Recently Read

"The Ugly Sister" by Jane Fallon.
http://www.janefallon.co.uk/ 

I don't know why I downloaded this book, perhaps it was under my $10 limit and had enough reviews that I was confident it would be a good read. I wasn't disappointed. The novel is about perception, sibling rivalry, love and family.  All those emotions we are all intimately familiar with. The ending left you thinking "what happened", which path did the heroine's life take and was it the path you hoped she would take.


"My Big Fake Irish Life" by Caitlin McKenna
http://caitlinmckenna.com/little-white-lie/ 

When I shop for books on Amazon suggestions are made as to other books I might like. And this was one of them.  A highly enjoyable rom com, easy to read, with an interesting premise - what happens when you abandon your normal persona and successfully adopt a completely fake one, fooling a whole range of people. How will it affect your family, or your career, or your love life for that matter?

I've downloaded "Manifesting Mr Right" so I hope I'm in for another treat.

Golden

Recently my parents celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary.  What an achievement.  I haven't managed to get out of bed for 50 years yet, let along spend that amount of time with my spouse.  It was a bittersweet celebration, though, as my Dad has dementia and so lives in a hostel (soon to be nursing home).

Mum pressed on with the celebrations though, and organised a small afternoon tea with the bridal party.  Well, her bridal party. She accidentally sent my uncles invite (he was one of the best men) to the wrong address.  Senior moment? Freudian slip? We'll never know, but we were concerned when they didn't how up. During the afternoon I rang my cousin, who went to investigate, tracking my aunt & uncle down to the tennis club bar. Phew! At least they were OK.

The whole day was very emotional for me because I felt Mum shouldn't have had the celebration (based on my prejudice about their situation), and sad because of the state my Dad was in (he was very incoherent that day and had had a fall in the morning).  I spent most of the afternoon ensuring that Dad was OK and trying not to burst in to tears.)

After we took Dad back to the hostel I took my dogs for a walk along the river (I tried out a new bit of the river near Mum's and really liked it - nice & quiet!) and then caught up with Mum for a bit (and took the dogs for a second walk with Mum - lucky dogs!).  When I got home I found that my husband had cooked a fabulous pork roast (with crackling to die for).  Being cooked for is rare treat and was just the balm I needed. It was a delicious end to what had been a stressful day.

My social life continues

This weekend is another busy one! Yesterday I walked the dogs in the morning at the park (where we met a gorgeous American Staffy, also called Indi.  She & my Indi had a great time together, mostly long runs). Then I met a friend for a spontaneous shopping trip, and then I picked up my Dad and took him to my Mum's for lunch.

As Dad & I drove down the highway he kept commenting that "it's all the same, nothing has changed".  I don't know what he was expecting, that the world had moved on and become completely unrecognizable? But he couldn't remember how to get to Mum's place. 

They had a nice time together and I think we will probably repeat the little outing from time to time. My mother rang later in the day to see how dad responded to going back to the hostel where he lives - he was fine, thank goodness. I think she thinks he misses her desperately all the time, but I think he just lives in the moment and reacts when he sees her (saying that he wants to go home, and crying - it must be very difficult for her).

We then had good friends over for dinner. Years ago we used to see each other all the time but children and life have overtaken us and we don't catch up nearly enough anymore. We had a lovely evening, talked, drank gorgeous wine, and ate delicious food. They have two lovely children (I remember when the first was born going over to their house for the first time, it was slightly fraught to begin with, but once she was settled in her gorgeous wicker bassinet (a family heirloom, I think) and we'd eaten and relaxed we stood around admiring her perfection!).  I've committed to taking them to see Madagascar 3 at the movies in holidays - a first for all of us!

And this afternoon we're off to my cousin's for lunch. So a busy time! Such a relief to be doing things, rather than staying at home feeling that life is passing us by.

Health

I've worked out if I do the following then life is pretty good:

• Drink enough water so I don't get dehydrated - dehydration for me can spell a swift descent into illness, which obviously isn't a good thing
• Eat healthy foods - Fresh vegetables, in particular for me, enough protein, some dairy - you know the drill
• Don't eat too much wheat - or my insides rebel. And I feel yukky.
• Don't over do the carbs - if I eat too many carbs without enough protien I feel really awful (tired, mainly)
• Don't drink too much alcohol and have the occasional alcohol free day
• Exercise regularly - It helps keep me fit (sort of, as I only walk) and helps with weight management
• Wear my orthotics and sports shoes when I walk my dogs - otherwise my right ankle and foot give me lots of grief
• Get enough sleep - I'm a 7am to 10pm girl.  If I go to bed much later then getting up is so much harder. I wish I was a morning person, but I'm not.

However there is a downside.  I rarely feel refreshed and full of energy when I wake up in the morning.  I have no idea why - the mattress on my bed is a good one, we have cotton bedding and good pillows, so it's not the environment, it's me. 

The number of days when I feel full of energy and want to spring out of bed, walk the dogs, come home and whizz around doing all my chores I could count on one hand, may be two.  It would be wonderful to wake up and want to get out of bed, but it just doesn't happen.  Any tips on how to get me waking up energized would be appreciated!

This Social Life

I had been feeling that our (well, my) social life was lacking, and a quick look at the calendar confirmed this sad fact.  Up until mid-July things had been going along swimming and then nothing but a wasteland of nights in front of the idiot box (as my father used to call it).  I don't know what happened - possibly winter. Or apathy. Or both.

Anyway the universe must have heard my increasingly desperate mutterings about my social life and responded.  Last week I was out four nights in a row! A quiz night (an annual event which I have been going to for, we worked it out, 16 years or so (with a couple of misses, but that's a good innings). An evening with Ahn Do - what an inspirational and hilarious person. I laughed until I cried. Friday night we had dinner at Must Winebar & Bistro with some good friends.  It was a fairly subdued event - I think we were all pretty zonked, but great food was eaten, lovely wine drunk and it was good, as always, to catch up. And then Saturday night we had dinner with my hubby's cousin, who hadn't been to Perth for 6 years - time which seemed to have flown by.

So our social life is back! Thank goodness.  There's only so much reality TV and surfing of the interwebs that I can endure! I'm sure our social life will continue nicely now that spring has sprung and summer is on the way.  This coming weekend we're having dinner with friends and lunch with my cousin (see what I mean!).

Show Cooking

I quite like cooking.  It's in my blood. My mum is a good cook, as were my nana and grandma. My Mum has done a bit of show cooking over the years, and has won quite a few awards during that time. The most recent being for "My Favorite Cake", for which she used a Stephanie Alexander recipe consisting of lots of currants, a bottle of stout, a bit of flour and some eggs.  Way to go Mum !  So I'm following in her footsteps and have begun show cooking.  The year before last was my first. I didn't win any prizes (not that I was expecting to), but I was happy with the feedback from the judges and with how my cooking looked (except for my after dinner treats - chocolate ganache filled dates, which were then covered in the same ganache and rolled in cocoa powder.  They tasted delicious. But looked like poo. The judges comments went along the lines of "they taste delicious, but presentation needs to be considered") 

This year I'm entering a dark fruit cake (not a rich fruit cake, a dark fruit cake - I'm not sure what the difference is, but obviously there must be one), a carrot cake (using the recipe which my sister cooked whilst she was staying with us in July and was delicious), lemon curd and, possibly, apple jelly.  The good thing about show cooking is that the entries only cost $4 each, so if you decide you can't enter a particular item it's not a terrible loss.  Although the dollars spent practising are wasted! And you miss out on the prizes!

Getting my fruit cake just right has been a journey.  First off I tried the Joy of Cooking fruit cake recipe only to discover, after it turned out really weirdly, that they had left the eggs out of the recipe, and had put too much brandy (for soaking the fruit) in. Thank goodness. (It also might account for why I picked it up as a bargain years ago...)  I didn't think I was that bad a cook and the guys at work dutifully ate the results. 

My mother-in-law was a Show cake judge, so she knows a bit about show cooking as well.  I rang her (after some prompting from my hubby) and she dictated her tried & trusted fruit cake recipe.  The only snag was that she usually cooks it in her wood stove or convection microwave and I don't have a wood stove or a convection microwave. I also wrapped the tin in a double layer of paper (from a butchers paper bag - they're stronger), turned down my oven and didn't use the fan.  Test cake 1 was terrific. Dark, moist, delicious! Test cake 2 was OK (it was a bit light). I think the problem was overbeating the sugar and butter which led to a paler cake than I was after. However one of the guys said it tasted like his gran's cake, which I took as high praise!

So this weekend is get the fruitcake done weekend.  It takes about 4 hours to cook so I'm not planning on going anywhere tomorrow afternoon. I've cut up the cherries (sob, sob, I love biting into a whole cherry, but I conferred with people who know and everyone said cut them, so they're cut) and they're mascerating along with currants, carefully separated raisins, and some lightly crystallized ginger (in place of peel).

So, fingers crossed, my cake is on track to get at least a place.

Recently read

"The Book of Lost Threads" by Tess Evans
The Book of Lost Threads 

This book was thrust into my hands at my last book club meeting by a woman whose life revolves around threads (she's a fabulously creative person). She had read it at another book club she belongs to and had loved it, as had all the other members.

I loved it too! I've often not been a fan of parallel story lines, often they're too dense and it's difficult to remember which character goes with what story line, or where the story line left off. But I had none of those problems with "The Book of Lost Threads".  The story moved effortlessly, the characters developed in depth and their sadnesses and flaws were gently revealed to the reader. The epilogue beautifully wove together all the threads leaving the reader feeling complete.

I'm looking forward to Tess Evans' next offering - I hope it's as gorgeous as her first.

"Can you keep a secret" by Sophie Kinsella
Can You Keep a Secret?

It's no secret that I love chick lit (and chic lit, but that's another story). And I love and admire Sophie Kinsella.  She writes easy to read, plot driven novels that aren't too dense or intellectual.  "Can you keep a secret" takes on a laugh aloud journey with our heroine, who, in a moment (a very long moment) of near death panic spills all her secrets to the man sitting next to her on the plane.  What transpires next is a series of amusing situations that you can almost imagine yourself being in. As usual there's a happy ending and a satisfied reader!

Spring

I love this time of the year.  

The temperature is just right in the morning, daytime, or the evening to walk my dogs.  

Lots of plants are flowering so there are lovely scents wafting through the air. 

There is minimal wind so you're not being blown off the face of earth.  

If I time my walk correctly I don't need to wear a hat.

It's all good!

Cars

I used to own a Toyota Corolla Seca.  It had mag wheels - sweet! You still see quite a few of them around and with their curvy styling they still fit in with today's car styling. I loved that it had central locking. And velour seat covers!

This could have been my car!

Before that I had a Diahatsu Rocky, which I brought with a previous boyfriend. I think we took it 4WDing once. And I managed to skid on gravel and crash it, which put me off driving on gravel for many years.

Prior to that I drove a baby poo brown Datsun Sunny 120Y.  It was cheap as chips to run and had a groovy disco light in the centre of the speedo that would come on if you weren't being economical.  It came on quite a bit when I drove it.

Not my car, but really close in colour.

Prior to owning the Dato we had a VW which my mum brought in the early 1970's and I purchased off of my parents when I got my licence.  I loved that car - we put a new motor in it, and new running boards and various bits and pieces, but its days were numbered.  The holes in the floor in the back seat could have been a bit of hint. Or the burnt through heater boxes which meant that pure exhaust was flowing through the cabinet in the middle of winter (keeping the side windows opened was the trick to not dying).

I loved my car so much that I put a sketch of it on my 21st birthday party invitations.  Yes, I know, that's a bit sad.  Anyway we got rid of it because when I was leaving my last day of work before going to uni someone drove past me in the car park, rather than waiting whilst I backed out. One of the exhaust pipes was ripped off and it was going to be quite expensive to fix. I was semi-gutted.  

We advertised it in the Sunday Times and few punters called and eventually two of them got into a bit of a bidding war and eventually we sold the VW.  The whole family stood on the front lawn and watched her trundle off down the street. It was quite sad. The end of the an era.

Mmmm Flesh coloured duco.

Getting some exercise

My dogs speak enough human to get by.  They know and respond to 

• outside - which means go into the laundry because we're going out
• tea - as in would you like some dinner (tea)
• bedtime - only Indi responds positively to this one, Sam lies perfectly still wherever he is, trying to meld into the background
• park - as in "do you want to go to the park" They know this means off leash time

and of course

• walk - which means Sam goes and cowers by the front door waiting for me to put his harness on.  Poor thing. And Indi sits patiently on the mat inside the front door. Thank goodness one of them is normal!

When I'm getting ready (putting on my walking shoes) Indi often goes into paroxysms of excitement - prancing around with a toy in her mouth, tail madly wagging. Sam just looks anxious - no doubt waiting to see if we're going to the park (all good in his world), or for a walk (not so good in his mind).

Once we get out the door there can be quite a bit of hesitation (which could be interpreted as reluctance) on Sam's part depending which direction we head (I can choose from three different directions - lucky me!).  One direction leads to a nearby oval (which can mean a bit of off leash time) and the dogs will often strain oval-wards when we get to the corner where we would cross if we were going that way.  The other two are just normal walks.

I have a short walk, which is mainly on the flat and goes around approximately 4 blocks.  Then there is a medium walk, which usually means heading downhill (I live at the top of a hill) and walking along the valley and then back up the hill. And finally the long walk, which is a combination of the above with extensions further into the suburb I live in. I would love to be able to take longer walks but Sam has issues with traffic which preclude this, so we make do with what we have.

I'm not a big fan of exercise - unfortunately due to my physiology I don't have much stamina (never have) and so it's just not enjoyable. However since we've had Sam (and Indi, too) I've had a reason to get out and about and I can see and feel the results.  I now walk up the hill to my house without stopping and minimal puffing - which can only be a good thing!




 

Renewal

Yesterday the house on the corner diagonally across from us was knocked down. Every single tree on the block was also removed.  I knew it was coming - the Council sent us a letter advising of the imminent demolition and, from that point on, I mourned what I knew to be the loss of yet more vegetation in our suburb.  The poor birds. And insects. Poor us - losing beautiful greenery, and the sound the wind makes in the trees, and their visual gorgeousness, particularly when in flower.

I went to work with a heavy heart, not knowing what the extent of the damage would be.  Some people do retain some of the vegetation on their properties, but most don't. When I returned home my worst fears were founded. However later that afternoon, as I walked my dogs back from the vet (annual jabs for one of them), I pondered the internal battle that was raging. Yes I was devastated that my suburb had lost yet more trees, but when this suburb was initially developed, some 50 or 60 years ago, all the native vegetation was removed. And when we built our house (in what had been someone's backyard), we knocked down all the trees on our lot.

So I really should be revelling in the renewal, rather than mourning the loss. However this realisation doesn't make their loss any easier.

Recently Read

"Mud, Sweat, and Tears" by Bear Grylls.

This autobiography is written in an engaging, easy to read manner.  The chapters are short and Grylls has written them with what appears to be honesty - he doesn't hide from his faults and weaknesses.  He focuses on three main areas - his childhood and schooling (he was sent to boarding school at 8 years old), his time with the SAS and his ascent of Mt Everest.  He also discusses his faith, and how important it is to him. At the end of the book he glosses over his "Man vs Wild" exploits, possibly because they have been covered in other publications.

This book would make a great gift for a teenage boy - easy to read, shows that you can achieve your goals through hardwork and determination and that life isn't always a bowl of cherries.

http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Mud-Sweat-Tears-Bear-Grylls/?isbn=9780062124197
 

 

"Fourteen Days Later" by Sibel Hodge

I love a good rom com and a bit of chick lit (actually, it's my secret vice) and this book ticked all the boxes.  Our hapless heroine undergoes a metamorphosis and ends up with the guy of her dreams.

http://www.sibelhodge.com/