ANZAC Day approaches

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

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

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

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Goddess Summoning series

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

. . . 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

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

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

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...

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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

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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

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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!

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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.

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Why don't they like us?

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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.

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Bookshelf Envy

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

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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