Another quiet weekend

I knew I would want to read Donna Tartt's "The Goldfinch", the moment I knew it was due to be published this year. However, it was going to be difficult to justify reading a nearly-800-page book for pleasure when I'm supposed to be reading as many new books as possible in order to have a wide range of recommendations at hand when consulted by our customers at work. Then, by a stroke of luck, "The Goldfinch" happened to be a featured title in our shop's Christmas catalogue. All staff are instructed to read as many titles as possible in our catalogue, so there you go. I could have a guilt-free read after all. And I did. And I loved every minute of it.

It's taken a while, but by yesterday I was down to the last 300 pages, so I did nothing all day but read. Such an engrossing, beautifully written book.

In other book news, more new babies to find a spot for. It's always a lovely surprise to find out new cloth-bounds have been released.

As usual around these parts, it is raining, and rather cold too. Hard to believe summer is just a few days away.

Today will be another lazy day. I woke up really early (for a Sunday) to watch the "Doctor Who" 50th anniversary episode (so good, by the way), and now I'm feeling rather sleepy.

Some sort of mindless activity which doesn't require major brain function will probably be undertaken. Light housework perhaps?

Resting and reading

In the past eleven days, I've had one day off work, and today is my first day off after seven days straight. Admittedly, two of those days were only short shifts (three hours long), but even so, I'm feeling somewhat drained of energy today on this blessed day off.

I need to do some "home" work today. Part of my job as a book shop employee is that I must read as much as possible in order to recommend books to our customers. Not a hardship. My current reading pile includes several titles which will be appearing in our next catalogue. My only problem is deciding which one to read first. I think it might be the two children's books today. Too sleepy to contemplate anything more challenging. 

The divine book below was a treat to myself after finishing work yesterday. So very, very gorgeous.

Lovely light, peaceful night

Beautiful bright sunlight filling our house on a gorgeous Autumn afternoon.

 

 

 

 

Followed by the perfect evening for soft lamplight and candlelight. 

A short work day today (9 to 1) and the same tomorrow. Plenty of time after work to do a few loads of washing and a general house tidy.
E rearranged her room again and left many bits and pieces she no longer wants in the living area for me to deal with. It's all either put away or thrown away now.
All the children are out tonight. Husband went to bed very early to listen to the radio. In other words, a fairly typical Friday night around here. My choices are to either watch some mindless TV, or make a selection from the above reading pile. Decisions, decisions.

Peace in the chaos

A very trying couple of days here with a couple of dramatic situations playing out. Time to take a deep breath and focus on the good moments.

 I worked on Sunday. When I'm standing at the counter, this aesthetically pleasing bay of books is directly in front of me.
At one point on Sunday, I witnessed a couple of twenty-somethings (male and female)literally fondling a couple of these books before they came over to buy one. I can most definitely relate to this.

 

 

 On Monday, E, Z, and I went out for brunch at a nearby restaurant.

No, the phone never leaves that girl's hands.

 

 

 The restaurant has recently changed hands and now has a herb nursery and health food shop attached. Z is ecstatic about this.
There were hundreds of intriguing herbal concoctions on display and we felt like we were in some weird apothecary in the Harry Potter world.
 What on earth is "False Unicorn Root", for instance?

We purchased some lovely soy candles and this poster.

 

Today, so far, is very quiet and peaceful.

 

 

Found ivy growing in our garden. I have no recollection of planting it here, but it's staying. One of the few things that isn't either wilting, burnt or dead due to this horribly dry summer.

 

 

 

Smoochy kitties are always a good thing.

....... and the sky is this colour.

This paragraph, from Tana French's "Broken Harbour". So very true.

Books and more books

 

 Last week, E decided to have a big bedroom clean-out and rearrangement of furniture. Several bags of clothes etc have already made their way to the charity bins (instead of languishing in the back of the car for six months!) To achieve a more spacious look, she swapped the bookcase below for a smaller one which had been in D's and my room and also gave us a large chest of drawers which was taking up a lot of space in her room.
 I had a fun day rearranging my books in their new accommodations which is now in our lounge room.
And yes, as C pointed out, there are two copies of  "The Passage" in that bookcase - I also have five different editions of "Little Women" and four of "Jane Eyre" all in this one room.......

 Very happy that my cookbooks all fitted perfectly on the top shelf. That does not, however, mean I won't buy any more.

It's only a small room but this addition has not made it feel cramped in the least.

 Other randomness I'm enjoying at the moment:

 Peace in E's room.

 Z painted her wardrobe doors with blackboard paint and adorned them with these lanterns

 Loving stone fruit season. Nectarines are delicious right now.

Found two "Doctor Who" specials which I hadn't seen before. Two evening's entertainment sorted!

Completely addicted to these things. Ate them instead of lunch two days running. Must stop!

Lazing the day away

 

Rather tired today after a couple of very long work shifts (12 to 9pm) in a very poorly air-conditioned work place. I can guarantee no one comes to our shopping complex to escape from the heat.

Tiredness exacerbated by being woken before 6am today by a neighbour's house alarm which has gone off intermittently for the rest of the day. And no, there was no break-in underway. When I went out to investigate at around 7am, our neighbour, who was standing in her living room, simply shrugged her shoulders when she saw me.

After this unpleasant start to the day, the remainder of the morning was passed in bed with a book, music, ceiling fan on high and a cat for company. Very enjoyable.

The jungle outside our bedroom window.

In other news......

I used one of my Christmas vouchers to buy these delicious candles. Some old favourites in addition to a couple of new ones to try.

The remains of yet another voucher was used to purchase this lovely and inspiring book which features images of love-hearts in nature and man-made from all over the world.

This afternoon, I'll be putting away a few more Christmas decorations. One tree is already down. Most of the bits and pieces are going away today. I may let the main tree stay for another day, just until the traditional Twelfth Day of Christmas.

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Edited to add the list of books I read in 2012 (for my own records)

 

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