Oh I do love to be beside the seaside...

A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.

Franz Kafka 

On life's vast ocean diversely we sail. Reasons the card, but passion the gale.

Alexander Pope

There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; 

there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.

Victor Hugo

The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, 

the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach.

Henry Beston

A woman knows the face of the man she loves as a sailor knows the open sea.

Honore de Balzac

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean;

 if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.

Mahatma Gandhi

Ocean: A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man - who has no gills.

Ambrose Bierce

I pray to be like the ocean, with soft currents, maybe waves at times. 

More and more, I want the consistency rather than the highs and the lows.

Drew Barrymore

♥♥♥

Impromptu

Packed in a hurry

Audiobook on the drive down - The Fry Chronicles

Gin & Tonics at Sunset

Midnight stroll in the moonlight

Holding hands with your soul mate

Big (mahoosive) bowls of pasta

Sand in my shoes

Life is wonderful

Thoughts in point form....

We have a saying* here in Oz.... it's not a particularly civilised, dignified or elegant saying but I have heard it uttered by people of all ... um.... how shall I put this.... backgrounds? It's a simile that I believe accurately describes the Summer of 2013 thus far. 

The garden is looking awful and there is simply no point in planting anything, what with the water restrictions and all. The temperatures are extreme and my chickens spend the entire day under the apricot tree with their wings spread slightly and their mouths ajar. 

My pooch lies around the house looking forlorn....he knows I'm not one to venture out into this heat and is quite sulky about the lack of visits to the park. 

On the upside my whites have never looked brighter. 

I'm waiting patiently to begin my course. 

I get so excited thinking about the prospect of playing with flowers... seriously can there be a better pastime? 

My son has settled into the new school year and, although I'm happy for him, I do miss him. I will never understand the parents who long for vacations to end... then again I do only have one bub. 

I've been trying to set aside time for meditation every day... but the mind keeps drifting to dahlias, roses, eucalypts and ... dare I say it... Winter. 

* apologies for the teaser but I can't bring myself to type the words you'll just have to look it up.

What would Henry do?

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.” 
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Although I have not taken to the woods* I have lived deep and sucked the marrow from life* this week. Henry himself would surely have approved wholeheartedly of the Vegan Sushi and the Roasted Tomato, Garlic & Edemame Salad. As for Jamie Oliver's Happy Cow Burgers ...
Hubby you nailed it.

The year has begun with the crack of a whip - paperwork, job applications, new courses, sorting, packing, visitors, correspondence, entertaining, gardening and of course all the usual chores that are demanded by a home. A brief reprieve from all the craziness was provided when we attended my Nieces' birthday party. Sweet Aaliyah's 7th birthday party (where has the time gone?). Her creative Mummy made the most delicious Strawberry and Vanilla cupcakes I've ever tasted and of course every Italian affair we attend involves some form of culinary delight - in this case Arancini with Pesto .... be still my eating tastebuds. The highlight for me though was observing my gorgeous son exercise supreme diplomacy whilst little toddlers scrambled all over him to get his attention.

If there's one thing that 67% humidity does it's cleanse. You sweat, you drip and and you shower - not once but three times a day. I have tried to be patient with Summer but I'm afraid I've uttered far too many complaints and far too little thanks. After all, what good can complaining do? Not to mention the fact that I have a pool... so no more complaining Angy. No more. If there is to be cooking it will be oven free. If there is to be reading it will be in front of a fan. If there is to be paperwork it will be done with iced tea and if there is to be walking it will be done at Dusk...

... I'm sure Henry would approve.

Your week peoples? How have you been managing your climate conditions?
How have you kick started your year? Has it been slow and steady or fast and furious?
Have you heard the latest news on the book front??
Sibella and Pia ... new books are on there way!! (Happy crazy silly dance)

What have you been cooking up in the kitchen lately? I'm not exaggerating when I say that the Happy Cow Burgers were the best burgers I've ever had. The great thing is the recipe is adaptable. Hubby didn't have broad beans instead he used edemame and it was perfect. So you can turn this mixture into little balls for an entree or squish it around skewer sticks to make vegan shish kebabs. Enough said.
Just do it.

Have a wonderful week peoples. Light and love. ♥♥♥

*“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.” 
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods