefer. The sales lady was lovely and showed us two suitable mattresses and we lay on both. They were very comfortable.

We went away to consider our options. Both mattresses recommended were expensive, but really about the price we’d expected from our research. Later that evening my husband was looking at information about the two recommended brands and came across a Choice ( consumer testing and recommendation publication) site which had assessed a range of Mattress in a Box products.

They rated very well. He looked at user reviews, most of which were very good, too. We started looking at what was available and decided we would try one! The obvious advantage was the price difference for a mattress with similar springs, latex, memory foam and other features. We’d been looking at the mattresses with bases costing $1800 and $2500. The boxed mattress delivered was a fifth of the cost of most expensive mattress.

The box finally arrived. We expected it to come within five days. We ordered 3rd of July, it arrived 24th of July after many, many texts and phone calls.

The compressed mattress is well protected and was clean and fresh. We rolled it out on the floor and left it to settle.

Wheezing and sighing, the mattress quickly decompressed and puffed up into a proper shape.

The literature which came with the mattress recommended leaving it 24 hours to fully expand. We have been unable to register the mattress to activate the warranty as the site doesn’t work. I’ll try scanning the Q code and see what happens.

After 24 hours it looked like a regular mattress. We re-used our previous base. The mattresses we looked at in the bed shop were pairs, that is a base and mattress.

The first tester is still assessing the comfort and suitability of the mattress. We will sleep on it tonight.

General Comments.

This is a very economical mattress by comparison but we could find no reviews from people who had slept on them for more than four years. We are happy to wait and see.

We ordered online and could only text the company representative. This became very frustrating as delivery was such a problem. Expected within days it actually took 21 days and that eventually involved daily texts and promises about delivery on Monday 13th, then Tuesday 14th, then “later in the week” so stayed at home Thursday and Friday. No mattress. Started texting again on Monday, then Tuesday 21st at which point we were sent a tracking number. The freight company didn’t recognise the number and it took A LOT of time and effort for them to find the box. It sat at their depot until Friday 24th July when it was delivered mid-morning. We were enormously inconvenienced by staying home waiting for delivery which failed to eventuate, day after day.

The mattresses we looked at in the bed shop were made in Australia. The mattress we bought gave no country of origin information online but is made in China.

CV-19 is very well controlled in Western Australia but we didn’t want to go into the bed shop and lie on mattresses. The pillows supplied were covered in protective sheets for our use but we’d rather avoid doing this again at this time.

THE WINTER GARDEN

The self seeded tomato was covered in flowers and I was very pleased to see some grow into fruit. I don’t know if they will mature into red tomatoes, but I have my fingers crossed.

The arum lily has begun to bloom, too. These are considered a weed in Western Australia but I really like the large, lush green leaves and the beautiful white bloom. I grow them in a garden bed where they can’t escape! I really like to cut them and bring them indoors, too, but also enjoy looking at them out of the window.

WINTER EATING: MUSSELS

Fresh and available here in winter, these are local Leeuwin Coast mussels. I prefer to eat them at home because I always make such a mess prising those tiny delicious morsels of meat from the shell. The little bowls of lemon scented water accompanying mussels in restaurants can’t compete with the mess I make enjoying my seasonal feast, so I eat them in the privacy of my own home!

I make simple sauces to enjoy with the mussels. This year I made a cooking broth from onion, garlic, tomato, white wine, parsley and tinned tomatoes.

Cook the mussels until the bivalve pops open. That means they are cooked. Discard any shells that don’t open, ladle some into a bowl, add a few slices of toasted sourdough ( or any other bread) and another sprinkle of parsley and enjoy.

The recipe is available here. https://www.google.co/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=delish+recipe+mussels+in+tomato+and+garlic

READING

I know botanical art is not of interest to everyone and hesitated to review this book which I enjoyed so much. Ellis Rowan was a successful, fearless and very talented artist who thrived during a period when most respected artist were male. She lived her life on her own terms and created accurate paintings of botanical subjects from many countries but particularly Australia. Her works are still recognised as accurate representations of Australia’s flora in the 1800s. Strong and determined, she succeeded against the odds.

Christine Norton-Evans book about the Australian botanical painter, Ellis Rowan called ELLIS ROWAN: A LIFE IN PICTURES is an amazing account of a remarkable botanical artist and her astounding 50 years of adventure and achievement. This resulted in more than 3 000 works now in private collections and the National Library.

Rowan traveled the world, painting and exploring, often alone, and becoming engaged in 1873 didn’t slow her down. She was known for her glamorous and immaculate grooming but mostly for her botanically accurate representations. Her works depict accurate plants and colours. She generally painted water colours but in later years also used oils.

Cluster fig (Ficus racemosa )

This is the story of an energetic, gifted and determined artist who thrived in a time when males dominated the artistic world. I bought it after reading a review and began flicking through, really enjoying the paintings but then went back and read it properly. It is a great read!

Plastic Free July RECYCLE/REDUCE/REUSE

The old mattress was picked up by a company who recycle all the components. It cost $50 and all work is done in a sheltered workshop. Check options online.

Coffee pods can be recycled by the company who manufactures them. Nespresso have their own collection points and other brands have similar arrangements. Look online for options near you. Percolators, plungers and cafeteria coffee makers (pots used on a hotplate) result in grounds which can be disposed of in the garden or bin.

Please let me know if you have any clever tips.

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Making, Cooking, Growing and Reading

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MAKING

SUPER EASY, SUPER FAST BOOKMARKS. I read a lot and I’m often searching for a bookmark. I have so many but I still misplace them. I read mostly books from the library and the one I’m reading at the moment suggests bookmarks were few and few between in the previous readers life, too, as annoyingly, every 40 or so pages, the edge of the page has been folded over!

So I was thinking about bookmarks. I wanted something bright so it’s easily found, cheap so it’s not too sad if it goes missing, quick to make and clearly visible in the book. These book marks also have the advantage of being stored on the book, for instance slipped over the back cover, while you’re reading, so less chance of it being lost.

I save the coloured envelopes birthday cards come in as they’re such pretty colours. Of course, I don’t really have a use for them, so I had lots to choose from when I decided to make these bookmarks.

You need

coloured envelopes or paper to fold and glue like the corner of envelope
glue
pencil and eraser
scissors
feltpen, Sharpie or similar if you’re making the slice of watermelon

For sheer simplicity I chose to make hearts and slices of watermelon. I’m planning to make these as little treats for the members of my bookclub and will use similar designs.

I drew half a heart shape on a folded piece of scrap paper and cut it out. Flattened it and traced it onto the corner of an envelope. Make sure it’s on the glued up corner, not the flap for sealing!

Cut on your pencil line, slip over the page of your book, close the book. Page saved by a secure and attractive bookmark.

To make the slice of watermelon, cut a curved piece the size of your completed bookmark from scrap paper. Trace the curve onto the envelope and cut. Use the same scrap piece to cut a white piece and glue it onto the green base. Use the curved scrap again to cut a red piece and glue it on. I used a Sharpie to draw seeds randomly on the red part. Done!

COOKING

After a brief but happy dalliance with bought rye bread, I “woke” up my starter/mother and made my own loaf. Not rye this time, apart from the starter. I used Premium White Bread Making flour simply because it was easier to get out of the cupboard where the bulk flours are stored!

It was so cold the morning I began this process I knew the starter wouldn’t get bubbly and look puffy without artificial warmth. Usually I put it on the table and the sun coming through the French doors is enough to get it started. Not this morning! It was cold and bleak and there was no warmth in the sun. This is the first time I have used the PROVING setting on the oven. I was really pleased with how well the starter and then later the dough reacted to this setting.

This is the white sourdough loaf I made and we enjoyed.

Also made an Egg and Bacon Pie. So easy and delicious. Brown 250gm of bacon in a pan with a splash of oil. Remove to a plate then brown a finely chopped leek. I had to add some extra oil to cook the leek. Spread this in a glass dish lined with baking paper. (So much easier to clean up!) Then whisk six large eggs until frothy, add 1/4 cup of water, or milk, whisk again. Pour over the bacon and leek. Grind some pepper over it. Put in 165° fan forced oven for 35 minutes, or until the middle is set. Serves 4-6. We like to eat it cold.

I have made this with bacon and mushroom and it is lovely, too. If I’m cutting it up for a picnic or sharing as part of a spread, I bake it in a square or rectangular dish.

GROWING

The white camellia suffered enormous damage three weeks ago when we had storms and heavy rain. The white flowers had brown marks around the edges of the petals and didn’t really open properly. Luckily, it’s blooming happily again. As a little boost I had watered a tray of ash in around the roots.

Each year my mother and I order tulips from the same grower. These are the last of my crop.

My Mother lives further south than us and her tulips are only just beginning to bloom.

READING

A Theatre for Dreamers

A THEATRE FOR DREAMERS by Polly Samson

This is the imagined life of Australian author and columnist Charmain Clift and her husband, George Johnston during the time they spent living on Hydra during 1955-1964. They settled in cheap and sunny Hydra with their three children, where Clift scandalised the locals by wearing trousers and drinking in bars.

On the surface, they live an idyllic life. They attract other creative types, such as Canadian Leonard Cohen, who soon partners with the abandoned Norwegian, Marianne Ihlen. Racked with artistic doubts, rejections or requests for editing from publishers and criticism from other authors, this is a tense society.

Clift is the centre of the cosmopolitan society of international bohemians in Hydra, helping and compassionate and always resentful of time stolen from her own writing career, especially by her ill, heavy drinking husband, a once famous war correspondent. He later was best known for his book, My Brother Jack.

Focusing on the days before serious drug use was the norm in Hydra, this small community buzzed with sexual jealousies, alcohol and creative souls who often didn’t meet their own expectations. We learn a little about the extremely tolerant Greek population around them, but mostly, this story is told by a minor player, Erica, the daughter of Clift’s neighbour when she lived in London. She sets off for Hydra with her brother and her boyfriend when her mother dies and she receives a copy of Clift’s book, The Lotus Eaters.

This well researched book is an imagined account of the halcyon days in Hydra and I found it fascinating. It was from a time I didn’t really know, but about characters I did know of, and the descriptions of Hydra were enticing. I thought this was a great read and would recommend it.

The other book I have been reading is THE GIRL WHO READS ON THE METRO by Christine Foret-Fleury.

Reviews describe this book as a “gem”, a “joy” and a “delight”. Juliette, our main protagonist, leaves her dull job in a real estate agency and takes over the book business of a mysterious character. Her job is to follow strangers and observe their behaviour to decide the perfect book for them. Juliette believes in the power of books to change peoples’ live.

This whimsical book, part literary reference and part fairy tale was a quick and easy read and really didn’t have much of a story! I think the whole point was showing the power of the written word to change how people feel. The online reviews are mixed, but the book has been translated into English due to its popularity in France. You decide! I’ve gone back to reading an Australian murder series.

We’re still in PLASTIC FREE JULY so please consider ways you can reduce your use of plastics. Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, founder of Plastic Free July reminds us that only 9% of all plastics are recycled and only 0.9% are recycled more than once. Plastics don’t actually break down completely, they simply become smaller and smaller, but never disappear.

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Winter Occupations In The Kitchen

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COOKING WITH CITRUS FRUIT

It is the middle of a wet and windy winter in Western Australia. The citrus trees are covered in fruit this year. I live in an older suburb where many of the houses have fruit trees. Luckily, my neighbours share their bounty!

I made GLAZED LEMON SLICE, easy to make and very popular, from a Martha Stewart recipe. In her version there’s a glaze instead of icing but it sounded very rich and not, in my mind, in keeping with the clean, zestiness of lemons. I made a traditional icing using icing sugar, melted butter and lemon juice and added some finely grated lemon zest on top before it set. I prefer thin icing to thick frosting for cakes and slices.

Also made a baking tray of LEMON FLAVOURED SHORTBREAD biscuits. Apparently, these will last for a week, but never have in my house.

We like salmon for dinner at least once a week. Our favourite winter recipe involves baking two salmon fillets in a glass dish with one lime squeezed over the fillets and about 3 dessertspoons of maple syrup drizzled over the top. Baked for 15 minutes in 160° C fan forced oven, or until the outside is opaque, then served with vegetables. Quick, easy, tasty.

This time I also roasted carrots and red onions with cumin, sea salt and ground coriander plus lemon juice and sesame seeds to go with the salmon.

Having a supply of lemons, oranges, grapefruit and limes, I decided to try making SLOW COOKER MARMALADE. I have made marmalade since I can remember, either as assistant cook as a child or in my own kitchen. I rarely use bought pectin, instead relying on pips, pith and peel from the fruit tied in a muslin bag and cooked with the marmalade. Usually I make it in the microwave. Before I used to make it on the stove top. This time I followed a recipe for making it in the slow cooker. Followed the recipe, marmalade was still runny after stated time. Cooked it some more. Still runny. Bought and added pectin, still runny.

Pink grapefruit, oranges, lemons and also a lime cooking in the slow cooker. My first ever marmalade fail.

We like a chunky marmalade with peel and pieces of chopped up fruit. By the end of my attempts to thicken this lot it was boiled to almost clear liquid! Decided to experiment and see if I could use some of it to make a marmalade flavoured cake, because it still tastes great, it’s just too runny.

“MARMALADE THAT WONT SET CAKE”

I beat 140gm softened butter with 150gm sugar until it was pale and frothy. Added a 800gm egg and beat again, then added half a cup of runny marmalade. It curdled but went smooth and creamy again when I added 150gm self raising flour and mixed until it was smooth. Depending on how runny your failed marmalade is you might have to add more flour. Mine hadn’t set at all.

Scraped into a prepared cake pan and baked for 55 minutes at 160° C in a fan forced oven. Baked until a skewer inserted in the middle came out cleanly. Really lovely cake, would make a great dessert with cream or icecream. Not that I’m wishing ‘fail-to-set- marmalade’ on you!

Another day I used the same recipe to make FAILED MARMALADE CUPCAKES as our son was here for two days. Lots of cooking and eating together. Luckily, techno-kid also sorted out a few problems with my phone and blog. Thankyou!

OTHER EATING

I’ve made our own sourdough for some years and for the last eight months have been making my own sourdough rye bread. It is a heavy, dense loaf and probably an acquired taste but I really like it. Then my husband went to a nearby bakery and returned with this rye loaf. It was wonderful! I think we will keep buying it for a while then I will decide if I’ll go back to baking our own bread.

He also found other things we “needed”.

Another day and another bakery and more treats to fight off the cold weather. All very good.

MAKING PASTIES

Every winter I make trays of pasties and store them in the freezer. My family like them for lunch, at home or at work. Time to make more. I make pasties with meat and vegetables although I think traditional pasties have a vegetable filling. Pasties originated in Cornwall and originally Cornish Pasties had savoury filling in one end and a sweet filling in the other. The miners could hold then in one hand to eat.

Our new winter warming favourite dinner is SLOW COOKER BEEF BOURGUIGNON (here). I originally made it to use up some tough steak. I have continued making it because it is delicious and makes double generous sized dinners for two. Mostly I freeze the second one so I have a quick, hot, satisfying dinner available if we have a busy day. I thaw it in the fridge all day and heat it when we get home. I just add vegetables or if I’m rushed, buttered toast.

drinking

Normally I drink coffee and water but after too many double espressos recently at lunch I was introduced to fruit infusions. I occasionally drink lemon and ginger tea but this brew, cranberry and vanilla, was really lovely. Bought something similar in the supermarket and then read online that the brand I’d bought was still using plastic based materials to seal their teabags. Next time I was at the cafe I found out the brand name of the tea I’d been drinking there and hunted it down online. Now making tea using a tea infusers from my own bag of tea mix. And I really like it!

Just in case you thought all we do here is eat, I’ve included a photo showing just what one member of the family did when we got out of bed. It was a very cold (for W.A 7°C) morning and Louis found the warm spot!

Did you miss Bastille Day? Hope not! July 14th commemorates the storming of the Bastille in Paris in 1789. Probably easier to just eat macarons or croissants!

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Easy Changes For Plastic Free July

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CHOOSE TO REFUSE SINGLE USE PLASTIC

clear plastic water bottles

We all need to work towards eliminating single use plastics. Plastic itself is a great and useful product but should be made from recyclable materials and used over and over. Single use plastics are releasing toxins from landfill and choking our waterways and oceans.

Plastic has been found in almost every food we eat. Recent Italian research, reported in Environmental Research claims microplastics are being absorbed into fruit and vegetables. Fruit typically has older root systems than vegetables and are seen to absorb more plastic particles.

We need to adopt alternatives to plastic. I have listed a few beginner swaps to reduce the plastic in your life.

EASY STEPS TO USE LESS PLASTIC

Here are some easy ideas to replace your single use plastics.

1. Find replacements for cling wrap. Use glass jars or glass containers with lids that are strong and suitable for frequent use. Silicone, stretchy covers seal dishes well. I bought some expensive silicone covers which were stiff and a bit of a struggle to stretch over bowls but have lasted a long time. I also bought some cheaper ones which were softer and easier to use but have stretched out of shape. Lesson learnt.

Waxed fabric wraps are also popular and can go in the compost when they wear out. I could never get them to stay securely on things in the fridge. They never sealed well. I also use clear shower caps on large bowls I use for bread making. My mother uses saucers to cover bowls in the fridge.

2. Buy a “keep” cup, a reusable covered cup you can get filled at your coffee shop, but this might not work during the CV-19 pandemic. You’ll probably have to ask when you order. A set of reusable cutlery is handy, too. Ours is in a fabric roll I made. It is light and compact.

3. Try buying everyday staples from bulk supply shops. You can fill your own glass jars with flour, sugar, oatmeal pulses and many other products. I can buy flour in bulk from a bread making supply shop.

4. Is your soap wrapped in plastic? There’s so many paper wrapped or not wrapped at all bars of soap available. Unfortunately, I prefer liquid soap at the basin, so buy it in bulk in recyclable bottles which I decant into old pump bottles. I’ve tried making my own which was not a success and have found a bulk supplier nearby so will go there when I’ve used up my supply.

5. Apart from taking your own bag shopping, take small, light (netting) bags for buying loose fruit and vegetables. We can buy F&V in little, reusable thick paper bags but if I suddenly see something I need and don’t have a bag I get one from the mushroom area where they always offer paper bags.

6. Shopping online was great during isolation but a real problem when things arrived in layers and layers of plastic. I ordered three clothing items from the same company and they arrived in three individual bags in two very big, thick plastic bags. I have commented in the customer satisfaction email they later sent, but no response, yet.

7. If you subscribe to magazines which arrive in the post, ask when you order if they are posted in paper or compostable, eco- friendly wrappers. Two of my subscription magazines from overseas are posted in big paper envelopes and they arrive safely every month. Another comes in an eco- friendly, 100% compostable wrapper with the message “Please dispose of it in your home compost bin, food waste caddy or green bin.” My Australian magazines come in plastic, but I’m hopeful this will change.

8. Check if online to see if your tea bags are plastic free. Many brands still seal the bag with a plastic product. Apart from the problem with the plastic entering the environment, some chemicals can leach into liquids at high temperatures.

After being introduced to a lovely fruit infusion at my local cafe ( I’d already had two double espressos) I’m ordering it as loose leaves and will make it in a teapot, just like they do!

7. Reduce the number of cleaning products bought in plastic bottles. Some time ago I started making and using MIRACLE SPRAY ( formula freely available online) I have decided it works better than the range of products I used to buy and use. I make several litres at a time and decant it into old spray bottles which I will replace with glass when they become brittle. It smells fresh, costs very little and does a good job. It is not recommended for use on granite and marble so I use detergent and hot water to wipe down those areas. I also use old clothes as cleaning cloths which I wash and reuse. Mine are old sheets and clothes but I’ve seen really fancy ones on blogs where the clothes are cut into perfect squares, hemmed and folded neatly into pretty piles.

8. Some butchers will pack your meat into your own containers. Just ask. Nearly all bakeries will wrap your bread in tissues and put your pastries in cardboard boxes or trays. Ask if you can buy milk in glass bottles.

9. Takeaway food is a dilemma. So much of it comes in polystyrene or plastic boxes with plastic cutlery. Pizza comes in a recyclable box which goes in your compost or recycling bin . Pizza can be eaten with your fingers. Just saying!

Pizza in cardboard good, plastic drink bottle not so good.

10. I’ve reused some old plastic containers many times. For example, the plastic punnet some avocados came in is regularly used as a seedling box. I stand used toilet rolls in it, use a funnel ( made from rolled up scrap paper) to pour in seedling mix, pressed down to compact the soil, then poke the seeds into it. I spray the seed tubes and move them around indoors or in a sheltered area so they get good winter sun exposure. This means they’re ready to go at the end of winter.

I use a dibbler to make a hole where I am going to plant the seedling, put the roll in and water as usual. By the time the seeds are ready to be planted out the cardboard is quite mushy and already disintegrating.

Planted tomato seeds and some sage seeds. I really like sage with chicken but my bush became woody and died, so I am replacing it.

Another way to get lots of “no plastic” hints is to ask your grandparents or elderly friends or neighbours for hints! Eco warriors before the concept existed, older people managed without home delivered takeaway, plastic packaging and huge super markets.

Please share your hints for minimizing the single use plastic in your life!

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How to Keep White Bed Linen White, Cooking, Growing and a Book Review

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I really like white bed linen. It always feels fresh and clean, both cool in summer and cocooning in winter. I buy white, cotton, good quality sheet sets. So far both sets we use have lasted over 12 years, although I have had to mend the lace edging on one set.

Love the embroidered bees on these white sheets.

This beautiful set of sheets needs occasional mending to maintain the lace edging. As a new puppy, Louis somehow got onto the bed and chewed about 30cm of the lace edging. He found it very satisfying, I didn’t find mending it very satisfying at all.

We also have a white quilt cover. I throw a cream wool blanket over the quilt cover during the day. The sunlight and the dog have slowly caused the cover to become more cream than white, despite the protective cover.

Time for a whitening treatment. I didn’t want to use bleach because the chlorine component in bleach reacts with protein stains and causes discolouring. Protein stains are typically sweat, blood, vomit, egg and other foods. The chlorine causes these stains to yellow. After lots of research I settled on using Borax. I bought some at the supermarket.

HOW TO WHITEN BED LINEN

I wiped the laundry trough to ensure it was clean. Then I dissolved ½ a cup of Borax in very hot water before adding the quilt cover. I used a copper stick to agitate the cover and returned to do this every now and then. After four hours I put the wrung out cover in the washing machine with a scoop of my usual washing machine powder and put it on a long, hot wash.

This is the copper stick or washing dolly. It was originally used to agitate washing in the copper, a big copper tub over a fire. Then the stick would be used to “hook” the washing out to put through the wringer/mangle to remove as much water as possible, before rinsing or hanging to dry. We didn’t have electricity until I was 12 and my mother relied on the copper to do the laundry. My copper stick is actually a cut down broom handle with the ends slightly rounded. I am surprised how often I use it to stir things soaking in the trough.

Borax from Woolworths 500gm $4.10. The tub has a list of instructions and cautions to follow when using this product.

When the cycle finished I hung the cover on the line. Line drying, if the weather permits, always smells fresher. I like ironed pillow cases and the decorative edges on the top sheet but didn’t bother ironing the cover. Back on the bed. White, fresh and crisp. Covered with a wool blanket to protect the cover from the wet weather dog. A good result.

This treatment would work equally well on stained white shirts, sporting uniforms, other bed linen, tea towels and bath towels. I wish I’d known how easy it is to restore stained white fabrics when I was washing and ironing so many business shirts and school shirts every week. I think almost anything white would respond well.

cooking

Last week I made slow cooker beef bourguignon as a way of using some tough pieces of steak. This week I found we still had three pieces of that tough steak which was not quite enough for two meals, so when I made it I added a tin of cannellini beans. They bulked up the stew and tasted very good. Perfect dinner for wet and windy nights.

growing

These are vegetables grown from scraps. When I cut off the end of the celery and bok choy to use them I put the bases in water until they developed roots and then planted them. They are growing well. Something else likes them, too, and has nibbled at the leaves of the bok choy. A neighbour simply puts the ends in soil and her celery plants are impressive. I’ll try this next time.

At least 13 years ago I planted the ends of spring onions in a pot and they have thrived ever since. I have a year round supply of spring onions just outside the laundry door. Spring onions are used frequently in Asian cooking, but I add then to so many things. A quick favourite is an omelette with eggs, spring onions and a grating of strong cheese. Add a chopped tomato if I’ve got one. Almost instant food.

Versatile spring onions.

And the first of the tulips.

reading

This is another library book I reserved during isolation and now it has arrived. It is wonderful to have access to the library again.

Anne Tyler writes about the ordinary, the everyday. She manages to portray those same characters with depth and compassion.

Micah never really understands or connects with any of his girlfriends, although at 44 he feels too old to call them girlfriends. He works, he occasionally visits his large, chaotic family but mostly he lives a simple life, following his own strict schedule. He’s puzzled by how things have turned out, but an encounter with an old girlfriend makes him think, then act. Love a happy ending!

A beautifully told story from this brilliant story teller. Really enjoyed it.

The title refers to Micah refusing to wear his glasses on his morning runs and mistaking an advertising sign on the footpath for a redhead at the side of the road. This hints at how he often sees things a bit differently.

The beginning of July marks PLASTIC FREE JULY. The tagline this year is CHOOSE TO REFUSE SINGLE USE PLASTIC. Lots more information at PLASTICFREEJULY.ORG. You are encouraged to avoid waste, protect the ocean and sign up to be part of the solution.

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