Yesterday the afternoon sky was clouded with quiet, beautiful shades of grey-blue, and the tree a tracery over it.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Rhubarb
It's a while since I did any fruit and veg shop photography. I was in there the other day, and just took this rhubarb photo - when the misting spray came down and I whipped my camera out of the way.
Wouldn't this make a good colour combination for a quilt? Lime to jade greens, pink to cranberry. Hmmmm. Maybe when I'm finished all the ones I have to get done first.
Wouldn't this make a good colour combination for a quilt? Lime to jade greens, pink to cranberry. Hmmmm. Maybe when I'm finished all the ones I have to get done first.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Crosshatch (a book rant)
I picked this photo because of the 'cross' bit.
The habits of publishers in Australia sometimes utterly bewilder me.
For instance: I read Charlaine Harris' first Sookie Stackhouse novel recently. Lots of fun (Dead Before Dark is the title). O-kay. If I want to buy any more to read from an Australian bookshop (thus supporting local etc) then I have to buy the locally available editions. Which not only have stupid covers in comparison to the charmingly quirky illustrations on the US covers (a small detail, I know, but interesting - why change something distinctive for something which is boring, which the UK covers are?) BUT also cost a BOMB more.
US price for items in this series which have been out for a while: $US7.99. Which even with the battered Australian dollar is under $15AU, plus postage.
Bookshelf price for the same titles here, is $AU30 and upwards. Per book. Hello? The words are the same. They are larger format than the US paperbacks, with aforesaid daft boring undistinguished thematic covers. This isn't Booker Prize material, folks, it's fun reading. When one book is the price of two cinema tickets (and doesn't have to be), well, the readers make their choices too.
I can buy the next five in the series from bookdepository.co.uk for under $60AU, delivered to the door. I couldn't buy two at the local bookshops for that. Even at amazon, and adding the postal charges for five books, beats the local price. (The Book Depository does free worldwide shipping, and discounts many titles as well).
Something is rotten.
Another example: A while ago a colleague was trying to track down a picture book for a present; it had been mentioned on the radio. Two different local bookstores quoted 6-8 weeks and prices ranging from $29.95 to $32.95. From an online retailer, it converted to under $13 AU and arrived a week later. But do any chain booksellers tell you, truthfully, that they're only observing the Recommended Retail Price when it suits them? No, they don't - how many mug punters have been caught by that little game?
I know I might find the Charlaine Harris books in the local library. Might. If it was open after hours and had the stock and I wanted to use the petrol. But its collection is incomplete and its hours incompatible.
Rant over. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
PS. and the audiobook versions of Charlaine Harris' work aren't available on audible.com, if you live in Australia. Like, it seems, a lot of stuff. I wish authors/publishers would do better at audiobook rights, think outside the US market. There are customers here too.....
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The habits of publishers in Australia sometimes utterly bewilder me.
For instance: I read Charlaine Harris' first Sookie Stackhouse novel recently. Lots of fun (Dead Before Dark is the title). O-kay. If I want to buy any more to read from an Australian bookshop (thus supporting local etc) then I have to buy the locally available editions. Which not only have stupid covers in comparison to the charmingly quirky illustrations on the US covers (a small detail, I know, but interesting - why change something distinctive for something which is boring, which the UK covers are?) BUT also cost a BOMB more.
US price for items in this series which have been out for a while: $US7.99. Which even with the battered Australian dollar is under $15AU, plus postage.
Bookshelf price for the same titles here, is $AU30 and upwards. Per book. Hello? The words are the same. They are larger format than the US paperbacks, with aforesaid daft boring undistinguished thematic covers. This isn't Booker Prize material, folks, it's fun reading. When one book is the price of two cinema tickets (and doesn't have to be), well, the readers make their choices too.
I can buy the next five in the series from bookdepository.co.uk for under $60AU, delivered to the door. I couldn't buy two at the local bookshops for that. Even at amazon, and adding the postal charges for five books, beats the local price. (The Book Depository does free worldwide shipping, and discounts many titles as well).
Something is rotten.
Another example: A while ago a colleague was trying to track down a picture book for a present; it had been mentioned on the radio. Two different local bookstores quoted 6-8 weeks and prices ranging from $29.95 to $32.95. From an online retailer, it converted to under $13 AU and arrived a week later. But do any chain booksellers tell you, truthfully, that they're only observing the Recommended Retail Price when it suits them? No, they don't - how many mug punters have been caught by that little game?
I know I might find the Charlaine Harris books in the local library. Might. If it was open after hours and had the stock and I wanted to use the petrol. But its collection is incomplete and its hours incompatible.
Rant over. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
PS. and the audiobook versions of Charlaine Harris' work aren't available on audible.com, if you live in Australia. Like, it seems, a lot of stuff. I wish authors/publishers would do better at audiobook rights, think outside the US market. There are customers here too.....
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Sunday, October 26, 2008
Purple buds
There's lots on the agenda today, and stuff that's dropped off because one day isn't enough to do it all - things budding and blooming and happening. Got to get some quilting done!
Back of my mind somewhere, have to let my NaNoWriMo idea brew some more. National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo.org) starts on 1 November, in a week. The goal? One 50,000 word novel in the month. Is it cheating to write notes now, or phrases, or odd comments about characters? Dunno. It's all part of the adventure. I do have the germinating germ of an idea...
Back of my mind somewhere, have to let my NaNoWriMo idea brew some more. National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo.org) starts on 1 November, in a week. The goal? One 50,000 word novel in the month. Is it cheating to write notes now, or phrases, or odd comments about characters? Dunno. It's all part of the adventure. I do have the germinating germ of an idea...
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Pink flower, white wall
It's been a beautiful sunny spring day today. Warm, not too hot, time to have lunch in good company and get some work done this afternoon. This evening? Some quilting, which will be good too. Might make some soda bread tomorrow - I got two cartons of buttermilk (a key ingredient which I don't normally have in the fridge) and there's still one there.
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Friday, October 24, 2008
Pink lily
With morning light behind them, there was a wonderful pink translucence to these flowers. Still tired today, but mouth not nearly as sore as after the last lot of dental work, so hurrah hurray for that!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Toofless
Today was it - morning appointment with the oral surgeon to finally take the rest of the recalcitrant tooth out. It didn't stand a chance, and if I ever have to have another toof out I'm a huge convert to sedation as part of extraction.... Even though I was silly as a two bob watch coming out of it (which is fairly usual, I believe), and provided my lovely chauffeur with plenty of blackmail material (I didn't say that...you did...). Lots of sleeping the rest of the day, and relief that it's finished.
I should say that these weren't the actual tools the oral surgeon employed, but representative, well, kinda sorta...
I'm glad it's over. Well, except for the bills! Expensive things, teef.
I should say that these weren't the actual tools the oral surgeon employed, but representative, well, kinda sorta...
I'm glad it's over. Well, except for the bills! Expensive things, teef.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Chard and cooking
If I had a vegetable garden, I'd grow chard like this, wonderful colours! It reminds me of Kaffe Fassett fabric, he had a chard one a while back. This is the larger version of my current blog header - the colours were too good not to enjoy for longer. I took the pic at the local farmers' market - it's not a very large one, but still nice to have there each month. I didn't buy chard, but I did get a dozen organic free range eggs from happy chickens.
Jamie Oliver's recent program on eggs and chickens was excellent for inducing guilt - I feel faintly criminal now if I buy anything but free range, after seeing what he showed. More recently, I've been watching his Ministry of Food programs and am utterly bewildered at why so many people are resorting to take-away because they cannot cook at all. It's astonishing, then, when they learn even a little, how transforming it is to their whole lives - not a chore, but a joy.
I also watched his series on School Dinners - another eye-opener. And if you look at the UK schools food trust, or whatever it's called, the standards and expectations on the website now seem vastly different from what appeared to be acceptable when he tied on an apron and went into the land of fried chips and chicken nuggets very few years ago. You've got to respect someone who, having got celebrity, is being so damn good at making it work for good.
In Australia, noted chef Stephanie Alexander is involved in a project to have children growing kitchen gardens at school, and learning about food from soil to plate, so to speak.
We learned to cook at home, as kids, starting with simpler stuff and going from there. Maybe I'm lucky, but when I think of the Ministry of Food idea of "Pass it on" (learn one recipe, then teach it to two people, who then teach it to two more), I don't think I know anyone who can't cook. It would be maybe adding to or refining repertoires, not developing them from scratch as the idea intends.
So maybe I'll do it this way. Dear blog reader, head on over to Jamie's Ministry of Food and look at some of the videos and find a recipe that interests you. See how Jamie makes it and have a go yourself. Then pass it on, in whatever way works for you. It's a very generous website, lots of pictures and information - not one that wants to push you into buying the book by only giving you a squeak to start.
Jamie Oliver's recent program on eggs and chickens was excellent for inducing guilt - I feel faintly criminal now if I buy anything but free range, after seeing what he showed. More recently, I've been watching his Ministry of Food programs and am utterly bewildered at why so many people are resorting to take-away because they cannot cook at all. It's astonishing, then, when they learn even a little, how transforming it is to their whole lives - not a chore, but a joy.
I also watched his series on School Dinners - another eye-opener. And if you look at the UK schools food trust, or whatever it's called, the standards and expectations on the website now seem vastly different from what appeared to be acceptable when he tied on an apron and went into the land of fried chips and chicken nuggets very few years ago. You've got to respect someone who, having got celebrity, is being so damn good at making it work for good.
In Australia, noted chef Stephanie Alexander is involved in a project to have children growing kitchen gardens at school, and learning about food from soil to plate, so to speak.
We learned to cook at home, as kids, starting with simpler stuff and going from there. Maybe I'm lucky, but when I think of the Ministry of Food idea of "Pass it on" (learn one recipe, then teach it to two people, who then teach it to two more), I don't think I know anyone who can't cook. It would be maybe adding to or refining repertoires, not developing them from scratch as the idea intends.
So maybe I'll do it this way. Dear blog reader, head on over to Jamie's Ministry of Food and look at some of the videos and find a recipe that interests you. See how Jamie makes it and have a go yourself. Then pass it on, in whatever way works for you. It's a very generous website, lots of pictures and information - not one that wants to push you into buying the book by only giving you a squeak to start.
I tried his way of making an omelette, which was different to other ways I'd tried (eg. no milk added, just the eggs whisked) and then did some tweaking. Two eggs for a single omelette, not three, and I skipped the salt (rarely add it to anything anyway, so even a little tastes strong). Some smoked salmon shavings on the top, or shaved triple-smoked leg ham. Or served (you don't have to believe me, but it tasted good) with sliced strawberries on the side, instead of tomatoes. Got that last idea from French toast with raspberry coulis that I had at a cafe for breakfast once - before that, French toast was a savoury dish only, nothing sweet with it (although I believe North Americans add maple syrup to it, which I can't quite approach. Bit too sweet. The raspberries and strawberries still have a bite to them).
Hmmm. Maybe I'll head back over there myself and try something else. Not because I can't, but because I can, and I might learn something new, too.
If you do try something from there, do leave a comment here, esp. if you've blogged about it, so I can enjoy reading your take on it.
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Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Power pole puddle
Took this early in the morning - sun up, but the light still gentle. It was interesting to see how it came out nearly monochrome. I don't recollect that being how it struck me when I took the photo. The reflection was what caught my eye, the sharpness and snatch as the puddle had this angular view. I stopped, and stepped back a couple of paces to see it again, then pulled out the camera.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Reading: Temeraire
This book (also known as His Majesty's Dragon) is fabulous! Take the Napoleonic wars (the British side of them) and add in the aerial corps, which is, um, dragons. The prose is restrained and engaging - the characters sound period, not plonked - and the inventiveness of the story is borne out in its telling. Naomi Novik didn't just have a good idea, she made it work. When naval captain Will Laurence finds his whole life turned upside down by being forced to become the handler of the dragon Temeraire... the story begins. And there are sequels. Yay! (And Peter Jackson has the film rights).
I love it when you find/read the kind of book that makes you want to buttonhole strangers to recommend it, so they can share the hit and pleasure too. Consider yourself buttonholed!
You know that list of rooruu's favourite books from a little while ago? Something just lost its place, because this has definitely vaulted on.
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I love it when you find/read the kind of book that makes you want to buttonhole strangers to recommend it, so they can share the hit and pleasure too. Consider yourself buttonholed!
You know that list of rooruu's favourite books from a little while ago? Something just lost its place, because this has definitely vaulted on.
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Sunday, October 19, 2008
Irish Quilting magazine
There's a new magazine coming out, Irish Quilting. It was mentioned in an equilter newsletter, and this is the magazine's website . I'll have to ask the newsagent about it. Wonderful colour in the quilt on their home page.
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Diana Gabaldon and Outlander: the basic poop
This year has been full of Gabaldon words for me, revisiting the Outlander series in written text and the unabridged audiobooks. So, if I've managed to get you interested, here's the basic poop and links to take you onward.
I blogged about my shelf of (paperback) Diana Gabaldon books back in August, and am extremely glad that I went ahead and ordered the hardbacks before the Australian dollar nosedived. Here's the upgraded shelf. I've read and reread these books in paperback, engrossed by the characters and stories and the world of them. I don't own a lot of hardcover fiction - most fiction in Australia isn't published in hardcover, unlike the US - so anything I do have in hardback is usually a firm favourite (or something like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, a shorter book that was published here initially in hardcover).
Candy commented on my last entry that my Gabaldon enthusiasm has finally borne fruit (ha! - I've lost count of how many people I've introduced to this engrossing series!) (and I've only had one failure. I won't mention that it's my dear mama, because she sometimes reads this blog) and she's invested in Outlander, asking what comes next?
Here's a visual record for you, Candy. And yes, there is an order in which to read them:
The Outlandish Companion covers the first four books; there is a plan for another volume, but that would likely be when the series is complete (at least two books away, Echo plus at least one more). Some editions of this were titled Through the Stones.
A significant character from the Outlander series, Lord John Grey, appears in a separate series of shorter novels and novellas:
The audiobooks are available in two versions, and the only ones worth considering are the unabridged readings by Davina Porter for Recorded Books. The abridged ones are as little as 25% of the original text (ie. 75% is gone) and these heavily butchered abridged ones are not worth bothering with, imho. You can find the unabridged ones at Amazon and audible.com, with the unabridged Fiery Cross being the exception, only available to US purchasers from Recorded Books direct. For me in Australia, audible.com, via a membership, was the cheapest way to obtain them, no postal charges and downloaded to iPod. Of course, if you can find a local library with them, that's another option.
A graphic novel with a Jamie and Claire story taking place with the time span of Outlander is also in the works, likely to be published some time in 2009. Diana talks about that on her blog and website.
(Entirely selfishly, while helping Candy I've given myself a one-stop location for the Diana Gabaldon links I use. Ha! again).
* poop as in information. No pejorative associations implied or intended.
I blogged about my shelf of (paperback) Diana Gabaldon books back in August, and am extremely glad that I went ahead and ordered the hardbacks before the Australian dollar nosedived. Here's the upgraded shelf. I've read and reread these books in paperback, engrossed by the characters and stories and the world of them. I don't own a lot of hardcover fiction - most fiction in Australia isn't published in hardcover, unlike the US - so anything I do have in hardback is usually a firm favourite (or something like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, a shorter book that was published here initially in hardcover).
Candy commented on my last entry that my Gabaldon enthusiasm has finally borne fruit (ha! - I've lost count of how many people I've introduced to this engrossing series!) (and I've only had one failure. I won't mention that it's my dear mama, because she sometimes reads this blog) and she's invested in Outlander, asking what comes next?
Here's a visual record for you, Candy. And yes, there is an order in which to read them:
- Outlander (published in Australia and the UK as Cross Stitch)
- Dragonfly in Amber
- Voyager
- Drums of Autumn
- The Fiery Cross
- A Breath of Snow and Ashes
The Outlandish Companion covers the first four books; there is a plan for another volume, but that would likely be when the series is complete (at least two books away, Echo plus at least one more). Some editions of this were titled Through the Stones.
A significant character from the Outlander series, Lord John Grey, appears in a separate series of shorter novels and novellas:
- Lord John and the Private Matter
- Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade
- Lord John and the Hand of Devils (which contains Lord John and the Hellfire Club, Lord John and the Succubus and Lord John and the Haunted Soldier)
The audiobooks are available in two versions, and the only ones worth considering are the unabridged readings by Davina Porter for Recorded Books. The abridged ones are as little as 25% of the original text (ie. 75% is gone) and these heavily butchered abridged ones are not worth bothering with, imho. You can find the unabridged ones at Amazon and audible.com, with the unabridged Fiery Cross being the exception, only available to US purchasers from Recorded Books direct. For me in Australia, audible.com, via a membership, was the cheapest way to obtain them, no postal charges and downloaded to iPod. Of course, if you can find a local library with them, that's another option.
A graphic novel with a Jamie and Claire story taking place with the time span of Outlander is also in the works, likely to be published some time in 2009. Diana talks about that on her blog and website.
- Diana's website is here: dianagabaldon.com . You can sign up for email updates and listen to podcasts by Diana
- Diana's blog is here: Voyages of the Artemis
- Diana is a section leader at the Books and Writers Community (in the Research and Craft of Writing discussion forum), and also answers questions at the Diana Gabaldon discussion forum there.
- Another section leader, Karen Henry, blogs about things Outlandish at Outlandish Observations (thanks for this link, Janelle!)
(Entirely selfishly, while helping Candy I've given myself a one-stop location for the Diana Gabaldon links I use. Ha! again).
* poop as in information. No pejorative associations implied or intended.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Trailer: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
As is the odd and indeed curious wont of filmmakers, you can't have just one film with a kinda maybe similar theme at once; more often than seems explainable, you get a glut.
So while one waits for any more news of the film of The Time Traveler's Wife - no poster, no trailer, no website, no-show at the Toronto Film Festival as had been anticipated, a release date for the US that has vanished from the imdb page linked above, but with so little publicity, one has doubts that its release is anytime soon... and there's no sign of an Australian release date. Sometime in 2009?
There's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Also involving (literary) time travel. No poster, but there's an official website , and a new non-teaser trailer. Film starts in Australia on Boxing Day.
So while one waits for any more news of the film of The Time Traveler's Wife - no poster, no trailer, no website, no-show at the Toronto Film Festival as had been anticipated, a release date for the US that has vanished from the imdb page linked above, but with so little publicity, one has doubts that its release is anytime soon... and there's no sign of an Australian release date. Sometime in 2009?
There's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Also involving (literary) time travel. No poster, but there's an official website , and a new non-teaser trailer. Film starts in Australia on Boxing Day.
First jacaranda of the season
The purple blossom on the ground alerted us - when jacaranda season is in full swing, in November, the blossoms carpet the ground unmissably. But today, there were just a few, here and there, so we looked up and saw with delight that the jacarandas have begun to flower.
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Friday, October 17, 2008
Gum trees: evening
The warm light of late afternoon runs along the gum trees, lighting them differently to mornings - still one side, with the sun closer to the horizon, but while the morning light catches quietly, the afternoon light gilds. It's Friday, and the weekend is welcome after a busy week.
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Thursday, October 16, 2008
White plumbago
Such pretty stuff, plumbago, in its blue form or white. Generous enough in flowering to strew on a weekend lunch table. And again, since it flowers so long.
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Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Quiltlet: D is for Duckmaloi
Isn't Duckmaloi a great place name? This is the fourth in my series of quiltlets (small quilts) for Australian Patchwork & Quilting magazine (this is in vol. 17 no. 4).
I based this one on a beautiful, simple, vintage one I saw - it looked like it had been made from scraps, but when you looked again, you could see balance and thought in the placement of the fabrics. The original had clearly led a tough, appreciated life as a doll quilt.
Had a lovely comment on C is for Cootamundra, which I blogged a few weeks ago - she said she was going to make it in pinks and greys (the original is in greens and yellow). It's just great when people see a design and can find ways to make it quite their own. Duckmaloi, in thirties fabrics, or blocks of hand-dyes, would look quite different. And so kind when they let you know.
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I based this one on a beautiful, simple, vintage one I saw - it looked like it had been made from scraps, but when you looked again, you could see balance and thought in the placement of the fabrics. The original had clearly led a tough, appreciated life as a doll quilt.
Had a lovely comment on C is for Cootamundra, which I blogged a few weeks ago - she said she was going to make it in pinks and greys (the original is in greens and yellow). It's just great when people see a design and can find ways to make it quite their own. Duckmaloi, in thirties fabrics, or blocks of hand-dyes, would look quite different. And so kind when they let you know.
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Red Cross trauma teddies
I had to visit the pathologist this morning, and felt a tad pale after the unchatty vampire with the rather beautiful Pandora bracelet had finished her work. Unfortunately, being old and, it is assumed, brave, I don't qualify for a trauma teddy. But it was nice to admire the basketful instead of thinking about the monosyllabic vampire (whose bracelet, she mentioned, had ended up costing her over two thou*. Oh, I said.).
Aren't those individual faces and expressions and colours just delightful? Red Cross volunteers knit trauma teddies and supply them in all sorts of places where children may need comfort. Just one wonderful way in which craft skill translates to charity and kindness.
*two thousand dollars? Yikes!
Aren't those individual faces and expressions and colours just delightful? Red Cross volunteers knit trauma teddies and supply them in all sorts of places where children may need comfort. Just one wonderful way in which craft skill translates to charity and kindness.
*two thousand dollars? Yikes!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Gum trees: morning
Early morning walk. Diana Gabaldon on the iPod (Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade), camera in pocket, water bottle in the handy little crochet long-strapped dilly bag I bought the other week. The tall trunks of these gum trees, and the early morning light. It's good.
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