Yum!

I don't usually blog about my health issues because… well, because I don't want to bore you, gentle readers. Suffice it to say I have a less than functional digestive tract due to surgery many years ago. This means my appetite and my weight fluctuate madly and recently I've not enjoyed my food at all and, as a result, although I'm usually an enthusiastic and creative cook - you have to be to get an interesting meal out of what I'm allowed to eat - I've not wanted to cook or eat.

Today was different though. We are blessed in having an exceptional produce store only a few minutes drive away. Everything is beautifully fresh and arranged in mouthwatering displays and since its prices are much the same as the supermarkets charge for inferior produce it's very popular. They also stock all sorts of interesting foodstuffs to cater for the large southern European population, the descendants of the market gardeners who originally settled here, as well as a vast array of other exotic foodstuffs. Sadly the market gardens are pretty much all gone now, with the rich, fertile land buried under houses.

So off we went this morning and I stocked up  - and got inspired. I give you today's lunch - hot potato, avocado and toasted pine nut salad (steamed cubes of potatoes tossed with cubed avocado and pine nuts - I tossed them in a dry pan over medium heat until they started to brown - dressed with a little lime juice and extra virgin olive oil), served with marinated feta from the produce store that melted in the mouth and a salad (mixed salad greens, sliced lebanese cucumber and cherry tomatoes dressed with a lime vinaigrette) followed by a white nectarine for dessert. (I didn't think about a photo until after we'd eaten but it was so delicious I'll be making it again and I'll try to take one then.)

2013 Aurealis Awards

Ooh, ooh, ooh, the list of Aurealis Awards finalists is out - and, yes, I know it came out about a week ago but, you know, life. I always love this list because it gives me a whole new lot of books to read that I might otherwise have missed out on. I've read some of the works shortlisted - Juliet Marillier's short story By Bone-light (in Prickle Moon, a collection of short stories by her published by Ticonderoga Publications) and one of my favourite reads in that collection, Lee Battersby's horror novel The Marching Dead (Angry Robot) and the anthology Dreaming of Djinn edited by Liz Grzyb (Ticonderoga Publications) - and thoroughly enjoyed them so I'll be looking for the others as well.

Henri le Chat Noir

Here's a link to Henri. Just because. I love Henri and his world weary comments and if you've ever shared your life with a cat you'll see why. Enjoy. You can find out more about Henri here.

Scaredy Cat?

So suddenly Angus, the neurotic scaredy cat, is becoming bolder. This is not a good thing because he's decided that going outside is mighty tempting. The first time - a few nights ago - he strolled outside, realised what he'd done and froze in panic so I was able to pick him up and bring him back in. Last night was scarier - for me, not him - because he had things he wanted to investigate and kept moving. Fortunately nothing spooked him and I was able to follow and scoop him up when he stopped to smell something. 

The thing is - apart from the illegality of letting a cat roam at night - he is still very nervous underneath the bravado. A knock at the door sends him to hide under the bed from which he doesn't emerge for hours so any sudden noise is likely to send him running in panic and there are lots of dangers out there for a cat that has spent his entire, pampered life inside.

Australian Women Writers Challenge 2014

So I've been taking part of the Australian Women Writers Challenge for a couple of years now. The idea is to encourage the reading of books by Australian women writers. They don't have to be contemporary and there are different levels of commitment from reading a small number of books to choosing to read and review a larger number. There are review hints if you haven't reviewed before and   the website has other interesting activities too.

I've enjoyed participating in previous years and I'm looking forward to this year. 

Star Trekkin'

Yes, it's been quiet around here but, hey, it's summer and it's been very, very hot. So to entertain you while I try to energise myself again I'm cheating and giving you some links that amused me.

First this Star Trekkin', a novelty song released by The Firm in 1987 which came up on my Facebook newsfeed via my mate Lee Battersby a couple of days ago. It's years since I'd heard it and now I can't get it out of my head. Yes, it's an earworm song but in a good way.

Then there is this also via Facebook but this time from my fellow Egoboo WA writer friend, Laura E. Goodin. I've been trying to think of how to describe it but I have no words so just enjoy it.

Year in Review: 2013

Well, nothing went as I thought it would, with the exception of the on-going delights of a small grandchild and a delightful visit to Conflux with good friends.

January brought a death - not unexpected but that didn't make it any easier to deal with - and all the cleaning up and clearing out that entails, which took much longer than we anticipated.

I didn't get as much writing done as I would have liked. There were reasons but I will be making a more diligent effort this year, not least because I feel so much better when I'm doing something creative.

I did manage to do some reviews - you can find some at the Australian Women Writers Challenge Review Listing website - the main website is here - and also on Goodreads  and Amazon - a nice way to enjoy guilt free reading. I might have read quite a few more books as well.

Health issues plagued either Pisces and me - and not infrequently both of us at once. I'd like say they were all sorted but they're not and showing little sign of improvement in the near future. The only good part is that they are not life threatening, just preventing us from enjoying life. I had to pull out of the World Fantasy Convention 2013 in Brighton among other things.

Work and the endless house renovations all suffered as a result so we're living in a house that is depressing in the extreme and with little prospect of improvement for some time. It's been made worse by the shortage of tradesmen here due to the call of well paid work on the mines in the north of the state. It's not uncommon to ring 10-12 tradies of whom maybe one will consent to make an appointment to give a quote. This, of course, doesn't mean he or she will actually turn up and then the whole round starts again.

So my wishes for the New Year? Health to return to us both and a rush of tradesmen ready and willing to rescue us from our dreary mess of a dwelling.

My fingers are crossed. I hope yours are too.

Happy New Year!