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

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!

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

O Happy Day. I've got books, books.... more books

They're all here... my precious books.  Okay, enough channelling of Gollum :D, but yes, my new order of books from oversea's arrived yesterday.  I'd been told about a great UK site Book Depository and decided to give it a go.  And I'll do it again as soon as I finish reading these.

• Styx's Storm
• The Darkest Hour
• Twice Bitten
• Cast in Chaos
• Midnight Crystal

I've already ploughed through Midnight Crystal (only so-so... read from library first), and Twice Bitten - Go Merit!.  Today I'll tackle Styx's Storm, you've gotta love those Breeds, and Cast in Chaos is already a work in progress.

So, as I've finished reading Midnight Crystal, I've gotta say that I was disappointed with it.  It's the final of an Arcane Society trilogy, and is listed under the Arcane Society series.  What I really wanted was a good olde fashioned dust bunny of a good time.  It was all set within the futuristic J&J (Jones & Jones for the uninitiated) and Arcane society.  The council was mentioned, and a little bit of the previous Ghost Hunter story has been included, you meet Lyra and Cruz, and find out what happened to Gloria Ray and her Guild Hunter squease and his co-baddies.  But all in all, it wasn't up to the same standard as the usual 'Harmony' titles.   My advice to you... if you choose to accept it, is to read it from your local library.

Okay, now onto something a bit more fun... Twice Bitten.

Now, I've been following the Chicagoland Vampires since the beginning.  I love the character of Merit, and how she's not just some kick-ass woman who doesn't care what's going on around her and manages to sleep with her guy before the first 4 chapters are up.  Merit was a scholar until she got attacked in the park at night while heading home from the Uni library... I know, it gives libraries a bad rep doesn't it ;) Now she's one of the most powerful vamps in her house, and she's half in lust with her Master.  Add some shapeshifter politics and you've got a good read that will keep you thoroughly entertained.

I've found some more upcoming titles that I want... you know, to ask Santa for :P

• Archangel's Consort - Nalini Singh
• Blood Challenge - Eileen Wilks
• Cast in Ruins - Michelle Sagara
• Magic Bleeds - Ilona Andrews
• Navarro's Promise - Lora Leigh
• Twilight's Dawn - Anne Bishop
• Silver Zombie - Carole Nelson Douglas

Well I think if Santa can arrange for these in the future I'll be a happy camper indeed.

Still raining... raining... raining....

The last few day has seen us just about washed out by a torrential downpour here.  The BOM (Bureau of Meteorology) has advised of Severe Storms... yeah, the actually got it right for once.  We had over 4 inches in 12 hours, and it's been raining heavily on and off since Saturday.

Monday was the first day that I'd been able to get to the car, let alone get out... not that this didn't present troubles of it's own.  It's been so wet that the driveway is now boggy and the car slips and slides around - not for the faint of heart!  So to take advantage of my moment of freedom, or just being able to go outside, I took some photo from the jetty about 800m down the road from us.
 

looking towards Bribie Island

This has actually been great reading weather.  I've managed to plough through my Anne Bishop "Black Jewels" again, and indulged in some guilty pleasures like Archangel's Consort (#2 Guild Hunters) and one of my favourites, the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews.  You just can't go past a good Alpha can you :P

Although, I have been distracted by the Commonwealth Games coverage on TV.... we're kickin butt! :D

Aussie!, Aussie!, Aussie!

But today, miracle of miracles, there is actually sunshine!  It may only last for half an hour, but I'm going to enjoy it while it's here.  I'll have to check out my roses after getting off the computer.  My ferns were just about flooded out of the greenhouse... I tipped out the large concrete dish twice and put my more fragile ferns up on bricks to keep their feet out of the cold water... hopefully they won't turn up their toes.  There are one or two of them that have actually sent up new fronds!

 

What the....!

Yesterday a bloody great big B double tanker comes down our quiet little street.  It then tried to reverse into the cul-de-sac that veers off in front of our house.  It didn't work.  So he tried again and as he turned his funky truck and dogs to back up the street he turned and dug up the bituman in front of our driveway.

Just look what he did!.....

 

That's what you get for having the local council insist that everyone use the sewerage that they are putting in town.... stupid council

Look out! Is it a bird? A plane? No, it's...

SUPER LIBRARIAN!

This is the blog that I found while trolling the net.  I just had to giggle at the great banner she's got.  It's great to see some fantastic, funny, witty librarian blogs on the net.  Now everyone can see that we're not mouldy old seniors with fuzzy hair in a bun! :P

So head on over to view the complete Misadventures of... Super Librarian, you won't regret it.

Election 2010: The morning after...

Well, Election 2010 has come and gone.  Unfortunately, the people of this electorate have decided to back a guy that looks like he should still be in high school (he's 20 for goodness sakes!), and the country has a hung parliament for the first time in 70 years.

There is talk about maybe having another-go-round, but seriously, if you wasted your vote the first time, why should you deserve another shot?  If they do decide to have another ballot it should be as simple as:

Which party do vote for

LABOUR   LIBERAL

tick a box

That way there would be no second guessing, no preferentials, no anything else.  It would be done and dusted.  Now, I'm not too fanatical about a faction.  I'm not a hard-core Labour follower, or a terminal Liberal.  All I want is a person who can do their job competently and look after the people in their electorate.  Is that too much to ask for?

I'm just worried that a 20 year old won't have the experience, knowledge or leadership to fulfill the job requirements.  How will he manage an office, as well as everything else?  Will people really listen to a kid?  There should be a minimum job requirement attached to these things.  Yes, you can toss your tiara into the ring if you've....
a) been working for a council for a minimum of ? years,
b) taken local government or political science courses, or
c) if you can demonstrate an excellent understanding of government and have demonstrated leadership qualities.

I don't know what the future holds (I wish), but I can tell you now that I'm not at all confident that this will have a happy ending.  Only time will tell, but keep you're fingers crossed for us... our future is in the hands of a 20 year old!

Searching...

Well.  It's been one of those weeks so far.  My desktop's new modem is acting up so I'm back on the laptop... God bless the laptop, and have decided that I'm not going to stress out about it.  Instead, I bought myself a copy of the newest offering by Nora Roberts, made myself a nest in my comfy bed, and blocked out the world for a few hours.

Okay, back again after checking what the postie had brought me.  Nothing of great interest.  We've be inundated with Election 2010 crap.  I can't wait for this Saturday.  We'll vote and then it'll be done except for the obligatory gloating by the winner.  Watching them on the campaign trail, during question time, etc., I just can't get over the fact that these back-biting, schoolyard taunting 'adults' - and I use the term adults loosely, are helping to shape this country.  If a high school student council meeting ran in the same way as our country's leaders run theirs, then we would have been repremanded and given a 'time out' by the teachers!

 

"It's been a few years since Fiona Bristow has moved to Orcas Island. Within the small, tight-knit island community she's built up her business, a canine rescue centre that trains dogs to track missing persons. Whether they are lonely travellers on a hiking trip gone wrong or disappearances of a more sinister nature, more than once Fiona has been the last hope for those lost in Washington's vast wilderness. Other than her work, Fiona doesn't ask for much: the peace of the landscape, the companionship of her dogs, the safe haven of friends and family. Romantic entanglements are very far down on her list - and certainly not with Simon Doyle, an artist newly arrived from the mainland. Impossible rude, and impossibly handsome, he suddenly seems to be around an awful lot. But he doesn't know that Fiona harbours a terrible secret, and as her past unexpectedly catches up with her, she has to decide whether past grief will keep her from ever loving again..."

Anyway, back to "The Search" by Nora Roberts.  This book is a little different from her usual fare.  Fiona, a leggy ex-athlete, is a dog trainer on small Island.  She is tough, smart, troubled and has a past that pops up to haunt her.  Simon on the other hand is a wood-artist who moves to Orcas Island from Seattle.  He's stubborn, arrogant, intelligent, driven, selfish.... I could go on.  They don't sizzle up the pages when they first meet, but are more reluctantly drawn to each other.  They are both proud people, who are able to stand alone and take care of themselves.

It took a little while to get used to these characters as they are more stand-offish to each other than other books by Ms Roberts, but there is just something compelling about them.  The baddie doesn't really get a look in, and seems to be for plot more than anything else.  It's not her absolute best work, but it's an enjoyable read with Fiona and Simon's characters drawing you into their story.  While not in Eve Dallas' league, I found it as enjoyable as "Black Hills", and looking back, the males in these stories are almost cut from the same mold.

If you're looking for a way to pass a few hours - or even days :D, then I would recommend this title.

Going Potty

Had a great time yesterday scoping out the plants at our local Bunnings Warehouse.  Found the most gorgeous Camellia (R.L Wheeler) that had a single flower the size of a bread and butter plate!  It was a dark pinky red, and blew my mother away.  She desperately wanted one, but with all her other plants, she couldn't afford it then and there.  I think I'll be sneaking back to Bunnings later to get it for her.... aren't I a good daughter :P

All I managed to buy was potting mix, and more potting mix.  Mostly to repot my ferns, but my new roses were in want of bigger pots.  So I spent about 2 hours yesterday mixing potting mix, sand, and other stuff to get the right type of consistency.  We get a huge amount of rain here at times and just plain potting mixture can kill off my ferns quite easily.  I find that cutting it with just plain old white sand helps immensely.  So now all my leafy babies are snug in their new beds, and have been rearranged to get the maximum sunlight available in the courtyard.

Then I chatted with my mum while she was re-potting some of her African Violets and other cuttings she's got growing.  We were interrupted when her chocolate Burmese decided to help.  I couldn't help it, I had to run in and get the camera.  He decided his contribution would be to quality control officer for the potting mix.  He's such a dag!

On a happy note - I finally got my computer back yesterday from the repair guy.  I nearly had 2 fits this morning when I went to get online because it didn't even register that I had a modem!  After much searching and frustration, I seem to have stumbled upon the device.  I was actually able to get online using this computer for the first time in a month!  Thank God!  Maybe now I can get some studying done... but am seriously considering a laptop with wi-fi for study use.

So I will say goodbye for now.  Much to do.  Still more re-potting to do this afternoon.  Wish me luck

Rainy Day Scones

Its one of those days.  Rainy and cold, and all I wanted for brunch was my mum's hot scones covered with lashings of jam and whipped cream.  Thankfully she was in a caring, sharing mood - plus she wanted them as well :P

While I slaved over the computer, mum whipped up a batch of her lighter than air scones.  Actually it's a miracle that they turn out as well as they do.  I have been told that when she was first learning to make them... many moons ago, she made great golf balls.  Then after getting a lesson and some good advice from an elderly neighbour, Nanna Rene, she started to make the scones I've known and loved all my life.

After 3 beautiful, scrumptious, delicious scones covered in strawberry jam and a dollop of whipped cream I am officially stuffed.  So here I sit, in front of the computer again.  Sipping a cup of hot tea and dreaming of the arrival of spring and warm weather.

Still out in the cold...

Well, it's been over 2 weeks since I took my computer in to the repair guy.  My hard drive was definitely DOA and had to be replaced.  Okay, fine... but they didn't install the drivers properly, so it kept cutting out and was unable to connect to the internet (darn dial-up is all we can get here) and back it went to have them reinstalled.  A few days later, I went into town and picked it up.  Got home, connected everything booted it up and went to get online and ... drumroll please.......nothing!  Everything else was fine, except for no modem dial-tone.  (grrrrrrr!)

So I called them, they said it was an ISP problem - probably, and to contact them.  So I did.  They were extremely helpful, and very nice, but after re-installing a dial-up connection and not having it work, they said to contact the repair place again and actually get them to test the modem after reinstalling the drivers (in front of me) that way everyone would be satisfied that they were working.  But guess what?  They didn't think they could do that. Bugger.

I mean who has a repair business that specialises in computers, but doesn't even check to make sure the repairs work?!  So until I take it back I'm left with my cousins laptop {mentally kissing their feet} so that I can at least access emails and work on my assignments.  Yeah, this was a good time to have my modem throw a mid-life crisis tantrum wasn't it.

On the other front, since I've had NO computer to play with, I've been getting a lot more reading done.  A good chunk is for my next two units, but I have managed to read the latest Kylie Chan book, Hell to Heaven.  It was fantastic!  I love the mixing of contemporary Hong Kong with ancient gods and demons.  If you haven't read it I would definitely recommend this for people who like a little twist with their paranormal story.  This is the 2nd book of the 2nd trilogy.  Hopefully the 3rd book will be out late December, early Jan 2011.

Don't Adjust Your Screen...

Well, it's finally happened.  The one thing that I have been absolutely terrified would happen one day.  My hard drive crashed.  It is DOA, DNR and OMG!.  Luckily for me I had backed up my Documents/Pictures/Music/Downloads, etc., but I didn't get time to back up nearly 3 years worth of emails!  {bugger!}  Just what I didn't want to happen.

So I will be taking a little while to reorganize my digital self, and will only return once I'm up and running.

Until then, I'll concentrate on other my studies {oh God!  All my emails from my advisor... s*!t} and figure out a way to get all those email addresses again.

See ya soon.

How does your garden grow?

Nothing book related today.  Since I've been freezing my butt off I am grateful for every semi-warm winter's day we get.  It's been quite good to us this year.  I've managed to get my 2 roses to flower well this season.  The first one was just a miniature creamy white rose.  There is a small scent to the flowers, but when I was in Bunnings about 2 months ago, I smelt the most gorgeous rose perfume imaginable.  So off I went in search of this delectible scent.  Turns out that it belonged to a new rose called 'Love Potion'.  Boy, was it potent!  I bought one and every time I went passed the laundry door, you could just smell the perfume waft over from beside the tank.  I mean, it was heavenly.  The flowers were a beautiful lavender colour and it looked stunning.  Then... oh, boy.

After the first 3 buds flowered, I found another one coming up.  "Oh goodie" says I.  I'll have another bud to put in a vase on my dresser.... yeah, a pink one!  Turns out that while it had come with purple tinted blooms, it really has pink ones.  God knows how they worked that, but yes - I have a pink rose.  A very sweet and lovely princess pink rose!  I'd have loved to have taken a photo of it, but sadly, a sudden rainstorm ripped all the petals off.  But still... a pink rose?

My ferns, on the other hand, are just throwing up new fronds.  I have been cursed in the past with a black thumb.  But over the past 12-18 months I've found that that doesn't extend to roses or ferns... go figure?  So, I have been collecting a multitude of ferns to place in the courtyard area off my bedroom door.  They add a lot of lovely green colour to my small room, and make the area seem larger than it is.  I also find it very relaxing just to watch them bob around in the dappled sunlight.

Freezing my freckles off!

God, it's cold here at the moment.  For anyone who lives in QLD, you just know that it's not supposed to get cold like this!  I'm sitting at my computer with a hot water bottle on the way, and I'm contemplating putting on my knitted wrist warmers.  This cold snap really bites :P

On the plus side, I've been able to snuggle up amongst my warm quilts, blankets underneath, to do a little winter reading.  I've been through my crime/mystery/romance kick - loved Karen Rose's books, especially "I'm Watching You" - and have once again returned to the fantasy realm.  I've been re-reading my already battered copy of 'Magic Bleeds', and even dragged out my copy of 'Archangel's Kiss' by Nalini Singh.  I know these books have only been out for months, but I really wish I had the next books in the series in my freezing little hands.

I've already ordered a copy of Kylie Chan's new book "Hell to Heaven" which is released on Aug 02 in Australia, sorry to those in the US, but it's not available on Amazon!  Thankfully, she's got the third book of her second trilogy scheduled for release in early 2011.... yes!

Apart from that, the only other reading I've been doing is for my course.  Studying to become a librarian involves a lot of boring reading - don't let anyone tell you that working in a library is only about reading good books all day.  By the time I've gotten my Diploma, and hopefully gone on for the Adv. Dip., I'll be working full time in the library industry, cause I've gotta tell you that studying all the cataloguing techniques while not working in the industry is a right royal pain in the butt!

So, enough about that.  I'll have to leave this entry here because I think my fingers are about to snap off.  For all of you basking in a northern summer.... you lucky sods, you!

Cheers

Books Galore

And I've been so good recently too!  Last week I just dived right in there at the local shopping centre.  I cut a swathe through QBD and Bookworld, sauntered through Big W and meandered in K-Mart.  I bought 7 books on my want list that I really don't need at the moment - seeings how I still have about half a dozen books left from my last little splurge :P  Still, I jumped right into them.  Moon Sworn is the last of Keri Arthur's Riley Jenson series.  I found it a little different from the other books, but not a bad read.  A good Aussie author, Ms Arthur has another series in the works that spins off from this one.  It sounds good and I will definitely give it a go.

Master of Fire is the Mageverse story that I know alot of people have been waiting for.  It's about Logan MacRoy, the son of King Arthur and Guinevere.  I've been following this series on and off for the last 5 or 6 years.  Not a bad book, but not as great as Master of Swords.  The next book however, Master of Smoke, sounds like it'll be a cracker of a story.

Dead in the Family is the latest Sookie Stackhouse book out.  After reading the comments on the Amazon website for this book I was a tad apprehensive about reading it.  For me the series has been slightly less enjoyable for each book.   DitF was different.  I enjoyed it much more than I did Dead & Gone.  Sookie is finally finding her feet in the supernatural world, and she is in a stready and loving relationship.  She is able to say NO to people she would have trusted in the first couple of books, and there are some great moments in it.  All in all, a good addition to the series.

My copy of Magic Bleeds arrived in the mail last week too.  It was great.  I devoured it in a couple of hours - yes, I know that's quick, but I just can't help it.  And I also received my Amazon UK stuff as well (yeah Dr Who!).  Then to top it all off, last Friday I went on a day trip with some of the family and ended up in Maleny. 

For those who aren't familiar with it, its a gorgeous little dairy/craft town in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.  Absolutely stunning views as you climb the mountain range in the morning and look back over the coastline to see the sun reflecting gold off the water.  Although if you're looking to visit in winter... take a hot water bottle with you! :D  Unfortunately for me, once I got there I found 2 secondhand bookshops as I was wondering around the main street, and a few other little crafty stores that I just had to stop in.  Now, I went up there hoping not to buy anything, but I just found the most delightful looking fern (yes, I am a closet gardener okay!), and a nearby store that sold quilted blankets.  If I had of had a spare $250 dollars there was a beautiful country quilt that would have been accompanying me home.  One place I did indulge in was the handmade sweets shop.  The fudge was to die for!  I tried the Rum & Raisin (mum's favourite), but fell in love with the Cookies 'n' Cream fudge.  It was heavenly!  So we bought a few chunks, and went for a lovely hot coffe at a local bakery.

My one regret of the day was that I didn't buy a book at the secondhand shop that I was drooling over.  My only hope is that it will be there when we next go back... hopefully soon?