My turn to smell like dirt?

The council replaced our water main today and all the water smells like soil. So instead of asking if it was my turn for the shower......

Freedom

I have completed my scholastic obligations for the year. No more study, tutorials, lectures or irritatingly thin, poorly dressed 17 year olds until next year. Hallelujah!

What did I learn this semester?

• One subject is better than two for my sanity.
• A contract may be voidable where the conduct of the party not mistaken amounts to "sharp practice"
• Having a cleaner is good (the new one started last week, bless her).
• Some contracts are divisible and rest are lump sum contracts.
• I have the best husband in the world (actually I knew that already).
• Contracts to murder someone are not illegal to make, only illegal to perform and hard to enforce.
• Contract law is mostly boring.

The most difficult part of studying is finding motivation.

The actual study is not that difficult. It just requires time and effort. Lots and lots of effort. Focus to read the texts and the cases. Attention to listen to the lectures. And energy to take notes and digest the information.

I am wondering where I will find the motivation for next semester. Perhaps my motivation well will be refilled while I am on holidays in a few weeks? Or is there a utility company I should call to organise a top up?

I am glad that there are no summer subjects that I could do right now because I don't think my heart would be in it anyway.

But come next year, I will hopefully be refreshed and ready to start again. Torts and International Legal Perspectives, here I come! or more accurately - I'll be right there, after this short commercial break......

Lightspeed

Time seems to go by very quickly. My life is busy with work, travel, and study.

Most days feel like this..


and really I would prefer this...

Idiosyncratic Glass

We all have our little idiosyncrasies. One of mine is that I worry that one day most people in the world will die and only a few of us will be left - think an scenario like in Stephen King's The Stand.

I worry that if this happens no one will know how to do anything, like grow food, build houses etc because most of the world's population aren't engaged in those sorts of earthy jobs. There seem to be a lot of us who work in offices and make no obvious contribution to the day to day survival of the species.

Today I decided that should everyone else die I would really like to be able to make glass. I like glass and I think I would miss windows if I didn't have any. So I googled "glass making" and now understand the theory behind how to make glass.

My glass making knowledge will also be helpful if I ever get transported back to 16th centenary England and have to win over the royal family by helping them refurbish their castle.

You might call it odd. I prefer the term idiosyncratic.

Beauty where you find it

Here are a couple of photos I have taken in my work travels.

The first is a photo of a church in Melbourne. I took this photo on my phone from my hotel room.


I love staying in Melbourne. It is a lovely city. The shopping is great. The dining is great. And people dress nicely. And I get to wear coats (something that doesn't happen often in BrisVegas).

The second is a photo from the window of my hotel in Canberra.
Canberra may have terrible weather but it sure is pretty in the morning.

Antique Newbies

As promised, a photo of my birthday china. What a great gift.

Bed

Traveling so much with work makes me really appreciate my bed. There is really nothing better than sleeping in my own bed. I sleep better, get to sleep quicker and sleep for longer in my bed. It seems simple but it makes a big difference to how I feel when I wake up in the morning.

Longing

I long to drive this sunburnt country,
to cruise the sweeping plains,
to climb the mountain ranges
through the current drought and sporadic rains.


I love the open road,
My hair blowing in the breeze,
My hubby and my Navman,
a long road trip for me!


I have annual leave soon - in mid November. That seems like it is soon, but let me tell you it is not soon enough!

Garden Tuesday - Pet Poinsettia

Although quite pretty I really dislike my pet poinsettia.


We have a ritual, my pet poinsettia and I. It involves me cutting it back savagely and hoping that it will not recover. After that my part is done. Next the poinsettia flourishes and grows back twice and big and twice as healthy as before.

Perhaps this "tough love" treatment would work on my herbs?

new china

In helping my Gran last weekend to spring clean her china cupboard I ended up with some more china. Tom gets much kudos for doing all the actual work washing up every cup, plate and bowl in Grandma's hutch while she and I discussed the origins of each piece.

Grandma was kind enough to give me the tea set her parents were given as a wedding gift when they married in 1906. I insisted that she make this my birthday present this year which she reluctantly agreed to.

For me this is a wonderful gift. It has huge sentimental value to me because of it's history. As a lover of antique fine bone china I think the set is truly delightful. I will take some photos and post them soon.