I'm all ears...

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.
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 3RRR. For a country kid it was mind blowing. My favourite programs were Film Buffs Forecast 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.

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:

If you like the idea of fiction/ radio plays
The Truth - Movies For Your Ears
Welcome To Night Vale

If you're fascinated by history and culture
The Memory Palace
99% Invisible (architecture and design)

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.

If you have a favourite podcast I'd love to hear about it.

You have killer taste...

THE GAP by Ira Glass from frohlocke on Vimeo.

Ira Glass is a wise man. You may know him from his work on the American public radio program, This American Life, 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.

You can thank me (and Ira) later...

Linking with Meet Me At Mikes because Pip is right. It's important to acknowledge those who inspire us.

Taking Stock... February 2014

 

 

Inspired by Meet Me At Mikes (slightly edited version!)

Making :  a little crocheted cat from the book Super Scary Crochet by Nicki Trench
Cooking : Maple Olive Oil Banana Bread as seen on Shutterbean
Reading: 'Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and The Greatest Treasure Hunt In History' by Robert M. Edsal with Bret Witter
Wanting: to see the film of the above
Looking: out a lot of train windows
Listening: to Welcome To Night Vale podcasts
Enjoying: the new season of Sherlock on DVD
Liking: Instagram
Wondering: what to read next
Loving: the cooler weather
Watching: Star Wars and Indiana Jones with the kids
Hoping: those recently affected by the Victorian bushfires are finding their feet again
Marvelling: at the creativity behind White Night Melbourne
Needing: a few early nights to get me ready for a busy two weeks at work
Smelling: lemon-scented eucalypts
Wearing: uncharacteristically flat shoes
Following: Kaz Cooke's adventures at the State Library of Victoria on Fellow Frockery
Noticing: so much more now that I have to walk so much more
Getting: very good at using a myki card
Bookmarking: the Art Loss Register and Interpol for amazing stories of lost and found treasures
Disliking: the direction I see my country heading in
Snacking: on apricots and almonds
Coveting: nothing
Wishing: for 'a room of one's own'
Helping: the kids back into their busy school term routines
Hearing: good things about the 100 Story Building and their work with maginalised children and young people in Melbourne.

Phew! How about you? Have you been taking stock too?

New year, new eyes...

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.

Here's some things I've learnt already walking and taking public transport:

• 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.
• The buses go every 15 minutes.
• There is no advertising on my local buses (and very little graffiti). It is air-conditioned and very fast.
• Only one of the milk-bars within walking distance of my house sells bread.
• The trains I have caught have all been on time, cool (even during the heatwave), clean and quiet.
• The trains are nowhere near as crowded as I thought they would be unless I catch one at the height of peak hour.
• It takes me almost half the time to get into the city compared to driving.

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).

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.
 

Gingerbread 2.0

Gingerbread Granola by A Beautiful Mess

Next time I'm going to make these instead!

The Gingerbread House as metaphor for life...

 

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.

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.

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.

 

 

 

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 here and here and if you'd prefer to stick with Gingerbread Men (so much easier to control!) here's my Gingerbread recipe.

Gingerbread Biscuits
(Makes lots!)

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup plain flour
6 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 cup dark muscovado sugar
185 grams butter, chopped and softened
1/2 molasses (or golden syrup)
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Method

1.  Sift dry ingredients into a bowl with the sugar.
2.  Add butter and mix with an electric  hand mixer until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3.  Whisk molasses and eggs together and mix until combined.
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.
5.  Cut dough in half, press into a flat disc, wrap in cling-wrap and place in refrigerator for 30 mins.
6.  Remove from refrigerator and pre-heat your oven to 180C/ 375F.
7.  Roll dough out between two pieces of baking paper until the dough is roughly 5mm in thickness.
8.  Use your favourite cutters to make shapes and lay them on prepared baking trays and return to the fridge for 15mins.
9.  Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your shapes, or until firm.
10. Cool completely before decorating with royal icing, silver cachous etc.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Birthday season...

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.

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...

As you can see I have a fondness for Wodehouse. The other two books I've been coveting for some time. The glorious big magic book 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!

The other book is a cookbook from the famous Parisian confectioners, A La Mere de Famille. 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.

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, Brunetti's 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!

 

How does your garden grow?

 

 

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 traditional Melbourne Cup Day 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.

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.

Enter Little Gardeners 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.

What's growing in your garden?

Patience is a virtue...

 

 

I was so excited to hear that Eleanor Catton's book, The Luminaries 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 Marisha Pessl released her clever, crazy debut novel, Special Topics In Calamity Physics, while true to her word that she would only ever write one book every ten years, Donna Tartt's, The Goldfinch is her first book since 2002 (you might have read her wonderful debut novel The Secret History way back in 1992).

Big books are a big commitment and mixed reviews are almost a given when ambition and size collide but advanced reviews for 'The Goldfinch' here and here 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 this reviewer noted, 'Just because you know you’re on a rickety ghost train doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the ride.'

This moment...

'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'.

Inspired by SouleMama