"Where flowers bloom so does hope".
~ Lady Bird Johnson
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The Red Queen Giveaway **Winner**
A busy day yesterday meant I didn't have quite enough time for choosing a winner of the giveaway I am hosting for The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory (find my review here). So, in order to ensure it doesn't get forgotten once I start doing other things, I am happy to announce that the winner for the giveaway is...
CONGRATULATIONS! I will be in contact with you shortly to get your postal details so that I may order this paperback copy of The Red Queen for you.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway. There will be another bookish giveaway within the coming weeks, so keep an eye out!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Monday Mail Out: Paper Envy.
Rummaging through my stationery drawer over the weekend I came to the horrifying realisation that my letter-writing paper stocks are getting drastically low.
It's uncommon for me to have little selection when it comes to deciding what stationery I'll use when writing a letter: I like having an abundance of choice, but a tight budget these past few months means that it's been a long time since I purchased anything. A long, long time.
It's not so easy to purchase nice stationery from newsagents and office supply stores as it once was, and it's a struggle to find anything locally. It's at times like these that I am so glad of the internet...
And online shopping...
And (most of all) Etsy!
For an avid letter-writer such a myself, who is also quite partial to pretty things, Etsy brings about such paper envy!
And it's. Just. So. Hard. To. Say. No.
Written correspondence has been a hobby of mine for a long time, & Monday Mail Out is a weekly feature whereby I can share my love for the lost art of letter writing. I hope my experiences will encourage others to send out letters on Monday too, and have them rediscover the joy of sending and receiving mail. If you have a blog, feel free to join in.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**
THE RED QUEEN GIVEAWAY WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED TOMORROW, TUESDAY 25 OCTOBER (it's been a busy day).
Friday, October 21, 2011
On My Mind: Strawberries...
[The sweetest, juiciest, tastiest strawberries, growing in hanging baskets on our back veranda]
"Right now I just want to chill for a while. Take a hiatus from all the craziness. To clean my house, see my family. Just see some movies and pick some strawberries". ~ Lauren Ambrose
**~**~**~**~**
This is a Friday photo feature from Down to Earth that anyone with a blog can join. It opens the door to us sharing our lives through these photos and gives us all a new way to discover each other, and maybe form new friendships. Your photo should show something at home that you're thinking about TODAY.
To take part, all you have to do is post a photo, write a short caption explaining it, and link it back to Down to Earth. Please write a new post, don't link to an older one. When your photo is published, go to Down to Earth and add a comment , with a link to your blog photo.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
In Pictures: Springtime in the Garden.
[Iris & Blue Marguerite]
[Daisies, daisies!]
[Perennial Perfection]
[Herbs & Lettuce]
[The Veggie Patch]
The days begin and end in the garden: Eagerly checking the veggie patch, watering, mulching, pruning, mowing, fertilising, and then as the sun sets just sitting back and admiring the blooms.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Bailey-dog's Buzz Cut...
Before: Shaggy, untidy, knotted mess...
After: Silky smooth & not a knot to be found!
Bailey-dog went to the groomer yesterday: Spoodles have a low-shedding coat of curly hair, which if not clipped continues to grow, and grow, and grow... Due to the curls, the coat becomes knotted quite easily, and Bailey is a spoodle who thinks he's a farm dog so his active, curious nature means he's always coming inside covered with burrs, twigs and leaves that have got caught in his coat. Yet he refuses to let you brush them out, as he likes to pull them out himself (keeps him occupied for hours!).
During the cooler months we let his coat grow out with the occasional trim as it helps keep him warm when it's cold. However, summer get quite hot here (anything up to 45+ degrees Celsius), so when the weather shows signs of warming up (today is expected to reach 37 degrees Celsius) we take him to the groomer to get his "summer buzz cut": As short as possible on the body & face without being completely bald, but length left on his tail and ears (because it's cute).
Yesterday he went to a new groomer, who not only gave him the cutest haircut ever, but cleaned his ears, clipped his nails, and bathed him in an oatmeal shampoo which smells absolutely divine. Who knew a dog could look and smell so good? So, I made him pose for pictures this morning ~ he pretends he's not fussed, but I know he is totally loving the attention (as all spoodles do)!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Monday Mail Out: The Letterbox...
Our letterbox is a train carriage (incase you were wondering). It was handmade by previous owner H - a train buff - back in the 1980s. It's looking a bit worn these days: The paint is peeling and the wood has warped from constant exposure to the elements.
During the warmer months I have to fight the spiders for my mail, and when it's wet the letters end up damp. The slot at the front is big enough for passing children to fit their prying hands through, and in the past we've lost mail through their curiousity - but their mothers made them own up, apologise and promise to never to do it again!
SJ loves this letterbox. He remembers it from his childhood and refuses to hear any suggestion of its removal and replacement with something that keeps the mail safe and dry. It doesn't even matter that he never remembers to check it for mail. Ask him why he likes it so much and he'll proclaim it to be "a local icon" - the point is mute.
For me, it's all about the letters, but for SJ it's clearly about the letterbox.
Written correspondence has been a hobby of mine for a long time, & Monday Mail Out is a weekly feature whereby I can share my love for the lost art of letter writing. I hope my experiences will encourage others to send out letters on Monday too, and have them rediscover the joy of sending and receiving mail. If you have a blog, feel free to join in.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Bereft by Chris Womersley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In 1909 at the age of 16, Quinn Walker is accused of killing his 12 year old sister, Sarah, and flees the small rural community of Flint in fear of retribution. Ten years later at the end of World War I, he returns to the town a designated war hero, befriends a mysterious orphan girl by the name of Sadie Frost, and together they seek refuge in the hills and scrub surrounding the township. The unlikely duo set about righting the wrongs that continue to be committed against the vulnerable and innocent in Flint, crimes that stretch back more than a decade.
Bereft is one of those novels that is so gripping that it is almost impossible to put down. The characters are fascinating: The damaged, the wronged, the misled, and the downright evil. At around 250 pages in length the story unfolds perfectly from start to finish, the author effortlessly bringing together the past and present, the living and the dead.
Bereft is an intriguing novel filled with murder, mystery, magic and revenge, with a wonderfully Australian gothic feel.
Highly recommended.
**I won this novel in 2010 via a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. Many thanks to the author for the opportunity to read and review this book; I thoroughly enjoyed it.
View all my reviews
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**
THE RED QUEEN GIVEAWAY:
I am currently holding a giveaway for The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory.
All you have to do to enter the draw is to leave a comment on the original post. Entries will be taken until midnight (Australian Central Standard Time) on Sunday, 23 October 2011, with the winner being announced the morning of Monday, 24 October 2011.
Giveaway is open to everyone, on the condition that the Book Depository ships free to your country.
The winner will receive this paperback copy of The Red Queen.
Best of luck!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
In Pictures: Lagooning...
East towards The Horseshoe, along many a dirt track and passing paddocks of sheep grazing on bluebush, over a slight rise and into the Boolcunda there is an elbow in the creekbed where water pools from rainfall and natural springs. All year round there's water there: An arid oasis.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Monday Mail Out: Snail Mail Love...
[Letters waiting to be posted]
[A letter in progress]
"Or don't you like to write letters. I do because it's such a swell way to keep from working and yet feel you've done something".
~ Ernest Hemingway
Sunday, October 9, 2011
A Thousand Glass Flowers by Prue Batten.
A Thousand Glass Flowers by Prue BattenMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
A Thousand Glass Flowers tells the fantastical tale of Lalita, a female scribe whose talents draw the unwanted attention of a Sultan, and Finnian, an Other with the power to mesmer, seeking revenge on his brutal grandmother, Isolde. Both characters are drawn into the search for the missing Cantrips of Unlife, although with different intentions: Lalita wants to save her family from the end of the world, whilst Finnian seeks them in order to destroy his. It is inevitable that their paths will cross, forcing them to reconsider their belief in fate, love and redemption.
Although this story has great potential, I found I struggled with it. Perhaps it is due to it being a completely different genre to what I would normally read, yet no matter how much I read and re-read I simply could not connect with the characters or come to grips with the mythical/magical context of the story ~ it constantly felt unfamiliar.
I also struggled with the excessive use of dialogue to explain away and fill holes in the storyline: Pages and pages of conversation that I found tiring. I always struggle when dialogue is used in this manner: It is one of my major dislikes when it comes to reading fiction. In this instance I was unable to move past it and find enjoyment in the story.
Finally, I didn't find Lalita and Finnian to be particularly likeable. Their personalities were, at times, inconsistent, and combined with the use of "absent characters" (those whose existence is integral to the plot but whom the reader either never meets or only meets briefly), I found myself frequently frustrated with the story as a whole.
There is a certain allure to this kind of fantasy fiction: Magic, adventure, love, loss and redemption. I can appreciate that, for some readers, this would be quite a satisfying read. For me, however, it just didn't fit.
Many thanks to the author for inviting me to read and review this novel.
View all my reviews
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**
THE RED QUEEN GIVEAWAY:
I am currently holding a giveaway for The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory.
All you have to do to enter the draw is to leave a comment on the original post. Entries will be taken until midnight (Australian Central Standard Time) on Sunday, 23 October 2011, with the winner being announced the morning of Monday, 24 October 2011.
Best of luck!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
In Pictures: The Last Stand...
"BIRD HOUSE"
"IN RUINS"
"OASIS"
"LAST STANDING"
A favourite pastime: Roaming the Ranges in search of old farm houses and ruins of pioneer cottages, a reminder of the way things were and never will be again.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Monday Mail Out: Mail in...
"Sir, more than kisses, letters mingle souls; for, thus friends absent speak". ~John Donne
Last week in Monday Mail Out I stated that for me, half the joy of written correspondence is receiving it.
So, this week I thought I'd share with you two pieces of mail that arrived in my letterbox last week: Postcards sent by friends merely to let me know that despite their silence I've not been forgotten.
This card is from Astrid, who is Dutch but currently living and working in Austria. She sent this postcard whilst visiting family in the Netherlands, and always sends the prettiest, most interesting cards: Astrid has her own online shop for them, Cardcetera.
The second came from Monika in the Czech Republic, a viewcard with landscape images of various regions in her country, which has made me all the more eager to visit there someday!
The postcards are magnificent: Both 8.5" x 6" in size, the largest I've ever seen!
Written correspondence has been a hobby of mine for a long time, & Monday Mail Out is a weekly feature whereby I can share my love for the lost art of letter writing. I hope my experiences will encourage others to send out letters on Monday too, and have them rediscover the joy of sending and receiving mail. If you have a blog, feel free to join in.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)