Tundra Blue

From me to you...

2012-02-14T11:38:00.001+10:00

Review - Death Magic

2012-02-14T10:23:00.001+10:00

I'd been waiting eagerly for this installment since finishing Blood Challenge last January. I finally got my hands on it yesterday at my local bookshop - yeah me :-D

Once I settled down to read it I have to admit that I was disappointed. I loved Blood Challenge. The addition of Benedict and Arjenie's storyline, from their POV was fantastic. I enjoyed reading their narrative more than Lily and Rule's!

In Death Magic I just found it predictable. Not the storyline so much, but the way those characters react. Rules all intense and protective and Lily is stubborn, determined, logical and a little bit anal about things. And while Reuben and his secret was a great twist, there was no more than a few paragraphs regarding the new baby, Ryder - and most of that was about her future sexual education!

There was no Benedict, Arjenie, or Cynna, why not?

Hopefully the author will either incorporate more narratives in the next installment, or give Benedict his own book.

While this wasn't the worst book, there was much storywise that could have been improved of. The ending bugged me as the confrontation has been building since early on in the book, but it was over relatively quickly. The bad guys seem to have more lives than a cat, and never seem to get busted by the cops. Is Lily the only honest competent law enforcement agent out there?

Death Magic does advance the storyline, but if you're not a big fan of the series who has to own every book, then I'd recommend borrowing it from a friend or your local library.

So not funny

2012-02-09T14:03:00.001+10:00

Okay, just a quick fact...

The Oreo biscuits that I occasionally snack on are - drum roll please - made in China. WTF?

This might just put me off Oreo's!

Noooooo.... Lost Pictures

2012-02-09T11:12:00.000+10:00

I hate the fact that I can accidentally delete a picture folder in my phone's gallery, yet there is no way to recover the file. Why do they make it so easy to delete yet not tell you "... oh, by the way - once you delete something YOU CAN"T GET IT BACK!" ... ?

Has anyone else been able to find a nifty way to recover lost images from their phones? My Google Nexus S is only 8 months old for goodness sakes. Even the manual (which I had to download from Google as the phone didn't come with a manual... hmmm, maybe that should have been my first clue?) doesn't recognise the terms recovery, retrieve, etc. I think I'll be downloading an app in the future to stop this from happening.

... and Yes, I did have my phone synced to my Gmail, etc, but no photos were saved.

Oncoming Storm

2012-02-07T15:46:00.001+10:00

Yeah! After more than a few steamy days it looks like we're going to get a good storm.

Luckily for me, the town I live in is not prone to the flooding that has inundated other southwest towns like Mitchell, Roma, St George and Charleville. Most of the rain that fell there over the last few weeks missed us here. Hopefully this storm brings enough rain to cool the area down

Lots of rain

2012-01-25T18:03:00.001+10:00

Just had a text from home. They've had 277mm in the last 32 hours... OMG!

At the moment I've got a 'severe storm warning' where I'm at. Thunder is rumbling almost continually - I love it :-)

Goodbye L plates!

2012-01-22T17:33:00.001+10:00

Yes, as of last Tuesday I am now legally allowed to drive!

I thought I'd flunked at one stage, but came out of the practical test 40 min later clutching my paperwork that said I'd passed.

Woo-hoo!

Just wanted to say...

2011-12-31T19:32:00.001+10:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Unexpected guest

2011-12-29T12:42:00.001+10:00

I just went out to retrieve my mail when I noticed a visitor resting on my porch. Haven't seen one of these for ages!

Christmas reading

2011-12-28T11:40:00.001+10:00

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope your day was as fabulous as mine.

This year was the first time I have never received a book for Christmas. Strange, but true. Luckily, a pre-ordered title showed up - just in time for some Yuletide cheer.

"What book was it?" I hear you ask... well, it was the latest story in the seemingly neverending Breeds saga by Lora Leigh. Lawe's Justice picks up soon after Styx's Storm and we find Rachel's sister, Diane, hunting for the location and names of Breeds or former Council scientists who can help her niece, Amber. A Huntress, she is wary of her mate, Lawe Justice, as he wants to corral this high-spirited warrior, and keep his mate safe behind Sanctuary's formidable walls.

Adding to the tension between the two is a feral breed, Gideon, who has endured torture that was beyond compare. He is using Diane to locate 3 former captive Breeds whom he considers betrayed him by keeping him alive (they did it out of love I think?), and is killing every person he considers guilty.

There are appearances by the other alpha's, and this is a continuation of the Bradenmore storyline.

Braden and Megan are present for a brief moment, this is their first appearance in a looong time, so I savoured it.

Although this is Dianne and Lawe's story, the introduction of Gideon made me want to read his story instead. He is such a forceful, tortured character that he simply overrides the others. He's just like Jonas - only, you know, psychotic.

This book was only about 2 1/2 stars, but Gideon pushed it up to 3.

You can read this as a stand alone book, but it is much more potent when you have read all the others.

Great... that's just what I needed

2011-12-20T14:09:00.004+10:00

... not.

Frustration is at an all time high as just when I want to print out the final copy of my assignment, my printer dies about 3 pages in. It stopped and told me that I had the incorrect print head. What the f*#$!

Print Head

Seriously, just what are the odds of that anyway?

My Canon Pixma MP970 has been an excellent printer, and at only 4 years old I thought that the part I need might still be available. So I called local office suppliers, and places like Dick Smiths - an electronics chain store for those not in Oz - only to be told that the part would cost around $200! That's nearly as much as I paid for the printer brand new. Other places told me that the "print head is the life of the printer. Lose that and it's cheaper to replace the printer than buy a part"... OMG.

Thankfully, mum came to the rescue. I called her about sourcing a possible replacement print head, cause she's not out in the sticks, and turns out that it is really cheaper to replace the whole thing.

So after downloading brochures online, I think Santa/Mum will be bringing me a new printer for Christmas. A new Canon Pixma MG4160.

Please Santa, let it last.

Salt Dough Ornaments, Part 2

2011-12-20T13:38:00.001+10:00

Just thought I'd post a pic of my salt dough decorations. I blogged about making them over a month ago, and they are finally on the tree.

The snowflakes came out the best I think, but they all stayed a nice off white. Very rustic, and perfect for the basic colour scheme I was going for. Red and white, with the only read colour coming from the multicoloured lights. Now all I've got to do is find a fabulous tree topper.

Beautiful Xmas Tree Shadow

2011-12-19T19:22:00.001+10:00

No, I'm not kidding.

I just turned on my Christmas tree lights for the very first time and discovered the most amazing byproduct... a trippy, hippy, psychedelic shadow that's being cast on the wall behind!

What do you think of this? Weirdly beautiful isn't it.

Damaged Book Update

2011-12-19T19:10:00.001+10:00

You really can get good customer service from internet sellers. The book I was grouching about last week, Five Odd Honors, was bought online from Book Depository.

I emailed them regarding the quality of the item, they wanted some pictures as proof (I was happy to oblige), and... PRESTO!.... I have a replacement copy being sent out to me.

I wasn't rude, or demanding. I just stated my case and asked what my options were.

See, there are still some responsible vendors left online :-)

Cooking up a Gingerbread Army

2011-12-19T19:03:00.001+10:00

Today was such a tiring day!

I'm editing the final draft of my assignment. So after staring at the screen for an hour getting nowhere I decide to bake, hoping to relieve my stress...

Yeah, right.

I had bought a packet mix so there I was... I kneaded, and floured, and rolled and cut. My benches looked like Frosty the Snowman had burst! Then I had the little darlings in the oven, watching them rise. Ah, it was all fun and frosting till I saw the washing up... oh boy

Anyhow, next year I'll use my old recipe. These ones aren't very flavour-some. A tiny bit of ginger, and no dark brown sugar I suspect. Next year I'll kick butt with a dark sugar, rich and flavour packed Gingerbread.

In the meantime, I hope all your gingerbread turns out fabulously this Christmas.

There's a new Horseman in town

2011-12-14T11:12:00.001+10:00

I just received a copy of the Larissa Ione book Eternal Rider. This is the first book in a new series, but continues on from the Demonica world we know and love.

Meet the Lords of Deliverance. Ares, Thanatos, Limos and Reseph. Born of a union between Lilith and Yenrieth (a succubus and an angel), these four siblings have stood for more than 5,000 years as protectors between hell's minions and destuction.

This series begins after the conflict of the previous Demonica books, it is now the Lords of Deliverance's turn to face the evil within. Eternal Rider is the story of Ares, the one who will become War if he falls. In the beginning we see Reseph transormation from a Lord of Deliverance into Pestilience, on of the Horsemen of the Apocolypse.

Now, the only thing stopping Pestilence from turning Ares to the dark side is a plucky, sassy mortal woman whose misfortune it was to heal a badly injured dog... that turned out to be a grateful Hellhound pup she'd named Hal, short for Halitosis (due to his god-awful breath!)

Thanks to Hal, Cara Thornhart is now on not only the Aegis' radar, but a fallen angel's as well. This dark angel holds the key to Ares salvation or destruction, but knows that Pestilence is after him. Seeing his chance, he imbues the mortal with Ares' seal. Isn't that always the way?

Once Ares realises that this scrap of a mortal is his only hope, he not only fights his attraction towards her - Cara keeps telling him No, and challenging him... a first for Ares, and boy does that float his boat :-D - but she has now become the target of Pestilence and his minions who want War to join them. As the siblings and their allies race to save the now dying Cara, they must keep in mind that if one more of them falls, the others are destined to follow. And you don't want the Four Horsemen to unite as it would become hell on earth for everyone.

This is a great read. I couldn't put it down and it took me about 4 hours to finish it. There is a bit of sex in this book, no more or worse than that in the Demonica series, and the characters that revolve around Ares are just too cute! Who wouldn't want some Ramreels around the place? That being said, I did fall in love Hal. Just wait until you meet Hal's grandfather! Also Ares' steed was a cutie too. There is also another betrayal by an Aegis operative, and you meet some familiar faces to boot.

Thanatos, and his sister Limos are believable as Ares siblings. They fought, made up and carried on like any other siblings I've met - only these guys could have smited you real good :-P Plus, the tension between Cara and Ares is a nice change of pace from romance books where the heroine jumps into the sack with her 'hero' within hours of meeting him.

Eternal Rider is a reasonable 402 pages long, and that doesn't include the 8 page excerpt from the next installment, Immortal Rider, and it is Limos' turn to avoid falling. As the promised bride to the Devil himself, it is Runa's brother, Arik, who just happens to be the idiot that kick-start the Devil's jealousy (there are certain conditions that can cause Limos to fall). Now, all this isn't a spoiler, this is all info you read in Eternal Rider and the excerpt. Luckily for you, you don't have to wait too long for the next book as it is out now - and I can't wait to get it.

Poor quality paper perhaps?

2011-12-13T09:47:00.001+10:00

The other day I was reading my new book, Five Odd Honors, but found many of the pages so covered with ink as to be unreadable!

I know mass market format books are cheap, but that's still no excuse for items like this being produced.
Fingers crosses that I can get them to replace it.

Smokin' Seventeen: the middle of the end?

2011-12-13T08:54:00.001+10:00

As an avid reader, I will give anything a go. However, like Anita Blake, I think Stephanie Plum has definitely seen better days.

Having received a new stack of books from Book Depository I was looking forward to indulging in the new Stephanie Plum. I loved the first 10 books, but I think that the dilemma between Morelli and Ranger has dragged on for way too long - and this book is no different.

Not only is SP still torn between her men, now instead of her standard nookie fall-back of sleeping with Ranger after temporarily breaking up with Morelli, she goes from one to the other cause she and the cop are supposedly having an open relationship!

What the...?!

The storyline is beyond ridiculous, and I'm finding them to be so formulaic that Ms Evanovich must be phoning them in as the storyline just never seems to change.

With the One for the Money movie due in January, I'm surprised that the last books have been so poor.

From now on I'll borrow them from the library. No more Stephanie Plum books for me until she makes her choice...

Babe or Cupcake

Colonel Potter departs

2011-12-08T18:03:00.001+10:00

Today I was greeted with the sad news of the death of Harry Morgan, aged 96. A great character actor, he is best known to most as the delightful grouch with a soft heart, Col. Potter, on M*A*S*H.

Goodbye Colonel Potter.

Harry Morgan
1915 - 2011

Farewell and amen.

And then there was three

2011-12-07T17:58:00.001+10:00

Five Odd Honors is the final, but hopefully not last, book in Lindskold's new series.

Brenda has saved the day - again - much to her father's chagrin, but has now been ousted by Gaheris (her father) and sent off to university for her troubles. It's here that Brenda gets hit with another whammy... now her mothers heritage has surfaced to bite her in the butt.

The Orphans are still fighting to make their way into the Lands Born of Sadie's an Sacrifice, and now they have the help of some of the ghosts of the first Horse, Ram, Monkey, Ox and the Snake. Standing in their way is the ghost of Pearl's father, Thundering Heavens, who is still pissed off that his heir, the Tiger, was his daughter. Now, possessing a powerful sword, he has teamed up with the enemy to take back his title.

Meanwhile, Brenda is being drawn into the world of the sidhe and will once again hold the balance of power in her hands.

This book goes off in a slightly different direction, but is still a great book. The only let down is that there is no definitive answer regarding whether or not this is the final of a trilogy, or not. Either way, you're still left hanging, wondering if Brenda and Flying Claw will ever get together.

Fingers crossed that a new book will be out soon.

Nine Gates a winner

2011-12-07T17:51:00.001+10:00

Well after devouring Thirteen Orphans I had to get my hands on the other books on the series. Thanks to Book Depository I had books 2 and 3 in a matter of weeks.

Nine Gates is the second book in this series, and is a worthy installment of what promises to be a great new series... at least I hope it is, some have been calling it a trilogy. Anyhow, I digress. Nine Gates picks up no more than a day or two after the conclusion of 13 Orphans. Brenda is now a novelty amongst the Orphans - a rat, but not a rat - her position in the group has been altered due to her father recovering his memories.

Pushed to the edge, Brenda has to deal with not only her infatuation with Flying Claw, but the fall out his memory loss and subsequent regain has caused with his former lover, Honey Dream - a snake with attitude.

Trying to avoid the pitfalls of life, Brenda's conflict with her father is just about the last straw. He constantly dismisses her and pushes her out. Unfortunately for her father, Brenda is vital to the success of the Orphans plan travel to the Land Born of Smoke and Sacrifice.

If you loved Brenda's first foray into the mystical arts, then you'll enjoy this book. Look out for the 3rd book Five Odd Honors.

Lindskold does it again!

2011-12-07T17:30:00.001+10:00

Hi there. I've been a tad remiss lately in regards to adding great reads to this blog, but I hope to fix that today.

I found this first book, Thirteen Orphans, at my new local library. Like Kylie Chan, Jane Lindskold has mixed Eastern mythology with Western contemporary and come up with a winning combination.

Set in America, you follow the story of 19 year old Brenda Morris, who has just duscovered her supernatural heritage. Unlike Chan's series, Lindskold sets her story around the Chinese zodiac. The descendants of the banished Earthly Branches are being picked off one by one by someone who knows their secrets.

Without getting into the details, Brenda and some other new initiates have to help stop the bad guys (well, a hot girl, her father and her lover) from stealing the power and memories of the other members of the zodiac.

Now, I can't really tell you about the next two books here as it'll give away what happens in this book, but rest assured, the next book, Nine Gates, starts soon after the climax of 13 Orphans.

If you love Kylie Chan, or the Firekeeper series then you'll love these books too.

Post M.I.A

2011-11-27T09:42:00.001+10:00

I've been blogging from my phone recently {yeah me!} and noticed a most annoying quirk. I'd finished making the cushions I'd been talking about in an earlier blog, New Xmas Project, Nov 18, and when I published it, it failed of course - it always does on the first try if I'm uploading an image as well. When I published it again, it sort of got stuck in 'publishing' mode. And it hasn't changed since!

Now it isn't accessible from either mobile phone, or on the blog page. It's been over a week and I'm getting very frustrated since I can't remember quite what I'd put in the post. Grrrrrr!

Does anyone know how to retrieve it? Has it happened to you?

Evacuation

2011-11-22T09:10:00.001+10:00

Why does this always happen to me?

I've got my items and then the siren goes off and I have to put them down and evacuate as the shopping centre is having a fire drill.

Gingerbread cookies

2011-11-19T15:23:00.001+10:00

Just found a good recipe for some Gingerbread cookies - thank God - as I want to make some for presents this year. I have some festive cookie cutters, and will decorate them with Christmas cheer.

Fingers crossed that they turn out, and if this works... who knows, perhaps there's a gingerbread house in my future?

Great Recommendations for you

2011-11-19T10:49:00.001+10:00

Hi there!

I've been getting back into my books lately, checking out the new library - don't ask, I'll just cry - and wishing for a second hand bookshop within an hours drive. Thankfully, I still have Amazon and Book Depository. I just don't know what I would have done if I had absolutely NO access to new reading materials.

{... no books and no reading make me go something something...}

Anyhow, I've picked up two really good books in the past 3 weeks. One I managed to fluke at the library, shock horror I know, and the other was an impulse purchase at Big W.

I want to say that I had seen this book ages ago when it was released in trade size, but I'm sick of them hogging space on the bookshelf, so I put it back and promptly forgot about it till 3 weeks ago. I'm talking about Deborah Harkness' wonderful 'A Discovery of Witches'.

This book is a long read, but I got tangled up in it and couldn't put it down (there went the afternoon, oh well). The story revolves around Diana Bishop, scholar, who turned her back on her witchy heritage as a child after her parents rather gruesome deaths. While researching at Oxford's Bodleian Library she came across a long lost book that is desired by all the supernaturals... vampires, witches and even the daemons want to get their paws on it. Realising that it is a magical book, she is drawn to it, but pushing that part of herself back, she returns it to the stacks. Fortunately for Diana, the first supernatural to turn up Matthew Clairmont, vampire and professor. He wants the book, but is drawn to the witch, and their illicit desire is the least of their troubles.

Set in the modern world, with flashbacks to times past, A Discovery of Witches is a fabulous read. The first in a series, I would recommend it for anyone who enjoyed Gladiatrix, or Kylie Chan.

New Xmas Project

2011-11-18T14:36:00.001+10:00

I have found a picture in an old Country Living magazine (October 2010 British edition) of a simple Christmas cushion.

I have the basic materials and all I have to do now is to download a template of the word I want to use. Fingers crossed that I can knock out both cushions over the weekend.

I want one to say NOEL and the other Je'taime in a lovely handwritten font.

Well, that's different?

2011-11-18T12:35:00.001+10:00

Just finished shopping and thought that I'd share with you a picture of my morning tea. I ordered a sausage roll, and that came out as expected, but the thickshake was brought out in a large ceramic ice cream cone! Definitely different, but darned good.

How to make a quilt?

2011-11-17T19:46:00.001+10:00

I've been wanting to make a patchwork quilt for ages, but never had the room to spread out, let alone be able to leave my materials out. Now I'm flying solo I have taken the first step towards making my first quilt.

Seeing how it's nearing Christmas, and I found the picture panels in a remnant box, I thought a simple design of squares surrounding the picture panels would be an appropriate place to begin.

Fingers crossed it'll be ready for Christmas!

Cheap decorations idea

2011-11-16T11:24:00.001+10:00

Hi there,

I just thought that I'd share a pic of an easy decoration idea that won't hurt the budget.

Our local Aldi shop had some wall decals for $2.99 each. I found the ones I liked and when I got home I decided the kitchen needed a lift. They didn't take long to put up (they have instructions on the back) and they really brighten up the blank wall.

A great cheap and cheerful idea!

Why do authors do this?

2011-11-13T15:53:00.001+10:00

Just a quite question. I'm rereading Dark Slayer by Christine Freehand and find they way she uses the Carpathian language, followed by the translation in English, very, very annoying.

Do authors think we're idiots and that they need to dumb it down for us? As a long time Feehan reader, I find her recent use of this style off putting.

Seriously is it just me, or does it bug you too?

Christmas Overhall

2011-11-13T13:25:00.001+10:00

Hi all!

I just thought that I'd give the blog a Christmas overhall. I've been feeling very festive for the last week or so, and I thought to myself "... I really must change the look of my blog...", so - ta da!

Oh, I also enabled the mobile template for the blog. I couldn't get the custom setting to go right. The stupid background wouldn't scroll and I had a really icky colour pink as a background - and that's not even part of the template colour scheme! So I chose a basic template and will work it out later. Has anyone else had mobile template problems too?

Bookshelf space issues

2011-11-13T12:30:00.001+10:00

It's been a little while since I've posted anything about the books I've read. Well, in recent weeks I've read a few more reference books (19th Century clothing) and they were extremely helpful. Darn sight cheaper from the UK than in Australia though! Ignore that snipe - outrageous book prices in Australia is a pet peeve of mine.

As for my usual genres? I bought a few of the Lora Leigh "Elite Ops" series. They are great, and I'm ever so grateful that there are only 6 of them. I already have enough trouble trying to find spots for all the Dark-Hunter, Anita Blake, Stephanie Plum, Breeds, Dark (Feehan) and other series on my shelves. Seriously, there are some series that I think I'll be following when I'm 60!

The latest books to go on my wishlist are:

Lawe's Justice - Lora Leigh
Smokin' Seventeen - Evanovich
Wicked Appetite - Evanovich
No Mercy - Kenyon
Retribution - Kenyon
One Silent Night - Kenyon
The Guardian - Kenyon
Cast in Ruin - Michelle Sargara

I've already made a list for late Dec/Jan to take advantage of pre-sale prices.
They include:

Death Magic - Eileen Wilks
Fair Game - Patricia Briggs
Spirit Bound - Christine Feehan
Angel's Flight - Nalini Singh

plus later in the year I simply MUST order the new Kate Daniels book.

It seems that everytime I make out a list of books, and get them, the author's decide to torture us all by announcing the next book in the series - that doesn't come out till next year! It's a never ending cycle I tell you.

Hopefully this year Santa will be feeling generous, but I think I should really ask him for a huge new bookshelf before I buy anymore books. Santa? ... are you listening?

As it is, I've already filled up all the bookshelves I brought with me in the move - as well as the large one my mother and Aunt bought me as a 'house warming' gift. I tell you, its insane. I still have over 5 big boxes of books at my mum's house that still have to make the trip over here... and that doesn't even include the boxed up books from my childhood. If I don't have over 5000 books, then I just can't count properly!

I did do a little searching online for some interesting bookshelves and found some fabulous (and weird) ones. Hmmm, maybe something like this perhaps :)

I could really enjoy filling all these shelves. They just might hold all my books!

Update: my Salt Dough ornaments are nearly ready for painting. They have completely dried, and I've given them an undercoat to prepare them for the paints. Pics will be posted after the messy job I promise.

Salt Dough Ornaments, Part 1

2011-11-09T23:10:00.001+10:00

Okay, this was quite a project. The recipe was simple enough:

1cup salt
2 cups plain flour
1 cup water
3 tsp lemon juice

Once mixed, the dough is rough, but kneading for a while makes it more pliable. It rolls out well, and cookie cutters work really well on this dough.

Keep some excess flour on hand to dip cookie cutters into, and to dust rolling pin, bench, etc.

I put them on some baking paper, and will put them in a warm sunny spot to air dry for 2 days (if you want to speed it up, place in oven for a couple of hours @ 120°c).

Remember, before drying (or baking), to put holes in the tops for your ribbon to thread through if you want to hang them on the tree when finished.

Once dry I'll paint them up in Christmas designs.

Oh P.S, leftover dough can be wrapped in cling wrap and put in fridge.

Looky what I made!

2011-11-08T14:05:00.003+10:00

I just finished my first ever patchwork item. It's only a little pincushion, but I'm darn proud of it!

I think I'll get some nicer material (this was made with scrap stuff), and perhaps make one for mum? She loves handmade gifts.

Only in the country...

2011-11-08T14:05:00.001+10:00

Just heard a news update and had to share.

Apparently, 3 guys are in hospital with burns to their butts. Intrigued, I put down my book to listen. The idiots had been drinking around a campfire, and drunk, had branded each other on the bum with a poker! ... Ouch!

It's THAT time of year again...

2011-11-06T11:12:00.000+10:00

Yes, it's heading towards Christmas time my dears. The time of year where you spend too much money on stuff you really don't need - and lets face it, a lot of its a little tacky these days - to make your house look pretty! This is my first year away from home and friends and family, so I have to buy a tree - oh, God!

Since making the big move I'm a little strapped for cash this yuletide season. So I put my thinking cap on and decided to d.i.y this year. That's right ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to toss my tiara into the ring and make things!

I've found a great recipe for salt dough, which will become tree ornaments and possibly some room ornaments, which will be painted in festive colours (watch this space...). I've delved into my craft and home decoration magazine piles to find some simple, yet inexpensive and quite fabulous looking projects that I hope to complete before my visitors arrive to spend the Christmas with me.

Looking into my remnants bag, I've got some festive coloured material, so it's bunting for me, baby. I'm thinking of making some NOEL cushions (just red and white fabric), perhaps a Joyeux as well. Some paper cut/lace decorations. I found a great one for a fancy reindeer... a gift tag perhaps?

As I make these fabulous wonders, I'll blog about them - even if they sucked and were a complete failure. Perhaps someone else can learn from my mistakes :-P

Wish me luck, and fingers crossed that it turns out okay....

RIP DVD

2011-11-03T20:29:00.001+10:00

Well, after 12 years, my cheap DVD player has finally gone to silicon heaven. I put in the first disc of season 3 Big Bang Theory, and as I picked up the remote to press play there was a loud *POP * and the horrible smell of frying electronics.

I then had to pull it apart to get the disc out. There was a black mark where it had fried itself too. God, I do hate the smell of fried wires.

Good thing Big W is having a special on TVs and other AV goods. Now I can get a blu-ray player - yeah!

Just a little morning shower...

2011-10-08T07:46:00.001+10:00

... not!

We here in the South Burnett have just had one heck of a thunderstorm. Unfortunately, I still had my laundry drying on the balcony (2nd floor unit) so had to haul ass out there - before 6am mind you! - to get it off the line. Thankfully it was only slightly damp.

The storm cut power to my place so I couldn't even make a cup of tea (very annoying), or read my book. It passed after 40 min or so, but now we're getting a second storm cell. Just what I needed - all this lovely rain and no tank to put it in (our complex doesn't have tank water even though town water tastes bloody awful).

So this was my Saturday wake-up call... and I just wanted to sleep in this morning too.

Steampunk... whuh?

2011-09-20T14:12:00.000+10:00

Okay, I've never given much thought about Steampunk. It always sounded too sci-fi for me, that is until I took the advice of one of the guys at my old bookshop. Although I was still hesitant about trying it, the cover was so intriguing I thought "what the hell?"

I don't regret my decision. The Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger (love the logo) is truly wonderful. It is full of the customary corsets and carriages, teapots and tiaras, that one expects from a period series, but don't let the Victorian setting put you off from reading this awesome series. Our heroine kicks butt with her jumped up hi-tech parasol.

For those of us who adore a little supernatural spice, you will get your fill of werewolves, vampires and other things that go bump in the night - rest assured that they play a major part in the storyline. The central story revolves around a bluestocking, Alexia Tarabotti. A lady of Italian extraction, who just happens to be soulless. Her curse, if that is how one wishes to view it, is that if she touches another supernatural being, they become human - and can be killed.

And if that didn't set her apart enough, then Alexia has the most superficial and gossip-mongering family. If I was in Alexia's shoes I would have tried to do away with them long before now. . . hint hint

And yes, I know it's actually 'An Alexia Tarabotti Novel', but it doesn't have the same ring as the Parasol Protectorate does it :D

About the Books

So far there are four books available in the Parasol Protectorate series, with Timeless being released on 28 Feb 2012;

Soulless

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

Changeless

Alexia Tarabotti, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears - leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can.

She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

Blameless

Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.

While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.

Heartless

Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband's past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux's latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant.

Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf's clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama's second best closet?

Timeless

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.

Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

UPDATE - this does seem to be the last book in the series {searching for tissues to sniffle into} however Ms Carriger is planning another series set in the same funky Victorian period, only 25 years earlier, and at a Finishing School.

About the Author

Ms. Carriger began writing in order to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in Higher Learning. Ms. Carriger then traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She now resides in the Colonies, surrounded by a harem of Armenian lovers, where she insists on tea imported directly from London and cats that pee into toilets. She is fond of teeny tiny hats and tropical fruit. Find out more about the author at gailcarriger.com

PS all book descriptions and author bio were taken from Amazon. The bio is the same in the back of the books, but it just saved time to cut and paste.

Freezing west of the Great Divide

2011-09-17T10:57:00.000+10:00

Hi there folks,

It's been quite a long time since I've been able to sit down and blog. Finally got my internet connected again yesterday - yippee - and can now surf to my hearts content. Seeing how I've moved west I forsee a great deal of time spent online, whether it be emailing, messaging or skyping family and friends back home.

The weather here has been a real eye-opener. Back on the coast, my family are enjoying nightly temperatures of about 9-12°c, but over here I haven't been quite so lucky. In the three weeks that I've called this town home there hasn't been a night when the mercury has risen above 5°c, indeed the other night it was a chilly 1°c! Seriously, that's like being in Antarctica for a Queenslander!

I'm still finding it hard to be by myself. At night there is a silence that I'm just not used to yet. My little cat keeps me company, but I find that I do miss the daily interaction I had with my family, friends and neighbours. Thankfully I'm in an area that reminds me of home. There is little traffic noise in my street, and there is a park only a few doors down, which means that I can hear the numerous species of birds as they forage during the day. It may not be much, but it does make this strange environment seem a little less foreign.

The one thing I don't think I'll get used to in a hurry is no shopping on Sundays! Yes, that right people. The towns shopping centre shuts down on Sunday. I haven't had to worry about shops closed on a Sunday for over 10 years! They should tell people these things when they move into a new town. Thank God I didn't have to get anything vital, just a few odds and sods. Lucky for me I was able to flag down an old gentleman with a shopping bag and ask him where he had shopped. So I do have one or two food shops as an option, but seriously, no Big W, clothes shops, anything. I feel like I've stepped back in time about 20 years.

Anyhow I must dash. Adieu for now possums. I'm off to find some warmer blankets to adorn my bed with. I have a feeling I'm going to need them tonight as its only 10.20am here - and I'm freezing already! . . . now which box were they in . . .

Gardeners little helper

2011-09-06T15:38:00.002+10:00

I couldn't find her on the patio until I looked at the pot!

Unpacking sucks

2011-08-28T07:46:00.001+10:00

Have just about unpacked. The place looked a complete mess for the first few days with boxes everywhere! I was so sore the first night. With 17 steps to navigate my feet were throbbing and aching like you wouldn't believe - even a hot soak in a deep footbath didn't help. Remind me never to move again. . . or at least not to d.i.y it next time!

Now, its looking more like a home. All the kitchen stuff is washed and put away and I now have a fridge. Will put up a pic soon. Need to organise internet connection still.

Ah, home sweet home!

Return to Wonderland

2011-08-17T10:29:00.000+10:00

Wow, what luck. I was passing our local EB (Electronic Boutique) shop the other day and decided to look around. Among the utter violent crap I happened to spot a lonely DVD case on a high shelf. Grabbing it, I couldn't believe that I'd gotten my hands on the last copy of Alice: Madness Returns that they had!

I'm not really into PC games - or Xbox, PS whatever, etc - but I just had to have it. I found a copy of the original game at a local cheap shop for about $8 (na-na-neh na na) and found it to be entertaining, you know, for a complete gaming novice. So with that in mind, I bit the bullet and bought A:MR.

Okay, its a lot harder {oy, no laughing at the newbie!} and the graphics are certainly better than the first Alice. The Cheshire Cat is back in all his tribal glory, as Alice, ably accompanied by her trusty Vorpal Blade, hunts for the monster corrupting Wonderland. . . again.

This series hasn't gotten the best of reviews, but I don't care. I love the Alice in Wonderland story and collect the books, movies and games. The only thing I've found disappointing about this game so far is that there is no Offical (or Unofficial for that matter) Strategy Guide. Some enterprising people have guides online for PS3, etc, but as yet no PC versions. There isn't even a PC Cheat list!

Anyhow, must dash. I'm off to run havoc in Wonderland - will be back in time for tea! :P

Moving Day approaches

2011-08-15T09:59:00.000+10:00

Well, this Friday it will be official. I will be signing the lease for my unit.... woohoo!

I'm so excited by the move, but I also feel queasy at the thought of striking out on my own. Thankfully, family will be less than 2 hours away. So stiff upper lip and all that.

It's an exciting time but reality is hitting me as I now need to organise to have all my stuff hauled out there. There will be boxes everywhere in the coming week or so. I have so many books its not funny - and I can't even take my huge bookcase because it's too heavy! The furniture shops out west are sure going to luv me :P

My only real problem will be getting my cat out there. Poor little darlin' gets upset if you drive down the end of the street with her stuck in the noisy growling people-mover. Two hours over the mountain range is just going to suck. . . I think I'll hit the vets before I go to get her something to calm her down.

Oh, and then there is my collection of plants, ferns, roses. How the hell is this going to work?

Meanwhile, I'm just about to start another lot of units in my studies. Oh, joy - not. I certainly didn't pick the best time in the world to move, did I? I'll have to chose the least demanding of my remaining units so that I don't stress while I'm settling in. Who'd of thought that there would be so many details to see to? Insurance, rent, utilities, internet, mobile phone coverage, changing address with everyone (banks, school, etc), arranging new Dr's, vet, dentist, finding a good hairdresser . . . oh God, the list never ends!

Woohoo!

2011-08-11T12:33:00.001+10:00

I've been trying to find a place to rent for the last two years. I have pets, I don't want to share, the GFC shot the rental market to hell, etc, etc.

Well, the other afternoon I received a phone call out of the blue (actually it came during the delivery of the couches - but that's another story :p) with the offer of a unit!

I won't be able to move for few weeks, but I don't care. . . I got a place!

Oh God, that means I have to pack up all my books. . .

Ouch!

2011-08-09T09:59:00.000+10:00

Am feeling soooooo sore today. New couches arriving tomorrow, so old one moved into office. . . Only it took 3 of us to move it.... stupid big butt couch. The new couches had better be heavenly or I'll be really ticked off.

Anyhoo, will be sleeping with the hot water bottle tonight :P Fingers crossed I can move tomorrow.

In other news, during the massive cleanup I found some old copies of the Merry Gentry series that I had squirrelled away. I do enjoying them, but. . . I don't know. I think my squickiness over the AB series is rubbing off on it - or maybe I just need a nap :-)

Hit List surprise

2011-08-05T11:20:00.001+10:00

Talk about a total surprise! I was so sure that reading the latest offering in the Anita Blake would leave me feeling disappointed that I nearly didn't read it. Happily, instead of finding Anita and friends burning up the sheets by page 10, I found myself reminded of LKH's earlier style of Anita Blake novel - she's back baby!

Edward's role in this story just reinforced my feelings. Olaf is back, but this time he isn't Anita's biggest problem. She's away from her power base, and the Mother of All Darkness is still after her.

I won't give away the whole plot, but if you've thought that the series had lost it's shiny, then you'll be pleasantly surprised.

While not as good as books 1 - 10, its certainly no Skin Trade.

Give her another chance.

Back to Middle Earth

2011-07-25T17:15:00.001+10:00

Just finished watching Lord of the Rings DVDs. Still absolutely amazed by the landscapes of middle earth, aka New Zealand, especially the snow capped mountains that seem endless in the background. Can't wait for The Hobbit!

Caved and bought the 50th anniversary 3-in-1 hard cover edition and even found a 70th anniversary copy of The Hobbit. Wish airmail was a little faster! :-)

New Books, New Units

2011-07-18T09:58:00.000+10:00

I've fallen back into my rut. I've got assignments due, but have found myself unable to concentrate on them 100% and have fallen back into my bookshelf to escape. I'd say that this is a bad habit, but I've aced all my units so far, so maybe there's something to this?

A few months ago I bought myself some new roses (bare root stock) and just thought that I'd brag a little here as the first of my roses has blossomed. It is a gorgeous pink and I'm only sorry that you don't get a chance to smell it because the rose scent that wafts my way when I walk passed it is heavenly. This is my beautiful 'Jacaranda'.

Next to flower should be 'Eiffel Tower' which nearly died on me the first week it was in the pot (harsh westerly winds), and now my favourite, Mister Lincoln, has a bud. Should be inundated with roses soon. Ahhh, beautiful!

I forsee buying myself an outdoor lounger and sitting in the sun, reading my favourite books while being surrounded by the intoxicating smell of my roses. Hmmm, I don't know why, but I feel like a cup of tea now?
(PS - I blame this on too much Miss Marple :-P )

Santa Claws!

2011-07-04T12:25:00.002+10:00

As you know, it's been rather chilly here. So to commiserate with the weather, I decided to sort out my craft box and all the wool I've been amassing over the last few years. Ah, blessed warm wool. I bravely dug deep and dragged out some wool and a few patterns, plus projects started last year (oops - my bad), and decided to get stuck into them. I'm nearly finished knitting a huge chunky wool shawl in verigated autumn colours, and will post pic when complete. I did happen to complete a santa's bonnet for the cat. I know, it sounds strange, but it's for a local knitting competition.

So, with a ball of half used red that just screamed 'Christmas', I took some measurements (when I could get the tape measure on her), made up a pattern and off I went. My cat was not the happiest of models during the various stages of construction....

Do I have to? I look like such a dork!

Little Cat on the Prairie

That's IT! I'm outta here!

Oh God... just get it over with!

And after a few hours - and a few bribes for the cat - the Santa Claws hat was finished! Yes. One project down, many more to go. Now if I could only get the her to look at the camera instead of hiding her face. Hmmmm....

Is Paranormal fiction the new Historical Romance?

2011-06-30T11:17:00.001+10:00

Do you ever feel like just about every book you pick up these days has a supernatural flavour to it? Have we, as a generation, just fallen out of love with the average Jo and Jane story? I think we have.

I was trolling through my large bookshelves the other night and found, to my horror, that a huge percentage of space was devoted to romances of the paranormal kind. It seems that Paranormal romance has become the new Historical Romance. We are bombarded with covers of sexy vampires, witches, or werewolves. If you walk into K-Mart, Big W, Target, or any other shop that sells books, all the romances are tucked away in a little corner while the Vampires, Witches and Werewolves are in your face up the front. The extra tinge of dangerous love seems to have hit the spot with most women these days.

Seriously, which of these books would you buy?

Think about what your local bookshop was selling 15-20 years ago. Fabio was the hottest cover model out there, and if the blurb mentioned hunky knights, corsets and castles we bought it. Fast foward 15 years and we are no longer drawn to a cover with Fabio manhandling his wench - face it, we cringe and put it down, nor does the windswept vista of a medieval castle high on a hill in the background have the power to woo us. Have we just become too jaded?

Now, feeling a little shamefaced, I went to one of the boxes where I store some of my older books, and sure enough there they were. All my old favourites, slightly battered and looking extremely well read. I felt like I'd just discovered old friends that I hadn't realised I'd missed. There were my favourite romances that I'd discovered in high school (French was quite boring at times), and found my old Johanna Lindsey's. The Mallory's and who could forget Warrior's Woman - my first Sci-fi/Fantasy romance.

I still have Nora Roberts' The Donovan trilogy (Captivated, Entranced and Charmed) and even some one-off historical romances that I'd managed to rescue from library book sales. All of them, waiting patiently in this old brown box for the day when they'd be read again. I don't have the heart to put them back in the box, and I don't want to get rid of them . . . I guess that means I'll be getting a bigger bookcase instead.

Twitter or bust?

2011-06-28T11:55:00.000+10:00

The other day I did something that I never, ever, ever thought I'd do... I joined - wait for it people - Twitter!

{gasps... and pause for dramatic effect}

Yep, that's right. I've now joined the Twitter Army. I'm blaming this on my new phone. Accessing Twitter, Facebook, etc, is free in Australia with my plan. So I caved - hanging head in shame now.

The weird thing was, I was only joining so I could follow the random quips, quotes and ravings of some of my favourite authors and actor. I hadn't written a line... and I still got a follower! Who da thought?

So now I'm stumped as to what I should be writing. Should I try and be profound? Quote the greats or even the not so greats? I sure as heck don't want to be one of those twitterers who post my every move, thought or purchase. I'll give it some serious thought while I familiarise myself with the Twitterverse. If you've got any tips on what to write about, please let me know :P

Apart from that, my Robyn Carr books finally arrived from Amazon! Yippeeee Skippy! I can now snuggle up in my bed (that I now have 2 doona's on and 1 blanket) and loose myself in the Virgin River series books 1-4.

Also arriving in the order was the unabridged audio book Fingerlickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich. Everyone has one little guilty please, and the Stephanie Plum series is mine. I just love it. It has been flagging just a little lately, but fingers crossed that the new book kicks some major butt.

Andrea Kane rocks!

2011-06-26T17:03:00.001+10:00

Ms Kane is such an underrated author, in my humble opinion. Having read five of her murder-mysteries, including Scent of Danger (which is the book that first brought Andrea Kane to my attention) and the fantastic Twisted whose delusional, depraved killer had me feeling pity for him.

If you're ever wanting a gritty police procedural mystery, or looking for an interesting background story for your characters, then look no further.

Is there a Doctor in the house?

2011-06-20T10:17:00.001+10:00

I have been watching the new Doctor Who series on the ABC and I realised that this new Doctor is growing on me - who knew? I do prefer the previous Doctor, portrayed to perfection by the delightfully wonderful David Tennant. So in honour of this truly fabulous Doctor, I'm putting up a wallpaper of my own design. Enjoy!

It's here! It's finally here!

2011-06-19T10:31:00.001+10:00

Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday my copy of Magic Slays finally arrived! Yippeeeeee!!!
It is only about, oh let me see ... nearly 2 weeks late, but I don't care about that now. All that matters is that I could finally read it. I've been trying to stay away from the reviews - I confess that I did sneek a peek at the amazon reviews - and tried to read it with an open mind. What can I say? I LOVED IT!

The way the story is told is a little different than previous books, plus an added bonus of finding out more about Kate's mother. Curran is still bossy, manipulative, domineering, umm... snarly, steely eyed and all that, but his behaviour in no way detracts from the chemistry between him and Kate. For those of you who still haven't read it (would you like a tissue to stem your tears of regret?) this book leads the continuing story of Kate in a new direction. There are more factions working together against Roland, and the Order has been compromised - but is that with or without asshole Ted's approval?

All our favourite's are in this story - except for Dali and Raphael! I couldn't believe that he was only mentioned in passing a few times... what the? Hopefully he will pop up in the next installment in all his furry glory. And to say Julie has a bad time is a total understatement, but as River Song always says 'Spoilers', so I shan't tell you what happens to her... hehe.

If you've loved the books and followed them religiously from Magic Bites, then you'll love Magic Slays. My rating for this book? 2 paws up!

Our Lady of Immaculate Deception

2011-06-15T09:25:00.002+10:00

Okay, this book is a doozy. Nancy Martin, who also writes the Blackbird Sisters Mystery series, has come up with a character that has more than a few issues. To put it simply, I did like this book but I had more than a few problems with Roxy Abruzzo, owner and manager of an architectural salvage company, who sleeps with anything that has a dick at the drop of a hat! Seriously, she doesn’t even have to know the guy but will fling him a condom and “...test his mileage.” Hey, don’t blame me. Her quote, not mine. Now if she wasn’t such a . . . what’s the word I’m looking for . . . slut (and I really hate that word) then this would be a really great book. If you can however get past her not so endearing hobby, Roxy is a funny, tough, level headed, independent single mum who struggles to pay the bills and stay out of her Uncle Carmine’s employment (mob boss), yet is loyal to her friends like Nooch.

I have no idea whether this is part of a series, but I can definitely see more books featuring Roxy. This gals got so much baggage to work through that you could get a whole Eve Dallas sized series out of her. Her ex-lover Patrick Flynn (and father of her daughter) is back in her life, a nice enough guy who’s troubled past is hinted at here and there, but he’s dating someone. You can see the sparks fly between Flynn and Roxy that would have them wind up together in any future books, but with all the emotional baggage weighing them both down they’d more than likely sink like a bloody stone. An emotional train crash just waiting to happen.

The storyline for this book is simple, wife burns down house (with husband and his mistress inside), and from the ruins Roxy salvages a few items – including a nude Greek statue. Turns out that this statue is worth an absolute fortune and was being hidden in plain site by the family’s matriarch (who is in and out of a convenient coma at a nursing home) and when her son is killed the same night Roxy takes the statue then it turns into a race against time until she can offload the antique for a good price, or the killer finds her.

The real scene stealer for me in this book was Rooney. A moth eaten looking pit bull Roxy adopted that loves his momma, and will take a bite out of your arse at her say so.

Now, I’m not sure if I’d ever buy this book to put on my bookshelf, but I can see myself borrowing it again in the future. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone who isn’t keen on reading sex scenes, not that it’s terribly graphic, but she does get around. You do get sucked into Roxy’s world so it doesn’t take long to read. Great for a bus or train, or even during your lunch hour.

Rating: 3 / 5

Birthday shout

2011-06-13T09:38:00.002+10:00

I just want to say Happy Birthday to my favourite aunt. I hope you enjoy today, and are spoiled beyond redemption... hehe

Rumour Mill

2011-06-12T13:02:00.005+10:00

I've been wondering for many months now just when I'd see the next Merry Gentry book. It has been sooo long between drinks, and there have been more than a few Anita Blake books released.

Was the Merry Gentry series going to be killed off?

or had Anita just kidnapped LKH?

The truth is that none of that happened. And while I, personally, have not enjoyed the last few Anita books (and be truthful, are you really happy with the way Anita has changed?), LKH is preparing another Merry book. Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..... huh? Just not for 2011!

"I have begun work on the next one, actually, but it will not be out this year. The demise of the series and various other rumors have been greatly exaggerated, or just plain made up out of whole-cloth."

I found a blog entry on LKH's newly, and fabulously, revamped website here. So if you want to read the real reasons behind the disappearance of new Merry books from bookstore shelves, and wish to pray to the Goddess of Fertility, then go there.

Too much?

2011-06-09T17:15:00.001+10:00

It is officially freezing! The mercury didn't budge above 12°c today. At the moment I'm rugged up in Tracksuit pants, Jersey top, a fluffy dressing gown and under a blanket and doona! I feel like a trussed up Turkey. I'll be making sure that my hot water bottle is ready to go tonight, and think warm thoughts.

Hey, it worked!

2011-06-09T11:01:00.000+10:00

Well, what do you know... blogging via mobile works! Look out world :D

Gotta be quick. I'm freezing my butt off at the local McDonald's. Anyway, as promised I started to make a Curran wallpaper. I'm not too sure if this is the final design, but thought that I'd put a small pic of it up. Let me know if you like it or not, or if you can suggest the perfect human to be Curran.

Think warm thoughts guys. I'm outta here......

On the go

2011-06-09T08:31:00.001+10:00

Just downloaded a blog app. Hopefully this will work. So far its force closed twice. I'm beginning to think that some of the negative comments were right!

If this does work, then it means I'll be able to blog whenever the muse strikes. Wish me luck.

Needing a Kate Daniel's fix?

2011-06-08T12:09:00.001+10:00

Well, look no further. I've been feeling a tad creative lately, so I asked myself "...what wallpaper do I really, really, really want to have on my desktop?" and as I'm waiting for my copy of Magic Slays to arrive, the answer pops into my head - Kate Daniels of course!

So here is a 1680x1050 wallpaper I knocked up.

And before you tell me, yes, I know this isn't her usual sword. Work with me people!

Enjoy :D

PS - am working on a Curran wallpaper now. Will post as soon as it's ready!

Who ya gonna call?

2011-06-05T10:55:00.000+10:00

Okay, take two.

I tried to post this entry earlier but it went into the ether. So here it is again . . . huh hmmmm

I just got my new mobile phone yesterday. I love it. It's only my 2nd ever mobile, but the first connected to the internet. My old faithful phone lasted for 11 years, but lately had been a bit dodgy, so I upgraded plans and got a new phone. Yesterday I just explored all the apps - and couldn't resist adding kindle - but the book I was bursting to get isn't available to Australia! I had that happen before. They don't mind selling you paperbacks, hardcovers, audiobooks but not the kindle! Heavens forbid that we would want to purchase an ebook! Okay, over it.

So I've been adding contacts, and basically customising it to my desires.

PS - Would add a pic, but I keep running into this stupid 'cloud picker' box when I try to upload an image. Will add one when I can.

Gotta Dance!

2011-05-21T11:43:00.001+10:00

Have been feeding my silver screen fix for the last few days. I recently pulled out and dusted off my boxed set of 'That's Entertainment' and spent a few hours just watching Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ann Miller and company light up the screen.

It really has been ages since I have even so much as glanced at the 'classics' section of my DVDs, but I saw something on TV earlier this week and it just got me hankering to watch my all time favourite legend Gene Kelly. Unfortunately for moi I'd forgotten that I've packed most of my DVDs away in boxes - to save room for my books - oops! So I sought comfort on the net, trying to find a couple of really great photos. Talk about trying to find a needle in a haystack!

I did happen across a truly wonderful photo thanks to a friend who emailed it to me {big thanks to you!}. I just have to show you because it shows Gene Kelly the man, not the polished star. For all you Kelly fans out there, little white attic, enjoy!

Who do you love?

2011-05-16T12:25:00.001+10:00

I've been asked this question a lot lately, "Who is your favourite author?" and while I could take the easy way out and just say Jane Austen, Karen Rose, or which ever author I'm currently devouring, this morning I just sat and really thought about it for awhile and came to the conclusion that I'm not a one author gal. I just can't honestly say that I love one author above all others.

During said rumination I bounced from literary snobbishness ". . .but I only read the classics!", to Para-Rom tart where only Kate Daniels, Elena Deveraux and other kick-ass heroines are welcome. So were do you draw the line? If I'm totally honest with myself and you, it really depends on when you ask me. So as you've asked me today this is my answer.

In no particular order, here are the top ten author's that have pride of place on my bookshelves.

• Laurell K Hamilton - Anita Blake (books 1-10 only) and Merry Gentry series
• JD Robb/Nora Roberts
• Kylie Chan
• Ilona Andrews - Kate Daniels rocks
• Anne Bishop
• Ella Wheeler Wilcox - brilliant poet
• Nalini Singh - Guild Hunters series
• Jane Austen - Je rêve de toi, Mr Darcy
• Janet Evanovich, and finally
• Stephanie Laurens

Yes, I know I have an ecclectic palate. It seems my tastes vary wildly in both literature and music. You'll notice that some names are missing, and while I really enjoyed Christine Feehan, Sharon Sala, the Arcane Society and Twilight series I wouldn't class them as some of my all-time favourites. These are the books that I just can't help but return to again, and again, and again, and again . . . you get the idea.

Do you agree with me? Let me know if you think I should include a certain author in my top ten.

PS - for those Kate Daniels fans out there I have included a small banner and picture that I've made for Curran. Hope you enjoy.

A mini milestone achieved!

2011-05-15T13:01:00.000+10:00

woo hoo! 100 blog entries posted . . . go me! I wondered how long it would take me to reach it.

For this momentus occassion, I'm going to share with you a truly simple but scrummy recipe for BBQ Pork Spare Ribs (they'll be ready for lunch) that came from an unlikely source.

I've been cooking this periodically for more than 10 years, and so far to date it's turned out perfectly each time.

If you want to, adjust the spices and salt to suit your tastes. I use just a plain old run-of-the-mill tomato sauce, but you could use any type of catsup you fancy.
Okay, first the recipe. I've used Pork, but you can use any type of meat you want.

click to enlarge

Now this recipe actually comes from a beat up old cookbook that I found in a thrift shop called Gone with the Wind Cook Book. Usually recipes found in some of the 'movie' based cookbooks are a tad bizaar and not food that I'd usually cook. If you ever come across this recipe book, snap it up. The recipes are simple and easy to reproduce time and time again.

Gardening anyone?

2011-05-11T12:14:00.000+10:00

Sorry about the lack of entries lately. I've been absorbed by my gardening projects at the moment. I've been up to my elbows in potting mix and mulch planting roses and veggie plants.

To read about my 'missing time' from this blog, head on over to A Lazy Gardener to see what I've been doing.

Will be posting new reviews of Nora Roberts Chasing Fire and Treachery in Death by JD Robb when back. Should also have my new delivery of books from the UK by then.

It's nearly here!

2011-04-26T13:43:00.000+10:00

I can't believe it's nearly time to order in the new Kylie Chan book! I have been reading this series since it first hit the shelves. Although set in modern day Hong Kong (mostly), they delve into the world of Eastern mythology so realisticly that you don't even question why centuries old demons are using mobile phones ;-D

The latest offering, Heaven to Wudang, is the last book in the second trilogy - confusing I know - and will hit Australian and New Zealand shelves on 1 June 2011.

Ancient Chinese mythology comes to life in this bestselling series of martial arts and demons,

dragons and gods, legends and lies ... and a journey to the depths of Hell.

The demons that could control stones and elementals have been defeated, but the most powerful of Simon Wong′s associates still remains -- the one who can create almost undetectable copies of humans and Shen. This demon has allied with Kitty Kwok and together they plot to trap Emma and Simone in a web of copies.

Wudang Mountain is enveloped by dark foreboding as Xuan Wu begins to reappear -- sometimes human, sometimes turtle, but always without memory. Emma and Simone must race from Hong Kong to Hanoi as

they try to rescue Xuan Wu before the demons capture him.

This is not the last book in the series ladies and gentlemen. This is only the conclusion of the 2nd trilogy and yep, you guessed it. There is one more trilogy to go!

Spider Update

2011-04-20T12:03:00.000+10:00

Oops, nearly forgot. Remember that funky spider I spotted on my rose? Well, it turns out that she was just a large, but common variety of garden spider. My bad! {hangs head in shame} I finally got a good look at her after sunset. She was not the best subject to photograph as she kept moving or curling up into a tight ball so the quality of the photo isn't that great.

PS - she must not have liked the fact that her picture was going to be posted online as she scarpered the next day.

Bored senseless

2011-04-20T11:53:00.001+10:00

It's time for the Easter holidays here in Australia so every child (and their iPhones) are roving around the shopping centres in packs. Thank GOD it's been too much trouble to go into town for anything other than the basics.

This week has been one of the most boring that I can remember. I've been re-reading books that I've already digested many times over, TV has just had the most annoying and stupid programs on - and those that I've actually wanted to watch have coincided with others of interest making me choose, damn it. {stamping foot in little tantrum} With all this rain any outdoors activities or chores have had to be postponed as it is extremely soggy underfoot. I ask you, what's a girl to do?

To fill up some time I've been studying - again boring - and trying to keep my mind active with lists and notes, etc.

Stick a fork in me, I'm done. I'll just crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head . . . wake me when it's over!

What happened to the weather?

2011-04-16T13:37:00.000+10:00

Yesterday was a perfectly crisp Autumn day. Today? Back to rain! Come on. . .

So today I'm sitting in front of the computer, studying as well as playing around with my blogs. All I'm really thinking about is being able to get back to my room and cosying up on the bed with my blanket, a cup of tea, a good book and some chocolate - okay, no chocolate since cutting back was my new years resolution, but you know what I mean.

At the moment I'm re-reading my Stephanie Laurens books. I've started off with the Bastion Club since this is the only series that she has completed. I'm up to the fourth book, A Fine Passion, Jack and Clarice's story. Sometimes I have to make myself read all the books in a series, not just my favourites.

You can tell which ones I like by the spines :)

Weird spider

2011-04-15T12:11:00.000+10:00

This has to be the weirdest spider that I have ever seen. She has built a nest in the petal of my rose bush. Her green colouring meant that I nearly touched her when I went to wipe what I thought was a catapillers silk off the leaf. It gave me one heck of a shock I can tell you.

I called out to my aunt, who is an ex-Pest Inspector, to find out if she recognised it. All she could tell me was that it was a garden spider of some variety. It's like nothing we've ever had here. She is a pretty apple green colour with black dots on her thorax similar to a ladybeetle. On her butt on either side of her spinners are 2 black dots that look like eyes. Do you recognise what kind of spider she is? If so I'd love to find out.

How Cute!

2011-04-13T09:31:00.000+10:00

Australia Zoo,on the Sunshine Coast has welcomed a baby white Rhino calf in the wee hours of this morning. The newborn - who weighs in at more than 60kg (ouch!) - was born at 3.15am to mother Caballe. This is her 4th calf, but the first born to the zoo. Incidentally, Caballe is originally from Hamilton Zoo, NZ. I've been watching 'The Zoo' on Gem that shows a behind the scenes look at the Hamilton and Auckland Zoo's. Don't remember seeing her yet, but maybe in future eps.

The SMH has posted an online article with some photos of the new bub here.

ANZAC Day approaches

2011-04-12T12:33:00.000+10:00

It's that time of the year again. We received our first ANZAC Day flyer in the mail today. I tend to get all emotional over ANZAC Day. It celebrates those that made the ultimate sacrifice in aide of their country. My grandfather lost two of his uncles - one in Egypt, and one on the Somme. Although he never spoke much about them, you could tell that his memories of the war were still very much vivid.

Each year our little town has a ceremony around the memorial in the local park. For a community who seems to be loosing it's community spirit, I am amazed that each year more and more locals seem to be attending the ceremony.

Last year we grew some beautiful poppies (below) and even put some on the shrine. Hopefully they'll be just as good this year.

I found a 'Making Poppies' PDF from the Australian War Memorial for kids and thought that I'd put it up here.

It seems that nearly 100 years later, nothing much has changed. People still die in the name of their country. You would have thought we'd have evolved a little bit beyond that, wouldn't you?

Sunny days

2011-04-11T12:41:00.000+10:00

Finally, a sunny day!

After what feels like forever the sun has finally peaked out from behind the clouds to grace us with a truly spectacular autumn day. All that it needs to top it off would be some autumn leaves falling - but it doesn't get cold enough for that here.

There are two liquid ambers in the park down the street and the poor things only start to loose their leaves when it hits winter here (down to about 5°c / 41°f at night). At the moment its in the high teens at night, but still chilly enough to put on a heavier bedspread.

Have to get a few plants repotted today (poor ferns) and lightly prune the roses in pots as a certain creepy crawlie has decided to take up residence somewhere amongst the leaves.

So, I'll finish downloading study materials, have lunch and then enjoy the sun while it lasts.

Misplaced photo's

2011-04-10T12:10:00.001+10:00

I recently found a number of digital photo's that I'd taken ages ago (and forgotten about . . . oops!).

Seeking go hide, go hiding go seeking.
I'm seeking for you, your hiding from me.

Beautiful Day Lily in back yard

Cutest little bee

St. Andrews Cross spider catching her dinner

Goddess Summoning series

2011-04-08T11:52:00.001+10:00

Yesterday I found the next book in the Goddess Summoning series by P.C. Cast that is being re-issued in Australia - with new covers of course. Goddess of Spring is the tale of Hades, God of the Underworld, and how he falls in love with his queen.

"Lina's trendy bakery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is proving to be less than lucrative and when she stumbles upon an Italian Goddess cookbook, she can't help but think she's found the answer to her problem - even if it meanbs invoking a goddess to save her business. Soon enough, Lina finds herself face to face with Demeter, who has a plan of her won. She proposes that Lina exchange souls with the Goddess of Spring, Persephone, who will breathe new life into the bakery. In return, Lina must bring order to the Underworld.

Now that she embodies the enchantingly beautiful Persephone, Lina has weightier things on her mind than dough and second dates - like the formidable task of bringing spring to a world of spirits. But when the handsome, brooding Hades kindles a spark in her heart, Lina wonders if this Lord of the Underworld might be the man of her dreams . . ."

This book was an enchanting read. I have previously devoured her Goddess of Legend, the Roses, and of Troy, but was a little hesitant about the story of Hades and Persephone/Lina. Thank God that I ignored my concerns and dived in. Cast has a way of breathing new life into mythology and making it more of a modern day romance than a 2000 year old story. Hades is wonderfully insecure with Lina and Lina is just magical, including her connection to animals, especially the dread steed of Hades, Orion, and a certain three headed canine guardian of the Underworld. While not a long and complicated story, it will transport you into a world of Gods and Goddesses. Try it, I heartily recommend this series.

Rating: 3½ / 5

Back in the Saddle

2011-04-05T12:54:00.000+10:00

. . . for now anyway. Seems that my contrary computer's modem is playing nice today so I can finally go online and do some studying. The downtime has given me a chance to catch up on some reading. I've dived back into my regency books, Stephanie Laurens only, and using this extra time have re-read some of my not-so-favourite titles - you know, just to see if time has made them any better. Guess what? It worked! I was never too fond of the last book in the Bastion Club series (Christian Allardyce, Marquess of Dearne's story) but found that having not read any regencies for over 6 months, I got into it. While it is by no means my favourite book in the series, I did enjoy it a lot more.

I'm still waiting - not so patiently now - for my Amazon UK parcel to arrive. I bought a copy of Jean Auel's Land of Painted Caves for mum, plus a copy of Treachery in Death by JD Robb. I know that I could reserve a copy of the book from the library, but I'm doggedly waiting for my copy to arrive. . . someday?

On the home front, the weather has turned rather chilly the last few nights. Not doona weather really, but you certainly need more than a light blanket on the bed. This gave me a case of 'spring cleaning', so I attacked my rooms, dug through the linen cupboard and washed my flanelette sheets (no laughing okay) so that they would be nice and fresh to sleep in. There's nothing nicer than snuggling down in a freshly made bed to sleep at night.

I just thought I'd throw this in here at the end. Our local neighbourhood peacocks are still on the loose here. I woke up the other morning to find the beautiful male just wandering past my back door. I rushed in to get the camera but by the time I got back to the door all I managed to get was a photo of his tail feathers disappearing around the corner of the tank. So I crept up on the back landing, quiet as a mouse, and managed to locate them around the other side of the house. I waited until they made their way back towards the shed before I managed to get a picture of the cheeky little buggars. They are as quick as lightning when they want to be, and have you heard their calls? They sound like a sick goose on steroids! Hooooonk, hooooonk. That when they aren't screaming bloody murder. There's an old couple that used to live on acreage at the end of our street that used to breed them. As a child, you'd hear them going at night, and I would have sworn it was some poor screaming her lungs out.

Back to study

2011-04-02T11:46:00.000+10:00

Well, it's that time again. Have gotten my results from my last 2 units (passed both with flying colours. . . yippee!), and am embarking on my next units. With my internet all FUBAR'd I am relying on McDonalds free wi-fi, as previously mentioned, and am seriously considering moving so that I won't have to worry about this in the future. I've been thinking about moving for the last few months. Don't get me wrong, I love the town where I live. I've been here nearly all my life and I love the quietness that only a small country town can provide.

Since our shire has just exploded over the last 20 years - we're now condsidered part of the outer northern suburbs of Brisbane and that's over 50kms south of us - it is time to move on I feel. Things have changed so much, and the developments that have been undertaken over those years have no rhyme or reason. Just a money making venture with no thought as to how it has impacted on this once lovely rural dairy town.

Anyway, I digress. So I'm trying to get some work done on the next units so that I will hopefully be finished with this course by the end of the year. Keep your fingers crossed for me ladies and gentlemen.

PS - have had limited leisure reading time lately, so no new books to mention. With winter coming on I dug out my old craft books instead to find winter woollies patterns to undertake this year.

Retro TV weekend

2011-03-29T09:01:00.000+10:00

The weather recently has been all over the place! It's been hot and muggy, with yesterday being cold and windy with showers. We can nearly experience 4 seasons in one day at the moment.

Being bored on the weekend, I decided to dig through the DVD shelves, determined to find something I haven't watched in years - and on the second shelf from the bottom I struck pay dirt! Red Dwarf. I bought these more than a few years ago and watched them religiously for ages, but as my tastes changed they gradually got pushed further and further down the shelves until they were sitting next to old boxed sets of CSI and ALIAS.

With only 6 or so episodes per season it doesn't take long to get through them all and to tell you the truth, I'd forgotten just how much I did like the show. I know that they tried to style an American version, but that tanked (just like when they tried to remake Kath & Kim for US TV). Favourite episodes include Nanarchy, Justice, Dimension Jump (starring Ace Rimmer. . . what a guy!), Quarrantine, Back to Reality, Legion and Epideme. I've got to finish season 8 today, but am looking forward to seeing the episode 'Cassandra' again as it guest stars Geraldine McEwan who later went on to play Miss Marple when they remade the series.

I must track down a copy of Back to Earth, but am unsure as to whether or not I'll enjoy this as I've heard so many bad reviews. Should I leave well enough alone?

Problem sorta kinda fixed

2011-03-29T08:38:00.000+10:00

Got timed out at McDonalds on Saturday and luckily a draft of my entry was saved. . .

Okay, I'm at McDonalds again and I still couldn't view my blog. 'Operation Aborted' is not what you want to see everytime you go online. So after finding a possible problem to my solution on google's blogger site I tried removing all my javascript code and voila! - it worked. So now I am back to my plain old design until I can work out what the hell went wrong.
This means getting back my tower... again. I picked it up yesterday after being assured that the modem was finally reinstalled and working only to turn the computer on this morning in anticipation of a day catching up on emails and other stuff (including my blog) only to find that it had dropped out again! So I spent the morning on the phone to them and took it back in. The tech I spoke to on the phone said it sounded like a faulty modem so hopefully I won't have to pay for any of the parts or labour. I'd better not have to anyway.
Apart from that, I spent the week pouring over the books that arrived via snail mail. It was great! I don't start my new TAFE units until Monday, and thankfully I did really well on the last 2 units so I don't have to resubmit assignments - yippee!
I'll add my views on the titles when I get up and running again. Fingers crossed for me. You really don't realise how much you use the internet, or a blog, until you can't.

Still Waiting...

2011-03-19T08:27:00.000+10:00

and waiting. It's now been over a week since I admitted my desktop for repairs. This laptop is now officially driving me nuts! I can't view my blog so you'll have to forgive me if the posts look crappy. I'm still unsure as to why I can view some blogs on my laptop, but not others. It's a mystery?

On a good note, on Tuesday I received 'River Marked' in the mail. I'll review it once I get my desktop back and can actually preview what I'm doing. As well as that, our local K-Mart and Big W have been selling discount books so I've been able to buy a handful of now OOP (out of print) Berkley Prime Crime books (or Cosy Mysteries if you prefer to call them that) that even our library - or Book Depository - have available... lucky me!

So fingers crossed that I get my faithful and trustworthy (when it feels like it) computer back today. I'd really like to do some studying {I know, I know what you're thinking... but really, the sky isn't falling chicken little!}
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Posting blind

2011-03-14T09:11:00.000+10:00

Well, my desktop computer has chucked a major tanty and is in for repairs. . . stupid modem. . . so I'm left on the laptop trying to post my updates. The only problem with this is that I actually can't view my blog on the laptop! Weird, huh? Yes, whenever I try to view my blog, it comes up with the pretty background and my header, but then nothing, nada, zip. I can't see anything. It appears to only be my blog as I've tried Karen E. Olson's blog, and others just to check. What is going on? Is it moi's computer, or the blog itself? . . . HELP!

So, if one of my entries appears a tad cock-eyed or not looking it's stellar best then blame it on my laptop for not letting me preview my entries.
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Twisted

2011-03-11T10:45:00.000+10:00

When one of her closest childhood friends disappears, former FBI

Special Agent Sloane Burbank takes the case – even though her ex-

lover Derek Parker is the agent in charge.

I’ve been waiting for 2 weeks for the postman to deliver this book to me. Andrea Kane is a favourite of mine. Her Scent of Danger was the first book I’d read by her and I found it to be a wonderful mystery. And to tell you the truth, I thought that this book would be written in the same style. I was both right and wrong in that regard. While the style was still in the same vein, this book was a more in-depth, drawn out affair delving into the turbulent world of FBI agents. Former FBI Special Agent Sloane Burbank is wonderful as the tortured heroine, struggling to get her life back together after suffering life threatening injuries in the line of duty. The breakdown of her relationship with Special Agent Derek Parker during this very emotional time has left her wary of forming relationships. That is until the call that sees her heading back into the line of fire as a case brings her back into the life of Derek.

Derek Parker is no knight in shining armour. An ex-Ranger he knows his faults, but doesn’t seem to see what happened between himself and Sloane as partly his fault. Her resignation from the agency was seen as a cowardly retreat to him. As the story evolves, and emotions rise to the surface, it is clear to readers that he loves this porcupine of a woman, but didn’t understand the depths of her trauma after her near death experience. Their love-hate relationship is wonderfully addictive to read.

The killer is suitably cunning and vicious. Ms. Kane gives you an insight into an unstable mind that is just chilling at times. When the killer was revealed I was truly shocked. I definitely wouldn’t have thought it was that person (no spoilers here :P), and even looking back there weren’t that many hints. If you figured it out before the reveal then bravo to you. Maybe I was having a slow day? Anyhow, the killers motives weren’t so out of left field that you were left scratching your head about why they did it. This time, the killer’s motives were heartbreakingly simple to divine once you know who it is.

For a mystery, cosy mystery, police procedural or thriller buff this would make a nice addition to their collection. There is a follow up book with Sloane and Derek, Drawn in Blood, that picks up six months after this book. It’s been getting mixed reviews, but I’ll be keeping my eyes out for it.

Rating: 4 / 5
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Shoot it! . . . Shoot it!

2011-03-06T16:27:00.002+10:00

As a self confessed book obsessive I was eagerly anticipating the next installment of the Anita Blake series... I should have borrowed my library's copy instead.

Although this is the 19th book in the series, it lacked the pace and storyline of the first books in the series. This book is full of the usual violence - after all, she is a vampire executioner, but the story was lacking and the characters seemed to be repeating the same mistakes over and over and over.... The sexual content of the last few books in the series has put alot of people off as the characters seem to be driven by what happens between the sheets. I want a good story where sex is part of it, not a story that revolves around how much sex they have.

What once had pride of place on my bookshelves is now pushed back behind my Mercedes Thompson, Guild Hunters, Merry Gentry and Kate Daniels books. With Hit List due out in only a few months, I'll be reserving a library copy so as not to make the same mistake again.

Why don't they like us?

2011-03-06T14:45:00.000+10:00

This was the book that started it all off... I was trolling through author Karen E. Olson's blog this morning reading a post about getting copies of her OOP 'Annie Seymour Mysteries' series. So I went on Amazon, tried to buy a copy and found out that I wasn't eligible....

WHY THE HECK NOT?

It seems truly bizaar that I can't download an copy of a book that's gone out of print. Seriously, I can order books online from Amazon (US & UK), Book Depository, etc., but not electronic books. It shouldn't be that much of an issue for people in other countries to download these items. It's not like they don't charge us enough for it anyway! Come on Amazon... Australian's read ebooks too.

Bookshelf Envy

2011-03-06T11:08:00.001+10:00

I don't think I need to say anything more :)
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Sleepless night... Miserable day

2011-03-06T10:30:00.001+10:00

It's been such a miserable day, and its not even 10am yet. Last night, the wind howled through the nearby bushland, and between the gusts hitting the house and the creaking branches... lets just say that I didn't get enough sleep. Instead, I tried to read using the closest book I could find (which turned out to be Black Hills by Nora Roberts) and spent the next hour or so taxing my already exhausted brain. So this morning I'm less than stellar. Thankfully though, the rain has held off but it is so dark and dreary outside that I've had to turn on the lights in the room. Finger's crossed that I'll be able to get some washing done today.

Unfortunately with all this rain comes boredom. I spent last night rearranging my huge bookshelf (a converted queen-sized waterbed frame that's wide enough to double up books on each shelf) trying to find a book that I was going to buy from Book Depository.... but thought it looked a tad familiar. So after pulling out over 150 books, there it was. Right on the bottom of a stack, in the back of the shelf. Cheeky little monkey it was.

Only 3 of the 6 shelves!

So today I've started my next little project. I'm going to catalogue all my books on the computer so that I can't double up on titles. Wish me luck people, because the last time I took a stocktake of any description was a few years ago and then I had more than 600 titles... and that was before my paranormal and mystery-suspense phase. I think I'm going to have to invest in a barcode reader or else my fingers just might drop off after I get through typing all the info. Oh well, it's good practice for my library course now isn't it.... so my count at the moment is 56, and only the huge bookshelf, and 2 smaller bookcases to go {looks dazed and confused}.

Thankfully the software program that I found (All My Books) lets me add items by ISBN and then searches Amazon (or Borders, etc.) for the books details. This will save me hours and hours of typing, and probably my families sanity too :D Just be aware that if you do searches in batches, and your on dial-up, it has a tendency to freeze.
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... the Order?

2011-03-01T10:04:00.000+10:00

For those of you who haven't read any of the Kate Daniels series - hang your heads in shame people - the Order is a faction in the Katieverse that our reluctant heroine, Kate Daniels, used to work for. I was actually checking to see if the Curran POV 3 was posted (it isn't), but found the "Kate Daniels Quiz 1" instead. I think I got snookered. I ended up belonging to the Order! What the....? I was at hoping for the Pack. Although once I read the little blurb that went with it it kind of fitted me. I'm just grateful I wasn't one of the People :)

If you want to see where you belong in the Katieverse, then hop on over to Ilona Andrews site, or follow the link below.

Order

You are a Knight of the Order of Merciful Aid. You're disciplined, competent, and organized. You serve a higher purpose and you tend to take a rational approach to most problems. Your mission is simply to protect mankind, even if it means protecting it from itself. You are lethal, honorable, and unfortunately, convinced that you are always right.

The Order of Merciful Aid offers exactly what it promises: merciful aid on the edge of the sword or by the burn of a bullet. Powerful and disciplined, the Order is a nation-wide organization, which consists of elite warriors and scholars.

More about the Order and other factions: http://kate.ilona-andrews.com/category/factions/

Which Faction do you belong to?

I mean seriously.... the Order?

Out and About

2011-02-28T08:44:00.000+10:00

It's a beautiful day today, and for a change I thought that I'd just have breaky at McDonalds this morning and take total advantage of the free wi-fi. I needed to do some final internet searching for my assignments and since dial-up is all we have access to at home (in a black zone for mobile phones and wireless) I made an executive decision to come into town.

Okay, it's totally overpriced these days, with an English Muffin at $1.50, and Hotcakes setting you back $3.45, but I don't mind treating myself occasionally. Today the wi-fi is a little sluggish, but not too bad. My only criticism about using a laptop at McDonalds is that there is a limited amount of booths - and all the school kids seem to be there first. Luckily today I was able to snag my favourite booth, and there aren't too many teens around. There have also been no screaming toddlers this morning which is a boon too.

So after I've finished my cuppa, I'll run a few errands and then take myself home. Early in and early out suites me just fine.

PS - tried to view my blog here, but won't load all the posts. Background looks good though :)

Seriously?

2011-02-26T10:03:00.000+10:00

I just bought myself the smallest hair straightener I've ever seen. A tiny VS MiniPro, perfect for travelling. The only thing that amazed me was that on a huge sticker on the electrical cord was a tag I'd heard about, but never seen on any of my appliances.

Really... Seriously? It really makes you wonder how many idiots did this to warrant a manufacturers warning doesn't it.

Can't win

2011-02-23T13:39:00.003+10:00

Okay, about 2 minutes after I posted the last entry what happens? I get a background image to actually load! So it's not the one I really wanted, but for the moment it'll do. I just can't understand why the one I want is the only one that doesn't seem to be working. I'm just about to nick off to my other blog and try loading on a new background and see what happens.... whew, I'm back. Turns out that apart from taking a god awful amount of time to load, it works just fine. If I was a drinking person this would send me to the liquor cabinet, but I'm not so a cup of tea will have to suffice. What a day.

Shabby where?

2011-02-23T12:32:00.000+10:00

I've been trying all day to get the bloody background up and running again. I love the Shabby Blogs backgrounds, but am having a devil of a time getting any of the codes to work at the moment. Once the page loads I get a message that says "Done, but with some errors", and a little box up in the top left corner that looks like this...

The rest of the elements load perfectly. Right background colour, correct text area... just the background image fails to upload. GRRRRRR ... Beautiful Dreamer's image, the usual background pic on this blog, seems to be m.i.a. Okay try once more - visit Shabby Blogs website, go to backgrounds, pick out ideal look, 'get code'. Copy code and paste into blogs design area (click edit html/javascript gadget). Paste into content area and save....

Results... NOTHING!

{totally fuming in front of monitor}

I'm truly hoping it's a problem on Photobuckets end cause this could drive me nuts pretty quickly. I'll give it a few more tries and hopefully I'll have some background up ASAP. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

P.S - Aqua Butterfly, a beautiful lineart on a textured aqua background, is totally gone from their catalogue. I think they've retired it! Now I'll have to find something else appropriate for my other blog. Darn it.

Surprise in Mail

2011-02-23T10:12:00.000+10:00

I got a surprise in the mail yesterday... a business sized envelope from the US. Really light, with no pages? I didn't remember writing to any of the cousins there, but they only ever email anyway.

Turning over the envelope I carefully slit the edge and pulled out.... drumroll please....

A personalised and signed bookplate from Anne Bishop!

my name blurred :P

Woohoo!

I'd totally forgotten that I'd even emailed to her when she asked online if anyone wanted signed bookplates - duh! I feel like an idiot :) So now I have a signed bookplate. I think I'm just going to stick it in my scrapbook album for the moment. I'll think of someway to display it later.

Heaven to Wudang

2011-02-15T12:10:00.000+10:00

Just found out recently that the final book in the Journey to Wudang trilogy, Heaven to Wudang, is out this June. {skipping around desk... doin' a little Shen dance} I love this series. Kylie Chan has done a fabulous job of weaving Chinese mythology into a contemporary setting. I got lost in the story, and didn't find it odd at all that this celestial world existed underneath the everyday.

Emma Donahoe is a Aussie ex-pat working in Hong Kong when she takes a full time nanny position for the mega rich Mr. John Chen. She loves his little girl Simone, and gets along great with the bodyguard Leo. But things keep happening that cause her to get suspicious. Emma's nobody's fool, and in the end unearths the big secret surrounding the Chen household. It takes most of book one for Emma to be let in on the secret, but the pace of the book doesn't suffer for this wait. The backstory is built up nicely, and you need to know this for Emma's early interactions with those in Hong Kong come back into play in later books.

While this is the final book in the trilogy, it has been confirmed that there is a final trilogy to come. Yes... three more books of Xuan Wu and Emma. I hope that we see more of Xuan Wu in this final book. For those who have already read the books, the ending of Hell to Heaven left me wondering why Xuan Wu didn't just locate Emma with his celestial spidey senses. Hopefully that will be explained in the new book. I didn't want to give away anything for those of you who haven't read it yet so sorry about the cryptic wording.

In regards to the new book, I don't know if Kylie will be doing any book signings north of Brisbane yet, but will keep fingers crossed. I can't put a pic of the dust jacket up yet as they haven't released the artwork yet, but as soon as I find a pic I'll shove it up here.

At the moment, there are no audiobooks of this series that I could locate, but I would love to get one if they ever release it. Not sure who you'd have reading it, but an Aussie is a must.

If you want to find out more about this truly excellent series, just go to http://www.kyliechan.com/ There is a forum link as well if you want to check out the boards. Just look for the Dark Heavens forum link on the homepage, up the top under the links.

New Books on the Way

2011-01-31T13:00:00.000+10:00

I've been busy online shopping the last few weeks. With all this rain there's nothing better than curling up on the couch or snuggling amongst my doona on the bed, and reading a great book. There are so many good books out these days, and buying online I can get titles sooner (and a hell of a lot cheaper) than I can in Australia.

So what do I have in the post you ask? Well... I can't stay away from a few of the trashy para-romances. I have to have my Patricia Briggs fix so "River Marked" is definitely on the list. I should be picking up Eileen Wilkes new offering in her Lupi series today as the nice postman put a parcel delivery notice in my letterbox. This should keep me occupied this afternoon. Next to arrive should be "Archangel's Consort" by Nalini Singh. Now I usually avoid the whole Angel genre, but I was drawn in by her characters. She makes you just want to reach into the book and give Raphael either a kick in the butt or a hug. Illium is wonderful and the angel that's fascinated with humans, and Elena sometimes breaks your heart as she struggles to embrace her new immortal life. Darn, I've just made myself want to read it now. Have to hold on till next week.

Then yesterday, I caved in and bought 3 - count them three - omnibuses ladies and gentlemen. I had to have the Aurora Teagarden Omnibus (Vol 1 & 2). PS - If your reading this in Australia DON'T get them from the major booksellers for $35.99. Head over to Book Depository for Vol. 2 at $16.95, and Amazon UK for the other volume which with P&H works out to just over $20. I also bought the Lily Bard Omnibus at Amazon for about £8.40! That's dirt cheap compared to Aussie bookshops. I mean what is a bookshelf without these wonderful books by Charlaine Harris? And since I'm studying to become a librarian, I have to have a least one series with a mystery solving librarian at it's heart now don't I.

I did find one series that may take a little reading to get into. Phryne Fisher is an independent wealthy woman (28) who solves murders in the late 1920's in Melbourne. She's a gun totting, alcohol loving lady who seems to find more cases than Miss Marple. I've got 2 of the books so far. They seem okay, but I think I'll have to get the first one 'Cocaine Blues' before I truly decide that this is a new series to get. Kerry Greenwood writes well, and you do loose yourself in the world of 1920's Melbourne. One of the audio books I borrowed from the local library included an interview with her. It turns out that these books are researched for about 4 months and only written in about 2-3 weeks! I wish I could do that.

So that's the end of my little buying spree. I've got my next list up and running. I'm over the paranormal hump and settling quite nicely into the police thrillers. I've been following the Karen Rose books. I absolutely loves "I'm Watching You". I have read it about 10 times now, and it was the first book of hers that I bought. If you like a little bit of archaeology thrown in with your detective work, then try the first of her trilogy "Die for Me". The most of the characters found in the series end up with a book of their own. The Reagan brothers (both detectives), the Ciccotelli's (Vito and Tessa), and co-workers of theirs. They are wonderful books, gritty and the author is not afraid to make her characters vulnerable. The next book out "You Belong to Me" should be great. I'm waiting - not patiently either - for this to come out in mass market paperback (UK cover thanks) before I read it. Wish me luck.

January Round-Up

2011-01-30T13:25:00.000+10:00

January has been a bitch of a month here. By early January it seemed like the rain would never stop. There was no sunshine, no birds, just rain and wind. Now, I love all that wet weather, but I found that even I have my limits on how wet it should be. We've were housebound for a week. The ground was so saturated that even walking on it was like walking on mud. There was no way the cars were coming out of the shed.
As you would have seen on the news, January 10, 2011 was a horror day for Queensland. I was at home watching the news when the wall of water swept through Toowoomba and down the Lochyer Valley towards Brisbane. Unfortunately this coincided with more water released from Wivenhoe Dam (which was sitting at 192% capacity) and king tides to ensure that Brisbane would see it's first major flooding event since 1974. Now, my mum lived through '74. She lost everything but her cat, and I'm so thankful that we were nowhere near those areas. I don't think mum could have gone through it again.

heading south - on route to shopping centre

local shopping centre - shops actually built on raised ground!

Up till the 19th, we'd measured over 19 inches of rain. That doesn't include the deluge we've had since November last year, or the storms since the 19th. This is the wettest month that I can remember. If it continues like this everything will be damp and mouldy.... eww. And to top it all off there is a cyclone - a hurricane to those in the US - that is set to hit around Townsville on Monday, and another forming off Fiji that should also head our way. We just can't seem to get a break at the moment. If it's not flooding here, and in Victoria, then it's bushfires in Western Australia and heatwaves in Adelaide!

Over the last week it seemed like the clouds had finally run out of water to dump on us. It's been hot and muggy (thanks to the ground being waterlogged), but it was nice to have the sun on your face. Now today, the 30th, seems to be a reminder that the weather can so easily change. It was sunny this morning, now it's overcast and looks like more rain! Geez, what am I.... a duck!

It's So Wet... and I'm SO Tired

2010-12-27T11:48:00.000+10:00

Well, it's 2 days after Christmas... Merry Christmas!.... and the rain is just bucketing down. It's been raining for the last 2 weeks, with only 2 days where it didn't rain. The other night we ended up with 4 inches! I think I should have asked Santa for a snorkel set this year - I could sure use it now.

Last night I had the worst nights sleep. There was a party down the road (teenagers) and they were out wandering the street until nearly 1.30am! I had hoped that the rain would just bucket down and douse their alcohol infused Boxing Day cheer, but alas it only sprinkled. Still it was enough to make them head indoors. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to drown out the dance music. Pity one of the people living next door didn't call the police. So here I sit, trying to put two words together, with only about 4 hours sleep. I shudder to think what they'll do on New Years Eve!

But today, the rain is just streaming down. The ex-cyclone has now down-graded into a depression, and is heading down the Queensland coast. So it looks like I'm housebound until Thursday at the earliest. It's a good thing I was planning a quiet night in this New Years. Maybe I'll just cuddle up with my Christmas pressie, a copy of Jane Eyre.

On top of that, I'll be studying for the foreseeable future. No rest for the wicked is there :D

Waking up to this!

2010-10-25T13:19:00.000+10:00

Well, it's one of the stranger ways to be woken up in the morning. The other day, the first truly sunny day we've had in quite a while, there was some weird birds calling during the night... all night. Then at about 6am, blurry eyed and with the hair from hell, a knock on the door and a barely caught "... come out and have a look at what's out back!" had me struggling to untangle myself from the covers.

This was what greeted me...

Who would have thought not one, but 4 of these crested mooks would be wandering the streets? They wandered down towards the shed at the back of the yard, jumping the neighbours fence. I lured them back with little pieces of toast crust... ole blue above liked it. The others were stuffing their faces on Nasturtium leaves. Then, just when I tried to get some more pics of them (they are skittish and totally idiotic) the female flew off across the street, landing on the 2 storey house across the road. She gave a honking cry... et, voila. All 3 of her handsome men took off like a shot.

Just another day at the zoo here :D