Reading

Books and Reading

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For months I have had a TO DO list for every day. Some of those things were pleasurable, like visitors or playing mahjong or going to yoga, but most days are less easy, involving banks, lawyers, phone companies and other jobs to do with my late Mother’s estate.

Although I had to soak a red wine stain out of a white tablecloth and do some other washing and water seedlings, I have sat to read a book. ( To remove a red wine stain, soak the mark in a mix of vinegar and washing detergent for about half an hour then put through the normal cycle you would use for the item. I left the tablecloth out on the line for most of the day as it was hot and helped whiten it.)

The stain on the right is now gone. Next, I’ll dip the tablecloth in starch and iron it. My Mother used to take my tablecloths and hers to the steam laundry in Bunbury, I need to look for a new steam laundry.

The red wine stain was a result of my husband hosting a bookclub meeting the night before. We didn’t have visitors except an electrician early this morning so I read a book, too. It was Nicci French’s Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? Recently published (29th Feb 2024) this is a typically dark and tragic story. Cleverly crafted, like all her murder mysteries, this is the story of two families, long term friends,both shattered by a family member being murdered, only days apart. The resolution was a surprise. Great book.

Murder stories are a bit of a theme at the moment. I don’t know why I find them so easy to read before I go to sleep. Last week I read Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano Mystery, The Overnight Kidnapper, the 23rd in this series. This story is different from the usual books involving Inspector Montalbano as it isn’t based on a news story, like all the other books in this series. As in every Inspector Montalbano story, the inspector uses his intuition and logic to solve three kidnappings and two murders.

All Camilleri’s Montalbano stories are based in two almost deserted Sicilian towns, Porto Empedolce and also Agrigento, now tourist destinations, but in the books known as Vigàta. If you’re a fan of the television series, you might like to rent Inspector Montalbano’s house on the waterfront. Look online for the details.

The other book I’ve read this week is not a murder story, it’s Liz Byrski’s The Woman Next Door. Byrski is the author of many novels and non fiction books. She began her writing career as a freelance journalist and a broadcaster. She lives locally and writes stories based in Western Australia. There aren’t many books written about streets and cafes I know, so it’s a pleasant change to read her books.

She also weaves wonderful stories. The Woman Next Door is typical Liz Byrski : it’s about older women and their choices and obligations, surrounded by families and often retirement, grandchildren and husbands developing new interests. The story deals with moving from large family homes, adult children moving away, an elderly neighbour developing dementia and meeting up again with old flames. A rich and engaging story.I really enjoyed reading this book.

I still have three murders, all written by Peters James. They are The Secret of Cold Hill, Picture You Dead and I Follow You. Have you read any of them?

All these books are from the library. I rarely buy books as we have so many. I only buy a book I’m sure I’ll reread or use as a reference.

We are blessed in Western Australia with an extensive public library system funded by State and Local Government. With free libraries throughout the suburbs managed by trained librarians and an extensive book stock books which may be unavailable at one library can be sourced and supplied by another anywhere in our state. Libraries with their meeting rooms also function as useful venues for local interest groups to meet, discuss, learn special skills or play games like bridge, chess or mahjong.

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Asparagus, So Long Maryanne and Halloween

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asparagus

Really pleased to find asparagus grown in Albany, an area down south in Western Australia. I’ve bought asparagus labelled Grown in Australia no area specified, which was an improvement on the asparagus more generally available in the past, grown in Mexico or Peru! Or Thailand. Locally grown, really fresh asparagus is lovely.

To prepare the spears for cooking, wash under running water then snap the ends off, they’ll come away where the woodiness ends. I usually cook them in the microwave. It’s easy, just dampen a length of paper towel ( I use three sheets folded in half) and wrap around the spears. Thin stalks need about two minutes, thicker ones need three minutes. Unwrap and serve. I often cut the cooked spears in half, so they fit well on the plate, then add a little dab of butter and a good squeeze of lemon. Delicious. (If the asparagus spears are quite long it’s probably easier to cook them in an asparagus steamer)

If you need to keep asparagus fresh for a few days, snap or cut the woody ends off and put them in a jar or glass with water. Best stored in the fridge. Drain, pat dry and steam or microwave as usual.

books

Do you remember Leonard Cohen singing So Long, Maryanne? I have just finished reading Kari Hesthamar’s book So Long Maryanne A Love Story. This biography begins when Maryanne, aged 22, travels to Hydra with her boyfriend, Axel Jensen. They have left Norway seeking a cheaper and more relaxed life, where Axel, an emerging author, can write.

They marry in 1958 and have a son Axel Joachim. They become part of an artist group of Westerners, including Australians Charmain Clift and George Johnson, both published authors. Axel has a book published and buys a house but believes he will find his purpose with other women and other places. He leaves Maryanne and new born son, Axel Joachim.

The island is inhabited by more than six thousand Greeks and six expats although others come and go. Maryanne and Axel had met Leonard Cohen within the expat group of artist and authors. When Axel abandons Maryanne and Axel Joachim, Cohen becomes close to Maryanne and eventually they live together. These are fluid times, fueled by drugs and alcohol. Maryanne goes back to Norway but cannot settle, then back to Hydra, then to Canada and France and America then Mexico, sometimes with Cohen, sometimes without. She seems to be always on the move, always restless. He gives up on writing books and becomes a singer, poet and song writer. He is very successful. Like Maryanne and Axel and others on the periphery of their group of artists, he is always ‘searching for himself.’

Maryanne drifts around, always in his orbit, and the relationship is gentle and kind but not monogamous, and eventually in 1972 she goes back to Norway to provide stable schooling for twelve year old Axel Joachim. Her son is taken by his father to India when he is fifteen and given acid. As a consequence, he has been institutionalised most of his adult life. Maryanne becomes employed and settles in Norway. She eventually meets a partner and has lived with him for many years.

Maryanne collaborated closely with the author of So Long, Maryanne providing many letters and other mementos referred to in the story.

Maryanne is the subject of one of the most famous love songs ever written, So Long, Marianne*. Her story has been made into a series, of the same name, currently showing on SBS On Demand in Australia. The book tells the story from Maryanne’s point of view, the series is written from Leonard Cohen’s point of view. Interesting. Both are a real insight into the 60’s in the arts world.

* The book spells Maryanne with a ‘y’, the film spells her name with an ‘i’. Maryanne herself spells her name with a ‘y’.

halloween

Do you celebrate Halloween? Originally a Celtic pagan celebration going back more than 2000 years, it marked the end of the harvest and the end of the year. The crops had been harvested and the beginning of shorter days leading into winter. Halloween is also celebrated on the eve of the feast All Hallows Day.

Door handle hanger from our letter box. (Duet)

I understand the enthusiasm for sweet treats and lollies but despite reading more than I need to know about Halloween I’m not sure about the mass of plastic rubbish associated with the event. The shops are full of plastic, disposable Halloween decorations. Not good.

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Preserving Lemons and a Study About Rat Behaviour.

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preserving lemons

Are you a fan of lemons? I think almost everything I make is lemon scented or lemon flavoured at the moment. We have so many lemons! Today I am preserving lemons, so I’ve picked fresh ones, the jars are in the dishwasher and I’m about to start preparing the brine. The size of your jar dictates how many lemons you will need.

Glass jars for storing food can be used and re-used multiple times. They are strong, easy to see the contents and easily cleaned and reused. Of course, they are useful for storing many other things, too, but they are perfect for food.

sterilizing the jars

I’ve listed three common methods for sterilising jars. For each method you begin by washing the jars in hot soapy water, rinse but don’t towel dry. I wash them in the dishwasher although they have been stored after being cleaned previously.

1. Set the oven to 110°C, place the jars on an oven tray, place in the oven for 15 minutes, carefully remove and leave to cool.

2.Alternatively if you have a pot deep enough you can set the washed jars in it, cover with water and boil for 10 minutes. Remove carefully and leave to cool.

3. Or you could place washed jars in the microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove carefully and allow to cool. This is how I sterilised the jars when they came out of the dishwasher.

Preserved lemons are pickled in their own juice and salt for three weeks. Originating in Morocco and Middle Eastern recipes I find a little preserved lemon adds zing to everything from salads to stews. Select and sterilise the jar you want to use to preserve your lemons. A wide opening makes it easy to insert them. Cut off the tops and bottoms of each lemon after you have washed and dried them. Then cut your lemons into quarters leaving them joined at the base. Spoon two dessert spoons of salt into the jar and spoon more salt into the first lemon. Place it in the bottom of the jar.

Continue adding salted lemons, squashing them down and releasing juice. Finally, when the jar is full of salted lemons top up with extra lemon juice.

Leave in the fridge for four weeks before adding to salads, soups, stews and casseroles, or whatever takes your fancy! I turn the jars every few days during the process. Be sure to scrape the pulp from the skin before using the preserved lemon.

rats

Back in 1962 an experimental psychologist John Calhoun published an article in the Scientific American, after considerable research, on rat behaviour in growing populations. He observed that growing populations with increasing physical proximity induced stress and that the birth rate then decreased to reduce crowding.

However when he increased physical proximity by reducing rats personal space all sorts of other behaviours were triggered. Violence and homosexuality rocketed, females ceased to nurture and suckle their young which were then eaten by male rats. Some adults survived by avoiding social contact and spent their time grooming themselves. The population collapsed. The survivors with few social skills lived passively alone.

In another experiment rats in a closed environment were never allowed to become ill or run out of food. Once they reached a certain population density vice wiped them out. Food for thought when you consider the pressure in Australia for people to adopt tower block living in apartments in preference to our traditional way of life of living in separate houses on separate blocks of land. We are not exactly running out of room, are we? Points to ponder!

Taken from a book review in the Spectator of a book written by Lee Dugatkin’s, Dr Calhoun’s Mousery; The Strange Tale of a Celebrated Scientist, a Rodent Dystopia, and the Future of Humanity, published October, 2024.

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Solar Fountain and Reading

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birds, bees and the solar fountain

Hoping to attract more bees to the garden I set up a solar fountain in a terracotta bowl a few years ago. The fountain floats on top of the water and I thought the bees could stand on it and drink safely. More often, though, it’s used by birds.

During the process of stripping, sanding and sealing.

I originally sealed the terracotta bowl and painted it. The paint started to flake off after about 18 months, so I patched the bare parts. Then the paint started coming off all over! Annoying. So, I stripped, sanded and sealed the bowl, then painted it. Was pleased to find the solar fountain still worked. I have used three coats of a different sealer this time and hope it lasts a lot longer than previous times.

Fresh, functioning fountain.

The solar fountain is attracting bees and birds at the moment. We have so many birds in the neighbourhood this spring. Suburbs nearby have had old houses on big blocks with trees and gardens bulldozed and replaced by towers of units with little or no garden and rarely any remaining trees. It seems the birds have migrated to our suburb.

reading

Our local library is shut as it’s being relocated to another building. Although there is another library close by, I bought a few books to ensure I always have something to read. I prefer to borrow books from the library and only buy them if they’re remarkable and I know I will read them again at some stage.

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl is the first book I bought. Reichl is a well known American food critic, former editor of Gourmet and best selling writer of restaurant reviews. I have read Garlic and Sapphires, Comfort Me With Apples and Tender On The Bone, all about the history of food and also restaurant reviews. Reichl has written or edited many other books about food.

The Paris Novel is (surprise!) a novel. Stella arrives in Paris after the death of her mother, cautious and careful and lacking confidence. Her mother’s message to her was ‘ Go to Paris’. All sorts of unexpected events result in her becoming very well informed about designer clothing, French food and it’s history and art, all supported by discoveries not just in Paris, but further afield. Packed with information, The Paris Novel is actually a mystery surrounded by lashings of French culture. I’m enjoying the journey.

The second book I bought is Richard Osman’s We Solve Murders. Already well known for his bestselling series The Thursday Murder Club, which became a multi million copy record breaking seller around the World. The four books in that series were quirky, recognised the skills of older people, especially women and were a fun read.

Osman has embarked on another series, also about solving murders. We Solve Murders is the first book in the new series. The characters are well developed, the plot is well presented and fast moving and I’m sure this series will be popular. It has very good reviews but I’m taking a while to find it as wonderful as the previous series.

Did you read Anne Glenconnor’s first book Lady In Waiting, about her years as Princess Margaret’s Lady in Waiting from 1971 until the Princess’s death in 2002? It was a best seller. She followed up with two novels. I have just read her fourth book, Whatever Next? A courageous, honest and strong woman, she writes frankly about her turbulent marriage and how she survived it, the loss of her two older sons and nursing a third son back from a coma, the joy of her twin daughters and their families and her many friends.

Lady Glenconnor’s husband purchased and developed Mustique, where she holidayed frequently with him and the children and Princess Margaret and her friends and their families. He loved a great party, but also suffered from terrible mood swings and was violent. Lady Glenconnor developed skills to avoid some attacks and remained open to adventures and valued her many friendships. Now in her nineties, she is still inspirational.

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Literacy and Numeracy Week, Printing and Reading

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literacy and numeracy week

Celebrated on 29th -4th September, this week recognises that literacy and numeracy are the cornerstones of learning. The most recent OECD Program for International Student Assessment reveals more than half Australian students fail to reach proficiency standards in maths and 43% fail to become proficient in reading. Australian students are four years behind Singaporian students in maths and more than two years behind in reading and science.

The report also grades Australian classrooms as amongst the most disruptive ( in terms of disorder and noise.) We rank 71 out of 81! This makes me question the role of ‘student- centric learning’, the fashion of recent years. The teacher is seen as a guide or partner in the child’s education, not as a responsible adult familiar with educational philosophy. Education moved from a system based on knowledge, facts and experience to one based on political ideology.

This appalling information was published around the same time as the Australian Education Union rejected the Victorian Education Minister’s directive that all school in that state would employ the explicit teaching of phonics for a minimum of 25 minutes a day. The union says this displays a breathtaking disregard for teachers and advised their members to ignore it. Phonics is one of the most efficient and powerful ways for children to learn to read and spell.

Countries performing well according to statistics, employ ‘old fashioned’ educational styles. The slightest errors (eg. forgetting a pen) can result in demerits (two equal detention). The students sit up straight, all facing the front. Strict and explicit teaching methods, walking quietly between classes and being prepared plus greeting teachers politely are some of the criteria putting the children at these schools in the highest performing levels. Many are in disadvantaged areas. There is enormous parental support for these schools.

(Some of these figures are taken from an article written by Colleen Harkin, published 31 July 2024.) https://www.spectator.com.au/author/colleen-harkin

printing

Following the felting activity last week, I did a printing session this week. No, not learning upper and lower case letter formation! We created a template from a milk carton, inked it, pressed paper over the template then rubbed the paper to transfer the image onto the paper. Basic but satisfying activity.

Not really pleased with my print but next week will refine the activity.

reading

Piglet, by Lottie Hazell, was a very popular book earlier this year. Now I’ve read it, too. This is the story of Kit and Piglet getting married. Thirteen days before the wedding Kit reveals an awful truth ( it’s never actually named, but you imagine infidelity). They go ahead. They’ve bought and decorated a house, planned a honeymoon, sorted the flowers, the feast, her parents have paid for the wedding gown and all is set to go.

I was very surprised at the complex planning that goes into a grand wedding and the cost. Do the bride’s parents still pay for the wedding? This wedding was very grand until Piglet, the bride, realised at the altar she didn’t want to go ahead. The dream was spoilt. What happened next was pretty awful.

Piglet is a successful publisher of cookery books and I wondered what she was called at work. Her family, his family and all their friends called her Piglet, or Pig. Her family called her that as a child because she had a healthy appetite. Awkward name for an adult. Her younger sister was anorexic. This is a story about appetite and ambition.

I can see why it was a popular bookclub book. Feisty discussions, I’m sure!

I also read Sally Hepworth’s Darling Girls. We follow the lives of several girls in a toxic foster house. A sobering book but it does have a happy ending. I’ve read other books by Hepworth, an Australian author. This is a thrilling psychological murder story. Hepworth apparently interviewed social workers, psychologists, police, lawyers and foster families before writing this book. I read it in a day and a half. Not much else got done.

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Beautiful Bali

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Bali

Regular readers know our favourite holiday destination is Bali. Bali holds a special place in the hearts of many Australians. We like to spend a few weeks here every year. This means we can do day trips to learn more about the Balinese and how they live plus spend time enjoying the countryside. We have always stayed at the same villa in Seminyak. Delightful staff, comfortable villa and a great pool in a pretty garden. Close to cafes and restaurants, spas offering reflexology and pedicures and lots of opportunities to admire decorator items I don’t need but really like.

Greeted by beautiful flowers. So lovely!

Arrangements of flowers are everywhere. Frangipani blossoms decorate hairstyles, tables, uniforms and our pool, until the cleaners come and remove them. I gather them and place then in a line to record how many laps of the pool I’ve done. Works well until there is a gust of wind and they blow away!

A favourite lunch restaurant has divine green crockery, vases and even wash basins. The floral arrangements in Bali are so beautiful!

Bali is all about relaxing. Our other holidays involve long lists of things we must do, places we must visit and things we must see. Bali is very beautiful and has a fascinating history and unique culture which can be learnt about slowly and bit by bit. It also has beautiful accommodation often in lush green tropical gardens and fabulous cafes and restaurants.

Time to read.

Before Covid, Bali was a bit frenetic once you stepped out of your accommodation but those levels of crowding and rushing haven’t returned. We like the more relaxed pace of life here. There’s time to read and swim and wander about. I find the architecture really interesting, from traditional Balinese styles to very modern buildings. I’m always peeping at lush gardens when we’re walking around.

I spend a lot of time in the pool. The weather is warm to hot and the pool is lovely day and night. I start the day in the pool and often end the day in there, too, with a few swims in between. I burn easily as a fully paid up member of the melanoma family so I wear a rashie ( a long sleeve shirt designed to limit sun exposure) and unless I’m doing laps, I wear a large, floppy hat. Lots of frequently applied sun screen, too.

We have breakfast delivered in the morning and enjoy sitting at the table planning where we’re going for lunch. Sometimes our son is here, too, so we collect ideas before we even come to Bali and then refine our plans once we are here. The food scene is Bali remarkable. There are so many choices from simple, fresh cafe meals to sophisticated and wonderful restaurants. We like to check out the new restaurants and also go to a few we’ve been going to for years. Food delivery services seem to arrive with your order very quickly, too, if you don’t want to go out. There’s also many supermarkets where you can buy the basics and some things you might not recognize!

Post pool peckish? The hardest part is deciding what to eat! Delivered quickly.

Delicious treats after we’d decided not to have dinner because we’d had a big lunch! It was a good plan until we were feeling hungry later in the evening.

There’s a lot of places providing good massages. A habit developed when we lived in China is regular reflexology. Not just a nice foot and leg rub, but a really good session of reflexology. Our favourite practitioner has gone! Her shop is now a hair dresser and no one knows where she’s gone. Shame. But there are plenty of other options and we quickly found a great place.

There are many personal services, too, such as pedicures and manicures, facials and a whole array of age defying treatments. I’ve heard people come here on holiday and have dental work done very economically and today I saw a sign outside a clinic offering teeth whitening and treatments. We often come to Bali when it is cold at home and I’ve been wearing boots, so a pedicure is something I seek soon after arriving. The other booming business is tattoos.

I enjoy looking in the decorator shops, the jewellery shops and less often, the clothing shops. I’ve had boots made and know people who have clothes made, too. I like the woven, lined rattan baskets with drawstring tops and a zippered pocket, too, but shouldn’t buy any more.

Strong, light and so useful, but I don’t need any more!

I’ve spent a lovely morning at a perfume making workshop and my son and I did a Balinese cooking class. Wonderful morning, learnt so much about preparing Balinese produce and flavours and also about Balinese celebrations and village life.

Went with our dear Balinese friends to their favourite restaurant, Mr Bob’s in Nusa Dua. Lovely dinner of seafood curry, brownies and icecream. Then Mr Bob arrived and wanted us to have a traditional Balinese dessert in his Balinese restaurant. So pretty, so good.

Each little treat could be dipped into the palm sugar syrup. Looked lovely, tasted lovely.

So Bali is our idea of a restful holiday with no pressure to do anything but relax and enjoy!

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Cooking, Author Talk and Reworking Jewellery

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cooking

Are you trying not to throw away fresh food? Me too. Recently when I opened a packet of chicken breasts I wondered if they were actually turkey breasts or maybe emu! I eyed off the enormous chicken breasts for a while then decided that rather than cut them in half as the recipe directed, I needed to cut each into about six pieces. I’d chosen the recipe because I needed to use some baby romano tomatoes, baby spinach and the chicken. Plus I had everything else listed. I got to use up lots of ingredients already in the fridge.

I had to adjust the quantities of the ingredients to accommodate all the chicken! So I had to make it in two frying pans. Luckily we like chicken. We will be eating Tomato, Spinach, White Wine Chicken for quite a while. I’ve served this chicken dish with mashed potato and will also serve it with spicy rice, then couscous. The author also suggests thick noodles. Recipe (here)

At the same time I baked a loaf of sourdough. Due the heat in Western Australia, the starter was very energetic! I thought the loaf was going to bubble over the edges of the baking tin, but it didn’t and it tasted great!

Sourdough with caraway seeds. Delicious.

When rain was forecast for Sunday I decided to cook a traditional roast lunch. Our son was here for the weekend and we like to sit at the table and talk. I had to sort out so much stuff on the table, it had become a sort of dumping ground.

Sunday morning arrived bright and sunny and 21ºC. No rain in sight. Put the meat to roast, prepared the vegetables and opened the French doors so we could hear the fountain. Faux rain. Lunch was long and lovely, plus there was leftovers for a light dinner and cold roast beef and pickle sandwiches the next day.

Apple crumble and icecream with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

author talk

A while ago I wrote a review about a book I’d read by Rachel Johns called, ‘The Other Bridget’ a joke on Helen Fielding’s book ‘Bridget Jones Diary.’ Although written to appeal to a younger reader, I suspect, I really enjoyed it. The plot was clever with lots of twists and turns and it was written about an area I know well. I read a lot and it’s not often novels are set in Fremantle, Western Australia.

We were going away for a break so I borrowed two more books by the same author. Again I enjoyed the local settings and the clever story line. So when the Fremantle Library advertised an author talk with the author, Rachel Johns, I responded immediately and got a ticket. I am so glad I did, too.

Glancing around the room it became apparent those women attending were aged from their twenties through to about 70. Johns’ presentation and following open discussion with the audience was just like the books, that is, fast, funny and full of current affairs. So entertaining.

Some of the bright, chunky beads I wanted to reuse.

I had also enrolled in a course run earlier that day called UNIQUE JEWELLERY. When I was working as a junior primary teacher I always wore bright, chunky necklaces as the children liked them so much. Not really suitable for the life I live now, so I wanted to convert some of them to be more toned down. I also needed to mend some of the clasps and just work out what I could retrieve from my colourful collection.

I made a necklace with a ring for my glasses as I lose them all the time! I was inspired by the necklace the tutor was wearing with her glasses hooked on it. I think I could just wear it as a necklace, too. I also had time to repair the clasps on some necklaces. Later, I took apart some pieces to make new, less colourful necklace. I have bought a kit to renew more clasps and to make new necklaces.

Reusing beads to make a new necklace. Satisfying project.

P.S. There’s a problem with the necklace I made to hold my glasses; it is too long and heavy and crashes into the bench top and whatever I’m working on and is annoying. I’ll probably take it apart and make a new necklace. So, still misplacing my glasses, so I’ve bought a few extra pairs to limit the time spent hunting for reading glasses.

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Autumn Occupations

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autumn occupations

It’s mid April and our daily temperatures are still around 30ºC (86º F). Often Easter time here is wet and windy but not this year. Despite no rain for us, last week some of the northern suburbs had a storm resulting in flooding and partially submerged cars. Quite unusual for Perth.

It was a bit cooler in the evening and this inspired me to make pasties. I set up a production line of meat sauce, pastry and prepared oven trays. While the filling cooked I cut out rounds of pastry. Made the pasties then cooked lots of them at once. Now they’re stored in the freezer. My husband eats them steadily until they’re all gone. Then I might make more. Depends on the weather!

Now days I buy the pastry and use a saucer to cut to size.

Pasties originate from Cornwall. They traditionally had a savoury half and a sweet half, marked with a S. They were easy for miners to take for their lunch. The crimped edge was a handle which could be discarded when the rest of the pastie was eaten.

I make them with a mix of mince flavoured with onions and Worcestershire Sauce, plus diced mixed vegetables and then a little thickening with flour. So, not really traditional but well received, anyway! And we eat the crimped ‘handle’, too.

reading

I’ve just finished Rachel Johns’ book The Other Bridget Jones. An easy and fun read, this is the story of a librarian who has a special skill for matching readers to books. Not only did I know many of the books featured but I knew the library, the pubs, the beaches and the streets, the markets. The book is set in Fremantle. I go to Fremantle every week to my yoga class. It’s not often I know the environment featured in fiction but I really enjoyed knowing the places described in this romantic comedy.

A smart, funny book, probably intended for a younger audience but I identified with the author’s respect for the power of books and the clever, if slightly predictable way the plot revealed itself. Johns, originally an English Teacher, is considered Australia’s leading author writing about modern womens’ issues. A good read, even though I’ve been married forty years and don’t share most of the issues!

The other book I’ve read this week is Dr Kate Luckins’ Live More With Less. Again, I think this book was intended for a younger audience. Although she believes she is presenting ‘a practical and optimistic guide to balancing planet friendly habits’ I found many of the beliefs this book is based on just didn’t resonate.

I kept reading because there are sustainable changes I want to make to create less landfill and avoid plastics where ever possible. I’m just not sure about the whole climate change belief this book is based on. The book does have some good ideas about how we can buy less of everything and still live well.

The most interesting chapter for me was about buying fewer clothes, swapping them, sharing and renting them and building a capsule wardrobe. I’d been talking to a friend earlier that day about building a capsule wardrobe. I realised so many of the examples of capsule wardrobes I’d seen involved way too many formal or work clothes and too few casual clothes for my retired lifestyle. So, as much as I love the French samples I was following, I actually don’t need ‘smart’ work separates. I need casual and gardening clothes and a couple of more dressy things.

Image Pixabay

The next problem was one I face every morning at the moment. I have been wearing summer clothes since last September. The maximum temperatures have been in the 30ºCs and 40ºCs for the past eight months. No matter how cleverly I arrange the tops and trousers I have, plus a couple of dresses, I am wearing the same things frequently and I’m sick of them! Ditto my sandals.

So, although I found Luckins’ wardrobe advice well thought out, it doesn’t work in my part of Western Australia at the moment. And I bought a new summer shirt because I am so tired of the ones I’ve been wearing for months and months. I’ll be wearing for a while, yet, according to the weather forecasts.

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Reading, Chopping and Pickles

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reading

Have you read Trent Dalton’s Lola In The Mirror? This follows his chart busting book Boy Swallows Universe and is equally disturbing and intriguing. It is the story of a girl with no name, because when you’re homeless it’s best not to have a history. This book has it all; it’s funny, it’s sad, it’s violent and at the same time, quite beautiful. It focuses on homelessness,friendship, optimism and lucky breaks. It highlights the important role drop-in centres play in the lives of the dispossessed, the kindness of strangers and the cruelty of friends. Not really an easy read but certainly a good read. The story is based in Brisbane like Dalton’s other books.

The second book I’ve been reading is John Boyne’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies. He also wrote The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. When I finished reading Claire Keegen’s book, Small Things Like These, a story based on Irish Catholic nuns, I was determined not to read another book about the church and it’s impact on people. The cruelty was too much for me. The church doesn’t shine in this book, either.

The The Heart’s Invisible Furies begins ‘ Long before we discovered he had fathered two children by two different women,….Father James Monroe stood at the altar of the Church of Our Lady, ……and denounced my mother as a whore.’ I kept reading. This book was also hard to read at times. It covers 70 odd years of the main protagonist’s life and the many changes within the Catholic Church and the Irish people. There’s a happy ending 727 pages later but the Church would not agree!

While we’re thinking about books, I found these interesting comments about reading and the connection to better mental health and physical health in the March edition of The Australian Women’s Weekly. The author of the article, Eva-Maria Bobbert lists five advantages of reading.

MENTAL HEALTH Research shows a good book can lower stress faster than any other relaxation methods.

EMOTIONAL HEALTH Apparently reading can help with everything from grief, heartbreak, loneliness and poor self confidence. Stories about overcoming adversity can be inspirational.

HEART HEALTH and LONGEVITY Want to lower your blood pressure, psychological distress and lower heart rate? Read a good book. A twelve year study of more than 3000 adults found regular readers live about two years longer than non readers. Apparently, reading for more than 3.5 hours a week results in a 25% reduction in mortality.

SLEEP HYGIENE Reading a good book before you go to sleep can distract distressing thoughts making unwinding, slowing down and falling asleep easier.

COGNITIVE BENEFITS Do you remember Dr Seuss saying, ‘The more you read, the more things you will know?’ MRI scans indicate reading resulted in increased brain connectivity for several days afterwards. The more engaged you are with a book, the more areas of the brain that are stimulated and may result in greater intelligence.

So there’s five good reasons to enjoy a good book!

food preparation

Until I had eye surgery on my eyes last year I always wore contact lenses. So nothing prepared me for the pain of dicing onions without the protection of contact lenses! Ouch. I tried sunglasses, safety glasses even goggles but nothing was really working. Research recommended putting onions in the fridge 60 minutes before preparation, which actually works, but I kept forgetting. Needed another solution or we’d have to give up using onions.

Found a solution. It’s a multi cutting device called a 4 IN 1 Chopper Plus. It has two dicing blades of different sizes and 2 spiralizing blades, too. All the chopping happens under the lid, so no onion juice in my eyes. It’s really fast to totally dice an onion. Then I just empty the base into the frying pan. No tears. Such a relief. Spiralizing carrots is fun, too, and the springy curls look so pretty in a salad. It’s easy to almost instantly turn four really big potatoes into chips. So I’m really pleased with this new device! Bought online.

Fast, tear free diced onions and an easy cleanup, too.

Chipped potatoes in about a minute, added rosemary and sea salt, into the oven. Result = great, evenly cooked chips. A bit of a treat for us!

No dicing required, but I needed more freezer room over Easter, so out came the two ham bones from the Christmas hams. After my son sawed them to fit in the slow cooker, I added half a packet of split yellow peas, covered the bones with water and let it cook for 8 hours. Smelt good, tasted great. We ate Pea and Ham soup for four days. It was very good.

What to do with a surplus of red onions? I find they don’t keep well in this never ending hot weather, so used this Martha Stewart recipe to pickle them (here). Four ingredients, only a few minutes to pickle and delicious on just about everything. Apart for the sensible suggestions on the recipe site I really like these pickles on a thin slither of percorino romano cheese.

Four ingredients, red onions, salt, sugar and vinegar.

Let the pickles cool. Bottle and keep in the fridge. Try not to eat them all at once.

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Blue Zones and Fashion Trends

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blue zones

The Blue Zone Myth.

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Blue Zone regions are areas where people are claimed to live to a very old age. They have been studied and written about for years. What they eat, how active they are, whether they belong to a religious group and how well they connect within their community have all been documented. A lot of the data is based on government documents.

According to recent analysis, these pockets of extreme longevity seem to occur in areas with greater poverty, higher illiteracy, higher crime rates, and worse population health than the norm. They are found in Sardinia, Okinawa, the Greek island of Ikaria, Loma Linda in California, and Nicoya, a poor province of Costa Rica. The longevity of the “Supercentenarians” is attributed to the consumption of a variety of certain tubers, wholegrains, and fermented foods. A whole “Superfoods and Lifestyle” and publishing industry has grown up around these claims with much capital and employment invested in it.

Image Pixabay

A well researched investigation conducted by Oxford University’s Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science tells a different story. Working with the Greek Labour Ministry they found that most of the country’s 9,000 centenarians were actually dead. A similar investigation conducted in Japan discovered that 238,000 people listed as aged 100 or more were unaccounted for. Some had died in the Second World War! The centenarians of Okinawa allegedly living on seaweed and the purple sweet potato, a superfood rich in anthocyanins and phenols, were found to have consumed less sweet potatoes than the rest of the country, less fruit and seafood, and more processed food. Japan has kept nutritional data as far back as the 1970s. It shows that Okinawa had the worst obesity problem even then. What all these regions have in common is dependency on pensions/social security. It’s worth keeping your family member on the books!

Based on an article by Dr Saul Newman The Oxford University Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science

The release of these findings coincides with a extensive British campaign to promote a plant based diet. This is also being pushed by the EU to try to influence climate change. The British model encourages children to eat from the ‘rainbow’ of foods. They’re told to eat 30 plant based foods a week. Four spices equal one plant based food, otherwise it’s fruit and vegetables, plus flour and oatmeal and other plant products and legumes. So, no eggs, meat, fish or chicken. Only plant based oils are acceptable. No butter. Only plant based milks and yoghurts and other non-diary products are allowed. Are plant based milks actually milks?

The UN is also pushing for a shift to a plant based diet, claiming this will reduce the ecological footprint of food production. Interestingly, the UN includes eggs in their list of acceptable foods. Don’t they come from birds?

One of the two major supermarket chains in Australia is also promoting a similar program of eating from the rainbow. Children can collect a chart from the supermarket to record how many plant based foods they eat in a seven day period. They write them in a colour coded column. The chart also features a box where an agreed award is listed if they meet their goal for the week. I’m assuming it’s not a visit to McDonalds.

Image Pixabay

The whole issue of Blue Zones obviously needs more research. Some of the concepts attributed to the very old in these regions make nutritional sense, except the research suggests the younger generation eat differently, anyway. So, back to the Mediterranean Diet, which is a great way to eat with easily sourced foods.

clothes, decorating and fashion

When I read about the impact fashion posts on Instagram have, I do wonder about the age of the viewer to actually care or be influenced. Apparently millions of followers on Instagram and Tiktok do care and follow their idols’ examples of clothing and accessories closely, often checking several times a day.

When I think of fashion icons I think of Coco Chanel, who believed in restraint and advised women to take off one thing as they went out the door and the amazing Iris Apfel, who recently died, aged 102. Ms Apfel had no time for beige or the less is more dictate, she preferred a kaleidoscopic approach to dressing. This meant second hand pieces with couture, layers of clanking priceless jewels on her wrists and around her neck mixed with thrift shops pieces and always huge, colourful owl-like glasses. Joyful and expressive. So, I think we should suit ourselves, buy what we really like and keep it for as long as possible. Disposable clothing equals landfill.

Image Pixabay

International taste in interiors has taken an about turn in the last 18 months judging by the magazines I read. Gone is white everything. Now the focus is on patterns and colours, open bookshelves displaying your treasures and lots of texture. Adding inherited pieces or second hand finds is essential and there’s colour everywhere. This looks nice and cosy in a European climate, but those intense colours and metres of curtains and ruffles might bring you out in hives on a hot summer’s day here. We are still having 30ºC (86ºF) days in Perth. Just remember, you can’t actually get personal taste wrong!

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