Forecast: 16-22
Attained: 16-22

Ok, so, the crafty cupboard in my room isn't neat but it is organised.
I've also sorted the buttons into 'buttony' and 'novelty', and cut down on the amount of empty containers lurking about. (The box of spares will go out to the shed cos I know I'll eventually need them...)

Sewing desk is the next thing on the list to be sorted out. It will have to be, if I ever want to use the sewing machines!

~=o>

This time two years ago we had a storm with hailstones big enough to smash the kitchen window. That was exciting...

Forecast: 16-26
Attained: 17-27

An excellent day today, spending the afternoon with people I haven't seen for ages, complete with mini pizzas and chocolate! Mmmm... And fingers crossed it looks as if another Islandkateer outing is in the works!

Alarice was wearing a gorgeous flying fox pendant. I've browsed the site and gone 'Ooooh...' a lot. :)

~=o>

KittenKong is happier with the cooler weather and greater opportunities to cuddle...

Forecast: 16-21
Attained: 15-18

At last the jumble of ribbony things has been neatly sorted. I now have ribbons, cords, trims/lace and thonging. :)
I also sorted through the big bag of assorted bed linen and towels. Got rid of some while other bits were relegated to visitors' sets. I'm down to 3 complete sets of my own, rather nice sheet sets plus a couple of flannel pieces for winter.

~=o>

D'aww, adorable cat is adorable!

([grump] Ok, fine, looks like the camera on my 'phone's not completely right in the processor any more. That, or it and blogger aren't on speaking terms. Landscape oriented pics from my 'phone display correctly on the 'puter, but when they're uploaded to my blog they'll only display in portrait. Doesn't matter where they're uploaded from either. Annoying...)

Forecast: 16-22
Attained: 15-23

This is the note Badger!Cub left on his slice of cake this morning... and my response (in black).

Forecast: 17-22
Attained: 16-21

Sooo, Melbourne's still wet...

~=o>

I got a little extra in my pay this week, which is nice but I'm usually suspicious of such things in case I have to pay it back. I figured it might be back pay for the annual pay rise I was sposed to - but didn't - get at the beginning of the year.
It was. (15c extra an hour! Party!)

~=o>

Captain Scarlet & Captain Jack Harkness

Both brunet with blue eyes.
Both part of organisations that deal with aliens.
Both won't stay dead.

Just an observation. :)

(I could also say something about the cleft chins, the uniforms, unsubtle vehicles and the not-deadness due to alien intervention.
Points of difference: Harness will shag anything that moves, Scarlet doesn't seem much interested at all. Captain Blue, however, that's another story. And I know Colonel White finds plenty of excuses for Lt. Green to be under his console.)

Forecast: 16-24
Attained: 16-23

Wow.
I was playing with this while listening to dance music.
Trippy...

The Scale of the Universe 2

Forecast: 18-22
Attained: 18-21

Aaaand looking ahead at the 7 day forecast, mid to low 20's every day! Niace.

~=o>

I've been musing to myself, again, about what I'd need on a houseboat... Not an extensive list. :)

~=o>

Can't remember how I found it but this little fic is very cute, very funny.

'Upholding the Laws of Time' by AstroGirl

Summary: Calvin encounters the Doctor.

~=o>

This time(ish) last year - the kitchen window as reflected on my 'phone's screen.

Forecast: 23-28
Attained: 22-25

It rained today, for most of the day. It's still raining, in fact. Much cooler outside now but still annoyingly stuffy and sweaty inside. Even with doors and windows open it's taking a long time for the house to cool down.

However, cooler temp means more of a doing day at least. Ticked a couple of things of the List and caught up with the washing up. Also - gasp - did tonight's washing up after dinner! That won't become a regular thing, I can assure you...

~=o>

Do I really need to keep those eps of The Professionals I recorded from the telly 12 or more years ago? I don't have a video, and I can get dvds of the show that are much better quality. Plus, they have extra bits and no station breaks.
'k, I think I've more or less convinced myself now.

~=o>

Just finished reading 'The Guardian Book of Playlists' (Dorian Lynskey, 2008).
Synopsis from link:

Anthology of the much-loved weekly Guardian column * The 'Readers Recommend' column has a huge following in the paper and online * Offers 100 imaginative and idiosyncratic playlists for the multitudes of iPod users to download and enjoy * Provides an informed guide to the bewildering number of tracks available on iTunes and other online music libraries.

It was very interesting but I was miffed at the lack of Aus music. Sure, Nick Cave got on to a few lists but other than that... one track each from The Church, The Go-Betweens and The Triffids. I think I forget sometimes that, happily immersed as I am up to my eyeballs in local product, outside of Australia there's probly not that much widely noted.

Anyway, I'm going to make a point of having a listen to some of the tracks listed. Always a good thing to expand your musical horizons, even if ultimately you don't care for what you hear.

Forecast: 26-34
Attained: 25-33

HAPPY BIRFDAY, JOULES! :)

Have a, uh, transforming great day!

~=o>

It wasn't much of a doing weekend - too flippin' hot! - so my List was barely touched. I did however get a few boxes out of storage at Soulsis' place when I dropped the W nephew off. 2 of the boxes were old crap of the cubs, mostly rubbish and so easily dealt with. (Why they packed actual rubbish, I have no idea. Even I don't do that...) The other box was, I think, the last of the xmas decorations. Finally. It included the beautiful Elven Star ornament Joules gave me several years ago that I missed putting on the tree last xmas. See, I knew it would turn up in a box somewhere. :)

~=o>

And now the temperature's dropped, and we've had a little bit of rain. Hopefully the upcoming week will be reasonable...

Forecast: 23-38
Attained: 25-36

I'm currently working my way through the Captain Scarlet dvds. Love this series.
Many years ago I shared a house with a Gerry Anderson fan, which was an education in itself! Anyway, he'd managed to pick up some videos of CS - this was before anything much was commercially available. Something was niggling at me while we watched, some memory, that I couldn't quite pin down. I told my friend and he got this mischievous glint in his eyes... then he turned the colour down on the telly and I was seeing it in b/w.
Suddenly, I was four years old and in the loungeroom of our house in England! I had seen this show before, when I was little!
Of course, I appreciate it more now... :)

~=o>

Not quite sure what I was actually looking for when I did an image search and got this.

It's very... pink. It even took me aback.

Forecast: 16-35
Attained: 15-36

Interesting day, today. A day of yay and woe.

Finally had the ENT appointment this morning - the one that was booked 10 months ago. I'll need to have a CT scan to confirm but it looks as if I could have otosclerosis. That's what Gil Grissom had! Though both his ears were affected whereas I've just got probs with one. (I'll have to watch the scene again but I'm pretty certain Doc Robbins wouldn't have been able to diagnose that just by looking in Gil's ear!)
There's corrective surgery for the condition, that has a high rate of success. Could get my hearing back! Mmmm... stereo...
Mind you, elective surgery, could be years before I go under the knife.

~=o>

Later today I was at work getting things ready for our annual book sale on monday. (What do medical libraries do with superceeded or damaged books? Sell them to med students, of course!)
The boss put Di and I in charge of this and between us we've managed to get it under way, despite us only being at the same campus one day a week. Lots of emails...
Anyway, I did the pricing this afternoon. It was pretty arbitrary, have to admit. Big book? Surgery? Eh, $10. I've got my eye on a couple of the older books: if they're there on Tuesday I'll pick 'em up.

~=o>

About an hour out from hometime, as I was trying to finish the pricing, I get a call from the cubs. When they'd popped home after school to pick up stuff for the sleep over at their dad's, they found the hot tap in the bathroom sink fountaining forth! Ack!Shit! Their dad managed to close the tap off enough it was only about half the flow, but still.
Rang the agent to let them know; they contacted the owner. Short time later I get a txt from the agent saying the owner will be coming over >:< No! Just send the fracking plumber...! I thought, agitated. But it was fine, just a broken washer that the owner was able fix. (Why no, I didn't know how to fix that myself. Though I should be able to do it when the next tap goes...)
That was exciting. Yes.
I'm anticipating a quiet weekend after all that.

Forecast: 16-29
Attained: 16-25

All the dreams that I can remember this week featured run-down houses...

~=o>

I noticed today that the pond at the smaller work campus (not the big pond in the park near the main work campus) had little bitty baby fish darting about in the shallows! At least, I think they're fish. They're very small, streamlined and almost transparent. Tadpoles are more lumbery than darty.
Still, very cute. It means the fish in there are breeding!

Forecast: 16-26
Attained: 15-26

Hot, hot weekend coming up. [sigh]

Forecast: 16-24
Attained: 18-24

Was very busy today at work. Didn't once feel like nodding off. Now however... :)

~=o>

Tch, I want the cubs to see the Buffy series but I can't find my copy of the first season. We could start from season 2 but I like to start these things at the beginning.
Eh, it's probly in a box I haven't got to yet. We'll just have to go through Firefly in the meantime...

Forecast: 17-23
Attained: 20-23

Penny and I went op-shopping today. :)
Found a faaaaabulous metallic hot pink case thing!

It was a make-up set. Or what was left of one, anyway.
Easy enough to get rid of the make-up tray, that was just a plastic insert. The light/mirror thing looked a bit trickier...

Of course, as soon as the tray was out of the way, KittenKong had to 'help'...





And it turned out the mirror/light thing was designed to be removed!
So now I have a metallic pink case. Yeah!



(The last two pics are off-centre cos Blogger's 'insert image' tab was being stoopy and I had to link from Flickr instead...)

Forecast: 18-28
Attained: 19-29

Hee, the clearing and sorting continues...
This weekend I tackled the kitchen drawers! Reduced the load by a little but more importantly got the stuff organised. Now the baking stuff is in one spot, as is all the roasting stuff, chopsticks and choptstick rests etc.

I have a few choptstick rests, gleaned over the years from opshops, ebay, cheap Asian supermarkets, expensive Japanese shops... :)

Didn't think they were all going to fit with the chopsticks, but they did!

I also did a quick sort of the two drawers in the hallway dresser. They'd become a dumping ground for miscellania as I was unpacking, but now it all makes sense. I'm keeping the special cutlery in there, like Mum's bone-handled fish knives and forks, and the really pretty bamboo style cutlery set I talked her into buying me several years ago.
Bonus - I also now know how many coasters I have.
I'm not quite ready to tackle the shelves of the dresser yet, but soon, I'm sure.

I would really like to find a way to display the pate knives I've collected as well. They're all in a tin in the pantry. I also have a collection of cute/tacky ceramic toothpick holders. Like to get them up somewhere, too.

Forecast: 16-28
Attained: 17-26

My boss tends to be surprised at my ability to sort out M$ Word, Excel stuff. It's not that I'm an expert, not at all. I know a bit, enough to know how to phrase online search queries. :) The internet can be a wonderful resource.

~=o>

A little while ago I saw online someone's 'pattern' for folding paper envelopes for discs. Great idea - I immediately envisioned all my pic/itoon archives in pretty, matching envelopes. Yeah! Today I actually got 'round to designing the template.

To demonstrate:

Started out with marking up an A4 sheet.

Was easy enough in Word to get the text boxes in the right place, but it wouldn't let me turn the text upside down.
I almost settled for putting up with hand-writing the heading...

Nope, wasn't happy with that.
Ahah! Publisher...
... which will let you flip text boxes.

Neat, eh? :)

Soon my need for order will be (a bit more) satisfied...

Forecast: 19-24
Attained: 19-23

Couple of unsettling dreams this week.
In the first, I'd been given tickets to something really cool/interesting (honestly don't remember what it was but I would've liked to go) but I'd got my dates mixed up and instead of the event being the next day, it was now. I did consider diving in to the city but that would've taken an hour at least and I would've missed half of the show. I decided to stay home, while feeling that I'd failed at something, somehow...
(Interestingly, that one had me double checking myself most of the morning, making sure I was where I was s'posed to be.)

Last night's dream had me in the back garden, looking for something in the dusk. It was getting dark, but I had a torch - or the light from my mobile phone, can't remember which - then the cubs' father came out to hurry me back inside. Something was out there, some lurking menace that I was dimly aware of. What really struck me was that the cubs' father was in such a lather to hustle me back in to the house he stumbled on the uneven ground and hurt his knee. This wasn't funny, this meant things were serious. There was a great sense of relief when I stepped back in to the house and shut the door...

[shudder]
Ok, freaking myself out now. Time for kewt!

Forecast: 22-32
Attained: 22-27

Today was a day of minor disasters averted. :)
Got to work earlier than usual cos one of the staff carparks was going to be closed for construction work and I guessed that the public carpark, where I normally park, would be busier than usual. I was right but I managed to get a spot - good.

I'd decided to buy my lunch today so I could save time to get to work early. After I got to work I realised I'd been so focused on getting out of the house early I'd left my purse on the table. No lunch, no atm card to withdraw cash - bad.

Fortunately I have coins secreted in hidey holes all over my backpack so I was able to scrape up enough to get something to eat - good.
Didn't have enough cash though to buy milk on the way home so no cereal for breakfast tomorrow. That's all right, I can have toast - not bad.

Getting ready to leave work this afternoon I realised I hadn't collected a ticket for the parking place. The boom gate was up so I just drove in...
It was probly free parking today to accommodate the extra staff using the public carpark but if it wasn't, then I had no ticket and no money to pay any exit fee - bad.
I thought I may be able to be winsome and apologetic and talk my way out of trouble, but when I went to get the car the boom gate was open anyway - good!

:)

~=o>

It rained this afternoon. Lovely, lovely rain after a significant drop in temperature within an hour. Thunder and lightning, too, and howling winds. No trees down however, or flooding to contend with. Probably should've got my washing off the line yesterday though.

~=o>

This time(ish) last year the cubs and I were at Sovreign Hill, soaking up the Colonial ambience...

Forecast: 18-33
Attained: 18-35

[sigh] It's hot again.
The worst part is that when it's hot like this, it doesn't matter how many cold drinks I guzzle I never feel like I'm cooling down...

[grump]

Forecast: 16-28
Attained: 16-29

Hm, thought I smelt smoke this evening. According to the MFB there was a 'structure fire' not that far away...

~=o>

Aardman vs Superheros

Sooooo funny...!

Forecast: 15-25
Attained: 17-24

The cubs are pretty good about turning the lights off after themselves if I go to bed first. Occasionally I've woken up to find lights on but a gentle reminder is usually sufficient.
Last night they both went to bed fairly early while I stayed up for a little while longer. Not that unusual on a school night, however, when I finally bestirred myself to turn in, I switched off the lounge room light... and was suddenly plunged in to darkness!
First I squawked, then I lol'd, then groped my way to the kitchen to switch the light on again. Why didn't I just switch the lounge room light on again? Cos it's a lamp, an awkwardly placed lamp - that I'd already moved away from before I realised it wasn't just my eyes taking too long to adjust to the small amount of light from the kitchen - with more things to stub my toes on around it than the relatively straight-forward walk to the kitchen.
Really should get 'round to replacing the globe in the lounge's ceiling light...

Forecast: 16-23
Attained: 16-23

This past week has been lovely, weather wise. Day temps not over 26, and the nights cool enough to be under the bedclothes. Nice! We've a few hot days coming up, but not stupidhot, thank heavens...

~=o>

If I bought everything on my wishlist on eyetoons it would cost me over $1000. Good grief!

~=o>

Woke up in the middle of the night last night then had trouble getting back to sleep. Seriously considered getting up and having some icecream.
I didn't, though, which is probly just as well seeing as how hard it is to keep my sleeping pattern vaguely regular as it is. :)

~=o>

There's a pond near my work. This is what it was like two years ago.

It's recently been refurbished. Much nicer now, not the mud-scummed puddle it was.
I'm sure the ducks will be happier, too.

Forecast (Fri 10/2): 15-24
Attained: 18-26

Forecast (Sat 11/2): -20
Attained: 16-22

No blog update yesterday cos I was feeling bleurghy. Stayed away from the computer and indulged instead in Downton Abbey and chocolate icecream :)
Today, however...

I've just spent a happy 45 mins unravelling a big knot of guy ropes. Very satisfying, especially as it was something I've been meaning to do for about a decade.

~=o>

Our ABC has just started showing a fabulous comedy, Outland. Essentially it's about the trials and tribulations of a gay sci-fi club.
It was fecking hysterical, and I now have a new quote. "Daleks. They're like weevils..."
If you get a chance to see this show, do. :)
Beta Go!

Forecast: 13-25
Attained: 13-25

Good grief. Couple of nights in a row of crap sleep and I'm rubbish at work. Had to sneak off during lunchtime for a nap in my car. Fortunately I was at one of the quieter campuses. Did feel brighter though...

~=o>

This time last year I was sorting through my dvds, getting the majority of them out of the plastic cases and in to holder things.

Forecast: 13-22
Attained: 14-21

Weird kind of day. Had a nommy dinner though. Potatoes slow-cooked in ham/roast chicken stock, with cauliflower and meatballs. Mmmm...

Forecast: 14-22
Attained: 15-22

Oooh! My favourite Muse song has a clip!
Jolly interesting, too. It plays up the slightly sinister feel of the track. No simple love songs - or simple any sort of songs - for this lot. No wonder Joules is a fan... :)

Enjoy...

Muse - Feeling Good.

No embedding allowed, sorry. Here's a screen grab:

Forecast: 14-22
Attained: 14-23

I've heard a fair bit about Downton Abbey but not having a telly per se I missed out when it screened here last year.
I <3 New Year sales: picked up the DVD at a reasonable price. Two eps in and I love this series! I've been cheering, and booing, and laughing... much to the amusement of the cubs. :)

This is a very funny spoof of the program. It's probably a bit spoilery...

Forecast: 23-33
Attained: 26-31

An interesting day to go up to the hills to visit cousins, what with the high winds and dry conditions meaning a fire alert. But it turned out all right, by 4pm the temperature had dropped by 10 degrees and it was raining hard enough to cause flooding.
Ah, Melbourne... :)

~=o>

This evening that dratted spider put in another appearance. Half-way down the wall this time so, from a safe distance, I bravely talked the VortexCub through the container/cardboard method of catch-and-release-well-away-from-the-house.
Still twitchy.

~=o>

Animal Song - The Europeans.

"There is a fine line between being artistic and being a fruity ass freak in a white leotard shouting at a parachute..." (Quoted from Funny or Die.)

Early 80's. I loved this song. Tracked down the single - it was an import - and played it to death. Alas, it was one of the treasures I lost in a fire a few years later. Would love to have another copy... :)

"The Animal Song" by The Europeans - watch more funny videos

Forecast: 17-31
Attained: 16-33

[rattled]
You know that (effing huge huntsman) spider that's been lurking about the lounge room? Well, it was out of sight, out of mind - as I thought, until I PICKED UP THE PAPERWEIGHT IT WAS RESTING ON.
[hyperventilating]
Spider ran over my hand, with all of its eight horrid feet, whereupon I squealed and desperately shook my hand to dislodge the thing. Consternation was high as I couldn't see where it had landed so I went to call the cubs - AND THEN NOTICED THE FRACKING THING WAS ON ME!
Squealed even louder - verily, like a girl - and convulsed in my clothes, flinging the thing from my t-shirt. At this point the cubs came running cos they thought I was in serious trouble. Which I was! They didn't seem to think so though they did mention it was the highest pitch they'd ever heard from me. They were, however, prepared to get a container to try and catch the thing, once we spotted it again, but it scuttled up the wall out of reach. Where it's still sitting, right now, and I'm being vigilant. Or paranoid. Same thing.

Right, need something cute to take my mind off it all...

This'll do. :)

D'awww...

Forecast: 14-27
Attained: 16-27

Several years ago, I bought this:

A Bat Signal shaped portable stereo! (Wow, what a rubbish pic...) It was cheap and Batman related: I couldn't resist!
I let the cubs use it in their shared room at the old place, and at some point someone had stepped on the stereo's cord and bent the plug out of shape. [sigh] Was very miffed, I can tell you. I hung on to the unit with the intention of getting another cord someday...
Fast forward (probably) 3-4 years to today. I bought another cord for the stereo!
Alas it didn't work. I think the stereo itself is borked after so many years of disuse. It's probly not worth getting repaired, and I do have other stereos. Just, I was looking forward to using this one again. Eh well.

~=o>

I have a List of things to do this weekend. Not a big list like the last The List, but maintenance type things. Enough to be getting on with. We're in for a hottish weekend, let's see how I go with it. :)

Forecast: 15-27
Attained: 14-27

Hee, cubs went back to school today and I didn't get a 'your child was late' txt! An excellent start. :)

~=o>

Needed to do a little shopping after work. It's always a little weird hearing iconic music from my youth past being played in the supermarket - very glad we've moved on from that godsawful muzak - however, for some reason it was particularly disjointing to hear Sting's Moon Over Bourbon Street as I was rummaging through the organic pasta...




Just... weird... :)

Forecast: 13-24
Attained: 13-24

Ahhh... It was finally cool enough last night to sleep comfortably. Here's hoping there's a few more nights of that before it gets hot again. Will give me a chance to catch up on sleep.

~=o>

Cubs are back to school tomorrow. Their dad and I took them out to dinner at the Piggy Place.
I had the Hog Wheel (pork belly) again. Iz very nom.

~=o>

This time last year I was playing with my new camera...

Forecast: 15-20
Attained: 15-20

Not sure how many people have seen this.
Amazing bit of footage, but my first thought on seeing that mass of starlings was to wonder if they were edible? Chuck a net amongst that lot... :)

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

The song is available on eyetoons, too. Is very tempting...

~=o>

I overheard the cubs talking about the possibility of 'getting a place with their friends' in the future. Made me smile, cos when they were about 6 they informed me with all seriousness that they were going to stay with me forever and ever, even if they got married.

Forecast: 22-26
Attained: 22-32

Hah! I knew it got to more than 26 today!

~=o>

Spidey has reappeared behind me, across the room but still up high. I'm resisting the urge to glance over my shoulder every few seconds...

From Hyperbole and a Half. Spiders are Scary.

I take heart that I'm not quite as paranoid as this anymore.

~=o>

Cubs are back to school on Thursday. We picked up their stupidly expensive speshul calculators today - $165 each, which is better than the $190 quoted - then fought through the other back-to-school shoppers to stock up on stationery. I'd set the cubs the task of going through their booklists and writing out what they needed. As it happened they had a lot of stuff left over from last year so it wasn't too big an expense.
Was thinking about uniform stuff for them as well but they've got a couple of extra pairs of school trousers that I never quite got 'round to hemming last year so they were never worn. See, procrastination sometimes pays off. :)

Forecast: 21-35
Attained: 21-35

No sign of the spider. As long as I can't see it I won't fret...

~=o>

I've posted the pics from yesterday's trip to the Museum on FB. I'll put them up on Flickr when I'm not wilting... (It's still hot...)

Museum, Jan 2012.

~=o>

I know how it's going to end but I still jump, every time. :)

Forecast: 22-34
Attained: 20-30

Phew, busy day! But good... :)
My brother et al are down in Melbourne for a few days. Cubs and I met up with them today at their sky-scrapery apartment...

(View from the balcony. Where I bravely stood to take the shot...)

... before trooping off to the museum!

(Main hallway, with the skeleton of a Blue Whale).

(I'll post more pics at Flickr or FB when I've got relevant permissions.)

It was hot though, and we did lots of walking. [ow-feet-ow]

~=o>

Gah. There's been a huntsman spider lurking around the house for a few days, moulting and such. Didn't have a problem with it until now...

It's above my computer desk now. It has a leg span of about 10cm. Really not happy with how close it is...

Edit: Just tried to shift it on using a long pointy thing, but it attacked the pointy thing!! [quiver] Very difficult trying to type while keeping one eye open for sudden movements from above...

Forecast: 16-29
Attained: 17-30

I've been using the TAFE carpark near work for the past 18 months cos technically I was a student there for most of it. That finished at the end of 2011 but over the end of year holiday season the TAFE gives out passes so the hospital workers can use the carpark while the students are away.
Alas, even that brief respite has reached its end, and from next week I'll have to park half a kingdom away. [sigh] I suppose the walk will do me good, or something... :)

~=o>

Tch, my phone's being a prima donna again. Not sure what set it off this time...

~=o>

Off to the Melbourne Museum tomorrow with cubs, and assorted other family members!

Forecast: 14-26
Attained: 16-24

Australia Day!
Triple J Hottest 100 Countdown! Only 2 of the songs I voted for got in but that was okay cos one that I'd meant to vote for got in as well. What was No. 1? In a surprise to no-one, it was Gotye's 'Someone That I Used to Know'. :)

(Fun fact: I never quite caught the actual figure but apparently there were over 1.5 million votes in the countdown this year...)

~=o>

Having the day off was lovely but my time sense is all over the place now. It feels like the end of a weekend. I'm expecting to meet Penny for coffee tomorrow, as I normally would on a Monday...! :)

Forecast: 19-26
Attained: 21-24

I saw this pic online today and I LOL'd.

Because to me it looked like she was wearing one of these...

[snicker]

Forecast: 20-34
Attained: 21-34

Lord love a duck it's been hot! I'm anticipating the day when I can whinge about the cold weather. :)

~=o>

It's the Year of the Dragon! Go me! Rarrr!

Wen Long by Yee Chong Silverfox.

Forecast: 20-34
Attained: 19-33

Hot today, but not humid at least...
I was at Penny's this afternoon, enjoying her new air conditioner. That was nice. :)

~=o>

I really don't have anything else to say.
Have a cute... um... thing, instead.

Tenatacle Pot Pie. (Picture nicked from the site.)
Heh.

Forecast: 18-31
Attained: 17-33

I vacuumed the house today. Yes, this is a wonder. It helps that the floors are still fairly clear from the inspection clean-up. :)

~=o>

Browsing old pics...

Tewantin Ferry, Noosa Heads, Queensland. April, 2007.

Forecast: 18-28
Attained: 19-28

A good day.
I sorted out the 'puter desk drawers this morning, then had a nap, then spent the afternoon/evening eating chips and chocolate and sorting out the sewing desk drawers.
Very satisfying. :)

~=o>

Australia Day next Thursday! Public Holiday! Day off!
I shall be listening to the now traditional Triple J's Hottest 100 Countdown!

~=o>

Bwahahahaha!
Joules showed me this earlier today. [giggling] Someone had way too much fun with this!
BadgerCub made an intersting observation about it. He's not entirely sure but he thinks the glowing 'bots in the clip are ones who died in the first (G1) movie. Which would add another level of geek irony. :)

Forecast: 15-24
Attained: 17-21

Can't think of anything to say.
Have a cute cannon, instead...

Forecast: 15-25
Attained: 16-23

Eventful day. The owner came over to check the stove. He says there's nothing wrong with it, the gas I'm smelling all through the house when the oven's on is 'just a build up'.
I call BS on that, but, will do as suggested (having the grill on at the same time to clear this 'build up') and see how we go...
(I wasn't here for this, mind, I was in txt communication with one of the cubs while I was at work.)

~=o>

On a happier note, the cubs and I went to see the Muppet Movie tonight!
Couldn't stop laughing in places! So many in-jokes, so many celebrity cameos to spot! [bg] And one of the most... interesting versions of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' I've ever heard.

Also! There was a preview of the new Aardman film, The Pirates. Already looks good but the anticipation was notched 20% higher cos 'Swords of a Thousand Men' was used in the trailer. :)



Love that song. I was briefly in the Tenpole Tudor fanclub back in the early 80's...

Didn't update yesterday cos I was too busy finishing the cleaning for the inspection.
So, some catch up weather.

Forecast for 17th: 24-35
Attained: 24-34

Forecast for today: 24-30
Attained: 21-24

Heh, reading the straight figures like that the temperature sounds almost reasonable, doesn't it?
However, consider: when I went to bed last night, it was 29 degrees. When I woke up it had only dropped to 25. The 'low' of the day came around lunchtime, and the 'high' around 3pm...

The inspection went ok. I was working but the cubs were home and texted me when it was finished. I don't know that they were happy to be here on their own but they did it, my wonderful children.
They're going to have to do it again tomorrow though, cos the owner's coming over to check out the stove and fire alarm. (I'd noted for the agent that they needed repair/replacement.) Haven't been able to use the oven for months: everytime it's on there's a strong smell of gas throughout the house. Not good, I'm sure. Stove top and grill are fine, just the oven is worrying.
As for the (mandatory) fire alarm, I tested it a couple of days ago and it didn't work. When the new battery went in, however, the damn thing wouldn't switch off! The unit is ancient and almost certainly needs replacing anyway...

~=o>

After Mum had had her stroke and I was toiling up and down the Warbie trying to get her unit sorted out, I stopped one Sunday at the local market near her place. I was worn out and depressed, and had rebelliously decided to give myself a small break before continuing to tackle packing up Mum's stuff. It wasn't a restful break as it happened. Mum and I, and frequently the cubs, and Soulsis et al, had been dropping in to this market for more than ten years. Wandering around it that day, knowing that I was never going to be there with my mum again was very hard. I bought myself a little succulent that'd caught my eye. After all, I would be moving in to a new house before the end of the year and it would be nice to have plants again...

I didn't look after the plant though and over the next few months it withered but I couldn't bring myself to throw it out. Not sure why. Anyway, this poor scrap of a thing was transported to the new place, where it sat hidden amongst the stuff piled up on the kitchen table. Everytime I cleaned up I'd find it, and still wouldn't be able to get rid of it so back it went, out of the way, still neglected and unwatered.

Several weeks ago I found it again and this time I decided to give it a good soaking and put it out in the light and see what happened. I reasoned that if it stayed 'dead' then it was dead and I could finally throw it out. However, astonishingly, it started to revive. I wasn't sure at first, I thought the leaves looked a tiny bit plumper but couldn't be certain. So I soaked it again, and again.

It came back. :)
It now lives quite happily on the little freezer under the kitchen window, and I smile everytime I look at it...


Feed me, Seymour...

Forecast: 16-33
Attained: 15-33

[flop] I can haz stop nao?
The battle has been hard fought but victory is close. The chaos has been forced to retreat step by step. Now, only a small pocket of resistance remains. On my bed. I'll deal with it tomorrow...

~=o>

The house shortly after we moved in at the end of 2010...

The house today, a year-ish later...

The house today after Penny did some pruning for me. :)

Look there at the fence! I haz a hedge!


KittenKong. Helping.
I'd just cleared that spot...

Forecast: 13-24
Attained: 15-22

Right! Bathroom, laundry & toilet are finished: everything else is half-to-almost finished. :) I've cheated a bit: the stuff I couldn't put away has been stuffed back in to boxes and stacked neatly. Still, there's less of that this time so I am pleased.

However. Gods above, I loathe grouted tiles in bathrooms. [grumple] So stupid fiddly to clean. At least in this place they're reasonably big tiles, instead of the manky little ones at the old place that meant even more grouting to scrub. If I'm ever in a position where I can chose the sort of wall/floor stuff for my bathroom, it will not be tiles...

~=o>

This time(ish) last year...

Cubs helping me move a wardrobe in to the house.
Well, when I say 'helping me', I mean I told them where to put it. :)

Forecast: 15-23
Attained: 15-20

Cos the inspection's so close I'm only really doing damage control tidying up now, that is just making neat piles of what's left rather than sorting and clearing away.
Not nearly so much fun but considerably quicker. Eh, there'll be more organisational stuff to be getting on with after Wednesday. :)

Will start looking out for another thin (40-45cm) bookcase or two. Can definitely squeeze them in now that I've rearranged the lounge room.

~=o>

Wow, I think it's been almost 3 years since I was last at the Melbourne Aquarium. Been meaning to get back there. Hopefully will do in the next month or so.

King penguins, parading. May, 2009.

Forecast: 14-22
Attained: 14-20

I had a delicious dinner tonight. Grilled steak and tomato, with garlic and mushrooms sauted in far too much butter. Nom. :)
And then I had one of the sachet hot chocs Joules sent me. Banana/choc! Surprisingly yummy. I want another one now...

~=o>

Hee, halfway through season 3 of DS9. So far we've clocked up the Mirror Universe ep, the Time Travel to Earth's Past and try not Screw up the Timeline ep and Everyone Gets Weird and Uninhibited ep. Gads, I love the ST universe...

Forecast: 13-21
Attained: 13-21

This is a very cool story:

Elusive Burmese monkey captured on camera.

However, this line made me do a doubletake:

While researchers obtained a number of other deceased animals and observed them in the wild, the monkeys had never been photographed.

[snicker] What's wrong with that sentence? :)

Forecast: 13-19
Attained: 13-19

Melbourne! Where it's unwise to completely pack away your winter clothes during summer...

Pic taken at work today.
What it doesn't show very clearly is the wind whipping the rain around...

The stupid hot days are bearable cos I know the weather will swing back down again. :)

Forecast: 15-21
Attained: 14-20

First day back at work! Had trouble getting to sleep last night, but managed to stay awake today. :)
Just for fun, here's a list of the ways my holidays differed from work:

- barely wore shoes
- didn't get up at stupid'o'clock
- wore no polyester
- didn't get to bed at a sensible time (very often)
- hardly ever ate lunch
- got to relax with the cubs rather than chivvy them around
- napped in the afternoons without fear of being discovered

[nods] Was good.

~=o>

Aaaand got the notice of inspection letter from the agent today. Scheduled for next wednesday. Dun dun DUN. Lucky I've been doing all that clearing and sorting, eh?

Forecast: 15-24
Attained: 15-24

Cleaning up the house discombobulates KittenKong. The problem is she develops specific tracks around the place and if something's changed it can throw off her whole progress.
It is funny though, the look on her face when she jumps up to something that's no longer there...

~=o>

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Severus...

Forecast: 21-27
Attained: 20-28

Bit ambivalent about going back to work on Tuesday. I really like my job but the past couple of weeks have been great and I'm reluctant to relinquish that. :)
Mind you, this break has proved to me that no matter how much I like my job, if I didn't have to work, I wouldn't.

~=o>

[snicker]



see more Fandom

Forecast: 17-31
Attained: 15-29

Not a lot of clearing got done today, but I did manage to chip away at some of it before I had a nap attack. :)

~=o>

Aquarium sink.

You'd never get me out of the bathroom...
(Pic nicked from an AVG images search.)

Forecast: 14-24
Attained: 14-24

I can hardly see straight but I'm very satisfied.
Wait. That didn't sound particularly savoury..
Anyway.
I did a lot of work on the lounge room today. Unearthing neglected corners, rearranging, vacuuming. Was loads of fun! The sofa is no longer almost clear but the overall chaos in here has been reduced considerably.

A little concerned about the vacuum cleaner though. It's a Nilfisk, inherited from Mum, and it's fairly powerful and efficient but the interchangeable plastic heads are very fragile. Bits crack off when they're dropped or smacked hard against something; not uncommon with my clumsiness and inability to hold things securely for very long. Eh well, I don't think I've damaged them so much they don't function any more.

The best bit about this reorganising spree is that cos I've already done some work in my bedroom there's akshully space for stuff from the lounge room to go to! (The wardrobe in my room is all shelves and so is being used for crafting storage instead of clothes. Mind you, I don't have much in the way of clothes anyway.)
There is now nothing in the wardrobe that isn't meant to be there. :) Go me!

~=o>

Hee. I have that pic of John M.F. Watson from yesterday as my desktop wallpaper. I keep sneaking looks at it...

~=o>

In the kitchen the other day I heard a weird scrabbling sort of noise...

KittenKong had found a flattened box in the recyclables tub...
She was quite pleased with herself. I think she slept there that night.

Forecast: 12-23
Attained: 15-21

Snapped awake at 5.30 this morning then couldn't get back to sleep so decided to get up about 6. Cleared the washing up and de-decorated the xmas tree before deciding I needed a nap at 8am.
Had meant to get up again around 9.30 but ongoing problems with my 'phone means the alarm doesn't work. Or rather it works, but only once, despite being set for snooze, and I never hear the first alarm. That's going to make going back to work interesting. May need to get another small alarm clock for my bedside. (Really, really, really don't want to have to get another 'phone just yet.) I still have the secondary, jarring alarm across the room but if I can roll out of bed before that goes off it's a much better start to the day. :)

Anyway, while I was asleep I had an interesting dream. Me and some friends - the Islandkateer group plus others - went on a trip. A ferry would take us out to the middle of the bay, then we'd all take our turn to perform some small piece to the group. Everyone had brought food so there would be noms, and laughs, and then places to sleep. (A bunch of single-beds jammed in to a room. I'd claimed my berth with a hot pink coverlet.)
Was a fine time, enhanced by a surprise appearance of John Barrowman - arriving bum-first through an overhead hatch - and being a bit lewd and very entertaining. (It's ok, I know where that bit of the dream came from. I'd watched a clip from one of JB's shows last night so no surprise there!)
All the same, I knew that the middle of the bay wasn't the best place for the ferry, especially not with the storm clouds gathering in the distance...

~=o>

Cubs and I, and their dad, went to see Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows this evening. Started off a little bored, admittedly, but the story started getting exciting about halfway through and I was loving it by the end.
I must once more reaffirm my allegiance to John M.F. Watson...

(Pic nicked from somewhere online then cropped.)

Forecast: 18-24
Attained: 19-22

[happy sigh] I've just had my first cup of tea in 4 days. It's been too hot to even think about hot drinks...

~=o>

Don't look now but the sofa's almost cleared of stuff.
Almost.

~=o>

Crafternoon with Penny today! Very relaxing... also, Penny gave me a handful of little lapidary (lapidaried?) mineral eggs. Why, just the other day I was contemplating the half dozen mineral eggs I already had and thinking I should like some more. :)
See? Just have patience and all that you desire will appear.

(And I've set myself (another) challenge for this year. For making stuff in a crafty fashion I'm not going to buy anything extra but make do with using bits from the not inconsiderable stash I've already got. The exception might be for specialist equipment that I don't have, like felting needles. But between mine and mum's stuff I have just about everything I could possibly want!)

Forecast: 24-35
Attained: 24-30

Almost finished watching season 2 of DS9.
I find myself strangely attracted to Cardassians.

~=o>

I've been sorting out more stuff. It turns out I have a lot of empty containers. Almost certainly more than I could possibly need. Time for a cull perhaps?
Though perhaps not quite yet. There's still boxes and boxes of stuff still stored at other peoples' houses that needs to be gone through...

~=o>

Temperature's come down at last. We should have a few days of reasonable weather before it gets silly again.

Forecast: 22-40
Attained: 20-40

Watched GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra today on dvd.
... what a load of rubbish. I'm very glad I borrowed it from the library and didn't spend any actual money on it. I dozed through half of it - don't think I missed much.
The only bright spot was Brendan Fraser. :)

~=o>

... I thought I had something else to say but no, iz too hot to think. (32 degrees at 11.30 pm. Ridiculous...)

~=o>

My chicken calendar is up. Happy 'bout that. :)

Forecast: 19-35
Attained: 19-33

[grump] I dislike sweating.

~=o>

I thought I'd managed to give myself a blister on my foot yesterday - my own fault, hot day, shoes that rub and no socks - but I'm wondering if it's actually a bite. I can't see anything that looks like a bite site, but it's damn sore and very red. If it is a blister it's one that's gone deeper than just the superficial epidermis. Needed panadol last night before I could sleep.
It's a little better today but still owie.

~=o>

Zomigodkewt!
Listen to their widdle voices!

Forecast: 17-32
Attained: 18-35

Happy New Year! [fireworks, etc.!] :)

~=o>

Cubs and I went to see Puss in Boots today (NYE). Was very funny, and the animation was fabulous! Jack & Jill were hysterical! Definitely one to get when it comes out on DVD.

~=o>

NYE was spent with Niki and Soulsis et al, watching Time Team and nomming on N's excellent home-smoked salmon. Mmmm... We watched the Sydney fireworks at midnight. A good relaxing evening, helped immeasurably by Niki having aircon. :)

~=o>

While in the supermarket today...

IT WASN'T EVEN JANUARY!

(pic taken 31st December, 2011)

Speechless. Srsly.