The crumbs of February, 2025
Wrapping up a a pretty hectic summer.
Summer is pretty much over, but no sweat. We’re heading now into what I reckon is the nicest time of the year in southern Australia.
The leaves are turning colour, the mornings will soon start to cool, but there should generally still some warm days ahead, before winter starts to descend.
February was a pretty good month, filled with walks, nature adventures, yummy meals and some on-the-ground learning, too.
Read on, for the crumbs of this month.
What was cooking in February
The first half of February consisted of culinary adventures out and about, the second half getting back into the kitchen at home.
I enjoyed a birthday dinner at Sodafish – a seafood restaurant in Lakes Entrance, Gippsland. Entree was two oysters, followed by crab and scallop tortellini. Dessert, a honey soaked madeline over white chocolate mousse, with mountain pepper scattered across, which is only found in that region. Washed down with a glass of prosecco from local vineyard Wyanga Park Winery. All this equals a happy girl.
Interwoven with this were some delightful foraged treats, as part of a five-week local course. We’ve been tasked with making a potluck dinner for our last week – I’m thinking of putting something together using the figs that grow on my very small piece of land.
I’m feeling good about my ability to identify the most common ‘weeds’ these days – the biggest concern, is where is safest to harvest? My corner of Melbourne is generally chemical soaked, plus backyard soil throughout the inner city tends to be poisoned with the lead of paint from 100+ year old houses. Or you might find other fun things like arsenic kicking about there (always test your soil before you grow anything in it!).
I’m sure I’ll find places to safely forage in time, but it is a practice that opens your eyes to the free food growing around you… and the many ways it is wasted.
As the weather cools, this year I’ll go back to my practice of fermenting. One of my favourite reference points for this is Ferment for Good by Sharon Flynn. She’s a pro and there are some really easy to follow recipes in here.
I’m also thinking it’s time to treat myself to another cookbook sometime soon, as I always end up cooking more in autumn and winter. However, of the many I own, there’s really only a few I turn to regularly for inspiration. If you have any cookbooks you really love and can recommend, please let me know in the comments.
What was booking in February
I didn’t read much until the tail-end of February, when I was struck down for a couple of days by some mystery ailment.
One thing I’m hoping to nail this year, is striking a balance between reading the books I buy or am gifted, and those I borrow from the library. Libraries are wonderful, in that they obviously save a Constant Reader a heck-ton of cash over time… yet, they don’t always have the books I want, especially older ones.
So, I will often buy a book on a service like Blackwells or on my Kindle, then get caught up in trying to read my library books as they’re due (thank goodness my local doesn’t hand out fines)… anyway, it’s a bit of a mess.
If I ever figure out a method to this madness (beyond, I guess, stopping buying books for awhile), you’ll hear about it!
Books read
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (owned)
Although I find myself tiring somewhat of one of the main characters and the central love story, this was still a perfect late summer read, exactly what you’d want to dive into when you’re getting hit with odd 36-38°C days and only have energy to laze around under a fan or air-conditioning. Onyx Storm is spicy, well written and contains extremely sassy dragons. Need any more?
The Women I Think About at Night by Mia Kankimäki (library)
Oh man, I love this book so much and hard relate to the story. Finnish writer Mia Kankimäki reaches her early forties, childfree and single and wonders ‘Huh. What’s next, then?’. So, she turns her attention to female ‘explorers’ (I use this term lightly, as the women referenced in the book, with the exception of Yayoi Kusama, are largely white women travelling to areas that were already populated by Indigenous peoples, or unwillingly colonised by European countries), who despite the conventions of the time, took off travelling around the world. Kankimäki traces their journeys to Kenya, Florence and Japan, hoping to seek inspiration from them. It’s heartfelt and well-written/translated by Douglas Robinson.
Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft (library)
Bea is smart, hot, young and determined to tie down one of New York’s rich and eligible bachelors, so she in turn can live a secure life of luxury. She manages to ensnare the very sweet and very rich Collin Chase and feels for certain her future is ensured. Not, however, if Collin’s best friend Gail Wallace-Leicester has anything to do with it. Throw in some epic mother issues and you’ve got an excellent beach read in Stone Cold Fox.
Rootbound by Alice Vincent (owned)
Rootbound for me, is a highly relatable memoir. Despite being a millennial, Alice Vincent achieves what feels like the unachievable; she buys a flat in South London with her boyfriend in her early twenties. They nest and over time, she begins to garden on her small balcony. Then, Josh breaks up with her. And so begins a turbulent time for Alice, as she searches for a new home, a new place to sink her taproot, all while feeding her interest in plants, gardening, and exploring what exactly the process of sinking hands into soil can do to a person. It’s taken me awhile to read this memoir, but I have enjoyed it as I’ve dipped in here and there.
Fathoms: The World in the Whale by Rebecca Giggs (owned)
One pulled from my TBR pile, that I nominated for a book club so it could finally get read. Fathoms covers the history of human associations with whales and what we can learn from them. It’s a somewhat harrowing book, as any book about the natural world in a time of environmental crisis is apt to be, but fascinating, nonetheless.
The Undoing by Jean Hanff Korelitz (library)
I was hoping for an excellent Friday Night Thriller in The Undoing, having previously read another of Korelitz’s books The Plot (see review) and loved it. While I guess this book had some elements of domestic noir to it, it read more like a character study to me, or a later in life coming of age story. We walk with Grace, a successful New York therapist with a book imminently due for publishing, the perfect child and a loving husband. Yet one day her husband disappears and the life she thought she was living crumbles, like a house of cards. So no, I wasn’t thrilled or chilled, but I enjoyed reading this, nonetheless.
Currently reading and listening to:
Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright (audio book)
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner (hard copy)
Books bought
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld (eReader)
The Secret Power of Yoga by Nischala Joy Devi (eReader)
Down South by Bruce Ansley (hard copy)
Writing Wild by Kathryn Aalto (hard copy)
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer (hard copy)
What was screening in February
At the movies
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025) – Look, I’m a longtime Bridget fan. I read the first two books and saw the film when I was a tween and have been hooked since then. I’d read Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy when it came out twelve long years ago and was very happy with this screen adaptation. At this point, Renee Zellweger wears Bridget like a second skin and everyone else is excellent in it too. It’s got enough classic Bridget to prompt plenty of laughs, but it’s sentimental in a way the others aren’t, which works for it. Catching a preview with a cinema full of die-hard fans was a real treat. Nothing beats the original film but it’s an excellent follow up to, I guess, the two other follow ups.
On the streams
Abigail (2024) – This month was mainly about playing catch-ups on horror films I missed seeing at the flicks. I went into Abigail not knowing much about it at all and was pleasantly surprised. Won’t spoil anything but it was a bit of a funny romp, which I enjoyed. Also, give that kid an Oscar – what a performance.
Maxxxine (2024) – Hopefully the last in the ‘X’ series, we follow Maxine as she tries to put the events of the first movie behind her and ‘make it’ in Hollywood. Mia Goth is captivating, as usual, and I enjoyed the 80s fashion and references, but the ending lost me a bit. This is probably my second favourite of the three – I liked ‘X’ and hated ‘Pearl’. So a film trilogy I find a bit hit and miss, but am glad exists.
Smile 2 (2024) – I didn’t much like the OG Smile, but decided to give the sequel a go. I’m glad I did, as it was far more engaging. We pick up six days after the last movie left off, with the ‘Smiling’ entity being ‘passed on’ to troubled pop star Skye Riley. Skye is making a comeback after a horrible accident, which took the life of her actor boyfriend. There are some genuinely scary moments and Naomi Scott is brilliant to watch, as is the ‘Smile dance scene’ – you know what I’m talking about if you’ve see it. I kinda hope things stop here, but we all know there’ll be a Smile 3 before we know it.
Fargo (1996) – wrapping things up with a cinematic classic that I somehow have never watched. In deep trouble, desperate car salesman Jerry hires two criminals to kidnap his wife for a ransom to be paid by his wealthy father-in-law. Nothing goes to plan, naturally, and the plot thickens when police chief of the small town of Brainerd, Marge Gunderson, begins investigating.
In case you missed it
A travel diary of some time spent in the UK, mainly featuring some highlights of Cornwall and London.
A mish-mash of a post for paid subscribers, featuring some thoughts on new telly series Apple Cider Vinegar, and notes on a short course about plant foraging!
And an account of a rather harrowing walk in one of Victoria’s wild places, Wilsons Prom.
Catch ya next week. ‘Til then, stay well, well-fed and especially well read.
-Celine
Take a messy dive into crumbs of times past:
Most links in this missive will take you to YourBookstore.io. This very handy website allows you to shop and support independent Australian bookstores. Give your local some love, or request a copy from your nearest library.
You've been absorbing so much!! So many great ideas here :)
Very interesting point you made about checking what's safe to harvest. A lot to learn!