Light bulb moments

So the other day one of the light globes in the loungeroom blew.

In the light globe cupboard* I had spare screw-top globes but no bayonet globes. So I headed for my local foodworks - my light globe supplier of choice for nigh on ten years - but, world in crisis, they only only had screw-top globes.

I plugged in a spare floor lamp and used that to illuminate the front half of the lounge room.

Then I found myself at BigW - I've bought clothes, groceries, whitegoods and a computer there - surely a frosted bayonet light globe would be attainable?

BigW had shelves upon shelves of light globes: Did I want flood or spot (& what angle of flood or spot); 27w = 40w (how can that be); halogen (wasn't halogen gas banned?).

What about shape - the only 'uncle fester' shaped ones were red - no thank you; but I could choose from intestine shaped; mushroom shaped; glu-stick shaped etc.

Price - what happened to $1 per light globe? The cheapest were $6 each and did nothing other than light the room - the more expensive ones would save the environment; reduce my carbon footprint, brew coffee, and bring about world peace - if they vacuumed as well I'd have bought them.

Safeway had 'old fashioned' globes but only in clear - I want frosted (pearl).

So the floor lamp will do for now - (Just means I can't use/charge the eee whilst watching dvds at night)

P.S. My peeps at Foodworks have 'special ordered' me some pearl bayonet cap light globes. Should be in Tuesday.

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* When I say light globe cupboard, it's not a cupboard just for light globes - there are lots of other things in there as well!

This Boots was made for walkin'

We had a family lunch at my mum's in Pakenham today. The day started with an easter egg hunt for the under 12's. Unfortunately the 4 - 11 age group were late arriving which gave the under 3s a clear advantage in the egg hunting (close to the ground) section.

After a delicious lunch the various family members scattered themselves around the unit. Young (20 month old) Boots left the Brum-watching contingent and headed into the backyard with daddy. Daddy & Uncle rowrow then left to take the trestle tables back to the craft room and daddy swears he saw Boots re-enter the unit.

About 30 minutes later daddy rejoined the brum contingent and was asked where Boots was.

It then transpired that Boots (who could wander for his country) was nowhere to be found. He had somehow evaded the attention of doting grandma, aunts, uncles, & cousins and wandered off.

My mother lives in a retirement village (gated community) but Boots had wandered some 800 metres and into a different drive from hers.

Luckily a neighbour in the next block along from mum had seen Boots wander into her garden - she went out and spoke to him and was leading a very unconcerned Boots back the way he had come when we caught up with them.

We still don't know how he got out - there were adults near the front door, and in the back garden so someone should have seen him, but no-one did.

After a fifteen minute power nap Boots was up and ready to wander some more - luckily now everyone was keeping a much closer eye on him.

A week in the life

In which Fiona has a week off work.

Monday - stuffed around and did nothing.

Tuesday - looked after youngest nephews (the 3 yr old is teaching me spanish)

Wednesday - Melb. International Food & Wine Festival revisited. This time lunch at Bottega with CF & PJ. I had the parsley, chive & green olive risotto followed by the tiramisu. As with last week the venue was superb, the food delicioso, the company great.

After lunch, and on a whim as I was walking past Her Maj., I decided to grab one of the $50 Billy Elliot tickets. The lead was Josh Denyer - I hadn't seen him perform before - so it seemed opportune. So I spent a lovely afternoon at the theatre (missing the earthquake cos it hit during the loud, tap dancing finale of the show).

Thursday - Up early for day trip to Canberra. Arrived in Canberra at 8.30 and headed for the gallery to see the Degas exhibition. Long queues to get in, but we were at the front...

The exhibition was great although I would have liked to have seen more of Degas' dance works displayed. I did ponder twittering from the exhibition but couldn't be bothered.

After Degas it was off to the new Portrait Gallery for morning tea and a leisurely look around.

A wander round (new) Parliament House was followed by lunch in the cafe (with a superb view thru to the War Memorial) and then it was back to lake side and a visit to the National Library (via the national archives). Afternoon tea and wireless internet @ NLA thena stroll around the lake and eventually over to city centre for more wandering (civic library) and tea before back to airport for flight home.

Our flight home was at 8pm so at 7.20 ish we wandered up to the departure gate thinking we'd get a coffee there - ONLY they don't serve hot beverages after 7pm! (we could have bought alcohol but hot chocolate was a no-no). Couldn't buy anything after 7.30 and our flight was late.

But still it was a great, if tiring day, and I see that Tiger have cheap airfares again...

Friday (today) - relaxing, maybe some housework, more relaxing, perhaps some shopping

All is right in my world.

A day in the life

So I worked the long weekend (well the saturday/sunday part of it) and spent the holiday monday (a) recovering from it and (b) taking my littlest nephews to the beach.

Tuesday was devoted to housework(yes really) and spending way too much time on the 'puter.

Today was play day. Started day with darcy & brekky @ crown (won $200 - yay) then it was off to meet a couple of friends (and former colleagues) for lunch at Punch Lane.

As part of the Melbourne International Food & Wine Festival a number of restaurants are offering 'express lunches' - 2 courses, a glass of wine, tea/coffee for $35.

Punch Lane's express menu consisted of two starters, two mains & two desserts - strangely enough our table skipped the starters and went for the mains/dessert combo.

I had the chicken confit (extremely delish) and the chocolate mousse with brandy soaked plums (could've done without the plums but hey!)

The roasted ocean trout was also highly recommended by our table as was the torta something- or-other for dessert.

The service was excellent - friendly & attentive without being intrusive.

Punch lane is in Little Bourke Street - pretty much halfway between two of my main city haunts - The Princess & Her Majesty's theatres.

Looks like Spag Tree may lose our pre- theatre custom...

After lunch I wandered round town - bought some un-needed but gorgeous paper clips @ Kikki K, some books at Dymocks, and some 2ndhand books @ Kill City.

Also played with some 'smart' phones (I'm about ready for a new phone y'see).

Tomorrow it's back to work - have a booktalk to prepare for and lots of other stuff to do before I go on hols next week.

Busy, busy, busy

In which my hovercraft is full of eels.

Hanner Cymraes practically did the online equivalent of taking off her gloves and slapping me across the face with them (and challenging me to the welsh language at 25 paces).

I responded with that most useful of welsh phrases - my hovercraft is full of eels (do you know how many times I've needed to say that in Wales?)

I think HC may have mis-translated slightly - she didn't realise I had a helicopter (my helicopter is full of eels - that just doesn't make sense!)

We have now exhausted my welsh knowledge of above-surface transport (and, for that matter, eels) so we will move on to 'what is the welsh for I almost locked a child in the library last night?'

At 5.55 pm I wandered (strode purposefully) round the library warning people that we were closing in 5 minutes, and did they need any help (before I picked them up and threw them out the front door). Young AC (annoying child) was playing games on pc 4.

At 6 pm I once again strode purposefully round the library reminding people that we were now closed. AC was no longer at the internets and the last couple of people were heading out the door. I made sure everyone was out, locked all the doors, and started on the post closing library rituals.

At 6.10 pm I heard watson say loudly 'the library is closed' I looked up and there was AC heading for the internets. Now I'm not sure where he'd been hiding when I made the 'make sure everybody is out of the library' tour - I did try to ask him but he just looked at me.

The sad thing is I suspect he would have been perfectly happy to be locked in the library all night so long as the internet was working.

From now on I think I shall escort him out the door at closing to make sure he actually leaves.

One of our (older) borrowers came into the library this morning. The terrible fires raging in Victoria had reminded him of a childhood memory and he'd decided to get back in touch with some cousins that he hadn't seen, or heard from, in almost 70 years.

In January 1939 he was staying with his cousins, on their property on the outskirts of Melbourne as the Black Friday fires raged around them. He was little more than a baby and the cousins wrapped him in wet blankets and kept him in the bathtub until the last possible moment. When they were forced to evacuate they put him, still wrapped in the wet blankets, in a culvert on the side of the road.

The fire destroyed the house and property but the family were unharmed. They decided not to rebuild and moved to Tasmania.

Our borrower hadn't had any contact with them since.

It was so long ago, and he was so young, that although he remembered their surname he wasn't sure how to spell it.

Luckily they'd moved to a smallish settlement in Tas, and luckily the surname wasn't that common, so using whitepages.com.au we were able to get a phone number. He was rapt and headed off home to ring them and renew old acquaintances.

He has attended a couple of our internet demos and uses google to look up the answers to the Age crossword that stump him. He didn't realise that he could look up a phone number online.

Calling all word nerds

Bibliophile Bullpen tipped me off to what is quickly becoming my favourite website.

Save the words.

Sponsored by Oxford University Press this site is dedicated to saving underused English words and keeping them in the dictionary (the OED).

The way coolest bit is after you've registered for the site you can adopt underused words - and they email you a certificate of adoption.

Just click on the word you're thinking of adopting and a window pops up telling you the word, the part of speech (noun, verb, adj. etc) and it's use in a sentence.

And once you've adopted the word - well you'll just have to try it yourself...

So far I've adopted 2 words -

Tortiloquy - a noun meaning dishonest or immoral speech.

Sam the mosquito was already a blood sucking parasite. All he needed was a well-rehearsed tortiloquy to begin his legal career.

Ingordigious - adjective meaning greedy.

His ingordigious girlfriend wasn't satisified with the 7 carat engagement ring, so he's back working nightshift for another year.

This is so much fun...

Wanders off to adopt more words...