worth a look

Takes a little while to load but it's worth the wait.
The Big Ad

Meanwhile I'm stuck here in cold, grey Melbourne. The sun was out earlier but it's well and truly in hiding now.
And I've got a horrible cold....cough cough, splutter, sniff, cough. I'm not exerting myself too much today.
I think I'd much rather be on the beach.

Tallow Beach
When I did my trip up the east coast last year I spent a bit of time at Byron Bay - on the way up and again on the way down. Huge backpacker town. I stayed in a caravan park just south of town...lots of space. Plus, it was the off season. The locals were all wearing jumpers, I was in shorts, hehe. A five minute walk and I was on Tallow Beach looking out at the Pacific. Magnificent. I walked along it every morning. I was a bit too early for the whales...they are more easily seen a bit later in the year.

and then there's Byron Bay

hey Shirl.....Rainbow Beach

Sainters by 3 points. Jeez, against the bottom team they should've done better. Still, a win is a win.

Meanwhile, here in the bookshop, I was looking forward to a nice quiet day scanning the shelves ( for the database).
Hahahahaha! (definitely maniacal!)
Some guy just dumped 154 books on me. Fortunately for the bank balance, he took exchange/credit rather than cash. But now I've got to scan, price and shelve them all.
So much for an easy day!!

Sainters! An easy win against Collingwood (the team we all hate with a passion). Sweet.

Tricky

I think this might be my next read.

Went to a friend's birthday party last night. Had way too much champagne (as usual!). I wonder if it's possible to get done for being drunk in charge of a bookshop.
I wrote "welcome to the other side" on her card....wonder where I got that idea from????

Finished The Hobbit. A good lesson in what can happen when greed overcomes reason. Fortunately, Thorin and Co do come to see reason at the end.
I think The Hobbit began as a bedtime story that Tolkien created to tell his own children. And thank goodness he did.

I got home yesterday and decided I wanted to read. Home alone, peace and quiet. So I picked up The Hobbit. I haven't read it for years and thought, 'why not'? I love Tolkien. He is one of my all-time favourite writers. I've read Lord of the Rings many, many times and will, no doubt, read it many more times still.
But, as I was following along with Bilbo and the dwarves, I suddenly realised that the images in my head were the film versions, particularly Bilbo, Gollum and Gandalf. I find that a little bit distressing. I'm struggling to remember what my own image of hobbits was before I saw the films.
Damn you, Peter Jackson!! I loved the films, don't get me wrong, but I want my own images back!!!

Boy, oh boy. It's only quarter past two in the afternoon and I've sold over $450 worth of books already today. Everything from Crime and Punishment to Harry Potter. Haven't even had time for lunch! I think I'm just going to sit for a little while.
Oh shit! I just remembered.....Saints are playing, right now! That's how busy I've been, I even forgot about my boys. Eek!
Okay, got the radio on the right station....I think we're winning but it's only the first quarter.

Always remember that in the journey of life two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.

My sympathies go out to Shirl and others who knew Mandarin Meg.

Another busy day in ye olde shoppe. Still, we're starting to make real inroads on all the junk hanging about the place. I can even see the carpet in places! Not that this carpet is worth seeing! It's green and purple squares. Ugh!

Australia lost 0-1 to Italy overnight. No more World Cup for them. I must say that they had plenty of chances to score but the finishing was pretty wayward. The penalty that gave Italy the last-minute goal was dubious, to say the least. Some of those guys could slot right in to the Olympic diving team. But, enough sour grapes. The green and gold played well and I think they won't be taken so lightly on the international scene from now on.
So now, it's England all the way for me.

It's been a busy couple of days in ye olde bookshoppe. Laurie has been in the back room reorganising. It's possible to get in there and actually walk around now. Amazing effort. About 1500 books have gone to the tip. Sad, but true. He'll write those off on his tax. He's hoping to get rid of ten times that in the next week or so. We have to be a bit ruthless and get rid of a lot of old stock that's been sitting around for years and years. It's the only way to make room for new stock. The place is chockers and getting more so everyday. Except for the old sci-fi and classic literature fans, most people don't seem to be interested in reading stuff that was written more than a few years ago. And to make room for newer stuff we, unfortunately, have to ditch the old stuff.
A big part of me wants to keep them all. It's somehow not right to throw books away. But, we have to be practical and think in terms of the shop's survival.


Meanwhile, England won overnight and are through to the quarter finals. Australia plays tonight (well, 1am tomorrow morning to be exact) for their chance to advance. The way the draw works, it could end up with an England - Australia final. Now that would be exciting. But, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves!

Why do my links have a bullet in front of them????

Awake at 4.30 this morning to watch the football. Australia is now through to the second round.

Checked out

Pink Floyd

and sadly, they don't tour any more. They are reforming for a one-off performance at Live 8 but that's it.