This Week....

I'm reading....

As I mentioned last week I started reading The Life She Creates by Maggie Christensen on the plane to Tasmania. It turns out that the Granite Springs books are perfect holiday reads as I ended up finishing that book and the next book in the series, The Life She Regrets. I started the final book in the series, The Life She Dreams on the plane on the way home. I guess I am going to be looking for Maggie Christensen's earlier books now.

The other book that I finished on the plane was Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. As I sit here I am trying to work out what I felt about the book. There was beautiful use of language, so many lovely quotes, and overall it was a satisfying read. It wasn't perfect though. I would just get invested in one of the stories and the narrative would change. I admired it a lot but it was a challenge to read.

I thought I would mention that I am planning to participate in March Magics, hosted by WeBeReading. The idea of March Magics is to read Terry Pratchett and Diana Wynn-Jones. The theme for this year is Old Friends and New which is a perfect theme for me. I have been reading Pratchett for a long time and yet I still haven't read all of them, and I have never read Diana Wynn-Jones. I know....shocking. My intention is to read a book of essays I have titled Women of Pratchett by Tansy Rayner-Roberts and then to read Moving Pictures. As for DWJ, I am not really sure where to start. Maybe with Howl's Moving Castle.

I'm watching....

We just watched what we could find whilst we were on holidays. We did watch more news than we would normally so we have been watching the news with disbelief, both in terms of the news coming out of the Ukraine and the unfolding flooding situation in Queensland.

Life

Have I mentioned that I was on holidays this week? We had an amazing week away in Tasmania. I had been there before but my husband hadn't but we are already talking about what we will do next time we go. I posted some photos from Port Arthur last week and here's a few pics from this week.

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Dynamic Duos

Blog Tour: Summer in Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen

Weekend Cooking:What I Baked in February

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

This Week...

I'm reading...

Last week I mentioned that I was starting Summer in Bellbird By by Maggie Christensen which I read in a day and thoroughly enjoyed. My blog post should be up this week. This is the start of a spin off from the Granite Springs series. Reading this book reminded me that I had not finished reading the Granite Springs series and so this week I read A Granite Springs Christmas and I read half of the next book, The Life She Creates on the plane this morning. I foresee the last two books in the series in my very near reading future.

I still need to finish Cloud Cuckoo Land too!

I also finished listening to Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M Valente. What a strange and yet mesmerising story. This is a retelling with a difference and It;s really hard to even begin to talk about without spoiling.

Next up, I think I am going to start listening to Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. My main reason for choosing this is tht it around 6 hours long which is a doable length for me.

I'm watching....

We are big fans of Escape to the Chateau so we were excited to see that there is a new series. My husband likes to think we are a bit like Angel and Dick, in that I think of an idea and then he has to make it happen. I think that is a bit harsh, especially seeing as sometimes they are his ideas!

I have also started watching two series about the River Thames which are Bridges that Built London and The Thames at Night which is hosted by Tony Robinson. I find all the hidden stories and historical information fascinating. It's right up there with train based travel shows for me.

We also binge watched season 2 of Starstruck on Saturday night. It was a fun way to spend a few hour.  The story focusses on a girl from New Zealand who is living in London when she meets a movie star. She is not great at relationships and so there are many ups and downs and hi-jinx all round. It's easy watching.

Life

I spent Saturday morning getting cultured by attending an exhibition of scenes from the Sistine Chapel. Whilst it isn't the same as going to Rome, it was nice to be able too see many of the paintings from the frescoes up close and in detail. One of the things I loved was that Michelangelo really seemed to value books and learning and this was reflected in his paintings. I mean, we've all had that moment when we have been reading a really good book and we get interupted but we don't have a bookmark handy so we have to use our fingers to not lose our place.

We are currently in Tasmania on holidays and we spent Sunday at Port Arthur, which is a historical penal site and tomorrow we are heading up the coast. Look forward to more pictures next week.

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with No Words

Weekend Cooking: Big Night

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

Weekend Cooking: First date food

Today is the fifth anniversary of my first date with my husband. As a result I have been reminiscing about our first date. 

Food is such an integral part of meeting people and of celebrations and for us and our first date, it was no different. We went to a famous cake shop called Brunettis for coffee and cake and great converation, but it didn't end there. I had had some horror first date stories so had agreed to coffee, but once we started chatting we didn't want to stop. We actually did things a bit back to front because from the coffee shop we went to a restaurant and shared a pizza and talked for another couple of hours.

I don't remember what cake I had during our date, but I do remember a couple of other things from that momentous meeting.  After he shook my hand goodbye (boy did I tease him about that in my wedding speech) and we had arranged to meet up again, I went back to the cake shop and bought some sfogliatelli. I had heard of them watching a travel show sent in Italy and I really wanted to try them!

The funny thing is that I remember exactly what I had for dinner that night. My cousin and his family were over from Perth on holidays, so I went to my sister's house and had home made burgers. I was a bit late and  already stuffed from cake and pizza, but on this day, if no other, I can remember exactly what I had for dinner 5 years ago! Given that I can't remember what we had for dinner on Tuesday that is quite an achievement.

I thought I would share a passage from a book I read last year called The Life She Finds by Maggie Christensent. One of the first times my husband cooked for me was a pork roast with potatoes and mushroom sauce. It was one of the first clues I had that I needed to strongly encourage the adding of green vegetables to the plate. Given that he does most of the cooking, it has got better over the last few years.

I do remember wondering about the combination of flavours though. Veal and tuna ....together? Apparently, it is a classic Italian dish, so it must work!

Ken hummed to himself as he prepared for dinner. He wanted it to be perfect, to prove to Lyn he wasn't a sad old has-been, and could serve up a gourmet meal. He'd taken out the old Margaret Fulton Cookbook his mother presented him with when he moved into town. He'd always supected she disagreed with his father's decision, but was too much of the conventional country wife to voice any objection. She'd made do with helping Ken set up his new home, and the cookbook was one of her gifts. He'd enjoyed learning to cook and trying out new recipes, even though he rarely put his skills to use these days, preferring to snack or eat out.

Over the years, he'd added to his collection of cookbooks - much to Sheila's disgust. Now Margaret Fulton's famous tome sat alongside books by Jamie Oliver, Bill Granger, Peter Howard and, of course, Nigella Lawson. But, for a special occasion like this one, where he wanted to impress Lyn with an old favourite, it was to his old favourite he turned, and the food spattered page which held the recipe for Vitello Tonnato.

Ken had sourced the veal from his local butcher earlier in the week and cooked it the night before. Now it sat chilling in the refrigerator. All he had to do was slice the veal thinly, arrange it on a platter with a little of the sauce, put it back in the fridge to chill again, and prepare the salad. He hoped Lyn would be impressed.

Fortunately my husband impressed me from day one, and here we are!

Weekly meals

Saturday - Pork chops with mash potatoes and beans

Sunday - Ratatouille wth sausages
Monday - Mince pies
Tuesday - 
Wednesday - Warm steak salad
Thursday - Pork nachos

Friday - Anniversay dinner

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

This Week I ...

 

I'm reading...

This week I finished reading Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells. These Murderbot books are really good and I will definitely be reading the next book in the next few weeks.

I decided to go back to a series that I started reading earlier this year and so I started reading The Life She Imagines by Maggie Christensen. This is the fifth book in the Granite Spring series which all feature older couples romance. I find them to be very enjoyable reads. I mean, I found love in my late 40s so it is nice to read others doing the same right.

I did manage to get to the library for the first time in months this weekend. I was only going to have a quick life at the shelves near the door, but it so happened that there were two books on the new releases shelf so I quickly nabbed them.

I'm watching....

My husband isn't terribly fussed about sports, so I think this will be the least amount of Olympics I have ever watched in my life. i did catch some of the swimming and bits and pieces of other events. He does  love sailing so we did watch a little of that.

On Saturday night we watched several episodes of the second series of Stan Lee's Lucky Man. I imagine that we will keep on watching that over the coming week.

Life

We are back out of lockdown again but with lots of restrictions still in place. There are lots of other parts of the country that are still in lockdown so not much celebrating happening here. We left the house both days, which means wearing my leaving the house perfume both days! We did manage to see the kids and have a nice lunch!

Posts from last week

Music A-Z: I

Paris in July: La Fin

Weekend Cooking: What I Baked in July

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: August linkup

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

This Week ....

 I'm reading....

I finally picked up the fourth book in the Granite Springs series by Maggie Christensen. I read the first three books in the series in quick succession earlier this year but despite my best intentions I hadn't yet got to the next book. The Life She Finds was actually really good.  I am really enjoying these more mature romances set in country Australia.

I have now started Railway Girls in Love by Maisie Thomas, which is the third book in the Railway Girls series, and the review for this one will be up later this week. I read the second book last week and enjoyed it.

I'm watching...

We haven't really started anything new. We are all caught up on both Great British Bake Off and the associated Extra Slice. I have decided to try and make the technical challenge from each episode. More precisely I had decided to do this until I got to the third episode and saw what the technical challenge was, after which I decided to just make something. 

We are also up to date with The Arrow and the Winter Soldier which is good, although if I had to pick between that and Wandavision, I would pick Wandavision every time.

We are also excited that Anh's Brush with Fame is back on too. We really enjoy the conversations that Anh has with various celebrities while he paints their portrait. Definitely falls under the definition of fee good TV.

Life.....

Actually not a lot going on this week.After being away last week we had a quiet weekend, but we are in preparation phase for the next home reno project. We'll see how that goes.

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Watery Books

Weekend Cooking: Sounds of Silence Dinner

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

This week.....

 I'm reading...

It'll be no surprise to find out I read the third book in the Granite Springs series by Maggie Christensen this week, after reading the first two books in the series over the last couple of weeks. I have thoroughly enjoyed this series so far, and so I will definitely be going back to it.

I did, however, think that perhaps I should break it up a bit by reading something different. In this case, it was by picking up The Things We Don't Say by Ella Carey!

I have also made a bit of progress on my audiobook, The Sun Sister by Lucinda Riley. I have finally started to come around to the main character in the modern part of the dual timeline. 


I'm Watching....

We didn't really watch anything much this week.



Life....

My laptop died....dead, dead, dead. We are waiting to see if it can be repaired but last time we spoke to the repairman it sounded hopeful that it can be fixed. I am looking forward to having it back, not least because blogging on my work laptop is okay, but there are a few issues. For example,  I can't add a Mr Linky to my posts on my work laptop because the site is blocked.

We are doing a lot of talking about ensuite bathrooms and gardens, which means it must be nearly time to start the next renovation project. Watch this space.

Posts from the last week

Weekend Cooking: Chorizo and Sun Dried Tomato Tortilla

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant to get to in 2020

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

This Week ...

 

I'm reading...

I finished my last book while we were travelling and so then I had the luxury of deciding what I wanted to read and wasn't constricted by hat I needed to read but rather I had the freedom to choose what to read. My only restriction was that it needed to be a book that was already downloaded as our internet access was a bit limited.

 

So what did I choose? I chose to start reading The Life She Deserves by Maggie Christensen, the first book in the Granite Springs series. The reason I chose this book was because I have heard that the books are good, and I liked the idea of reading a rural romance which features older characters. As someone who met their spouse in my mid forties, I love the idea of reading about more mature characters. So far, the main characters adult kids are annoying me but we will see how it goes as I read more. Given that the seventh book in the series is just about to come out, I have plenty of reading in front of me.

I'm watching....


Because we were away last week, we didn't watch too much, other than quiz shows. We watched plenty of those!

Life

Our road trip was full of ups and downs! We ended up driving the Great Alpine Road and spent a couple of days at Falls Creek and then another couple of days at Mount Hotham. In winter both of these are snow covered playgrounds for skiers and boarders. In summer, the trails are ideal for mountain biking and walking. While we didnt do any biking, we did walk a bit. It has confirmed how unfit we are, so that's something that we should probably do something about.

After hitting the heights in the mountains, we then ended up in Lakes Entrance which is a beautiful place.

From mountains as far as the eye can see to water as far as the eye can see!

Posts from the last week

Weekend Cooking: Roadtrippin'

Blog Tour: An American in Paris by Siobhan Curham

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date