Awesomely bizarre

Goodness me, the world is a weird and wonderful place, isn't it?  If you're at all hesitant to agree, check out this gallery of bizarre animals. It really is mind-boggling the vast array of hideously, hilariously, and occasionally adorably strange creatures we share this planet with. Look at the blobfish! The star-nosed mole! The lamprey eel! The tree pangolin! The... oh, just look at them all and tell me you're not amazed.  I'm also surprised by how many of them I've never heard of before.

If, like me, you're facsinated by the strange life forms that live in the dark depths of the ocean, have a look at this gallery. Many are actually quite beautiful. But look at the piglet squid! Hahaha.

Willkommen bei Fröhlichen

Those Germans, eh? I always thought German was a rather unpleasant-sounding language, but it sure does make up for its lack of auditory appeal by having some awesome words - particularly words for quite specific things for which there is no equivalent word in English. 

We're all familiar with the wonderful  Schadenfreude, meaning to take pleasure in the misfortunes of others (it translates literally as 'damage joy'), and perhaps Weltschmertz (broadly meaning world weary), but they are just the tip of the German awesome word iceberg.  

Here's some more, which I gleaned from Adam Jacot de Boinod's I Never Knew There Was A Word For It.

 

Backpreifengesicht: a face that cries out for a fist in it.

Krawattenmuffel: one who doesn't like wearing ties.

Geisterfahrer: a person driving on the wrong side of the road.

Putzfimmel: a mania for cleaning.

Gruebelsucht: an obesession in which even the simplest facts are compulsively queried.

Korinthenkacker: one who is overly concerned with trivial details.

Fisselig: flustered to the point of incompetence.

Drachenfutter: the peace offerings that guilty husbands offer their wives (literally, dragon fodder!).

Urlaubsmuffel: a worker who is against taking vacations.

Torschlusspanik: the fear of diminishing opportunities as one gets older (often used in relation to women worried about getting too old to have kids).

Finally, one of my favourites, Katzenjammer, which I've blogged before. It means a very severe hangover. Not only is this a fantastic sounding word, but its literal meaning is hilarious - the noise made by extremely miserable cats! 

Those Germans, eh?  Oh, one more thing. In German, 'snap, crackle, pop'  is 'knisper, knasper, knusper'!

Party time, gig, pony grooming

Autumn colour

Luke and I ate dinner at the amusingly kitsch (but tasty) Gaylord's Indian restaurant last night (the place that lists its desserts on the menu under the heading "Happy Endings"). Our serviettes were folded into cones and sitting upright on the table. Luke put his on his head like a party hat. Ten minutes later the woman who sat down at the table next to us did the same thing (Luke had taken his off by this stage).

We went to see Graveyard Train at the Hi Fi Bar afterwards. I enjoyed it, but I think I enjoyed their Spiegeltent gig more, although maybe that's because it didn't start at 11.00pm. I might be getting too old for this...

I'm currently listening to the new Wagons album which was released yesterday. I like it, especially the long-awaited recording of 'Willie Nelson', one of the staple songs in the band's live act.

I spent half an hour today shampooing, conditioning and detangling the manes and tails of my recently acquired stable of My Little Ponies.  They are now on top of my TV, staring at me, all silky-haired.

I bought myself another colouring book. A My Little Pony colouring book! I was a tomboy as a kid (I still am a bit now), so I think I'm having a second girlhood.  It will be good practice before I start colouring in the beautifully illustrated colouring book I bought a few weeks ago.

Fungii, night lights, skywheel

Look at all this fungus! I've seen numerous varieties on each side of the path walking to work beside the river. Lucky I took photos when I did, because they've all been lopped by the council mower man now. (Mushroom murderer!) 

Yesterday (when I was on late shift) was the first time I've been at my new job when it's got properly dark. It's so nice to look out and see the city lights all around. It really does help to ease the gloom of shorter days. There's too much reflection to take a photo unfortunately. Here's one of tonight's setting sun.

The Skywheel is back in town! It seems odd to bring it back for the cooler months, but I'm glad it's here.



Compliments, presents, exactitude and pie.

I have worn a top to work twice in the past two weeks that has been in my wardrobe for more than 10 years. I have never received so many compliments on an item of clothing before! It's a 3/4 sleeved, V-neck top with fine diagonal purple and black stripes that meet at a mid-seam on the front and back. There's a little bit of silver thread through it too.

I forgot to mention yesterday that one of the young solicitors I work for returned yesterday from a trip to Thailand with a present for me - a colourful woven cotton scarf. What a sweetheart!

My grocery bill at the supermarket came to exactly $20.

I'm making shepherd's pie for dinner tomorrow night. Having someone to cook for and the cooler weather have combined to get me more excited about being in the kitchen.

Lovely card, delicious quiche, Fleet Foxes

I received the most beautiful card in the mail from a friend today to mark the first anniversary of my Dad's death last week. She made the card herself (which she's very good at) and the words were so lovely they brought a tear to my eye. It makes me think that I should send nice cards to friends to make them happy...

I made the most delicious crustless quiche in all creation last night for dinner for Luke and me. Yummy  cheese n bacon goodness. There were leftovers and I thought about them all day at work and then at the gym. They're all gone now... My beetroot, feta and walnut salad was tasty too.

Check out this awesome Zen Habits post, which I think should be sub-titled "How to be happy".

I'm loving this Fleet Foxes song that Luke put on his mix tape for me.

The cycle of life and cupcake coincidence

I know I've written many times how much I love the Royal Botanic Gardens, but I'm going to say it again: I LOVE the gardens.  One of the things I enjoy most is being able to feel like I'm close to nature despite living almost in the centre of a city.

Because I visit fairly regularly all year round, I witness the cycle of life repeating itself year after year - the hatching and growth of ducklings and cygnets, the breeding season of the turtles, new green shoots, tiny buds, flowers in full bloom and then decline, crisp pods rattling with seeds, the changing colours of the leaves, drifts of dry leaves on the ground, the return of the bees.

I went over to the gardens today with my camera. I was looking for the Fern Gully Rest House, but got a little lost finding it (after all this time....), but I did discover the herb garden. I knew there was one, but somehow I have never encountered it. Say it with me, "There's always something new to discover in the gardens."

The sun dial at the centre of the herb garden

I did eventually find the Fern Gully Rest House. I wanted to see if there was any little fungii growing on its mossy roof. I found one.

There's lots of spiders hiding in their little leaf houses throughout the gardens. See its legs poking out the bottom?

I saw two dead leaves stuck to a strand of spider web, blowing in the breeze as if they were dancing with each other. I visited the Ornamental Lake to see the eels (or eel, in this case) and the ducks.

Click here for more photos from my gardens jaunt. 

I walked into the city after the gardens and found myself at a bookshop. Bad move...or good move. I'm not sure. I bought three books, including a very handsome* hardcover Winnie-the-Pooh: The Complete Collection of Stories and Poems. I've been meaning to read it for years. 

I also bought the perfect birthday card for a friend. 

I had an ice-cream while sitting in light rain at Southbank and wandered into the city, where I ate a red velvet cupcake. It was only after I bought it that I noticed the sign saying the red velvet cupcakes were gluten-free. Hurrah! Of all the varieties I could have chosen...

I wandered about some more and then headed home. Did I mention my flatmate has moved out now? Yay for living alone again (for now at least).

* I've decided the word 'handsome' has gone into decline so I'm bringing handsome back.