Bec, Jon and I gave this great game to J for her birthday. As a result of some very silly times on Friday night, I spontaneously made up a song to go with it (to the tune of "On Top of Spaghetti"):

On top of an iceberg
All covered in snow
I saw my poor penguin
Was starting to go

He fell off the iceberg
And into the sea
I lost my poor penguin
Feel sorry for me!

Ahh, the joy of penguins!

NaNoWriMo . . .

After much deliberation, and after asking advice (much of which I promptly ignored) I've decided to write my long-planned and much-revised fantasy work, "The Sorcerim", as my NaNoWriMo project. If I win NaNoWriMo I'll have a half-finished novel, so I'll be better off than if I hadn't done it at all! I was strongly tempted by my pet childrens' book project, but the plot needs heaps of work whereas I can write Sorcerim off the top of my head once I've finished some world-building.

So, onwards and upwards!

I went to see "The Devil Wears Prada" yesterday, not entirely of my own volition. It was a very funny movie, but it was definitely lacking something. It's basically a coming-of-age movie (young woman comes to realise what she values and where she wants to go with her life, via the unwitting assistance of a harsh boss who turns out to be good at heart after all . . . *yawn*) although the girl in the movie is past university, so she's a lot older than your average coming-of-age movie character. I enjoyed the movie while I was watching it, but afterwards there was a definite sense of ". . . so?". Very little background was given about the characters, and the main character's development was very sketchy before the plot was in full swing, so it was unsatsifying in that regard too.

Altogether, not a terrible movie but I wish I'd spent $5 at the video hire store to see it, not $15 at the movies.

I don't know how clearly you can see it in this picture, but I'm halfway through cutting down all the grass and weeds in the backyard meadow we jokingly call our "lawn". It's going to be prepared to be turned into lawn this week (*waves at Bec*) so I'm whippersnippering it down to ground level so that it's ready to go.

Belatedly, the picture of J and I on the Ferris Wheel (taken on my phone). It was originally much larger, but strangely you can see us better when the picture is 1/10 of the original size ...

The Clustr Map is fascinating me . . .

It's delightful to see where people are visiting from all around the world. A few of the locations I can guess at, and I even have a fair idea of who's there, but some are mystifying me. I'm guessing the one in Vietnam was a random passer-by, and also the one in Hawaii. I'm very curious to know who in Tasmania has visited my blog more than 9 times (or maybe it's just 10 separate Tasmanians - either way it's an odd spot for a clump!).

*waves hello to everyone around the world*

Had a fun day yesterday . . .

The Monday public holiday (Labor Day, I believe) was just stunning, warm with a light breeze and so sunny. J and I spent half of the day cooperatively spring-cleaning the house, so it now looks great (apart from the backyard, which resembles a sun-swept English meadow that's never seen a sheep ...). It was a very cathartic clean-out and the place feels very good now!

In the afternoon we headed off to the Perth Royal Show (www.perthroyalshow.com.au but don't blame me if it doesn't work, the site is completely overloaded!). We got there at about 4, and spent four-and-a-half hours wandering around the various pavillions, buying showbags and going on various rides, including the 40-metre gravity drop, which is exhilarating and mind-numbingly terrifying all at once. I got a Whiskas Kitten showbag, among others, which has made me all the more excited about getting a kitten in a month or so :-D

We stayed for the fireworks display at 9pm, which was as spectacular as ever, and we counted at least two new colours of fireworks (a pastel aqua or pale blue and a light purple) and a couple of styles we hadn't seen before. Perth's fireworks are the best!

I have a photo of J and I on the Ferris Wheel, but I can't post it from work and it needs lightening up anyway, so I'll put it up later. It's dark at the top of the Ferris Wheel!

Despite my very nice weekend, I'm absolutely wiped today, after a windy - and thus rattly - night; and also after the phone rang, for no apparent reason, at 2:30am. *sigh*