The tax man delivers, bouncy sneakers and Wagons

Hey, look, it's my feet!

Weeeeee! My tax refund has arrived, which means I get to go camera shopping. The tax man gave me back a little more than I was expecting too, which was a pleasant surprise.

I can't wait to get out there and start taking pictures with my new camera. I've taken some great shots with my basic little Kodak Easyshare, but I'm excited about upgrading.

Bouncy, bouncy

I already did a little shopping in anticipation of my tax refund. I needed some new casual sneakers (i.e. not gym shoes) and I saw a pair that I instantly loved. I normally struggle to find sneakers I like - either the style isn't right or I don't like the colours (turquoise and canary yellow anyone?), but these ones were perfect in every way.

I had to order them in because I couldn't find them in my size, so I got to enjoy the anticipation of their arrival instore. They arrived on Tuesday and I wore them for the first time yesterday. I love new bouncy, cushiony sneakers!

And quiet! I'm so stealthy in them. Guess they don't call 'em sneakers for nothing, hey?

I want to wear them everywhere!

Yet more glee!

I got me some tickets tonight to see one of my new favourite bands, Wagons, on Melbourne Cup Eve. Woohoo!

This is them (persist with the lame talky bit) -

Caroline Street, dog kerbing and dating for a cause

I walked down my favourite street on the way to lunch with a friend today. Caroline Street (above) is lined with beautiful old houses and slopes down to Toorak Road under a canopy of plane trees. It's a shady oasis on a warm day like today.

I had a nice lazy Sunday afternoon lunch and a G n T with Dee, sitting out the front of Bridie O'Reilly's on Chapel Street watching the world go by and catching up on news.

On the way home, I walked along another beautiful street which has many old three-storey buildings that were once stately homes (with names like Mandeville, Montalto and Moore Abbey) but are now posh apartment buildings. What I like best about the street though are the quaint "Please kerb your dog" signs nestled among the greenery on the nature strip (below).


I ask and I receive...again

A couple of weeks ago on my other blog, I pondered the difficulties of trying to find an environmentally aware guy with a social conscience in the world of online dating, without sounding like a self-righteous, anti-fun hippie.

Not that I am looking just yet, but when I am ready, I have found a fabulous alternative called Single Volunteers. It's a group of single people who get together to do good deeds, like cooking meals for homeless people. What a great idea, hey?

It's Melbourne-based and run through www.madwoman.com.au (mad stands for 'making a difference'), which does a lot of other great things in the community, not just bringing like-minded singles together.

PS Stephanie, if you're reading this, I'm sorry!

How was your weekend? Do you have a favourite street?

A bloody good day

I donated blood today for the first time! It's one of those things I have been thinking about doing for years and today I finally did it. Woooh! I feel very helpful and virtuous.

I don't know why I put it off for so long because when I have blood taken for tests I always watch and I find the sight of my blood morbidly fascinating (when there's no gushing wound involved). I think it was just the prospect of sitting there with a needle stuck in my arm for a longer period of time that deterred me.

But pah! It was nothing! And clearly I am a superb bleeder because I pumped out the requisite 475ml in about 5 minutes compared to the average is 8-12 minutes. I didn't even have time to finish reading a trash mag story about Angelina Jolie struggling to raise 17 kids under the age of 7 or whatever.

Then I got to the recovery area where you can have a drink and a snack while you sit for 15 minutes and they had Target puzzles to do - and I got the nine-letter word! Yay!

Are you a blood donor?

Odd bicycles and more than words

I saw a man riding a very big unicycle by the river, clad in very padded trousers. I like the way you see some strange sights in a big city. I grew up in the country - no unicycles there (big or otherwise).

I even saw a man riding a penny-farthing bicycle in the city once too. It made me think of the poem by Aussie bush poet Banjo Patterson, Mulga Bill's Bicycle, which I liked when I was a kid.

Not just word games

I discovered tonight that www.freerice.com isn't just about words - you can choose your quiz subject, from topics including geography, maths and science. Cool bananas.

I gave my brain a workout trying to remember the capital cities of the world.


Seen anything odd lately round your way lately?

Helping the hungry through words

It was quiet at work today so I filled in some time donating rice to hungry people through www.freerice.com. For those of you who haven't heard of it, for every word you pick the correct meaning of, the site's advertisers pay for 20 grains of rice to be donated through the UN's food program.

It's quite challenging, even for those who consider themselves to have a pretty good vocabulary (like me), although educated guessing can take you a long way. Today I donated about 4000 grains of rice. Go, me!

What amused me though was a couple of the words that cropped up. The first was 'meshuga'. I had never heard this word until Monday when a friend of a friend mentioned a death metal band he saw called Meshuga. It didn't occur to me that it actually meant anything, but here it was popping up today freerice.com! It means 'crazy'.

The second word was "quotidian". I knew the meaning of this, but had never before stopped to think how pleasing it is that it describes the opposite of what it is - commonplace, usual or occuring daily. Don't know about you, but it's not a word I hear or use often.

Pulchritude is similar - it means physical beauty but sounds like a synonym for ugly or evil.

I also like the word sesquipedalian because it IS what it describes - a long word. It makes me think of my friend Luke, a self-confessed "word nerd" who first told me about it.

Do you know of any other words that have contrary definitions or words that are what they describe (well, apart from onomatopoeia)?

Rain and Stones

How nice is it when you are inside snug on the couch under a blanket and big, fat rain drops are pattering against your windows? We are in the middle of our driest spring ever in southern Australia - and in the grip of a long drought with no end in sight - so rain on the windows is welcome in more ways than one.

More of the Stones

I bought Angus and Julia Stone's album A Book Like This on iTunes last night. I like it a lot. There's some really beautiful guitar and strings on there, particularly in Here We Go Again. I couldn't find a decent video for it, so here's a song called Bella.

Hand claps, furry buds and friends

I have a new favourite song today - Just a Boy by Aussie folkies Angus and Julia Stone. Love the breezy tempo, the harmonica and the hand claps. I have quite a thing for songs with hand claps, come to think of it...

Mmmmm...furry

We have a fresh floral arrangement in the reception area at work each week. This week's has some twiggy things rising out of it with little furry buds on them. They are so soft, like miniscule silvery-green mice. I can't pass by without patting them. The same thing happens with the furry centres of proteas and I may have already mentioned that every time I visit the Botanic Gardens I stroke the Lamb's Ears (below). They are particularly soft and velvety at the moment.

Pals

I went back to work today after my home holiday. It was good to see my friends there again.

What's your favourite song at the moment?