Many people have read these books and have their own opinions about them, or just heard enough about them to make judgments. People have seen the movies and decided if the books are good or not from them. I have been told many different things about them:

"Every child should read these books"

"These books should be banned, they are evil"

"This is my favourite series ever, you need to read it"

"Oh, no you should not read the Harry potter books."

Having never read or watched anything Harry Potter (at least as far as I can be absolutely sure of doing) I did not like to voice an opinion. But one day, after yet another of these conversations, I decided I would read them so that I could have an informed conversation about them. As it turned out, I like them.

Fisck hummed through the evening air towards her favourite haunt; the cave of unguarded skins. She darted straight towards the small tear in the gauze, and slipped inside. Heat radiated from three bodies in the room. The time had not yet come for they were still moving around. So she rested behind the stiff curtain of blue that hung down from the roof, waiting good-naturedly.

Fisck listened as another of the Sanguinarius entered the room. She was not as patient as Fisck though. She buzzed through the air straight towards one of the heat sources who were not yet still. The buzzing stopped and began then stopped, Fisck continued to wait. A sharp slap echoed through the room. The Foolhardy One tumbled to the floor with the life crushed out of her.

As one of the elder Sanguinarius, Fisck knew how to bide her time. She knew it paid in the end, with blood. Lights winked out. Soon the only sounds in the room were slow breathing. The time had come. Fisck’s wings hummed as she flew through the cool night air towards the warmest heat source. She alighted on the wall and surveyed her prey. One of the Unguarded Skins lay spread out before her, arms, a leg, a head and neck, inviting her touch. 

Fisck dived down. The Unguarded Skin turned over, and Fisck zipped back up into the air. A soft murmur, then stillness came over the room. She hummed downwards and settled onto a wrist of the Unguarded Skin. There is skill even in where to take the blood from, in some places it is sweet and in others not so, in some places blood springs easily and in others it takes too long. Fisck had hunted for many weeks and by now was numbered with the experts.

Fisck plunged her sharp proboscis deep into the Unguarded Skin’s flesh and sucked. Blood drained into her gut. The surface under her feet twitched. The Unguarded Skin shuffled and slapped at her wrist, far too late, for Fisck now sat on the frame of a picture on the wall.

A few minutes later Fisck hummed down again and landed on the leg that stuck out from the covering, again drawing blood from her victim. A growl followed closely by a slap broke the stillness, but only after the quiet hum of mosquito wings. The Unguarded Skin pulled all her limbs under the sheet and listened to the zzzzzzzzz of Fisck wings as she circled. Fisck landed on the warm cheek of her almost sleeping quarry. The blood had a warm sweetness that satisfied Fisck greatly. 

For a second Fisck struggled to get away from the thrashing of sheets, and arms. She almost got stuck under a fold of cloth. Only one more bite and she would be full. But now the Unguarded Skin had covered herself in folds of the sheet. Fisck returned to the wall, waiting. 

Under the sheet the Unguarded Skin could not breathe properly and the cool night air could not get to her. She uncovered her head and stuck out one hand and foot. From her post Fisck noticed the movement. She buzzed downwards. While the Unguarded Skin thrashed and stilled and rolled over and lay still again Fisck took her chance and got the last sip from a finger and one for luck from the Unguarded Skin’s arm.

Sated, Fisck flew away into the night. She didn’t stay to hear the scratching noise, followed by rustlings and muttering that continued long into the light.

So dear Fisck, you have my permission to show this to the Sanguinarius. Go and rejoice at how famous you are, get to full of blood and explode. Obliterating all of your kind in the process. Sincerely, all of the Unguarded Skins.

Well yes I have been quilting a quilt. That sounds strange but anyway. I have finished quilting and binding it. Apparently I  finished the quilt in record time too. I started it about two years ago. Yes I said record time. I finished the patchwork part of the quilt in July and made the cushions then too.  

Now I have quilted the back, inside and front together (It is a good thing I bought a new unpicker the other week) and I have done the binding, which is the green strip around the outside. So it will keep me nice and warm..... except that it is summer... so it is hot... O well winter will come and then it will be nice and warm and it won't leave feathers everywhere like my old doona used to.

Photo taken with my camera by Alice

Photo taken with my camera by Alice

My Aunt - who makes lots of quilts- helped me finish quilting it over Christmas, while we stayed out at the farm with them. She is the one who said quilts often take more than two years to make. Though they could take a much shorter time.... If most of those two+ years were not spent with the quilt sitting in bags in draws..... Often that was because I did not know what I had to do next and had to wait till the next time my Aunt dropped by so she could tell me.

I will sometime do a little bit of hand quilting in the very middle around the wreath and horses heads. And I might even make another quilt one day. One day, could be a long time away but Lord willing I shall.

*Sigh* back from holidays and back to the computer... Well three days without the computer didn't kill me, but it is so nice to have it back. Going without something (ie. the computer) makes me more thankful so it is good in a way. Thankful is always good. Expect some shots of birds and other such things that I took photos of while at the farm in coming posts.

“What is that noise? I can hear something scratching.” My Mum called from the other room. “Quick come and look there is something on the door.”

 

I glanced once at the computer screen then jumped up and slipped into the darkness of the other room. “What is it?” I whispered

Something scratched on the gauze of the back door.  “A possum”

“No it’s a sugar glider! I didn’t even know they lived around here.” I exclaimed

“Alice, Jane, come. Quietly!” Mum shouted; interrupting the sugar glides insect feast.

The sugar glider spotted us and jumped onto the bricks next to the door then scuttled along the window ledge.  The little marsupial’s pink nose twitched and it’s claws scrabbled for a hold as it jumped up the gauze on the window. It then stretched out its legs and jumped back onto the bricks, moving straight up the wall with apparent ease.

I had gone back inside to get my camera so now I tried to focus it. I had to do it manually as there was not enough light for the auto focus to work.  The flash dazzled the glider. Then It turned and scampered higher up the wall and around the other side of the house.

It leaped the fold of skin between arms and legs out stretched and landed with a crash on the tin shade over a window. Little black eyes glower red in the light as I shone a torch on them.

The Glider Jumped up onto the bricks again and jumped up the wall. Upon reaching the eaves it turned and looked back down at me. It scratched at the eaves trying to figure a way past them. Not finding a way it stared along the wall angling downwards a little.

I left it there and headed back inside to bed. Outside, the little sugar glider, crept further along the side of the house then leaped into the air once more and glided away into the night. 

I finished reading ‘Amedeo: The True Story of an Italian’s War in Abyssinia’ yesterday. It is a really interesting book. I had always wanted to read a book on one of the world wars written by a German. Well Amedeo wasn’t a German he was Italian, but the Italians were fighting with the Germans. Maybe more correctly they were fighting against the British. The Germans never actually gave the support they had promised, and in the end the Germans invaded Italy. Nevertheless Amedeo fought against the British and it strange knowing that in the end, the British would win. 

The book tells of all the things Amedeo did in world war two and before that in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War and the Spanish Civil War. Amedeo went by a lot of different names had great qualities of leadership, strategy and courage. He and others in the book would do everything they could for their king and country, even if they didn’t believe themselves in what they were doing.

 Amedeo also disguised himself many times and got away with it. The book definitely confused me at times though, with all the political talk and information about important people and all those impossible to pronounce names. But on the whole I enjoyed it.  Tis amazing to think Amedeo really did all that. 

SPOILER

Well sorta a spoiler

Warning Spoiler

that sounds really silly.... well a spoiler is on the way....

And that he survived it all and only died in 2010 eight years after the book got published. I was also glad that in the end Beatrice and Amedeo did get married.  She had waited so long, and with the knowledge that Amedeo could be dead. There were also parts I found very funny, like when Amedeo is asked if he has seen well himself...... and when he meets people after the war, who had tried to kill him.  

Now I won’t say anything else because if any people who read this are at all like me they will look at the spoiler warning and go “I must read this, because it is a spoiler. And someone put it there, so I will read it.” Or something like that. 

How I actually came to writing this: Well last night we watched a movie and went to bed some time before 11. I was trying to sleep and thinking over the day, I remembered reading the book and started writing a report in my head. I’m sure I said more than I have here but I just can’t remember what else. I didn’t write it down.... As I have said before, bed is the best place for ideas. By the time I finished thinking it was sometime after 11.... Anyway I think it is a really interesting book.

I just realized I forgot to say who the author is, how silly of me....... Tis Amedeo: The True Story of an Italian’s War in Abyssinia by Sebastian O’Kelly. Actually I realized it is on the photos....