Reading Through 2026

My goodness, I'm so impressed at how much reading (here and here) has been happening this year. Though I do admit there has been a slow down in the last couple of weeks. Life is gearing up as we race towards the end of the year and the calendar is just week after week of full events. I was thinking of saving this post till the end, but it's feeling full, and I also want to discuss (rant) a bit about the last few books, so I may as well get that out of my system now. 

Romeo V Juliet by R. A. Spratt
Hamlet is Not Ok by R. A. Spratt
My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand and Jodie Meadows

R. A. Spratt - quality Australian kids author. The girls and I all enjoyed these humorous retellings. My Lady Jane, which I had initially seen the series of on Prime not realising it was a book was a fun find at the library, but it got quite carried away at the end and there was way too much going on. I think the changes they made for the series adaptation were sensible and helped a lot with the overall plot. 

The Bookbinders of Jericho by Pip Williams
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Rachel had been asking to read the Hunger Games books for a while, but I was holding her back - she was only 11! I did have the set on the shelf since I got all three books for $10 at the local second hand bookstore, so I read them to check if I was remembering the violence correctly - it does have kids killing kids after all. They are such fast-pace, easy to read books, that I knocked them out in no time and decided they were actually totally fine for the girls after all. Honestly, they had read worse in the Wingfeather Saga. 

Both girls were delighted to finally be able to read these and were done in a weekend. 

Troy retold by Stephen Fry
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Once Upon a Broken Heart was a total waste of time. There is no reason for the main character to even remotely like the love-interest jerk who treats her terribly. The premise isn't believable and none of the side characters make sense either. I remember feeling similar thoughts when I read Caraval, and I won't be picking up any Stephanie Garber books again. 

The Ali Hazelwood books were fun and easy. They both had similar settings and storylines, but the characters were different enough that it was interesting. Don't know if I would bother with any more of them though, since they weren't really meaty enough for me.  

The Last Tiger by Julia Riew and Brad Riew
Ice Breaker by Lian Tanner
The Knowledge Seeker by Rea Knightly
The Lost Daughter of Sparta by Felicia Day
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskel

Rachel recommended Ice Breaker to me, since she's very into Lian Tanner (after I had her read the Keepers Series). It's a book one of three, but didn't leave us hanging too much. The Lost Daughter of Sparta was a graphic novel exploring Helen and Clytemnestra's younger sister who is only mentioned in one line in Homer's poems. Very cool. 

I read lots of North and South on the bus to choir rehearsals, and it was a bit of a slog. It was a re-read but I honestly didn't remember much of it at all. I was also struck by how totally useless Margaret's parents are. At almost every occasion, they are expecting her to do all of the hard and heavy work of life and also not even giving her the resources she needs to complete the task. You would have thought it would have endeared me to her more, but I just felt angry at her parents. I also remember being frustrated with John Thornton at one point, but I can't remember if that was by him or for him now. Maybe the latter. 

Since it was a bit of a slog getting through North and South, I broke it up with a YA novel I grabbed from the Library. Dungeons and Drama was cute, junk food reading. 

Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
Ink and Ivy by Ashley Willingham

I had high hopes for the Julie Kagawa books, but (similar to Once Upon a Broken Heart) the main character apparently falls desperately in love with a complete jerk of a prince, which makes no sense. It's set in the fey world of Oberon and Titania with Puck as well, being all key characters. Though it is completely irrational for a centuries old fey character like Puck to fall in love with our (honestly totally useless) female heroine, that's what happens, because of course she needs everyone to be in love with her. Blergh! The original premise of the conflict was great, but the time wasted on the completely unbelievable and cringe-worthy "love" rubbish was painful. 

The last book I read this round was another anger-inducing ride. Again, loved the original premise, the characters were solid and interesting. Even the way the two main characters met, while a little cliche, was still enjoyable. 

But then. There was a proposal moment where the male character quoted Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice word for word. And I mean, word for word. I've got no problem with being inspired by Jane Austen's works - they are pretty dang fabulous, but you can't lift entire speeches from her (arguably) most recognisable book and hope no one will notice. Also, while her Darcy character was somewhat believable, the reason a Mr Darcy works in Pride and Prejudice is because Elizabeth is the other side to the story. Mr Darcy doesn't work without Elizabeth! 

The rest of the story went rapidly downhill from this moment as the author tried to force her characters into more and more contrived and overly suspenseful/serious situations where they could "be confused" with each other, and wonder at their feelings. If I exclaimed in outrage at the Julie Kagawa books I was having full on shouting matches with this one. 

The main character was so far from Elizabeth (disorganised, forgetful, whimsical) that there was no believable way she would ever be a match for the Darcy stand in. The second proposal scene had more direct plagiarism from Jane Austen's works too. Ugh. 

On top of all of these literary crimes, the book was Christian Fiction. Two thirds of the way through, our main character has one meaningful quiet time and suddenly everything is better. I'm a believer and yes, miracles can happen, but a way more relatable and believable story is change that happens gradually over time. And there was no way I was believing that the Darcy stand in was going to sign up to run a kids ministry at church. Absolutely Inconceivable! 

On reflection too, something that makes Pride and Prejudice work is that the changes in our characters happen over time - the book is the course of an entire year. This one was trying to jam all the substantial character development and changes into three weeks and call it the same. Nope. It's just not going to work. 

Suffice to say, I won't be reading this work again. Gosh, I wish it were better. The author did have a great world built, but why she felt the need to try to imitate Jane Austen was beyond me. Maybe I've been scarred because picking up a new book after that run has been tough, especially with the busy life season that we are. :P 

I have got two new Garth Nix on the shelf though, so they are slowly calling me back to reading with an author I can trust to deliver. I do feel I need a smaller, familiar, pallet cleanser in the meantime though. Wish me luck!

Little Boy Shorts

Earlier this year, in the space of about three weeks, Steve and I had four different friends (from all sorts of different places) tell us they were expecting babies. It was a bit surreal, since the majority of our friends are past the new-born baby stage. Still, small babies on the horizon usually means sewing for me!

I didn't have anything workable in the stash, so I had to buy some fabric for these ones. Since I was on a roll of making fancy little boy shorts, I threw in a pair for my 4 year old nephew as well. Cute!

Small tags inside. Professional!

Making them, I grumbled to Steve a bit about how fussy the pockets can be, which is why I usually don't bother with them, but they turned out so stinking cute that it was totally worth it. I'd say the babies won't get much use out of them, but the 4 year old will be able to stash his cars in with no trouble.

I thought the last time I made a batch of Sycamore Shorts was when I made this run of Monster Shorts in June 2024, but when I click back through, it turns out I also made some stand-alone ones in 2024, and some Star Wars ones in 2025. Who knew! 

Singing in the Choir

It's been over ten years since I was last on a musical stage. [Side note: it turns out I've pretty much never blogged about performing in musicals. So weird! To say I love musicals seems like a bit of an understatement, but not blogging about them seems to contradict this.] 

I'd been singing on and off with our local Shed Choir the last couple of years, but they haven't been super active recently. In any case, I had been missing singing with others and being a part of telling a story, so when I saw that another local Community Choir, Cheep Trill, were doing a term production of "Community Choir: The Musical", I thought: why not! I'd considered joining the choir for a term before, but the timing had never really worked out. This was a chance to step up - not just a choir, but also musical theatre! Winning. 

The show was written by the founder of Cheep Trill, Emma Dean, about a Community Choir that is invited to participate at the National Choral Competition. It's got good Aussie humour, quirky characters and lots of heart. I was in "the choir" which was essentially the chorus. 

Advertising for the show at South Bank!

We did 15 weeks of rehearsals - just one night a week, plus 2 full day Saturdays. I was initially sitting with the altos, but they needed some folks to fill out the bass section, so I shifted down. The whole choir was super friendly. They have been running Cheep Trill for over ten years, and it's expanded to have Northside, Southside, Noosa, Gold Coast and Bayside locations. That's some pretty amazing growth. I was so impressed with how inclusive it was too. 

I met a bunch of great people singing in the basses; some long-time choir members and others brand new like me. My choir buddy, Joe, who I was next to for the show, was such great value and a privilege to sing with. Lots of the basses all lived just down the road in Yeronga, so it felt like we had an instant connection coming from our little part of the Southside of Brisbane together. Rehearsals were fun and sooner than we knew it, we were bumping in to La Boite Theatre to perform as part of Brisbane Festival 2026. 

Checking the lights in this beautiful soprano/alto song that I wasn't in. 

It was different being in a show this time. Not sure if it is because I'm older (probably), or that I've never really played chorus (narrator roles for me), but I did have trouble remembering all of the choreo. It's easier when I have lines and I'm being told what my character is doing. :P Maybe because we were all adults too, and the expectation was there that we would go and practice ourselves, rather than the kids-theatre I've previously been involved with, where we are running things again and again so the kids get it. 

I did put in some extra hours revising, all of my bus trips into practice listening to the songs and by the time we got to the opening show, I was feeling pretty confident with the singing and most of the choreo. Whew! The other cool thing about the show was that there were two casts: Northside and Southside. Each cast performed three of the six shows, which meant on an off show - you could actually go see the show. 

The view from the second back row in the choir rises during tech rehearsal

Since our characters were all people in the choir, our costume direction was so to come in what we would usually wear to choir. Rehearsing through winter meant that I had regularly attended in my kimono and lots of people asked if I was going to wear one for the performance. Initially I thought no, since I figured it would be distracting, but then I saw how bright and colourful everyone was going with their "choir clothes" (including the nurses who came wearing their very colourful scrubs) and figured why not. Also, I was in the second back row, so it wasn't like many people would see me either. 

A last min change at the tech rehearsal left me in charge of part of the Opera House, which might have been the highlight of the show.  The week we performed, the girls were away at a Scout/Guide Camp (Agoonaree), which was good because I was so busy out at rehearsals and then performances. They came home on the Friday and had a good night sleep to see the show on Saturday with the rest of the fam (well, those who were available). 

The other part of our costumes was to add a "pop of colour" which we put on when the choir arrived in Sydney. I made mine out of some doona cover scraps that might have been left over from Rachel's cape, or from when I used it to make the practice of Sophie's graduation outfit perhaps? It was a quick flower hair clip (similar to these ones I made for Fiona's wedding) with a button from the stash. It tucked in my yukata sleeve and I popped it in my hair half way through the show. Perfect. 

Reading on the bus when I wasn't revising the songs.

When it was all over, lots of people were asking if I was coming back for choir in Term 4. I was on the fence - most people were in the show in Term 3 were there because they wanted to be in the choir. I was mostly there because I like musicals. I was getting the emails reminding me I could sign up, but I was not ready to commit yet. 

Anyway, last Monday, I was invited by another Japanese teacher to a Taiko drum group session just down the road. I went along because why not - Japanese drumming is so cool! I was, however, completely unprepared for the three hour full body workout that was waiting for me. I'll admit to not lasting the whole time. There was so much to think about on top of the music, beat & rhythm of everything - stance, arms, hands, bending your legs with each hit. I was exhausted. 

And half way through, though I was enjoying it, all I could think was: "I'd rather be at choir". So I signed up. Term 4, here I come! 

Wine Yukata

Adding to the rainbow collection of yukata that I have is always a joyful time. 

This latest one was the second bolt I bought from the shopping trip to Nippori with my friend David last year. I've already made the Red Yukata (in Japan), but this one came home with me unmade. Not sure what inspired me to dig it out and make it at last, but here it is. 

Another 100% hand sewn, zero waste kimono for my collection. Could be my favourite yet. 

Sushi Apron

Our cooking loving Sophie had grown out of her other apron. She was going to a Japanese cooking event with church, and requested a new one. So I made her an apron. 

Most basic sewing ever. I did a quick google for rough measurements, and sacrificed some more of this bright sushi fabric that Sophie already has in a bag. She loves it, and I'm happy to report, has also been wearing it. 

Book Week 2026: Paula!

Better than making a costume for your book loving daughters: organising one for yourself. I've discovered that in the same way there are people in the world who hang out for Christmas and just love the whole season and everything it entails, so do I love Book Week. 

I wanted to go simple this year, for no particular reason. I think I am really feeling the push for sustainability and environmentally conscious choices. Even though I love making and creating, it's important that I'm not part of the ongoing overconsumption fast fashion problem we are currently living in. 

Anyway (off my soapbox now) I decided to re-use a costume that we already had; Squirrel Girl! I had made Sophie an excellent costume for Squirrel Girl in 2022. Rachel has worn it since (Superhero day at school, no photos), but I haven't. My turn now! 

Though I had the perfect brown boots to wear, I was less inclined to pair them with tights and a body suit for a Primary School Book Week. I was tossing up some of the shorts I had made, when I was fortuitously gifted a pair of brown jeans by my sister Sarah. Problem solved. Maybe not as comics accurate, but still in theme and much more practical for a day of teaching small children. 

I turned the brown cuffs I had made Sophie into arm braces and whipped up a pair of brown ears out of the leftovers. Everything was lined with leftover brown fabric from making pants for Rachel's Ranger costume. The brown Jedi belt and pouches also made an appearance. 

I thought I would have to do a fair few adjustments to the brown vest (or scrap it altogether) to make it fit, but I could get my arms through and it clipped up across my upper chest just fine. Winning! 

Tippy Toe was pinned onto my shoulder and I carried both the comic and the novel that we have of Squirrel Girl with me. Though I was not recognised by any students, except two year six-ers, I had a great time. Book Week for the win!

Book Week 2026: Ranger Rachel

It is quite possible that there is nothing more fabulous than Book Week. Honestly, it might be the reason I stay in teaching as long as I do. What a great celebration of all things I love! 

This year, Rachel wanted to be a Ranger. She has been very invested in the John Flanagan Ranger's Apprentice books, as well as the two spin off series and Brotherband. We had a discussion on the essential cape and I found three different green fabrics in my stash. Rachel opted for the olive-green bedsheet. 

Initially unimpressed with the hooded cape I whipped up one afternoon (she didn't like the excess fabric in the hood, but I couldn't be bothered make a fitted one for a costume), Rachel came round to it after some street friends told her how cool it looked. I knew she had a green shirt, so I figured with some jeans we were actually done. Little did I know. 

Rachel was intent on a pretty thorougher recreation. She scoured the park across the road for the perfect stick to become her long bow for weeks. Then raided the shed for bamboo stakes and long dowels to turn into arrows. Her bow was strung with some leather which I think was supposed to be used for making bracelets. Arrows were fletched with feathers she had collected over the years. There was also the oak leaf necklace, the throwing knives and daggers. Weighted, of course. I dug out the brown belt from the Jedi Costume along with a couple of the belt pouches. Rachel filled these with her "medical supplies" and other assorted things. 

After seeing her work hard at all the parts of her costume (the only thing missing was an arm brace really), when she requested some brown pants to wear, I felt I couldn't refuse. I fortuitously had some brown fabric in my stash thanks to the roller coaster journey of the Princess Bride Costumes of 2025.  So I measured her jeans and sat down on Sunday to make a pair of ranger pants for the Book Week Parade the next day. 

Things were going smoothly (and beautifully), until I realised I had accidentally sewn the front legs together and the back legs together, rather than to each other. There might have been a loud exclamation from the otherwise quiet sewing area before I decided the solution was to cut off the French seams and go again, this time with less beauty, more speed and the correct pieces of fabric. 

Rachel was happy with the comfy brown pants that included four pockets for her to stash even more Ranger things in. She borrowed Sophie's satchel bag to take her lunch in, and also Sophie's brown boots, even though they were too big for her. Rachel is committed like you read about. 

The quiver for the arrows was made the night before, and then I was informed the cape needed a slit in the back for the arrows to poke through. I may have organised that the morning of, but it was a very quick snip and sew. Rachel did win the prize for best dressed in her class. 

Gosh did she look fabulous. She was so chuffed with her costume and the imaginative play options ahead of her. The home made bow and arrows can, in fact, be fired, but she was only allowed to take them to school under strict instructions not to use them. One of the grade 6 teachers completing disregarded this though when the throwing knives (cardboard) were accidentally stuck in a tree and Rachel was asked to shoot them down with her bow.