On Bedding

I thought I would show you one of the projects I worked on in the weeks before DH came home. A new bedspread for our spare bed. Another one needs to be produced for the other spare bed. That would be the spare bed that still needs to be purchased!

The fabric is Amy Butler's Royal Garden in Turquoise.

What Ya Readin': Miss Mapp and Lucia

I have just finished the wonderful first three books in the Mapp and Lucia series - Queen Lucia, Miss Mapp and Lucia in London. I had heard Simon rave about them and Elaine too. I love domestic literature so, I felt I had to give them a go. Last time Borders had a discount voucher I grabbed the first omnibus - Lucia Rising - published by Penguin.

Initially I had trouble getting into the characters. But, now I realise you are not supposed to 'like' either Miss Mapp or Lucia, as people they are utterly unlikeable social climbers. Rather one is supposed to become completely absorbed in their tribulations and triumphs in small town politics and in Lucia in London…the greater London scene. I absolutely adored Lucia in Lucia in London. Indeed, it seems I have joined the so-called Luciaphiles.

I have spent the last two days of my train trips to work utterly engrossed, delighting in Lucia's initial downfall at Riseholm and subsequent restoration to her reightful throne as Queen of that small village. And may I say, Daisy Quantock - unfortunately deposed, by Lucia, of her hard won Riseholme crown - is my favourite character. I don't suppose there is a lot of point me adding another summary to the excellent ones that are already out in the blogoshere. So, instead, I will point you in the direction of other devoted fans and let their ravings speak for me: Simon and Elaine .

I was impressed to find that Alexander McCall Smith is also a fan of E.F. Benson, and like Elaine before me, was thrilled when I found a Mapp and Lucia reference in his latest book The Unbearable Lightness of Scones. For any AMS fans out there that haven't been following it I would urge you to rush over to The Telegraph website and start catching up on AMS's latest daily novel. There was a reference to Mapp and Lucia in last Friday's edition.

Moving On

All posts, bookish and otherwise, are now over on A Lady Bug's Life.

Looking forward to your visit!

On Mangoes

Spring is truly here in eastern Australia as we are starting to see the first mangoes of the season. We are very fortunate to have mango growing areas in the Northern Territory and far north Queensland.

I love mangoes. The pungent sweet aroma when you sniff to check if a mongo is ripe is such a treat. And then, you cut the tough, oozing skin to expose the tender golden flesh. Yummy. The best way to eat a mango straight is to slice a cheek of mango, cut a fat dice into the flesh and then bend back the skin and dig in!

Another option is to blend mango and milk to create a milkshake. Or as we discovered in Singpore to mix shaved ice, sweetened condensed milk and diced mango. My mouth is watering at the memory. And now, Karen has given me another option....I think I might try this soon.

On someone special coming home!

Well, it's hard for me to believe that DH has been home for just over a week now! He arrived late last Sunday. We have had a lovely time just getting used to him being around again. And, I have been having fun being thoroughly domestic....lots of bread baking, cake making and tea drinking going on here. Oh, and I managed to get almost instantly sick as DH brought home a Baghdad Fluey Bug. What a lovely present:) Just left with the hacking cough now! Fortunately I have the second half of this week off work so I should be able to give the bug the boot.

I made a welcome home sign to make DH feel at home! It is very simple bunting...almost no sewing required. You just need a bit of fusible interfacing and pinking shears.


This past weekend we went down to Bowral to check on our investment property and our tenants appear to be keeping the grounds in immaculate condition. I was very impressed. They are certainly better gardeners than we are.

Bowral has a well known secondhand book trail so we felt duty bound to have a look around the shops. DH had just cleared off his bookshelf so we traded in a whole lot of books for credits at our favourite secondhand bookstore - Bong Bong Books (it is the name of the main street in Bowral). As such, I got this massive stash for just a $6 outlay, oh and DH got one book (to be fair there were no others he wanted)....