A much looked forward to day off today. I have been struggling against a the latest bug that is doing the rounds at work, and have had a headached that has settled in my sinuses and feels like a giant bear is biting my head for three days now. So you can imagine what bliss it was to wake up at half past six and then realise I could happily go back to sleep again!
Lovely Carl brought me a cup of tea but I must confess that it was cold when I woke up again. I listened to radio 4 while I boiled some eggs for breakfast, and then played with some designs for greetings cards. I have got an idea for decorating some hot water bottle covers made from old jumpers, so I also made 2 Union Jacks out of felt. One was was the traditional covers, and the other in shades of pinks and purples. There is something really satisfying about snipping into felt with really sharp scissors!
After that it was time for a walk, so I wandered around to the local shop where I bought the makings of a moussaka. I have never, ever liked aubergines so had not even thought about making this before...but recently I have come to like them, and as I had time to spare, I really wanted something to cook that would let me potter about the kitchen, so moussaka it was!
Firstly I sauteed some lamb mince, and after it was brown I drained the fat off, and threw in a diced red onion and some grated courgette, cumin, coriander and oregano. I topped it up with some stock, and while it bubbled away, peeled and sliced some potatoes and put them on to par-boil. With two saucepans bubbling away, I sliced my aubergine and griddled them until soft, then put to one side. I put the lamb mixture in an ovenproof dish, topped with the aubergine and then the potato. Next I made a white sauce flavoured with plenty of nutmeg and some grated parmesan. On top of this I layed slices of tomato, and finished with a thin grating of cheese. It all went into the oven to cook while I got stuck into the washing up.
Certainly not the quickest of dishes to make, and it did seem to create and awful lot of washing up, but there was time to get it all done while the moussaka baked, and I did take a lot of pleasure from assembling it and then presenting the finished beast to Carl for tea. Even better, there are leftovers that we can have for a speedy dinner before book club on Friday!
I have spent a happy few hours going through cook books from the library, slipping little bookmarks into pages that I would like to copy from. I have also had a few books arrive from the amazon fairy recently...Nourish by Jane Clarke (although I keep wanting to call it Nurture), Appetite For Reduction (a fabulous vegan cook book which is said to be worth the price for the tomato salad dressing alone!) and last but not least More Veg Less Meat. I love cook books and often read them like novels, but just opening the pages of these let me know that they would not just be read, but used, and often. The best kind of book!
I have not given up on my library project, and plan an update this weekend. Although I do treat myself to books on amazon I am a great believer in the library service and would not be able to feed my reading habit without it! Sadly there are a great many libraries under threat of closure at the moment, although I am happy to say none in my county are in danger. However, wherever you are, if you do one thing this week, find your local library and make it your own! However small there must be something there for you. Cilip has a great 'save public libraries' campaign on at the moment, where they encourage you to twitter about why you love libraries, write to your MP, download an ebook, tell your friends and family to join, and to get down there and use your library yourself. You already pay for this service through your council tax, and the core service is free. Of course you can pay a few pounds to borrow extra things like cds and dvds, but the thought of all those books just there, waiting for you...what bliss!
Showing posts with label Lovely Libraries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lovely Libraries. Show all posts
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
What's On My Library Ticket?
One of the best things about working in a library (well, two libraries really) is that I often stumble across an author I would not have otherwise found. Recently I was shelving some crime novels when Bury Her Deep by Catriona Mcpherson fell on my toe. I took it home and devoured it, and have since read two more. There is one waiting for me to collect it, and having visited the authors wonderful website, I have found that Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains will be published in December. How I love a good murder mystery at Christmas! Set in the 20s they are a delightful read and I could spend a great many words telling you about them...but why not visit here instead? http://www.dandygilver.co.uk/
So, what is on my library card at the moment?
A Very Great Profession by Nicola Beauman is all about the kind of novelist published by Persephone Books (her own company) but was written years before she started it. Persephone have recently republished this book, and it is a great companion to this hot water bottle genre of literature, and at the back of the book there is a kind of glossary of writers, which has given me lots of ideas for books to order in the future!
Learning To Cook Vegetarian by Rose Eliot since we are having a month of vegetarian eating at home, this is the perfect book for lots of great ideas for tasty dinners to make. Because naturally, there are a lot of vegetables in vegetarian cookery, it makes it easier to eat with the seasons. One of my favourites so far is a cashew nut and broccoli curry served with home made naan bread.
Boudoir an utterly divine book, about turning your bedroom into a boudoir, with several different 'themes' but not in the obvious Changing Rooms way. There is a country-ish section, a 'starlet' section, sections with a rich jumble of beads and butterflies...it is hard to settle on one style, but I like marrying several together. It has given me lots of ideas for prettying up our bedroom once I have finished tidying out and decluttering. Alas, dear Carl does not approve of my idea to paint our bed white!
Marguerite Patten's Top 100 Teatime Treats was left on my desk by a colleague who knows I love baking and afternoon tea. This one has lovely sections on specialities from different places around Great Britain, and savoury ideas too. I think that once I have tried out a few recipes, this may be a book that I have to buy!
The Edge of Love a dvd treat that I am saving for tomorrow! I watched Ballet Shoes yesterday and was transfixed. Not only was the story lovely, but visually, the sets, the costumes....I have high hopes for this one too!
100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet is a delightful book that I have had out for a while now. There are so many that I would like to make that I hardly know where to start. As well as brooches and hair decorations for myself, I want to make some holly sprigs and misteltoe bunches to adorn Christmas presents with this year...the idea being that they can act as a bow on the parcel, and then be hung up or worn later.
Coco and Igor by Chris Greenhalgh. On the night that I went to the Proms, I heard some music by Stravinsky. On the way to the concert hall, I saw lots of posters for Coco Before Chanel, which has Audrey Tatou in the lead roll. While I was searching our catalogue for some books about Stravinsky, I found this novel, which is the fictional account of the real life affair between Chanel and Stravinsky. I can't wait to dig in!
Tales From Greenery Street by Denis Mackail is an interlibrary loan which I was pleased to see on my desk. It is a series of short stories and I finished them this morning. I have several other of his titles on the way, and I can't wait!
A Classical Education by Caroline Taggart. How could I resist a book that had this on the back:
From engineering and architecture to drama and democracy, the world around us is founded on the principles and discoveries of the Ancient World, yet our understanding of it is episodic at best. So if you've ever confused Plato with Pluto, struggled with Socrates, wish you could formulate a logical argument or wondered whether the Romans really dined at vomitoria, then carpe diem and delve into this book- it is never too late to learn!
I know I am biased, working in public libraries as I do, but I think the fact that anyone can walk into their local library, answer a few questions and then be given a card that lets them borrow books without having to pay a penny is just amazing. In my own authority, it is 14 books, and you can use every single public library in the county. You can reserve books free of charge if you do it yourself, so often I will have a pile of brand new books that are on sale in the big bookshops just waiting for me to take them home. There are times when I fall in love with a book and go on to buy it, but I could not possibly afford my reading habit without my library! It is so amazing to be able to try a book without risking anything. I pick up an author I fancy trying, and if I don't like it, I just hand it back and try another. Imagine if I had to pay for every book I borrowed!
Recently a friend came back from New York and gave me a book journal from the New York Public Library. I have tried to keep a book journal so manh times, but have never got very far. I have turned over a new leaf though, and really keep this journal. Part of me thinks that I should keep a little note of how much each library book I read would have cost to borrow, so I can work out how much I have saved over a year!
So, what is on my library card at the moment?
A Very Great Profession by Nicola Beauman is all about the kind of novelist published by Persephone Books (her own company) but was written years before she started it. Persephone have recently republished this book, and it is a great companion to this hot water bottle genre of literature, and at the back of the book there is a kind of glossary of writers, which has given me lots of ideas for books to order in the future!
Learning To Cook Vegetarian by Rose Eliot since we are having a month of vegetarian eating at home, this is the perfect book for lots of great ideas for tasty dinners to make. Because naturally, there are a lot of vegetables in vegetarian cookery, it makes it easier to eat with the seasons. One of my favourites so far is a cashew nut and broccoli curry served with home made naan bread.
Boudoir an utterly divine book, about turning your bedroom into a boudoir, with several different 'themes' but not in the obvious Changing Rooms way. There is a country-ish section, a 'starlet' section, sections with a rich jumble of beads and butterflies...it is hard to settle on one style, but I like marrying several together. It has given me lots of ideas for prettying up our bedroom once I have finished tidying out and decluttering. Alas, dear Carl does not approve of my idea to paint our bed white!
Marguerite Patten's Top 100 Teatime Treats was left on my desk by a colleague who knows I love baking and afternoon tea. This one has lovely sections on specialities from different places around Great Britain, and savoury ideas too. I think that once I have tried out a few recipes, this may be a book that I have to buy!
The Edge of Love a dvd treat that I am saving for tomorrow! I watched Ballet Shoes yesterday and was transfixed. Not only was the story lovely, but visually, the sets, the costumes....I have high hopes for this one too!
100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet is a delightful book that I have had out for a while now. There are so many that I would like to make that I hardly know where to start. As well as brooches and hair decorations for myself, I want to make some holly sprigs and misteltoe bunches to adorn Christmas presents with this year...the idea being that they can act as a bow on the parcel, and then be hung up or worn later.
Coco and Igor by Chris Greenhalgh. On the night that I went to the Proms, I heard some music by Stravinsky. On the way to the concert hall, I saw lots of posters for Coco Before Chanel, which has Audrey Tatou in the lead roll. While I was searching our catalogue for some books about Stravinsky, I found this novel, which is the fictional account of the real life affair between Chanel and Stravinsky. I can't wait to dig in!
Tales From Greenery Street by Denis Mackail is an interlibrary loan which I was pleased to see on my desk. It is a series of short stories and I finished them this morning. I have several other of his titles on the way, and I can't wait!
A Classical Education by Caroline Taggart. How could I resist a book that had this on the back:
From engineering and architecture to drama and democracy, the world around us is founded on the principles and discoveries of the Ancient World, yet our understanding of it is episodic at best. So if you've ever confused Plato with Pluto, struggled with Socrates, wish you could formulate a logical argument or wondered whether the Romans really dined at vomitoria, then carpe diem and delve into this book- it is never too late to learn!
I know I am biased, working in public libraries as I do, but I think the fact that anyone can walk into their local library, answer a few questions and then be given a card that lets them borrow books without having to pay a penny is just amazing. In my own authority, it is 14 books, and you can use every single public library in the county. You can reserve books free of charge if you do it yourself, so often I will have a pile of brand new books that are on sale in the big bookshops just waiting for me to take them home. There are times when I fall in love with a book and go on to buy it, but I could not possibly afford my reading habit without my library! It is so amazing to be able to try a book without risking anything. I pick up an author I fancy trying, and if I don't like it, I just hand it back and try another. Imagine if I had to pay for every book I borrowed!
Recently a friend came back from New York and gave me a book journal from the New York Public Library. I have tried to keep a book journal so manh times, but have never got very far. I have turned over a new leaf though, and really keep this journal. Part of me thinks that I should keep a little note of how much each library book I read would have cost to borrow, so I can work out how much I have saved over a year!
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Lifted Spirits
SIsn't it amazing and wonderful, the effect that a day of lovely sunshine can have on the spirits? Even having to work yesterday, the sun streamed in through one particular window by the counter, and was warm on my back. Although the library was quieter than usual, because people were out enjoying the sun, it was still a lovely place to be. It is peaceful in my little library, and it smells of books; there is a real community spirit there, and everyone knows each other and chats as they return their books.
Nice as it is to work there, I must confess to having one eye on the window for much of the day, just to look out and see the sunshine! And at lunch time, I had a special treat in store. You see, years and years ago, when I was a little girl, there used to be a jumble sale and book sale at the village hall a few doors down on a Saturday afternoon, and after we had been there, we used to go to the library to choose some books. Imagine how excited I was to see that there was going to be one held that very day, and my late lunch meant I could pop in for a few minutes.
It shows how long it has been since I have been to a jumble sale, and I must admit that from reading scrumptious books like India Knight's Thrift, I had this lovely vision of picking up crocheted blankets and flowery tea cups, perhaps finding a lovely vintage book or two....well there was a queue right back to the duck pond to get in, and when I got it, wow! It was a heaving mass of people, elbows out, scurry, hurry, squish! Perhaps I got special treatment as a child, because I do not remember being buffeted about like I was!
I don't especially like crowds, so I was rather pleased to escape, but not before I had been swept round the stalls by the crowd...and emerged with a set of four beautiful glass storage jars for 40p!
Happily the weather forecast is that the whole weekend shall be gorgeous, and today (Sunday) I have the perfect treat planned. At last, at last, dear Carl and I are going to take ourselves off to The Gardens of Easton Lodge so we can walk around and admire the snowdrops. I just adore snowdrops, I love their elegance and beauty, and the fact that they are the first little whisper that spring is on the way.
When I walked to work on Friday, it was a cool morning, and the trees were just undefined smudges against the sky, because it was that hazy early-morning air, and yet for all the winteryness, there was a tiny edge to the breeze, that seemed to whisper 'spring is coming, spring is coming!' There was a blackbird hopping about in a garden, he could almost have been dancing, when suddenly, he stopped, and cocked his head as if to listen to the 'spring is coming' whisper. In another garden, there was a row of daffodil shoots just starting to emerge, all green and spiky, and reminding me a little of that soft delicate hair that new babies have at the back of their heads. In another garden, there were tiny buds of yellow blossom emerging on a trellis. Before we know it, there will be pinpricks of yellow and purple crocus, and spring will be here!
Nice as it is to work there, I must confess to having one eye on the window for much of the day, just to look out and see the sunshine! And at lunch time, I had a special treat in store. You see, years and years ago, when I was a little girl, there used to be a jumble sale and book sale at the village hall a few doors down on a Saturday afternoon, and after we had been there, we used to go to the library to choose some books. Imagine how excited I was to see that there was going to be one held that very day, and my late lunch meant I could pop in for a few minutes.
It shows how long it has been since I have been to a jumble sale, and I must admit that from reading scrumptious books like India Knight's Thrift, I had this lovely vision of picking up crocheted blankets and flowery tea cups, perhaps finding a lovely vintage book or two....well there was a queue right back to the duck pond to get in, and when I got it, wow! It was a heaving mass of people, elbows out, scurry, hurry, squish! Perhaps I got special treatment as a child, because I do not remember being buffeted about like I was!
I don't especially like crowds, so I was rather pleased to escape, but not before I had been swept round the stalls by the crowd...and emerged with a set of four beautiful glass storage jars for 40p!
Happily the weather forecast is that the whole weekend shall be gorgeous, and today (Sunday) I have the perfect treat planned. At last, at last, dear Carl and I are going to take ourselves off to The Gardens of Easton Lodge so we can walk around and admire the snowdrops. I just adore snowdrops, I love their elegance and beauty, and the fact that they are the first little whisper that spring is on the way.
When I walked to work on Friday, it was a cool morning, and the trees were just undefined smudges against the sky, because it was that hazy early-morning air, and yet for all the winteryness, there was a tiny edge to the breeze, that seemed to whisper 'spring is coming, spring is coming!' There was a blackbird hopping about in a garden, he could almost have been dancing, when suddenly, he stopped, and cocked his head as if to listen to the 'spring is coming' whisper. In another garden, there was a row of daffodil shoots just starting to emerge, all green and spiky, and reminding me a little of that soft delicate hair that new babies have at the back of their heads. In another garden, there were tiny buds of yellow blossom emerging on a trellis. Before we know it, there will be pinpricks of yellow and purple crocus, and spring will be here!
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