Travellin' Penguin

One of those weeks. Is it true that angst can be funny?

Happy news- All the gym classes I wanted to get into happened.

Sad news- two of them were cancelled at the last minute.

Happy news- I got my laundry caught up.

Sad news- there were two tissues in a pocket of the dark load.

Happy news- After seeing a few new reviews I really want to read Stoner by John Williams again, as I rushed through it at first. When it was first published.

Sad news- I evidently moved it on and don’t have it.

Happy news- I went into Vinnies thrift shop to see if they had any funny cards, old magazines for junk journaling and there was Stoner right in front of me. I don’t think it has ever been cracked open.

This is how life goes isn’t it. I think I’m going to find the bestselling book the Let Them Method. I think a dash of self help might be what I need as I look forward to several events happening in February. Why does everything stop meeting end of November and not start again until February. Fullers author events, book clubs, photo clubs.

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But moving on here….it is time for randomly picking three books and choosing one from my shelves to start hiding in.

Spinning the wheel I came up with.

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson.

Book 2 is The Long Valley, a short story collection by John Steinbeck.

Book 3 is a travel book called Sea and the Jungle by H. M. Tomlinson

What did I choose ? Well, the Steinbeck has the Red Pony in it. We had to read that in high school and I am still traumatised by the death of the little guy. I could read the other stories in it but does the mood hit me? Not really though I do love Steinbeck.

Did I choose the wonderful travel story of Sea and the Jungle written published in 1985? It is part of the extensive Penguin Travel journeys which are excellent. However it is dense with tiny print. If it weren’t part of the overall set library of these I might have to move it on. The library has about 40 travel and adventure series by Penguin in the 70s.

I really need something light hearted, not too dense and maybe help me stop missing riding my motorbike so much.

I am going with Simonson’s motorbike book that takes place around WWI.

My audible book right now has me happy too. James by Percival Everett, narrated by African-American Dominic Hoffman. He is excellent and this is a good book for audible as it is read from first person, in the dialect that was spoken at the time. I am really enjoying this book.

Well I guess that finishes off this post. I have really enjoyed following the posts from you people out there that I follow.

COMING NEXT: before too long- I discovered a male Tasmanian author of the early 1900s to write about and share for Wad’s activities of featuring male Australian writers of the past. I just need to research him more before I post.

All the best for this coming week.

And just for fun…..

(Russian Proverb)

BOOK

I will share these critic’s response to this book. Then add my 2 cents.

“The Place of Tides” is a non-fiction work by James Rebanks, published in October 2024. Known for his writings on rural life in England, Rebanks shifts his focus in this book to the remote Norwegian island of Fjærøy in the Vega archipelago. There, he spends a season with Anna Måsøy, an elderly “duck woman” who has dedicated her life to the traditional practice of caring for wild eider ducks and collecting their down—a craft that dates back to Viking times. Guardian

Rebanks’s narrative chronicles his time from April to July, learning the meticulous process of building nests, protecting the ducks from predators, and harvesting the precious eiderdown. Through this experience, he reflects on themes of tradition, environmental stewardship, and personal growth. The book offers detailed insights into the cultural and historical aspects of eiderdown gathering, highlighting Anna’s resilience and dedication to preserving this ancient craft amidst modern challenges. Financial Times

Overall, “The Place of Tides” is lauded as a profound exploration of a unique way of life, offering readers a window into the serene yet challenging existence on a remote Norwegian island and the enduring bond between humans and nature.

Anna was such an interesting character. Seventy years of age, she is independent, strong and her affinity with the ducks is simply amazing. She is tough and when the weasels on the island go after the ducks or the large birds of prey she doesn’t hesitate to shoot them with her rifle. She protects the ducks as they return to the cleaned nests,,propped up by fresh straw as they lay and sit on their eggs.

It is sad to read of the decrease in the number of wildlife and the loss of these ancient traditions.

James Rebanks really wants to be away from work and family and renew himself in the isolation of the place and in the work of the two women.

It is a subject I knew nothing about and found it very interesting. Anna is such a tough woman and certainly does not tolerate fools. I really enjoyed this book.

There is a bit of repetition and I think the editing could have been slightly tighter in parts but overall I believed it to be a fascinating story in a remote part of the world.

LIFE

It has been a quiet week of no events. A few days exercising, a couple of phone conversations with friends. I am halfway through Hemingway;s book, A Moveable Feast. It got waylaid a bit as he Rebanks book took over. I must say though I am loving the Hemingway book. He writes of Paris so incredibly well I can see what he sees and almost smell the food.

I have been staying away from the news, especially politics anywhere in the world.

I worked on my junk journal and made up some new pages. I usually pick a theme and then collage the page with various images from an assortment of different publications and mail, etc.

No photography this week but one photo of street photography got picked in the top 20 of a facebook street photos challenge that happens every day. The site is called STREET PHOTOS (all caps) . There are tens of thousands of members from around the world and each day 20 photos are posted by the admin staff who like the, the best. So many of the photos are stunning and interesting.

My seagull in the Elizabeth mall of Hobart got picked a couple of days ago. Made me laugh as it surprised me. I have been following for months but only ever had three photos picked from this daily challenge.

BAKING

I don’t bake very often but I saw this recipe and wanted to make it. I like pineapple and I like cocoanut.

RECIPE-

RESULT

Let me know if you try it.

Have a good week ahead.

The weather here is ‘glam’ as my friend says and we are enjoying it. With all the news from California and the media hyped stories that seem never ending, it is great to have beautiful summer weather. Today was a big cleaning week. I have gone through wardrobes and drawers and completed a good cull. It feels great. I will not be buying any clothes this year! I keep reading about the damage of fashion on the environment, with clothes filling landfill around the world.

I find it easier to forego new clothes than I do new books but even that is going to be curtailed to book group buys only for the most part.

I seem to have a lot of t-shirts as I have always been a jeans and t-shirt person. They also travel to the gym regularly. I have two drawers of them. Ones with no illustration on the front and ones that do have. I keep them in separate drawers . I tend to collect them as I travel or my sister gives me the lovely cotton American ones when I see her.

Today I hauled them all out and did a Marie Kondo routine on them. I have always loved sorting and categorising so it was very relaxing.

I have also picked a book from my Audible subscription to begin listening to. It is The Place of Tides by James Rebanks. He wrote the book The Shepherd’s life that I loved. I love the sound of it and I see Fullers book store here, has it in their top 5 non fiction list of sales.

The blurb-

One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich, but had long been in decline. Still, somehow, she seemed to be hanging on.

Back at home, Rebanks couldn’t stop thinking about the woman on the rocks. She was fierce and otherworldly – and yet strangely familiar. Years passed. Then, one day, he wrote her a letter, asking if he could return. Bring work clothes, she replied, and good boots, and come quickly: her health was failing. And so he travelled to the edge of the Arctic to witness her last season on the island.

This is the story of that season. It is the story of a unique and ancient landscape, and of the woman who brought it back to life. It traces the pattern of her work from the rough, isolated toil of bitter winter, to the elation of the endless summer light, when the birds leave behind their precious down for gathering, like feathered gold.

Slowly, Rebanks begins to understand that this woman and her world are not what he had previously thought. What began as a journey of escape becomes an extraordinary lesson in self-knowledge and forgiveness.

Last night I was looking at some of the movies streaming on Netflix. I need a change while I wait for the final shows of Vera to arrive on our shores.

I seem to watch more British detective series and not movies. I came across the movie that was based on the book by Australian film maker Bill Bennet of his pilgrimmage on the Camino trail in Spain. I read the book last year and enjoyed it. He had always been quite the curmudgeon, a workaholic and hung out with all the ‘right’ people. His 800 km walk as an old man really changed him. Very set in his ways.

The film is produced and directed by him and keeps very close to the book. The scenery is beautiful. It is currently streaming on Netflix. I enjoyed the other characters he met along the way.

It has been a pleasant week. My back is doing fine and I’m back at the gym doing the classes I enjoy. I celebrate my 5th anniversary of going to the gym for workouts later this year.

I hope all of you are enjoying life at the moment and my thoughts go out to those Americans who were impacted by the fires. I also hope you get through the inauguration this next week. I will not be watching it.

I’ll leave you with my favourite photo I took of Bonorong Wildlife sanctuary who had an article in today’s newspaper here. I’ll add that too.