Travellin' Penguin

I feel like this weekend begins a new winter chapter in Tasmania. We’ve had some glorious days then another cold front moves in but this is normal. Not long now until spring.

Daffodils are rising, the wattle tree blooms have us all sneezing and I’m hearing a lot about getting the seed potatoes ready for planting.

It is also time to shed a bit of weight and get the camera out and post up some new photos.

It is time to connect to people I haven’t seen in awhile. I am looking forward to sitting outdoors again while having my lunch or coffee.

This week I had long conversations with three beautiful friends I’ve not seen for awhile. Yet on Wednesday there was a wake at a pub for another. That turned into a bittersweet time as I met and spent time with her two sisters and her niece. I helped a bit the next day to help clean out things in the house. A sad process. Donate? Skip it? Give it away? Auction? A Vinnies truck (thrift shop) turned up for bigger donations. Then the sisters and I and another neighbour sat around in the half empty lounge room telling me their stories of the past and the history of our neighbourhood. The house has been here for a very long time. I learned so much and it was lovely watching them laugh at the memories.

On top of all of this I had my book group evening where we discussed Robbie Arnott’s book Dusk. A beautiful Australian tale.

On Tuesday evening I got to one of my photo club meetings where we shared a lot of photos on the big screen and talked of what we loved and what we’d change in the editing process of the photos. We also had a speaker who shared his landscape and seascapes photography and a lively discussion ensued.

However on Friday we not only celebrated Ollie’s sixth birthday we celebrated our 54th wedding anniversary We went out to a very favourite restaurant. We shared a bottle of local Tasmanian wine and a gorgeous meal with yummy dessert. We amaze ourselves that we are still here. Life seems so much more settled as we age.

Now it is the weekend and we are very tired and just enjoying a bit of reading, social media, journalling and I have started repurposing a backyard area because I Am. Going. To. Plant. Potatoes‼️😳‼️

Something I’ve not done before but as an old time American farmer might say, “I just have a hankerin’ to plant a dern tater.”

Thats the week!

Now I’ll go dig up some photos to illustrate this ‘dern’ post.

Have a lovely week and if you feel so inclined tell me something fun you did that gave you a little buzz of happiness or a small giggle.

See you next week!

The Blurb

One summer evening in the town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on a bridge, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond.

The Emperor of Gladness shows the profound ways in which our lives are changed by the most unexpected of people. When Hai takes a job at a diner to support himself and Grazina, his fellow workers become the family he didn’t expect to find. United by desperation and circumstance, and existing on the fringes of society, together they bear witness to each other’s survival.

************. ************. ************

Eighty year old Grazina is such a character and the stories she tells of her past when her dementia kicks in are both touching and hilarious. Hai is a beautiful young man but has a secret from his mother that prevents him going home so he lives with Grazina. He works in a diner with more people who live on the edges of society, each with their own story. I love this book.

What’s happened this week? Well, my neighbour’s sister and her daughter arrived in Hobart to arrange everything for D’s funeral, which is private.

We had them over later in the week for afternoon tea and heard some wonderful stories of their family and some South Hobart history. They also knew the people who built the house we live in. We heard all about them. We are only the second occupants of this house and have been here since 1989. So that was fun.

There is a wake in our local pub for D next week. It will be a small gathering but I am happy there will be something. Then the sisters fly back to Victoria and that is that. Life may get back to normal though who knows what that means.

On the other hand look who ventured out of her room, got over her gate and visited me while I sat in my reading chair and read. I was so surprised to see Pickles. She is now ok with our cats. To my surprise, Eddie and Grizzy pretty much ignore her. Our little girl dog, Peanut (Peanny) is very caring towards Pickles. Ollie wants to play so he is still on a leash around her. Even more so he wants to play with Pickles’s toy mice. He is a Jack Russell after all.

MORE BOOKISH INFO

On another note my friend and I went to the Fullers launch by Adam Ouston and Richard Flanagan who have launched the first literary publisher in the history of Tasmania called Evercreech. They want to publish new authors not only in Tasmania but from anywhere they find good books and authors. It is all very exciting.

The book launched was Konrad Muller’s ‘My Heart at Evening’, the first book published by new Tasmanian literary publisher, Evercreech Editions. Konrad will be in-conversation with Geordie Williamson, and Adam was there to say a few words about Evercreech. Set on Tasmania’s remote northwest coast in the early 19th century, My Heart at Evening recreates the final days of colonial surveyor, artist and amateur botanist Henry Hellyer, whose 1832 suicide left many questions unanswered. The story is told by several perspectives and I understand it is quite a mystery.

Fullers was packed with more than 80 people, standing room only and it was a wonderful evening.

PHOTOGRAPHY?

Cousin Eddie makes a good prop.

Yes, I’ll be kicking it off again in another week or so. I have a street photography project book that has 124 pages of assignments of what to look for when going out with a camera. I’m going to get the random generator out and see what it chooses for me to do. I’ll be sure to share the photo with you as I go. I may mix it up with some landscape photography here and there as we all know too much of any one thing gets stale. Some examples from SNAP! are:

Zoom In

Follow the Light

Go where noone else goes

Immerse yourself in the daily routine

It should be fun and interesting as some of the topics are quite difficult to look for and find, then get a photo that actually comes out!

The first one I’m starting with, not this week but next is No 33- Zoom Out! It reads Step back! Open up a wider perspective by moving the attention from the details to the whole. This one should be a good start as it;s not too hard.

That’s it now until the next time. Have a good week.

We have had a sunny week in Hobart. I’ve been out a few times and I have noticed the days are getting longer. There are also some daffodils popping up around the place. I never mind the chilliness of our winters as we only have snow on the higher peaks around us but I don’t like the early dark.

I like a few comfort books thrown into the mix. Between reading photography magazines, journaling, creating a commonplace book and going to my exercise classes the days pass quickly.

I also took some things to auction that have been tucked away in drawers and cupboards. I had a set of four 30 year old Le Cruset pans that don’t work on our induction stove top as they are not magnetic. I understand the new ones are but I don’t need them. They sold at auction for over $500 which floored me. I also had some old jewelry that went at auction as well.

The book I tucked myself away with for a couple of evenings was Bookish by Lucy Mangan.

Good Reads explains it as:

From exploring the stacks as a student, to finding her feet as a bookseller-turned-journalist, falling for a fellow bookworm in an independent bookshop, escaping the doldrums of new motherhood and finally building a (book) room of her own, Bookish is the story of a life spent falling in love with reading. Bookworm author Lucy Mangan chronicles her years of buying, borrowing and hoarding everything from well-worn literary classics to steamy bonkbusters, gripping thrillers, young adult novels and other not-so-guilty pleasures.

Brimming with literary insights, wry observations and stellar recommendations, this book is an ode to the bookish places – from local libraries to bookstores big and small – and the stories that make us who we are.

I really liked her reference to book snobs. We all know one. The one that goes tut, tut when she (usually), hears about you reading a book by James Patterson or Jacqui Collins. We all need variety in our life so they just need to back off. I have enjoyed this book and it has been lovely to share with a hot chocolate and polar fleece robe on an early dark, winter’s night.

I also finished reading a book last week called Bliss(ters) by Gail Francis. The book chronicled her hike on the Pacific Crest trail from Mexico to Canada. It was an interesting book but not he most exciting travel book I’ve read. I did enjoy hearing her talk about all the friends and other people she met along the trail. Some were quite funny and certainly had varied habits.

A Little Surprise

I am sharing a photo that was posted up on the Fullers Book shop Facebook page this week. This is a sketch of the shop from 1928! It was given to them this past week by a member of the community. The shop has been open now for 105 consecutive years. Just amazing.

So- what else is new?

Pickles is continuing to settle into our household though she remains in her room. We have opened the door though. She is under supervision as the dogs have met her. Peanny is sweet about it and even gave Pickles a quick kiss on the nose without getting slapped. Ollie, being a Jack Russell will take a bit more watching. He is curious but very boisterous and I imagine he will be the first household member to get the claws, besides me.

I finally got a quick photo of her. Once Ollie worked out he couldn’t chase her, he left the room with one of her toys.

To wrap up: I have not forgotten my photography and I will be back soon with some photos of Bruny Island. The Japan photography workshop is coming up end of October but more on that later.

Closer to home I walked past the Hobart Geographica shop the other day. They have many beautiful travel books and maps and these two books were in the window. I would really like to read them as I love travel writing so much.

These look very inviting. Well, I guess that brings this to the end of another week. I hope all of you have a good week and see you next week!

Bye for now …🌻❤️🌻