It's nearly here!

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

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

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?

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

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!

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

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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