Using My Handmade Book, Eating and Reading

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USING MY HANDMADE BOOK

I made this book, or zine, during a recent workshop. I knew I wanted to use it to record some of the things I planned to do this year. First on my list was a water colour course to learn how to do quick paintings of places we visit. I’d seen people with their papers, pens and small paint boxes drawing and painting when we traveled and I wanted to do that, too.

These gorgeous mementos feature quickly completed views. In our course we started with tonal paintings, then coloured versions of the same image. Our next lesson was using washes with black silhouettes.

I’ve always glued maps, tickets and photos into my journals when we travel but really like these quick paintings. I have illustrated my notes with sketches but I’ll create an outdoor paining kit and buy some water colour paper for our next trip and do some paintings. I’m looking for an A5 pad so I can paint then tear out the finished work and glue it into my every day journal.

Had some leftover papers of the right size and thickness and some embroidery thread so I made another book.

Used a template to mark the stitching holes. Poked them through using an awl.

Stitched the binding. The new book, for idle thoughts, is complete.

While I had scissors, glue and paper out on the table, I also made an insert for the card I’d painted for Mothers Day. Australians celebrate Mothers Day in May, so that’s when I’ll give this card to my Mother. She grows many, many carnations and has a constant supply of cut flowers. I love the peppery scent.

FAST, FABULOUS FOOD

Last week I made a pot of Guava Jam using divine smelling guavas given to me. Although I halved the amount of sugar suggested in the recipes I read, the Guava Jam was still very sweet. I heated a few dessertspoons of the jam in a cup in the microwave for 30 seconds and then drizzled the warm jam onto ice cream. Instant fabulous, delicious dessert! We really enjoyed it.

And not so fast, but equally easy to eat, Pear Crumble. Pears are in season so I made a Pear Crumble hoping for cooler evenings. Hasn’t really happened yet, but the dessert was great. I added nutmeg to the crumble and we enjoyed the extra depth of flavour. Looks a lot like icecream and guava sauce, tastes very different. I’ll be making that again!

READING

I’ve written about Kit Kemp, co-owner of Firmdale Hotels, interior decorator and author, twice in the past few blogs, so I’ll just write briefly about her latest book I’ve been reading. Called “A Living Space” it is actually one of her earlier publications.

Kit Kemp: A Living Space by Kemp, Kit | Hardcover | 2012

Kemp focuses on you trusting your instinct and ignoring the rules! She combines antiques with newly made objects or recycled pieces, bespoke with readily available furniture and very valuable artifacts with ephemera. She encourages her readers to look at texture, add some humour and surround yourself with comfort and colour. Live with what you really, really like around you.

Chapter headings include Bespoke And One Off’s, Antique With Modern, Compare And Contrast, Art And Collections and an amusing chapter called Dogs. Kemp champions emerging artist and crafters whose work sits comfortably with traditional furniture or family heirlooms.

Kemp often frames pieces of fabric or wallpaper which look interesting on the wall if you have any wall space to spare. I haven’t. Obviously, I enjoy her style of decorating, her combinations of affordable and valuable, her cheeky additions and the pages and pages of gorgeous photos.

A few weeks ago my husband read “The Man Who Wasn’t Maigret, A Portrait of Georges Simeon”. He is the author of the Chief Inspector Maigret series. This biography resulted in my husband getting fifteen Maigret books from the library. After he finished the first one he put it on my side of the bed and said, “You’ll enjoy this.” I’m on number nine, now and looking forward to the rest.

Some interesting facts about Georges Simeon:

1) He wrote 193 novels under his own name and another 200 under a variety of pseudonyms.

2) Maigret books sold over 500 million copies in 55 languages in Simeon’s lifetime. Only Jules Verne and Shakespeare have sold more.

3) Almost all of his books took less than 2 weeks to write. He wrote without any revision.

4) Simeon wrote two autobiographical novels, followed by a 1048 page autobiography and then a 21 volume memoir of his life. He frequently contradicted himself in them!

5) Simeon desperately wanted to be seen as a serious writer, an intellectual and to be nominated to the French Academy. It never happened.

Simeon is a marvelous story teller. His writing style is simple and shows a deep understanding of human nature. He limits the actual vocabulary he uses in the Maigret series to about 2000 words. He is Flemish, not French and a few of his stories are set in Belgium, others in Holland but mostly set in Paris. As a travel starved Francophile, I have enjoyed meandering around Paris with Maigret although I wouldn’t like to see some of the things he finds. He is famous for investigating murders.

Between 1931 and 1972, Georges Simeon published seventy five Chief Inspector Maigret stories as well as another twenty eight short stories. Most of these have been republished by Penguin in the past six years. Great reading.

Yesterday was Earth Day. The enormous drop in pollution resulting from less flying, cruising and manufacturing during the early days of CV-19 indicates we can make a change. And please try and reduce the use of single use plastics.

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Matryoshka Dolls, Tomatoes, Salsa Verde and Kit Kemp

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MATRYOSHKA DOLLS

Matryoshka Dolls, or Babushka Dolls, are wooden stacking dolls. Also known as Russian dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls or stacking dolls, they are a set of dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other. They are called Matryoshka nesting dolls in Russia, where they originated.

Thought to be first made in 1890 the original designer is disputed but most often the first set of dolls is linked to wood worker Vasili Zvyozdochkin and toy painter Sergei Malyutin. Their popularity quickly spread across Europe after the original set was displayed at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900. The toy won a bronze medal and they became the “must have”toy!

No longer really considered toys, the Russian nesting dolls now made in the image of politicians, religious deities, a royal family, celebrities, even animals. Many are collectables. I like my traditional “matron” design with its links to fertility. This design portrays an old woman, a grandmother, generally associated with a headscarf tied under the chin. Probably because it was easier to say, my nesting dolls were called “Babushka Dolls” although this always reminds me of Kate Bush singing “Babooshka”, released in 1978.

Like so many people, our travel plans for 2020 were cancelled. We were going on a cruise which included a few days in St Petersburg. Apart from a planned visit to the Hermitage, I’d been looking forward to seeing the architecture. My other goal was to buy another Russian nesting doll. Instead I included my stacking doll with some Easter decorations. I’ve searched on the base and inside my dolls but cannot find where they were made.

The Russian nesting dolls can have five, six or seven dolls in each set. The smallest one is made first, then the others, getting bigger and bigger.

eating

TOMATOES

Tired of salads? Me too. Tomatoes still taste of sunshine so we keep eating them but needed some variety. These roasted tomatoes are so easy. I washed, dried and quartered some same sized tomatoes, taking care not to cut all the way through. I’d already drizzled olive oil in the glass baking dish. Used a teaspoon to put a little chopped garlic in the cut tomatoes, then sliced a leek and scattered it around them. Drizzled some more olive oil over the tomatoes. Added ground black pepper and sprinkled sea salt on them and roasted them 45 minutes at 190°C F/Forced ( 375ºF) . The hardest part is getting all the grit out of the leek.

Scattered some fresh basil on top. Delicious. Sweet and sticky and the flavours blended well. Light, easy end of summer food.

SALSA VERDE

Salsa verde is a green sauce. There’s so many recipes for it because the herbs you have available in abundance at the time will dictate your recipe. I like to add anchovies for depth of flavour but not all recipes do, and I add chopped, small gherkins, too. Originally this was based on a Jamie Oliver recipe but I have changed it to suit our tastes. The actual flavour can be different every time you make it depending on the ratio of herbs.

I used about four handfuls of basil, mint and common parsley, 1 tbspn chopped capers, 1 lge chopped gherkin, 6 anchovy fillets, 1 tbspn Dijon mustard, 20ml red wine vinegar and 60ml EVOO.

Pick over the herbs. It is easy to strip the mint and basil holding the top of the stem and running your fingers down, parsley takes longer. This part takes a while but the aroma of the herbs is lovely. Wash the leaves and leave to drain. Chopped the gherkin and capers if they’re large. I mash the anchovies with a fork in the jug later with the other ingredients.

Dice the herbs. Usually I chop them finely but this sauce is to go on turkey breast which is quite mild so I wanted a robust sauce. Mix everything together in a jug or serving bowl. Leave to amalgamate for an hour. Serve on meat, poultry, fish or stirred through salad leaves.

The basil is going to seed. As I picked it I stripped off the seeds and dropped them back in the soil for the next crop. I served this luscious sauce with turkey breast and oven roast sweet potato and Brussels sprouts. It was very good!

reading

One of the designers featured in the “British Designers At Home” book which I reviewed last week was Kit Kemp. Her own house was featured in the book and the vibrant designs led me to borrow her book “Design Thread” from the library.

Kit Kemp, with her husband Tim Kemp, is the founder and creative director of Firmdale Hotels. They have a collection of eleven hotels in London and New York. She has won many awards for her work. Her interiors are vibrant and witty. She’s known for mixing antiques with junk shop treasures, bespoke wallpaper with simple finishes. Her interiors are individual and personal.

Kemp discusses the aspects of each room featured and talks about the decisions she made which result in the final decor. Each room is different and items are individually selected. She also talks about her holiday house and the influences which decided how it was finished.

Kemp’s style is bold, quirky and individual but also comfortable and welcoming. She cleverly mixes old and new, luxurious and the everyday plus classic and modern styles. Gorgeous rooms and an inspiring book.

Did you know it probably takes an aluminum can 200-500 years to decompose? They are easily and cheaply recycled. In some countries they attract a small refund when you drop them off at a recycling point.

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What Is Biophilia and Why Do We Care?

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So what is biophilia? Sounds like something needing urgent medical attention but actually it’s a verified human tendency to interact with or be associated with other forms of nature. The assumption is that we are born with an innate affinity for other forms of life.

By extension, we have always relied on nature and so responding positively to nature is part of our genetic makeup. This concept is apparently supported by a decade of research revealing how positively and strongly people respond to natural elements.

The hypotheses argues that a love of nature is instinctive. The focus is about reconnecting with nature, something lost in many modern houses and offices. The benefits, supported by massive amounts of research, are behavioural, mental and physical well being.

The term biophilia ( love of nature) was initially coined by social psychologist Eric Fromm in 1964 and later popularised by American biologist Edward O Wilson in his book “Biophilia”, published in 1984.

easy biophilia indoors

Your home should support your well being. Here are some easy ways to include biophiliac elements.

Aim for natural light and fresh air. If possible, open the windows and enjoy the sounds of nature. If the view outside is brick or a plain fence grow a creeper over it or add a fountain and plants. Your visual connection with nature can be plants, animals, water and moving water, scents and light.

Incorporate indoor plants and vases of fresh flowers or leaves. Research clearly shows incorporating plants into your environment lowers stress levels.

Add colour and texture with curtains, rugs and cushions plus wood grain or stone finishes. Look out for old weathered or new textural pieces. Contrast brick, timber and metal with cosy wool, linen and velvet.

Create outdoor sitting areas and enjoy your morning coffee, a meal or just sitting outside.

Pets in the house or going for a walk and seeing animals grazing in paddocks is good, too, as is bird life and birdsong. Interacting with animals is soothing.

Fresh air, sunlight, natural bed linen using fibres such as silk, linen , cotton or bamboo plus texture and colour in the mat. Growing evidence from psychologists and neuroscientists demonstrates that incorporating nature and natural elements into the built environment has been proven to reduce stress, enhance cognitive function and also speed up healing.

Goals to feel good…..

Enhance your connection with the real sensory forms of nature by wandering amongst plants.
Seek sunlight, a natural elixir for well being. Just not too much direst sunlight in Australia!
Ensure you have a range of places in your home where you can relax, work uninterrupted, or feel energised and like being with the family.

WELL DESIGNED WORK PLACES

Considering the amount of time people traditionally spent in their place of work, much of the research on biophiliac design had focused on this area. Since CV-19 some people have continued to work from home and are keen to make this an ongoing arrangement. Some people have reduced the amount of time spent in the office, away from home, going in for important meetings or set days a week, but many people have also returned to their work place.

Good office buildings incorporate natural lighting and ventilation. Thoughtful designs include views of nature from windows and lots of greenery inside. Not just a potted plant on the reception desk, but large, multi -planted pots and green walls, created with vertical pots. Greenery in nature is recognised for stimulating the vagas nerve, the longest and most complex of the cranial nerves, which is responsible for calmness and regeneration. This stimulation, telling your body to relax and de-stress, results in long term improvements in mood, well being and resilience.

A water view and the sound of running water, such as a fountain or crashing waves, promotes calmness.

This revival of nature appreciation, affected by urbanisation, the growth of cities and increased population, can be achieved by thoughtful decorations in the home and daily walks in parks, or along rivers or beaches. Biophiliac design concepts are harder to achieve in many existing office blocks but will probably influence architectural design in the future.

DID YOU KNOW?

Scientific modelling suggests it takes more than 200 years for a plastic bag to break down. Some experiments suggest 700 years is more likely. As it decomposes it becomes minute microbeads which easily enter the environment.

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Visiting the New W.A. Museum, A New Mattress and Ironing

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The new west australian museum/boola bardip*

*This Aboriginal name for the new Museum was researched and translated by the Nyoongar Language Centre and approved by senior Whadjuk Nyoongar Elders. It means “many stories.”

The new Museum, incorporating several old buildings, is part of the cultural precinct just over the railway line in Northbridge. It is an amalgamation of several existing buildings all incorporated with a new one.

Internally you move from area to area seamlessly with the occasional glimpse of the previous buildings, such as looking down onto the old museum to see the replica of the Elgin marbled cornice* ( now referred to as the Parthenon Frieze), a sweeping wooden staircase or a glimpse of a previous ornate roof line. It is very, very well done.

*The Elgin marbles/ Parthenon Frieze was in the old Art Gallery now incorporated in the new building. It can be viewed from a Juliet balcony within the museum. Approximately 80 metres long, it is a copy of the Ionic Frieze from the Parthenon in Athens. The other copy of the frieze along with the original sculpture were taken to London by Lord Elgin from Athens. They are housed in the British Museum. Other casts of the frieze are in the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney.

The Museum is arranged over the ground floor, the mezzanine, and three more floors. There were Museum staff available to assist. I think it would take two hours for an initial visit and then a return visit to study different exhibitions in detail.

Walked down to James Street from the Museum and found a really good dim sum restaurant before heading back to the cultural precinct and visiting the Art Gallery.

the new mattress

Last year our old mattress became too lumpy and uncomfortable to ignore any more. We went mattress hunting, a very awkward activity. WA had been in lock down due to CV-19 for some time and although finally we could go shopping, we were still being extremely cautious.

We tried a few mattresses but rather half halfheartedly because lying on a bed in public is a bit weird anyway, and lying on one somebody else might have tried during this time of caution was really uncomfortable.

Came home to do more research. The consumer comparison site recommended Mattresses in a Box. More reading and lots of reviews later we ordered one. The whole delivery thing was ghastly and took 21 days and so many phone calls.

Finally it arrived, and after it had sighed and wheezed its way to full thickness overnight, we started using it. Very firm. Reminded each other about reviews that said it takes a few days or a month to get used to it. Added a latex topper, then a fat fluffy one, too, then admitted it was just too firm for comfort. We both had sore shoulders and hips and remembered the old lumpy mattress fondly, compared to the new one.

Finally we spent last week trying mattresses. We ended up with two preferred brands and had to go from one shop immediately to the other to compare the two. Finally chose one. It cost a great deal more than the Mattress in a Box. It arrived a week after we bought it and it is very, very comfortable. We are happy!

The new very comfortable mattress.

ironing tea towels

Kristie Allsopp, an English interior designer and co-host of the long running ‘Location, Location, Location’ home finding program, recently announced on Twitter that she irons her tea towels. Hardly world changing information, but there was a flurry of shocked and outraged responses. Ironing tea towels, how could she?

This resulted in a quick poll: Do you iron your tea towels? Well, 67% of respondents said they do, and I was quite pleased because I, too, like an ironed tea towel! And pillow cases.

I have really reduced the amount of ironing I do since I retired but still like cottons and linens ironed. My husband wears cotton shirts every day and they must be ironed, too, but he wont iron his handkerchiefs!

This weeks ironed tea towels and hand towels.

So, ironing hasn’t exactly divided the masses, but I’d love to know if you iron your tea towels!

international womens day

I’ve just finished reading Stella Rimington’s autobiography ‘Open Secret, The Autobiography of the Former Director-General of MI5’. Rather timely as we celebrate International Womens Day. Rimington was the first woman in the service to progress from Junior Assistant Officer in 1969 to Officer rank, previously a status held exclusively by males. Up to that point women could only be clerical workers. Not only was she married but she has a child, too, and a second daughter later.

She continued to move up through the ranks and was appointed Director-General in 1996 after 27 years of service. Her story is one of many about women working harder, being called ‘dear’ and being overlooked for promotions, but also a story of tenacity, hard work and determination.

As we celebrated International Womens Day on the 8th of March, I thought of Stella Rimington, who juggled full time work, two daughters and husband plus running a household. I think she would be surprised and disappointed that, in 2021, so often women are still paid less than men for the same work, are less likely to be promoted to managerial positions and are generally more responsible for childcare and running their homes.

Stella Rimington struggled to find good childcare arrangements, initially didn’t have a washing machine and could only have three months maternity leave. As she points out, she had to be focused and able to compartmentalise the many parts of her life to survive. I think she feels her daughters sometimes missed out, a concern many working mothers will express. There seems no easy solution but greater flexibility is required to make fairer work arrangements for all employees.

International Womens’ Day celebrates the achievements of women and acknowledges the challenges of gender bias and inequality around the world.

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How To Store Food

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Do you know the best ways to store the food you buy? Planning what you’ll make with what you’ve bought reduces food waste. Appropriate storage is part of this, too. I didn’t really know which fruit and vegetables went into the fridge or not so years ago I researched the best way to store food.

Here’s the basic food storage list. We live in a country with very hot, dry summers, so our storage needs will be different from cooler areas. Consider your climate and make adjustments according to the seasons, too.
Onions shouldn’t be stored in the fridge, nor should avocados, peaches and other stonefruit and melons until they ripen. Once I’ve cut an avocado I wrap the remaining half with the stone still in it in a large silicone wrapper. There’s some clever reusable capsules available for storing cut avocados but I haven’t tried them .

Eggs, carrots, apples and oranges should go in the fridge. The problem here for me is I like the apples and oranges in a fruit bowl where I can see them. I only buy a few at a time so they’re eaten fresh. Garlic should also be kept in the fridge. All berries go in the fridge, too.

Once you’ve opened tomato sauce it should also be stored in the fridge to limit bacteria and mold developing. Same with opened jams, chutneys, mustards and tomato paste. Leftover tomato paste can be frozen in icecube trays then popped into containers and the individual cubes can be quickly thawed when required.
Bread is one of the most wasted foods in many houses. It should be stored in the fridge. It is easy to remove as much as you’ll use in a day and store the rest in the freezer. It takes us ages to use a loaf, so I freeze it and remove a few slices when needed. The more you put in your freezer the more effectively it keeps things frozen. Before you throw leftover bread in the bin, consider making breadcrumbs or croutons which will keep for ages, or a bread and butter pudding.

Leafy greens ( lettuce, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, celery, spinach) should go in the fridge. Years ago I bought (from Tupperware) a celery keeper and a lettuce keeper. Both work really well. Fresh peas and beans, in the fridge too, and beetroot. None of these should be kept for more than a few days. Leftovers make great vegetable soup, risotto or fritattas. Add leftover herbs, too.

Fresh herbs are tricky to keep fresh! Most can be stored in the fridge for two days but you can also put them in a glass of water and they stay fresher long. If you have room, pot up the herbs you use most often and they’ll always be fresh.

Potatoes should be stored in cardboard boxes, wicker trays, or lined drawers, not in plastic and not in the fridge.

There’s so much information online about safe food storage which will help reduce food wastage.

Apart from fresh produce most of us have an array of dried produce stored. I like clear containers so I can see what I have and what needs topping up. For years my favourite canisters have been recycled glass jars. They are a good size, I can see what’s in them and they fit and stack well on the shelf in the pantry. I can wash them in the dishwasher and they’re not so heavy I can’t grab one in one hand in a hurry.

After many years of constant use the labels have become tatty. Went searching for new labels online. I wanted an attractively shaped label with an outline. The design needed to be editable so I could add my own ingredient list as so many of the ones I saw listed things I’d never need.

My first choice was just written food names with no borders. Not what I thought I wanted but they do look fresh and clean. Printed them off and set about transferring them to packing tape to transfer onto the glass. I taped each onto packing tape, burnished each with a soup spoon and dropped them into the water bath, just as directed.

That’s when things went wrong. Was I using the wrong sort of packing tape, didn’t I leave the labels in water long enough? Instead of print staying on the tape when I rubbed off the wet paper, everything came off! After many attempts I accepted the stickers weren’t working, so just wrote the ingredients on tape and stuck it on the jar.

Problem number two: I couldn’t read the label on the jar once I put something dark, like peppercorns or brown lentils, in it! New plan involved printing a new set of labels and photocopying a drawing which I cut in half. Then I glued the food label in the middle. Looked too big, trimmed some off the top and bottom of the image then it looked fine.

Floral image from Shutterstock.

Fiddled about for ages trying to decide on the size I wanted and whether they should have a border.

Meanwhile, I emptied the jars and washed and dried them in the dishwasher. The lids went outside on a tray. It was 38ºC so they dried quickly. Then, labels attached with a rectangle of Contact, ingredients poured in and all back on the shelves in the pantry. Not what I imagined but they do look fresh and clean.

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Fine Bone China, Spring Flowers, Grazing Platters and a Book Review

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fine bone china

This is my ever growing collection of fine bone china mugs. I generally drink double espressos, so about 150ml of coffee, and I really like drinking from these mugs! They are illustrated with rollicking and frolicking mice and are a pleasure to use.

I first discovered Anita Jerman’s whimsical designs years ago when my son gave me a card featuring her Two Bad Mice design. He was attracted to it initially as the mice are very similar to ones I’ve been drawing for years. Loved the card and my first Two Bad Mice 300ml mug followed. These fine bone china mugs are hand decorated in Staffordshire, England and portray the mice involved in everyday activities, such as eating cake (Sugar Mice), painting (Art Club), shopping (Retail Therapy) , frolicking with the butterflies and flowers (Urban Jungle) and enjoying each other’s company (For You)

The thin lip makes these mugs lovely to drink from. They are illustrated on the outside and the inside and there’s always a little message at the bottom, to entertain you when you’ve drained the last drop!

spring flowers

This has been a bumper year for all the spring flowers in Western Australia. The roses have been blooming like mad! Some of these are from my Mother’s garden and some are from our garden. The flowers at the back are alstromerias which grow year after year and would happily inhabit the entire garden. They need to be kept firmly in their assigned bed!

grazing platters and a bed bowl

I can’t remember what we called platters of finger food before they became grazing platters. Surrounded by bowls of other finger friendly foods, the platters are an easy way to entertain. I made these as it was my husband’s turn to host his book club this week and the focus is on the books, so easy to handle food is essential. Nothing hot or fussy, just tasty, easily picked up, finger food.

I place various cold meats and cheeses, a soft, a firm and a blue veined, on the platter, then add quince paste ( plus fig and walnut paste this time), strawberries, two types of meat and a variety of crackers. I put a tub of hommus or dip in the centre of each platter, too. Other bowls held cherries, blueberries, cherry tomatoes, cashews, olives and more crackers. Add side plates and napkins and the food is done.

This morning I finished reading Ian Rankin’s latest book, A Song For The Dark Times in bed, before I got up. The minute I put it down my husband picked it up and didn’t move for a long time. I made him tea and took him a bed bowl, a little relative of the grazing platter, involving cashews, strawberries, cherries and blueberries with some crackers. He’s not a big fan of cheese, which is good, as I’m happy to eat the leftovers from the previous nights feasting. Bowls are easier than flat plates for eating in bed.

reading

This book is about planning and building affordable energy efficient and water wise housing. Many of the tips are relevant to existing houses and also a good reminder about doing easy things to use less water and energy.

Josh Byrne is a presenter on Gardening Australia, a weekly gardening program on television. He is globally recognised for his research into efficient use of water and energy. His ideas about using main stream builders and materials to create efficient housing make his recommendations affordable. The process he describes for choosing where to build and how to build is easily understood and often thought provoking.

Byrne shares ideas about monitoring the ‘effectiveness ‘ of your existing house and also how to maximise these aspects in new builds. Each of the eight chapters encourages consideration of each step in building, renovating or just refining current aspects of your house to make it more efficient.

An interesting book, full of information. As usual, I borrowed it from the library. A quick search of your local libraries online catalogue will reveal many books about making the most of your local environment and living more efficiently.

Some saints

December 4th is Saint Barbara’s Day. Venerated as an Auxiliary Saint or Holy Helper, she is the patron saint of artillerymen and miners. In more recent years her authenticity was considered questionable and she was removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969.

December 6th is Saint Nicholas Day. Saint Nicholas, a Greek priest was a Bishop in the early Catholic Church. He gave up all his belongings to follow Christ. He gave freely to needy people, but especially to children. He was well known for throwing gold coins into the windows of poor homes. St Nicholas became part of European culture.

In the 1800s, in America, Saint Nicholas began to evolve into Santa Claus, but gold coins, both real and chocolate ones still feature for many children at Christmas, a remnant of Saint Nicholas’s kindness and charity.

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Working, Decorating and Cooking and Eating

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I have been working for the past three weeks. I worked as an invigilator or supervisor for final year secondary school exams. This year has been very different for all schools and especially disrupted for final years students.

We have been very lucky and safe in Western Australia. Until recently, the hard border isolating WA from the other states of Australia meant our only CV-19 cases were people returning from overseas. These cases were managed with well organised quarantine arrangements. A range of assessments will be considered for university entrance to reflect this disruption.

Starting on Wednesday I am back to my usual occupations including Pilates, Mahjong and Yoga. Working is stimulating and satisfying but returning to my usual day to day activities is relaxing . Well, Pilates isn’t relaxing, but I’m sure it is good for me!

advent calendar

When our son was little we had a lovely fabric Advent Calendar with numbered pockets. These had tiny boxes of Lego, gold coins, chocolate treats and other toys tucked into them for him to discover as we counted down to the Big Day. We have no need of an Advent Calendar now, but I couldn’t resist this wooden house with it’s tiny drawers. The inside of the drawers is painted red, which I really like. Slowly filling them with grown up treats such as chocolates, messages about fun things to do each day including special walks for Louis, the dog and some lottery tickets. Christmas is different when there are no small children visiting.

framing botanical prints

The prints framed.

The rather gorgeous print from KMart and the newly framed botanical print.

My Mother gave me these two prints, a tulip and a hippiastrum (amaryllis). I paint botanical water colours and have done so for years. I was going to frame these in Ikea frames but the dimensions just weren’t right for the size of the prints. Walking through KMart I saw a gorgeous floral wall print but what really attracted me was the dimensions of the frame. It was perfect for my botanical prints! Bought two. Then I pondered for ages about mounting boards. Eventually I decided to try doing that myself, too, and bought some heavy (300gsm) Arches Water Colour paper. It is thick with a slight texture.

The dimensions of the frame with this art print were just what I wanted to frame the botanical print.

Positioned the print and then measured the area to cut out. Ruled the lines, used a trimmer to remove the centre piece then used UHU glue to adhere the print to the mount along the top.

Removed the original staples along the sides and base, but re-used those along the top. I didn’t remove the top ones but simply tilted the backing board, inserted the newly mounted print and pushed the backing board back into position within the frame. I had no way of re-stapling, so I used tape instead to secure the backing board.

Repeated for the second print, which was a bit faster to do as I knew what I was doing this time!

afternoon tea and DINNER

These chocolate strawberries are a new favourite. Strawberries are plentiful now and although melting the chocolate takes a while the actual dipping process is fast and easy. When all the strawberries have been dipped I put the tray in the fridge for a few hours before serving. They are proving to be very popular and pretty, too. Search for an online tutorial.

An early afternoon tea so I served light, easy finger food. This was almost “finger” dessert! Apart from chocolate dipped strawberries, there’s Christmas cake, ginger biscuits, some bought Italian biscuits and Turkish Delight, crystallized ginger and chocolates. Quick, easy, delicious.

Tray bake dinner with sautéd cabbage. The butternut pumpkin “chips” were partially oven roasted, then the broccoli was added and finally, for the last 20 minutes, the salmon fillets. Drizzled with a marinade of 2 dessert spoons of mirin, soy and maple syrup with a generous squeeze of lime juice. I turned the fillets after 10 minutes to crisp up the skin.

The chopped up cabbage is pan fried in butter and when the edges start to brown or caramelise, I add a generous splash of Apple Cider Vinegar and let it all cook until the liquid has evaporated. Good grating of black pepper finishes it off. We really like cabbage cooked this way.

Using the same pan I cooked the cabbage in I roast some sesame seeds to sprinkle on the salmon to serve.

This will make two dinners for us as I will cook more vegetables to add to the leftover heated salmon and pumpkin chips. The remnant marinade keeps the salmon moist when reheating.

November 18th was World Princess Day. I have no idea how a princess celebrates her special day, but it did remind me the next series of The Crown has started. So have many articles disputing the accuracy of the events portrayed. It seems this series is loosely based on historical events, many occurring within living memory and open to interpretation depending on your political and social affiliations. This is a drama production, not a documentary.

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Sewing a Fish, Mending, Recycling, Celebrating and Growing

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SEWING a FISH

Our son has this gorgeous ceramic sardine shown above. Inspired by blogs written by Ann Wood (here) and Kate (here), who have both been making stitched fish, I gathered the materials to make a Christmas ornamental fish, too, based on this ceramic sardine.

I cut a pattern from paper, following Anne Woods template, but later I modified the fatness of the body to better reflect the shape of the ceramic sardine.

Sewed the fish pieces together, eventually. Went upstairs to my sewing machine and discovered it wouldn’t work. Baffling as I’d used it last weekend without any problem. Fiddled about but made no progress so went looking online. Thank you to all those wonderful sewers online who have written about solving problems with sewing machines. So helpful! I finally solved the problem and sewed the fish, leaving the tail open to stuff it.

Stuffed the fish with polyester wadding, poking it in with the scissor blade, then hand sewed the end of the tail. It could have been machine sewn, too, but this was just as easy.

Started pinning on pieces of ribbon, leaving enough on the middle one to create a hanger. Hand sewed the ribbons on when I was happy with their placement. Added a bead to make a hanging loop on the longer, middle ribbon then worked on the face. Tossed up between button eyes, as on the two blogs I refer to above, or sequins, which seem shiny and more fish like. Although I had lots of buttons to choose from I thought they all looked too big. The only sequins I could find looked strange, too, so I ended up stitching the eyes in place.

My mother harvested anything reusable off worn out clothes, including hundreds of buttons. I now have those jars of buttons. Looking through them was quite nostalgic as I recognised some from my childhood clothes.

The finished fish, ready to hang.

PERSIAN CARPET REPAIR

Running up and down the stairs, trying to get the sewing machine working meant I saw this chewed Persian carpet again and again. It’s not new damage; it’s the result of Louis teething one day when we were both at work six years ago. I’d done a temporary repair a few years ago but actually sat and fixed it properly today. Lots of stitching and trimming and eventually the edge is secure but a little misshapen. Louis lay next to me watching carefully. Such a help.

The finished repair. I used embroidery thread and some wool to secure the frayed edge.

MINIATURE PICTURE and EASEL

Last term our painting tutor gave us each a tiny canvas and easel to create our own miniature. She has a collection of traditional miniatures and some she has done herself. I painted a bird in a bird cage hanging from a branch. It was all right but not great. Time to repurpose the little canvas and easel.

Went looking for something to cover the painting and add interest to the little collection sitting under masses of pink roses.

Printed off a pretty peony image and glued it to the canvas leaving lots of paper to fold around the edges. I used Mod Podge to glue and seal the image. Smoothed the front and left it to dry, then folded and glued the edges. I cut the surplus paper from each corner to create a sharper edge, then glued them down, too.

Much prettier. Don’t know how long it will last before I want to change it again but for now the pretty pink peonies work well with the masses of pink Pierre de Ronsard roses I’m picking from the garden.

JACARANDA DRIVE

This time of the year the jacaranda trees are in full bloom. Heavy wind and rain has resulted in less dense flowers but I still really enjoyed driving around the older river suburbs to enjoy looking at the trees. My mother, who went to school in this area, remembers planting the jacarandas on Arbor Day. They are very beautiful.

CELEBRATING

Celebrated my birthday last week. Birthdays seem to come around rather too quickly these days. Way too many candles for my lime tart, but loved these number sparklers. Reminded me of Guy Fawkes night, which was such fun when we were children but was banned in Western Australia in 1967 to prevent personal injury and bushfires.

Our son came down from Kalgoorlie for the weekend and we celebrated my birthday by going to yum cha, one of our favourite family foods. We hadn’t been to the yum cha restaurant since early this year due to CV-19 concerns. We wont be going again for a while, either, as our hard borders came down last Friday night, allowing Australians from most other states to return or visit. Unfortunately the first plane load of visitors came from South Australia where there had been an unexpected CV-19 hotspot. We now wait to see if this means we now have active cases in Western Australia.

GROWING and PICKING

Cut the cos lettuce, washed the leaves and picked them over to remove any discoloured ones, then patted them really dry on a tea towel.

Planted a punnet of cos lettuce about two months ago and have begun eating them. Today I made a Caesar salad, without bacon as I didn’t have any left. Some recipes use anchovy paste in the dressing, I use finely chopped anchovies in mine. This is a classic salad using cos lettuce and tasted very good. A simple family lunch with cold roasted chicken, baby romano tomatoes, potato salad and the Caesar salad.

Friday November 13th was World Kindness Day. Well, that was easy enough to celebrate, wasn’t it?

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How to Marble Paper with Shaving Cream and What Is Countrycore?

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SHAVING CREAM MARBLED PAPER

For many years I have written a daily journal. I buy the red and black A5 sized notebooks you can easily find at news agencies. Recently these books have been available in other colours on the spine and corners, so easy to match with your chosen gift wrap covers. This is a convenient size to take traveling. I write with a fine 0.4 felt tipped pen as this doesn’t seep through the paper, discolouring the reverse page. I cover the front and back with gift wrap or some similar paper, leaving the spine uncovered.

Journals with traditional red spines and ones with pink spines. I’ve also seen these diaries with lime green and bright blue spines now available.

I glue a calendar in the back and also glue lining papers in the front and back covers. Up until now I have marbled the papers using non-toxic Japanese inks. (http://: https://www.makecookgrow.com/2017/08/how-to-marble-wi…water-based-inks/) Today I decided to try a technique I have used to decorate hard boiled eggs at Easter time, but not paper.

Japanese ink marbling

SHAVING CREAM MARBLED PAPER

Gather:

1. a can of shaving cream

2. several colours of food dye

3. paper to print on. I recycled A4 photocopy paper

4. a container bigger than the sheet of paper to be printed

5. protective plastic for your work surface

6. an old credit card, or similar rigid material to scrape the shaving cream off the paper.

7. rubber gloves. This way of printing is messy!

Shake the shaving cream vigorously then squirt it into the container until the base is covered. Spread to make a smooth surface, then drizzle with food dye. Mix the colours to create swirled patterns. I used a chopstick for this.

Smoothed the dye with gloved hands, drizzled food dye, swirled with a chopstick.

I flattened the cream a bit, then after squirting on the dye, placed the paper on top. Smoothed over the paper to ensure all of it was in contact with the dye.

When you’re happy with the colour distribution, smooth your paper over the surface, peel off and then scrape the surplus cream off the paper. Place flat to dry. Add other colours to the cream or just reuse the existing dye to print more papers. I don’t have an old credit card to scrape off the residual foam so used some stiff cardboard. It got very messy and needed replacing half way through the process.

This is a cheap and easy way to print faux marbled papers. The colours are generally stronger on recycled photocopy paper than when I print with water based Japanese inks. Other papers grip the colour differently.These are strong, vibrantly coloured patterns and I’ve decided I prefer the more traditional colours I achieve with Japanese inks.

I would do this activity outside if I was working with children as it is messy. I’d also recommend they wear art shirts or aprons. I used recycled A4 printer paper and bought food dye and shaving foam. I estimate my cost for this project to be less than AU$10. The Japanese inks I like to use cost about AU$50 but last a long time.

COUNTRYCORE

So what is Countrycore? Apparently, it is the biggest lifestyle trend during quarantine and it just passed me by! Countrycore is all about living like your Grandma did, supported by modern technology. It’s about living in an imaginary cottage in the country where you grow your own food and flowers, have animals, surrounded by peace and calm and nature. You bake and cook from scratch and practice many crafts to decorate your environment, relax and reuse materials. All this involves wearing floral, tiered dresses ( think Laura Ashley from the 1970s ) to go searching for mushrooms complete with wicker basket and hair ribbon.

So it’s like I lived as a child, growing up on a farm, surrounded by nature, chintz, wholesome food, animals, a make and mend attitude, but no floral frocks. I can only think of one frock photo and that featured a tulle petticoat. I generally wore hand-me-downs from my brothers, so there’s photos of me in jeans and checked shirts although Mum was keen on plaiting my hair, another Countrycore passion.. No mention on Instagram of over three hours a day spent on the school bus either! Nor milking the cow every third morning.

Social media is hopping with Countrycore lifestyle images and I can see the appeal of a slower life eating fresh food surrounded by nature. Apparently there’s over 700 000 posts on Instagram on the subject. I think many people have re-assessed how they live and what is really important to them during this year. And there are so many enticing photos on Instagram!

November 7th is NUMBAT DAY. Above is a photograph of a numbat (Myrmecobius faciatus) as you may not have seen one before. Numbats are a small marsupial common in the south west regions of Western Australia although they used to be found in the east coast, too. They are threatened with extinction, with only about 1000 left in the wild.

We celebrate Numbat Day to draw attention to the need to conserve the species. Introduced predators such as foxes but particularly feral cats are threatening their survival. Unneutered cats left to wander and breed are threatening many small bush animals. The day focuses on responsible pet ownership and reminds us to never remove hollow logs, the natural home of numbats, from the bush.

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Modifying a Mat, Reading and Eating

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MODIFYING A MAT

Bought this mat to put in the laundry at the door going outside. This is where our dog, Louis, goes in and out. I chose this rough textured mat hoping it would remove some of the winter debris walked inside whenever he uses the door. Unfortunately, I soon realised the fringes on each end were getting tangled when Louis exited at speed, something he does if the dog next door barks, or the lady on the other side goes out her back door, or if a cat dares walk along our fence.

Initially, I thought I’d leave a smaller amount of the fringe exposed by partially covering it with hessian fabric tape, but changed my mind. So, pinned on the tape, sewed by hand along the top and then trimmed the fringe to make it shorter than the hessian edging. Then stitched along the bottom edge. It was hard work and I don’t know how many times I pricked my finger.

Enclosing the fringe in the hessian means the knots holding the mat together were still intact, just stitched inside the hessian edging. I couldn’t machine stitch the hessian onto the mat as it is too thick for my elderly, domestic sewing machine. But I’m happy with how it turned out and how well it is wearing.

READING

This is the year of vicarious travel for West Australians and many other people, too. Although we went of the Silo Art Trail and thoroughly enjoyed it and have another road trip booked, we cannot leave Western Australia due to the hard border.

So when I saw Janice MacLeod’s A Paris Year, My Day To Day Adventures In The Most Romantic City In The World I knew it would be high on my weekend list of things to read. Best known for her previous book, Paris Letters, MacLeod illustrates or photographs and writes about daily discoveries in Paris. She combines personal anecdotes along with historical information about landmarks, monuments and people.

Took me a while to tune into her handwritten text but once I did I really enjoyed this record of MacLeod’s year in Paris. Plus I learnt the history of things I’d seen, such as the Wallace Fountains, funded by Richard Wallace and all painted carriage green and intended to provide free, fresh water for those wandering around Paris. He created the fountains with each of the four sides decorated by a beautiful sister, representing kindness, simplicity, charity and sobriety.

A long but interesting love letter from MacLeod to Paris. I really enjoyed it. It’s a book you can flick through, reading those entries with illustrations or photos which appeal or read from the beginning to the end.

EATING

Fresh mulberries, picked this morning from an abandoned tree. Some of the berries were sweet and some were a little tart, but they tasted good, anyway. Served on sheeps’ yoghurt at breakfast. The immature berries at the front are good for removing the ripe berry stains.

Collateral damage. An abandoned mulberry tree is carpeted thickly with fallen, overly ripe berries. I had to scrub my shoes as the soles were stained and impacted with squashed berries. I had already scrubbed them before coming indoors.

Amazingly, the stained soles came clean after some vigorous scrubbing. I’ll be better prepared next time we go picking mulberries.

A wonderful snack! There isn’t an Aldi supermarket close to us but when we do go to one I always buy anchovies, ginger biscuits, their 1 kg tub of hommus and now, their spreadable Goats Cheese made in France. It is very good. I pick some chives from the garden and chop them, using kitchen scissors, into the cheese then spread it on a cracker.

We had planned to have fish for dinner so I was keen to try this David Herbert recipe in the Weekend Australian Magazine. This is his recipe for CANTONESE STYLE STEAMED FISH. Although the steamed fish follows the recipe, my bok choy wasn’t ready for picking but we had some cabbage and also fresh asparagus, so I used them instead. (https://www.theaustralian.com.au/weekend-australian-magazine/cantonesestyle-steamed-fish-and-garlic-prawns/news-story/2f12f44f1b9e7e957db748077abb272ere)

The fish, flavoured with ginger and sitting in a little water and Shaoxing wine, was steamed on a plate over boiling water for about five minutes. Then I added the finely cut cabbage and continued steaming until the fish was quite white and opaque.

The steamed fish was placed on the plate and then drizzled with the cooking juices, soy sauce and sesame oil and served with the cabbage, plus the asparagus which was steamed separately. This is not genuine Cantonese cuisine but we really enjoyed it!

More cooking, this time scones. Friends were coming for morning tea and it was wet and windy, so I made PUMPKIN SCONES. These are served steaming and hot straight from the oven, with butter. Butternut pumpkins are in season and plentiful, so we have been enjoying them roasted, too.

I used a recipe from a very old cookbook called The Golden Wattle Cookbook. Reliable recipes but I have to look up the Imperial measurements to convert them to metric.

Eaten hot from the oven, enjoyed with butter and good friends.

September 24th is WORLD MARITIME DAY. The United Nations Sustainable Development goals intended this day to showcase their work regarding “sustainable shipping for a sustainable planet”. Disrupted supply chains and severely reduced cruises traffic has shown clearly the damage shipping does to the environment.

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USING MY HANDMADE BOOK

FAST, FABULOUS FOOD

READING

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MATRYOSHKA DOLLS

eating

reading

easy biophilia indoors

WELL DESIGNED WORK PLACES

DID YOU KNOW?

The new west australian museum/boola bardip*

the new mattress

ironing tea towels

international womens day

fine bone china

spring flowers

grazing platters and a bed bowl

reading

Some saints

advent calendar

framing botanical prints

afternoon tea and DINNER

SEWING a FISH

PERSIAN CARPET REPAIR

MINIATURE PICTURE and EASEL

JACARANDA DRIVE

CELEBRATING

GROWING and PICKING

MODIFYING A MAT

READING

EATING