So during my recent hiatus from the blogging world, I’ve discovered a real love (if not obsession) with all things art. Sure I’ve long appreciated the classics such as Rodin, Monet, Gaugin, Picasso, Renoir and co. at museums and art exhibitions, but I’d never before felt a real desire to own art and adorn the walls of my house with as many beautiful works as possible. I’m not saying that I ever expect to purchase work from one of the identified ‘masters’ of the art world, but I am happy to say that I have been working at accruing a little collection of limited edition art prints all of my own.

I think that prints are a great way to enter the world of art - they are generally affordable, yet still give you that feeling of specialness that comes from being able to hang that particular piece of art on your walls. There are SO many great artists (far too many to mention here, and no doubt you have your own favourites) working on wonderful, awe-inspiring creations in an effort to bring joy into the world. If you were at all interested in buying assets that accrue in value, you might also be interested in the world of limited edition prints for this reason, as they will generally resell for a higher value, but for me I simply like to buy art for arts sake. I like to be able to gaze upon something in wonderment or lost in a triggered memory, think deep thoughts about big concepts, or simply in order to bring a smile to my face.

One particular favourite artist of mine who I just can’t resist sharing with you (this is apart from the wonderful work of my husband of course), is Dan McCarthy. His work is of course unique, beautiful and magical, but it also appeals to me in a way that I probably can’t really put very well into words. His art reminds me of the way that I like to look at the world - with respect for the wider scheme of things, in recognition of all that has come before and all that is still yet possible, and that people are merely one very small part of this great complex place we call earth.

I first stumbled across Dan’s artwork late last year, and managed to join up for a part-year print subscription (where you get a print out aside for you each month, and sent out quarterly). Each print is a real treasure and so it was with pleasure that I signed up for a full year subscription this time around. If you’re likewise inclined and would like to subscribe yourself - full year membership is currently open.

This is the first of three ‘things’ which have recently returned to me…my apologies for those not living in Brisbane who may find this post has little relevance for them in content. However I’m sure you’ve all experienced the same kind of thing in your life - where those precious things (which can become precious for any number of reasons) that you thought had disappeared forever, one day pass into your life once more.

So what seems like it was an age ago, when it fact it was exactly eight years ago, some work colleagues told me about a restaurant in Brisbane that sounded like a place which I would really like to go to. I vowed to one day book a table at this restaurant.

Fast forward a few months and I’d moved to Canberra, and given that I was now living in another state and had other priorities (such as starting a new job and getting married) thoughts of this restaurant had passed from my mind.

Several years passed by and I eventually returned to Brisbane though once again had other priorities on my mind other than finding obscure restaurants (such as trying to find a new house and find a new job). After a while from time to time I would find that I would try and remember the name of the restaurant. Unfortunately though I didn’t have too much to work with, really just a vague description. I knew that it was an Asian restaurant, that tables were screened off for privacy and that it was located somewhere in ‘the Valley’. Try as I might whenever I plugged in those loose bits of information into google, I invariably came up empty.

That was until a couple of weeks ago when I was idling away some time on the computer trying to find a decent vegetarian breakfast place in Brisbane (no easy feat), and found myself on a food review site. While I found no mention of good veggie breakfast food, I did find a lengthy discussion on an Asian restaurant in the Valley which was famed for great food, and privately screened off tables…I’d finally found my restaurant.

Apparently Garuva advertises only by word of mouth and therefore doesn’t bother with expensive marketing campaigns, so no wonder it took me so long to find it. So after many years of wondering and searching, now I just have to book a table and hope that it is as good as I think it will be.

Like many people who love to read, I have a backlog of ‘classic’ books that are on my must-read list, which I hope to get through ‘one of these days’. While this list has never been formally recorded on paper, I tend to be reminded of it from time to time when life nudges me in the ribs. And then I’ll find myself at the bookstore or searching online for whatever book title it is which the universe has called to mind. It was in such a way that I remembered Hemingway.

Some time ago I was reading a book which featured quotations on life, love and travel. Amongst those passages quoted was one from Hemingway’s famed book, A Farewell To Arms. I was struck by the passion of his prose and the intensity of feeling he was able to capture within so few words…the man makes writing seem deceivingly simple and so very human, so very real.

I sensed that from the way he speaks with the written word, that here is a writer in the true sense of the word, one that has truly lived and not just imagined.

‘I’ve always been afraid of the rain.’
‘I like it.’
‘I like to walk in it, but it’s very hard on loving.’
‘I’ll love you always.’
‘I’ll love you in the rain and in the snow and in the hail and - what else is there?’

With a book voucher in hand that I had been saving up for ‘just the right book’, I figured that A Farewell to Arms was just that book. It did not disappoint. It is a book which takes you on a complete journey of life experiences - those we hope to know well such as friendship and love, and those experiences we’d rather avoid like war, grief and death.

‘Oh darling, I want you so much I want to be you too.’
‘You are. We’re the same one.’
‘I know it. At night we are.’
‘The nights are grand.’

If you haven’t already read it, this is one book that you should definitely consider adding to your own ‘must-read’ list of books. It is full of gritty texture, is completely absorbing and one of the most moving books which have graced the bookshelves.

This has been a strange sort of year, and as the months drip by and we pass through the time between each season I always feel a little ‘out of sorts’. I’m sure I’ve written about this kind of thing sometime before. And so with all this strangeness going on, it seems that I’ve once again been missing in action from here more than I ever intended to be. Thanks to all those who have continued to drop by and leave a comment or two…my apologies for not always getting back to you.

Writing is such a funny thing to do…and not funny in a comedic way, more funny in a why do we do this sort of thing to ourselves kind of way. You know how it is.

So much time spent in crafting the perfect arrangement of words, then wishing them all the best on their journey before we release them to the world…and then the cycle begins again.

At times it can be difficult to find the patience for this careful crafting and hard to maintain focus and motivation for long periods of time…but therein lies the challenge.

So anyway, what I am really trying to say in far too many words, it that I hope to be back for a while, but you never can tell when the winds will change again.

As always, Tom Perrotta displays an uncanny ability to create full-bodied characters that feel less like characters in a book and more like vivid reflections of people that we all know.

There’s honest talking high school teacher and single mum Ruth Ramsay who unwittingly finds herself in battle with the local Church, and then there is Tim mason, former wild boy who has relinquished his former life and converted to Christianity. Facing their own personal crises of faith, Ruth and Tim are pulled into conflict and yet find themselves almost irresistibly drawn together.

Aside from his richly drawn characters, Perrotta creates for them a highly detailed world where we can really see, hear and feel what our characters experience. His clever use of pop culture references grounds the story in time and place, and constructs an entirely believable reality.

With deft hand and strongly satirical eye, Perrotta handles his subject matter with precision, and even when dealing with subjects as divisive as religion and sex, he manages to air all perspectives with supremely delicate touch.