Sunday Scribblings - Boys and Their Toys

The prompt this week is "Toys". A bit late I know, but was sick all day yesterday and didn't feel up to being creative. Not sure I'm much better today, but here goes:

The two women seated themselves in the shade of the verandah and watched their husbands inspecting the glistening new tractor, wondering how long it would be before mud spatters besmirched the shiny red paint.

The older woman nudged her daughter-in-law and grinned at the sight of her 3 year old grandson who was following the proceedings, kicking the tyres in an experimental way, hands on hips and trying to maintain a serious face. His eyes sparkled with delight though, as he was hoisted into the cabin, his own dusty tractor tucked under one arm, forgotten momentarily.

Booking Through Thursday - Hot!

Now that summer is here (in the northern hemisphere, anyway), what is the most “Summery” book you can think of? The one that captures the essence of summer for you?

(I’m not asking for you to list your ideal “beach reading,” you understand, but the book that you can read at any time of year but that evokes “summer.”)

I can't really think of a book that evokes summer for me.

Hmmmmm. Thinking, thinking.

Nope. The only thing I can come up with is The Wind in the Willows. Thinking about the book itself doesn't immediately conjure summer images. However when reading the descriptions of the changing seasons, I can almost smell the grass, and feel the warmth of the sun.

Thinking about summer, though, makes me think about long holidays from school or uni, spent lying under a cloudless sky on prickly green grass, with a Charles Dickens, or Jane Austen novel, or sometimes a motivational book.

I miss having a patch of grass out the back!

Happy Birthday AL!

To my beautiful husband who celebrates his Birthday today - all my love and best wishes for a wonderful day, and a happy and successful year ahead.

Thank-you for the joy that you have brought to my life, for the laughter that we share, the support through challenges and the daily companionship.

I love you!

Sunday Scribblings - Vision

This week's prompt for Sunday Scribbling is Vision.

Always healthy, always strong.

No pills or potions.

Just sensible eating and a generous pinch of common sense.

No walking stick, no need for glasses.

Perfect vision.

Until the day the world went dark.

Happy Birthday Inge!

A big birthday hug for my German teacher from High School who celebrates her birthday today! Learning German was an experience that opened a whole new world to me, and which helped shape the wonderful life that I have today! Herzliche Glueckwuensch Zum Geburtstag, Inge!

Booking Through Thursday - Sci Fi/Fantasy

This week's prompt: One of my favorite sci-fi authors (Sharon Lee) has declared June 23rd Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers Day.

As she puts it:

So! In my Official Capacity as a writer of science fiction and fantasy, I hereby proclaim June 23 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Day! A day of celebration and wonder! A day for all of us readers of science fiction and fantasy to reach out and say thank you to our favorite writers. A day, perhaps, to blog about our favorite sf/f writers. A day to reflect upon how written science fiction and fantasy has changed your life.

So … what might you do on the 23rd to celebrate? Do you even read fantasy/sci-fi? Why? Why not?

I haven't read much Science Fiction, but recently I picked up some Stephen Baxter at a used book sale. I have to say I am struggling a bit to finish it. Maybe I just need to find the right author. I am looking forward to reading some other comments on this topic to hopefully get some new reading ideas.

Fantasy on the other hand, I love! I read a lot of fantasy in high school, for some reason our school library was well stocked in that department. I don't really remember any of it, or even the authors, but do remember it was an enjoyable read. I love being able to escape into a different world, one where good is very good and evil is recognised as just that. Where an ordinary person is compelled by circumstances to become a champion of good, and where (at least in all the fantasy I have read!) good always defeats evil.

I only discovered Lord of the Rings in uni, when my brother gave me the trilogy as a Christmas gift. The first time I read it, I didn't really enjoy it. But then a few months later I was stuck with nothing to read, and turned to Tolkein, thinking it would at least fill up my spare time. This second reading, however, changed my view completely - all of a sudden, I loved LOTR! I still enjoy re-reading it from time to time.

At around the same time, a friend gave me Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and as soon as I got to the end I rushed out to buy the rest that had been published up to that date.

More recently I discovered Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch. I thought this was like Harry Potter for adults, and again had to rush out and read the rest of the series. I love how he twisted perceptions of who was good and bad, what was right and wrong, and what was merely compromise.

That's about it though - I would like to read more fantasy, but there are just so many authors out there, and I don't know where to start - recommendations warmly welcomed! As for what I will do on the 23rd to celebrate Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's Day, I don't know. Would love to re-read some of these authors, but I don't have any of their titles with me. Will have to go digging and see if I can find any fantasy in my TBR stash. Or maybe I will try my hand at some fantasy writing - that would be an appropriate challenge...

A Four-Legged House Guest

This is my new house guest! Isn't he sweet? I wish he could stay forever, but I am just minding him for my friend while she is on a trip.

After arriving, "Puss" spent about 2 hours sound asleep in his cage. Occasionally he would enjoy a cuddle when I went to check on him, but I couldn't entice him out. Finally, hearing his toy rattle, he crept out with his belly almost touching the ground and explored the rest of the apartment. He is now fully acquainted with all the window sills in the place, has been on and under the bed, walked along the sink and kitchen bench tops, and is now chilling out in front of the tv. Literally. I can't change the channel because he is lying in front of the sensor!

He seems to enjoy the view of the lake construction from the windowsills, and spent most of the afternoon up there behind the curtains. Oh, and he likes cooking too. Jumped up on the stove which fortunately wasn't switched on. So I locked him in the guest washroom while I was cooking - don't want him to go home with burnt paws.

Red Car Saga

A bit of drama this morning: AL managed to lock the car key inside the car, with his laptop etc while he checked the water under the bonnet.

We called several garages who quoted us AED150 and AED300 respectively, to come out and jimmy the door, before one mechanic told us that you are meant to call the police to unlock a vehicle. We gave the police a call, and they told me they would send someone out. We waited for ages, and finally the guy called looking for directions. We went down to the road to show him where to go.

The funniest guy, he turned up in the police rescue truck, beaming and apologising profusely for the delay. He blamed traffic, but I suspect he took a wrong turn somewhere. We hopped up into the cab and drove up to the car park - I know, we should have asked him to put the lights and sirens on, but it was already a little embarassing!

He spent about 10 minutes trying to break into the car with his bits of wire and metal, and though I was paying close attention I still don't know how he finally got the door unlocked!

What was really worrying - it was at least 5 minutes after the first attempt to break in that the car alarm sounded - I'm sure a professional car thief would be driving away in it by then! I am interested to know how long it really would take a thief to break in.

Of course after the door was opened, we discovered that the battery was dead.

We provided a bit of entertainment for the morning - building security came to investigate what was happening, then a random guy from the car park ambled over and had a good look, before handing AL his coffee cup and getting involved. I don't know, you hear stories about how unfriendly people are in Dubai, but we are so often surprised by the real interest that people show when you have a spot of bother. We had dinner just the other night with a lovely couple who helped us out when we had an earlier problem with the car.

It would almost be a shame if we were to get a brand spankin new car - I don't know what we would find to laugh about, and we would certainly have

fewer dinner companions!

Looks so sweet and innocent, right? Wrong!!

Booking Through Thursday - Niche

This week's prompt: There are certain types of books that I more or less assume all readers read (Novels for example). But then there are books that only YOU read. Instructional manuals for fly-fishing. How-to books for spinning yarn. How to cook the perfect souffle. Rebuilding car engines in three easy steps. Dog training for dummies. Rewiring your house without electrocuting yourself. Tips on how to build a NASCAR course in your backyard. Stuff like that. What niche books do YOU read?

I will read pretty much anything that seems to be relevant to me at the time- I have been known to read dry business books, trading books, become a millionaire type books (I'm reading One Minute Millionaire at the moment) camera manuals, even self-help titles... None of these are really niche type books though, at least I don't think so. The business section in a bookstore is one of the most popular sections, and there are lots of camera enthusiasts out there.

Maybe the closest read I had to a niche read is a book called Beauty Sleep. I can't remember the author's name, but it was about, obviously, how to get a good night's sleep as well as the way that we can actually change our appearance and lose weight by getting the right amount of sleep. It was very interesting, had some good suggestions, but...I am still an insomniac!

Oh, actually I have just thought of a couple more books that would probably fall into this category, but which I haven't read yet. The first is a book about how to listen to music. Can't remember the title or the author, but it teaches the reader to analyse a piece of music intelligently to be able to define what it is they like or dislike about a piece.

The second is a book about the history and meaning of colour as used in art, and the way that certain colours were developed in the art world. Wish I could remember the title.

I think those qualify as niche titles, although I can't really claim them as my own niche reads yet!

Sunday Scribblings - Soulmates

I married my soulmate.

From the first day we met we were great friends, and it blossomed from there.

It is so amazing to love someone who is so different to you, and yet you just "click" and you complement each other; you get each other's weird sense of humour (no-one else gets my humour) you make up stories that only the 2 of you can share, you don't need whole senstences...you don't even need words a lot of the time!

My most amazing soulmate story: I was telling AL about seeing the complete works of Shakespeare in a bookstore, and how I had decided not to buy it as I was a bit short of cash at that time. I thought he had a funny look on his face, but didn't think too much about it. Later, he pulled out a copy of the complete works of Shakespeare that he had been planning to give me that night!

I do feel a bit uncomfortable sometimes the way that "popular culture" (for want of a more descriptive name) bandies the idea of a soul mate around. No matter how great the person, every relationship takes work. It seems to me that the idea of a perfect match, that elusive soul mate, is an excuse for people to leave realtionships that could be amazing with a bit of work from both sides.

Remember the episode of the Simpsons, where Homer goes looking for his soul mate, only to find that she was at home waiting for him?

Rooftop Swimming

The best thing about high daytime temperatures and high night-time humidity is the bath water temperature of the swimming pool.

This evening we headed up to the rooftop swimming pool in our building, and pretty much had it to ourselves. Seems like most of the residents prefer to swim when the sun is out. I tend to roast in the sun though, so love swimming at night. A very full looking moon was on the rise, and we had a beautiful view of it glowing behind a bunch of construction cranes for a while. Will definitely have to make more use of the pool as summer progresses.

Nothing To Blog About

I've been a bit slack with my blogging this week. Actually very slack. I have only responded to blog prompts, and haven't actually written anything off my own bat. Mainly because I have had such a quiet week - I just realised today that I haven't left the building since last Saturday! I mean I have been up to the gym and things like that, but haven't actually been out anywhere else. So nothing much to blog about during the week.  

Today we went to the Outlet Mall, a bit of a drive out of town, but this time we didn't get lost on the way out there - a big achievment. We were looking for business shirts for AL, but of course I got in on the action too. Found a couple of great shirts for AED 28, which is about $11 Australian! Plus a pair of cut-offs for about $25 Aussie! I'm sure they aren't the best quality, but for the price...

AL also managaed to find some great business shirts for AED 60, ($24) each. A pretty successful trip out, especially as he found the colours he was looking for. 

I also found a Van Heusen store that has fabulous business attire for women...just need a job to match. 

Booking Through Thursday - 15 Sticky Books

This week's prompt: "This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.”

Okay, by now you have probably worked out that I am a bit of a stickler for the classics. It just seems to me that they have more "meat" to them, and therefore the characters, and the storylines stick to me more. I have however included some awesome books that are somewhat more recent, that I do believe will stick to me, and that I will definitely revisit (revisiting a book is, for me, the ultimate test of a book's worth). 

Here they are in no particular order:

1. Pride and Prejudice 
2. Harry Potter series 
3. Lord Of the Rings 
4. Great Expectations 
   
5. Little Women
6. Emma
7. Shantaram
8. The Book Thief
9. The Moonstone
10. Wild Swans
11. Mao's Last Dancer
12. Folk of the Faraway Tree
13. Bleak House
14. Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz
15. The Wind in the Willows

In keeping with the theme of "Sticky", when I was younger, I used to love reading the Brownie books (I can't remember who wrote them). I used to make myself a huge bowl of popcorn, drizzle it with sticky honey, curl up in the bean bag with the latest Brownie book from the library, and read and munch and daydream to my heart's content.