"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.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Health
I've worked out if I do the following then life is pretty good:
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!
- 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.
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!
Monday, September 17, 2012
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!).
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!).
Friday, September 14, 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
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!
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!
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