Spoilt for choice

I am currently in the very fortunate position of having too many books to read and also too many books to review.

I am still reading the Widow Cliquot which is a fascinating insight into the history of champagne and the famous Verve Cliquot champagne. I'll review this as soon as its finished - but I now NEED to finish Barack Obama's biography Dreams from my Father for book club.

I feel like I have an exam coming up and I haven't started to study yet. Its making me nervous (as I'm by nature a studious student and a compulsive planner) as its my first book club and I would hate to turn up not having read the books!

The other book I have just finished (the other book club recommendation) was Lunch in Paris - I'm dying to hear what everybody thought of this but can't review it here yet, because I'm sure that would be against book club protocol - if there is such a thing.

Proper book reviews will need to wait for a day or two while I get some reading under my belt. I do have a review I want to do on two very unusual books written by the same author - but this will now have to wait as well.

About Thyme...

Hallelujah! The MacBook Pro has arrived and it is beautiful.

I promise I'll write a review this week on a couple of fascinating books written by the same author - I just need these children to go back to school and I can get some clear thinking time.

In the garden this week
I've added broken egg shells to the veggie garden beds - apparently the white shells may confuse the cabbage moth into thinking there are already other moths in the garden and to move on to less populated pastures.

We will see.

 I am also sceptical as to the size of a moth's brain and therefore its ability to think this through?

The last strawberry

Yippee - produce!! Ok the plant did arrive with the last strawberry actually already on it, but it made a good photo...

I spent this morning wiping small yellow eggs off the cabbage and broccoli leaves which I'm assuming were the beginning of cabbage moth caterpillars (well I hope that's what they were and not something else?). I'm not looking forward to the squishing of caterpillars (a la Jamie Oliver) so am hoping to prevent them arriving in the first place. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Tonight I am making a beetroot, orange and rocket salad to go with our fish. Sadly none of the produce is fully grown yet so I will still need to imagine what it will be like digging up my own beetroot and rocket. However, I have decided to add random herbs to the salad (it is normally made without) as I have them ready to go - coriander, parsley and mint - should be interesting?

Heidi (Chooks and Veggies) called today to say that our local newspaper (The Advertiser) wants to do a story on a family that are new to the veggie garden world, who have children and are happy to be photographed - she has offered us up.

It got me to thinking - in no particular order of importance or relevance:
1) Heidi is no longer my friend;
2) The Advertiser will need to take at least 100 photos to get one of me with my eyes open (I will be having sleepless nights over being photographed - trust me);
3) I will need to keep the veggie garden alive until such time as they arrive - hopefully its soon; and
4) Kate B will need to read The Advertiser

Garden source

Have just found Heidi's facebook page which has some fantastic tips and ideas for your very own vegetable gardens and chooks (should you be so lucky as to have your own). Take a look....

Every day is a new beginning....

At 9am this morning we had the start of a shell.

By 5pm this afternoon, we had the beginnings of a real vegetable / herb/ salad garden!

We have rosemary, strawberries (which will be great for next summer), lots of lovely lettuces (what is the plural of lettuce??), thyme, basil (which is on its last legs), beetroot, rhubarb, coriander, vietnamese mint, parsley, carrots, spring onions and snow peas - I'm sure there are more but that's all I can remember without having to walk out there again to check. Is it a worry that I've started to talk to them?

Thanks Heidi - tres exciting!!

The Toss of a Lemon

The Toss of a Lemon by Padma Viswanathan is an epic first novel (600+ pages) that spans 66 years and several generations of the one family based in Southern India.

Starting in 1896, the story follows Sivakami, a Tamil Brahmin girl, from her marriage at the age of 10 through her long widowhood that starts when she is 18. Before he dies, Sivakami's astrologer husband, Hanumarathnam, foresees his death through astrology  - a weak link between his stars and his son Vairum's. Before he dies, he trains a trustworthy servant to assist Sivakami until their son comes of age and can look after the family lands. During her widowhood Sivakami is not allowed any human contact between sunrise and sunset (including not touching her children), must shave her head and wear white. She does not leave the family home except for three occasions during the novel.


The book covers a vast array of characters but doesn't delve too deeply into why they make decisions they do or more details of their lives (I thought there could be a lot more written about the servant, Muchami and his life). The book focuses of Sivakami's life, her trials, her children and grandchildren's interactions, loves and heartbreaks.


There were many chapters of the book that I didn't want to end, but there were also several that I had to plough through - very detailed accounts of Brahmin life or lengthy descriptions of traditional / religious events and festivities. I did however learn more of a completely different side to India (the relationships between the different castes and the impact of the movement towards independence from Britian) that was fascinating. More amazing is that this is Padma Viswanathan's first novel (based on her grandmother's stories) and that they way she writes with such beautiful language allows you to taste, smell and visualise a time and place that many of us have not known.


It was a lovely novel but I was a bit worn out by the end and ready to read something a bit lighter.....

A Green Thumb

Martha Stewart makes it look easy...

Tomorrow heralds the start of a new Chapter for me. My new friend Heidi from Chooks and Veggies arrives tomorrow to transform a corner of our back garden into four raised vegetable garden beds. I am extremely excited at the thought of being able to grow our own vegetables and herbs but am equally terrified that I will kill them all in the first month!

I haven't got the greatest track record when it comes to gardening but I really like the idea......

I'll let you know how we go and will attempt to put photos on the blog to demonstrate either:
a) my prowess or;
b) my failure.

In preparation, I have been browsing my Stephanie Alexander's, A Kitchen Garden Companion and am all inspired with wonderful garden grown recipes - will let you know if any eventuate.