eurovision

Yesterday at work was an absolute killer. No-one had braved the torrential rain on Friday so we were inundated with people . The book returns were like scenes from the sorcerers' apprentice sequence in the Fantasia film...

Added to this was a tagging process every item in all our libraries is subject to at the moment ( too boring to explain to non library people but if you are in libraryworld you may know the jargon: RFID, racetracks, donuts... don't ask).

I work with a fabulous team on Saturdays which makes it easier, but poor S got a phone call at about four p.m because her little boy was being taken to hospital so of course  she went off immediately, just before more heavy rain started. Being one down meant we all had to slow down but I still ended the day exhausted: we all were. Delicious Indian takeway in front of the fire was just what the doctor ordered.

Then daughter and I watched the second night of the Eurovision Song contest. I just love all the shiny outfits and cheesy pop music and dance routines. Very good for geography, too, as you  (if you're me) then have to look up where places like Montenegro and San Marino are located on the map of the world.

 The winner has been announced ( good choice too) and I won't get to see the final tonight because we're out for dinner but I've enjoyed it a lot. Here's the Turkish entry which was great. Loved the Ukraine (love a good anthem at Eurovision), Norway, Sweden and others I've now forgotten. Tempted to get the CD to listen to in the car, it will be fun during the dark winter days.

friday book review:sookie 12

image via here

I read Sookie 12 -  Deadlocked -  by Charlaine Harris, then, as is my habit now, I popped over to the goodreads site to read some other reviews. Well, goodness me what a lot of carry-on and vitriol about this book!

I liked it. It's fairy floss, and the series always has been. Supernatural, sexy Mills and Boon type fairy floss, but FLUFF, nevertheless.

These books are like watching Bold and the beautiful, or Midsomer murders, but with vampires and werewolves.

Readers are carrying on as if what was once a brilliant series has gone downhill - well, it has a bit ( the introduction of the fairies did it for me) but you know, these books are like putting on a cosy pair of slippers, in a way. Predictable, safe, you know what you're getting. Not high art .

 I'm not looking for literature or common sense or a happy ending for Sookie and Eric the vampire.

Disclaimer: I've never seen an episode of True Blood and I'm wondering if people who are upset are Eric-the-TV-character fans, rather than Eric-the-annoying-sexist-book-vampire. I'm happy with the end of this one ( no spoilers from me...). My biggest criticism  is the passing references to characters I can't remember: Quinn? Heidi?  Harris needs to put a character guide in the front of the book - listing  every character who is spoken about in the novel, even briefly.

There will be one more, apparently. I'll read it, to wind up the series - although it's fairly predictable what's going to happen to Sookie in Book 13. I'm also wondering if she'll lose her telepathy because of What Happens in Book 12 (spoilers).

Anyway: now, at last bring on Bring up the bodies.

It's nine degrees, pouring with rain and going to get worse. I've already been out to buy fish for dinner and don't need to leave the house again except to get wood for the fire and pick up the boy from camp later.Stay dry, warm and cosy if you're in marvellous Melbourne today.

move along,nothing to see here

By avoiding all devices with screens today, I ticked off a gratifying number of items on the "to do" list I made this morning. Will finish the list off tomorrow, including sewing up a PONCHO I've knitted and sorting out the youngest's bedroom before he returns from camp.
I've already changed all his bed linen.

 Also, if you live in this house, when you come back from school camps you get your favourite chocolate bar on your clean pillow upon your return.

(Young people here are kind enough to say  -  the best thing about going to camp? : getting the "welcome home" chocolate).

image via here

dinner for one

Well here I am, home alone: I came home to a dark house and a spotless kitchen bench and all I am having for dinner is a piece of leftover chicken pie and a mandarin!

Son is still at camp; daughter is at a design expo night (school thing) at the Melbourne Convention Centre, so husband is hanging around the office a bit longer and will pick her up at eight p.m. Instead of getting home at a quarter to six and launching into dinner preparations I lay on the couch and finished Sookie 12.

A nice change!

still awkward after all these years....

.... of working in public libraries.

This morning: patron rings up to renew her books over the phone. There is some confusion ( her, not me) about which books are on her card and which on her husband's card. So I have to read out all the titles, loudly, because it's a bad line and also the library is chaotic with mothers and babies for story time.

And of course one of the titles is I have to (not quite) shriek out over all the noise is Tantric sex: the path to sexual bliss.

Cue smirking staff at the circ desk. Yeah, thanks for that.

in booky heaven

To hell with what I should be doing (folding dry washing, paying bills, putting stuff away....)

I'm reading Sookie 12 ( is it 12 ? ), have a giant pile of beautiful pictorial books to flick through, and finally, my copy of the Wolf Hall sequel has arrived. Believe it or not I started another book which I am loving, but it will be put on hold while I read Harris and then Mantel. For those who are interested it's called The various haunts of men - first in a crime series by Susan Hill of The woman in black fame. I think she is up to number six so am happy to have discovered a new series which is a bit Elizabeth George-ish. Looking forward to a booky week. I'm having another cup of tea and getting back to Sookie now...

peace

 The nicest Sundays of all are the ones are when all four of us are here doing our own thing and everyone is in a really good mood. One of us who had a late night fishing out on the bay is sleeping in a chair;one is tidying their room - without encouragement/nagging;the one going to camp tomorrow is playing a console game because he will have a week without these devices. I'm blogging then going upstairs to read for a bit. LOOK, just LOOK what lovely Pene sent me this week in a care package with some chocolate:

.... the latest Sookie Stackhouse, which is my reading fluff for the week.

Went out for a lovely lunch yesterday: my contribution was the plate of slices you can see above -
 peanut butter  squares and old fashioned lemon slice. They are really easy to make. If you do make them, cut the pieces very small because they are VERY sweet.

I've just spent forty-five minute or so weeding the rose garden and the woodland garden ( every bed in this garden has a different name and.... personality?) There is much more to do but I find it less intimidating to choose one bed ( or two in this case) and do them really well rather than weakly wander around, pull out a handful and get overwhelmed by the size of the job. I am itching to prune the roses but I can picture my gardener brother raising his eyebrows and sternly telling me to wait until July.