Author: TravellinPenguin

………. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.  Dr Seuss

 Who doesn’t love Dr. Seuss.

I had a lovely surprise this week. In fact, it was more than lovely.  If you look at last week’s post you’ll see I talked about going to the book launch at Fullers book shop of The Lost Province on Tasmania/s West Coast by Lou Rae.

I admired the historical book so much but at such a high price I didn’t buy it although I know it will be very collectable before long.  Tasmanian history has always been a sought after genre. It flies out the door.

Monday morning I got a phone call from Ellen at Fullers book shop.  She asked me if I knew Lisa Hill. I said, I certainly do. She is a fellow blogger friend who I’ve corresponded with for several years now but never met.

You can find her very knowledgeable book reviews posts here. (ANZ Lit Lovers Lit Blog)

 Ellen then told me, “Well, Lisa has left you a present here and if you come by you can pick it up.” I had no idea what it could be. Then I thought, Well she’s seen my post about the Penguin book Lolly Willows falling into the bathtub and getting ruined and she probably picked up another copy.  So off I went to the gym for my pilates class (that almost killed me) then on to Fullers.

 Ellen handed me an enormous package, beautifully wrapped. The paper was gorgeous.  I opened it then and there and I was overwhelmed when I stared at The Lost Province book. It is so beautiful.

It is full of history of this wonderful state’s west coast. The mines, the lumbering, the trains. It has such interesting topics and photographs. I especially love the old photos of early Tasmania. Life would have been so incredibly hard back then. For men and women. Women’s stories are included in the book as the author said they are not represented enough.

I cannot thank Lisa enough to think of me so much as to send this book. I might add it is also signed by the author. Thank you so much Lisa. I can never repay you. Unless you get down to Tasmania and I’ll owe you a lunch or two. And several coffees and a guided tour through Fullers, haha.

Last week was also the week Kamala Harris came on board and although I don’t do politics on this page, especially American politics, I cannot begin to tell you how my spirits have soared watching her speeches during the week. I have been glued to You Tube. I really must give it a rest this coming week.

I have a few things coming up this week that I am looking forward to with friends so I will stop this long ramble and finish up. I am just so fortunate to have amazing people in my life. Have a good week folks.

LIFE ☕️☕️

Good news- the days are a couple of minutes longer and the rain has turned to clouds. On Wednesday of this week we are expecting 15 degrees C (60 degrees F). It will hopefully be a mood lifter.

Mr. P is getting the ingredients for a big pot of chilli for tomorrow on the way back from his gym.

The dogs had an enjoyable bit of time in the yard. Ollie has an obsession with the neighbour’s cat who only goes out back with his owner. So Ollie exhausted himself,  stuck to the crack in the fence watching them both this morning while they spent time in their yard.  Peanny came in after her tasks were completed and stayed in the warm house. Sensible girl.

The past week had me attending a Fullers event that was really interesting. Tasmanian author, Lou Rae has launched an enormous book on the history of mining and the logging industry on Tasmania’s west coast. The book entitled The Lost Province: On Tasmania’s West Coast will be a very collectable historical non fiction book in the future. He not only details the history of mining and logging back to early 1800s, but he has collected a lot of stories from the families of residents, letters, library archives. He explained how many Tasmanian born residents have connections to the west coast, no matter where they live now in this state. 

The event was very well attended and I think it was the first Fullers event where more men attended than women. I enjoyed his talk very much. I would like to own this book but at the cost of $100.00 I think I’ll get it from the library. If I were younger I’d buy it as it will no doubt be worth much more in the future. 

BOOKS 🛀

Our next book for book club is an old classic published by Penguin now; Lolly Willows by Sylvia Townsend Warner. Published in 1926, Wikipedia says “it has been described as an early feminist classic. It is the story of a middle-aged spinster who moves to a country village to escape her controlling relatives and takes up the practice of witchcraft.  The novel opens at the turn of the twentieth century, with Laura Willowes moving from Somerset to London to live with her brother Henry and his family. The move comes in the wake of the death of Laura’s father, Everard, with whom she lived at the family home, Lady Place. Laura’s other brother, James, moves into Lady Place with his wife and his young son, Titus, with the intention to continue the family’s brewing business. However, James dies suddenly of a heart attack and Lady Place is rented out, with the view that Titus, once grown up, will return to the home and run the business. “

I didn’t read any further as I didn’t want to encounter any spoilers. I bought the little clothbound Penguin classic to read. However, last week, on a very cold and rainy day, I decided to clean the dust out of the bathtub, fill it with very hot water and take my lovely little book, relax and read in the tub. I find I can really concentrate in the bathroom with the door closed and everyone/pets out. No interruptions!
However, I accidentally dropped the book in the tub, thus ending my sojourn into oblivion.

Life’s annoyances just seem never ending though this was minor.  I ended the whole adventure, got dressed and stood the book upright, pages spread on the dining room table, near the heater to dry. Once dry though, the book doesn’t close. It has stayed wide open and though the pages are still readable I am just over it.

I tried to read it but with pages sticking out everywhere and the print being extremely small (come on Penguin, just because it is a classic increase the font size). 

I went to Amazon to get a kindle version of it. I do like the large text on my kindle. Good news, they were selling it for 80 cents! Bargain. The book stores sell it for $22.00. However I am a firm believer in supporting independent book stores so I paid the $22.00. The book has now cost me $20.80. You have to laugh.

LOOKING FORWARD 🤾‍♀️🤾‍♀️🤾‍♀️

The coming week looks fairly quiet. I am looking forward to getting through my two pilates classes and my session with my personal trainer. My balance has improved slightly and I am now standing on the reformer. One foot on a solid plate and one on the moving carriage. My trainer usually gives me a balance pole to hang on to but I didn’t need it as much last week. I will persevere. I have lost a lot of depth perception having vision in only one eye so my brain needs retraining. 

I am also attending another Fullers event on Thursday with a friend. It is the launch of a book entitled Doing Life Differently in Thailand by author Mel Pike. 

The Fullers blurb states: 

Doing Life Differently in Thailand is a celebration of courage, curiosity, possibility and the power of travel. 

“Realising in her early fifties that she needed to do life differently for a while, Mel Pike seizes the opportunity of a few months with no responsibilities in her happy place, Thailand.

Among the sun-soaked streets of Phuket’s Kata Beach, she discovers the joys of solo travel and embracing new experiences. From the aromatic flavours of Thai food to the restorative power of the ocean to learning more of the language and the fun of immersing herself in the vibrant culture, Mel takes you with her every step of the way.

The resilience and kindness of the Thai people she befriends have a profound impact on her. As her days unfold, Mel candidly reflects on love, loss and the passage of time, and sees how essential it was for her to simplify her life. This book sets out to inspire readers to step outside their comfort zones, live life to the full, accept the warmth of genuine human connections and create lifelong memories.”

Mr P and I have an upcoming trip later this year to Asia. We are going to Siem Reap in Cambodia. Then hopping on a small cruise boat in Siem Reap, 16 compartments, for a trip down the Mekong to Ho Chi Minh city. We then fly to Thailand to a large resort that has swimming pools, the beach and cocktails with umbrellas. We just want time away from the world. I am looking forward to photographing people especially as well as scenery. So stay tuned for that. 

MORE PET NEWS 🐶🐱

Ollie and Peannie go into a wonderful kennel that they do well in. It is like camp for them, with three little rooms, a bedroom, an eating area and a large outdoor area that is private just for them. Once a day they go into a larger yard and play with just little dogs. The big dogs play area is at another time. It has under flood heating.

The cats go into a cattery that is separate from the kennel. I find good catteries are easier to find than good dog kennels. I do a lot of research and visit them. We just pretend price wise we have a child going on the trip with us and we need that air fare to get them there.  It is worth the money to know they are completely safe and well cared for. After all, they do need to remember they are animals once in awhile. 

PHOTOGRAPHY 📸

Well that wraps up this Sunday’s post. I didn’t do any photography this week so I might find a nature photo of Tassie to leave you with.

All the best for the coming week. ❤️

My favourite quote from Groucho Marx.

Another week is almost finished, and I thought I’d get in an early weekend to post a couple of things up here.

 WEATHER:

It has been incredibly cold with hard rain that is even colder. I crawled out of bed this morning just before 7:00 am. I wanted to get out of the house by 8:30 to get to the gym. The light was just breaking. I got up earlier so I could grab a coffee and read the paper before leaving and touch base with a couple of emails.

 After the training my lovely trainer and I went and had hot coffees in town. Real coffee tastes so good on a wet, cold day. We always take on the world and have such interesting conversations. I just love her. A wonderful trainer who inspires and a great friend. A good start to the day though I would not have believed that at 7.

 Monday was the same weather but no coffee before or after the gym right away. So what to do? Drive a couple blocks through town and stop in front of Fullers book shop and pick up a book I ordered. Then sit in their café with an oat milk cappuccino and a heated pear Danish. The place was hopping as everyone had the same idea.

 LIFE IN HOBART:

I chatted to Tim, the owner, and he told me the funniest story. He said he has a brother who has never been a reader. This brother decided he was going to start reading and he was going to start with the great classics. So he got on the AI app, Chat GPT and asked for a copy of a classic book (don’t know which one) written as though James Patterson had written it. We both had a very good laugh at that.

Nothing against James Patterson. After all if you’re at the beach or a log cabin in snow, one can enjoy very fast paced, entertaining crime novels and nothing wrong with that at all. But Plato? Socrates?  I still find it funny.

 I BOOKS:

I picked up a lovely book from Fullers. Dog Songs by Mary Oliver. I read a short blurb about it somewhere and I like her as an author so decided to track it down. Fullers ordered it for me and it came in. What a lovely little poetry book about dogs with beautiful black and white line illustrations.

I have always loved illustrations of animals by Cecil Aldin whose pictures I loved growing up. Beautiful English fireside illustrations of Scotty Terriers,Westies or sporting dogs. Just love them.

 Another book I am almost finished with is another trail hiking book. I think this will be the last one for awhile as I’m all hiked out. Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home by Heather “Anish” Anderson.

It is the story of a millennial woman who wants to beat the record of hiking from the Mexican border to the Canadian border in America on the 2600 mile Pacific Crest Trail in the fastest amount of time. The trail is a difficult one with high elevations, quite a few rattle snakes through the southwest deserts, mountain lions, bears and one or two leery men.

I have been quite worried for her as she has to hike 50 miles a day for two months to break the record. She comes very close to killing herself a couple of times. Hiking through the deserts in June, running out of water. Hallucinations, fainting. Hiking through the night, running into mountain lions. Throwing her arms above her head, screaming at them to chase them away. Crossing very rapid rivers without hiking poles.  I think she is nuts but I am following her anyway. Nothing against hiking but I think a bit of research and preparedness goes a long way. Though she had completed that walk in previous years and had done some other large walks on the east coast of America. Anyway, I’ll finish this up and move onto Lolly Willows by Sylvia Townsend Warner but more on that later.

 That’s all the Wednesday news I have for you today. I’m off to the Fern Tree tavern tonight at the base of Mt Wellington/Kunanyi for a quick meet up with some friends then staying for a photography talk. Should be a pleasant evening.

 Until later…..be well….be kind. . .