In Brief

Went to the Grade Ten Leavers dinner held at Wrest Point Casino on Wednesday evening. These students were in grade seven when I began at my current workplace. Four years has passed quickly.

I have one week to go at work and then holidays!

My daughter Krystal arrived back from her three week overseas trip yesterday. Luke picked her up from airport and his car broke down on way to our place. We towed the car off the highway. She had left her car at our place so...

Krystal came home with the flu and today I have a runny nose and sore throat, which is NOT the kind of gift I would have liked. She has to go back to work on Monday and is off to Melbourne for work on Wed for a few days. Might be too soon back on a plane for her!

Today I picked baby carrots from my veggie garden and the first zucchini of this season. I moved my light sussex chickens who are a couple of months old now to a new pen as they have been sharing with barnevelders hatched at the same time. Silly things cuddled up together in the outer part of the pen tonight. I thought they might do that so there I was moving them all and tucking them up in their bed!

Daughter Melanie called round this arvo with her 2 girls. Couldnt cuddle little Lily who is now walking quite a bit (she was one on Aug 25th) or Jasmine as my throat is sore and dont wish to pass bugs to them. Kim went to collect a ute load of hay and ended up doing 2 loads but at $2.50 a bale..quite a bargain and appears to be good quality and just been baled.

Going to bed..
Night :

Hottubs and other stuff...

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Christmas is shortly to be upon us. Another year has flown by. This morning I woke up feeling very sore in the neck and shoulder region so got in the hot tub. Lovely, but the reason I am sharing this is I took a cup of milo with me and the mug said 'I survived Y2K at work'. This was nine years ago now..and so Kim and I talked about that year when he worked New Years. This was because as a computer network expert he was needed in case all hell broke loose. We all know of course, that nothing happened. I usually have a glass of red in the hot tub but then that would be later in the day or evening. I love the hottub! it is good for aches and pains, alone time, couple time, invite friends in for a dip, glass of wine and chat..

Spent some time in the garden today..it is looking good. We went Campania way with the ute to pick up a load of lucerne hay for the alpacas. The chap was on for a chat, one of those people you meet and wonder why you cant meet someone like that socially. He had good conversation skills and some interesting stories, ranging from the neighbours to driving the Hume Highway. Had to stop at the lolly shop (very naughty!)at the historic town of Richmond, on the way home to unload and stack the hay. We again spoke about the past. This time it was when we nearly bought a house in Richmond. One of the reasons we didn't was because it seemed to me like too far to drive at the time, which now, I know, it is not far at all! The other reason was younger daughter told me she would leave home then and there and would so not live at Richmond. Realistically, she would eventually leave home (which she has) and make her own choices but...and it was on acres and I wasn't ready to move from my then Sandy Bay home. Of course, I eventually did to where I now reside. The Richmond place was not on town water and I cant imagine how costly it would have been last year with such a bad drought. Luckily, this has changed and what was once dry dust and dirt has turned into lush pastures.

After hay stacking we did some mating.(no, not us, the alpacas)The stud males of which we have 2 have been getting a little toey lately and needed to 'work'. Put Iceman(white stud male) over a girl who is having trouble retaining a pregnancy. I bought her for a pretty penny, she has fine fleece which appealed and a lovely gentle nature..the deal was for her to be pregnant...so she came pregnant but she didn't hold it. We have then since mated her with our boy and she didn't hold that either so now trying for third time lucky. Her name is Bantiarna which literally means 'wife of a lord'. Heraldo got to do his job with one girl and the other one spat off. When an alpaca is pregnant she has no further interest in a male. She confirms her pregnancy by spitting at him and refusing to cush (sit) for him to do the deed. I must say Iceman has a nice way, gently playing and nuzzling beforehand whilst Heraldo goes in and it is wham, bam, thank you mam. For the human species this would not be looked upon kindly but in the alpaca world it makes him a very clever boy!

Pic of Krystal leaving from our place bound for Hobart airport and London.

Pic taken by me on a damp day in lucerne, Switzerland (when on Mt Pilatus, 2007)

Last night whilst I was playing scrabble online I received a text message and was so thrilled! It was from my younger daughter Krystal saying the bus was driving into Switzerland and it was snowing!! She is on a contikki tour and will be meeting up with her best girlfriend in Paris soon. Both girls flew to London together and did sightseeing and shopping there. Kat headed off on her tour which included Spain so she could visit family there so Krystal decided to fly over to visit Dublin, Ireland and then back to London and off on a contikki tour. I admire them for choosing to do their own thing and following their dreams. Some of my friends don't approve as they feel that as she is a young married woman she should be at home (and most likely having babies)but he didn't want to go and she did. She had already saved the money.

One of my friends asked how would I feel if my son's partner did the same thing..surely I wouldn't want her leaving him to travel off overseas. Well,if she wanted to do that..she is not joined at the hip with my son and any love will survive, if it is meant to do so. My son's partner is a go with the flow girl, whatever Peter wants really..so I would like to see her more assertive and move out of her comfort zone. She is a great girl..they have been together since they were 15, kids at school. They now live together in the house they bought, are 26, have good jobs, 2 cats and 1 dog! Actually Katheryn turned 26 and the day after, a Saturday, was planning a BBQ to celebrate. I got a call asking for a 'megafavour' to make an egg and potato salad as the BBQ was cancelled due to torrential rain. I suggested as it was a bit cool she may like something hot. Kathryn only eats fish or veggies, so a pescatarian and therefore I made a vegetarian lasagna. Easy to make and very yummy, using spinach (from my garden) mushrooms and tomatoes. I also made an egg and bacon quiche for others to have and as my husband eats that and not lasagna. Kim doesn't eat pasta at all...doesn't know what he is missing! Son Peter asked for my chocolate self saucing pudding recipe...I took the hint and made that as well. I enjoyed doing some cooking and despite the rain,we enjoyed our evening at their place. Though of course Krystal was missing..overseas is a good excuse..and Luke was at work.

I made the lasagna again recently to feed the troops when we had the alpacas shorn recently. This time I added extra spinach and mushrooms and this definitely improved the taste. It is good to see meat eating people eating a vegetarian dish. I also made the same quiche as mentioned above, a salmon mornay and an irish stew in the slow cooker. Shearing went well with the help of Maree (we helped at her shearing as well)along with Roger who helped us last year for the first time and friend John who hadnt done it before but was a great help, espeically when lifting alpacas onto the shearing table. Aside from shearing we also gave them a pedicure, and vitamins and worming as well. That day ended with a dip in the hottub and a very nice glass of red. Ahhh the hot tub...why am I here when I can be in it!
Must dash!!!! out to the hottub :)

Show Circuit 2009 and Latest Chick Pics

The chicks are now four weeks old. I have them in a hutch that I move around each day. When the nights get somewhat warmer I will split them across 2 pens but for now they need to snuggle up at night. I will take some individual pics soon of some of them.


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Well, one has to boast a little. It has been an exciting, though tiring show circuit and we actually only went to three shows! We took Iceman (stud male) and three little boys, Lord Liquorice, Cocoa and White Pepper to all three shows and when going to Ulverstone Show we took an extra, Vanilla Spice, affectionately referred to as Spicie. Ribbons and trophies have been placed on the pool table till we work out where we want to place them.

The first show was The Royal Hobart and the Tasmanian map trophy was won there for Supreme Huacaya Fleece: entered fleece from previous shearing from Iceman and he won first in his age group (blue ribbon), overall best white(broad ribbon) and then from all the winners he was placed as Supreme (broad ribbon plus trophy. We have not entered fleece before so that was very exciting. Icey also won a blue ribbon for first in his age group and then broad ribbon for Best Mature Male at the Royal Hobart. What a clever boy! Also, in the fleece we entered the previous year's shorn fleece and his very first and only fleece of our little boy, Lewis. Lewis was killed by a dog attack(2 dogs wandering..not ours) around a month before the show. He had also been entered as he was a quality boy. I guess we have something to remember him by as he won a blue ribbon for first in the light fawn and then he won the broad ribbon for Best Light Fawn Fleece of show. We also picked up 2 seconds and a 3rd for the little boys at the show.
Footnote: Boys who are wethered are often sold to protect sheep and poultry from fox and dog attacks and do so very well, especially on the mainland. Unfortunately, I had Lewis in with 2 other young boys and no older one so they had no real protection. We now bring them up at night to paddocks close to the back of house which is a pain but we can sleep better and these are dog proof. I do not hold the dogs responsible. Dogs wandering form a pack and attack with that type of mentality. They may have been playing and it got out of hand. A neighbour down the road who has goats said he had chased an alsation and a terrier cross away that same night as they were bothering his goat and he heard them. It appears they then came to us.

Also at the show three of my Animal Study students from school entered the Junior Alpaca Handling section and picked up thirds in their respective age groups. This was also exciting and they did very well considering their limited experience. We were alo interviewed by the Tasmanian Country newspaper and appeared on the front page with interview and colour picture of myself and Kim, along with the three students and 2 of our alpacas. It was a positive outcome over two days at the show.

The following weekend we were off to the Ulverstone Show, taking our friend Maree and her 2 animals as well as ours. This meant a very early wakeup and heading off around 4.15am! We made it in good time and had our animals penned and ready for inspection before showing began. The weather was fantastic and I love the ambience of the country show in Ulverstone. The Huon Pine alpaca trophy in pic is a perpetual one started last year. We were somewhat surprised to win it this year for Supreme Champion Alpaca at the show with SerenityView White Pepper. He is a lovely boy but had thought Iceman was up for it. Iceman ended up with a ribbon and Reserve Champion in his section but Pepper won first, then Best Intermediate Male and then overall Champion of them all on the day so very exciting. Lord Liquorice got a 3rd ribbon with a second for Cocoa. Spicie ended up with a broad ribbon for Reserve Champion for Intermediate Female alpaca. Maree also took ribbons home, a first for one and a second for the other. Maree's website is http://www.marenikobunnies.com/
and her recent claim to fame is a first for her beautiful Angora rabbit at the Royal Hobart Show!






The Huon Show was on yesterday. We got 2 seconds and a third with the little boys and with Iceman we were very pleased to win first plus broad ribbon and trophy (the sasafras one) for Best Mature Male at show. While I was there I enjoyed looking at the dogs and finding out how the showing is done. A lovely lady called Alison was looking at the alpacas with her dog, a Bernese Mountain Dog. I fell in love instantly on the spot. I want one!!!!! Here I am pictured with Kiera.


Well that is it for now. Will try and get another instalment done in next few days so I can share my birthday and so on...
Until next time..live well, laugh long and take care :)

Help needed with breeds of chicks.

Been so busy and in my spare time instead of blogging I have been playing online scrabble, something new I saw on facebook recently. I have new chicks hatched. I bought fertile eggs , 12 light sussex and 12 barnevalders from one person and 18 bantam frizzles and 6 welsummers from another. (2 eggs were broken on arrival) Am pretty sure these are the light sussex chicks on the right(pale yellow fluffballs) What about the ones above? I believe so far I have 9 light sussex, 4 black frizzles and then there are 5 light gold chicks with little dark bits on them plus there are 6 multi coloured brown chicks. Any help appreciated please. I have not had any of these breeds before.

I incubated these at work (school) for students to learn about. I used my Brinsea auto which fits 24 eggs and ended up buying a hexbator which is manual. It was reasonably priced and seems to work well. I did come in one morning and found the lid off the auto incubator and the eggs were cold so the hatch rate has been poor from that one. On friday 6 chicks had hatched at work. By that evening I had 8 and Saturday morning saw 22!!

Will update more later on: including
dog attack /death of an alpaca
getting ready for the shows with alpacas
school excursion
daughter's travels (both girls)
Jas and Lily oh and scrapbooking..and vegie plantings

bye M x

Ponderings on Life

Finshed writing this and had no pics so here is one which is my desktop background at the moment. I regularly change them. This one was taken by a relative, either Roger or Sharon D when they visited from NSW last year. The alpacas were recently shorn and how was this, getting these ones all lined up. From left to right is our white stud male Iceman,)more affectionately known as Icey) Gustavo, a pet wether (Gussie), Titan , a guardian wether and Heraldo, grey stud male. Please note: if wishing to use pictures please ask for permssion first.


As I write this, I am yawning. I ask myself, why am I awake when I am on holidays and am not really a morning person? I actually enjoy it if I am up early and doing things with my animals when the weather is good , but I do find it hard to get up. Oh yes, I know why I am awake, because my other half has been SNORING HIS HEAD OFF! I have been awake listening to it, or more to the point, trying not to listen to it and after a couple hours, thought I may as well get up. Thankfully, it is not a regular occurrence.

Hopefully, I wont be feeling too tired as my friend Maree is coming round later and we are going to Richmond for a stroll and lunch. Ann, friend and work colleague will also be popping round later in the day for coffee. Let's do a quick run down of the week starting with eggs!

From Monday Sept 7 through to last Sunday Sept 13 the egg total was

28 eggs: from my 5 Isa brown girls and 2 white leghorns.

(Used to have more but they have gone on to chooky heaven and the same can be said for my silkies as well)

2 eggs: from 3 silkie girls (they haven't been laying much for awhile)

9 DUCK eggs: from my 2 Elizabeth ducks, Lizzie and Lucy!

The duck eggs has been exciting as this was the first week for eggs from them. They are a happy little recently acquired trio. On Tuesday Sept 8 I got the first duck egg, with another egg each for the following 2 days. Since then it has been 2 eggs each day. What good girls! I had never even tried duck eggs before! I made some biscuits with them. Jasmine, my grand daughter loved the biscuits and she has gotten to try duck eggs at a much younger age than I!

Friend Rose phoned and we shared our exciting news, my duck eggs and her spring buds on trees at her place! Simple things, you say but sometimes life is about appreciating the little things. Ha, my husband likes to joke about loving the simple things in life if I wear a red skirt similar to the one in the Special K ad on Television!!!

RIP for Patrick Swayze: Actor best know for Dirty Damcing and Ghost (Love both movies) who has passed awsy aged 57 from pancreatic cancer. he and his wife Lisa have been married for over 34 years which is impressive for celebrities.


Something unexpected happened this week. A long lost cousin of mine Elizabeth (formerly known as Deidree)contacted me on facebook. I only recently decided to include my maiden name for this exact purpose. Re the change of name, I have another cusin who did the same thing. Let's face it, we have our christian name all our lives, Someone gave it to us, but we own it. If we do not like something given to us, we may change or adjust it. Hence, changing to her middle name. I have another cousin whose given name was Mary. She changed it to her middle name of Christine.
Anyway, we got along just fine as kids and havent seen each other, losing contact when living in Sydney over 20 odd years ago. Elizabeth and her husband still live in Sydney. So we will pick up, where we left off :)


Had lunch on Monday with eldest daughter at The Metz in Sandy Bay. Easier when daughter works in town to pick her up and go somewhere not too far away. I had fish as per usual and she had a Thai beef salad. I don't eat meat , but 2 out of my 3 children do. I asked Laura from World in a pan for duck egg recipes. Thanks, if you are reading this Laura, though I only eat duck eggs, not ducks. I feel bad enough that I eat fish, but I do and I really enjoy it but have the guilt trip about eating a species. Sounds crazy I guess to people who don't understand it. As this was a Bon Voyage (she is off shortly overseas for 2 weeks) we both had afrogato for dessert, which normally we would not have. For those who do not know this is espresso coffee, ice cream and if you wish a shot of liqueur. I always have frangelico and she had kalua. Some places serve it together which I believe is the incorrect way. The Metz does it, as I like it, with each ingredient in an individual utensil. Then one can mix it or have it as you wish.

I have done some babysitting. Poor Lily had a cold but she still slept through the night and is such an easy baby. She recently turned one. We watched a kids movie on Saturday night with Jasmine and when she went to bed I read a book to her. The book had been given to my youngest girl on her 5th birthday. On grand final day this year, Sept 26th Krystal will be 25! Don't the years fly by! In the flea market ( $100 and under free ads in Monday's Mercury newspaper) this week I found a playpen and baby high chair quite cheaply. The playpen is in excellent condition whereas the high chair is basic but will do for our needs. We already have a folding cot so are prepared grandparents. Gosh, I have to say no one did that for us. My family lived in NSW, so miles away and his parents (Mother is still alive and father passed away around 15 years ago or so now) were not the babysitting kind. "We have raised ours already, why would we want to" was the comment I recall.I can understand it, if it is all the time. I often see grandparents being constantly used, forgetting that if they, the parents are tired, well how do the grandparents feel? In many cases the grandparents are much older than me. Each to their own, though it was hard for us with no support. Maybe, that is why things worked as we only had each other to rely on. When the kids were little we were in a babysitting club which worked well. Hours would be in credit or debit accoridng to how much sitting one had done or used. We had to use it if we both wanted to go to parent teach interviews together. In those days we certainly couldn't afford to go out much.

Anyway, we do not have the grandchildren that much and we are not used.


Decided to add in these pics, hey having Jas around means she and I can both play in the cubby house! In fact my daughter is very considerate and hates to ask. I have said , ask away. If I can, I will and if not , I will say so. Mind you since we moved to 'the farm' I am not as social as I used to be..too busy with work , alpacas and chickens!!! Then, we have our own babies, the dogs! Angus suffers separation anxiety. He and Kali were thrilled to go out for a car ride yesterday and help run some errands. We sold our car, an io pajero as we had bought a larger four wheel drive in order to tow. I will miss the little io as it was great to zip round town and had nothing wrong with it. banked the money, cancelled insurance, blah blah!

Speaking of insurance we are waiting for the hot house. We got a quote from a local chap for insurance rather than the mainland one the company had told us about. Try and support small local business when we can. The imsurance company are going to speak to them and see about ordering it for us. I do hope the next gale force winds don't blow this one down. It has also put me behind on my seedling raising. Lost most of what I had planted.

Must go..this is a bit dull with no pictures!!!
Ciao

Life and Ducks

****NEWSFLASH**** I now have Ducks!!!!


Today is one of those days where you count your blessings and wonder why life deals a raw hand to some. I went to the funeral this afternoon of a woman who has been battling ovarian cancer. I don't know her, only through what her son has said, as I am one of his high school teachers. He is a lovely boy, though very shy and often overwhelmed by class mates who are loud and boisterous. His primary school aged sister spoke at the funeral...seems like a beautiful family who should not have to suffer so. It certainly made me think about my own children and how blessed I am to see them grow up. I do hope this mum is in a place where she can watch over her family from above. I am sure she is. Life is so short, make the most of it.

I am on 2 weeks holiday, end of term 2. Unlike other Australian states Tassie still has 3 terms, whereas other states have four. I share an office with three colleagues, 2 were on flights to the mainland and another to the United States last Friday after work. Me, well I had drinks with some other work colleagues which isn't something I do very often. I may be able to rattle on here, and can be the life of a party, but there are times when I feel really uncomfortable in a group of people. Work(socially, not work relationships)tends to be one of those places, however on this occasion I enjoyed chatting and getting to know others better. It was a mad rush though afterwards to get home, feed animals and head out. Went to friends for a drink and nibbles and then off to Segretos, in North Hobart. Every time I have been there the meal has been good and I was not let down, In fact, it was just perfect, very enjoyable as was the company of good friends, Marion and Tony. Dessert was back at their place as Marion had made sticky date pudding,one of Tony's favourites for his birthday. Lovely way to start the holiday break!

I do have exciting news! I have ducks:) A couple of weekends ago I went to the rare breeds poultry show at the Hobart poultry shed at the showgrounds. The following day I went back for the auction. Wow, it was impressive! Very well supported, especially by mainland breeders and backyard enthusiasts.(for those who don't know:people who live in the island state of Tasmania refer to the rest of Australia as the mainland and people who live there as mainlanders). Great birds there but 3 Elizabeth ducks took my eye. Dr Harry had some great ducks in the auction but as I am new at ducks, they looked way too big for me to start with! The Elizabeth ducks are a trio of 2 ducklings and 1 drakling. They are quite pretty! My dear darling husband had told me not to come home with ducks(they make a mess etc etc) as I had been talking about them for awhile. Ha, once upon a time maybe but not now. I figure if ducks is something I want to try, then try I will and if I don't like it there are plenty of loving homes for them elsewhere. I also remind him he was the one who wanted land and so what can I say? Just call me Mrs McDonald!



I did bid on some chooks but the prices on some were more than I wanted to pay and I had set a limit, so just got my trio of ducks. I have named them Levi, Lizzie and Lucy. I am pleased to report that yesterday I got the first egg. Got another one today which is a better shaped egg! I need a better nesting area for them. I have asked Kim , using some existing structure ,to make a duck enclosure with pond. 30Th wedding anniversary is on the horizon and so he cant really refuse! He is quite the handyman. Keep posted for details on that when it happens.


We had high winds last week (Tuesday) and the result was my hothouse is no more and we lost several trees. Picture of intact structure was in April this year and then end of August shows what is left which Kim strapped to avoid any more flying debris. Once I got home from work I helped him dismantle and move what was left of the hothouse. The insurance company have been out to assess and I will update when I hear from them. I had only planted seeds in the last week or 2 prior to losing the hothouse. The seeds that were saved are in the shed and some of the lettuce are sprouting.




What else? well one afternoon we went for a walk round Lauderdale canal. Lauderdale is a suburb on the eastern shore of Hobart. We took the dogs for a walk and saw ducks on the canal and really enjoyed the peace and serenity.


August saw cupcake day, a fundraising day for the RSPCA. I made some cupcakes (they really look better than the picture)! Made about five and a half dozen all up and I really enjoyed it. Didnt enjoy the cleaning up side though :(


Recently took Angus, our spoodle child to Dogs Business in Sandy Bay for grooming as he had gotten way out of control and looke dlike he had dreadlocks. See the before and after pictures. Mind you, the girl put ribbons in his ears but we took them out after this pic! Well, he didnt mind, but he is a boy! Also shown before grooming is Angus having a cuddle with Kali (terrier cross adopted from Dogs home.





Lily turned one in August. We had a family dinner at our place (Nana and Poppy) gee I am not even that old..but makes me feel old:)! Trouble was Lily had eaten a bit of this and a bit of that and then had a bottle and up it all came, like a torrent. Yes, you guessed it, of course it was all over Nana! She felt much better after that! (Lily is the younger of 2 girls..her mum is Melanie, my eldest)

Fathers Day on Sunday was at son Peter's place which was great cos we didnt have any cooking or cleaning to do! Well I took over an egg and potato salad and something for the bbq. Kathryn, my son's lovely partner of ten years (since they were 15) gave me yummy treats for the chooks! Our dogs came also so they could play with Chloe, Peter and kathryn's 'baby' who is a gorgeous purebred golden labrador. They also have Willow (white) and Giles (brown) cats who are brother and sister.

The night before we met with friends for a great meal and also talked about our upcoming 30th wedding anniversary party which some friends are helping to organise.
Younger daughter Krystal has made and organised all the party invites! Good news there as she has a new job and starts next week. She is nearly finished her business degree and has been working at an accountancy firm. She is now moving on to work for a large travel agency. She is off to Melbourne for training to start with and she is looking forward to the new challenge.

Yesterday Rog and Thel came over to talk more about the party as they are helping with organsing and cooking. When they arrrived I had just finished cleaning out the ducks pen and as it was wet and muddy I was dressed accordingly, not the best look :) Anyway we made plans and had a great afternoon. The party is going to be so much more than the wedding (5 people at a registry office, ahh will tell it another time,,,)
Ciao

Escaping into other worlds: JOY of BOOKS

Yesterday after I finished work we took the dogs for a walk in Bellerive, a beachside suburb on the eastern shore of Hobart. We parked the car at the beach and walked around the nearby streets. It was too cool and breezy to walk directly along the beach. I enjoyed it as much as the dogs, Angus and Kali. Unfortunately, with wet weather today the dogs missed out. I was in too much of a rush to get home and help Kim put the alpacas into sheds for the night. We rarely do that but as it has been wet of late with a sheep graziers alert and wind expected it is best to be safe than sorry. Alpacas can get chilled if they dont dry out as unlike sheep they do not have lanolin in their fleece.

I have just finished reading 2 very different books. Finally..got time toread orshould I say, made the time. I found Year of Wonders written by Geraldine Brooks fascinating. It was recommended to me by our school librarian. It isnt what I would normally read and it is quite some time since I read any historical fiction. I also do not tend to read books that make me feel sad. For instance I get distressed if I read stories of people or animals being mistreated or just very tragic events. When I read I put myself there as a bystander and I have such a good imagination I can envisage the scenes before me as the books unfolds. Believe me, I am there.

This book is set during the time of the plague in a village in England. Despite the bleakness there were rays of light and illumination at times. I also learnt a few things. It was obvious that a sennight was measuring of time but I had not heard of it. Turns out a sennight is the seven phases of the moon, so in essence one week. The term fell into disuse with the word week being easier to use. I didnt know that. I appreciate learning new things, even something so small. The more I learn , the more I realise how little I know. Where does it matter in the scheme of things...it just fascinates me. Do you know what a purl is and I am not referring to a style of knitting or a ewer or a brank? The same author has written another book I have read called Nine Parts of Desire which is about Islamic women. I bought that book and read it some tme ago but didnt click it was by the same author till today. Duh! Year of Wonders was borrowed but because I was fascinated by it I may need to consider buying it.

The other book I have recently read is Seven Seasons in Aurukun. I read an article on it in The Sunday Tasmanian (The Mercury newspaper) and so, as it took my fancy, bought the book. It is about teaching in a remote aborginal community in far north Queensland. As a teacher I thought it would be interesting to read. Nothing really surprised me in the book but I admire those who try to make a difference and despair at how much work still needs to be done. Alcohol seems to be such a problem and the issue of hungry dogs roaming the street keep poppping into my mind. The excursion into the bush was successful because kids love hands on practical opportunities. When I read that I felt so limited with what I can offer, especially for my Animal Studies classes, due to finances.

Actually, while I think of it another book I loved reading is called The Historian written by Elizabeth Kostova. One could call it an Historical thriller. Want to know mroe then read about it at Wikipedia but do not read too much if you are interested as it gives away the entire story! Same for Year of Wonders I so wish I could time travel, on the other hand, why on earth would I want to travel to a village beset with the plague.

Anyway, nice to have finally been able to escape into a book. TIme..time,...need more time...
Ciao