A peaceful day

This weekend Jemimah is spending the weekend with her grandparents while her Daddy and I spend the weekend together.

Alone.

This weekend is all about us.

We will eat dinner at our favourite restaurant - the one where the waiters know us by name. We will have a massage - together in the same room. We will take long walks together. We will talk, really talk, about the big stuff. We will laugh. Lots. We may even have an early night. Or a late morning. Or both...

I am so excited.

No marriage is perfect, no matter how much you love each other. Each of you has strengths; each has weaknesses. A good marriage needs hard work to stay good, strong and healthy.

My Beloved and I work really hard at our marriage - do you?

Here are our ten tips for keeping our relationship strong:

1. Keep God at the centre. Our love for God is the thing we cling to every day. He comes first. Spend time together with God. Read together, pray together, worship together. Get your priorities right - God first, partner second, kids third.

   Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Psalm 127:1 NIV

2. Make important decisions together. Like how to raise your children. And once you decide then be consistent and maintain a united front in your parenting. Be honest with each other about your kids' strengths and weaknesses and talk about strategies. Often.
3. Keep it exciting. Some couples have date nights once a week. That never worked for us. Instead we have special romantic weekends. Like this one. Hurrah!!!! If it is a surprise then all the better. My husband planned this weekend all alone. He and Jemimah have kept it a secret for weeks. You can imagine my joy when I learned of it last night! Oh my!
4. Remember the small stuff - a bunch of flowers, a surprise love note in a lunch box, tickets to a movie. Make your partner feel special.
5. Never ever ever put your spouse down. Not even as a joke. Actually, especially not as a joke. Act as if you love each other, and say it out loud. Yes, Even in front of your mates. It is never okay to humiliate your spouse.
6. Don't be too proud to admit when you're wrong. Conflict happens even in the most perfect marriage. You will argue and you will say unkind things to each other. When you behave inappropriately apologise and ask for forgiveness. Say sorry and really mean it.
7. Make time to talk to each other. And really listen to the reply. Know what is going on in your partner's life. Show empathy and understanding. Be patient.
8. Don't get complacent and don't think it'll never happen to you.

   For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. Matthew 15:19 NIV

   And if bad things happen - really bad things then don't give up - this is the time to work harder. (Hah! Easy for me to say, isn't it?) Anyone who has watched Fireproof will know that adultery can happen in your mind too... or on your computer.
9. Never let the sun go down on your anger. (Ephesians 4:26)And don't discuss it in bed.
10. Learn your spouse's love language - and use it. Often.

So there you have them. Our ten. What can you add?

I'll be back on Monday to read your suggestions.

If you want me before that then I'm afraid I'm busy.

...Self satisfied smirk.

Image from here. Idea from here.

He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future. George Orwell

Back in 1992 I made my first visit to Vietnam.

Me back in 1992 in part of the immense network of underground tunnels of Củ Chi - the Viet Cong's base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968.

Signs of what we call The Vietnam War and they somewhat revealingly refer to as The American War were everywhere. People badly deformed by the dioxin-laden herbicide, Agent Orange, or the burns of napalm were embarrassingly visible in the streets. The ground remained scared with unexploded ordinance, and the towns revealed the horrific injuries left by the land mines, bombs, grenades and mortar shells that still littered their jungle homes. These were the days before Coca Cola and McDonalds. There was no American Embassy, and no American tourists.

In Ho Chi Minh City - Saigon - we visited The American War Crimes Museum containing, primarily, exhibits displaying atrocities committed by Allied forces in the name of war. On the wall in huge red letters was a sign that began something like this:

We, the Vietnamese people, accuse you, the American, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand people (and maybe others) of ...

I can't remember what this sign accused me of, but I do know that it struck me with the horrible realisation that maybe what we - Australia - had done might not have been completely honourable. I can still remember how horrified I felt as I walked around the displays. Face-to-face with the vestiges of a war that I had grown up through but really knew nothing about, I was speechless. The photographs were gut-wrenching. Even today I remember the photograph of American soldiers smiling as they hold up the severed heads of Vietnamese guerrilla fighters to the camera. Another one showed a helicopter full of people being pushed into the water of the Vietnam Sea to allow an incoming empty helicopter space to land.

• 7,850,000 tons of bombs were dropped over Vietnam (by comparison the U.S. dropped only 2,057,244 tons of bombs in Europe during World War II);
• 75,000,000 liters of defoliants -- including dioxin -- were sprayed over croplands, farmlands, forests and villages;
• nearly three million Vietnamese were killed; four million were injured; 500,000 infants were malformed;
• over 58,000 Americans died in the war.

"Not for inciting hatred, but for learning lessons from history."

Harrell Fletcher, "The American War," May 5-June 10, 2006, at White Columns, 320 West 13th Street, New York

You can see many of the photos from this museum, now renamed the far more politically correct sounding War Remnants Museum online here, but I shall move on. The purpose of this post is not to debate whether we should have gone to fight in the Vietnam War. It does not question the bravery of those who did chose the answer that call either. I tell this story merely to recount to you the first instance in my relatively sheltered life that I realised that I might not have been given the whole story, that perhaps my version of history wasn't exactly right, and perhaps even that maybe - just maybe - we might have been wrong.

History can lie.

Mostly the history we know is the story of the victors. We have long had the European version of the conquest of Australia, but the Aboriginal version has only emerged in the past few decades.

The Allies were right; the Germans were wrong.
The ANZACS were right; the Turks were wrong.
The Americans were right; the Japanese were wrong.
The French proletariat were right; Louis XVI was wrong.
The Protestants were right; the Catholics were wrong.
We were right; they were wrong.

Except when we're not.

I have been confronted with this bias of history on a number of occasions recently as I teach Jemimah. Despite our obviously deliberate leanings toward the Protestant version of events leading up the the Reformation, we are currently reading about the imprisonment of the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots at Sheffield Manor Lodge in the 1500s through the pages of Charlotte Yonge's Unknown to History ("I like Queen Mary, Mummy. I wish she were on our side."). At the same time we are learning of the English Civil War through the Royalist eyes of the Beverley children in Captain Frederick Marryat's The Children of the New Forest. ("I wish we were Catholic," sighed Jemimah during her narration yesterday.)

Which is where I get as confused as she is. Is a bias in the teaching of history wrong? Surely the teacher's value systems and his philosophy of life - his worldview - will ultimately colour the history he teaches. Personal beliefs bias content. And that to me is a good thing. I homeschool, in part, in order to influence my daughter's worldview. I select the content of her education, and it will be biased. I will teach her the Reformed view of Christianity. I will teach her the Protestant version of the Reformation. I will teach her that the universe was perfectly designed and created in six days by the hand of the Judeo-Christian God. The God of Genesis. I will teach her the historical truth of the Bible. I will teach her about a young earth.

I will also teach her that there are two sides to every argument, and two sides to most of history's events. I will remind her that often "History is written by the victors" as Sir Winston Churchill proposed, but that more often it is written by those in control. George Orwell got it right. Those who control the present control the past.

On April 30, 1975, People's Army of Vietnam forces marched into Saigon. A tank crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace, the President, General Duong Vanh Minh surrendered and the remaining U.S. personnel were hastily evacuated from the roof of the U.S. embassy. The war was over.

Thirty five years later a fundamental question still remains unanswered: Who won the Vietnam War?

I think Jemimah will believe that Vietnam did. I think she'll believe that because she'll look at my pictures and listen to my stories. She will come to believe as I do. Maybe. At least she will know both sides of the argument. She will be armed with the information she needs to make an informed decision.

That's why yesterday we read about the Roundheads being the enemies, the baddies. Sometimes the Puritans were wrong. Sometimes they did terrible things to the Royalists in the name of God. It is good to read about these things, to talk them through. What is important for me, though, is that predominantly Jemimah be taught the version of events that her father and I believe to be true.

Which is where careful selection of schoolbooks comes to the fore. We are using Henrietta Marshall's Our Island Story for English history. It is an excellent book for the most part, written from a Protestant point of view. It is not, however written from a Reformed viewpoint but an Anglican one. Marshall's opinions on the events of the Reformation and mine diverge significantly on many points. It would not be good for me to use this book alone to teach the history of the Reformation. It is the same with science. I can teach much of scientific theory and practice using a secular science text. When it comes to creation, though, I'll need more.

So now I'm going back to where I began. History can lie. Books are written by people, and people are biased. Taking into account both sides of history - a 'post-revisionist' view of history - is more balanced, but it is not necessarily better. It just gives two points of view.

The key is to know what you are reading. Know the author's slant. Is his interpretation of the world the same as yours? Do you have the same world view? If not, can you use his book as part of a balanced approach, or should you look elsewhere?

In selecting an author's work you are perpetuating his view of history. You are making it a reality. Is this the Biblically oriented reality you want your children to know?

Is it the reality you want them to teach their children and their children's children?

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. Acts 17: 24-26

Good morning!

It is just a little past 9 on Saturday morning and I'm sitting in my dressing gown checking on my blogging pals and drinking coffee.

My Beloved, on the other hand, has already:

• completed a pile of overdue paperwork for work,
• brought me a cup of tea in bed,
• visited the chiropractor to have his neck crunched,
• been to the shops to buy me milk,
• taken Audrey dog to the vet to have her nails clipped and to get her annual vaccinations,
• gone to the playground with Jemimah to play.

I am so blessed to have such a Godly husband and a wonderful marriage.

This time last year I wrote a series of posts on Anzac Day.

When we commemorate this day we do not glorify war. By studying what went on before; by really knowing about the men and women that fought and died so bravely that we might have peace, we come to realise that we will never want war because we know the real horror that it brings. By remembering Anzac Day we come to glorify peace.

Peace. Not war.

I have heard people say that they do not teach Australian History to their children because of our Larrikin past; that they would rather teach using good role models like Abraham Lincoln or George Washington. There are many great men in America's past, but it is the sacrifice and heroism of the every day men and women of Australia that makes our great land so special. The young people who gave their all that we might live and raise our children here in this beautiful country in peace. The young people of the Australian Defence Forces who still are.

That's why I remember Anzac Day.

That's why I will always remember them.

Will you?



This weekend:

• We'll read lots of books.
• We'll eat biscuits.
• We'll watch The Lighthorsemen and remember my Grandpa and eat more biscuits.
• We'll attend at pre-dawn service, and drink our Anzac Day hot chocolate.
• We'll visit the War Memorial and search out grandpa's name written in gold on the wall.
• We'll watch a parade.
• We'll talk, we'll laugh and we'll remember.

Jemimah will remember them too. It will not have been in vain.

The Soul of Australia

In the light of dawn, the break of day,
Through the waters chill they fought their way;
Like their sires of old, to the Motherland
They came o’er the sea, and they sprang to the strand;
And the blood of the Angles, the Scot, and the Celt
Grew hot in their veins as the war fire they felt.

In the light of noon, in the bright sunlight,
They fought up the cliffs from height to height;
And the sun shone down on that scene of strife
Where the ‘Soul of Australia’ came to life,
As the blood of Australians was shed on the sod,
For Australia, for Britain, Humanity, God.

Shall Australia mourn for the sons she has lost-
Should Australians weep? Nay! Great though the cost,
Joy mingles with grief, and pride mingles with pain,
For our boys died like heroes, and died not in vain.
And the ‘Soul of Australia’, new-born on that day
When her sons died at ANZAC, shall never decay.

J.H.M.
The Brisbane Courier, 25 April 1916

My Mother's Eyes by Mark Wilson

The story of William, a sixteen year old boy who lies about his age in order to enlist for the War to End All Wars.

Twenty three teenage soldiers fought in World War I, and those that paid the ultimate price, like William, are listed on the Australian War Memorial's Roll of Honour.

You'll shed a tear over this one.






My Grandad Marches on Anzac Day by Catriona Hoy.

I blogged about this book here. It is my pick of Anzac Day books for kids 4-8.

This is what I wrote about it then:

In the story, Anzac Day is seen through the eyes of a young girl who rises early on Anzac Day to watch her grandad march in the Anzac Day parade. She shares her day in a realistic way, and Jemimah can easily relate to the little girl and her experiences. She can also relate to the little girl's grandad. She can sense his pride. She can also begin to understand a little about the thousands of man and women who didn't make it home.

My grandad marches...to remember them.

I thoroughly recommend this book. It is one of our family's favourites. It also started our ANZAC Day hot chocolate tradition!!

I cried when I read this one as well.

Anzac Day Parade by New Zealanders, Glenda Kane and Lisa Allen is a new one to me.

It is a story in rhyme of war through the eyes of a former member of the 18th Battalion. An elderly veteran tells a young boy not of the glories of war and death; but the reality of war as he remembers it.

This one is on my list...






Simpson and his Donkey by Mark Greenwood

This is an excellent retelling of the classic story of John Simpson Kirkpatrick and his donkey, Duffy,and how the pair rescued over 300 men over only 24 days during the campaign at Gallipoli.

The little known story of how he rescues the playmate of his childhood is also told in this book.

Read The Book Chook's review of this one here.






Memorial by Gary Crew

Down by the war memorial monument in the main street of our small country town are two oak trees planted by the ex-servicemen on their return from war. They commemorate the men who died in the Two World Wars.

Lest We Forget.

Our trees are badly stressed by the long drought, but they are lovingly tended by the Council gardeners and they show pleasing signs of regeneration. I love our trees.

There is a tree planted by the war memorial monument in the small country town that the young lad that narrates Memorial lives in as well. His was planted when Old Pa came home from Ypres in 1918. Only his tree is causing grief. It is big and unruly. It is lifting the bitumen and drops seeds on cars. It obscures the traffic lights and it is knocking the statue over. It is a traffic hazard.

And now they want to cut the tree down.

Angel of Kokoda by Mark Wilson

Kari's teacher at the mission school house on the banks of the Kusumi River, Sister Mary, has disappeared. A message in her music box suggests to Kari that he might find her at Kokoda.

But Kari doesn't find his teacher, he finds soldiers - Australian soldiers covered in mud and wearing big hats.

"You see Sister Mary?" he asks. "Sorry Mate," is the reply from a young Aussie.

Suddenly a huge bomb rips through the quiet jungle. A battle rages and the Australians retreat. As they leave Kari comes across his friend lying wounded in a ditch.

Together they make the perilous journey to safety along the Kokoda Track. The young Australian thinks he has seen an angel. A Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel.

During the Pacific War of World War II, the Kokoda Track was the site of terrible battles between the Imperial Japanese Army and the Allied troops. The New Guinean villagers who assisted the troops became known as the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels. This is the story of one of them.

Yep - cried in this one as well.

Why are they marching, Daddy? by Di Burke

Written to explain the traditions of Anzac Day to children as young as four, this book is the work of the wonderful Anzac Day Commemoration Committee of Queensland.

Madi is watching the parade with her father. "Why are they marching, Daddy?" she asks. Madi's father tells his daughter the story of Anzac.

He talks about war too: "Is war bad?" asks Madi... Daddy answers by talking about the good and bad. The reasons and the consequences. He talks about freedom. This little book addresses the big issues simply and clearly. It's a great book to talk about what we are commemorating on the 25th April every year.

The House that Was Built in a Day - Anzac Cottage by Valeria Everett

Arise, arise, Anzac Cottage is to be built today!

The true story of the community of Mount Hawthorn in Western Australia, who united to build a house that would serve as both a home for a wounded soldier, and a memorial to the Anzac landings.

When the town crier awoke the suburb at 3.30 am on the 12th February 1916, hundreds of men responded to the call. They set out working from sun-up to sun-down, in a race against the clock, to build the cottage in a single day.

... Living only for the moment, turning our full attention to the pleasures of the moon, the snow, the cherry blossoms and the maple leaves; singing songs, drinking wine, diverting ourselves in just floating, floating; ... refusing to be disheartened, like a gourd floating along with the river current: this is what we call the floating world...

Asai Ryōi 浮世物語 Tales of the Floating World 1661

The beautiful woodblocks of ukiyo-e, 浮世絵, tell the story of old Japan - a Japan closed and isolated from the rest of the world - a Japan of fleeting beauty, of geisha, kabuki, courtesans, sumo, samurai and daimyo. They tell the story of the floating world, a time of transience and impermanence.

Early ukiyo-e portray urban life and culture. Although today we generally associate the term with prints, it was as books that the genre first developed and was most popular. Guidebooks and picture books were widely available. Later landscapes and nature as subjects became more common.

Andō Hiroshige 安藤広重 drew during the early 1800s and was one of the major printmakers of this period. His series, The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō is our focus for Picture Study during this term as we prepare for our own visit to the floating world of Japan in only a few more weeks.

On the Tōkaidō Highway near Hakone in 2005

The Tōkaidō Highway, linking the shōgun's capital of Edo, to the imperial capital Kyōto, was the main artery of old Japan, and formed part of a system inaugurated by the shōgun of Japan, Tokugawa Iyeyasu, in 1603. From Nihon-Bashi, the great bridge over the Sumida River, just opposite the palace of the shōgun in Edo, roads radiated throughout the island of Honshū,and from this point all distances were measured.

Iyeyasu demanded an annual visit to Edo from all the daimyo; and twice a year these territorial lords travelled the roads, stopping at the posting houses along the way. Fifty three of these post stations at various points along the highway provided stables, food, and lodging for the daimyos and their entourages as they travelled its 514 kilometre length.

In 1832, the printmaker Hiroshige travelled the length of the Tōkaidō from Edo to Kyoto, creating numerous sketches of his adventures along the way. He used these sketches to produce a series of fifty five prints - one for each post station, plus one each for the start and end points of the route. The prints are Hiroshige's best known works and are amongst the most popular of all ukiyo-e prints. They portray the adventures that Hiroshige experienced during his journey, as well as the day to day activities of the people he encountered along the way. Together they form an ideal medium for a study of old Japan.

So which to choose? The beginning and end points are obvious, as as Hakone, the posting house and check point we visited back in 2005.

Hakone Sekisho -the Menbansho of the Hakone checkpoint where Sekisho officials from the Odawara Domain inspected male travelers making their way along the highway.

After some consideration we selected the other three prints to make up our term's picture study on their subject matter alone.

1 Edition 1 Nihonbashi

11 Hakone

14 Hara

36 Goyu

37 Akasaka

55 Kyoto - Sanjo Ohashi at Keishi

Exquite, aren't they? To think they're carved out of wood first! You can see the prints in this video:

There's more on Hiroshige here:



Learn more about the process here:



I could talk more about each beautiful print - that, after all, is the purpose of Picture Study Charlotte Mason style, but if I did that before you'd studied the picture then I'd really be getting in the way between you and it. The time for discussions like that is after looking at and really seeing the piece of art - not before.

If you look in on us during this subject, Jemimah and I will be discussing what is happening in the picture, the colours and techniques used, whether we like it and why. We will be looking at clothing, events and locations. We will be learning about Old Edo. Mostly, though, we'll just be looking at the work of an exceptional artist and appreciating the beauty he has wrought from God's creation.

Just before he died Hiroshige wrote this poem.

I leave my brush in the East
And set forth on my journey.
I shall see the famous places in the Western Land.

Andō Hiroshige 1858

With apologies I write,

I leave my worries in the West
And set forth on my journey.
I shall see the famous places in the Eastern Land.

I shall try not to bore you to tears with preparations for our journey to Japan in May. Are you interested in hearing more about our Japanese studies or is this enough, already? Do please tell me. I'll cope with the criticism.

I do get so overexcited sometimes. Such a kid.

I'm loving Cécile Corbel this week.



Who are you listening to today?

It's been a while since I've invited you for a stroll through our garden.

Summers in Central Victoria are just so punishing that I find it hard to be inspired by anything garden related. Come autumn though...

Anyhow, if you care to join me under the ancient pear in the courtyard we'll make a start. Sorry about the hose - just kick it out of the way a little, if you like. You'll see that the foliage of miniature daffodils is already up here. They show their jolly yellow faces so soon after the cool weather starts around here.

Ready? Okay we'll head off down the Wisteria Walk, shall we? Don't forget to pick any flowers that catch your eye while you're peregrinating. We'll make an arrangement of them when we finish.

The first path to the right takes you into the White Garden. This, like everything at this time of year, is looking a little wild and unkempt, but the standard Iceberg roses continue to put on a good show long after their backdrop of Climbing Lamarque has finished. It is so easy to see why this has become such a popular rose in Australian gardens.

This is my favourite bed in the White Garden. It is filled with lilium longiflorum around Christmas time. Beautiful. This late in the season the daisies predominate, but there are also white salvias, petunias and other bits and pieces still in bloom. Heideschnee is still flowering away valiantly as well. The shrub is lemon verbena. We use it for making delicious lemony tisanes. Mmm. In a few weeks the ornamental pear, Chanticleer will put on her magnificent autumn display and will be the undisputed star of this bed. She's still green now though, as you can see.

Back into the Wisteria Walk and through the other side you'll enter the English Garden. The Mme Isaac Pereire roses that give this bed its height are not yet very tall, and so the whole thing looks a bit flat. I shall try some larger shrubs in this bed next season to do the same thing. Hopefully the roses will grow more next year. They still flower beautifully though!

I'm going to grow roses up the fence - that's why the trellis is there. The tree is a native Kurrajong and beside it three little buddleias to attract the butterflies.

The salvia is glorious at this time of year and is offset by an unnamed pink rose if you look this way. There are lots of different salvias throughout our garden but this purple one performs the best.

If you wander the path in the English Garden you'll come back to the end of the Wisteria Walk. Avert your eyes from the ugly empty patch behind the hammock where until a few weeks ago the century old peppercorn stood. How our neighbours could have chopped this down is beyond me. We've yet to decide what we plant in this large sunny and now empty section of our Native Garden. Head instead along the path where you'll find our little garden gnome hard at work at her nature study.

You'll find grevillias, callistemon, kangaroo paws, hakea, banksia, hardenbergia and other native flowers under established gum and wattle trees in our water conserving Native Garden. The musk parrots adore it, as do our resident possums! There are a few paths to explore in this area of the garden, so have a bit of a wander around and we'll congregate over at the firepit, okay?

Okay. Onward!

Back up the other side of the While Garden you'll see this beautiful unnamed red rose before you enter the Children's Garden.

We've been doing some work on Jemimah's Cubby which you'll see in this section of the garden, but we'll leave our examination of that for another visit. Right now we'll head past the Kitchen Garden and on out the front.

It's looking green out here. Green and peaceful I think.

There's more to see if you head on around the front of the house but why don't we head on inside and put those flowers in a bit of water?

I could do with a drink myself. Care to join me for a coffee?

Oh joy - a Studio Ghibli version of Mary Norton's The Borrowers.

It goes without saying that if I love food more than I love books then I probably love cookery books most of all. Right?

Well that's not exactly true, but I'll admit that the cookery book section of our bookshelves is...ah...diverse and expanding. Exponentially. Sort of like rabbits. Which I like best as paté. Or as a ragù with papardelle. But I'm off on a rabbit trail here.

It is impossible to write a truly comprehensive list of my favourite cook books because the list would change on a monthly basis. All too often the newest is my favourite, just because I've read it the most. It falls out of favour when then next newie comes along. An so on.

Only time tells if a book is a stayer. And so my list may change tomorrow. Nevertheless, this is it today. For what that's worth. My top ten cookery books:

1. The Cook's Book of Everything by Lulu Grimes
2. Japanese Cooking - A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji
3. The Complete Asian Cookbook by Charmaine Solomon
4. The Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander
5. Balance & Harmony - Asian Food by Neil Perry
6. The Complete Middle East Cookbook by Tess Mallos
7. The Food of Thailand by Lulu Grimes, Oi Cheepchaiissara and Alan Benson
8. Maggie's Kitchen by Maggie Beer
9. Simple Chinese Cooking by Kylie Kwong
10. The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

Now my list of great books for kids who cook:

1. Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids by Stephanie Alexander
2. The Silver Spoon for Children - Favourite Italian Recipes
3. Cookery the Australian Way by Shirley Cameron and Suzanne Russell
4. Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion by Stephanie Alexander
5. The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver
6. Modern Classics 1&2 by Donna Hay

Finally, my family's diet would be far the worse without the inspiration provided by Donna Hay's marvellous magazine. It is a rare edition that doesn't provide me with at least another recipe or two for the recipe box.

Ah, my recipe box. I haven't told you about that, have I? My mother was a professional cook. These are her recipes, mostly. And these are the dishes I prepare most of all.

Mum's writing a cookery book. I can't wait.

Humanity can be roughly divided into three sorts of people - those who find comfort in literature, those who find comfort in personal adornment, and those who find comfort in food...

Elizabeth Goudge in The Little White Horse

Which group do you fit into?

So which of the Top 100 Children's Novels have you read?

I've put mine in bold, and asterisked those that Jemimah has.

What do you think of the list? What is missing? (The Magic Pudding for sure. And Tom's Midnight Garden.) Too American for you? (Yep.) Too much occult stuff? (Yes. There are many of these books I choose not to read.)

Anyway, on with the show...

100. The Egypt Game - Snyder (1967)
99. The Indian in the Cupboard - Banks (1980)
98. Children of Green Knowe - Boston (1954)
*97. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - DiCamillo (2006)
*96. The Witches - Dahl (1983)
*95. Pippi Longstocking - Lindgren (1950
*94. Swallows and Amazons - Ransome (1930)
*93. Caddie Woodlawn - Brink (1935)
92. Ella Enchanted - Levine (1997)
91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School - Sachar (1978)
*90. Sarah, Plain and Tall - MacLachlan (1985)
89. Ramona and Her Father - Cleary (1977)
88. The High King - Alexander (1968)
87. The View from Saturday - Konigsburg (1996)
86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Rowling (1999)
*85. On the Banks of Plum Creek - Wilder (1937)
*84. The Little White Horse - Goudge (1946)
83. The Thief - Turner (1997)
82. The Book of Three - Alexander (1964)
81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Lin (2009)
80. The Graveyard Book - Gaiman (2008)
79. All-of-a-Kind-Family - Taylor (1951)
78. Johnny Tremain - Forbes (1943)
77. The City of Ember - DuPrau (2003)
76. Out of the Dust - Hesse (1997)
75. Love That Dog - Creech (2001)
74. The Borrowers - Norton (1953)
73. My Side of the Mountain - George (1959)
72. My Father's Dragon - Gannett (1948)
71. The Bad Beginning - Snicket (1999)
70. Betsy-Tacy - Lovelae (1940)
69. The Mysterious Benedict Society - Stewart ( 2007)
68. Walk Two Moons - Creech (1994)
67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher - Coville (1991)
66. Henry Huggins - Cleary (1950)
65. Ballet Shoes - Streatfeild (1936)
64. A Long Way from Chicago - Peck (1998)
63. Gone-Away Lake - Enright (1957)
62. The Secret of the Old Clock - Keene (1959)
61. Stargirl - Spinelli (2000)
60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - Avi (1990)
59. Inkheart - Funke (2003)
58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Aiken (1962)
57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 - Cleary (1981)
56. Number the Stars - Lowry (1989)
55. The Great Gilly Hopkins - Paterson (1978)
*54. The BFG - Dahl (1982)
*53. Wind in the Willows - Grahame (1908)
*52. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007)
*51. The Saturdays - Enright (1941)
50. Island of the Blue Dolphins - O'Dell (1960)
49. Frindle - Clements (1996)
48. The Penderwicks - Birdsall (2005)
47. Bud, Not Buddy - Curtis (1999)
46. Where the Red Fern Grows - Rawls (1961)
45. The Golden Compass - Pullman (1995)
44. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing - Blume (1972)
*43. Ramona the Pest - Cleary (1968)
*42. Little House on the Prairie - Wilder (1935)
41. The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Speare (1958)
*40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Baum (1900)
39. When You Reach Me - Stead (2009)
38. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Rowling (2003)
37. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Taylor (1976)
36. Are You there, God? It's Me, Margaret - Blume (1970)
35. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Rowling (2000)
34. The Watson's Go to Birmingham - Curtis (1995)
33. James and the Giant Peach - Dahl (1961)
32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - O'Brian (1971)
31. Half Magic - Eager (1954)
*30. Winnie-the-Pooh - Milne (1926)
29. The Dark Is Rising - Cooper (1973)
*28. A Little Princess - Burnett (1905)
*27. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass - Carroll (1865/72)
26. Hatchet - Paulsen (1989)
25. Little Women - Alcott (1868/9)
24. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Rowling (2007)
*23. Little House in the Big Woods - Wilder (1932)
*22. The Tale of Despereaux - DiCamillo (2003)
21. The Lightening Thief - Riordan (2005)
20. Tuck Everlasting - Babbitt (1975)
*19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Dahl (1964)
*18. Matilda - Dahl (1988)
17. Maniac Magee - Spinelli (1990)
16. Harriet the Spy - Fitzhugh (1964)
15. Because of Winn-Dixie - DiCamillo (2000)
14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Rowling (1999)
13. Bridge to Terabithia - Paterson (1977)
12. The Hobbit - Tolkien (1938)
11. The Westing Game - Raskin (1978)
10. The Phantom Tollbooth - Juster (1961)
9. Anne of Green Gables - Montgomery (1908)
8. The Secret Garden - Burnett (1911)
7. The Giver -Lowry (1993)
6. Holes - Sachar (1998)
5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - Koningsburg (1967)
4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Lewis (1950)
3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Rowling (1997)
2. A Wrinkle in Time - L'Engle (1962)
*1. Charlotte's Web - White (1952)

Daisy's list is here.

Image from here


I absolutely adore this scarf, I do.

Should I make my crochet granny rug or this first? Decisions, decisions...

1. We will be in Japan in less than one month. I am excessively excited, to the point of being obsessed.
2. I am currently walking around with my hair parted in the middle and with a clip on the top of my head. I feel very silly, but my daughter thinks I look beautiful and so I have swallowed my pride.
3. I am such a neat freak that even the insides of all our cupboards are tidy. My husband is tidier than I am.
4. Jemimah and I are nursing our arms after our flu shots this morning. I totally do not understand people who choose not to vaccinate their children - or themselves, for that matter. It is one of the few topics that make me irrational, so don't try me.
5. I once flew to Vanuatu for the weekend. We flew out on Friday evening and home again on Sunday. The snorkelling there was the best I have ever seen. So was the coconut crab. I am sad to discover that they are endangered now. It is not my fault.
6. People often tell me that I am intimidating. I do not understand why anyone would think this of me and so I am unable to do anything to fix it. I do not like the idea of being intimidating.
7. I do not like dentists. At all. We now go every six months but only because my beloved makes the appointments. I never went once between the ages of 18 and 36. That is 18 long years. I only went then because I broke a tooth eating an olive with a pip in it. Ouch.
8. I quite like doing housework, but absolutely hate mopping floors. Maybe even more than I hate the dentist because it needs doing more than every six months.
9. I have never bitten my nails, but I bite my cuticles when I feel nervous or upset. I am currently worrying my cuticles but have yet to discover what is concerning me. I am not even due a visit to the dentist.
10. I absolutely totally cannot eat neba-neba foods. Soup made from nagaimo is probably the worst. I do quite like natto though, and okra is okay. Probably best to avoid mucilaginous textures if you are inviting me to dinner, okay?

You can read Pip's ten things here. It was really her idea, I just copied. Yay Pip!

The view from our tent

Friday-Monday: First there is the camping. It was great, and no, Susan, the tent didn't leak. We did find the new fandangled airbeds cold the first night, but an extra layer of bedclothes underneath the sleepers rectified that for the rest of the stay. The fancy rechargeable camping light didn't work after the first night either, except on its night light setting. Oh well, made for romantic evenings, she says resignedly.

Jemimah getting to grips with her new camping light

We stayed at Dixons Creek near Melbourne, a region that was decimated in last years dreadful Black Saturday Bushfires. 173 people died as a result of these fires - Australia's highest ever loss of life from bushfire.

A year later the forests are regenerating, but the legacy of that day will remain. Where the fire was hottest the regrowth is patchy, but in others the density of new seedlings is amazing. New plant species are reappearing, and native wildlife is slowly returning to the area as trees and plants damaged by the fires regenerate.

Birds are everywhere.

We were in Dixons Creek to participate in the RPCA Fellowship Camp, and in between wonderful bushwalks, times of Psalm singing and far too much food we were blessed with a series of excellent studies presented by Dr Murray Capill, Principal of the Reformed Theological College.

Murray Capill with his wife, beating their way through the regenerating bush at Fern Gully.

Murray spoke on Building the Church based on the often controversial chapters in 1 Corinthians - 12-14. The resulting discussion groups were excellent, and I came away from camp feeling inspired and...well...built up!

Monday: The Easter Bunny arrived late this year depositing eggs around our Northcote garden to the joy of young Jemimah. (Sorry, Ruby.)

Tuesday: Most of the chocolate accompanied us on our meandering trip home via Bendigo and then the gypsy caravanners, and we arrived home just before my parents who had come to say with us for a few days. Visits by grandparents are so priceless, aren't they?

Wednesday: You've seen photos of our Wednesday already...

Thursday: Mum and Dad left on Thursday and my brother and his family arrived. Phew!! Can you see why I wasn't blogging?!!

Here's a couple of back-of-head pics of Jemimah with her gorgeous cousins to preserve their anonymity.

Saturday: The rellos stayed just long enought to see Jemimah play in her first game of Minkey Hockey in the District Competition against a neighbouring town. She was quite bamboozled by the whole thing, but had a lovely time and was delighted to be selected for a coach's award after the game.

Mouthguards do not make for flattering portraits, do they?

And by Saturday afternoon it was all over.

We slept.

So now I'm wondering why I've told you all this stuff. Is anybody really interested to know what we did for our holidays? Do you read these posts or are they totally selfish and self ingulgent? Do they make us more real to you, and does that matter?

What do you think?

Looks interesting, doesn't it. You'll find the words to the poem here.

What do you think?

While we're on the topic: Fairy tales - good or bad? And why?

Which one would you like to be lost in?

I wish I could show you the photo of my dear Dad driving the gypsy caravan, or the one of my Mum and Sister-in-law making the damper, or the one of my brother yabbying with the kids, but alas without their permission this is all I can show you of my brother and his family's holiday travelling around our 'neck of the woods' in a gypsy caravan.

Six days and nights meandering along the country roads of Victoria's goldfields, camping near a river or in a State Park or near a quaint country town. Yabbying in the dam. Baking damper on the fire. Drinking champagne with us (of course!!). Harnessing the huge Clydesdale draft horses - Penny and Murdoch, and learning how to drive the wagon.

By the time they arrived at our home on Thursday they were so laid back they were almost horizontal.

Sounds like the perfect holiday, don't you think?

The Pedlar's Caravan

I wish I lived in a caravan,
With a horse to drive, like the pedlar man!
Where he comes from nobody knows,
Or where he goes to, but on he goes!

His caravan has windows, two,
And a chimney of tin, that the smoke comes through;
He has a wife, with a baby brown,
And they go riding from town to town!

"Chairs to mend and delf to sell!"
He clashes the basins like a bell;
Tea-trays, baskets, ranged in order,
Plates with the alphabet round the border!

The roads are brown and the sea is green,
But his house is just like a bathing machine;
The world is round and he can ride,
Rumble and splash to the other side!

With the pedlar-man I should like to roam,
And write a book when I came home;
All the people would read my book,
Just like the Travels of Captain Cook!

William Brighty Rands