Glorious Autumn Weather
Greetings All – Week 4
First, a complaint
Such glorious autumn weather. It’s simply too hard to believe in COVID19 when the sky is blue, the clouds wisp and the wind soughs and plays along with the birds through the trees. Our surrounds ought to be objectively correlative (I did 3 years of university to become entirely comfortable using that phrase).
What we need is a little glum. At least a bit of grim. Something to grind our teeth on. Who wants to stay inside and fit together the sea pieces of yet another jigsaw when it’s blue sky outside? We need something to make it worth our while to stay inside. Bring on the gloom, the wet, down and stormy days.
However, when the only alternative on offer is fine days, birds singing in every tree, bees buzzing and the neighbourhood children laughing, let’s be forced to go outside (responsibly and observing all the regulations) and absorb Vit D while we still can.
Acquire some skills
How to Make a Beer Damper
with Lianne Gould
Lianne (la Fontessa of Information in All Things) has developed a video which shows you how to make easy damper. I look forward to having a go… really. The last time I tried to make damper I was in the Girl Guides (Wattle troop) in what was then the Bush but is now known as Kakadu. Grit with char is the overwhelming memory. Tons of jam worked a treat. I am happy to try again.
So, in this new way of life and these times of testing new things, follow Lianne’s directions (I understand she appears headless, but never mind, it’s definitely Lianne) and have a try at damper making.
Imagine: you, your loved one/s, a little bit of Nina Simone in the background, seats on the back porch while the sun is shining in a way that makes you warm and glad to be alive. A glass of good wine – don’t save it for a special occasion: now is special enough – the damper and a bit of whatever you want to go with it. In the immortal words of John Lennon,
Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.
Live now.
The Book Worm
Stephen King's "Hearts in Atlantis"
No-one has recommended a book yet so I am forced to confess to you that I am reading a Stephen King novel. A first time for me: “Hearts in Atlantis”. This book was recommended/given to me by Fij Miller – remember The Murphy Sisters Bookshop – and, I admit, I was surprised to receive it from Fij. But, it seems, Stephen King can actually write: he is something more than the plot-driven, spooky, thrill-seeker I had assumed him to be.
His characters in this work are well developed, rounded, sympathetic. It’s certainly not a hearts and flowers read as suggested by the title, but nor is it a dark and chilling journey to places best left unexplored. You may get cross, even outraged, you may smile and eventually wipe away a tear. It’s a good read.
Live life. Stay safe. Have your flu shot soon.
So good to have this regular insight. To all contributors, thank you. I’m not sure the ‘blue button’ is obvious in the description so maybe that can be made clearer or maybe it’s just me. In any case, I appreciate all the effort and want you to know I am reading it every week.
Well, I am missing life drawing, but on the plus side I have plenty of time for my own drawing and painting projects.
What have I been reading?
– a couple of crime novels by Melbourne author Garry Disher – it’s always a treat to read local authors and recognise the places they are writing about.
– ‘Olive again’ by Elizabeth Strout, which follows on from ‘Olive Kitteridge’. Through the descriptions of the daily life of Olive and others in her small community, we get a fuller and fuller picture of this intense and complicated woman.
What a lovely set of snippets! Thank you Gallery One team. I agree with Wende Dahl! Bring on the grey (call it glum). Many people have asked me whether I have been painting in social isolation. Not until the weather turns grey is my answer! That’s when cosy and creative make the studio a fertile oasis. Reading Louise Penney murder mysteries at the moment. Set in Canada near Quebec and with a little parade of interesting characters. Go well!