tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408097473943279872024-02-20T14:44:28.024+11:00Bird With The Golden SeedCazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00931148740573450818noreply@blogger.comBlogger209125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-76208814801904388802014-12-01T15:01:00.000+11:002014-12-01T15:03:31.776+11:00She Needed To Know...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyd-cwJkxGaVjUcznv1zldO7mwAzIODV326BfmnDpGC_1GWE-wX5NCTqZ4ji2-EynaxukUXcNTR07AqWL4KXiimZEs-HJ-6F1wP81MWORZpDN2a8dt8ExQveVVVpuzFzOPHnbRuEV-4mc/s1600/Emma-Verey-610x810+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyd-cwJkxGaVjUcznv1zldO7mwAzIODV326BfmnDpGC_1GWE-wX5NCTqZ4ji2-EynaxukUXcNTR07AqWL4KXiimZEs-HJ-6F1wP81MWORZpDN2a8dt8ExQveVVVpuzFzOPHnbRuEV-4mc/s1600/Emma-Verey-610x810+(1).jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.insidehistory.com.au/2014/07/the-discovery-of-the-verey-collection-historic-castlemaine-photographs/"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emma Verey photographed by her husband Adolphus Verey. Verey Collection</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been a while I know. Somehow I locked myself out of my account and weeks became months and here we are! In the meantime I have been publishing an occasional newsletter using the TinyLetter platform. If you'd like to take a look you can find it<a href="http://tinyletter.com/sheneededtoknow/letters/she-needed-to-know-8-1"> here</a>. You can use the 'Archive' button at the lower right corner to see previous issues and subscribe if you like what you see using the button on the left. It's basically my way of sharing things that have surprised and delighted me in the world of books, history, arts and science. A little reading, some podcast recommendations - you get the gist...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopefully this blog will once again become a place for more original writing when the mood strikes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the meantime, here's a a sample of this month's newsletter.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">A month of interesting discoveries...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">This week a copy of </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/nov/25/shakespeare-first-folio-found-in-french-library" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3466cc; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px !important; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Shakespeare's First Folio - one of only 230 in existence - was found in a French library</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">. It is believed that the book was brought to France by the Jesuit order before being confiscated after the French Revolution and placed in the Saint Omar public library where it has lain undisturbed for some 200 years.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">An eagle-eyed art historian has </span><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-28/stuart-little-helps-long-lost-hungarian-painting-come-home/5924194" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3466cc; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px !important; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">re-discovered a long-lost Hungarian avant-garde painting</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;"> while watching the movie 'Stuart Little' with his kids.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">Closer to home I loved this story about the re-discovery of the Verey Collection </span><a href="http://www.insidehistory.com.au/2014/07/the-discovery-of-the-verey-collection-historic-castlemaine-photographs/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3466cc; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px !important; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">an intriguing collection of glass negatives </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">taken by Castlemaine photographer Adolphus Verey between 1883-1954. You can see more of the 13,000 strong Verey Collection</span><a href="http://verey.com.au/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3466cc; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px !important; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">here</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">It's been a great couple of weeks for archaeological discoveries too with a </span><a href="http://archaeology.org/news/2705-141113-japan-nara-tomb" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3466cc; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px !important; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">beautiful Roman glass plate</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;"> found in a 5th century AD Japanese tomb,</span><a href="http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/science-mosaics-ancient-city-zeugma-02307.html" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3466cc; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px !important; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> this stunning glass mosaic </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">uncovered at the ancient Greek city of Zeugma in modern day Turkey, and an entire </span><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/underwater-pompeii-found-off-the-coast-of-greek-island-delos-9882460.html" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3466cc; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px !important; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">underwater city </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">off the Greek island of Delos.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">This week also marks the 40th anniversary of Donald Johanson's discovery of </span><a href="http://www.nature.com/news/lucy-discoverer-on-the-ancestor-people-relate-to-1.16379" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3466cc; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px !important; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">my very favourite fossil, Lucy,</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;"> the little woman who changed the way we think about human evolution.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">How about you? Have you heard about any interesting discoveries lately?</span></div>
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Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-87241701877386951032014-06-02T15:04:00.001+10:002014-06-04T10:51:11.850+10:00She Needed To Know, 2 June 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's no secret that I'm a voracious reader and seeker after knowledge (I used to joke that my tombstone should read, 'she needed to know') but seriously I read/watch/listen to a lot of great stuff in a week and it seems a crime not to share so here goes:<br />
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+ This beautifully written piece, <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2014/05/rob_lowe_on_sending_his_son_off_to_college_an_excerpt_from_love_life.html">Unprepared: Rob Lowe on Sending His Son To College</a> gave me a new insight into Rob Lowe the man. <br />
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+ I was really blown away by soprano Joyce Di Donato's moving speech to the <a href="http://www.juilliard.edu/">Juilliard School's</a> class of 2014. You can read Joyce's speech <a href="http://www.joycedidonato.com/2014/05/27/the-juilliard-schools-109th-commencement-speech-joyce-didonato/">here</a> or better still watch her deliver it further down the same page (16:13 mins). <br />
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Here's a sample of what she had to say:<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">'You will never make it ..."It" doesn't exist for an Artist'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">'The work will never end ... whether it’s via unexpected, rapid success or as heart-wrenching, devastating failure - the way back to your center is simply to return to the work'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">It's not about you ... the truth is, you have signed up to a life of service by going into the Arts.</span><br />
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+ Australian author Annabelle Smith's <a href="http://annabelsmith.tumblr.com/post/87038513316/top-ten-books-about-new-york">Top 10 Books About New York</a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> gave me some more titles for my ever-expanding reading list</span> </span></div>
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+ I loved this piece by Kerry Mansfield about the afterlife of <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/kerry-mansfield">expired library books</a> </div>
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+ "The snow instigateth not lugubriosity within me…" <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/05/translating-frozen-into-arabic.html">Translating 'Frozen' into Arabic </a>shifted my focus beyond the English-speaking world.</div>
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+ And finally as I'm a train traveller once more I've also been listening to some great podcasts. They don't come much better than <a href="https://medium.com/@benjamenwalker/720445a4d8d7">this episode</a> of <a href="http://toe.prx.org/">Benjamen Walker's Theory of Everything</a>, which looks at the legacy of Walter Benjamin's <em>The Work of Art in the Age of Technological Reproducibility</em> and imagines Hitler and Goebbels discussing the book in the bunker. Heady stuff people...<br />
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Hope you find something here to tantalise your imagination. More soon...<br />
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You can also follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/Birdwiththegold">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://instagram.com/birdwiththegold">Instagram</a> where you can follow my growing obsession with mid-century decorative ironwork gates!</div>
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Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-31742901038897842272014-05-09T14:47:00.001+10:002014-05-09T15:00:38.325+10:00To blog or not to blog...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So. I've had a bit of a blog spruce up in an effort to get back into this whole blog thing. They that the effective life of a blog is five years and I must say I've hit that wall pretty hard. A lot has changed since 2009. These days I rarely seem to open my laptop and use my iPhone and iPad o interact with like-minded souls all over the world in real-time using Instagram and Twitter. Blogger seems so old fashioned now with its HTML, uploading and linking (don't get me started on how difficult it is to even comment on a blog!) but I can't quite bring myself to abandon ship. Many of the bloggers I used to follow have jumped ship ahead of me although I have re-connected with some of them on new platforms so I'm still in two minds.<br />
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Having said that Instagram and Twitter have introduced me to some interesting new blogs like <a href="http://bmandarines.squarespace.com/">Mandarine's</a> where Melody walks me through the forest of Latvia and shares her gorgeous knitting projects; <a href="http://miriamskafferep.com/">Miriams Kafferaps</a> where I get an insight into the vintage scene in Stockholm; and <a href="http://gracialouise.com/">Gracia and Louise</a> where<em> </em>I see what a truly authentic creative life looks like so maybe there's life in the old girl (and this one too!) yet. We shall see...<br />
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Thoughts?Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-5596173620440411762014-04-07T10:13:00.000+10:002014-04-07T10:13:12.585+10:00Happy from St Kilda...<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vUbx6GxOhrM?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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I just love this<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUbx6GxOhrM"> quirky little video</a> made in my old stomping ground, St Kilda. I spent my first grown-up decade in St Kilda and I loved every minute of it. The faded mansions, kugelhopfs and cakes as far as the eye could see, the beach, the gardens, Luna Park, the bands at the Espy and The Prince, the often scary night life - I still miss it. I left before I was really ready and it still features prominently in my dreams. St Kilda is often seen as a fairly cool place but anywhere can be cool. It takes a certain kind of community spirit to pull off this sort of quirky daggy!Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-69970788398982690112014-04-04T13:05:00.001+11:002014-04-04T13:06:30.288+11:00Rushing past my window...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgbmqRbp2n2afpRPnvTj0pobCtaX5T4TGu7LzUlgCcoWog20L_OEvDmL59ziLCnBSHL_rdbziDmF4poRgnjaKIfW4gtyXQxZVNuSytmff_NrmyBcjFQ2re6WrDEHlfsc6HjvA05doNojpz/s1600/train6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgbmqRbp2n2afpRPnvTj0pobCtaX5T4TGu7LzUlgCcoWog20L_OEvDmL59ziLCnBSHL_rdbziDmF4poRgnjaKIfW4gtyXQxZVNuSytmff_NrmyBcjFQ2re6WrDEHlfsc6HjvA05doNojpz/s1600/train6.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Every day I see these same scenes rushing past my window. For some reason I am drawn to this side of the track rather than the other side. If I'm not reading I watch Melbourne whizz by. Sometimes I am reminded of my associations with these buildings, sometimes I'm just admiring the architecture (the top photo shows the delightfully Art Deco Hawthorn Football Club stand), sometimes I'm thinking about nights spent seeing bands in nearby venues, other times I am moved to find out more such as with the with the old Australian Knitting Mill building in Richmond. </div>
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The <a href="http://inspire9.com/blog/the-history-of-inspire9-s-home">Australian Knitting Mill </a>building dates to 1910 (although there had been a smaller mill on the site since 1899) and was well known for its production of bathing suits and woollen underwear. It was further expanded in 1912 and became the sole supplier of uniforms during World War I. It's hard to see in the photographs but the buildings were adorned with kookaburras and sheep representing The Golden Fleece in the 1920s. It has been as a recording studio, film set, gallery and so much more over the years. The place must be positively teeming with ghosts!</div>
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Today the complex of buildings is protected as part of a Heritage Overlay area. Clothes are still made there, buses and train carriages fitted out with fabric seats and there are any number of creative people working in the huge open plan space used as a drop-in centre and co-working space. </div>
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What do you see when you watch the world pass by? Do you ever wonder about all that has gone on in buildings beyond living memory (or is that just me?).</div>
Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-48947925902476940992014-03-17T13:15:00.001+11:002014-03-17T13:15:09.870+11:00Tove100<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VPB8x6jGv8u9HWZp59ckMOogwl6xf_cNa0Yz2NlKIRmrHhU7LiOw3P4g9BHe2O_xaZwKKXlzyr9jIcSkV8vX1S22E13KbXF_JPyev46Wgsxejb2IZJR4_aMfyf1saPJgLdpFWN7LyyOX/s1600/moomins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VPB8x6jGv8u9HWZp59ckMOogwl6xf_cNa0Yz2NlKIRmrHhU7LiOw3P4g9BHe2O_xaZwKKXlzyr9jIcSkV8vX1S22E13KbXF_JPyev46Wgsxejb2IZJR4_aMfyf1saPJgLdpFWN7LyyOX/s1600/moomins.jpg" height="392" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moomin comic book cover by Tove Jansson</td></tr>
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Are you a <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26529309">Tove Jansson</a> fan? Perhaps you have fond childhood memories of her <a href="https://www.moomin.com/en">Moomin</a> books or maybe you know her <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/books/authors/tove-jansson/">memoirs and fiction</a>? I must admit to being a latecomer to Jansson's work and then only through her remarkable Moomin books. While I vaguely remember them from childhood it was not until I started reading them to my children last year that I fell under her spell. How could I not when she wrote passages such as this:<br />
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<em>Now the dictionary was curling up more and more. The pages began to look like withered leaves, and between them the Outlandish Words came out and began crawling around on the floor. </em></div>
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<em>'Goodness gracious me,' said Moomintroll.</em></div>
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Finn Family Moomintroll (1948)</div>
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Goodness gracious indeed! Crawling words aside, there is something very comforting about the philosophical, nature-loving world in Moominvalley where seasons are embraced for their difference and for the way they mark the passing of time:<br />
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<em>The quiet transition from autumn to winter is not a bad time at all. It's a time for protecting and securing things and for making sure you've got in as many supplies as you can. It's nice to gather together everything you possess as close to you as possible, to store up your warmth and your thoughts and burrow yourself into a deep hole inside, a core of safety where you can defend what is important and precious and your very own. Then the cold and the storms and the darkness can do their worst.</em><br />
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Moominvalley In November (1971)<br />
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This year would have been Tove's 100th birthday so celebrations are in full swing around the globe to honour her work not only as a writer but as a artist. If I was anywhere near Finland I'd be hot-footing it to this remarkable <a href="http://www.ateneum.fi/en/tove-jansson">retrospective exhibition</a> at the Finnish National Gallery in Helsinki (thanks for the tip <a href="http://thenightowlsrandom.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/of-place-time-and-flickering-memories/">Tuula</a>) which includes her surrealist and modernist paintings from the 1930 -1950s, her graphic work during the 1940s and her later paintings which move towards abstraction. If you can't make it there the website is certainly worth a look and if you'd like more information on Tove Jansson related events nearer to you you may find some on the <a href="http://www.tove100.com/">Tove100</a> website.Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-50477256824646817642014-03-12T19:11:00.002+11:002014-03-12T19:11:20.832+11:00I'm all ears...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkIUJorn1mafy2RTOIYCTEdKFHEZ5BTsSQko0uE7xn3swucTkc85IKaUG3x7gUUPmcCv7I8vvzl6wwryt7DR_PmfQQzSY5dkJhNgk4JWtht1NDxXMwkpDnj9ZIu2iCif3ZX9iBDWiXFiSz/s1600/truth.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkIUJorn1mafy2RTOIYCTEdKFHEZ5BTsSQko0uE7xn3swucTkc85IKaUG3x7gUUPmcCv7I8vvzl6wwryt7DR_PmfQQzSY5dkJhNgk4JWtht1NDxXMwkpDnj9ZIu2iCif3ZX9iBDWiXFiSz/s1600/truth.png" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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One of the unexpected delights of commuting to work by train has been the rediscovery of my ears. Poor neglected ears and poor overworked eyes - looking, reading, searching, appraising - only resting when it's too dark to see. <br />
When I was growing up there was always a radio on in the kitchen usually some sort of talkback program or maybe the horse-races or the football. Sometimes the television would be on too and I still find that constant hum of voices in a house very comforting. As a teenager, radio was all about music and in 1980s Melbourne that meant listening to 3XY, THE rock station. As I got older I discovered the weird and wonderful world of independent radio and became an ardent follower of Melbourne's oldest independent radio station <a href="http://www.rrr.org.au/">3RRR</a>. For a country kid it was mind blowing. My favourite programs were <a href="http://www.rrr.org.au/program/film-buff-s-forecast/">Film Buffs Forecast</a> and a late night nostalgia show by 'Cherry and Mario' who among other things would do radio plays based on Hollywood musicals. They would play the soundtrack narrating the story between tracks and this embryonic performing arts historian was in heaven.<br />
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Not much has changed it seems because I am again in the thrall of radio, this time through the magic of the downloadable podcast. Although it took me a while to wade my way through the thousands of podcasts out there I'm finally finding my way now and eagerly wait for new instalments of my favourite shows. There are amazing things being done on American public radio (along the 'if you like us donate' model) and if you haven't already discovered them I can really recommend the following:<br />
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If you like the idea of fiction/ radio plays<br />
<a href="http://thetruthpodcast.com/The_Truth.html">The Truth - Movies For Your Ears</a><br />
<a href="http://commonplacebooks.com/">Welcome To Night Vale</a><br />
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If you're fascinated by history and culture<br />
<a href="http://thememorypalace.us/">The Memory Palace</a> <br />
<a href="http://99percentinvisible.org/">99% Invisible</a> (architecture and design)<br />
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Each and every one is beautifully produced, truly a feast for the ears. They all run for about 20-30 minutes which is perfect for a weekday commute when you can plug yourself in, close your eyes and give yourself over to another world for a few stolen minutes.<br />
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If you have a favourite podcast I'd love to hear about it.Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-73940229689369449842014-02-26T19:15:00.000+11:002014-02-26T19:32:48.514+11:00You have killer taste...<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/85040589" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/85040589">THE GAP by Ira Glass</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/frohlocke">frohlocke</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Ira Glass is a wise man. You may know him from his work on the American public radio program, <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/contributors/ira-glass">This American Life</a>, where you can hear a wonderful mix of reportage, storytelling and other unexpected audio wonders. Here, in just over 2 minutes, Glass with the help of artist Daniel Sax, gives you all the encouragement you need to persevere with your creative ambition.<br />
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You can thank me (and Ira) later...<br />
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Linking with <a href="http://meetmeatmikes.com/2014/02/pips-link-a-long/">Meet Me At Mikes</a> because Pip is right. It's important to acknowledge those who inspire us.Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-78512552464025413092014-02-24T14:08:00.000+11:002014-02-24T14:18:49.961+11:00Taking Stock... February 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmV1R5BvVqGsT0vD6NfbsabKk1wt8rOkjOnXLS1R6HtVXdk1gueWSi0Rsk5nZ6ojU5-VwVtLdy9vvMwUV8E6l3y6lfn-eudPOQuOA3UgyrQxDW0V9acRgcea6VoR6aYOO81HeqxaYeGg8/s1600/fun+loom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmV1R5BvVqGsT0vD6NfbsabKk1wt8rOkjOnXLS1R6HtVXdk1gueWSi0Rsk5nZ6ojU5-VwVtLdy9vvMwUV8E6l3y6lfn-eudPOQuOA3UgyrQxDW0V9acRgcea6VoR6aYOO81HeqxaYeGg8/s1600/fun+loom.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxog8KCxFMcL1bgCekxQuBDs6cujl80iQt6WWGqGE5Xcq3Xgnj_dryfzcFo23K9OwHXbBs8H941GwDMv5zIl4XW8ewYwy3QZuS3yY6SI5nYgGr4XdPETP11QPAZQCq48MvRvJMwEgU1i9/s1600/crochet+cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxog8KCxFMcL1bgCekxQuBDs6cujl80iQt6WWGqGE5Xcq3Xgnj_dryfzcFo23K9OwHXbBs8H941GwDMv5zIl4XW8ewYwy3QZuS3yY6SI5nYgGr4XdPETP11QPAZQCq48MvRvJMwEgU1i9/s1600/crochet+cat.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<strong>Inspired by <a href="http://meetmeatmikes.com/2014/02/taking-stock-005/">Meet Me At Mikes</a> (slightly edited version!)</strong><br />
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<strong>Making :</strong> a little crocheted cat from the book <a href="http://www.readings.com.au/products/12375050/super-scary-crochet-35-gruesome-patterns-to-sink-your-hook-into">Super Scary Crochet</a> by Nicki Trench<br />
<strong>Cooking :</strong><a href="http://www.shutterbean.com/2013/maple-olive-oil-banana-bread/"> Maple Olive Oil Banana Bread</a> as seen on <a href="http://www.shutterbean.com/">Shutterbean</a><br />
<strong>Reading:</strong><a href="http://www.readings.com.au/products/17239926/the-monuments-men-allied-heroes-nazi-thieves-and-the-greatest-treasure-hunt-in-history"> 'Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and The Greatest Treasure Hunt In History'</a> by Robert M. Edsal with Bret Witter<br />
<strong>Wanting:</strong> to see the film of the above<br />
<strong>Looking:</strong> out a lot of train windows<br />
<strong>Listening</strong>: to <a href="http://commonplacebooks.com/">Welcome To Night Vale</a> podcasts<br />
<strong>Enjoying: </strong>the new season of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018ttws">Sherlock</a> on DVD<br />
<strong>Liking:</strong> Instagram<br />
<strong>Wondering:</strong> what to read next<br />
<strong>Loving:</strong> the cooler weather <br />
<strong>Watching:</strong> Star Wars and Indiana Jones with the kids<a href="http://www.branchshop.com/"><br /></a><strong>Hoping:</strong> those recently affected by the Victorian bushfires are finding their feet again<br />
<strong>Marvelling:</strong> at the creativity behind <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-23/melbourne-white-night-festival-lights-up-cityscape-projections/5277940">White Night Melbourne</a><br />
<strong>Needing:</strong> a few early nights to get me ready for a busy two weeks at work<br />
<strong>Smelling:</strong> lemon-scented eucalypts<br />
<strong>Wearing:</strong> uncharacteristically flat shoes<br />
<strong>Following:</strong> Kaz Cooke's adventures at the State Library of Victoria on <a href="http://fellowfrockery.tumblr.com/">Fellow Frockery</a><br />
<strong>Noticing:</strong> so much more now that I have to walk so much more<br />
<strong>Getting:</strong> very good at using a myki card<br />
<strong>Bookmarking:</strong><a href="http://www.artloss.com/en"> the Art Loss Register</a> and <a href="http://www.interpol.int/Crime-areas/Works-of-art/Works-of-art">Interpol </a>for amazing stories of lost and found treasures<br />
<strong>Disliking:</strong> the direction I see my country heading in<br />
<strong>Snacking: </strong>on apricots and almonds<br />
<strong>Coveting:</strong> nothing<br />
<strong>Wishing: </strong>for 'a room of one's own'<br />
<strong>Helping:</strong> the kids back into their busy school term routines<br />
<strong>Hearing:</strong> good things about the <a href="http://www.100storybuilding.org.au/">100 Story Building</a> and their work with maginalised children and young people in Melbourne.<br />
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Phew! How about you? Have you been taking stock too?Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-63921552311406887782014-02-10T14:13:00.000+11:002014-02-10T14:13:10.084+11:00New year, new eyes...<div>
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<span style="color: black;">This year has started off very differently from previous ones. For the first time in over 20 years I find myself without a car (it seems I have a problem distinguishing between 60, 70 and 80 km zones when I'm driving). The last time I went on a train coincided with the purchase of my first car in 1991 so it was with some trepidation that I took the first of many trains I will have to take to work over the next 12 weeks. As I've mentioned before I am very claustrophobic and the thought of peak hour trains gave me more than a few sleepless nights over the Christmas break but I must say that so far I have been pleasantly surprised.</span><br />
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Here's some things I've learnt already walking and taking public transport:<br />
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<li>I have a bus at the end of my street that will take me everywhere I regularly go in my local area including the train station. </li>
<li>The buses go every 15 minutes.</li>
<li>There is no advertising on my local buses (and very little graffiti). It is air-conditioned and very fast.</li>
<li>Only one of the milk-bars within walking distance of my house sells bread.</li>
<li>The trains I have caught have all been on time, cool (even during the heatwave), clean and quiet.</li>
<li>The trains are nowhere near as crowded as I thought they would be unless I catch one at the height of peak hour.</li>
<li>It takes me almost half the time to get into the city compared to driving.</li>
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Not only that but I now have an extra hour to myself everyday to read, listen to podcasts and see suburbs I've lived in for many years from a totally different angle (but more about that in other posts).<br />
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I do realise that once the train is late/breaks down/ traps me in a tunnel I may change my tune but for now I'm happy to accentuate the positive.<br />
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Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-89079824908479151602013-12-21T16:49:00.000+11:002013-12-21T16:49:12.681+11:00Gingerbread 2.0<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSpHn0w2EI5rbAuUCrjBMvmna2mURIrNaKRwIS6W17ZZgSTdaTy9x_HgGQU1YzOxg3-oM881VGk_LeAZ8gC86NBmit8I4YUVf8sf_sGOJj3OHZ0aCJL9B0KKM2X_ru7Hgqtl-qpYVhktE/s1600/ginger+granola.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSpHn0w2EI5rbAuUCrjBMvmna2mURIrNaKRwIS6W17ZZgSTdaTy9x_HgGQU1YzOxg3-oM881VGk_LeAZ8gC86NBmit8I4YUVf8sf_sGOJj3OHZ0aCJL9B0KKM2X_ru7Hgqtl-qpYVhktE/s640/ginger+granola.png" width="474" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Gingerbread Granola by <a href="http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2013/12/gingerbread-granola.html">A Beautiful Mess</a></span></div>
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Next time I'm going to make these instead!Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-7512855036450725312013-12-21T16:33:00.000+11:002013-12-21T16:33:37.878+11:00The Gingerbread House as metaphor for life...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last week I made a Gingerbread House. I'm not sure what possessed me. I've never made one before but I was planning a pre-Christmas lunch for my sister and her family at which there would be five children so it seemed like a good idea at the time. Have you ever made a Gingerbread House? It's not for the faint-hearted or the time-poor. Unfortunately, the result was somewhat less than perfect as you can see. Walls cracked, the roof collapsed (more than once) and we used twice as much icing as recommended in a vain attempt to salvage what we could. <br /><br />The thing is, I approached the task of making a Gingerbread House as I approach most things in life in life - full of enthusiasm, optimistic (often unrealistic) about timeframes and flying by the seat of my pants. I didn't read the construction instructions properly and I tried to do everything from making the gingerbread, to decorating and constructing the house all in one evening. </div>
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On the up side, it did remind me of a few of my better qualities too. I had a lot of fun once I realised perfection was not the aim. Henry and I laughed hysterically as I scrambled to catch pieces as they fell while still holding other pieces that had not yet set and I didn't give up even after my roofing disaster, in fact, I worked my way around the problem by constructing some roofing beams using bamboo skewers and overlaying them with textured ice-cream wafers I had in the cupboard.</div>
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It may be the ugliest Gingerbread House ever created but I still think that the time spent making it was time well spent. If you'd like to give it a go there are some good instructions<a href="http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/31155/gingerbread+house"> here</a> and <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/275559/gingerbread-houses-and-no-bake-cookie-co/@center/1009041/christmas-crafts-projects">here</a> and if you'd prefer to stick with Gingerbread Men (so much easier to control!) here's my Gingerbread recipe.<br />
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<strong>Gingerbread Biscuits</strong><br />
(Makes lots!)<br />
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Ingredients <br />
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3 1/2 cups self-raising flour<br />
1 cup plain flour<br />
6 teaspoons ground ginger<br />
2 teaspoons cinnamon<br />
2 teaspoons mixed spice<br />
1 cup dark muscovado sugar<br />
185 grams butter, chopped and softened<br />
1/2 molasses (or golden syrup)<br />
2 eggs, lightly beaten<br />
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Method<br />
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1. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl with the sugar.<br />
2. Add butter and mix with an electric hand mixer until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.<br />
3. Whisk molasses and eggs together and mix until combined.<br />
4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. If the mixture is too sticky to work with add a little more flour but not too much. The dough should still be moist and should come together in a nice smooth shiny ball.<br />
5. Cut dough in half, press into a flat disc, wrap in cling-wrap and place in refrigerator for 30 mins.<br />
6. Remove from refrigerator and pre-heat your oven to 180C/ 375F.<br />
7. Roll dough out between two pieces of baking paper until the dough is roughly 5mm in thickness.<br />
8. Use your favourite cutters to make shapes and lay them on prepared baking trays and return to the fridge for 15mins. <br />
9. Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your shapes, or until firm.<br />
10. Cool completely before decorating with royal icing, silver cachous etc.<br />
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<strong>Merry Christmas everyone!</strong><br />
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Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-1943226899266743442013-10-30T23:31:00.000+11:002013-10-30T23:31:44.834+11:00Birthday season...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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October marks the beginning of festivities in our house with two birthdays in October followed by two in November. Birthday celebrations are of a very elastic in nature around here and can last from one day to a week- throw in Halloween and before you know it it's Christmas.<br />
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Last weekend it was my turn and as always I was showered with lovely thoughtful gifts starting with this gorgeous orchid. Next came the books, oh so many books...<br />
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As you can see I have a fondness for <a href="http://flavorwire.com/419999/why-we-still-love-p-g-wodehouses-wooster-and-jeeves/">Wodehouse</a>. The other two books I've been coveting for some time. The glorious <a href="http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/popculture/all/00378/facts.magic_1400s1950s.htm">big magic book</a> is full of wonderful illustrations and photographs of magicians from the 1400s to the 1950s. I'm not sure I've ever shared my obsession with early twentieth century magic with you before but that's a post for another day!<br />
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The other book is a cookbook from the famous Parisian confectioners, <a href="http://www.lameredefamille.com/#/home/">A<em> </em>La Mere de Famille</a>. As an Australian, the thought that this corner store has been in continuous operation since 1761, well before white Australia is almost unfathomable. The recipes throughout the book reflect the different eras covering everything from cakes and biscuits to chocolates, candied fruits, syrups and ice-creams. Most intriguing of all, however, are the stories surrounding how the shop has found new owners often by serendipity rather than through family connection. The right people just seem to appear at the right time including a number of people who were initially enamoured customers.<br />
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So as much as I would have liked to just blink my eyes and find myself in Paris, birthday lunch was a little closer to home at our closest Italian equivalent, <a href="http://www.brunetti.com.au/">Brunetti's</a> where we had homemade gnocchi with tomato, basil and buffalo mozzarella, pizza and salade caprese. We also took home one of their profiteroles towers filled with zabaglione cream for afternoon tea and lounged around reading books and dozing for the rest of the day. Bliss!<br />
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Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-20421098148676008352013-10-18T08:09:00.000+11:002013-10-18T08:09:00.070+11:00How does your garden grow?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The early days of Spring have been an erratic affair in Melbourne this year with often very chilly 16 degree days and warm 26 degree days in the same week. It has also been incredibly windy so I've put off planting anything new and needy in favour of maintaining and re-staking existing plants. I'm also holding off on planting tomatoes until the more<a href="http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2011/09/14/380571_gardening.html"> traditional Melbourne Cup Day</a> but the nice weather on the weekend got the better of us so we all trundled off to the nursery to explore the seeds and seedlings. <br />
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After a few not so successful attempts with seeds in the past I like to stick to seedlings so I came home happy with my parsley, basil, mint, oregano and thyme (the rosemary I struck from a larger plant my father gave me - rosemary for remembrance). The kids carry less battle scars than me (although there were those weirdly contorted carrots we grew one year) so they opted for seeds but we all agreed that they should be for relatively quick growing things that they would actually eat. <br />
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Enter<span id="goog_908312417"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"> Little Gardeners<span id="goog_908312418"></span></a> seeds and their lovely Rainbow Veggie Salad mix (radishes, rainbow silver beet/ chard and carrots - we've held off on the carrots!) and some cucumber, lettuce and rocket. As you can never have enough basil we also bought some basil seeds which came impregnated in a paper disc which you just pop into the soil. I'm not at all sure where I am going to put all the resulting seedlings but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.<br />
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What's growing in your garden?Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-73024497069293307252013-10-16T18:31:00.002+11:002013-10-16T18:37:48.380+11:00Patience is a virtue...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was so excited to hear that Eleanor Catton's book, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/eleanor-catton-28-wins-man-booker-prize-for-the-luminaries-20131016-2vlfr.html">The Luminaries</a> had won the Man Booker Prize today. I've had it sitting by my bedside waiting patiently for me to find the time to dive in and lose myself in this rollicking 19th century, astrologically-inspired thriller. It's one of three BIG books that I've been waiting patiently to see released this year. While Catton wrote her 832 page prize-winner in just two years, it's been seven years since <a href="http://marishapessl.com/">Marisha Pessl</a> released her clever, crazy debut novel, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Topics_in_Calamity_Physics">Special Topics In Calamity Physics</a>, while true to her word that she would only ever write one book every ten years, Donna Tartt's, <a href="http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/Books/detail.page?isbn=9781408704943">The Goldfinch</a> is her first book since 2002 (you might have read her wonderful debut novel <a href="http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/blog/donna-tartt-secret-history-20-year-anniversary/#.Ul4_uL64Zdg">The Secret History</a> way back in 1992).<br />
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Big books are a big commitment and mixed reviews are almost a given when ambition and size collide but advanced reviews for 'The Goldfinch'<a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/13/the_goldfinch_21st_century_dickens/"> here</a> and<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/books/review/donna-tartts-goldfinch.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&adxnnlx=1381907276-ID ptXeXP3zCz/31vRD15g"> here</a> have me counting the days until its release. Marisha Pessl's 'Night Film' might be a bit more of a gamble given her propensity for melodrama and structural experimentation but as <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2013/09/marisha_pessl_s_novel_night_film_reviewed.html">this reviewer</a> noted, 'Just because you know you’re on a rickety ghost train doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the ride.'Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-58580718670800758212013-10-04T08:00:00.000+10:002013-10-04T08:00:05.893+10:00This moment...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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'A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember'. <br />
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Inspired by <a href="http://www.soulemama.com/">SouleMama</a><br />
<br />Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-81151627051889714812013-09-30T18:27:00.000+10:002013-09-30T18:27:47.736+10:00'I am filled with music...'<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my<br />limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">George Eliot</span><br />
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Last week we bought a piano. It is new, cost a pretty penny and demands a room of its own but I'm already convinced that it will be one of the best investments we'll ever make. <br />
<br />For the past couple of years the kids have been learning piano on a digital keyboard with weighted keys and although the grand piano samples on it were very good (and the kids loved all the effects and pre-recorded songs) I've been yearning for something a little more solid. I did consider upgrading to a digital piano, after all, they are cheaper and more compact with the added bonus that they never need tuning but the romantic in me just couldn't wrap her head around the fact that 'there's nothing inside'. I mean, really. Just take a look at the inside of a piano... <br />
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Extraordinary, yes?<br />
<br />To have music in your life is such a gift. Between the four of us we play a very eclectic repertoire, everything from 'London Bridge Is Falling Down' to Chopin's 'Nocturne in E flat' by way of Disney's 'A Whole New World' and the odd <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY">Tom Lehrer tune</a>. It's been so long since I've learnt anything new so it was reassuring to know that my fingers still knew their way to Middle C and my brain still knew how to <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Sight-Read-Music">sight-read music</a> so I've downloaded the sheet-music for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_pQC_tV3kQ">The Violet Hours by The Civil Wars</a>. Who knows I might even be able to casually sit down and play it <a href="http://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/support-us/private-giving/play-me-im-yours.aspx">here</a> in January.Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-45524280629635844372013-09-06T08:00:00.000+10:002013-09-06T08:00:02.892+10:00Desire paths...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYmJaQD3SjjUMPpXmhyphenhyphenTKd0UkuUq0DlpsG8RzB8w-Oi16IxkTSQICFZa7zXDtjHw8eGeBwFLwgazNh6avkmLxfMFNucQAcYpfxA5GKCXwe8APQdSsVCbCxN23rwLWQ2D5G93H5xpDAYjs/s1600/School+path+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYmJaQD3SjjUMPpXmhyphenhyphenTKd0UkuUq0DlpsG8RzB8w-Oi16IxkTSQICFZa7zXDtjHw8eGeBwFLwgazNh6avkmLxfMFNucQAcYpfxA5GKCXwe8APQdSsVCbCxN23rwLWQ2D5G93H5xpDAYjs/s640/School+path+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Walking the kids into school this week in this glorious Spring weather I was reminded of <a href="http://spitalfieldslife.com/2012/08/17/east-end-desire-paths/">this lovely piece</a> on 'desire paths' by the gentle author over at <a href="http://spitalfieldslife.com/">Spitalfields Life</a>. I'm sure you have a favourite desire path yourself where you walk off the beaten track even when a perfectly good footpath has been provided for you by your local council? For me there is something so very human about the way we choose to navigate around rules and regulations following our nose, always on the look for something unexpected (like that amazing tree in full bloom right in the middle of the small clearing above). </div>
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Our school is not in the middle of the woods. It sits on a fairly busy highway and has a regular car-park and drop-off point out the front with two <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_guard">lolly-pop ladies</a> to help you cross the road but we prefer to park down the side of the school and wend our way along this desire path (there is actually more than one). The light is different every day, we sometimes get wet feet from dew on the grass and at this time of year the smell from the pine needles and the nearby wattle is heady. If you're lucky you might catch a pair of <a href="http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Trichoglossus-haematodus">Rainbow Lorikeets </a>circling but most days it's more likely to be a family of magpies caroling in the trees. Why would you go any other way?</div>
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Perhaps you have a favourite 'desire path'?</div>
Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-1659765486543095612013-09-04T13:52:00.001+10:002013-09-04T13:52:15.358+10:00The things we do for love...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, I made it! For the first time in many years I felt the fear and did it anyway. And we're talking feel like you're going to die fear. Walking across the tarmac every single fibre of my being was shouting, 'run, run and don't look back'. As I walked up the stairs and into the plane I was shaking uncontrollably all over and my heart was beating so loudly that I literally could not hear myself think. Once on board I turned to the flight attendant and said, 'I don't think I can do this'. It was getting hard to breathe. I stood there for a little longer knowing that the rest of my family was already on board willing me to tough it out but respecting my need to do it on my own terms. Suddenly I had one of those 'life flashing before your eyes' moments where I realised that if I didn't take this flight it would be the beginning of a long string of other things I would never do in my life. Before I knew it my legs were moving independently of my body and was walking towards my seat. Other passengers were, of course, amazingly understanding, one older lady even offering to hold my hand across the aisle.</div>
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As the plane taxied out I shut my eyes and started to meditate something I was sure I wouldn't be able to do in such a heightened state of anxiety but I could and I did for most of the 2 hour trip. Coming back was better (the lure of home perhaps?) and I was only what I call 'normal person' nervous. I took my<a href="http://www.martinandpleasance.com/brands/rescue-remedy/"> Rescue Remedy</a>, listened to Respighi's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFkqyxy6oUw">The Pines Of Rome</a> over and over again, the only classical music I had on my iPhone, and after some turbulence and circling (of course!) we finally touched down.</div>
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And look what I would have missed out on if I hadn't gone...</div>
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Sunset at <a href="http://www.gold-coast-beaches.com.au/kurrawa-beach.html">Kurrawa Beach</a> </div>
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Meeting this little fella on our balcony...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuOZ61YibMg4V3i5x1bLNVVVG-LXVZ7QAsPSolrVpwE0ZgZxAaw3Tfs7vTTpy8Fh8YHPl7TLGThDvd-iFVD0Cec0pKsTOM1GmJl3xyX1m1_zRbSemXP3CZhrzZm0HUp9IJq_6NApIJtk6/s1600/Kooka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuOZ61YibMg4V3i5x1bLNVVVG-LXVZ7QAsPSolrVpwE0ZgZxAaw3Tfs7vTTpy8Fh8YHPl7TLGThDvd-iFVD0Cec0pKsTOM1GmJl3xyX1m1_zRbSemXP3CZhrzZm0HUp9IJq_6NApIJtk6/s640/Kooka.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Seeing my family having the time of their lives...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0fZFc3Z7vG41x8pQucGPGrkF7E0xkNbSAxvMCmTCHt-nzQvQLpkIyiot3g3uKZg91DXK0lQwyXN_fL6IxGsJ8b-fJEPOXdj7fsskViWgcVAfLsR46uAQsXyC6btnQx76kiAe1KRYagXto/s1600/tom+and+bella.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0fZFc3Z7vG41x8pQucGPGrkF7E0xkNbSAxvMCmTCHt-nzQvQLpkIyiot3g3uKZg91DXK0lQwyXN_fL6IxGsJ8b-fJEPOXdj7fsskViWgcVAfLsR46uAQsXyC6btnQx76kiAe1KRYagXto/s640/tom+and+bella.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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...and of course cheering Bella on as she competed in her first School Aerobics National Championships. That's what got me there and that's what made it all worthwhile. The things we do for love.</div>
Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-16327514017609910512013-08-04T16:36:00.001+10:002013-08-05T10:58:58.819+10:00Taking Stock...<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgudbG5YgeTvei6dRBLj4rLpUxgE3I1BquFuAZdmXPe4fChKxqKS2Hlcfnio-B2cKSSSmK-ra1aYt7A9hLeEJY4QLhSUBKctDGlsT70Gsw_J9zxOXxPQAy93taa351erDJRcueZPxiDiq7L/s640/blogger-image-1795515276.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgudbG5YgeTvei6dRBLj4rLpUxgE3I1BquFuAZdmXPe4fChKxqKS2Hlcfnio-B2cKSSSmK-ra1aYt7A9hLeEJY4QLhSUBKctDGlsT70Gsw_J9zxOXxPQAy93taa351erDJRcueZPxiDiq7L/s640/blogger-image-1795515276.jpg" /></a><br />
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Inspired by Pip over at <a href="http://meetmeatmikes.com/2013/08/taking-stock/">Meet Me At Mike's</a> I'm taking stock. <br />
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Making: travel plans<br />
<br />Cooking: poached quinces <br />
<br />Drinking: Earl Grey tea<br />
<br />Reading: a million things at once including 'The Love Charm of Bombs' by Lara Feigel; 'Through the Window: Seventeen Essays and One Short Story' by Julian Barnes and 'Finn Family Moomintroll' by Tove Jansson.<br />
Wanting: courage<br />
<br />Looking: out a cloudy skies<br />
<br />Playing: at being a filmmaker<br />
<br />Wasting: ?<br />
<br />Sewing: labels onto jester costumes<br />
<br />Wishing: I could fast forward myself three weeks hence<br />
<br />Enjoying: learning how to edit audio-visuals<br />
<br />Waiting: for my quinces to be ready <br />
<br />Liking: my early morning mindfulness meditation<br />
<br />Wondering: what the future will bring (not very mindful I know)<br />
<br />Loving: Melbourne in winter<br />
<br />Hoping: I'm up to the challenge<br />
<br />Marvelling: at the production of <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/opera/einstein-on-the-beach-20130801-2r2dm.html">'Einstein On The Beach'</a> I saw this week. <br />
<br />Needing: reassurance <br />
<br />Smelling: wonderfully aromatic poached quinces<br />
<br />Wearing: jeans<br />
<br />Following: BBC Twitter feed to see who the new Dr Who will be!<br />
<br />Noticing: small changes as I reach 30 days of meditation<br />
<br />Knowing: nothing is certain<br />
<br />Thinking: too much<br />
<br />Feeling: snug<br />
<br />Bookmarking: an online excerpt of Marisha Pessl's new book,<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/149054254/Night-Film-by-Marisha-Pessl"> 'Night Film'</a><br />
<br />Opening: the oven to watch my quinces changing colour<br />
<br />Giggling: I'm not much of a giggler<br />
<br />Feeling: fine<br />
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Hope you're feeling fine too!<br />
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(I wrote this on my phone using the Blogger app but couldn't work out how to insert links and not sure about formatting either!)Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-76993884098948159792013-07-10T17:38:00.001+10:002013-07-10T17:38:21.571+10:00Meditation, music and museums...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0j129h6H4V2-wvLB-etpV7o6rUAZ1rYUDkDc75XA__5agGZQ9xCiMh6fZYa17cZjdGqDsUpW7WRnh39zQjAv2CDGPAzKgfGvPLTRCBR2nsQVQE9dp5XCY7DJZQcjDoI7f4sFdOoJgdiIf/s1600/ngv+water+install.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0j129h6H4V2-wvLB-etpV7o6rUAZ1rYUDkDc75XA__5agGZQ9xCiMh6fZYa17cZjdGqDsUpW7WRnh39zQjAv2CDGPAzKgfGvPLTRCBR2nsQVQE9dp5XCY7DJZQcjDoI7f4sFdOoJgdiIf/s640/ngv+water+install.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/exhibitions/celeste-boursier-mougenot-clinamen"><em>clinamen</em>, an acoustic installation by Celeste Boursier-Mougenot</a><br />
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School holidays are rapidly drawing to a close and usually, by this stage, I've secretly started to look forward to an orderly return to the school/work schedule. These holidays, however, have been different. I've been meditating every morning and there has been no holiday program for the kids just a mixture of work and days off for me and outings and days spent with friends for the kids. Time has had an elastic quality. Over the past two weeks we've managed to squeeze in visits to <a href="http://www.lunapark.com.au/">Luna Park</a>, the <a href="http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/">National Gallery of Victoria</a> and the <a href="http://www.acmi.net.au/hollywood-costume.aspx">Hollywood Costume exhibition at ACMI</a> and I've watched in awe as colleagues raced to the finish line with the truly remarkable exhibition, <a href="http://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/event.aspx?id=3610">The Extraordinary Shapes of Geoffrey Rush.</a><br />
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Another definite highlight was the wonderful day I spent in the city with Henry. I took him to <a href="http://www.thomasmusic.net.au/">Thomas'</a>, a very special fine music store in Melbourne, so he could spend a gift voucher his grandmother had given him. Henry's passion is classical music (especially early twentieth century French!) so of course the staff took a shine to him right away and we left with five CDs including one they gave him for free. He was in seventh heaven. To complete the top of Bourke Street tour I wanted to take him to <a href="http://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/food-and-drink/directory/restaurant/cafe/pellegrinis">Pellegrini's</a> but, alas, it was too crowded so I got to try somewhere new too when we ended up at <a href="http://www.selfpreservation.com.au/">Self Preservation</a> where we shared a delicious slice of Lemon Pound Cake with our coffee and blood orange juice. Of course we couldn't walk past <a href="http://www.paperbackbooks.com.au/">The Paperback Bookshop</a> or<a href="http://www.hillofcontentbookshop.com/index.html"> The Hill Of Content</a> without some serious browsing and the acquisition of at least one book, Oliver Jeffers and Drew Daywalt's new children's title, <a href="http://www.oliverjeffers.com/picture-books/picture-books/the-day-the-crayons-quit">The Day The Crayons Quit.</a> <br />
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We then walked back to the car through the dappled sunshine of the Fitzroy Gardens, past Ola Cohn's intricately carved <a href="http://fitzroygardens.com/Index_Page.htm">Fairy Tree</a> and the model <a href="http://fitzroygardens.com/Index_Page.htm">Tudor Village</a> given to the City of Melbourne in appreciation of the food parcels sent to Britain during World War II. With time still on our hands we motored down to the National Gallery of Victoria where we sat before Celine Boursier-Mougenot's beautiful acoustic installation which chimed so nicely (both literally and figuratively) with my new meditation regime.<br />
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Time seemed so inconsequential that day. I could have sat there forever.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz7KnzsuhMTxUzzOvKTo_B2i2CoEJ0Y303YaRMZJHXn4nh7DB1rEV1kvzkjuOdmEhHC8wnjQ1f4XPyolZB0Nw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-38618132399282922512013-06-28T22:25:00.001+10:002013-06-28T22:25:29.292+10:00<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQ6hc0GLNyE8EzOFqQ-KWaAmXoQ2dLJ4beGBl7p9pnAPVZ-jhQKV6wwUBmoI7s8NXqWmlwlJAsbd6ZjjITYFw1hB0OotPm3PG6gZTsn8ibveyXFnJ-TnCerzp4o9L82S1S3jCMpao44-l/s640/blogger-image-1837139355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQ6hc0GLNyE8EzOFqQ-KWaAmXoQ2dLJ4beGBl7p9pnAPVZ-jhQKV6wwUBmoI7s8NXqWmlwlJAsbd6ZjjITYFw1hB0OotPm3PG6gZTsn8ibveyXFnJ-TnCerzp4o9L82S1S3jCMpao44-l/s640/blogger-image-1837139355.jpg" /></a></div>Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-76919115153458063092013-06-19T14:48:00.002+10:002013-06-19T15:18:05.638+10:00Winter Sunshine...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5j3MuoI2G6bkXO6pOVvw-i7wYPN7W1azmHd1LWTf3oMuU9yPQgC0B4JwMgMmX_hKEYG6x8ElT84pw0JPFdMvGqdp0Ldqe1fR3d83AXUguvEOduJx8N6IDjrQyZWWZjYMDHZBJO-4ry0UZ/s1600/sunshine+biscuits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5j3MuoI2G6bkXO6pOVvw-i7wYPN7W1azmHd1LWTf3oMuU9yPQgC0B4JwMgMmX_hKEYG6x8ElT84pw0JPFdMvGqdp0Ldqe1fR3d83AXUguvEOduJx8N6IDjrQyZWWZjYMDHZBJO-4ry0UZ/s1600/sunshine+biscuits.jpg" /></a></div>
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It's cold, cold, cold here at the moment. Winter Solstice is upon us, the mornings are dark and it's almost impossible to get the washing dry. These little biscuits are my attempt to inject a little sunshine into our light deprived lives.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Sunshine Biscuits</span></strong><br />
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<strong>Ingredients</strong><br />
125 grams butter, softened<br />
2 teaspoons of finely grated lemon zest<br />
2/3 cup (110g) icing sugar, sifted<br />
1/3 cup (55g) polenta<br />
1 1/3 cups (200g) plain flour, sifted<br />
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<strong>Icing</strong><br />
1 cup icing sugar, sifted<br />
juice of 1/2 lemon (add a few drops of water if necessary)<br />
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<strong>Method</strong><br />
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<strong>1. Preheat oven to 180C/ 375F and lined two trays with baking paper</strong><br />
<strong>2. Cream butter, icing sugar and zest then stir in polenta and flour.</strong><br />
<strong>3. Roll dough out between two sheets of baking paper until it measures about 1-2cm.</strong><br />
<strong>4. Use cutter (or just roll into balls and flatten) and place each biscuit on tray.</strong><br />
<strong>5. Bake for 10 -15 mins or until lightly golden and slightly firm to the touch.</strong><br />
<strong>6. Leave to cool before icing.</strong>Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-82287717481454811672013-05-29T14:26:00.001+10:002013-05-29T14:26:43.277+10:00The Simple Things...Cabbage roses. What's not to love about a flower shaped like a vegetable?<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhokxQMYrchi-yhqqJugmRACIutEBmAWRaANQNFtOF7nbCMs-5ucG6c9WgyFwLlYrXpWvMgtVDP48R88mMLiGTX0n9hiP1gFETvM-qADT0f9RTg4LDLj6-H02OiZEFZhp_h2L7eIfkRwyTK/s640/blogger-image--867388226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhokxQMYrchi-yhqqJugmRACIutEBmAWRaANQNFtOF7nbCMs-5ucG6c9WgyFwLlYrXpWvMgtVDP48R88mMLiGTX0n9hiP1gFETvM-qADT0f9RTg4LDLj6-H02OiZEFZhp_h2L7eIfkRwyTK/s640/blogger-image--867388226.jpg" /></a></div>Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-540809747394327987.post-51611595508239513262013-05-16T15:30:00.004+10:002013-05-16T15:40:47.649+10:00Link Love...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhb_dAxtuft9hDE0t4jbXpqlC2MT74YH9cdWdtReY5zOJbwSz3yexa48nVZaNGK-9dWyB_udcfCSpgt3yr66VMxUEM32jjBFvRjz6teintVI4ekucZAObN8v0ZwvYrPyoG2hyphenhyphenTqqO2eoh/s1600/music-room-by-duncan-grant-and-vanessa-bell-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhb_dAxtuft9hDE0t4jbXpqlC2MT74YH9cdWdtReY5zOJbwSz3yexa48nVZaNGK-9dWyB_udcfCSpgt3yr66VMxUEM32jjBFvRjz6teintVI4ekucZAObN8v0ZwvYrPyoG2hyphenhyphenTqqO2eoh/s640/music-room-by-duncan-grant-and-vanessa-bell-15.jpg" width="459" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Music Room designed by Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell via </span><a href="http://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/in-a-white-room-and-other-modern-colour-schemes-1934/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Library Time Machine</span></a></div>
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It's been a long time since I've indulged in some link love. Each week I see so many amazing things I'd like to share with you but somehow the time flies and the moment is lost. Not this week. Here are a few things that have been tickling my fancy over the pass little while.</div>
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:: <a href="http://myscienceacademy.org/2013/04/14/the-33-most-beautiful-abandoned-places-in-the-world/">30 Abandoned Places That Look Truly Beautiful</a> took my breath away (am I the only one who finds what has happened to Detroit incomprehensible?)<br />
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:: Dave Walker at <a href="http://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/">The Library Time Machine</a> continues to delight with stories drawn from the libraries of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. I particularly enjoyed this <a href="http://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/in-a-white-room-and-other-modern-colour-schemes-1934/">one</a> about 1930s interior design and <a href="http://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/halls-of-empire-inside-the-imperial-institute-1893/">his recent one</a> which takes us inside the Imperial Institute in 1893. If you enjoy these two do take a look around the site. There are some fascinating stories lurking within.<br />
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:: How clever is <a href="http://stylewilderness.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/refashioning-ethnic-dress-yao-jacket.html">Leeyong?</a> Never have Explorer socks looked so good.<br />
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:: I am totally obsessed with Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk's monumental novel, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jan/09/orhan-pamuk-novel-james-lasdun">'The Museum of Innocence'</a> and the whole wheels within wheels story behind it. Do you know<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/magazine/01Pamuk-t.html?_r=0"> the story</a>? Nobel Prize winning author writes novel about a museum then spends prize winnings on replicating it in real life? Check out these <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2012/apr/27/orhan-pamuk-museum-innocence-pictures">gorgeous photographs</a> of some of the exhibits <a href="http://www.masumiyetmuzesi.org/?Language=ENG">The Museum of Innocence in Istanbul</a>.<br />
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:: Finally, it's been great fun following Canadian astronaut <a href="https://twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield">Chris Hadfield on Twitter</a> this year - <a href="http://weather.aol.com/2013/05/13/chris-hadfields-30-best-photos-from-space">amazing photographs</a> and experiments - but nothing to top his version of David Bowie's, 'Space Oddity'. <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/astronaut-chris-hadfields-space-oddity-poignant-says-david-bowie/story-e6frg6so-1226641865554">Take it away Chris...</a><br />
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<br />Cazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11853693147709202804noreply@blogger.com0