Friday, August 31, 2007

Create a Connection

Madame Snape is hosting her final Create a Connection this week. Fittingly, her theme is "goodbye", a fond "farewell" or even better, an enthusiastic "see you later"! (And a big "Yay" to Janet for her month of great themes.)
So:
1. When I turn the key in this it's goodbye to work for the day.
2. Sunset - farewell to another day.
3. Spring is here - goodbye to Winter!
4. Off on a trip - see ya later, alligator.
 
 
 
 
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Changes...

Laurie, the boss and landlord, left for Townsville, Queensland today. Gone up there for three months - working with a mate. Things are going to be a touch different around the place without him. I'll probably drink a lot less and the kids will have to learn to survive purely on their own incomes!
And we have new chooks - 4 black ones, 4 brown ones and 1 white one.

Last night we went to the Tav for a few drinks and then next door to the Acorn for dinner. Pleasant.

Thursday Thirteen

Things I like beginning with R:

1. Robert Smith - leader of, songwriter for, singer and guitarist in The Cure. Genius.
2. Robert Plant - prettier and sexier than Robert #1 but, dare I say it, Robert #1 makes better music.
3. Robert Jordan - author of the Wheel of Time series. I just wish he'd get on with it and bring out the final book.
4. Rivendell - who wouldn't love to visit, or even live, there.
5. Rock and roll - Hello Cleveland! (a line from Spinal Tap). Love my music, love it loud!
6. Reading - another love. I love the way reading sets the imagination free.
7. Relaxation - everyone needs ro relax from time to time. Reading certainly helps me do that.
8. Ride - great British "shoegazer" band from the 80s. Love their guitar-driven soundscapes.
9. RRR - tripleR fm. 102.7 The most non-conformist and eclectic radio you'll ever hear.
10. Riffs - guitar riffs in particular. Led Zeppelin/Jimmy Page - the master of the riff.
11. Roses - I love roses, particulary the scented varieties.
12. Red, white and black - the colours of my football team. Go Saints!
13. Relatives - I love my family. :)
T13

Thursday, August 30, 2007

#3

Your Life Path Number is 3

Your purpose in life is to express your unique self.

You are a creative and artistic person (no I'm not) with an interesting view on life.
Witty and outgoing, you enjoy sharing your crazy ideas with anyone who will listen.
A total social butterfly, you're the life of any party. (definitely not me)

In love, you inspire and enchant your partner. You are often an object of fantasy and desire. (hahaha I wish)

While you are very talented, you sometimes lack the ambition to put your talents in play. (I'd have thought lack of talent rather than ambition)
And while your wit carries you a long way, you occasionally use it to mask your true feelings. (well they got one right)
Your natural abilities can bring you all the success in the world ... if you let them


Seen at Snape's

Lunar eclipse

It was pretty cloudy last night so I didn't get a lot of shots (well, not many that worked any way). At first, all I could see was a bit of moon poking out through the clouds. Later on I got a few shots of the red moon but they're pretty dark 'cos it wasn't throwing off much light. These were 10, or maybe 15, second exposures. I've cropped one to get a better view. When I got home it was almost back to normal but I haven't looked at those shots yet so don't know if any worked out.

 
 
 
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Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Lunar eclipse

There's going to be a total lunar eclipse tomorrow night. Fully visible for the duration in this part of the world - provided the sky's clear of course. I think I might go out to Ma'n'Pa's, where they can see the moon rise really clearly over the mountains, to photograph it. Keep your fingers crossed for clear skies.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

For Diane :)

 
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The moon is made of green cheese

It's true. :)

Just because...

 
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Unconscious Mutterings

  1. Uneven :: bars

  2. Wonder :: Woman

  3. Spider :: Man

  4. Emma :: Jane Austen

  5. Swing :: Vote

  6. Orbit :: planets

  7. Flirt :: Kylie

  8. Donation :: gift

  9. Veil :: of a Thousand Tears

  10. Atmosphere :: my favouritest Joy Division song



from here

Monday, August 27, 2007

Spring is definitely on the way!!


Wattle, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

The wattle is out. This is our national floral emblem. Gives lots of people bad hayfever. Not me though. The flowers are a pest if you brush past them, they stick to everything.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Another meme that could become a habit...


The theme is "happy"

These kids are living in abject poverty with little to look forward to. But, they've still got time to smile and laugh.

Oooh....

I just went outside and had to take my coat off. It's getting warmer. Yeah!

Not sure why I'm a they...





QuizGalaxy!
'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Seen at Shirl's

That sense of trepidation.....

... turned to joy in the first half and then to despair in the second. Lost by 8 points. Now we need the four teams below us to also lose if we're to hang on to that last finals spot. *sigh*

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Friday fill in

1. I see books, books and more books!
2. I hear radio TripleR (rrr.org.au). Currently playing jazzy stuff which I don't like, but in 45 minutes it'll be the British music show, which I do like!
3. I touch the keyboard.
4. I taste cajun beef in a herb and garlic turkish roll which I've just had for lunch.
5. I smell old books.
6. I sense trepidation.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the Saints winning (hence the sense of trepidation), tomorrow my plans include work and not much else and Sunday, I want to have someone else cook for me!

from Ms Snape

The last lot of Clare's photos on flickr


Clare's trip 367, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

The UK part of the trip - Liverpool and London. This one is a beach near Liverpool, on The Mersey River. That's a statue, not a person. It's sinking into the sand.

One of those days...

So far today I've knocked over a big box of books, put the coffee in the cup instead of in the plunger (it's real coffee, not instant muck) and left the cash box at home. It's not even 10am yet!

Friday, August 24, 2007

Create a Connection - Unique

Madame Snape is still hosting and her theme this week is "unique".
So, here is a unique building, a unique animal, a unique radio station and a unique man. (with thanks to whoever owns the last pic - I stole it.)

 
 
 
 
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Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things I like beginning with Q:

1. Queen Elizabeth II - a woman I admire a great deal.
2. Queen - the band. Their early albums were regular visitors to my turntable back in the day.
3. Quality - is important in life, whether in goods, services, performances or just good old conversation.
4. Quantity - can never have too much of a good thing.
5. Quintessential - a great word. Can mean typical or purest. Either way, Disintegration is the quintessential Cure (Qure??) album.
6. Quest - been on many quests in my time. I think I prefer the computer game type of quest because if I mess up I can just start again.
7. Quiet - while I like my music loud I also crave periods of peace and quiet.
8. Queens of the Stone Age - Feel Good Hit of the Summer is a great little tune. Very catchy.
9. (No) Quarter - I know, cheating a bit here. Too bad. An excellent Led Zeppelin tune. Close the door, put out the light. You know they won't be home tonight...
10. Quoll - cute little marsupial. Sadly, endangered.
11. Queensland - only been there a couple of times but it's a great part of the country. Home of the quintessential (!) Australian beach.
12. Quirky - I like quirky things and people. Makes them a bit interesting I think. Robert Smith certainly has a few quirks!!
13. Quill pens - dabbling in calligraphy as I do, I love pens. Never mastered the quill pen though, I stick to the modern variety.
T13

Just call me Einstein..


StupidTester.com says I'm 0% Stupid! How stupid are you? Click Here!


Seen at Shirl's.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Awesome

The Cure were awesome last Sunday, no doubt about that. I was in awe of their sound and songs.
But, is getting $5 change for the laundrette awesome? Is it awesome that I have secondhand copies of The Da Vinci Code in my secondhand book shop? It's an awesome book, by the way. (Well, no it's not, it's dreadful, but that's a whole other story.) The heater's on, that's awesome. You've had a haircut, awesome.
It seems to me that those under 25 have no other word to describe whatever it is they're talking about.
There was a 20something girl in here just now who said it was awesome that I didn't have enough laundry change for her. She just said it because it's obviously what she always says. Automatic, no thought required. Open mouth -> awesome.

What ever happened to vocabularies?

(And why does blogger keep failing today?)

My fave of Clare's Switzerland pics.


Clares trip 180, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Straight out of a fairy tale.

Why Clare has vowed never to go away with a bunch of teenagers ever again!


Clares trip 204, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

The Switzerland part of the trip - photos up on flickr now.

Finished!

Finally finished Kate Elliott's "The Gathering Storm" yesterday. It's only taken me about a year! Two more books to go before the series is finished. I've started #6 and am hoping against hope that it doesn't take as long! Get on with the story, stop pissfarting around!!

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Africa #3

Georgia teaching maths in Katebo.




Clare is adding her own comments on flickr - gives a bit more detail/insight than I could. Thanks ClareBear :)

The house I grew up in...

Clare went for a looksee while she was in Liverpool. The fence is different - we always had a privet fence. (And I know we're supposed to still be in Africa but I just remembered about this pic and had to post it.)

Africa #2: Township near Johannesburg.


Clare's trip 070, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

People live in these. I'm having trouble comprehending that degree of poverty.

Clare's trip


Clare's trip 756, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

I uploaded some other pics with picasa and they ran away. So here's a different one straight off flickr. The obligatory African elephant.

How many???

Saw Clare and Georgia last night. Clare put some of her pics from the trip on disc for me. Just some of them mind you, not all. Only 829. She's happy for me to share them with you - do you want all 829 at once? Haha, didn't think so. I'll post a couple when I get myself organised and put some more on flickr. Some great shots in there but some are quite depressing. Watch this space.

PS. I was wearing one of my new Cure t-shirts and Georgia has now labelled me "emo". Hehehe.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Unconscious Mutterings

  1. Darling :: buds of May

  2. Majesty :: Her

  3. Pebble :: dash

  4. Fate :: destiny

  5. Instant :: coffee (ugh!!)

  6. Screen :: saver

  7. Unplugged :: Nirvana

  8. Dairy :: cow

  9. Benefactor :: patron

  10. Market :: forces



from here

It's Favourites time again


It's Favourites time again, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Bit of Bob Smith overload in this collection. :)

Nothing to report...

Just posting for the sake of posting. 'Cos the books are waiting and I'm stalling. Off to Ma'n'Pa's later - should have some Africa stuff for you tomorrow. Clare is more than happy to share with you all.

And I DO have something to report - jeez, I'm slipping. Sainters had a win yesterday. Still in with a hope of playing finals.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Not smiling today

Fox killed all our chooks overnight. :(

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Dumpr has a new toy


Dumpr has a new toy, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Any excuse to post another Cure pic. :)

*smile*

Many aspects of human sexuality are very puzzling. Take celibacy. This can be a choice in life, or a condition imposed by environmental factors.
While attending a Marriage Encounter Weekend, Robert and Mary listened to the instructor declare: "It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other."
He addressed the men. "Can you each name and describe your wife's favourite flower?"
Robert leaned over, touched Mary's arm gently and whispered, "Self-raising, isn't it?"
Thus began Robert's life of celibacy.

Friday, I'm in love... oh, sorry, I mean Friday Fill-In.

1. There's music and then there's Cure music - to die for!
2. Subscribe to TripleR FM because it's the greatest radio station in the universe! rrr.org.au stream along
3. I love a good book because it makes the real world go away.
4. My favourite position is front row, centre, right in front of Robert Smith. But, I had to settle for several rows back on the side. Still excellent! No, I'm not over it yet! :)
5. I need to quit smoking.
6. I need to start saving for the Queenscliff music festival in November.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to nothing in particular - might watch a Cure DVD just for something different!, tomorrow my plans include work and hoping for a Saints win and Sunday, I want to catch up with Clare and Georgia and hear all about their African adventure!

Create a Connection


The Cure, originally uploaded by ronaldwidha.

Janet's still hosting and this week her theme is "love". Ha, this week I'm in love with Robert Smith! You never guessed that did ya?
(PS. Thanks to the person whose photo I just swiped.)



And a song as well - "There is no if" from Bloodflowers.

Remember the first time I told you I love you -
It was raining hard and you never heard -
You sneezed! and I had to say it over
"I said I love you" I said... you didn't say a word
Just held your hands to my shining eyes
And I watched as the rain ran through your fingers
Held your hands to my shining eyes and smiled as you kissed me...

"If you die" you said "so do I" you said...
And it starts the day you make the sign
"Tell me I'm forever yours and you're forever mine
forever mine..."

"If you die" you said "so do I" you said...
and it starts the day you cross that line
"Swear I will always be yours and you'll always be mine
You'll always be mine
Always be mine..."

Remember the last time I told you I love you -
It was warm and safe in our perfect world -
You yawned and I had to say it over
"I said I love you" I said... you didn't say a word
Just held your hands to your shining eyes
And I watched as the tears ran through your fingers
Held your hands to your shining eyes and cried...

"If you die" you said "so do I" you said...
But it ends the day you see how it is
There is no always forever... just this...
Just this...

"If you die" you said "so do I" you said
But it ends the day you understand
There is no if... just end

There is no if... just end

There is no if...

Friday, August 17, 2007

And now for something completely different....


Corella Damage 1, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

The Corellas have started destroying the street lights around here. They hang upside down from them and also, I think, play around with the fasteners. This is one of three lights near the shop that have been damaged in the last week. It's only a small flock that gathers here. I can't imagine what would happen if they gathered in the numbers they do out bush - flocks can be up to 60,000 or more!



Note the lovely grey sky we have. :(

Thursday Thirteen#19

Thirteen of the magnificent songs that The Cure played on Sunday night:
Open
Fascination Street
alt.end
The Blood
A night like this
The walk
The end of the world
Lullaby
Lovesong
Pictures of you
Hot! Hot! Hot!
Push
In between days
Primary
How beautiful you are
Just like heaven
Shake dog shake
Us or them
Never enough
From the edge of the deep green sea
Wrong number
One hundred years
Shiver and shake
End
Encore #1:
If Only Tonight We Could Sleep
The Kiss
Encore #2:
Friday I'm In Love
Let's Go To Bed
Close To Me
Why Can't I Be You?
Encore #3:
Three Imaginary Boys
Fire In Cairo
Boys Don't Cry
Jumping Someone Else's Train
Grinding Halt
10.15 Saturday Night
Killing An Arab

Oh, sorry, is that more than thirteen? :)




T13

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Yesterday...

My day off and I didn't take a single photograph. I was a touch weary and just couldn't be bothered going anywhere special. I did hit the music shop though and bought "Trilogy" - a DVD (2 disc) of a Cure concert (natch!). Recorded in 2002 (I think) in Berlin. It was a special show featuring three albums - Pornography, Disintegration and Bloodflowers - played in their entirety, one after the other. Then I went home and watched it. :)
If you see it around rent it and listen to the first 8 or 9 tracks of the Disintegration set (you don't really need to watch as they don't do much on stage, just play). Then you'll understand what I'm on about. Beautiful music, perfectly recorded.

Also, spoke to Clare and Georgia on the phone. They're home again. Georgia seems to have picked up a bit of a South African accent! I'll see them on the weekend and may be able get some of their photos to show off.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming...

  1. Voyage :: to the bottom of the sea.

  2. Patricia :: Keneally Morrison

  3. Transformation :: change

  4. Vocabulary :: words

  5. San Francisco:: flowers in your hair

  6. Edward :: Scissorhands

  7. Sawyer :: Tom

  8. Literary :: books

  9. Tiger :: magnificent animal

  10. Seal :: walrus



from here

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

the cure @ rod laver - just like heaven

A 44 second snippet.

Well yay, a couple of them worked out okay.


Brilliant!, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Totally awesomely amazingly insanely fucking brilliant!

So I put on the black eye shadow and blood red lipstick and off I went - well, no I didn't. But I did wear my t-shirt from the 2000 Bloodflowers tour for a bit of cred. :)
I got there a bit too early but that gave me time to buy new t-shirts, have a drink or two (pricey on both counts!) and go back to the car to stash t-shirts and GET CAMERA! Yes, cameras were allowed. But, lenses had to be 200mm or less and no tripods. So I snapped a few early on - haven't looked yet to see if any worked. The joint was jumpin' and so was I, so it's a fair bet they'll all be a bit on the wobbly side. If any worked I'll upload them later.
The show. The show was magnificent. No keyboard player this time so they didn't do many of the moody, atmospheric pieces from Disintegration, Bloodflowers or Faith. I was a bit disappointed with that at first but, in the end, it didn't matter. Man, they rocked! Two guitars, bass and drums. Robert Smith is an underrated guitarist and his voice was in mighty fine form. He doesn't move about much, just does this little shuffle, almost on the spot.
They did Pictures of You - awesome, but not A Forest, sadly. It's always been the closing song but, for some reason, they've dropped it from the set. No matter. There were plenty of worthy replacements. Lots of stuff off Head On The Door and Kiss, Kiss, Kiss. Primary from Faith. In Between Days. Close to Me. The list goes on and on. Did I mention that they rocked? There was a bit too much echo/delay used in a couple of songs I thought - probably trying to make up for having no keyboards - but, overall, the sound was amazing. Loud, but not painfully so. Just a brilliant band.
They did three encores and the last one was just awesome. They came back out and played almost a complete set of old stuff from the first album from way back in 1979 - Three Imaginary Boys, Boys Don't Cry, Grinding Halt, 10.15 Saturday Night, Jumping Someone Else's Train, Fire In Cairo and finished with Killing an Arab.
The show started just after 8 and finished after 11. I got my money's worth ten times over.
Did someone mention Just Like Heaven?

Monday, August 13, 2007

Finally, it's Sunday 12th August.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Sneaking a peek

Babysitting at my brother's. Evan's watching the footy, Taya's playing with dolls - haha, how stereotypical is that! Everything looks different on a big computer. I was just having a look on flickr and the pics there are totally different to the ones I thought I'd uploaded. Very strange.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

The Cure - Pictures Of You - FULL CLIP

For Janet and anyone else who doesn't know The Cure!!



If you go to YouTube and type in The Cure - there's tons to watch. Older stuff, newer stuff, in between stuff. It's all good. :)

Friday fill in

1. My commute is two minutes from home to shop.
2. Leafy best describes my neighborhood.
3. My neighbors have just separated.
4. "The Acorn on Forest" in The Basin is my favorite place to eat that's close to home.
5. If there's one thing I'd change about my community, it would be to increase the numbers who read and buy their books from my shop!!
6. The thing I miss most about the town (city/area/swamp) I grew up in is the extended family.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a drink at the Tav, where I shall drink in moderation!, tomorrow my plans include babysitting my brother's kids and Sunday, I AM GOING TO SEE THE CURE!!!!!!

Shopping....

I went shopping yesterday and bought.....

 
 
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Friday, August 10, 2007

And an extra Thirteen....

13 songs I'm hoping to hear on Sunday night... (edited to show whether they played them or not)

1. Pictures of You - yes
2. A Forest - no :(
3. Watching Me Fall - no
4. Plainsong - no
5. Lullaby - yes
6. Prayers For Rain - no
7. Faith - no
8. Primary - yes
9. Fascination Street - yes
10. In Between Days - yes
11. Just Like Heaven - yes
12. Jumping Someone Else's Train - yes
13. Hot Hot Hot - yes
and all the others as well :) - yes!

Thursday Thirteen

Things I like beginning with P:

1. Page, Jimmy - anyone surprised by that? :)
2. Plant, Robert "Percy" - or that?
3. Peter - my brother.
4. Pictures of you - one of my absolute favourite songs. From Disintegration by The Cure, of course. (3 sleeps to go!!!!)
5. Peace - one day maybe. When women are in charge and don't have to keep trying to prove they have the biggest dick.
6. Paula - my sister. Not the one in Africa, the one from Mars.
7. Poppa - what the grandkids call my Dad.
8. Pepper - food a bit bland? Just hit it with a bit of freshly ground black pepper.
9. The Postman - everyone bags the shit out of this film but I like it. But then, it's got Kevin in it. :)
10. Pirates of the Caribbean - one and two for sure. Jury's still out on #3.
11. Potter books - despite the hype and the grief the last one caused me.
12. Playing - with camera, with guitar, with the people inside this computer. :)
13. Pockets - I don't carry a handbag so pockets are essential.
T13

Summer...

Madame PercyDeppSnape is Creating a Connection again this week. The theme is Summer.
So here are a few summer type pics.
1. One of the many views along the Great Ocean Road - a beautiful road to wander along when the weather's fine.
2. The Canvas Hilton. Hope to get it out again in November for the Queenscliff Music Festival.
3. A tall ship. If I was the ocean going type I'd prefer to be out there in fine, summery weather. NOT in the wild and windy stuff we're currently having.
4. Christmas. Yep, Christmas is in Summer.

 
 
 
 
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Thursday, August 09, 2007

Email from Georgia...

Can you help me I'm tryin to get mum to let me stay for another week
=D ;)


Hehehe. They're in England this week. I think they're being feted like visiting royalty.

Carrr stickerrr


Carrr stickerrr, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

What's on your car?



The annual RRR subscribathon starts on Friday. Time to pay up for another year of excellent listening.

Monday, August 06, 2007

Unconscious Mutterings

  1. Voices :: Other Voices (Cure song)

  2. Have to :: stop blogging and put books away.

  3. Machine :: Head

  4. Seventh grade :: Year 7

  5. Beach :: Byron Bay

  6. Roommate :: no-one

  7. Cyclone :: Tracey

  8. Theater :: of the absurd

  9. Pregnant :: pause

  10. Phoebe :: Georgia's rag doll. (It's as old as she is.)



from here

Dunnies


Dunnies, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

I just posted this on flickr and went looking for a dunny group to post it to.
Hahahahaha, all the dunny groups are for toys!!
A dunny is a toilet.

Mr Brooks - go see it!

Saw this last night. Kevin as serial killer. I really liked it. I'd read a bit about it before so kind of knew what to expect but it still surprised me. Mr Brooks is basically the all-round nice guy, family man, successful business man but is addicted to killing. So he goes to AA meetings to try to keep a lid on it. But he's egged on by Marshall, his alter-ego, played beautifully by William Hurt. No-one else can see or hear Marshall, he's all in Mr Brooks' head. Then there's the cop, Demi Moore, on the case. She's busy battling demons of her own but they kinda get in the way of Mr Brooks' story at times.
There are several scenes of Mr Brooks and Marshall discussing/arguing whether to kill again or not - Kevin and William Hurt are really good together. There are a couple of bits where they are totally in sync that are just downright creepy.
And then there's the plotline based around the daughter - has she inherited her father's killer genes?
Kevin is excellent in this film - I know, I'm biased, but he really is. You can see the guy struggling to curb his desire to feed the addiction, then succumbing to it, then struggling with it. You almost feel sorry for him even though he's evil. And evil he is!
Great film. Highly recommended.
Mr Brooks

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Time to go travelling again


Time to go travelling again, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

8 sleeps to go...

Is it too early to start counting the days? According to the advertising there's no support band and the show goes for three hours. Three hours of bliss!

A draw!

85 points apiece. At least they didn't lose I suppose, though they tried their hardest to throw it away in the last quarter. This means they get 2 points instead of 4 and that could cause problems down the track. It's a very close race for the finals. Still, 2 is better than 0.

Edit: I suppose I should mention who exactly I'm moaning about....The Saints, natch.

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Friday fill in

1. Last weekend, I was thinking that I needed a rest.
2. If the weather continues like this, it'll get REALLY depressing.
3. Will my bank balance ever grow?
4. Often, on a summer's night, I think fuck it's hot!.
5. Right now, I could use a good strong coffee.
6. My favorite summertime meal is barbecue.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching the Saints win, tomorrow my plans include going to the cinema to see Mr Brooks and Sunday, I want to do nothing in particular!

from Madame Snape

Houses that Laurie built

The smaller one is what's left of the original house. It burnt down - faulty alarm clock was the cause I think. Ken, Laurie's dad, lives in there now. He doesn't get on with the youngsters all that well so it's better that he's not in the main house too often! Rather than rebuild, Laurie decided to start from scratch and built the "castle" - about 15 years ago now.

 
 
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PS The dead looking thing in front of the main house is a magnolia - beautiful when it's in flower.