A Sensible Life

This book jumped out at me when I did my volunteer stint at PUBS the other day.  I love the defiant insouciance of the girl on the cover.  When I got it home I realised that I had read another book by the same author, Harnessing Peacocks while in Adelaide last month.  The two books offer a different view of women, and I love them.  Mary Wesley has also written a book called The Chamomile Lawn which I must get my hands on.

This one was eagerly awaited - I was number 360, or similar, on the waiting list when I put a hold on a library copy.  The Dry and The Lost Man were excellent reads and this one is set in Tasmania.  Mrs O Henry bought a copy at PUBS - you can see it was top of the range at $6.  I found it disappointing, perhaps because I spent more time trying to work out where on the East Coast it was set, rather than solving the mystery.

This book is divine - just my cup of tea:  gardening, natural world, mental health, brain plasticity, Hildegard von Bingen - all my favourite things!  Sue Stuart Smith is a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst.  I must admit I have given aspects of pychoanalysis short shrift for many years, mainly due to Freud's view of hysterical women and oversight of dickhead men.  Psychoanalysis has moved on since Freud, and I'm hoping to be educated.  Regardless of the psychology, the book is a beautiful read.

A life of reading only would not be sensible, so I do venture outside.  The sunflowers in the garden are starting to get bigger and bolder.

Those blobs in the pine trees are not from my camera this time.  They are black cockatoos  having a feast.  The birds are common at the moment, and raucously fly over our garden seeking pine trees with cones.  The photo above comes from The Pines, one of the reserves that Friends of Triabunna Reserves likes to keep an eye on.

Today there was a Natural Resource Management Committee in Swansea.  Rob (Mel's Dad) and I drove up there for the meeting but afterwards found this cafe for lunch.

The food was nothing to rave about - these are curried scallop pies (not as good as the Triabunna Fish Van's) - but I like the raw honesty of the salad, non matching plates, pomegranate sauce, garden space and friendly, but not hovering, owner.  The view across to Freycinet is amazing.

And the view of Swansea town is not one you see often.  Lovely place.