Domesticity, and 2 related book reviews

Like everyone else, I have become even more domestic during this strange period in our lives. We have always made our own bread, and our own pasta. I've always had a couple of plants around. In the last three months though - I brought in my outdoor plant, because of the renos and it thrived. Then one day when I was sad, I went to Pop Wilder and bought this little beauty, but Princess Daisy kept trying to eat it. So planted some grass for her.

Did you know you can grow grass hydoponically? Easy as.

When NetGalley had both The Ultimate Pasta Machine Cookbook by Lucy Vaserfirer and Houseplant Party by Lisa Eldred Steinkopf I said "yes please" pretty fast, even though I knew it meant I would be dealing with the nightmare that is Adobe Digital Editions. Which turned out not to be a problem, since NetGalley now has it's own app and it works much better for me.

Houseplant Party is a lovely book. fairly simple, so perfect for a relatively inexperienced "plant parent" like me. It has lovely pictures, and would, in paper form, make a great gift. it gave me a bit more confidence around my plant care. If I have one criticism it is that it is a bit too Instagram ready and a bit too apolitical - at one point the book mentions GMO plants and that it's illegal to sell clippings from them and I squirmed at the idea of a corporation being able to own a plant in that sense, but pretty plants and decorating your house is the point of this book, not tearing down capitalism and starting the revolution.

The Ultimate Pasta Machine Cookbook is also a very pretty book. the first half is divided into thirds, with one third each dedicated to each of the main types of pasta machines. After that it's sauces and fillings. Yum. It is a bit odd having an instruction book where there are whole chapters that are are irrelevant to my kind of pasta maker (I use a Phillips machine) but this is a pretty, useful and tasty book.

Both these books had useful information, but were also a lovely journey into a tidy, plant filled, delicious home based life.

Comments

Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises.

Linky Wednesday - 3/2024

It's been a bit of a week. Because of my hand , I can't really knit, so I'm doing some charity crocheting: It's quite fun, but also I'm halfway through a shrug for myself, and I'd rather be knitting. Oh well, we can't always get what we want! In reading, I'm reading Stargazy Pie , the next Victoria Goddard. This is a comedy of manners and lots of things happen. I can't say I feel deeply about any of them, but that's not the point. It's fun. I'm listening to Elin Hilderbrand's The Five-Star Weekend . It's got a lot of characters, and it took me while to get into it, but now I'm invested. Women's fiction at it's finest. Next up is a review book Tidelines by Sarah Sasson. Great cover. It's Australian, and you know how I love a local book (although I think it's set, or at least starts in Sydney). It's described as a coming of age novel, and I love those too, so it sounds like a winner. I just re-read t

Linky Wednesday - the one with the pause

In meditation it's said that the pause between the in breath and the out breath is a gap, a space to rest. Well, I'm in that in-between space for reading, listening and knitting. This is a random photo of a highlight of my week - I filled up my lolly jar. These are just supermarket party mix. During the lockdowns, we sources a great pick-and-mix delivery service, but at some point they started sending from the UK, which is a bit silly. Rachey messaged me a new one she found, and I impulsed purchased a kilo of mixed lollies, and then she sent me a link to the biggest lolly shop in Melbourne, which also delivers sweets by the kilogram, so i think I'm sorted for the rest of the year! In reading I've just finished The Beckoning Lady by Margery Allingham . It's the second last book in the Summer of Mystery, and I have to admit, having now read nine Margery Allingham books, that they are OK. I wouldn't have read them if they were not connected to this club, but on

What I made, by Sharon

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