Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.”- Emily Bronte.

Autumn in Tasmania is really beautiful. I never mind the chilly days because of the sun though we have had a bit of drizzle to give us needed variety.

Hobart Life

It was a busy week. I missed out on the Fullers dragon and damselfly book launch event on Thursday as I was stuck in the office of my first ever audiologist getting new hearing aids. Another part of my body that is in decline. What next?!

I have to say I like them though. I had a conversation with an elderly woman (she was more elderly than me) on the bus and I could understand her even with a pile of school kids around us. 😄

I did get to the Trojan Wars event at the Theatre Royal and it was absolutely hilarious. Presented by a French troupe with lots of audience involvement as cast members gave cue cards to random audience members to portray minor characters. So much fun and loved the way they told the story of Helen and the wars. The Trojan Horse, made of cardboard boxes was hilarious as was the guy who dressed in a white dinner jacket, black leather pants and sky high stilettos. I could never have walked in those. He was amazing. The music was great too with wonderful voices. We loved it and so good to have so many genuine laughs.

Book group

The Monk was a fun book to discuss and as our group had to be combined with another group due to space problems it was lovely to be in a book group with both women and men. I am transferring to that group as it is slightly larger and more varied viewpoints. So moving from first Wed evening to second Wed evening.

Our next book is by Flann O’Brien called At-Swim-Two-Birds.

From Wikipedia-

I’ve not read anything by him and I am really looking forward to this book. I have no idea what it is about.

But it will need to wait because…..

Photography

On Tuesday I am being picked up to go on a 3 day photo excursion/workshop at Mt Field National park in the southwest of Tasmania. it is one of my favourite places. I think the fagus is pretty much finished but the fungi will be out and hopefully, cloudy skies which photographers love. The weather might be chilly but with merino underclothes and a possum fur beanie I will be warm enough. Hoping the rain stays away but it does make for good photos.

After the trip …a new idea-

I want to introduce a new post into my blog periodically about sharing shelf books. Or books on my shelf. I have some lovely books that aren’t novels or things you dive into from beginning to end. I have a few series too. Some are coffee table like. Some are beautiful classic editions. Some are from my childhood. If people think they would enjoy just flipping through another’s book shelf let me know. Maybe fortnightly? Still thinking about it.

Best News of the Week from our local newspaper

So happy for them because they really deserve it. Tim is the owner and Cat has worked there for years as the Manager. Two lovely people and extremely well read.

My lecture for the week…not quite proselytising…

As I continue to travel with this dodgy body it is important to always have new plans and fun times so we don’t get pulled down by getting older. I’m stopping the weight classes for a bit but still going to the gym 3 x a week. Transferring to more pilates, personal training and the barre class. I can still get my big toe up to my mouth (not in it) and climb hills and I’m sure most of that is mind over matter. Go to things that make you laugh and if no one is around go alone. Have coffees, talk to strangers, get out in the world. Then come home at the end of the day, eat chocolate, read books, watch Netflix and do it again. Hug family members. But you might want at least one or two rest days to recuperate. Lol. Just get out!!!

Friday is usually my rest day. Sleep in, have 2 coffees and catch up on the chores around the house.

Let me know one of your plans for the coming week.

Today I went to the gym and as I rode the bus into town I had a lot of time to do some street photography. I’ll share the photos here towards the end of this post.

I have a busy week coming up. Tomorrow is my seniors dinner with a lovely group of people who love to chat and eat. That happens after my flu injection as we are very quickly moving into winter.

Wednesday our book group meets to discuss The Monk by Matthew Lewis written in 1797. I’m really looking forward to that. Such an unusual book but I really enjoyed it. I’ve never read anything like it

Thursday I’m going to a book launch of photography at Fullers book shop. It is all about dragonflies and damselflies. Did you know if you see a dragon fly on a piece of flora you can adjust your camera on it and even if it flies away it will return to that exact location several times?

Friday I’m going to the Theatre Royal with a friend to see The Trojan War. For a serious topic this will be anything but. Should be fun.

On the weekend I will be packing my camera gear and the winter woolies for a 3 day/2 night photography workshop at Mt Field National Park. We will be photographing waterfalls, fagus, fungi and who knows what else. Snow maybe as parts of it are at a higher elevation. I do hope it doesn’t rain. So walking around the bush in many layers with a tripod and my heavy gear on my back. Should be fun. Stay tuned for photos.

Thursday I am also getting my hearing assessed. It’s bad enough I’m down to one eye now but hopefully I won’t lose my ears yet. i get a bit of a laugh when I tell friends the inside of my body may be shot but the outside is still going really well.

I’ll end this missive with today’s photos. It was a lovely sunny day but is now 9 degrees C (about 48F).

Going back to my childhood, May 1 always meant spring time and my grandmother’s birthday. Now living in the southern hemisphere I still can’t get used to 1 May being deep into autumn. At least we have been having sunny days if a bit chilly.

As I mentioned in my last post I thought I might make some molasses cookies. (Whoops…biscuits). I became inspired and turned out quite a few of these little gems. I thought I would make them small so I wouldn’t eat too many and good for my health plan. Ha, Instead of 2 big cookies I just filled a plate with more little ones. I need a new strategy.

I began another book which I am enjoying. Australian writer David Goodwin has released this book called Servo: Tales from the graveyard shift. Published by Hachette , it is described by Readings book store as

“Goodwin is a natural-born storyteller, effortlessly compelling whether he’s talking about the draconian policies of his bosses, the mad ramblings of his regulars or his own forays into chemical-induced debauchery . . . However, the true secret to Servo‘s brilliance is that beneath its irreverent, gonzo stylings it’s actually a heartfelt, coming-of-age memoir’ READINGS

He describes his life working in Servos (service stations) on the fringes of Melbourne . They are generally open 24/7 and he has the night shift starting around 1:00am. He describes the various people who pop in for petrol and snacks. As he says, Everyone needs petrol in their car so the whole continuum of the population arrives sooner than later.

I find these descriptions fascinating. I have always been interested in the activities of people which is probably why I like street photography so much. For a good street photo one needs, light, gesture and colour. I can picture the people who come into these premises in the middle of the night. Some are quiet, in and out. Others are drug induced and tip things over, yelling at the top of their lungs. His descriptions of learning all the various machines, coffee, drinks, meat pie and sausage warmers are at times hilarious. When things don’t work and a mob of footy players come in, being boisterous and wanting food gets quite suspenseful especially when they start to get aggro (aggravated for you northern hemisphere people😃). He works alone which makes it even scarier at times.

The week ahead doesn’t look too hectic. Three gym sessions are booked in. Weights, Barre’ and a personal training session. No doubt riding busses into town will also include some walks.

Bri Lee is launching a book at the city hall on Tuesday. It will be a full house, I’m sure. (See the flyer below). It should be interesting.

I hope to get my camera out and about. In the meantime I’ll leave you with a photo I took while out on the road during my sister’s visit. Enjoy your week and don’t watch the news.

I always think of the animals who served in the World Wars as well as the veterans.

I have jumped into a few books this week. I am slowly making my way through the Penguin black classic The Monk written by Matthew Gregory Lewis 1796, revised 1798. He was known as a Gothic writer and I am enjoying it much more than I thought I would. The location is Madrid.

The blurb…

“The Monk: A Romance is a Gothic novel by Matthew Gregory Lewis, published in 1796. A quickly written book from early in Lewis’s career (in one letter he claimed to have written it in ten weeks, but other correspondence suggests that he had at least started it, or something similar, a couple of years earlier^[1]), it was published before he turned twenty. It is a prime example of the type of Gothic that specialises in the aspect of horror. Its convoluted and scandalous plot has made it one of the most important Gothic novels of its time, often imitated and adapted for the stage and the screen.

Plot

The Monk has two main plotlines. The first concerns the corruption and downfall of the monk Ambrosio, and his interactions with the demon-in-disguise Matilda and the virtuous maiden Antonia. The subplot follows the romance of Raymond and the nun Agnes. The novel switches between the stories at moments of high suspense. At various points, the novel also includes several extended anecdotes of characters with Gothic backstories who tell their tales.”

It took me awhile to get the characters straight. Our book club will discuss it in May and it should be a lively discussion.

The Wikipedia information about the author is quite fascinating so the link, if interested is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Gregory_Lewis

***********

The other book I finished is a travel book called Solo by Jenny Tough. She is a runner and kept excellent notes about her running journey throughout the world on a personal challenge she set herself.

It was a crazy challenge and she finished it. I enjoyed her story very much.

The blurb…”Jenny Tough is an endurance athlete who’s best known for running and cycling in some of world’s most challenging events – achieving accolades that are an inspiration to outdoor adventurers everywhere. But SOLO tells the story of a much more personal project: Jenny’s quest to come to terms with feelings and emotions that were holding her back. Like runners at any level, she knew already that running made her feel better, and like so many of us, she knew that completing goals independently was empowering, too. So she set herself an audacious objective: to run – solo, unsupported, on her own – across mountain ranges on six continents, starting with one of the most remote locations on Earth in Kyrgystan. 

SOLO chronicles Jenny’s journey every step of the way across the Tien Shan (Asia), the High Atlas (Africa), the Bolivian Andes (South America), the Southern Alps (Oceania), the Canadian Rockies (North America) and the Transylvanian Alps (Europe), as she learns lessons in self-esteem, resilience, bravery and so much more. What Jenny’s story tells us most of all is that setting out to do things solo – whether the ambitious or the everyday – can be invigorating, encouraging and joyful. And her call to action to find strength, confidence and self-belief in everything we do will inspire and motivate.”

She is incredibly courageous, almost crazy in her pursuit of her goal. It was quite suspenseful at times so could keep a reader up at night.

**********

The other book I’m in the middle of is Calypso by David Sedaris. I think I will work my way through all of his books on audio. He narrates them and I laugh out loud at his stories. His observations of people and his thought processes at times make one shake their head if they can stop wondering how his mind works. He covers a lot of family memories and I feel like I know his sisters and his father as if they lived next door. Such light relief when the world gets you down.

Other bits of life….

My sister is back in California and I continue to care for the big garden projects we did while she was here. She has a mich greener thumb than I do and I learned quite a bit from her. I was very sad for a few days after she left.

Now cold weather is upon us as winter begins to slide into Tasmania, my thoughts have turned to baking and cooking a bit. Mr Penguin does most of the cooking around here but if I can do some earlier in the day before MS fatigue kicks in I am quite happy. My energy supplies quit around 4 or 5:00. I never mind cleaning up though. It is very satisfying to have a clean kitchen with everything in its place at night, ready for the next day.

I’m looking at ginger-molasses cookie recipes for the weekend. I also found an interesting gnocchi tray bake online I might try. Stay tuned. I’ll share it with you if it gets off the ground.

That is all I have this week. I hope other Australians had a special ANZAC day and the rest of you are well.

Travelled south to a market and then lunch where we sat outdoors at a beautiful restaurant for lunch. While outside a couple of New South Wales motor-biker women approached us for a photo for a motor bike publication. They thought we looked “game”. They gave us a couple of tips for the photo and we obliged. Two of us in our 70s and two in our 80s had a great time laughing. Our one friend turns 90 next year!

Then my sister and I went to the tip (thrift/op) shop for some materials we needed for a garden project. We became distracted by the art sculptures made from scraps.

Loving street photography I couldn’t resist.

It is lovely to see creative people working with items designed for landfill.

Do something fun today if only for a moment and forget the world.

No time to read this week yet.

We have had some beautiful days here. Autumn is my favourite season. I am always happy to say goodbye to hot drier weather.

It has been a busy time with my sister’s visit from overseas. Road trips, rainy, windy drives, fisherman’s shacks for accommodation, feeding wildlife at Bonorong Wildlife sanctuary and chatting with the owner about the new hospital plans.

Then there were several projects around the garden.

Not much time for reading at all but listening to a few things on audible at night. I have belonged to two book clubs but am dropping one of them. I’m not enjoying the book selections so much as many about war and depression. It isn’t something I want to bring into my life at the moment so quite happy to go with the second club. The variety of books in this group have been fun. Calvino, Kafka’s the Castle, Ginzburg’s The Dry Heart had such various contrasts from each other. Next month we’ll be delving into The Monk, a Penguin classic by Matthew Lewis. I had not heard of this so am looking forward to seeing what it entails.

Coming up are two market days in two different cities with my sister and friends, then a fall festival with our photo club. We still have a few day trips to do too so a busy couple of weeks to come.

I will end the day with a few photos here.

Looking forward to further adventures, photography and more reading as the year progresses.

My sister arrives in five days from California for a month’s stay. I am really looking forward to her visit as I’ve not seen her in five years. We plan on several day trips, some theatre experiences, a market day and a week on the west and northwest coast of Tasmania. I will have my camera on me a lot so who knows what kind of photos I’ll collect.

Today is 34 degrees C in Hobart (almost 100F) so a good day to stay in and write a post.

One of my book groups met last week to discuss The Dry by Natalia Ginzburg. We only have 5 in the group and really got into a good discussion. Such an interesting tale of a loveless marriage, a mistress on the side, a sickly child and an Italian background. Depressing? Yes, but also riveting to see where it all goes and a good discussion about the interpretation of the ending.

I’ve just started The Castle by Franz Kafka for next month’s discussion. A novel that Kafka did not finish due to his death. A story of the absurdity of bureaucracy and so far it is quite funny with very descriptive characters.

I am also going to begin Richard Flanagan’s latest book Question 7. It has received many great reviews. I went to the launch of this book and that was such a good evening. The stories of his family living on the west coast of Tasmania really drew me in.

I have done a couple of days of street photography and am doing some online courses and studying many you tube videos. It takes a lot of time so not as many books being regularly read but am learning a lot. It really keeps me an hored and I have always enjoyed learning new things. Non fiction over fiction I guess as I age. There is so much out there.

I have been playing with AI Chat GPT and that has been great fun. For example I am able to ask it to give me 3 dinner recipes for two adults using an air fryer and it comes up with three recipes, including the directions and a shopping list if I include that request. The recipes look good.

I also asked it to tell me about the book The Castle and I got a really good answer explaining what it is about.

I can see why teachers in educational institutions are wringing their hands over it. It develops and produces quite good essays on any number of topics. I asked it “How can I become a really good street photographer based on the advice of the best street photographers in the world.”. I got a list of ten items telling me what to concentrate on when I go out.

I also asked for a good bedtime routine to follow before bedtime to get over my severe insomnia. My GP has me on a very good behavioural program that’s online and free and it has been starting to work. The AI app gave exactly the same advice with a few more things one can do to prepare for a good night’s rest. This is ongoing.

So quite a diverse week of learning on top of a lovely lunch with a good friend and her son as well as my regular gym workouts and follow up coffee with my fun trainer friend.

Now to just get the spare room fixed up for my sister’s visit. It will go by all to fast I’m sure.

I hope the rest of you are enjoying your weekend and if you’re not do try and find a happy time to look forward if even for a few minutes. It is so important to take care of yourself and don;t be afraid to use the word NO if life gets too hectic.

Summer’s morning. Birds are active outdoors. Can hear a wattle bird at the moment, a magpie with it’s wonderful chat and the neighbour’s chickens clucking around their front yard. I really like hearing their chickens.

 We are looking at a 26 C (79F) today. Lovely day with a mild breeze coming through the window. Cats and dogs still sleeping. Always lovely when they sleep.  I’m looking forward to the week. 

 The Hobart Photographic Society photography exhibition is on at the moment and I will work a two hour shift down there this week. It doesn’t require much except passing out pencils and slips of paper for people’s choice awards and keeping track of njmbers of visitors and selling raffle tickets to win a print.

So far the photo of a baby wombat named Lenny is leading the pack by a great number of votes.

 There is a Philosophy Night at Fullers Book store later in the week that Mr. P and I will attend. Should be interesting and fun. They are in the midst of their 104^th year birthday celebrations with prizes, cake, etc that I am watching from their social media. Will will share one of their photos.

 I only have two small books to share with you today from Wooden books publishers. There is an entire series of these little books and I acquired two of them sometime back.

Grammar: The Structure of Language by Rachel Grenon and Plot: The Art of the Story by Amy Jones.

Logic asks, “When is a sentence true?” Rhetoric asks, “Which is the right sentence?” Grammar purely asks, “when is a sentence correct?” I hope that these pages will at least whet your appetite for grammar, if not turn you into a most ardent and impassioned grammarian. (Introduction from Grammar:the structure of language.)

 They are small books that slip easily into a bag and come in a variety of subjects. I love the covers.

 

I missed the book club where the group discussed Zadie Smith’s, The Fraud for a really pitiful reason. There was a three car fender bender on the Tasman Bridge in Hobart. There are very limited streets heading out of South Hobart where I live. The traffic was backed up seven to eight kilometres. Where we exit South Hobart there is also the Southern Outlet that goes south to Kingston. It was also backed up kilometres. I sat in South Hobart trying to travel the five kilometres to the city.  After trying every way of getting out of South Hobart, I was unable to do so. Cars were at a standstill, what is known as the Hobart Grid Lock. 

Our politicians can’t work out public transport. We have a large river system and it would be wonderful if they would put in some ferries like Sydney has up and down their harbour. They talk about it a lot. There is a rail track that could accommodate light rail north of town with some work.

Bike trails are appalling. But the Metro system has a shortage of drivers due to less than ideal working conditions.

The timetable can be erratic. Lots of pollies standing around looking at everything, tsk, tsk, tsking but taking no action (as usual). So as the time edged into the meeting without me, I turned around and went home. I was very disappointed to miss the group. Just ridiculous. Wished I still had my scooter.

 Well that is the quiet trial of the week. I am now just satisfied having my morning coffee and the neighbour’s chickens chatting.  See you next time.

This past week was incredibly busy and this week is

turning out to be the same too.

I had a couple of very good gym sessions in the weight

room and the Barre’ class room.

I turned up on Thursday for my private PT session and my

trainer friend, Teresa and I just looked at each other and

said, “Let’s go for a coffee!!” We postponed the training

until tomorrow. It was a beautiful Tassie day and we sat in

the sun at our favourite café, drinking our oat latte’s (I

know), and along came another woman friend from the

Barre’ class. The three of us happily chatted until we had to

get back to the gym. They are such positive women and I

really enjoy them.

I had Adam’s book group Wed night and six of us had a

lovely time during the evening in an empty Fullers book

shop café discussing Olga Tokarczuk’s book Flights. We

had a lot of fun really dissecting this book. We all enjoyed it

as just so much in it.

Speaking of Adam’s group, I finished The Dry Heart by

Italian author Natalia Ginzburg (Dob 1916 to 1991). It was

first published in 1947 then translated into other languages

beginning in 1950s. It is wonderfully written and very

concise. It packs a lot in for only 105 pages. The writing style

reminded me of Graham Swift’s Mothering Sunday. I would

certainly recommend it if you enjoy a real study of a couple

in a very unusual marriage situation. The characters are

well developed and the story kept me reading even though

we know on the first page the protagonist shoots her

husband between the eyes with his revolver. It takes place,

I would guess in the 1950s, post WWII.

I also went to a couple of Fullers book launches last week

too. I met some friends there and we all enjoyed the launch

of The Chocolate Factory by Mary Lou Stevens. The

history of the Quakers who first developed Cadbury’s

chocolate in the UK is an interesting tale. Alcoholism was so

bad in the UK, they developed a chocolate drink that took off

In popularity. They wanted people to drink chocolate

instead of alcohol. It eventually became the Dairy Milk

chocolate the rest of us know. They were great employers,

developing accommodation, child care and

schools for the children of the employees.

The author said she ate a lot of chocolate while she wrote

it.

Friday night we went to another launch but I am not going

to write much about it as although the book is probably

interesting, the presentation was abysmal. The woman

stood behind a podium, cleared her throat continually, did

not consistently use her microphone and droned for 50

minutes. Complete monotone. Painful! I played with my

watch in order to not pull out my eye lashes. My friend fell

asleep as did a few others in the room. I guess you never

know the level of public speaking skills of an author when

that author is booked.

This past weekend had me spending Saturday meeting my

photography friends north of Hobart in the small town of

Oatlands. It is a lovely country town with an even lovelier

bakery. I had the best heated chocolate croissant with my

flat white. We then had a few cars and we car pooled north

to Tunbridge an even smaller village with not much there

except very old houses and agriculture.

From there we went farther north to the more touristy

town, Ross. It has one of the older convict made bridges

in the country. It also has a nice bakery. There was an

amateur medieval day going on and they were happy for us to photograph them. The local group do these little exercises

regularly and by then I was getting tired. There was

another American expat on the sidelines watching her

husband running around with armour and a sword. The

group was funny as they were like enthusiastic four year

olds who had all been given rubber swords for Christmas.

The others took more photos and I enjoyed talking to the

woman on the sidelines. We discussed the Super Bowl and

the upcoming American elections and how much we both

hate Donald Trump.

So now we are in the next week and activities continue to

roll on but more of that next week. I hope you do something

fun this week. I’ll leave you with the delicious banana bread recipe I made today. I substituted 1/4 cup of the flour for drinking chocolate mix. It really added to the flavour.