Over My Teacup

OVER MY TEA CUP

by Charles J. Everett 

This homely can of painted tin 

Is casket precious in my eyes; 

Its withered fragrant leaves within, 

Beyond all costly gems I prize. 

For for those crumpled leaves of tea, 

The sunbeams of long summer days, 

The song of bird, the hum of bee, 

The cricket's evening hymn of praise, 

The gorgeous colors of sunrise, 

The joy that greets each new-born day; 

The glowing tints of sunset's skies, 

The calm that comes with evening grey; 

The chatter of contented toil, 

The merry laugh of childish glee, 

The tonic virtues of the soil, 

Were caught and gathered with the tea. 

Lifeless those withered leaves may seem, 

Locked fast in slumber deep as death, 

But soon the Kettle's boiling steam 

May rouse to life their fragrant breath. 

With sigh of deep content we breath 

The sweet mists rising lazily, 

With eager, parted lips receive taste of tea. 

For light and warmth and mood of men, 

Whate'er the plant hath heard or seen 

Or felt, while fixed in field or fen, 

And stored within its depths serene, 

Are now transmuted into thrills 

Of sense or feeling, echoes faint 

From peaceful perfumed tea-cladhills, 

From placid Orientals quaint. 

And fancies born in other lands, 

Which dormant lie in magic tea, 

Dream-castles fair not made with hands, 

By some mysterious alchemy 

Emerge from cloudland into sight, 

Transform the sombre working-world, 

The gloomy hours of day or night 

From leaden hue to tint of gold, 

Bring rest to wearied heart and brain, 

Kind nature's soul to us reveal, 

Enlarge the realm of Fancy's reign, 

Renew the power to see and feel 

The radiance of the rising sun, 

The sunset's glow, the moon's pale light, 

The promise of a day begun, 

The rest from toil that comes with night. 

And as I sip my cup of tea, 

Though not a friend may be in sight, 

I know that a brave company 

Is taking tea with me this night.

I baked my first ever loaf of bread on Sunday, and it turned out perfectly. In an oven, not a bread maker. It was a cross between a light rye and five seeds. It tasted delicious, and was super cheap. Today I tried to bake a light rye, but it just wouldn't rise. So I've baked a brick, instead. I'm not sure what I've done wrong, but as I'm determined to get the art down pat, I'll research into it and just keep practicing. I'm sad that my first ever attempt turned out to be a fluke though.

On the bright side, the orange and poppy seed muffins I cooked this afternoon were as light and as fluffy as one could ever hope for, and absolutely delicious. And as a lovely recommendation, my husband's Gran loved them and her sister invited me to come and live with HER and bake for her! So there you are, I'm not such a flop at this baking lark after all.

I wanted to post today, because I'm feeling rather discouraged about... well, everything. And I thought to myself, perhaps a good whinge would make me feel better. But then I realised I should probably leave that to a time when I can have a one on one with someone like my husband, or perhaps Mum. So instead, I've got something else in mind.

There's a series on tv that I really enjoy watching, called River Cottage. I was first introduced to the series through River Cottage Autumn (something that replays on tv an awful lot, they don't seem to show much else) and absolutely fell in love with it. Hugh's passion and drive for what he does, and teaches is inspiring to me.

Its all about living a self-sufficiently as possible. Growing your own food, and living off the land. Or sourcing locally made produce where you can't grow it or make it yourself. These are principles that I feel strongly about, and want to achieve.

There's another series on TV that I started to watch, thinking that it would be for Australia what River Cottage is for England. Because they're such vastly different countries, its a bit hard to connect I guess. So this other series is called the Gourmet Farmer. I was a little deterred at the gourmet part of the title but decided to give it a bash.

Its about a high flying foodie living in the city ditching his cushie job to go "dig in the dirt". In theory I agree with what he's setting out to achieve. But it seemed like he was playing... As though it was just a gimmick or something similar, and no real passion for what he was doing at all.  That, and it focuses highly on gourmet products, rather than good wholesome one's. So perhaps this show isn't for me after all.

I'm sure it'll achieve something, inspire some people to get up and look around at their lives and seriously consider making changes, but for me it was all a bit of a farce.

 Which leaves me back where I started. Absolutely adoring River Cottage and wishing there was something like it for Australians. If you know of anything please, please point me in the right direction!

Simplifying my wardrobe

Today's exercise: Going through my wardrobe, and throwing out things that no longer fit, are too well worn, holey, torn, and unflattering. It also involved throwing out items that I never wear, or wear so irregularly that it could hardly be considered a staple part of my wardrobe.

I'm left with one drawer of clothing, but its more than enough to get by on until I can create a more timeless, suitable wardrobe. I want to minimise the number of pieces that I have, but I don't have anything "classic". I don't even have that "perfect little black dress" every site I've visited today recommends as being a staple.

(before)

So this is what I'm left with:
Pants

• Wide legged jeans; very unflattering. Will need to replace, but suitable for now.
• Black athletic pants; very unflattering but only because I need to lose weight. Keeping them, so that I will make the effort to exercise!
• Beach shorts; sometimes worn to the beach when its busy, more often used as my cleaning/around the house clothes.

Dresses

• Little brown dress; keeping as it is my beach dress. I hope to make going to the beach a regular habit.
• Long purple/green sundress; Its gorgeous, suits me well and was a recent gift from my husband. Its not classic, but I can't part with it.
• Flower nightdress; need something for when there are other people around!

Shirts

• Black singlet; for layering and as a cleaning/around the house shirt.
• Purple singlet; as above.
• White dress shirt; for job interviews, dining out and when I want to look "sharp".
• Green shirt; Its a little bright for me (explain more fully below) but I look well enough in it.
• Blue flowered shirt; A piece that looks good on me, that I cannot bear to be without. Even if it is a printed shirt.
• Green singlet; slightly dressier as its got lace trimming, good warm weather shirt.
• Navy blue button up shirt; its a classic cut, looks great, and isn't too warm.
• White "peasant" shirt; unsure about keeping this one. But, I like it and I needed some variety until I can buy better pieces.
• Black dressy shirt; good for going out. Bit older, but looks good on me, definite keeper.

This list doesn't include accessories, undergarments or work clothes.

(after)

And, what I need (so I've been told)

• Two pairs of trousers which vary in style. Wide-legged pants or man-style trousers and another pair that are a more timeless, classic cut.
• Two pairs of jeans in different cuts. Fitted, straight legged or flared and wide-legged or man style. This can include skinny jeans if you have the body shape to wear them.
• A really great, well-cut coat. A timeless trench will take you from season to season.
• A cashmere sweater and cardigan in a V-neck and round neck.
• A few more shirts in my colours.
• A few great day dresses which are easy to wear and versatile for any occasion. One of these should be the indispensable wrap dress – smart, sexy and timeless.
• A colorful evening dress which makes you feel great.
• The ultimate little black dress.

I'm still not including accessories in this list.

So, what are my colours? Well apparently I'm a deep autumn. I'm not too sure how much stock I put in the theory of people being seasonal colours, but I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt as it seems to know what I personally feel best in, and what I believe looks terrible on me.

This is an approximation of what the colours are that suit me best. They are (from left to right): Black brown, black, light yellow, marigold, peach, terracotta, salmon pink, tomato red, deep red, true red, dark rose, lemon yellow, camel, jade, moss, lime bronze, hot turquoise, cerulean, Chinese blue, evergreen, navy and purple. According to http://prettyyourworld.com being deep autumn means that my dominant characteristic is deep, and my secondary characteristic is warm. This is because I have both dark hair and very dark eyes. And warm skin, rather than cool.

The Deep Autumn needs to wear the deepest and most vivid colors of the autumn palette. Rich dark chocolate, tomato red, Pine green are a few of the colors that will enrich your intense coloring. For maximum effect, pair deep dark colors with some of the brighter colors for contrast. Steer clear of soft pastels and light earth tones which are not strong enough for your coloring and will wash you out.

Power Colors: Deep Brown, Black, Tomato Red, Emerald Green, Rust

Avoid: dusty blues and lavenders, any light pale colors

I like this because some of my favourite colours to wear are jade, moss and purple. I can't say I'm a big fan of blues, but navy blue does suit me well. And I wore a red dress to my wedding that was sort of a tomato red, which I thought I looked good in, at least. So now that I know what I'm looking for I can be more discerning about my purchase.

Western Farmers Markets

Home

Western Farmers Market is a genuine growers market, bringing fresh food direct from the farm gate to the community. We guarantee the person who grew, bred, caught, pickled, smoked or baked the product is the person you meet at their stall.

Where

For the rest of January we are still at FERN Community Garden on the corner of High Street & Montreal Street, Fremantle (opposite Muzz Buzz). In February we are on the move to Hilton Primary School, Rennie Cres. Hilton.

When

Every Sunday morning, 7.30am to 12.30pm.

Parking

On the east side of Montreal Street, the south side of Blinco Street and the south side of High Street.

What

Farm fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, seafood, honey, olive oil, pickles, preserves, organic bread, pastries, breakfast burgers, juice, coffee and much more…

Remember

Cash only and BYO shopping bags.

You can read more at their website HERE

I'm thinking of heading down there, and checking it out. Anyone interested in tagging along, let me know =]

Ten of my favourite tv shows

So tired. No explanations, maybe later.

1. Red Dwarf
2. Grand Designs
3. River Cottage
4. Jamie Oliver
5. Poirot
6. Pride and Prejudice
7. Stargate
8. Bleach
9. Neon Evangelion
10. Carnivale

Ten of my best memories

We played DnD last night, so I was unable to post. And I'm exhausted, so today's will be brief, sorry.

1. The day that I married my husband.
2. Walking Elly one evening during a thunderstorm, when the sun was still breaking through enough to bathe it all in liquid gold.
3. Running along behind motorbike down the farm.
4. Curled up in bed, down the farm, on the top floor of the house, during a RAGING, FIERCE storm.
5. After many, many longs years of begging for a puppy, coming home from school one day to see that Mum had bought me one, I love Elly.
6. The day I saw three rainbows.
7. Arriving at the Noble Grape in the evening of the first day of our honeymoon. It was like Narnia.
8. Completing Green Corps.
9. My last day working at the Lord Forrest Hotel.
10. The day my aunt told me to shut up, and I didn't talk for seven weeks.

Ten of my most favourite foods

I love food, I couldn't even begin to start expressing just how much I adore food. And experimenting in the kitchen, but... I do have my staple favourites. And some of them are pretty staple, there are times you just can't beat the simple, every day stuff..

1. Shepherd's Pie. MY VERSION, by the way. I won't eat anyone else's other than mine, and my Mum's. I stole the recipe off Mum, and then set about improving it. You won't find better Shepherd's Pie anywhere.
2. Roast Lamb. I love, love, love a good roast lamb. Well, I love lamb so perhaps this should've been just lamb. I make a killer roast lamb, but perhaps the best one I've ever had was a mint glazed mini roast. All to myself, it was so tender, so succulent, so utterly divine.
3. Pan-fried salmon with asparagus, baby spinach and rocket on a bed of couscous with dill sauce. Need I say more!
4. Chicken Caesar Salad - yes, yes.... who doesn't love a good Caesar? Minus the bacon and the anchovies, of course. Some of us can't eat pork, y'know.
5. Couscous - as a potato replacement, couscous is king. I love inventing new ways of serving it up. My husband was a hard and fast advocate for keeping it OFF our dinner table, but I've won him over.
6. Fish and Chips - Staple, staple.... but you are so utterly delicious, my dear. Who could beat you as the takeaway of choice?
7. My uber-salad - Currently quite popular at our dinner table. It goes as follows: A bed of baby spinach and rocket. Crumble feta cheese over the top. Roughly chop cashews, and sprinkle those over. Grate carrot over the plate, and add beetroot wedges. Add a smattering of finely sliced red onion, one and a half boiled egg roughly sliced and snow pea sprouts. Drizzle over a raspberry vinaigrette, and voila!
8. Corned Beef - Oh my goodness... cooked to perfection, this meal just melts in your mouth. And I love white sauce with parsley, yum yum.
9. Steak - Delicious, decadent (in our house, its a rare expense!) and so, so good.
10. Wattleseed damper, with rosella butter and fig/walnut chutney. Yummo!

Current contents of my feed reader...

... blogs, and feeds that I'm currently following.

I had a clean out of my feed reader a few weeks ago, and deleted about half of what I'd subscribed to. Things that I'd once found interesting, but not anymore. The following list is what I have left.

1. a few things from my life -http://fewthingsfrommylife.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
2. Abstract Gourmet - http://abstractgourmet.com/feed
3. always time for tea - http://alwaystimefortea-brooke.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
4. Annean.org - http://anneanorg.wordpress.com/feed/
5. Annean's Home - http://anneanhome.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
6. Antipodean Steampunk Adventures - http://austeampunk.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
7. Bowl of Honey - http://feeds.feedburner.com/BowlofHoney
8. Breakfast In Perth - http://breakfastinperth.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
9. Cafe Grendel - http://cafe-grendel.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
10. Cherry blossoms　桜 Pool - http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_pool.gne?id=51156738@N00&lang=en-us&format=atom
11. Chester 5000 XYV - http://jessfink.com/Chester5000XYV/?feed=rss2
12. Christian Fletcher Photography - http://christianfletcher.wordpress.com/feed/
13. Comics. Often dirty. - http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.run?_id=_j_P8zpm3hGBTmHJHzfpSg&_render=rss
14. Complete Organizing Solutions - http://feeds.feedburner.com/completeorganizingsolutions/XSSR
15. Corners of My Home Pool - http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_pool.gne?id=86662290@N00&lang=en-us&format=atom
16. Creature Comforts - http://feeds.feedburner.com/creaturecomfortsblog/oDSo
17. D&D Pool - http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_pool.gne?id=99673332@N00&lang=en-us&format=atom
18. Design*Sponge - http://www.designspongeonline.com/feed
19. Discover Magazine | rsslist - http://discovermagazine.com/rsslist/rss.xml
20. Five Senses Coffee - http://feeds.feedburner.com/5SensesCoffee
21. Food Porn Pool - http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_pool.gne?id=52240578442@N01&lang=en-us&format=atom
22. Fresh New Spaces - http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_discuss.gne?id=99433240@N00&lang=en-us&format=atom
23. Fresh New Spaces Pool - http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_pool.gne?id=99433240@N00&lang=en-us&format=atom
24. haus maus - http://hollymaus.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
25. ikea hacker - http://feeds.feedburner.com/Ikeahacker
26. Lava Volavka - http://lavavolavka.com/feed/
27. ListPlanIt - http://feeds.feedburner.com/Listplanit
28. Local is Beautiful - Growing & Eating Local Food Pool - http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_pool.gne?id=40272635@N00&lang=en-us&format=atom
29. Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? - http://feedproxy.google.com/ICanHasCheezburger
30. Love Freo - http://lovefreo.wordpress.com/feed/
31. Made On The Left - http://madeontheleft.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
32. Media Statements: Statements - http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/_layouts/listfeed.aspx?List=28fda1b0-9f25-4179-ba96-f82380778cb0&View=3a0c6aa0-d2fe-42eb-a602-18189cc10493
33. MENAGE A 3 - http://www.menagea3.net/comic.rss
34. My2Penn'orth - http://thorsten-food-photography.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
35. Nestled In - http://www.nestledin.net/feed/
36. one day - http://saraoneday.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
37. Order of the Stick - http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots.rss
38. Organize in Style - http://organizeinstyle.typepad.com/organize_in_style/atom.xml
39. Organizing Your Way - http://www.organizingyourway.net/feed
40. OSIER - http://osier-handmadevintagereconstructed.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
41. Perth Upmarket - http://perthupmarket.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
42. Pink and Brown Love - http://www.pinkandbrownlove.com/feeds/posts/default
43. Pink to Green - http://pink-to-green.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
44. Precocious updates - http://www.rsspect.com/rss/precocious.xml
45. Reclaiming The Home - http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_discuss.gne?id=612285@N20&lang=en-us&format=atom
46. Reclaiming The Home Pool - http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_pool.gne?id=612285@N20&lang=en-us&format=atom
47. RPGnet - http://www.rpg.net/columns/index.xml
48. Selfsufficientish Pool - http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_pool.gne?id=823452@N22&lang=en-us&format=atom
49. SixThousand - http://www.sixthousand.com.au/rss/
50. Spool Photography Landscape Photography - http://spoolphotography.wordpress.com/feed/
51. stonesoup - http://thestonesoup.com/blog/feed/
52. Style Voyeur - http://www.stylevoyeur.com/atom.xml
53. The Chocolate Blues - http://www.thechocolateblues.com/feeds/posts/default
54. The Coffee Collective Blog - http://coffeecollective.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
55. The Perth Files - http://theperthfiles.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
56. The Steampunk Home - http://thesteampunkhome.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
57. The Worst of Perth - http://perthworst.wordpress.com/feed/
58. Today on Real Simple - http://feeds.feedburner.com/realsimple-today
59. Towards Sustainability - http://feeds.feedburner.com/TowardsSustainability
60. Twitter / theworstofperth - http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/15953157.rss
61. Uploads from Thorsten (TK) - http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_public.gne?id=8696045@N02&lang=en-us&format=atom
62. urban homesteading Pool - http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_pool.gne?id=674101@N23&lang=en-us&format=atom
63. vi.sualize.us/saracarl/steampunkhome - http://vi.sualize.us/rss/saracarl/steampunkhome/
64. Voyages Extraordinaires - http://voyagesextraordinaires.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
65.  Wandering Gourmet - http://wanderinggourmet.net/?feed=rss2
66. Wood and Brass - http://woodandbrass.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Ten things I most want to do - this year

Aaaaaaand, the following is a list of a small number of the things that I want to achieve this year...

1. Sew a patchwork quilt.
2. Pull together family recipes and favourite meals to create a recipe binder for each of my sisters, and Harry.
3. With two nephews and one nephew/niece on the way we're looking to have a big Christmas this year, so I've got three presents to make for them.
4. Create a herb garden in pots, and possibly vegetables.
5. Improve my photography skills.
6. Work on the world in my head, and get it down on paper.
7. Write more, and blog more.
8. Expand my recipe repertoire.
9. Read 100 books this year.
10. Make my home more... comfortable.

Ten things I have to do before I die

There are many things that I want to do in life, but these are probably the ten things I feel I need to accomplish more than anything else, at least in this stage of my life they are the most important.

1. Write at least one book that gets published, this means finishing something!
2. Visit Japan during the Springtime.
3. Move to Europe... either Sweden or Switzerland. Possibly permanently, possibly for a designated period of  time.
4. Become self-sufficient.
5. Own my own teahouse/bookshop.
6. Visit the Ancient Egyptian sites.
7. Visit the Ancient Mayan sites, and study them.
8. Finally get the fantasy world in my head down on paper.
9. Inspire other people to live a more eco-conscious life.
10. Research my family history.