March 2014

If I thought February was quiet then March was even quieter…..I’m definitely going to have to do something about this.  If I’m to blog about what I’ve been doing I’m going to have to do things!!

I can be excused a little because I did move house and while I didn’t do much in the way of packing (I stole all the A4 printer paper boxes from work because I couldn’t be bothered using the proper packing boxes) and quite literally threw stuff in.  Much to my disgust the place I moved into wasn’t particularly clean so I had to clean the place I was moving out of and the place I was moving into.  All in all, way too much cleaning for this little black duck.  But I do really like the new place, it’s a really good space.  So much so that all the bastard millipedes want to be inside with me too (hence Mortein, Baygon are making a fortune out of me).

While I’m not a massive Rolling Stones fan, I did have a ticket to the concert that didn’t happen.  And the annoying part is that I was just starting to get a bit excited about it.  Why spend that much money on band I’m not crazed over…..well, they are (supposedly) the best band in the world to see live and let’s face it, they’re all looking pretty past it and who know how much longer they’ll be around.  So instead of rocking away to the Stones, we spent the evening at John & Mary’s eating pizza and playing ‘Billionaire’ and laughing til we were crying.  It was excellent alternative.

I’ve been getting to the movies quite a bit lately and this month I’ve seen:

• The Monuments Men – really enjoyed it.  George is always worthy of perving on.
• Vampire Academy – a bit silly really but ok.  Definitely going to be a sequel
• Pompeii – a bit like Titanic in that there isn’t going to be a sequel.  I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either.  The CGI was sometimes brilliant and sometimes crap and occasionally buildings looked like a set.  I’m really not sure that they used the word ‘Bitch’ back then either.  The major drawcard for the movie was watching Kit Harington for a couple of hours (for Game of Throne watchers, he’s Jon Snow) and he’s beefed up and has a very impressive 6 pack….grrr!  Worth it just for that.

There’s been quite a bit time spent in my hammock staring out the window and yes I keep my hammock inside because I really don’t want critters to get comfy in it and besides, I can use it in any weather.  But when I’m not watching the weather I’ve had my nose buried in lots of books.

• On the Trail of Genghis Khan – Tim Cope  About an Aussie guy who travels 10,000kms by horse following the trail of Genghis Khan (surprisingly).  Really enjoyable read.  I’d love to do something like that.
• The Sweetness of Tears – Nafisa Haji  It took a 100 pages to get into it but I liked the characters and the way they were woven together
• No Way Down – Graham Bowley  Couldn’t put it down, read it in 3 days.  About the 2008 climbing season K2 (the second highest mountain).  A riveting read.

Now that I have a little patio with a garden around it, I’ve realised that I have weed the bloody thing.  It’s a bit of a novelty for me because I haven’t had to do any gardening for many years but I seem to remember someone saying that gardening was meant to be therapeutic but I’m yet to believe them.  I just find it annoying that I’ve pulled all this grass out of the beds and after a few drops of rain they’re back with a vengeance.  I will admit that there is a sense of accomplishment at seeing the patch clear of weeds.

That’s about it for another month but I have a question for you – How has travel affected your life?  I’d love to hear your comments.