Forecast: 18-23
Attained: 18-23

I was up and out early this morning so I could tackle the shopping centre before it got crowded. Picked up what I hope is the last of the non-perishable xmassey stuff and left just as the hordes started trickling in...

This afternoon was my work xmas lunch at a local RSL. I had a nommy gnocchi prima verda, which, though delicious, wasn't quite what I was expecting. Eh, doesn't matter: the boss paid for it. :)
Ambled back to work for an hour or so for an informal 'ideas' discussion before I slunk off home. I was the only one there not technically rostered on today!

This evening I cleared my bed and changed the sheets. Then, because I could, I lounged on my bed reading for a couple of hours while the cubs fed themselves. After the big lunch I really wasn't hungry. (Though now, at 10pm, I'm a little peckish...)

~=o>

Mah booty!
In the parcel from Joules, was: pink stuff! CD! Santa tealight! (Which I will take a pic of when I dig up some matches to light the candle.) Boodgie elephant incense holder! Chocolate santas! Postcards & fridge magnet!

Note the variety of hot chocolate sachets, and the vibrating ham-ham! They almost completely obscure the fabulous 'Bristol' calico bag. :)

It's lovely having someone on the spot, as it were, who can pander to my Isambard Kingdom Brunel fascination. :)

Thank you, Joules! Much appreciated :)

Forecast: 20-16
Attained: 22-26

Double surprise today: a parcel from Joules, and that it was delivered on a Sunday! Yay for xmas delivery schedules. :)
Thank you, Joules! [bounce] Will take pics of mah booty tomorrow!
(And yes that is indeed an awesome playlist! :)

~=o>

Cats just don't take the spirit of xmas seriously...

Oh Little Town of BethlahaaaaAAAAGGGGHHH!

Forecast: 16-30
Attained: 17-32

I was shamed in to doing some dusting today.
As you can see, it was needed...

But, I was able to cross another couple of things off The List.

A not particularly good pic of some of my pretties after dusting.

And after decluttering my bedside table.

Look! Room for the cat!
Well, once I move the book, yes. :)

Forecast: 13-29
Attained: 14-29

Bloody hell! Xmas is a week away! How did that happen? End of the year seemed so remote at the end of September...

~=o>

Need to take a car load of grass clippings down to the tip - or 'waste transfer station' as they're now called - this weekend. Annoyed about it, but eh...
Several weeks ago my lawn-mowing service's regular break coincided with a lot of rain. Result, a bumper crop of long, wet grass. They filled the bin, which the council couldn't take away cos it was too heavy. Tried to take some of the stuff out but it was still too heavy. In the meantime the mowers have been again and cos the bin's not empty I've now got mounds of grass clippings dotted decoratively about the place. [grump] Plus the original stuff in the bin has been mouldering into something nasty - but still acceptable to the green waste people as compostable, thankfully - so getting that in to plastic bags is going to be a delightful chore this weekend.

~=o>

(Cheering myself up...)

This is neat!

Make a Mood Monster for your Desk.

(Pics lifted from site.)

Forecast: 11-25
Attained: 13-23

Kitteh 'helps' with yoga.

This is adorable. I love the nuzzle at 0:33




Just Glue Some Gears On It (And Call It Steampunk)

Yes, thank you!
Summing up what's wrong with a lot of the 'Steampunk' I see.
[shudder] Twits, they just don't get it...

Forecast: 12-21
Attained: 14-20

Free xmas lunch at work today! The canteen was crowded, as expected, and I had to queue for the noms, but ultimately it was worth it. On offer was beef or pork - I got a look when I asked if I could have a little of both; a cheesey, bacony potato bake; steamed mix veg; bread roll and mince pie.
Meat was particularly nommy, could've had more of that, and yes, I did get both sorts. :) There was also a veg quiche but that was the vegetarian option and you couldn't have any if you already had meat.
Given that I'm really not very with it when I first wake up, I'd forgotten about the free food and packed a lunch. Not to worry though, it didn't go to waste. Most of it went on to the pizza I made myself for dinner. :) I am so full now...

~=o>

This was quite interesting. A questionnaire to determine your Morningness-Eveningness. That is, it helps define your circadian rhythm type. Are you a morning person, or an evening person? [g]
My result was 'Intermediate'. Of course it was: ever the middle path with me...

Forecast: 14-20
Attained: 14-19

Finally got the cubs' booklists for next year. Almost a grand between them...

~=o>

Somewhere in Italy...

One of Niki's photos from the Euro-trip she took with her kids last year. I ar intrigued!

(Posted without permission.)

[edit:] Apparently it's a medieval mill!

Forecast: 12-20
Attained: 13-20

I hadn't planned on going in to an op shop today but I'm glad I did.
I found a copy of the Illustrated Family Doctor, 1935! (Site is a blog that has pics from the book.) I used to have my Mum's copy of this book but it got badly damaged in the last house. Very happy to have another copy.

I also picked up a Modern Illustrated Home Dictionary, which Amazon tells me is also 1935. There's no publishing date inside - not uncommon with old dictionaries.

Two other smaller treasures found as well. Saffron & Currants: a Cornish heritage cookbook, Susan Pellowe, rev. ed. 1998 - I don't have any Cornish cookbooks! - and A dictionary of Cut Flowers, Mary Bailey, 1969, cos I sort of collect old dictionaries as well, and you never know when you'll need to look up a cut flower related term. :)

All of this goodness for just $11.

~=o>

Ran in to Bart, our next door neighbour from the old place today. He told me that the house has finally been demolished and there's plans for 2 units to go up on the site. Wow, that took a year to do. The owner would've been losing money on the property all this time.

I'm trying hard not to think of the things we left behind. Not that there was anything we really wanted or needed. They were left because we ran out of time - and paid for the cost of clearing it all - but it's all gone now and I'm feeling a little melancholy.
I'm taking comfort in my sparkly tree and the new additions to my library... :)

Forecast: 16-20
Attained: 15-20

Merry Kweeznaz!
It's tree tiemz!

My lubly fibre-optic tree, before decorating.

A selection of shinies. I didn't use all of them.

The aforementioned tree after decorating...

... and with the lights on!

Details:
The beautiful dancing girls Joules sent me a couple of years ago. The closest things to angels I'll have.
And yes, our tree-topper this year, is another tree. One of the cubs made it at some point in primary school.

Special finds from the Oxfam Shop post-xmas sales year before last. A gorgeous peacock, and one of three embroidered stars. (I think they're s'posed to be snowflakes but as I'm not going to have snowflakes they are stars.)

The kweeznaz slug!

Heh, I've managed to decorate the tree with no reference to either the xtian or santa myths. (Please don't get pernickety with me about the meaning of the tree itself cos I'll likely just throw something at you.)

Conversing with one of the cubs while decorating the tree, we both professed a nostalgia for the Advent Calendars I used to do for them when they were (much) smaller. Might think about reinstating it next year, with grown-up goodies this time. The cubs will be, after all, seventeen.

~=o>

And after dinner I badgered the cubs in to sorting out two more boxes/bags of stuff from their rooms. Progress is being forced on them made. :)

Forecast: 19-27
Attained: 19-28

Was just starting a post last night but had to stop cos of a thunderstorm. It was a cracking one, too! Lasted for a couple of hours, rolling over us with intense flashes of light and a couple of thunder peals that shook the house! Not 'fun', precisely, but certainly enlivening. :)

I've checked recently to see if it's still best practice to switch off the computer during storms. It's still recommended, by my isp among others, especially if your modem is connected to the wiring - wireless is fine, apparently - or the wiring in your house is not recent. Check and check. So, better safe than wailing that I have to get a new computer.

~=o>

One of my nephews goes to a hirology club down this way on weekends. I offered to pick him up yesterday and get him home cos it's a sod of a long way for Soulsis to come all the time.
Had the address but wasn't quite sure where it was. Bit of a clue, however, were the men carting clocks around. I just followed them... :)

~=o>

Buddahs at a gardening centre.

I really want to post this pic but blogger's upload thing keeps posting it on its side. This is the only pic I've had so far that's done this so I'm wondering if there was a problem with the way my camera phone initially saved the file. Eh well, it displays normally on the 'puter and will print out fine.

Please to tilt your head when viewing...

Forecast: 20-32
Attained: 19-31

Photocopiers.
I remember the old days, when photocopiers didn't have helpful graphics to show you where the jam was and you had to take the thing apart piece by piece until you found the problem.
And there were none of these modular slip-in-slip-out components. If you removed something from the copier you had to make damn sure you knew how it went back or the result was a machine out of commission until the tech got there.

... I didn't like the old days much. :)


~=o>

Heh, a week after the event and it looks as though the camera in my phone is working again.

It's still a rubbish camera but is ok for emergencies.

~=o>

Two weeks 'til holidays!

Forecast: 17-30
Attained: 16-32


Big Things. I like Big Things.
I haven't seen that many, alas, but of the ones I have seen I like the Big Merino (Goulburn, NSW) the best.

(And I like Google Maps, too.)
It's been a while years since I've visited Rambo, not since he was moved across the highway.



The move came about to increase Rambo's visibility. When the bypass was built you couldn't see him from the road anymore.

This is the Big Koala at Dadswells Bridge, Victoria.

Road-tripped past him a few times but never stopped in. Sometimes cos we're zooming past in the dead of night and it's closed but sometimes (okay, once) because the person I was travelling with refused to indulge me because we were 'running late already'. Humph.
One day I will get to the Koala, oh yes I will, and the tacky souvenirs will be mine, mine!

*ahem*

This is the Big Watermelon Slice, just down the road - sort of - from me.

Technically it's a Big Thing cos, well, it's big, but I think a Big Thing only really qualifies if it's big enough, or potentially big enough, to walk in to. The Slice is only a couple of metres tall.


Last but not least, I saw a big Ned Kelly in Marysborough, QLD, in 2007.

I pondered the question of Why is there a Big Ned Kelly in Qld?
(Yes, yes, I know you can't 'walk in to' this one but as it's considerably bigger than me it counts.)


I have a list of Big Things around Oz I'd like to see. I'd like to see them before they disappear... :)

Forecast: 12-28
Attained: 13-29

Remember the mysterious little paper sculptures that popped up anonymously in Edinburgh earlier this year?
There's been a development!

(And for more more detail of the sculptures, go here.)
:)

~=o>

Want.

http://www.moresoapvicar.com/

But not a good idea to browse when I'm hungry. :)

Forecast: 10-25
Attained: 11-26

Got the cubs' school fees sorted out today. It's going to be more expensive than I'd hoped. [sigh] We'll manage, no doubt.

~=o>

... wut?


see more Lol Celebs

Forecast: 9-23
Attained: 9-21

Completed the registration transfer for Mum's car this morning. Took longer than I expected - cos I'm an eternal optimist and forgot how long you can spend waiting in government departments - but it was relatively straight forward, and I had all the paperwork needed. Phew.
I haz a car... :)

~=o>

I always read through the local community newsletter, it's nice to know what's going on. This edition however, I've taken issue with. There were a couple of articles/editorials that had pictures of the authors, I assumed, but no by-lines. That niggled, not entirely sure why.
Also in this edition was an announcement that the refurbishment of one of the reserves in the area had been completed. 'Awesome!' quoth I, 'I'd like to pop along and see what's been done...!' The reserve was named but no address was given. [grump] I wondered if the editors thought that everyone who lived in the area would of course know where this park was. To compound matters, some of the details of the design blueprints were displayed in impossibly tiny detail. Even in good light with glasses I could barely read it. Crikey, people, don't try and cram so much in! Less details, or expand the print area!
Am I being too picky with what is essentially a volunteer-run publication...?

~=o>

Crafternoon with Penny! Got stuff done, had yummy sammiches and was also given a couple of tomato plants! Excellent afternoon...

~=o>

Detail of the hand-sized fossilized nautilus shell I found in an op-shop last year.

It's one of my favourite things. The pattern looks like fabric. I spend a lot of time fondling it. :)

Forecast: 11-19
Attained: 12-18

So, the phone. I didn't see about getting it fixed/exchanged today cos it was working this morning. Well, nearly everything is back to normal. The camera/camcorder won't start up, which is annoying but ultimately not omfg-end-of-the-world. I can phone and text, use the alarm, play solitaire and listen to radio/music. [shrugs] That'll do. I have my little fuji digital camera for pics.
(As it happens, I'm not near the end of the contract so I'd still have to pay off this phone even if I did get a new one.)

I did manage to salvage the bald muppet pic though!
Can you see it...?

No? How's this?

:)

Forecast: 11-20
Attained: 13-20

Bum. My phone's died a watery death (don't ask). Lucky I archived all those pics last week, eh? The only thing I didn't d/l was the bald muppet pic. Oh well...
(I just tried switching the phone on now, having left it to dry out for about 24 hours after the dunking. It seemed to switch on and behave as normal for a minute or so before freezing and shutting down. Now it's flipping out with occasional flashes of the screen. Bit disconcerting. I might have to put it out of its misery and take the battery out again.)
I think I'm close to the end of the 2 year contract thingy anyway, so getting a replacement shouldn't be a problem. Will see about it tomorrow.

~=o>

Heh, forced the cubs to drag a couple of boxes of stuff out of their rooms this evening and sort through it. They see now it's not that awful a thing to do but no doubt I'll still have to remind them to do it regularly.

~=o>

Ham? Really? I thought it was just a really large potato... [eyebrow]

Yes, the xmas indulgence ham arrived today! 5 kilos of nom, now spread between the 'fridge, freezer and our tummys. :)

Forecast: 10-21
Attained: 11-20

Yay, car is clean and happy and serviced, and passed the roadworthy check! Next I'll find all the necessary paperwork to transfer the registration to me. :)
I think I know where most of it is...

~=o>

Yay, I've finally got the set of original Planet of the Apes movies! When the set was first released - 10 years ago now? - it was $100 and I just couldn't afford it. Today I picked it up for $26. Happy now.

~=o>

Yay, I worked out why my fracking spreadsheet wasn't summing. Or rather, I blundered through the various 'explanations' online and managed to translate the white noise of jargon in to understandable words.
Oh yes, the tutorials are very useful once you know what they're talking about. [grump].
(In summary, don't be sloppy about where you put the sodding formulas. [head desk] Goddamn, M$Excel is written by and for anal retentives...)

~=o>

Some of the danglies on my kitchen cupboards.

Forecast: 11-19
Attained: 10-18

Hm. I think I might need to eat more meat.
And/or follow my doctor's suggestion about iron supplements...

~=o>

Woohoo, long weekend! Dagnabbit, I feel like I've earned it. All being well I won't be needed 'til Wednesday. Which is just as well cos there's a sod of a lot to do before xmas, followed as it is by a rental inspection.

~=o>

Presentation night at the cubs' school! BadgerCub received the Science award for his level. Very chuffed! So's he :)
Plus, bonus, the thing went for 30 minutes less than last year! Woohoo!
([snerk] There was a bald guy two rows ahead of me. The contours of his skull and the dips and folds of flesh looked uncannily like a Muppet blank. You know, the basic form, before they get eyes and stuff. Once I'd noticed that I couldn't look away. Was quite distracting. I have a picture of it but I'm not sure how well it'll work.)

Forecast: 16-20
Attained: 15 (10.30am)-19 (12.30)

... I have no idea what day it is. Intellectually I know it's wednesday, but viscerally...? No clue.
Fortunately, cos of a day-swapping thing with a colleague, I've got a 5 day weekend coming up. And then only three weeks 'til holidays!

~=o>

The satellite images on Google Maps are composite pictures. This is the first time I've really noticed!

Squared-off clouds!
(Image of Warragul, Victoria. Accessed online 29th nov 2011. When the satellite images were actually taken is anyone's guess.)

~=o>

Unexpectedly adorable!



Aw, and look, someone's translated for us!

Forecast: 19-33
Attained: 19-35

I took the car through an automated car wash this afternoon. It freaked me out! These big rolly, spinny brush machine things, moving backwards and forwards and slapping at the car! Won't be doing that again in a hurry... [shudder]

~=o>

Bwahahahah!

Forecast: 15-26
Attained: 16-29

Finally managed to get one of the cubs to pull a bag of stuff out of his room and sort through it, but the other cub has artfully managed to avoid me so far...

~=o>

Soulsis found these for me!
I need a sandpit! :)

Forecast: 14-24
Attained: 13-22

Cubs and I nipped up to Soulsis' this afternoon! Was lots of fun. :) We handed over my nephews' birthday presents (they'll be 17 next Tuesday. 17!) Then while all the lads played video games, Soulsis and I snuck out to go op-shopping after dropping Miss Raven (my niece) off at work.
I picked up a really nice moulded glass plate that had an acorn/oak leaves motif. Never seen anything like it. :) It has a small chip in the rim but nothing that bothersome. I'll take a pic when it's washed. I also got 3 gorgeous postcards from Macau; a necklace made from blue coloured discs of shell (which has now been reduced to its component parts); a purple suede covered notebook and another... interesting book.
'Intended for Pleasure: Sex Technique and Sexual Fulfilment in Christian Marriage. (Ed Wheat & Gaye Wheat, 1977.)
... Yerrss.
This printing is the UK version and in the introduction it states that the text is basically unchanged - they've left the Americanisms in - but,

"While there is a large area of common ground between the United Kingdom and North America, the British publishers would not endorse the total subservience of female to male desire recommended on pages 133-4... [My emphasis.]

[eyebrow] Indeed.
Let's see how far I get with it before wanting to hurl it at a wall.

~=o>

Another reason for visiting Soulsis today was so I could hand over the not-xmas decorations I'd made.

The toadstools are fairly obvious; the blobby white things on the left are skulls... They'll go really well with the black xmas tree I gave them last year. :)

~=o>

Also today, Soulsis and I half-jokingly started organising Miss Raven's 21st birthday party. (She'll be 21 in 2014. Won't hurt to start thinking about it now!)
I suggested the theme could be Carnivale!, complete with masks. The idea expanded from there to a circus tent/pavillion, with entertainers! Fortunately, Miss Raven apparently knows circus folk so getting hold of fire-eaters etc may not be that difficult.
Oh, we have plans, we do, Soulsis and I. Miss Raven may even get a say in it...!

Forecast: 16-21
Attained: 17-19

Crossed two more things off The List today.
Woot, working through...
I even went back and redid some of the stuff crossed off earlier. Without leaving it for 6 months! :)

~=o>

Oookay...

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies.


~=o>

Detail of my bedroom window at the old place.

Forecast: 13-24
Attained: 15-24

Beer and licorice. Not as good a combination as one might think...

~=o>

I had a theory, that KittenKong was only sleeping on my pillow when I had a towel down. So I tested my theory. Two nights ago - towel down, KK snuggles. Last night, no towel, should have had in theory a cat-to-face free sleep.

Of course not.
Oh well, I was never cut out for Science! anyway. :)

~=o>

Tee hee hee...

Make your own Dr Who: Heavenly Host Xmas tree ornament.

Print out then assemble your own inhuman Dr Who foe!

(Pic yoinked from the site.)

Forecast: 10-25
Attained: 12-25

ROFL!
I bought a roast chicken from the supermarket tonight cos, a: I really wanted some roast chicken, and, b: I really couldn't be arsed cooking it.
I took the wings and about half the breast meat then told the cubs they could have the rest.
Half an hour later I go out to the kitchen and find the chicken's been reduced to a handful of gnawed bones! Thorough, my cubs...

~=o>

I overheard one of the med students today saying how she doesn't like 'life size models of things' as they creep her out. How's she going to cope with actual things? :)

~=o>

There was an article in the Age today about the Melbourne Heritage Action.
I'm in! (Oooh, and it looks like I can get a discount on m'ship to the National Trust as well. Bonus!)

Forecast: 12-19
Attained: 13-20


I was going to post a pic of today's lunch - potato/egg salad with grated zucchini and mayo - but it looks a bit glistening and weird, so I thought it best to skip it this time...

!~=o>


[snerk]

Star Wars Burlesque from Tenderloins on Vimeo.

!~=o>

Damn, Anne McCaffrey's died! I devoured many of her books, though I haven't read any for years. There'll probly be a reissue of at least the Pern series now. Wouldn't mind having those again...

Forecast: 12-22
Attained: 13-20

Cubs' school presentation night next week. BadgerCub is getting an award! No idea what for, yet. He thinks it could be for Maths. Or French. Or English. Or science. But not Food Tech.
Last year VortexCub got an award for IT/Graphics. Now they're even. :)

~=o>

Egad. I cleaned out the car this evening. Planning on washing and vaccing it this weekend. Got a roadworthy testing thing booked in next week: I'm sure having a clean car must count for something.

~=o>

Sugar on a stick. For stirring in to your hot beverage.
I haven't seen any of these for a while.

Forecast: 10-23
Attained: 11-22

... It's very quiet. Cubs are at a sleepover. It's exam week but neither they nor their friend have exams tomorrow so I'm not that concerned. This friend, by the way, was s'posed to have birthday-sleepover-happyfun-time last weekend but had to cancel cos he got sick. I wasn't really surprised when he organised the sleepover today.

~=o>

I'm a bad cat-mum.
KittenKong didn't put in an appearance last night, not to nag for food or try to sleep on the keyboard. By the time I was ready to amble off to bed I realised why.
Late in the afternoon I'd gone to hang some washing out. KK had accompanied me, as usual, and when I went in to the shed to dump some more stuff, she followed me in, as usual. She wouldn't come out when I asked so I thought, 'tough' and shut the door, fully intending to let her out on my way back...
Unfortunately I got distracted by the stuff in my head and completely forgot about her. Stupidly, I even wondered why she wasn't following me back inside!
So, late last night, by the light of my phone, I rescued my poor kitten. She meowed all the way back inside then fell on her food like she'd been wandering the wilderness for days.
Heh, and last night she crowded me out on my pillow again so I think we're all good. :)

~=o>

I've got a xmas ham arriving soon. Time to make room in the freezer!

Last of the homemade stock with leftover meatballs and gnocchi. Capsicum and zucchini were fresh today on special. Nom!

Forecast: 13-22
Attained: 13-23

One more thing came off the list today, mwahahah.

~=o>

Yesterday I archived the photos on my camera phone, then cleared them from the memory.
Well, I thought I'd archived them. [grumble] The USB port I used - which the cubs had told me was unreliable - appeared to be working but when I went back today to review the archived pics to put together a list for printing, they weren't there. What was there, however, were some pics/folders from an earlier start at archiving, before I moved house. Grrrrr. These hadn't shown up on the USB yesterday.
Fortunately - because I'm paranoid and slightly OCD when it comes to my photos - I already had copies on the computer. So, using a different port this time, I went through the process again. This time it worked.

Time to get a USB hub and start using one of the ports at the back of the machine...

~=o>

Sunshine Beach, Qld, April 2007...

Forecast: 18-23
Attained: 19-22

Crossed three more things off The List today.
While there is a certain satisfaction in cleaning up, it's tinged with the knowledge that I'm just going to have to do it all again at some point. Boring.

Mind you, it is good that I can walk through the kitchen now without stubbing my toe on something.

~=o>

I do so love a building with bits... :)

Hotel in Berwick, sometime last year.

Forecast: 18-33
Attained: 21-34


Aaaand it's officially the weekend. Let's see what else I can cross off The List. Tomorrow. :)

~=o>

Hee. If I wasn't so fond of my fridge magnets this'd definitely be a goer.


see more Set Phasers To Lol

Forecast: 10-28
Attained: 11-28

[giggling]

Forecast: 14-22
Attained: 14-20

KittenKong slept on my pillow last night. She hasn't done that for a while. I'd forgotten how delightful it is to wake up to the furry backend of a cat...

~=o>

Took my lunch components in to work today - grilled chicken, avocado and tortilla wraps. Looked in to the lunchbag thingy for the tomato I thought I'd brought along as well but only spotted two mandarins. Little annoyed with myself as I'd been looking forward to the tomato but was philosophical, thinking how much worse the ommision could've been given my current vagueness.
And then, as I was packing up the lunch paraphenalia, after polishing off the despite-no-tomato-still-delicious wraps, I noticed that one of the mandarins was in fact a tomato. [sigh]
At least I've got it for lunch tomorrow!

~=o>


KittenKong, from about a year ago...

Forecast: 13-28
Attained: 13-30

BadgerCub got to school very late today. He was woken up around 10.30 by his brother, who was home sick. Oops.

~=o>


Ew, just ew...



see more Lol Celebs

I think that's even managed to put me off bacon...

Forecast: 17-24
Attained: 16-26

Pic from 2009. An installation at my local shopping suburb.

(Yes, I can't think of anything to say. Why do you ask...?)


[Edit: In reply to your query, Joules... Um, theoretical fungi...? They don't look comfortable enough to sit on :)]

Forecast: 15-29
Attained: 15-25

I napped this afternoon and dreamt that Mum had come 'round for a visit. Was surprised to see her, but very glad, and not a little flustered. I called the cubs in to say hello, but they couldn't see her.
(There was also wet/drowned kittens and a flooded garage but I'm pretty sure that was due to something I've seen in the past day or so. Not sure where the seamen's hostel came in to it though...)

~=o>

I've crossed another thing and a half off the list today, in the course of which I further winnowed some bakeware. At the first sort through months ago, I'd got rid of most of the baking tins that were surplus and/or rusty, but I'd kept some of the less common shapes and forms. These were stored in two tubs under the kitchen table. (This is in addition to the frequently used stuff that fills a cupboard.) Anyway, this time I got tough with myself and got rid of basically a tub's worth. I've still got a tub of exotic forms left, but that's now sitting out in the shed. :) I might set myself the task of going through the drawers and drawers of kitchen gadgets next. Eh, I'll add it to the list.

~=o>

From Penny.
It's very funny. I giggled.


Rethink Breast Cancer offers this handy way to remind yourself about breast cancer checks.

Couldn't embed, so here's a screen grab.

Forecast: 13-23
Attained: 15-24

I made an optimistic list yesterday of things I should/could achieve this weekend. So far I've crossed off four items! I've tidied, and swept, and put stuff away. Didn't go so far as washing floors but soon, precious, soon...

One of my achievements was cleaning the 'fridge. I really like this 'fridge. It was Mum's, not very old, and started clean, unlike the last 'fridge which was already grubby and rusty and yuck when we got it. The seals were non-existent so mould grew freely everywhere. [shudder] The cubs' father offered it to me when I was moving last year (this was before I inherited all of Mum's good stuff) and I was very emphatic in saying 'no'. Would rather have gone shopping every day for fresh food instead of having to deal with that grotty thing.

The inside of my lovely 'fridge is now gleaming. I did consider cleaning the outside as well, but that would've meant taking off all the fridge magnets. I settled instead for just swabbing at the particularly noticeable smudges between the magnets. Not that there were many anyway. :)

~=o>

Memories are interesting things. Have you ever found yourself re-examining a memory cos you're not quite sure about it any more? Had you always remembered this event this way or had it changed somehow...?
What if... what if it wasn't you misremembering, but the memory had changed because your time-line had been changed...?

I probably shouldn't think too deeply on that just I'll just give myself the creeping horrors and won't be able to sleep. :)

~=o>

This is pretty darn kewl.

CSI: Season 10, ep. 1 slow-mo clip.

Forecast: 11-24
Attained: 12-23

So that was season 9 CSI, was it...?
I liked it! I miss those that have left but Ray's fabulous! :) I like that he gets on with everyone, even Hodges.
Dagnabbit, want season 10 now.

~=o>

Blimey, only 6 weeks 'til the end of year. Only 6 weeks 'til my next lot of time off, woohoo!

~=o>

[idiot grin...]



see more Set Phasers To Lol

Forecast: 14-23
Attained: 15-22

...
Hm.
This appears to be another one of those times when I think I have something to say, but it turns out I don't...

~=o>

This is going back a bit.
The cubs in 2008 at the Melbourne Aquarium (posted with permission. The cubs' permission, not the Aquarium's).
Not the clearest pic evah, but you can definitely see the 'twin' effect here. [g] In fact, looking at the pic just now neither the cubs nor I could immediately tell who was who! Consensus was that it was Vortex!Cub with the octopus...

Forecast: 19-26
Attained: 21-28

Victoria, and Melbourne, had storm and flood warnings today with the 'danger zone' between 5-9pm this evening. It had rained in the morning, but as the sun was shining for most of the day I didn't think the storms would appear.
But, the window in my office only faces northish while the storm front was coming in from the west - which I discovered after leaving work. :) Amazing cloud formations...
We did get some heavy rain and a bit of thunder and lightning, but the worst of it apparently passed us by. Cubs' father - who lives about 15 kliks from us - dropped by tonight with tales of lashing rain and windows cracked by hail. Kind of glad we missed it, in that case.

~=o>

Kittenkong, happy on her carpet...

Forecast: 17-26
Attained: 18-26

Hee, there was a storm early this morning but all the lightning had finished by the time I was heading out to work...

~=o>

Spotted on the front cover of a recent issue of BMJ. Why did this make me snerk?

Because I read the last two points as one.

[snerk]
There's a reason young robots' parents don't want them to go on the stage.

Forecast: 15-25
Attained: 15-28

(Tomorrow's forecast reads 'Morning rain then showers...'
Yes, I know they're two different types of precipitation but the apparent redundancy made me laugh...:)

~=o>

Kittenkong didn't turn up for breakfast this morning: it's ok, she's back now. It's not unusual for her to disappear for a day or so but I always worry when she does.
Last night there was a kerfuffle outside my bedroom window - sounded like a running battle with a possum - I suspect that had something to do with it. There were no bodies this morning, however, and no suspicious clumps of bloodied fur (too much CSI?), so I just had to wait for KK to come back.
As the car pulled in to the drive this afternoon my errant kitteh appeared from the neighbour's garden. Very happy to have her back, but I wonder if she's found herself a hidey-hole next door. Their yard is secure, our's isn't, she may just feel safer there when threatened.
That, or they're feeding her. She wasn't hungry when she came back... But then, she could be nicking someone else's food.
So many questions, such a lack of cooperation when I question her...

~=o>

Yay, found another supplier for skoosh canisters! Happy now. :)

Forecast: 19-32
Attained: 19-26

It didn't quite get to the expected top temperature today. Phew...

Kittenkong loves the new carpet. She's slept there exclusively since it went down. :)

[snerk]
The Dalek in the poke bonnet makes me giggle...

Forecast: 12-30
Attained: 10-30

Yay, it's been released! I have requested this from the cubs for xmas... :)
I've listened to previews of the tracks on ayetoons. Awesome sauce!

~=o>

Finally got the new rug down in the loungeroom. It's not perfectly situated, but I can reposition it when I've done some more tidying. At least now I don't have to worry about any more damage to the cheaparse floor finish. (I mean, seriously, soft wood for polished floor boards? Even I know better than that...)

~=o>

Finished watching season 8 of CSI. Hm. After a particularly emotional series of eps in the middle, I think they went a bit overboard in the counteractive light-heartedness towards the end and it all got a bit jump sharkey. But, as I discovered watching the extra bits, this season fell in the middle of the writers' strike so a little weirdness was sort of explainable. And season 9 is shaping up quite nicely, too, so I'm not complaining.


[snicker]
Thank you, Joules, for the mp3 of this.

Cameo - Word Up



(Why, Geordie, what big eyes you've got...!)

Forecast: 11-22
Attained: 13-20

Dagnabbit, the supermarket still doesn't have replacement skoosh cylinders in stock yet. [grumble] I am put out, I am.

~=o>

Quote from Jack London.

'You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.'

[snerk] And sometimes you can set a trap for it. You know, dig a big ol' hole along its regular path, cover the pit with twigs and leaves and jes' wait...

... good grief, my inner voice sounded just like Nick Stokes then!

Deliriously tired? Me...?

Forecast: 11-18
Attained: 11-18 (Spot on!)

Today I managed to give myself a paper cut on my nose. o.O
Really made my eyes water...

~=o>

Hippotherapy. Not, as one might assume, therapy performed with/on hippos.

Forecast: 13-16
Attained: 13-15

...
Nope. Can't remember what I was going to say.
Have a video instead.

Dr Who - Cast & Crew Special.



(Eeee, Jack!)

Forecast: 12-19
Attained: 12-17

Verrrry quiet day off today. I did intend to get back to tidying/sorting but didn't quite manage anything more than relocating a couple of piles of stuff. Not putting the bits away just... moving them. :)

~=o>

Some of my latest lot of plastic horsies, hee. :)
That's a pinto mare, a Knabstrupper stallion and an Akhal Teke stallion.
I now have all but one of the Schleich horses. Oh noes, I'll have to start collecting the dinosaurs or something!

Forecast: 9-20
Attained: 11-16

Tomorrow, (today, rather, it's gone midnight) is Cup Day. Cubs have a day off, as do I, which wouldn't really be that big a thing as I normally don't work Mondays & Tuesdays anyway, but as my Tuesdays have been work-filled these past few weeks, getting a four day weekend is cause for celebration. :)
I shall be sleeping in...

~=o>

(Spotted on the home page of the National Gallery of Australia. Detail of Giovanni Battista Moroni's Portrait of a child of House of Redetti, c. 1570. Amazing detail, astonishing eyes...)