Sorry for the late travel post - I'm having a hard week re-writing my thesis conclusion and introduction! Please take this as an excuse for the image reliant post as well.

( Darwin and Kakadu )

And for those collecting Australianisms, this entry has reminded me of two more shortenings: saltie for salt water crocodile and wedgie for wedge tailed eagle!

Tags: animals, birds, family, travel

Inspired by Jen Robinson's list of memorable places she has read I thought I would belatedly do the same.

( Warning: nostalgia under this cut )

Tags: books, family, meme, travel

John Green (author of the excellent Looking for Alaska - I should have had a best first book category and then he could have won it - and An abundance of Katherines, which sounds great but isn't out here yet) and his brother Hank have kindly provided me with an additional blog to watch when I want to procrastinate. That's right, watch. They are running a Brotherhood project where they take turns on weekdays to make a video blog for the other. The brothers are both very funny and there are few enough entries that it's easy to catch up now!

They are also very brave. I can just imagine what the world would think of a Sisterhood video blog that my sisters and I would make. After a round of madder than usual emails between the family my mother crossly commented You are all acting like Monkeys. No wonder you like bananas! (direct quote).

Tags: family, green, links ahoy

One unanticipated problem with the chicken gift giving from Oxfam Unwrapped - one (elderly) relative thought it was a program like adopting a child and we had signed her up for monthly payments to keep the chicken alive.

Once that confusion was cleared up, all gifts were happily exchanged :) Many new books and DVDs in this household. Although the prawns were disappointing they were more than made up for by spectacular Moreton Bay Bugs. And it was good we fit a swim in as today the temperature plummeted to a bizarrely low 22 degrees c. I can't ever remember such a cold Boxing Day. Although I shouldn't complain - they got snow down south!

A book post will be forthcoming as I intend to take the rest of the week slowly!

Tags: daily life, family

talisen and I went to Moreton Island for a long weekend away, with the same group as last April namely my mum and sister and various hanger ons. All the stuff I said last time was true this time too, there was wetland appreciation, bird watching, fishing, $15/night accommodation, novel reading, relaxing and chatting over wine and nibblies. This time there was swimming too. The water was still slightly cooler than I like, but who could resist going for a swim when the ocean looks like this?



This time around we caught the posher barge (due to an unfortunate misjudging of traffic that had us miss the normal one). It was nice to get there quickly in a boat with a cafe and little tables and seats, but I don't mind the more casual barge that doesn't seem to recognise what a safety talk is and lets people wander around with their own stubbies in their hands :)

Anyway, it was great to go away and not work. I did mean to do some but found I had left stuff at home, including a pen, which I took to be a sign I needed a break. Unfortunately, the relaxation was undone by waking up this morning with a horribly stiff neck but at least I can look at the lovely photos and pretend I'm on the island watching dolphins swim past.

Tags: family, travel

Wow, long time since the last entry. Despite, or perhaps because of, the copious amounts of public holidays recently I’ve been busy!

( Easter in Rockhampton )
( Moreton Island weekend )

Tags: family, friends, travel

One of my sisters has recently acquired a kitten, which makes him my nephew cat I suppose. We are all having fun playing with Charlie (I can't actually remember the human guests at her house from the last couple of visits) and I thought some of you cat lovers might like some piccies.

( Ridiculously cute kitten )

Tags: animals, family

Last night I went with my sisters and our various significant others to see The lion, the witch and the wardrobe. It only came out on Boxing Day here in Australia, so the session was still pretty busy. Although I'm sure the numbers were boosted by the desperate hordes of people seeking to escape the heat.

I liked it! The actors and their costumes were great, especially the white witch, Tumnus and Lucy. The setting was well done, and it was nice to have the technology to make believable centaurs, fauns, talking animals etc. It was close enough to the original story that I sat there remembering why I loved the Narnia books (excepting The last battle, but who likes that one?) so much as a child. And I don't think it was too disneyfied either, which I was fearing.

When I read the Narnia books as a child, I always fancied Edmund (my favourite character), and identified with Lucy. Susan and Peter were both kind of annoying. But watching this movie, I definitely was most like Peter as a child - responsible, bossy and idealistic. And I think maybe I would have liked him more and Edmund less if I'd watched the movie as a 9 year old, although I'm not sure what makes me think so.

Was it here someone was talking about ugliness/physical differences of the unlikeable children in Charlie and the chocolate factory? I thought of the good=attractive coding last night when I saw the beautiful centaurs/cheetahs/naiads vs the twisted dwarfs/hogs/minotaurs, but then noticed the lovely snow leopards, wolves and some other pretty beasties on the (beautiful) bad witch's side, so the code fell apart.

Tags: books, children's, family, fantasy, friends, movies

We've been enjoying a fairly lazy Christmas break this year. Lots of time for nice things like lying on the couch reading. Christmas was spent with our two families, across the road from each other, which allowed for much eating and drinking and wandering back and forth. Everyone liked their pressies, piles of prawns, crabs, bugs and crayfish were devoured, champagne and interesting conversation flowed liberally and the swimming pool was much appreciated. Boxing Day was an even lazier version of Christmas, involving less walking and more dozing.

I've read two good books over the last few days. The first was Gabrielle Zevin's Elsewhere. I think this was recommended by Judith, and I intend to send her a thank-you email as this was a wonderful book. I wasn't too enthusiastic with the plot before I started as I knew it was narrated by a dead 15 (almost 16) year old girl and told of her experiences with the afterlife, which just doesn't sound engaging. But it was. I cried in parts but it was essentially a very hopeful and uplifting story. The clear and simple writing style appealed to me as well. This is definitely on my "leave awhile and re-read" pile so that I can see if my delighted reaction to the first reading is repeated.

And I've just finished Devil's Food, the new Corinna Chapman (baker extraordinaire and amateur sleuth) novel by Kerry Greenwood. As usual, I thoroughly enjoyed the cooking (more recipes to try), the cats and other residents of the Roman-style apartment block and the Melbourne setting. Also as usual I felt the mystery was a little clunky and saw it mainly as a vehicle for the various fascinating people, costumes and sly comments about society and so on. One of the interesting themes of this installment was the worrying anti-fat trend of our Western world (which I feel snarky enough about for a whole other post). All in all, very good holiday reading!

Tags: books, family, food, friends, greenwood, mystery, young adult, zevin

We arrived home from an absolutely wonderful time in Peru Tuesday afternoon. I'll write all about the trip when I have a little more time! After joyous greetings by family and friends we settled in to appreciate our beautiful home again, looking very nice after the attentions of our kind housesitters (better than when we left to tell the truth). It was weird being back after a month - my plants had grown, the jacarandas had jumped from starting to blossom to almost finishing and the building going up in the middle of our "town" had grown a few levels.

And the storm birds have arrived! These are migratory birds with a most beautiful call that I await every spring. They are called storm birds as they are supposed to call before a storm - in reality they just happen to be here during the storm season, but it's a great name anyway :-)

The day after arriving I very relectantly headed back to the airport to go to a workshop in Bathurst (a nice regional town in NSW). Luckily I didn't have to present until Friday, after another night's sleep :-) It all went well, and I met some interesting people, but it was difficult to leave nice warm Brisbane after so short a time.

I came back last night and am now thinking about getting ready for my cousin's wedding later today. My family always enjoys a party so it should be a great day and night! I admit it's a bit of a mad week, and can see myself crashing at some stage in the future!

Tags: daily life, family, travel