Hot and Grumpy

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ~John Ruskin

Can I just say, here and now, that Mr John Ruskin obviously never lived through an Adelaide heatwave. A week of temperatures over 38 degrees celsius in spring is no joke and is far from delicious. Especially when your car air-conditioner dies after the car has spent 7 hours in the sun. And your house is hot. And your children are fretting, irritable and squabbling. And especially when the adults begin squabbling too because they are so, so hot.

Signed,

Grumpy in Adelaide

Spring Barbecue

Our friends in the hills invited us for a barbecue and bonfire before the total fireban season began.

There were hot sausages and marshmallows, chickens to chase and a grumpy goat to avoid.

And a night time game of hide-and-seek in the long grass lit only by firelight. Thank goodness it was too cold for snakes.

Too, Too Yummy Halloween Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for Halloween and they were oh, so good.

Think home-made chocolate cupcakes covered with orange buttercream made from icing sugar, freshly squeezed orange juice and pure, unsalted butter (and a few drops of food colouring, of course).

Mmmm. I almost wish it were Halloween every day.

(For those who have been asking here is the recipe, from Halloween last year.)

My First Halloween

Do you remember the first time you celebrated Halloween? I do.

It was October of 1981 and I had just turned 12. Immersed in the world of books, as usual, I had read all about Halloween. I knew what fun American children had trick-or-treating, bobbing for apples and joining in scavenger hunts.

Naively thinking that I could share in such experiences, I invited Tracy and Natalie from school to go trick-or-treating with me.

Big mistake.

We knocked on a few doors but nobody had heard of Halloween. We were told in no uncertain terms to go away.

***

Only in the past few years has Halloween started to take off in Australia. Trick-or-treating has become quite popular if on a much smaller scale than in the States. Halloween parties have become quite common too.

We will be attending one that will involve sausages on the barbie, ice cream cones and plenty of cold beer.

Not exactly spooky, but very, very Australian.

I Got My Job!

As many of you know, for almost six months I have been working four days a week in a local university. I work in the business side of the university, not as an academic.

Until now I have worked on a casual contract. However, after a certain period of time these kinds of jobs have to be advertised and offered more permanently.

Last week I sent off an application, this morning I was interviewed and this afternoon I was offered the job.

I am going to work from 8 until 5 on Mondays and Tuesdays and 8 until 3 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I will have every Friday off, which is wonderful.

Gold Against Blue

No matter how stressful the day has been, the colours of spring bring joy to my heart.

What is your favourite season?

We Love to Read

After school and on weekends I often come upon scenes like this,

and this.

All my children are avid readers.

And I know where they get their love of books from - I was an extreme bookworm as a child. I carried books with me everywhere, even into the shower (cleanliness wasn't much of a priority when I was 8). I even had a book under my arm when I was drying the dishes. Chances are, if I didn't have a book with me I would be daydreaming about books.

While I am not so obsessive now, I do often read during the half hour I have for lunch at work.

Thanks to the generosity of one of the school mums who loaned it to me, I am currently reading Mao's Last Dancer, and I am loving it. I hope I get the opportunity to see the movie.

My friend will be pleased to know that I no longer take books with me into the shower.

What are you reading at the moment?