Book Review Wednesday

Dig
by Meredith Kirton

I'm pretty into gardening books. I'm churning through a lot of them at the moment, mostly from the library. One of my favourites has been Dig by Meredith Kirton. Even borrowed it twice, I have. I like that it is a bit more general than some books: it's not just fruit and veg, and it's not just shrubs and flowers, but rather is a bit of everything.

There's helpful info about planting, propagating, pruning and about when and how to do particular gardening tasks, and information about different plant families. It's pretty general, and you get a good cross section, so it's a handy reference book to have on hand.

I'm a bit fickle, so my gardening books need to have good pictures. This book has great photography, pictures that make you want to get straight out in the yard to get your hands dirty, and they are all labelled well, so you always know what you're looking at. I appreciate that. And the text is broken up into good, digestible chunks, not too long or wordy, but still with plenty of information and substance. Just the right sort of size for a quick peruse now and then on the toilet in your lounge room.

It's a big whopping book, thick and hard covered, and though the size may seem daunting, it's not really the sort of thing you have to read cover to cover. You can just flick open wherever at anytime and enjoy it just as much.

Great book, and there's also a couple others in the series, 'Plot' (specifically about garden design) and 'Harvest' (specifically about edible gardens). Well worth a look for the casual gardener.

Ummm...

..so that was Summer?

Reg Grundies

E gave me a voucher for a massage for my birthday, and I finally used it on the weekend (of course about a day before the voucher was going to expire). I reckon it was maybe the best massage I've ever had. Which in some ways isn't saying that much, as I've mostly only ever gone to those vaguely dodgy slap-dash Chinese ones, that give you a quick elbow pummelling between ciggie breaks.

But anyways, it was a great massage. I think there are very few things in existence that rival the joy of massage. If I were King, I'd hire a personal massage squad, who'd be on call around the clock for His Majesty's Service.

But really, my one issue with massage is that I've never had a real firm grasp on the appropriate etiquette. And being an unusually intimate setting to find yourself with a stranger, any false etiquette moves can lead you to embarrassing places, pretty quickly. It's a very slippery slope (especially when essential oils are involved). Case in point-

So I'm standing in this little room with this lady, and she goes, "I'll get you to take off most of your clothes". Now, I need specifics. Don't leave me with any margin for error, thanks. Define "most". I asked her to do just that. She goes "just get down to your undies". What I was afraid of.

Now, I sort of saw this as Band-aid Theory. It's uncomfortable, so whip it off fast. So, as she continues talking, I quickly take off my thongs, shorts and t-shirt. I stand there, trying very hard to seem perfectly casual and at ease. No, I'm cool, lady, I do this all the time. Clothes, no clothes, all the same to me.

She then sort of looks at me weird. Basically the way you'd look if someone just took off their clothes in front of you. She goes, "Ummm, you could wait until I leave the room, if you like..." Arrrgh! I lunge for a rolled up towel, and quickly hide my shame. And then apologise a lot.

As I said. Give me specifics. There is a lot at stake here. But yeah, etiquette issues aside, loved it.

The Quiz

1. Have you kept any childhood toys?
2.Five years ago I would never have expected that I'd be..
3.Chocolate bar of choice
4. How laid-back are you (generally), on a scale of 1-5?
5. A prediction for today's Labour vote?

The Dog

Well, yesterday we bought a dog! Half a dog, really, as we've put down a deposit, and can't pick him up for a few weeks. But look, here he is, he's awesome!

To be honest, I'm in love. You know me, the cynical anti-dog guy, but all of a sudden that all went away as I held the little fella.

E found the puppies through Gumtree, and we drove over yesterday 'just to have a look' (my words), but yeah.. famous last words. The pups are 3/4 King Charles Cavalier and 1/4 Jack Russell. I pretty much straight away knew which one I wanted-- this frisky little rough and tumble one. They were born on our 10 year anniversary, so that's kinda cool. So, we are all pretty excited.

In the car afterwards we were writing down a list of name options. Little e suggested "David". Little i suggested "Christmas Tree". I think we'll keep workshopping that one.

Public Displays of Antiquity

I've recently realised that I've been starting to display more and more old man traits. It's vaguely concerning.

The first thing I noticed was that when I yawn in public places, rather than doing the normal silent stifle, I've been letting loose with a bit of loud 'Aww, aww, awwww!', even followed occasionally by a 'deary me!' And I don't even realise until after it's done. What's happening to me? As you'd know, this is perfectly suitable behaviour for your own lounge room, in the company of your nearest and dearest. But not in public.

And then this morning, I caught myself whistling 'Rhapsody In Blue', fairly loudly while going up a crowded escalator at the train station. When I realised what I was doing, I didn't even stop, I just went, 'aw, what the heck, I'm just getting to a good bit, I can't stop now.'

I think it's probably a fairly slippery slope from here. At this stage I at least eventually become aware of the action, and recognise its' social inappropriateness. But how long will it be before I don't even become aware, but just do my loud Aww Aww Awww yawns and public whistling as though this was normal behaviour?

And what will come next? The mind boggles. Public ear-cleaning? Public belt-loosening? An appreciation of the smell of moth balls? Shudder.

Yes, the slope is slippery, and I am sliding, dear youngsters.

Thursday Peanuts

Now, Now, Children

Gosh, how annoying is this whole Labour business. I think all concerned need to go and get their nappies changed, have a bit of room time to reflect, and then come back and learn how to play nicely.

What's your take on the situation?

I predict that Rudd will not have the numbers this time round, and go to the backbench for a while to sulk a bit, but then momentum will gather for him and he'll be PM again before the year's out.

As for which who I would personally prefer to lead the country, that's like the dentist asking me which one of my teeth I'd most like to get pulled.

Even Playing Field

I'm glad the NRL have finally decided to drop the Mcintyre System for the finals. The Tige's got royaly jipped by that dopey system last season.

I have a feeling in my waters that 2012 is going to be our year.

A Conundrum To Ponder

Tell me.

Is it ever acceptable to be seen walking in or out of work bathrooms with reading material? Don't give me your knee jerk answer either, stop and give it some thought. You will see that technically it is possible to stay relatively germ free, if you put your mind to it.

Is it such a crime to want to multi-task?

By the way, I am of course asking this question on behalf of a friend.

Book Review Wednesday

Hairy Maclary
By Lynley Dodd

For the most part I dislike children's' books. With young childers you end up reading so many, and find yourself reading and rereading the same ones a million times. A good children's book is great, but in my opinion the good ones are few and far between.

For some reason there seems to be this misconception that kids' books are easy to write and draw, and so every man and his dog has a crack at it. The result is the abundance of not very good stuff out there.

There are the ones that try too hard to be deep and poignant, and talk about big heavy issues, but end up being kind of creepy or preachy. Or there's the ones that are supposed to rhyme, but lack any kind of easy to read rhythm. Or there's the ones with about seventeen paragraphs of writing for every illustration. Or three words per page so you go cover to cover in about 20 seconds. Or the ones where they've hired the friend of the authors' daughters' next door neighbours' mechanic to draw the pictures. Irksome!

Which brings me (finally) to the Hairy Maclary series by Lynley Dodd. We only have two of the large series, 'Show Business' and 'Slinky Malinki', and I have read each of them probably 50 times. But they are always a pleasure, and I never get tired of them. The stories are a good length, fun and exciting, and very competently illustrated. There's a set group of animal characters that can each take the spotlight, so theoretically the series could be endless.

But the real strength of the books is the words, and the way they sound read aloud. The flow is so rhythmic and fun to read, that you scoot along at a good pace without getting bored or confused. And you end up memorising the phrases, and the kids do too, so you end up reading them together. Even a list of characters is fun to read-

"Schnitzel von Krumm
with a very low tum,
Bitzer Maloney
all skinny and bony,
Muffin McClay
like a bundle of hay,
Bottomley Potts
covered in spots,
Hercules Morse
as big as a horse

and Hairy Maclary
from Donaldson's Dairy"

So if you are looking for a book that won't get annoying by the second read, and will be enjoyable for both your kids (of any age) and you as well, you can't go past Lynley Dodd and good ol' Hairy Maclary. She definitely knows what she's doing.

The Quiz

1.First line from a movie that pops into your head
2.Something satisfying you did over the weekend
3.Two TV shows that would make it into your all time top 10
4.What do you do more, call or text?
5.Remind me to never again..

The Life and Times of a Friend I Once Called Bluey

We had a blue tongue living under our house, and we'd happily spot him each morning warming his belly on the concrete. We grew fond of Bluey, the peak of the relationship being a day over the Christmas break when I took these photos. The girls got pretty brave, getting close, and I had the bright idea of feeding him some cheese. He was very partial to it and had a lot. His eyes widened with each bite. I also tried sultanas, but he turned up his nose. Dehydrated fruit was apparently less up his alley. That, by the way, is Bluey the time he took up residence for a while in the empty Barbie Bus box (don't judge me, it was a present). Sadly, Bluey kind of made himself scarce after that day. He was rarely in his old spot, and his behaviour became a little erratic and unpredictable. Where before he'd happily laze, he now either ran away when he saw me, or disturbingly started running towards me. And then he just disappeared.

I felt sad. I then felt worried, and thought back over the complex relationship. Was it something I had done? Was it the cheese? Had I blown his little reptilian mind by introducing him to a foreign substance? And when his insatiable appetite had been awoken to this new and fantastic foodstuff, was he then unable to cope with it's loss once it was not on offer the following day? Or the one after? Or the next? Had I cruelly turned Bluey into a cheese junkie, and then tauntingly refused any further pushing?

My mind boggles with guilt. The other day I saw, about 50 metres from my house, a dead blue tongue lying in the gutter, body bloated and mouth covered with ants. Could it be? I certainly hoped not. Don't take me to be racist, (or speciesist), but to be honest, they all kind of look the same to me. But just maybe it was Bluey, and this was the sad and tragic end to a once carefree life that, after knowing the pleasure of cheese, couldn't face the empty bleakness of an existence without it.

Hamlet

Late last night on a bit of a whim, I started reading Hamlet. I'm not sure how far I'll get, but so far I'm keen.

It helped a LOT for me that one of the characters is a ghost.

Thursday Peanuts

A Rant On Parenting Books

I was talking to E last night about parenting books. For some reason, I just really struggle with them, and they feel like a real chore to read. E read a few of them in the past, and I tried to read a few of them after her, but truth is, I find it very hard to get into them.

This makes me feel kind of guilty, because there's this niggling thought in my head that says 'if you really cared about your kids and about being a good parent, you'd be lapping this stuff up'. Sigh.

But I was trying to work out what it was that irked me so much, and I think very often it's because of the examples and illustrations used. It seems that so often with Christian parenting books, the examples of where things went badly are always about someone else, whereas the author then comes in with the answer of how to do things properly. Lists of all the ways people do things wrongly, and then the antidote and answer of how to do it properly. This kind of thing frustrates the heck out of me:

'I met Tim and Judy some years ago. Married for several years, with two young children, Tim and Judy loved their kids and were keen Christians. For the most part their house was a happy one, except when the kids didn't get their own way. When I was over at their house one day for lunch, I noticed the younger child hit the older child. On another occasion, I heard the elder boy swearing at his sister. I could see Tim and Judy didn't like this behaviour, but they seemed powerless to do anything about it. One day I pulled Tim aside, man to man, and reminded him of Ephesians 3, where it says...'

Now, that's a made up thing, but that could easily have come out of one of those books, and it just makes me not want to listen. Such and such had it wrong, I have the answers, and here's the story of how I showed them their error and helped them grow. I accept that the author is probably a specialist parenting dude or whatever, but to me it doesn't seem loving or helpful, but kind of surreptitiously boastful and proud.

I don't know, maybe I have a problem here, maybe I'm two sensitive and quick to jump down these authors' throats. Maybe the illustrations are even made up, as E suggested, so no ones' going to get hurt. But still, why do the examples have to be about someone else at all?

I think what struck me in reading Surprised By Joy was the way C.S. Lewis was so candid and honest, and self-deprecating, quick to admit his shortcomings and mistakes, and very reluctant to blow his own trumpet. Sure, it's an autobiography, so of course it's going to be about him, but still, the same rules apply, in my mind.

Parenting is such a tricky business, and there always going to be mistakes made, and differing opinions and lessons learned. There are no seven step plans that will work with every kid. So if you are going to write a book, why can't it be about your own mistakes and lessons learned, your own stories, your own realisations, told in a humble way, rather than presenting itself as the definitive answer? That would be a book I'd actually like to read, and one that would be encouraging rather than discouraging.

Anyway, that's the end of my rant. I feel better now.

Book Review Wednesday

Surprised By Joy
by C.S.Lewis

'You must picture me alone in that room at Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.

I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape?' (p.182)

This morning on the train I finished Surprised By Joy by C.S. Lewis. Written in 1935, this is really a fantastic little book, easy to read, and timeless in it's subject matter. In a very frank and down to earth manner, Lewis writes his autobiography, which centres on his quest to capture and define 'joy', and in the process, moving from Atheism, to Theism, to eventually meeting God.

As an autobiography it is somewhat vague, and large chunks of his life are brushed over or ignored completely (for example, he goes to war and is wounded in battle, all of which is described in about three sentences!). But as a record of a fellow humans' spiritual discovery, it is fascinating.

As the chunk I quoted above suggests, Lewis has no desire whatsoever to become a Christian, and he does everything he can to try and explain it away, but it tells of the beautiful, gentle and lovingly unerring way that God quietly pursues Him, guiding him eventually to the place he needs to be. It is a great reminder of God's beautiful character, and in the futility of trying to be 'your own person'.

Disciplining a Child is Like Being On a Permanent Diet

Soph writes a good post about child discipline- have a read.

Viola Hederacea

I'm becoming quite an appreciator of plants and flowers in my old age. I want to learn all the names and botanical names, and learn how to grow things well. One of my favourite flowers is the Native Violet (viola hederacea). I love the fact that it's just a rambly, weedy sort of thing that grows naturally in the yard, in shady little corners where there's not much else.

I love the shape of the delicate looking flowers, and the beautiful two-tone of the white against the purple, and the way they sit precariously on top of those long skinny stems. I'm trying to grow some in pots, but they seem to have more charm just randomly growing themselves here and there in the grass.

Revenge

Anybody watch Revenge last night? The endless 'coming soon' ads have been driving me insane, but to be honest, they also kind of worked, because I tuned in to have a look last night.

Perhaps not the most wholesome of premises, but at the same time, it kind of tunes into that built-in desire for justice I think we all have, the wanting to see the baddie get their comeuppance.

I thought it was pretty good as a show, and I'm keen enough to keep watching. Stylistically I thought it was a bit over the top and unnecessarily dumbed-down. For example, if someone was cross, you got a 5 second closeup of their 'cross expression'. Leave that junk for the daytime soaps, please.

Also, you could always tell when you were about to go into a memory flashback, it was all very obvious. But, I guess it's prime time tele, and for me the premise was interesting enough to put up with those annoying things.

Very sad news about Whitney..

New Paintings

I squeezed in a couple of small paintings over the holidays. It was great to get back to it, hopefully I'll do more this year than last year.

I just put them up on my painting blog if you want to have a squiz.

Epic Bed Hair

The Quiz

1. Your first unrequited love
2. A sound that makes you happy

3. A time-waster you'd like to cut out of your day
4. A process you wish you could speed up
5. If you were to walk into a newsagent and buy a magazine, what would it most likely be about?

Look At The Depths To Which You've Sunk

We are thinking about getting a dog. E is the driving force on that one. It's not that I dislike dogs, it's just that I dislike their smell, their jumpiness, their hair shedding, their barking, their breath, their neediness, their weeing and pooing everywhere. Apart from that, I'm dead keen on the things.

For me, the ultimate dog-deterrent is that terribly sad and pathetic sight of otherwise fairly self-respecting humans walking about with a little bag of warm dog poo in their hand. I'm sure this would never have happened in pre-Fall Eden.

But the other day I actually saw a sight that was even sadder, even more pathetic. A big furry dog had stopped to do some important business, and was in that vaguely obscene semi-crouch that dogs assume, giving it his all. But where was the owner in all of this? Averting his eyes? Taking the opportunity to fiddle about with his phone? Oh no. He was standing behind the dog, holding his tail up in assistance.

Come, Lord Jesus.

10 Years

A couple of weeks ago me and E celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary. It feels good to get to that milestone, and to get started on the second decade. I'm very thankful.

Vege Patch 2

Remember a little while back I said I was going to make a second vege patch? Well I've been working on it quite a bit. Here's some progress snaps.. So here was the original plan, two vege sections, with herbs at the front.


Measuring up. The area is about 3m by 2m.

The digging begins. I imagined this would take about half an hour. It took about that times a million. It was a lot harder than I thought, getting that thick grass up. I took it out in strips, and transplanted it to a bare patch of ground in the front yard. It seems to be taking pretty well, so it was worth the effort.

A few months back the neighbours were throwing out a big pile of old pavers, so I grabbed them all, with this in mind. Making the boundaries was kind of a fun bit, and it actually didn't take long.

After a trip to Bunnings (thankyou sweet vouchers!) me and Little e planted ten herbs- mint, chives, marjoram, sage, basil, purple basil, oregano, parsley, coriander, and my favourite, thyme. Then mulched with sugar cane mulch.

The hired help:

I then used 5 bags of garden soil, some lime, some blood and bone, and some compost, to build up the beds. Also note my awesome path. This is what it looks like at the moment. I've planted quite a few seeds, the lettuce and carrots and dwarf beans are already coming up, and in that pot at the back I have some belotti beans, which are growing super fast. Eventually what I want to have there is a barrel with an espaliered apple tree growing on the fence.

Once things start coming up I'll put sugar cane mulch over both beds. Also may need to sort some drainage issues- during all that rain, the path was basically a big puddle..

But overall, I'm really pleased with it, and can't wait to see it when it's in full swing!

And there you have it!

Aunty Ena

I took the day off yesterday to go to the funeral of a very dear family friend who passed away on Monday. She was a very wonderful lady, who I called 'Aunty', and who was one of the most kind and affectionate and godly people I have ever met.

As far as funerals go, this was a good one, and it was wonderful to know that she's now at peace and home with Jesus, who she loved so dearly.

Listomania

There's a lot to be said for getting all the annoying junk in your head and dumping it on a scrap of paper.

I was feeling all over the place this morning, with a million things going through my head, stressing the heck out of me. But just spending ten minutes jotting it out in point form on a bit of paper, putting things in order, made all the difference. I now know what I need to do, and when to do it, and can deal with each thing as it comes.

I should really do this more.

Hobbit Train

Seriously, who was the joker who designed those trains so that if you are in the window seat and are standing up to get off, you bang your head on the ceiling every time- even if you're a small-fry like me.

Everyone sees and hears you do it too, so you have to put on your very best 'that didn't hurt a bit, I don't have a clue why you are looking at me' expression.

Now Playing

Cocteau Twins
Heaven or Las Vegas (1990)

My pick: I Wear Your Ring

Help a Brother Out

Can someone tell me how to turn on that new comment option that I wrote about a couple posts ago? I noticed t on other people's blogs, but just realised it isn't on mine. I have envy. Help.

A Word On Kebabs

I love a kebab. They are a perfect meal. But it is also a meal that you ought not think to much about as it is being prepared. What I mean is, you ought not glance over at that big cylindrical drippy meat slab that's revolving over yonder in front of a radiator. It resembles in no way an edible animal of any description.

But if you can get past that stumbling block it's happy days. However, I realised recently that I've always gone for the chicken option, but hadn't really given any thought as to why. But I stopped and gave it some thought, and the realisation was troubling. It was because of the names. Chicken kebab. Doner kebab.

Chicken sounds safe. But Doner? what the heck is Doner? In my limited world experience it conjures up no animal that I know of. What it does conjure up is something a lot worse. Now, this may be in bad taste, so tune out now if you are eating.

But you know how on your drivers' licence you have the option printed on there of what kind of doner you are? (You can see where this is headed, can't you) Well, this is the association that immediately springs to mind, so, as awful as this will sound, subconsciously the choices I read up there on the menu are:

a) Chicken meat
b) Car Accident meat

I'm sorry.

Just Right... Sort Of

I'm a long-term fan of Just Right. It has brought me many bowls of pleasure over the years. We don't buy it because it's too expensive, but in theory, I heavily endorse it.

But I must say I've been disappointed to see an expansion of the line. I saw the ad the other day, with some manner of Daddo as the spokesman, running me through all the new and wonderful variations.

But do they not see the terrible irony here? They are totally desecrating their original, and (I would venture), true assertion, that the product, in it's original form, is just right.
Now call me foolish, but if something is just right, it needs no line expansion or variations on a theme. It is complete and perfect in and of itself.

Ch-Ch Changes

Blogger seems to have changed a bit since I was here last.. what's this new reply function in the comments? Is it good? It looks good to me. I'll give it a burl with answering your quiz comments.

The Quiz

1. Your NYE in a nutshell
2. I hope this year is full of..
3. What did you want to be when you were 12?
4. I've never really understood all the fuss over..
5. Something you've developed a passion for

There

Well, hello and happy 2012! It's good to be back in the saddle again, sorry it's a bit later than I said. To be honest, by the end of last year I just desperately needed to heave a long, slow six week sigh. Having done that, I'm feeling good, and excited about this new year and all it might hold.

I hope you are all well, and I look forward to blogging with you all again- I've missed you!