Friday

I can almost hear the cries "heretic! liar!" I see the stones being thrown.  I have always been in two minds about it myself.  Much like my dilemma of book vs kindle.

Audio book.  Being somewhat of a puritist, I always felt I would be hypocritical if I say I have read a book, if I had listened to it on audio.  Not that I have really listened to any, other than The Enchanted Wood or Fantastic Mr Fox on cd with the kids....
But with my books to read pile ever growing, I thought this might be a way to get through a couple of books.

A woman in my book club was once discussing her favourite Jane Austen novel (Persuasion).  She has read the book many times, but she said that she also enjoyed listening to the audio book, read by Greta Sacchi.  That was enough to peak my interest.

The other day I read a conversation on the subject which was posted on Good Reads.  And many people were in my camp.  Life is busy, can't always get through books quickly, so why not listen to an audiobook while doing the housework (or sitting in a dark room waiting for a toddler to go to sleep).

Then someone commented:  "I am blind.  This is how I read."  That nailed it for me.  Why not?  And even better if it is well read by a familiar actress.

Thursday

I am reading a book I had heard quite a bit about, and so suggested it for my book club.  Louise Erdrich is a well known First Nations author of 14 books.  I have already looked at two more of her books I would like to read, even though I am only 70 pages into her most recent novel, La Rose.  The book opens with the story of a man, Landreaux,  hunting deer.  It is 1999, and known to be a fine marksman he fires a shot but the deer flees.  He walks over to see what he has hit and finds that he has killed his friends 5 year old son, who had been in the woods playing.

I am particularly interested in Erdrich’s writing of how the traditional and contemporary lives combine.  After speaking with police and the priest the man enters a sweat lodge.  He leaves after some time feeling that he needs to provide restorative justice.  He and his wife take their own 5 year old son, pack his bag and walk to their friends house.  They give their son to them, saying he “is now your son”.  This is the opening chapter.

There are a number of moving passages about how the family who gave up their child are coping with their decision.  Beautiful parts describing how La Rose becomes accustomed to living with his new family and thinks of his parents.  His mother had hoped that she would still see La Rose.  She makes his favourite soup and brings it to the house.

"Inside the house La Rose heard his mother's voice and knew the smell of that soup which he wouldn't taste.  Nola just kept reading Where the Wild Things Are over and over, until the knocking went away.  Nola's voice was hoarse and thin.

And it was still hot, Nola said, and closed the book.  Shall I read it again?

Okay, said La Rose in a tiny voice.  A fuzzy wash of draining saddness covered him.  He closed his eyes and fell asleep"

The story has only begun and there are a number of other characters in the two families whose stories are yet to develop.

  

I remember when I spent 5 months in the United States (I think 1995 or 1996??) I went to the Cherokee reservation.  There was a man standing outside a tent, with feathers.  I did not want to have my photograph taken with him.  To me it would be disrespectful, embarrassing.  I talked with him a while.  He told me that the Cherokee did not dress how he was dressed.  They did not live in the tepee style tent he was standing in front of.  But he said this was what people expected to see.  I felt it was degrading to the culture of these strong people.

From that trip I have a handful of arrowheads that I was given by friends I stayed with.  It has always been my intention to have them framed.  Lunch, now some years ago,  with my former university Archaeology lecturer and he advised me of the best way to frame them.  One broken arrowhead I had picked up from the river myself.  I still feel amazed, remembering sitting by the creek and seeingthe broken piece of rock lying in the water.  How long had it been there? Who had walked by that creek before me?  

My first university studies, and what I will always consider my degree of passion, focused on Indigenous cultures and their materials.  Even some of the work I have done over the past few years has given me some understanding of the complexities in straddling two cultures.  

Wednesday

Look at me.  Something I never imagined I would do.  I am reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

I remember when the first (of how many??) HP books was published I got on the bus to work one day.  As I looked down the aisles of the bus, almost every person was deep into the novel.  I thought at the time, what? And rolled my eyes (a bit high brow).

Nicholas saw the movie at a friends house about a month ago.  Admittedly I was a little surprised that it had  not been mentioned to me by the other parent.  Now Nicholas' teacher is reading the novel to the class, so I bit the bullet and bought a copy.

I have to say, I love that it has brought something new to our relationship.  Nicholas comes home and immediately says "did you read any more Harry Potter?!" 

And even more surprising, I find I do actually look forward to seeing what happens next!  
 
And Nicholas sweetly borrowed another book from the library he has been reading and thought I might like. Xo

I am still reading Woman in Gold.  Admittedly, I did what I prefer not too - halfway through the book I watched the movie.  Given I have past the point in the book that both Gustav Klimt and Adele Bloch- have died, I feel like I can skip through to various points of interest in the book.

All ready to read next (and may not have appeared in my earlier lists of books to read, nor are sitting on my bedside table) are All the Light We Cannot See by  Anthony Doerr,and The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman, which I definitely want to read before seeing the movie.

Finally, a book I have had for a while but not been brave enough to start, is The Child In Time by Ian McEwan.  I first heard Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales talk about it on their podcast.  Annabel Crabb said it is her favourite novel and she used to read it every year... until she had children.  Therein lies my problem.  The novel follows a family in the years following the disappearance of their three year old daughter.  Sometimes it can be too scary to face something that you know will bring sadness.  Still, I am intrigued.

No beautiful image of these three novels though, as they are all on my kindle.  I love my Kindle, and it is so practical and easy... but I do miss the feel of turning the pages in my hands, choosing the most beautiful cover, and lets face it, pulling it out on the bus to share with all (admittedly I have been a little more subtle pulling Harry Potter out of my bag).

And I haven't even got to books of faith and sewing!

 
 Books - everywhere you look!

Wednesday

Just because...

This week I started (in spite of the need to catch up on not one, but FIVE weeks of university) Gloria Steinem's book 'My Life On the Road'.  I loved this little video clip and revisited my often reoccurring dream of living in a gorgeous New York apartment!



I will try and read from the book for just 15 minutes before bed, both to appease my guilt at not doing uni work, and because this is a nice way to finish the day.

Friday

So lovely to see the kids enjoying Book Week at school this week. DEAR- Drop Everything And Read through the day and various activities around the school to engage the kids.   The book parade today and I was proud to see Nicholas and Audrey out there.

Speaking of books, I had an email today that this one will soon be on its way to me.  I can't wait. Eye candy!

wednesday

My reading list for the next little while.  I recently finished The Mountain by Drusilla Modjeska.  Given most of my work this year has been on Papua new Guinea, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  At times I had to remind myself the characters were fictitious.  Dealing with a lot of people who work overseas in the development field it was easy for me to understand some of those focused on in the novel, and particularly to empathise with those living within another culture.  I was fascinated by the history of the university in Papua New Guinea and PNG's independence, which is when a large part of the novel is set.  I still have my own questions as to whether independence came too soon, and particularly how Australia administers foreign aid.  But those are questions outside the realm of my blog.  :)

A little while ago David and I watched two movies, The Hunter, starring Willem Defoe, and The Road, starring Viggo Mortensen.  I am currently reading The Hunter, by Julia Leigh and am enjoying the third person narrative.  It tells the story of a lone hunter who is following a lead on the sighting of a Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger).  I keep going back visually in my mind to one of the last scenes in the movie.  The events were poignantly shot.  I can't wait to see how it is written in the novel.

I put off watching The Road for some time, knowing the bleak subject matter.  When we did watch the movie I found it a moving experience.  The story of a father and son as the travel the road, post apocalypse.  The acting was brilliant and the dialogue beautiful.  I have attempted to read only one Cormac Mccarthy novel previously.  About 15 years ago I tried reading All The Pretty Horses.  At the time I found Mccarthy's writing style a little challenging.  Mccarthy forgoes a lot of punctuation.  He does not use quotation marks for dialogue, no apostrophes and no semi colons (and rarely a colon). 

I looked at the first chapter of The Road online, and being a relatively short novel, I thought it was a Cormac Mccarthy novel I could finish, so it is in my pile of books to read.

I recently listened to an old interview with Raimond Gaita, author of Romulus, My Father.  Another movie I have seen before reading the book.  I know that it appears on many high school reading lists. 

I'll definately be in need of an enjoyable read of another kind, so have a couple in my pile "to be read" when I need to come up for air - another Isabel Dalhousie, care of Alexander McCall Smith, and a Geraldine Brooks, which is becoming like another old friend. 

And my bookcases are in a severe need of reorganising!

Books I

Somebody else who hasn't quite made it through Austen novels yet!  I feel a bit better about myself.  ;)

And a colleague who is involved in local theatre is performing in this production of Pride and Prejudice.  He will play Mr Bennett AND Mr Collins!

I am hoping the book club I saw advertised last year is still running... I'll be able to join with both the kids at school.  Right now I am reading Three Cups of Tea. 


It has been on my list of books to read for a couple of years.  (Read about the program here). 

I feel like my self imposed hiatus of sorts is coming to an end.  It will be interesting to see where this year takes me.
 

that time of year

Our vegetable garden has laid dormant this winter.  The neighbours bushes have grown to a point they block most of the winter sun. 
Summer shouldn't be a problem though so on Monday morning I turned the soil.  I threw in some blood and bone and manure.  I shoveled it again and raked it.  It felt good to see it there, bare and ready for new planting. 

Yesterday I sowed the seed into pots.  Tomato, rocket, beans, zucchini, basil and beetroot.  We need to get silverbeet and cucumber.  Audrey "helped". 

I held my breath as she threw some rocket seeds into my pot of tomato plants.  Not where I wanted them but still, I remind myself to include her more often in what I am doing.

I have been reading about companion planting.  I like the sound of marigolds throughout the garden so will buy them as well.

Currently I am reading The Secret Garden:
"She went through the door and found that it was a garden with walls all around it and it was only one of several walled gardens which seemed to open into one another.  She saw another open green door, revealing bushes and pathways between beds containing winter vegetables.  Fruit trees were trained flat against the wall, and over some of the beds were glass frames.  The place was bare and ugly enough, Mary thought, as she stood and stared about her.  It might be nicer in summer when things were green, but there was nothing pretty about it now."

When this is finished I am hoping to read my third Isabel Dalhousie before this book arrives.  I have read about Crossing to Safety on a number of blogs and I am keen to read it. 

Last weekend I made Audrey a book bag and made a sponge cake.  It felt like a CWA/Martha Stewart weekend! Last night I began putting numbers on the pockets of the advent calendar I have made.  Slowly, I am clearing the backlog of things to do, which gives me peace of mind.

thoughts

At the end of the day, the end of the week I'm waiting for David and Audrey to come home.  Dinner is prepared and so I have some time to stop and ponder the week(s) that has/have been.  Bananas In Pyjamas is on in the background. I love that at six years old Nicholas still enjoys it. 

Yesterday I packed afternoon tea up in the pram and Audrey and I picked Nicholas up from school.  The weather was so gorgeous we ate afternoon tea at the park and the kids played.  We didn't rush to get home.  It was perfect.  I took tea in a thermos and watched them play while I wrote a list to prepare for our Spring/Summer vegetable garden.  I fear we are running out of time as we still need to physically move the garden to a new location.  I was going to take my camera, but at the last minute thought I'd just let them be and enjoy the moment.  I wished I had it in the end. 

Looking at some of the blogs in my favourites list I saw this.  Kylee brought these biscuits to Home Friendship Group.  They were so yummy - if I had any left I'd make French s'mores!

I haven't written lately but have been immersing myself in study - listening to Nancy Leigh de Moss.  I must be hungry because I feel my spirit filling on her studies.  I am reading One Thousand Gifts and Fenelon.  I am eagerly awaiting books that I can't wait to read, to learn from and to apply to my life and to our home and family structure.

In reading Fenelon the other day, this struck me:

"Learn to be lenient with the less important matters, but maintain your firmness over that which is essential.  Remember that true firmness is gentle, humble and calm."  This is certainly what my approach to parenting has been of late.  I am trying to be measured and calm!

I have a list of things I want to make and need to do (like frame and hang all the prints lying under our bed collecting dust!)  (inspiration from Molly Irwin)

Lately I have even managed some hand quilting. 
















I am keen to finish this one as my lists are growing of things to make!  Nothing like eagerness to start the next project to inspire me to complete the last one.  :)

Life is busy but I am getting better at taking time out for the small things....

what are you reading?

I am really pleased when I look back over this year and see the number of books I have managed to read.  I often bemoan my lack of reading time, but it is amazing what you can achieve in a 40 minute bus ride and by grabbing a few minutes reading time before I fall asleep (often with the book in my hands!)
This pile includes 'The Distant Hours' which is my current read.  I'll finished it by the end of the year so it earns its place in books of 2010.
I enjoyed each of them - they were all quite different from eachother.  The Bookseller of kabul made me a little depressed.  Little House in the Big Woods was an absolute joy to read though.   I think I'll have to put it on the 'must read each year' list.

nothing like burying your head in the sand when things get a bit too much. or in my case, in fabric, books and Jane Austen adaptations!
over the past week i have been ploughing through some sewing - some of my French Revival hand quilting, preparing blocks for my Tail Feathers quilt, another Heather Bailey strawberry pin cushion, a superhero cape for Audrey and some soft toys. today i managed to all but finish the skirt from an Oliver + S pattern i had cut weeks ago. and because i am desperate for Audrey to actually be able to wear the stuff before winter is over, Mel kindly took home the pattern and fabric for the jacket...
i have been reading a bit, which always relaxes me. i finished 'Little House in the Big Woods', which is just gorgeous. lots of memories from a time long gone.

at the moment i am reading 'In the Skin of A Lion'. a review of the book can be found here. Michael Ondaatje is one of my favourite authors. i tell people to read 'The English Patient' - don't bother with the movie unless you like the scenery. 'Anil's Ghost' made me cry. his poetry ('Handwriting') is beautiful.
and today i made Tessa Kiros' cinnamon and cardoman buns again. yum.

i finally bought the new adaptation of Emma. and of course love it. the same woman wrote the screenplays for North and South and Jane Eyre. she is brilliant.


i was taking photos of the kids the other day, and when i looked at them i laughed to see Nicholas and Audrey eating in tandem... :)

today it was nice to come upon Audrey, quietly reading in her room. and content.

I finished reading Jane Eyre yesterday. And mum was right - it is a fantastic story. I am not one for writing book reviews (I'd much rather read them) but I found that in reading the story I became aware of a whole lot more than the tv adaptations often show. It really was enjoyable. Now to my old friends, Heathcliff and Cathy. The blog-along is fun. I can't imagine what late nights were like for Charlotte, Emily and Anne. All those stories to tell each other...

Oh, and speaking of Mr Rochester, in a couple of weeks we are off to the closest thing we probably have to a castle. I'll have to watch for the madwoman in the attic!

we love books!

David took Audrey and Lachlan to story time as part of his Literacy on the Street assignment...

children's literature

The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, gueens and whales
And treasured isles and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants.

~ 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' by Roald Dahl

This sounds like our entire house!

I'm excited to get these books (for Nicholas and Audrey!) We have borrowed some of them from the library, and I was pleased to find one on sale at our local newsagent. The illustrations are beautiful and the stories are just so lovely.

Speaking of children's books, I came across this blog that included a quiz on You've Got Mail'.

1. What book is Kathleen Kelly reading to the children during story hour when Joe Fox, his brother, and his aunt, stop by The Shoppe Around the Corner? Boy by Roald Dahl

2. Joe gives Kathleen some sage business advice gleaned from The Godfather. What is it?
Go to the matresses

3. Who does Frank suspect Birdie was in love with? (Hint: Birdie says he ran Spain.)

4. Facing the failure of her business, Kathleen visits Fox Books. While in the children's section, a customer asks an employee about 'the shoe books'. Who is the author of the shoe books?

5. Part two of question 4...which shoe book does Kathleen say is out of print?

6. Frank, Kathleen's boyfriend, is the nut from The Observer. What inanimate object is he so in love with? Typewriter

7. What is the name of Joe's dog? Brinkley

8. What is Kathleen's favorite flower? Daisy

9. Which book did Kathleen's mother advise a customer to read with a box of tissues?

10. Perhaps unfairly, Kathleen states in an interview that she has heard Joe Fox compare the books he sells to cans of what?

hmmm. I'll have to watch it to see what I had wrong, or did not know. I know that I know the answers to numbers 9 & 10....

good things

To show that things haven't been all doom and gloom around here, I'm posting a few random pictures from the weekend.

I came across my two angels sitting together on the deck, chatting away pleasantly. Nothing makes a mum's heart more glad.

I made this granola. Yum! It tastes SO good and it smells divine. David has always made his own yoghurt - they are a perfect match. So are we. ;-) I think I have been eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Audrey helped me to water the garden on Saturday. Each week and I look at her and notice little changes. She is growing up so fast.

I bought the last lot of fabric (the wrapped parcel) and the batting to finish my quilt. I'm really excited about this last step! I also bought fabric to make this for Audrey. Thank you mum, dad, David and Melanie for my wonderful birthday gift vouchers!! They were like treasure in my pocket.

I finished listening to The Forgotten Garden on audio. It was really relaxing, listening to an audio book. I listened to it on the bus to work, I listened to it while I ironed and did other housework. it was a fun story about the sort of adventure I'd like to have. I used to spend a lot of time researching family history.

Now I am reading a Barbara Kingsolver novel when travelling on the bus to work and during my lunchtime. Jane Eyre is my before bed book, the one beside my bed that I pick up before sleep comes. So all in all, things are good.