On a Cool Rainy Saturday

• A game of battleships for the boys
• Little dog & me on the lounge snuggling & reading

Novella Carpenter - Farm City

I am reading.....

Farm City

The Education of an

Urban Farmer

by Novella Carpenter

It's interesting how you come to read certain books at times. This book was lent to me by my good friend Simcha who blogs over at Turkish Cooking, Everyday.

Simcha has recently come back to Australia to live after many years of living in Turkey. This book was sent to her while she lived in Turkey by an American blogging friend (sorry can't remember their blog)

When Simcha & her family recently returned to live here - bringing only a suitcase each, it was one of the things she just had to bring. Goes to show how much this book has been enjoyed.

You can listen to Novella Carpenter on utube here

I have nearly finished this book & I can thoroughly recommend it, especially to people that may wonder how much food can really be produced on a small amount of ground.

She is one very Cool! lady.

Urban and rural collide in this wry, inspiring memoir of a woman who turned a vacant lot in downtown Oakland into a thriving farm

Novella Carpenter loves cities-the culture, the crowds, the energy. At the same time, she can't shake the fact that she is the daughter of two back-to-the-land hippies who taught her to love nature and eat vegetables. Ambivalent about repeating her parents' disastrous mistakes, yet drawn to the idea of backyard self-sufficiency, Carpenter decided that it might be possible to have it both ways: a homegrown vegetable plot as well as museums, bars, concerts, and a twenty-four-hour convenience mart mere minutes away. Especially when she moved to a ramshackle house in inner city Oakland and discovered a weed-choked, garbage-strewn abandoned lot next door. She closed her eyes and pictured heirloom tomatoes, a beehive, and a chicken coop.

What started out as a few egg-laying chickens led to turkeys, geese, and ducks. Soon, some rabbits joined the fun, then two three-hundred-pound pigs. And no, these charming and eccentric animals weren't pets; she was a farmer, not a zookeeper. Novella was raising these animals for dinner. Novella Carpenter's corner of downtown Oakland is populated by unforgettable characters. Lana (anal spelled backward, she reminds us) runs a speakeasy across the street and refuses to hurt even a fly, let alone condone raising turkeys for Thanksgiving. Bobby, the homeless man who collects cars and car parts just outside the farm, is an invaluable neighborhood concierge. The turkeys, Harold and Maude, tend to escape on a daily basis to cavort with the prostitutes hanging around just off the highway nearby. Every day on this strange and beautiful farm, urban meets rural in the most surprising ways.

For anyone who has ever grown herbs on their windowsill, tomatoes on their fire escape, or obsessed over the offerings at the local farmers' market, Carpenter's story will capture your heart. And if you've ever considered leaving it all behind to become a farmer outside the city limits, or looked at the abandoned lot next door with a gleam in your eye, consider this both a cautionary tale and a full-throated call to action. Farm City is an unforgettably charming memoir, full of hilarious moments, fascinating farmers' tips, and a great deal of heart. It is also a moving meditation on urban life versus the natural world and what we have given up to live the way we do.

Sunday...

relaxing & reading

NOT!! Cat in the Hat

Well you've all heard of the children's Book "Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss

We have our very own version at our place......

"Cat in the Box"

Why?? An 8kilo cat would want to squeeze into a box that size AND stay there for many hours I cannot fathom.

Hope you all had an enjoyable weekend

Caroline xoxo

BOOK FAIR

This is the stash of books I got recently at one of our local second-hand book fairs. Sometimes I go & find great hoards of books, other times I come home with not much at all. This lot of books cost me $50 and there is more than is pictured here as the kids had taken theirs and I also got a few DVDs & a couple of talking books(always good on long road trips)

The Green Cleaner book was a book I had years ago, lent it to someone and usual story-never returned. I was pleased to find another copy of it as it has some handy recipes in it, specially one for liquid detergent that I use to make frequently when the children were young. Also got quite a few Earth Garden & Grass Roots Magazines for my collection which is good as I nearly have a complete set right back to the early 70's. Loads of cook books (Yippee!! one of my fav finds) plus some novels and other groovy finds.

I love buying second hand books and it is such a good way to save!! I can get a boxful of books for the price of maybe only one or two.

Do you buy any books secondhand or do you prefer to buy new out of the bookshop??

Hope you had a lovely weekend
Caroline

TWO DOGS & A GARDEN

This morning I sat out in the garden reading this beautiful book that I got for Valentines Day & haven't had much of a chance to read.

It is quite cold outside today, so I didn't sit out for long. Just a short time, breathing the crisp cool air while Chloe chewed on her bone & Maverick sat a short distance away chewing his.

So just like the book title we were "Two Dogs & a Garden"

I then left the cold behind & the dogs still chewing their bones, went inside and made myself a hot cuppa. I love Sundays.....

CAROLINE xoxo.......

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING??

I am reading........one of my favourite things to do

What have you been up to??

With Love

Caroline xoxo......

THE 23rd PSALM

I recently saw this in a book I was reading. The book was written by a Priests wife.



Not quite the 23rd Psalm that I am accustomed to and bearing in mind I don't usually go for adaptions, but this certainly gave me "fuel for thought" as a busy Mother/Homemaker.

The 23rd Psalm

The Lord is my pace setter I shall not rush

He makes me stop for quiet intervals

He provides me with images of stillness which restore my serenity

He leads me in the ways of efficiency through calmness of mind

And His guidance is peace.

Even though I have a great many things to

accomplish each day I will not fret For His presence is here

His timelessness, His all importance will keep me in balance.

He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity.

By annointing my mind with His oils of tranquillity,

my cup of joyous energy overflows.

Truly harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours,

For I shall walk in the pace of my Lord and dwell in His house forever.

BOOKS

I am reading Testimony by Anita Shreve

I have read a few of her books. My all time favourite of hers is The Pilots wife.

When I was in the book shop buying this book the lady serving asked if I had read The Pilots Wife. She told me that it was her most asked about Anita Shreve book. It also happened to be her favourite too. So if you need a good book to relax with over the holiday season try The Pilots Wife it has a very unusually twist at the end -you don't see it coming.(Unless your a peeker)

(Click on her name above & go to Anita's web site)