We head for the hills - Wordless Wednesday

Look what just popped up! - Wednesday wishes.

Sometimes the loveliest things pop up in my already saved favorites on etsy!

Today I couldn't resist clicking on this sumptious handmade glass cabouchon by dancingfrogjewels.
Designing in my head all the possibilites for it's use!

And even though we actually have spring here now - the elegant simplicity of this scarf caught my eye - or was it the lovely salmon pink?
I could save it for next winter couldn't I?

And the whimsy of this just tickled my fancy!

Who didn't love those "join the dots" books when they were a kid? - or in fact, can't resist doodling when faced with a dotty design?!
I'm sure the artist mummysam understands all those temptations!

What are you temped by today?

On my reading table

Joining a book club has been so good for my reading!
Apart from the monthly books we chose to read, it has given my reading a big boost.

I am getting through the big pile of books on my reading table (actually I don't have a reading table - the books are piled up net to my bed!)

This is the book we are reading in bookclub this month.
And after only one chapter I'm hooked!
Apparently it's a true story but reads like a novel.
Have you read it? What did you think?
It was also made into a movie with Kevin Spacey and Jack Thompson. I didn't see it, but would be interested in getting the dvd if it's still available.

Last month we read The Sense of an ending by Julian Barnes.
I really enjoyed this - I got drawn into it so that I couldn't put it down as the pages progressed.
It's a slim volume ans some in the bookclub finished it in a couple of hours!
I'm not such a fast reader - in fact I'm a very slow reader.

And while I'm here I'll introduce you to the book we read the month before -

I had already read Past the Shallows, but it was good to read it again as I found I noticed other things about the story and enjoyed the scene setting - the story takes place in the backwaters of Tasmania and it's a very picturesque part of the world.

In between the bookclub reading I managed to fit in one of my own!

I heard Geoff Dyer read a hilarious excerpt from it at the Sydney Writer's Festival earlier this year - about queuing (or not) in India and having just been to India I could really relate to this!
Also I have aspirations to go to Venice next year, where the first part of this book is set.
It's a curious book, split into 2 quite different halves, quite interesting and easy to read......but I'm not sure I totally got the point of the stories.

Anyhoo - off I go, back to the depths of the deep south of the US and the story of the garden of good and evil.

What are you reading at the moment?
Do you have any suggestions for our bookclub?
Do you belong to a bookclub?

Jewellery club - trying something new.

I love earrings and I love making earrings!
Have I said that before?

 

So I have decided to launch planettreasures jewellery club, as a service to my lovely customers and a fun way to shop.

How it works is you buy a subscription and then every month I send out a handmade, unique item of jewellery.
Imagine the excitement when your monthly little package arrives! It will be such a sweet surprise!

It's also a great thing to give as a gift - a very thoughtful gift for the lucky recipient. I can send the earrings directly to the recipient with your special greeting if you like.

First of all I have listed a 3 month earring subscription.
You will receive a sparkling pair of earrings every month for 3 months, sent out on the same day of the month.
They will be created from my best czech glass, venetian glass, handmade glass, or gemstone beads.

Next up will be ? - what do you think?
Bracelets, necklaces?

Interested? Pop on over to my etsy shop and drop a 3 month subscription in your cart.

And as a special celebration I'm giving away a 3 month subscription to the 250th customer of my etsy shop.
Now that's not bad is it?

Going round and round - my creative space

Last week I showed you my new memory wire bracelets - here.

Once I got the memory wire out I couldn't stop!
Here are some more of my trio bracelets - circles of gemstones, pearls, gemstone chips et al.

I was making these today while I was "on duty" behind the counter at my craft co-operative - The Nook at Leura.
I carry the beads and bits in one of those plastic shoes boxes, the lid is my work tray and an old cloth napkin in my work surface. I also had a piece of corrugated cardboard which I use for the little seed beads, but it does stop bigger beads from rolling around too much.

If you would like to see more creative spaces or would like to join in pop on over to My Creative Space on Village Voices.

Wordless Wednesday - Mumbai monsoon

I'm joining in with My Little Drummer Boys wordless wednesday - have a look!

What to do with a glut of....oranges

It's citrus time!

And unfortunately we are not the ones to have a glut of oranges, but the last two weekends some kids down our street have been selling the fruits of their tree.

But I did wonder what you would do with a glut of oranges - sure you can juice them or just eat them.

You could make marmalade (or, even better, give them to someone else who makes marmalade!)

You could also make this delicious almond and orange cake.

I must admit that this is one of my favorites and often pick it at a restaurant or cafe, but I've never made it as I thought that you had to boil the oranges for hours and I'm never organised enough for that!

Amazingly I couldn'tfind a recipe for orange and almond cake amongst my gazillion recipe books (maybe they are not modern enough?) - so I googled - as you do....

Of the 3 recipes I brought up one boiled the oranges for 10 minutes, one boiled then for 1 hour and the other boiled away merrily for a goodly 2 hours.

I opted for the middle ground and boiled for one hour.

The recipe is dead easy after that.

Even my daughter said it was delicious after admitting that this cake wasn't really her favorite.

If you would like to try it this is the recipe I used from taste.com.au

orange images from wikipedia