It's that time of the year again...
Happy Solstice everyone.
So far I've been awake for over 23 hours, and I have a nice neat target to hit for my full 24. My stomach is feeling a bit weird (one of the standard side effects for me of staying up beyond my usual bedtime - and partly due to the two pots of tea which I've consumed in an effort to remain awake) but aside from that I'm just fine. The miseries aren't particularly noticeable (probably because of the effects of lack of sleep) and I have no doubt that a glass of juice and a couple of Neurofen will be all I'll need to be able to collapse in a heap.
Himself took me out to dinner last night - we went down to Subiaco to see whether we could do a bit of last minute Chrimble shopping, and stopped off at an Indian restaurant for dinner. For those in Perth, Chutney Marys on the corner of Rokeby Road and Hay Street in Subi does a pretty good onion bhaji, a very nice goat curry, and a reasonable saffron rice. Don't order the cheese naan, though - they use paneer rather than a more solid cheese, which makes the end result a bit on the sloppy side.
One of the places we stopped in at in Subi was Elizabeth's Bookshop. I suppose I should explain for those who aren't natives: there are about four or five bookshops in Perth which have the label "Elizabeth's". They're a sort of a mini-chain, and they specialise in second-hand books. However, if you're thinking they're anything like the bog standard book exchange with a couple of bookcases full of Mills & Boone and crate of airport novels mixed in with some rather tatty comics, think again. This mob look for books in reasonably good condition, and they also sell antique books and collectables. They are also importers of Asterix and Tintin books (which is a very good reason, IMO, for stopping by!). So I picked up "Asterix in Britain", "Asterix and the Goths", and "Asterix in Spain", as well as the Oxford Dictionary of Biographical Quotations and "The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren" by Iona and Peter Opie. I figure that once I get the bookshelves assembled enough to be able to dedicate some shelf space to research material, it can go there.
So far I've been awake for over 23 hours, and I have a nice neat target to hit for my full 24. My stomach is feeling a bit weird (one of the standard side effects for me of staying up beyond my usual bedtime - and partly due to the two pots of tea which I've consumed in an effort to remain awake) but aside from that I'm just fine. The miseries aren't particularly noticeable (probably because of the effects of lack of sleep) and I have no doubt that a glass of juice and a couple of Neurofen will be all I'll need to be able to collapse in a heap.
Himself took me out to dinner last night - we went down to Subiaco to see whether we could do a bit of last minute Chrimble shopping, and stopped off at an Indian restaurant for dinner. For those in Perth, Chutney Marys on the corner of Rokeby Road and Hay Street in Subi does a pretty good onion bhaji, a very nice goat curry, and a reasonable saffron rice. Don't order the cheese naan, though - they use paneer rather than a more solid cheese, which makes the end result a bit on the sloppy side.
One of the places we stopped in at in Subi was Elizabeth's Bookshop. I suppose I should explain for those who aren't natives: there are about four or five bookshops in Perth which have the label "Elizabeth's". They're a sort of a mini-chain, and they specialise in second-hand books. However, if you're thinking they're anything like the bog standard book exchange with a couple of bookcases full of Mills & Boone and crate of airport novels mixed in with some rather tatty comics, think again. This mob look for books in reasonably good condition, and they also sell antique books and collectables. They are also importers of Asterix and Tintin books (which is a very good reason, IMO, for stopping by!). So I picked up "Asterix in Britain", "Asterix and the Goths", and "Asterix in Spain", as well as the Oxford Dictionary of Biographical Quotations and "The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren" by Iona and Peter Opie. I figure that once I get the bookshelves assembled enough to be able to dedicate some shelf space to research material, it can go there.