Sitting down and peeling the beans

From The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith (Number One Ladies Detective Agency series)

"Mma Ramotswe decided to sit down.  She was not particularly tired - it was simply one of those occasions when she felt like sitting down.  There was no reason why one should always be on the move.  That was half the trouble with the world, she thought:  not enough people took the time to sit down for a few minutes and look up at the sky or at whatever it was that was before you - a herd of cattle, perhaps, or a stretch of bush dotted with acacia trees, or the sinking of the evening sun into the Kalahari.  You did not have to sit for long; even for a few minutes was enough to remind you that if you spent your life rushing about, then the years would slip through your fingers without your really noticing it until suddenly they were gone and you were old and before long it would be that moment that comes to everyone - the time to leave Botswana forever."

If you haven't read any of the Number One Ladies Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith I would highly recommend it.

I have been enjoying a bit of a sit down lately - peeling the black beans.

My other  favourite sit down is here with a cup of tea.  This is an interesting read about the perfect cup of tea.

Reading

"Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it’s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it’s a way of making contact with someone else’s imagination after a day that’s all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss."

by Nora Ephron from brain pickings

What do you read?

 SeaKiwi

"What counts, in the long run, is not what you read; it is what you sift through your own mind; it is the ideas and impressions that are aroused in you by your reading"  Eleanor Roosevelt

I have recently reread Jackson's Track by Daryl Tonkin.  I think every Australian should read this book.  It is a wonderful, moving and tragic true story and shows how misguided white Australian "dogooders" ruined the lives of so many Aboriginal Australians.  The book gives wonderful descriptions and insights into the life of the Aboriginal community.  A way of life we could all learn alot from! 

Its raining its pouring

It looks like it might flood. We are having a lovely inside day in our pyjamas! Making games, playing games, cooking popovers for lunch and doing some crochet. It is nice to stay home, light the fire and listen to the rain pitter patter on the roof.

Thirty three squares so far. I wonder how many I will need to make single bed spread?

I have also started a new library book - Summer at Mount Hope by Rosalie Ham.  It is set in rural Victoria in 1894.  I quite like it so far.  I think it is funny how even in the dusty heat in Australia people were still trying to be British, wearing corsets and fancy clothes.  Sticking to old customs. 

"'You know nothing of life, girl; you don't know what you're talking about'. 'But I do,' she said.  'I know the value of life.  I know what's important.  Looking after the land is important.  Friends and family,  freedom, and being fair to those less fortunate.'"

Kick a little stone

Kick a Little Stone

When you are walking by yourself
Here's something nice to do:
Kick a little stone and watch it
Hop ahead of you.
The little stone is round and white,
Its shadow round and blue.
Along the sidewalk over the cracks
The shadow bounces too.

by Dorothy Aldis

We went for a walk the other afternoon and Django was kicking a stone. He remembered this poem we like to read in a favourite children's poetry book of ours called  Here's a little poem .

Polly Dunbar is the illustrator and she has written other fantastic books too. I really love her illustrations,  I especially like Flyaway Katie.

One more fantastic story called Ideas Everywhere. Such a great book to read to kids at school (or at home) to help inspire story writing. 

A lovely day at home

I have had a lovely day at home today.  The boys were all out and Sunny had a very long sleep.  Instead of doing any of the billion things I could have done  I made myself a little picnic of cheese and gherkin vita weats, a cup of tea (twining's chai) and the last piece of chocolate caramel slice, sat on the couch outside in the sun and read my book.  I started Arabella by Georgette Heyer last night.  It is a historical romance and is great light escapist literature ( the intelligent woman's Mills and boons as Libby calls it).  After awhile the midges started to bite, the wind came up and it started to rain.....so I retired upstairs to the loft to continue reading in bed.  Still Sunny slept on.....what a rare treat!!

All good things must come to an end and feeling refreshed I went out into the garden and picked some Zucchinis and coriander for dinner.  I made a delicious, simple and quick Indian recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery called.....

Prawns with courgettes

350g zucchini
1 1/4 tsp salt
350 g peeled frozen prawns (defrosted and patted dry)  - I'm sure you could use fresh ones???
5 tbsp veg oil ( I used a bit less)
6 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped ( I used 2 massive Russian garlic cloves)
75g finely chopped fresh coriander
1 fresh hot green chilli, finely chopped ( I used 1/2 a hot yellow one)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ( I left this out)
1 can of tomatoes
1 tsp peeled, finely grated ginger
1 tbs lemon juice ( our lemons are not yet ripe so I used lime)

1. Cut the zucchinis into 4 slices lengthwise.  Cut each slice into 4 long strips. Cut the strips into thirds crosswise. (sort of like matchsticks) Put the zucchini in a bowl and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp of salt.  Toss to mix, set aside for 30 mins. Drain and pat dry.   ( I didn't really do this bit)

2. Put oil in frypan set over med high heat.  When hot put in chopped garlic. Stir and fry till light brown. Put in zucchinis and all the other ingredients except the prawns.  Stir to mix and bring to a simmer.  Add prawns and stir them in.  Bring back to simmer, cover, turn heat to low and simmer for 3 mins. ( I think i did cook it a bit longer).

3.  Uncover, turn heat to medium and boil away the liquid, if there is any so that you are left with a thickish sauce.

Serve with rice and I also made a cucumber raita.  YUM

This is a great cookbook.  If you like Indian food I would highly recommend it!

After cooking dinner I had to pick up the kids, take them into town for swimming lessons, go to the shop to get some cardboard boxes so that Nelson could make his hat for the Easter Hat parade.  He decided to make a robot bunny.

Now everyone is in bed and I'm going to go and finish that book.  Goodnight.

Listography

I love writing lists.  I have lots of lists everywhere.  Some clever person has come up with a whole series of books about writing lists called  The Listography Books.  Todays list is for Sue - a list of 10 of my favourite books.

1.  Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austin (actually all of Jane Austin's books)
2.  Ahab's Wife - Sena Jeter Naslund
3. House of the Spirits - Isabel Allende
4. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
5. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
6.  Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
7. Jackson's Track - Daryl Tonkin
8. The Education of Little Tree  - Forrest Carter
9. The Year of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks
10. Chocolate - Joanne Harris


That list was straight off the top of my head without thinking too hard about it....i bet there are other books I'd like to add or that I actually like better but for now this will do.  I think I'll list some more books I like.  It is easier if they are not called "favourites" but just books I've liked. 
Alexander McCall Smith - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - actually all his books
The Children's Book - A.S.Byatt
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
East Of Eden - John Steinbeck
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
Heidi - Johanna Spyri
Tomorrow, When the war began (series) - John Marsden (for teenagers but I like it)
The Little Prince - Antoine De Daint-Exupery
The Reader - Bernhard Schlink
Those who Save us - Jena Blum
The Book Theif - Marcus Zusak
Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass - Phillip Pulman (also 4 teenagers but I like)

This could go on for ever - it is becoming a test of my memory, i'm going to give up now and go to bed.  There are probably hundreds of books i really like. That would be a challenge to try to list everybook I've ever read.  I try to write the titles of the books I've read as I read them in my yearly journal book - but often I forget to write some in. I wonder how many books I have read in my life?  My mum and Tristan's mum would have read even more. See I am already remembering more good books but i am going to say goodbye now before I bore you all to sleep. Goodnight.... love from Kate
PS I think one day I am going to try to write a very extensive list of all the books I have read - well the ones I can rememeber anyway, I'll do this during all the spare time I don't have!! (Maybe in ten years or so!!)