Reading

Making, Cooking and Other Things

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making

The collection of beads used to make a new necklace. The (sadly) broken white bead was right at the front.

When I was a junior primary teacher, my necklace made from these faux pieces of licorice allsorts was a bit of a hit. Not so much now when I go out to mahjong or shopping and certainly not at yoga! Then I bought a black and white striped shirt. Eying off my necklace collection inspiration struck and I knew I could reuse some of the licorice allsorts pieces and bigger beads from a necklace I dropped on the floor. One of the pieces broke on impact. I wore that necklace often, so hunted down a replacement. Now I will reuse pieces from the original.

Put the large beads from the broken necklace and pink pieces of licorice allsorts and smaller black pieces together. Changed things around a few times. Then I made the new necklace. I already had the string and the catch for this new necklace. There may be more soon. My elderly neighbour can’t be bothered with necklaces or earrings anymore and has given me several necklaces made from glass beads. Very pretty and ripe for reusing.

sourdough

I’ve been making sourdough bread years. My first sourdough starter died when we were away for a long period but the replacement has been bubbling away happily for a long time. Until it didn’t look sprightly at all. Read lots of articles abut reviving runny starter. Followed the instructions and fed it twice, using more flour than water, let it rest between each feeding and it’s back to normal. I will make a loaf tonight and bake it in the morning.

Most online examples of sourdough loaves are boulés, round balls, and are baked in a Dutch oven. I make my loaves in a loaf tin as this results in slices of similar size, which I prefer.

Sourdough baking appeals to a wide range of people. Reading some of the advice was daunting but I found an easy method which worked. Sourdough bakers who post online are totally passionate about their bread and jump through all sorts of hoops to make it and some, like me, use the same recipe and are happy with the outcome.

The newly ‘recovered’ sourdough starter made a very good loaf of bread.

There’s so many recipes for using the discard from feeding the starter and so many for adding things to the bread, too, but what really caught my attention was the names people give their starters! One blog lists 160 potential names, some very funny. Another list included Must-Tang-Sally, Lazarus, Doughkey Pokey, Festus and Sour Seymour. Mine is called The Flour Child!

other things

I’ve read two books this week. I spend quite a bit of time waiting while my husband has treatments and also, there’s not much on TV. Currently we are watching on ABC iview The Secret History of the English Garden. Monty Don is the commentator and it is one of many programs about gardens he’s has visited. It is very interesting and he is a born storyteller. Really enjoying it and learning a lot about the role of gardens in history. Also seeing some amazing gardens.

The first book I read was The Night We Lost Him written by Laura Dave. Like her previous book I wrote about The Last Thing He Told Me, this is a book about lies, intrigue and the secrets of successful men. The families left behind struggle to find out what really happened. A great read.

The second book written by Nadine Williams, an Australian journalist, is about her third marriage (having vowed to never marry again) and how it led her to France. From France With Love, A Story With Baggage details how she met Oliver, how they traveled together to France and then try to sort out their cultural differences on a road trip around the country. I seem to be attracted to books about visiting France, living in France, renovating in France….I enjoyed this book . It is funny, sad and informative. I am looking online for her second book.

Tim Spector’s book Food For Life which I wrote about a few weeks ago makes alot of sense. A diverse diet results in a healthy gut but I’m struggling to eat thirty different foods every week. I was relieved when I read spices and herbs count as different foods as that got me a bit closer to goal. Close but not perfect.

Meanwhile, I have picked my first tomato of the season. Two days later there were many ripe ones. Delicious. Do you grow any food?

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Weeding Books and Paper Rubbish

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bookshelves and weeding

We are a family of keen readers. We are not so keen on throwing things out, and even likely to have a good ‘weed’ of our book collection. When we built the house we have shelves built from the floor to the ceiling on one wall, plus on another wall with windows and a half height return on a third wall. Over the years the shelves have gone from neat and tidy to books two layers thick, books poked in horizontally on other books and books overflowing onto other furniture in the room. Time for a change!

Two days later and about third of the shelves are done.

Our son was here for the long weekend. After breakfast the sorting and tidying began. We packed the discards into boxes to take to the Save the Children Book depot. So far it has taken two days but we will persist. The big bonus of this exercise is discovering forgotten books, in my case, now all shelved together. It became apparent I like to read autobiographies written by people who have lived in foreign lands. I found and am currently reading Marjory McGinn’s Things Can Only Get Feta. Along with her husband and crazy Jack Russell they move to a remote town in southern Peloponnese.

Seventeen boxes done and ready to go.

Marjory has had a passion for Greece since she and her family arrived in Australia from Scotland and her assigned ‘buddy’ at school was from a Greek family. In her twenties she worked in Athens and speaks enough Greek to organise a house, get a car and settle into life in rural Megali Mantineia. There are few foreigners in the area. They soon meet the locals and the scorpians and the hornets. This is a humourous and engaging account of their experiences in rural Greece and some of the hot spots, too. She and her husband decided to stay for a second year despite the difficulties Greece was experiencing during the austerity years.

I really enjoyed this book and set off to see if she’d written a second book about the next year in Greece. Found there are seven more books. The titles all suggest McGinn and her husband, both freelance journalists, stayed in Greece for some years. I will be trying to get some of the other books.

rubbish recycling

Are you still sorting through post Christmas or holiday paper, cards, envelopes and cardboard? All these products can be recycled easily avoiding landfill. Recycling reduces deaforestation and the impact of the processes required to manufacture new paper based products.

Effective recycling relies on ensuring only products suitable for recycling go in the paper/glass recycling bin. Contamination spoils clean paper and means all the materials are sent to landfill. Typical contamination is related to food stuffs, such as pizza boxes and oil stained paper bags and wrapping. Recycling paper means a reduction in landfill gases and reducedCO2. It’s easy, too.

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WHAT SHOULD YOU PUT IN YOUR PAPER RECYCLING BIN?

Brochures, even if they are glossy, but not ones treated with plastic laminate, plus glossy and matte packaging
All envelopes, even if they have a small plastic window, as the processes involved sort them out
Shredded paper so long as staples and paper clips have been removed before shredding
Cardboard boxes, although waxed or greasy boxes are not suitable
Magazines, newspapers, advertising brochures, childrens’ used exercise books if the staples are removed.
Due to the materials used to line paper cups and fruit juice containers, they cannot be recycled.
Recycled paper is used to make more paper for printing on and writing on, cardboard, bags, gift tags, tissues, toilet paper and napkins. Recycled paper is processed to sterilize and remove dye. Paper can be recycled up to seven times before the fibres become too short and too weak to reuse.
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Cook, Grow, Read

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cooking

I need to be well prepared this week. Our days are full of appointments and other jobs. A quick survey of the fridge led me to using up most of the eggs. That involved a crustless quiche. I have made this in the past following recipetineats.com Crustless Quiche recipe and it was very good. This time I based my quiche on her quantities, sort of, but added chives to the spring onions, a tomato for some colour and used sheeps yoghurt instead of cream. No ham left from Christmas! I also used a Spanish goat and sheep cheese (El Hidalgo) because I had it in the fridge.

Aiming for 30 different foods a week.

There were leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch ( I love leftovers for lunch). After lunch we set off to the shops with a rather long shopping list. I like semi-emptying the fridge and getting everything fresh again and have a fair idea what I’ll be preparing this week. I also made a sourdough loaf but that’s going very quickly! I also bought watermelon, because what’s summer without watermelon? It lasted one day.

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grow

Although I don’t have a big garden I make use of all the space I have available. I have a lime tree in the centre of the front courtyard which fruits at a different time from my neighbour’s lime tree, hanging over the fence. Fresh limes are wonderful!

Then I have a side courtyard and a back courtyard. I like fresh flowers in the garden all year round but I also like fresh herbs and vegetables. All my herbs and vegetables are grown in pots. This includes perpetual spinach, which can be added to almost anything savoury and a lot of herbs plus spring onions. At the moment, the entire side and back area are a bit overwhelmed by tomatoes! I have two sorts, one a cherry truss tomato my Mother grew forever and the other an unknown tomato. My friend gave me a tomato to taste when she was given a bag full and it was very good. I harvested the seeds and they are thriving. So, of course, I grow a lot of basil, too!

read

Do you keep some books because they were really engaging and you know you’ll read them again, one day? I have a few books in the category, one I reach for about every six years if I get a cold, and two I’d forgotten about but really enjoyed rereading now. The first book I referred to is Lisa St Aubin de Terran’s A House in Italy. The author is English but loves all things Italian and writes with great affection plus a little frustration about restoring a palazzo in Italy. She writes about her treasured collections being sent from England, Scotland and a few places she’s rented throughout Italy. Amusing to read, but no so funny to experience!

My other two books are both by Karen Wheeler, who writes articles for glossy magazines about beauty and health. After discovering her fiancé was otherwise engaged when he was away on work, she takes some time to consider her future. She travels to France to visit a friends and buys a derelict house in a small, rural town and sets about renovating it. This is a slow process as she still travels to interview famous designers, perfumeriers and grand hotels and spa resorts. It’s called Tout Sweet, Hanging Up My High Heels For A New Life In France’. Very entertaining.

Her third book Sweet Encore, A Road Trip From Paris to Portugal Via Northern Spain. ( I cannot find the second one in the series. All that tidying up!) is about driving through France, Spain and Portugal with her 16 year old niece who lives in the Caymans. A real travelogue. Whilst in Portugal she visits the grave of her long time boyfriend who died as the result of a car accident. She describes Portugal as warm, beautiful and very affordable, and Spain as the exact opposite!

I sympathise with her views on Spain. Even before we lived overseas we liked to travel and have been to some very underdeveloped areas. In forty plus years of traveling independently, Barcelona is the only place someone tried to mug me! I’m sure I’ve been overcharged and my poor language skills have annoyed, but I have never been attacked like I was in Spain. We packed and took the next train to Zurich.

The other book I have read is Kate Atkinson’s Big Sky. If you enjoy a gritty, fast moving ‘who dunnit” this is for you!

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Blue Zones and Other Wellbeing Research and Reading Books

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Did you begin the new year resolving to improve how you eat and wanting to exercise more? I’ve just watched the documentary Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones on Netflix. Although the ages of some of the people interviewed in the series have since been questioned, the film shows evidently older people living well within their communities and always in their own homes, generally surrounded by family members.

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The factors resulting in healthy, engaged older people had several common attributes. In every area studied, everyday living involved a lot of walking, and other activities like chopping wood, tending to gardens and preparing food from scratch. Most areas involved steep steps to get around. The only community investigated in this series where people created opportunities to exercise was in Lomas Linda, where a large group of Seventh Day Adventists live. Several of the communities studied identified devout and regular church attendees.

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Social connections seem to be important in getting to old age with few health challenges. Most people interviewed lived with their families or very close to families and were involved in daily social activities. There were examples of morning chats, eating, singing and dancing together. Everyday contact with family, friends and neighbours was a common factor. Times to rest from work were well defined.

The diets of each community differed depending on the region being studied, but all the Blue Zones studied ate mostly plant based diets with everything made from scratch and often grown nearby. Seasonal produce was grown near to home and tended to, harvested and prepared by family groups including the older members in the studies.

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One of the interesting comments by the researcher was that none of the people in the study showed signs of dementia.

Investigating the latest research into healthy eating led me to Dr Tim Spector, a British epidemiologist, medical doctor and science writer who researches and writes about the relationship between nutrition, the gut biome and health.

He backs all his dietary advice with a lot of research. One of his strong beliefs is eating 30 different fruit, vegetables, fermented products and nuts and seeds every week. I quite like a challenge stareted recording the fruit, vegetables, fermented food (yoghurt, cheese, some pickles) and nuts and spices I ate in a week and fell short. It was easy to begin with, but I really had to focus on adding to the list towards the end of the week. I’m trying again this week.

His recommendations

1. Commit to a ten hour window when you eat, then fast for 14 hours.

2. Reduce or avoid UPF, ultra processed foods.

3. Adopt mindful drinking, minimal tea, coffee and alcohol, lots of water.

4. Forget counting calories, just eat healthy food.

5. Eat more plants, but eat meat, too, in modest amounts. Meat eaters have better gut flora. Aim for 30 different vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs, spices and fermented foods each week.

6. Don’t obsess about protein and learn to estimate the amount you should eat at each meal. (Spector suggest 1.6gm meat/kg)

7. Seek quality snacks, such as nuts, fruits, wholegrains, all good for insulin sensitivity and improved gut flora.

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At the beginning of the year I was impressed by a reviewer whose New Year resolution was to read 100 books. She wrote that she’d tried before and failed, so this year she is aiming to read 85 books. Inspired by her goal, I thought I’d try to read 100 books this year, too. Two and a half weeks into the year I’ve read eight books. We’ve spent time sitting around, waiting for appointments and also keeping cool. I hope I can maintain the momentum.

Have you set yourself a similar goal? I’d love to know!

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Reading and In The Garden

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reading

Are you a reader? This time of the year is good for reading book reviews. Every book distributor, every newspaper and magazine literary editor has reviews of newly published books and old favourites. Interesting to scroll through the lists and see so many ‘old favourite’ authors have new books, but also the long lists of new authors whose books are recommended. Great if you buy from a list you’ve made of ‘interesting books’. Also useful if you belong to a bookclub or like giving books as gifts. I try to get most of my books from the library.

One reviewer, Laura Hackett, Deputy Book Reviewer, for the Sunday Times.UK, writes about her New Year Resolution, made every year, to read a hundred books. She isn’t always successful and thinks she’ll aim for 85 books this year. I gave up on New Year resolutions years ago, but I also read a lot of books, so have decided I’ll try this, too. It’s the first week of January and I have already read two and a half books, so feeling optimistic!

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Hackett also refers to the Book Cover of the Week. Apparently,’ you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover’, but I do like a great cover! Although I scan titles and authors’ names on library shelves, I’ll often pull the book out to read the blurb on the back of the book but also then check out the cover. The font and the images used can suggest a lot about a book, too.

in the garden

It’s a bit hot to spend time in the garden during the day, but really very nice in the evening if there’s a breeze and the fountain is running. I’ve planted two types of tomatoes this year. I don’t know the names of either type because the tiny truss tomatoes came from my Mother years ago and the large bush tomatoes came from a friend. I don’t have very much space so I grow the tomatoes in pots. When you consider the cost of potting mix and fertiliser needed to grow them in pots, it’s probably not so economical but the tomatoes don’t have hard thick skins and they taste of sunshine. I’ve bought lots of tomatoes this summer which haven’t tasted wonderful at all. I stagger planting times to ensure supply over a longer period.

There’s also a pot of perpetual spinach. It’s what it’s called, a cut and come again spinach. I toss a handful of washed leaves in so many savoury things we eat. The wilted leaves add colour and flavour. The more I cut off, the more it grows. Good.

These cannas came from the farm. They just flower and flower and add masses of colour. The Gloriosa Lily is a Himalayan Select and came from a friend. It flowers in the middle of summer but the bloom only lasts a few days. Every year when it reappears, there’s an additional plant. I don’t remove the tubers in winter but it’s recommended in the northern hemisphere. I’m obviously a bit hit and miss removing tubers/corms/bulbs, anyway, as I thought I’d sifted out all the old dahlia corms from a pot I planted tomatoes in, but the tomatoes have company; two dahlias have appeared too!

Gloriosa lily

The outdoors table is a sheet of travertine on a wrought iron frame. The glue holding the top on had begun to fail and the top felt loose. We took the top off, used a flap disc to remove the old glue and rust from the frame. I picked, poked and peeled the glue off the travertine. New glue, top back on, scrubbed it clean. Now stable and back in use. Lovely sitting out there in the evening.

Flap disk for removing old glue and rust. Very efficient.

Metal frame cleaned of glue and rust, wiped down. Later we reapplied glue and positioned the travertine top and left it to dry.

Scrubbed the travertine. The table was back in use the next day.

If you’re interested in growing some herbs that flourish in full sun, plant thyme, basil, rosemary and mint. Coriander will just go to seed until it is a little cooler. Except the rosemary, all my herbs are planted in pots.

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The hydrangeas are thriving, too. I hope you’re enjoying your garden, too!

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Books and Reading

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reading

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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