Wedding pics

Here are some photos from our son's wedding back in Feb....for those you don't live on FB land!

The shot above is, from L to R...our stunning ddil Bek, my husband Keith and our son Morgan.

Rebecca & Morgan’s wedding day | TWK Studio Blog

Rebecca & Morgan’s wedding day TWK Studio Blog

Current reads

These books are my current reads, reviews to come, time permitted!

xx

Rosewater and Soda Bread

Hi again

I finished this book a couple of weeks ago...yep I'm posting out of order!

Title: Rosewater and Soda Bread

Author: Marsha Mehran

Plot: novel is about three Iranian sisters who've ended up in a small village in Ireland, they have opened up a cafe...selling their 'foreign' food: interwoven with their story is another story about a mystery girl who is found on a deserted beach near the village. And there is a romance involving the main character.

It's a nice story, but it lacked something for me. It felt to me as though the story finished in a hurry, there wasn't enough information about why the three sisters left Iran....certain incidents are scattered through the novel but I didn't feel as though it was resolved completely.

I did find the interactions between the sisters interesting, enough to help the character development. There is the usual clashes between the older, more conservative sister and the youngest sister, who has embraced a more modern outlook on life.

The locals, who are highly suspicious of the foreigners and their strange food, make for some amusing moments, their reactions are believable given the setting of the story, in a small Irish village.

I give this novel a 6, the blurb from the publishers promises more than this novel actually delivers....but that's the job of the publishers!

Don't be fooled by that and the lovely cover artwork!

Save your money; if you want to read it borrow it from the library or another person, but I wouldn't recommend that you buy it.

This is the author's second novel; I wonder if this her 2ND book was a rushed affair to capitalise on any success that her first novel gathered? For the record, I haven't read or investigated the first novel....that's just my cynical mind at work!

xx

Atonement...a review

Hi

I've finished off reading Ian McEwan's Atonement. I'm so glad that I picked up this book, something about it has stayed with me, I keep thinking about the characters, which for me usually means that a book is a great one!

I won't do a plot review as you can find plenty of those on the web, and I don't wish to give away the twist at the end!

I just offer my thoughts about the book:

I loved the way that it was written from the various characters points of view and that the two scenes that are at the crux of the novel were done in a very subtle way....nothing graphic, which for a popular novel is almost 'a given' these days. Atonement was short-listed for the 2001 Booker Prize.

Some history was woven into the story; Dunkirk and life in hospital in the 40's....somethings were that same when I was nursing 40 years later...even scrubbing bedpans!

Also the social divisions in the pre-war England are explored in this book, divisions that the war probably broke down to some degree!

There is a movie based on this book, starring Keira Knightly as Cecilia Tallis and Vanessa Redgrave as the elderly Briony Tallis. I've watched parts of this movie, but have waited until I've finished the novel to watch it from begining to end!

I gave the novel an 8 out of 10

Figs

Have you tried this delicious fruit?

I tried my first ever fig yesterday! I've never liked the look of dried figs and hadn't bothered to investigate fresh ones....but yesterday I took the plunge and tasted a fresh fig...and now I'm converted!

I was at one of my clients home yesterday and she has a large tree in the backyard. I'd asked a couple of weeks ago about what kind of tree it was, etc...and yesterday she had some fruit sitting on the kitchen bench...my client peeled on for me to taste.....so sweet!

I pulled down my copy of Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion today to find some ways to use figs....apart from with blue cheese..which I DONT like!

Stephanie writes...."Eating a fully ripe fig warm from the tree is an emotional experience. A basket of freshly picked figs bought to the table with a soft white cheese or a plate of just-sliced curls of palest pink ham has to be the perfect begining to a late-summer lunch." (page 442, The Cook's Companion)

I'd love to plant a tree in my backyard....along with the vege patch that I'm planning!

What do you think? Do you like figs? Tell me what you've recently discovered that you've found that you like, despite your previous opinion?

CYa xx

Lisa

What Have I Done??

HI everyone

I stole this from my friend Susan's blog, Kerguma



Highlight the ones you have done so far, in your lifetime (I’ve put mine in bold):


1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Every Australian State (no, haven't been to WA, NT or Tas)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Cuddled a Koala
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo....do you want to lose your hearing???
11. Bungee jumped...no way never
12. Visited ‘The Dog on the Tuckerbox’ (Gundagai)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the largest Wooden Rocking Horse (at Gumeracha in South Australia)
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Thrown a boomerang (but it didn’t come back)
25. Held a lamb
26. Rode a horse
27. Run a Marathon
28. Eaten a pie floater (disgusting!)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (if you count a cruise on Sydney Harbour!)
33. Seen Ayers Rock in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen a platypus
36. Taught yourself a new language (does Elvish, HTML and CSS count?)
37. Been unable to pay at the checkout
38. Seen the Big Orange (Berri, SA) in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen a Pro Hart painting in person (also met Pro Hart)
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen the Great Barrier Reef
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Been to Darwin
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sydney Opera House in person
50. Been bush dancing
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Big Banana in Queensland
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Seen the Swan River (Perth) in person
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies...girl guide biscuits here in Oz
62. Gone whale watching (10 min at Victor Harbour…does that count?)
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited someone in prison....does working in a prision ward at the hospital count?
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favourite childhood toy
70. Visited the War Memorial in Canberra
71. Eaten Caviar (disgusting!)
72. Made a quilt
73. Patted a kangaroo
74. Toured the Outback...if driving between Brisbane and Adelaide counts as the outback!
75. Been fired from a job
76. Broken an expensive item
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Dandenong Ranges in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited a Cathedral
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Swam in the ocean
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited Parliament House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating...I watched
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Been to Rottnest Island (WA)
96. Been to a gym
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a mobile phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day...last book was Kite Runner



I think that is 53...not bad

If you post one of these lists on your blog, post a comment here so I can check it out!

xx