Sunshine, sleep ins and some word nerdery

What stunning spring weather we've had the last few days, with the mercury hitting the mid-20s. Mid-20s! Even a mere 20 degrees would have been cause for glee. It's been such a cold winter that I'm having trouble remembering when it was last warm enough to walk to and from work without a jacket. 

Luke bought a new car last week and we took it for a cruise down the Mornington Peninsula on Sunday. We stopped at The Royal Hotel in Mornington for lunch and it was mild enough to have our meal on the veranda just across the road from the sparkling bay.  The tide was out and the water was a beautiful shade of turquoise. 

I'm enjoying my 10.00am starts. I'm not doing a very good job (by which I mean I'm doing a very bad job) of getting up early enough to have breakfast at home and walk to work, but it's so nice to have a weekday lie in.  I also don't feel quite the same feeling of "UGH, I have to get up for work in the morning" knowing I don't need to get out of bed before 8.30. Today I got up at 9.00am and sat down at my desk at 9.55. WIN!  (The 6.15 finishes are less enjoyable, but that's partly because I'm not at all busy.)

Here's some stuff I've been hoarding for when I got around to blogging again:

Ten of the best collective nouns. Surprisingly, an implausibility of gnus doesn't make the list. 

Are you a smellfungus? Find out in this list of 101 Bizarre English Words. A lot aren't really that bizarre, but most of them are splendid and should be used more often. 

I found another time-related word to add to my list: nychthemeron, which means a full period of a night and day; 24 hours. It's a pretty cool word. it sounds like the name of a planet or something from a sci-fi novel.

I love the idea of a playground for adults, like this one in Boston. Not one of those ones that are designed for sedentary grown ups to get some exercise, but a playground that's just for fun. 

Check out these photos from the Reykjavic Police Instagram account. Puppies, kittens and fairy floss, oh my!  (Have I mentioned my fixation with Iceland?)