Spring

 

The house that we live in now is the house that Pete grew up in (he moved when he was 14 to a house around the corner), and we are definitely a bit spoiled here. We have so much land, which translates to beautiful trees, room to run around, a huge variety and abundance of flowers, and home-grown veggies, fruit, and nuts.

All these photos have been taken in the last week and a half. I can't help but snap a few photographs here and there while out in the garden on a warm, sunny day. Sydney gets randomly hot, so it often feels like we've skipped Spring and gone straight to Summer.

Bankstown Library

Bankstown Library and Knowledge Centre reopened earlier this year, moving across the street to prime real estate in the middle of Paul Keating Park. As a result, they have hugely updated their services, and have succeeded where a lot of libraries fail.
Many upgrade their stacks without upgrading their general seating and desk space, but Bankstown has not fallen into that trap. There is always plenty of room to sit, no matter what the time of day. Not to mention that they all have a great view, and are extremely comfortable.
My favourite feature is the large wall of plants that lines the staircase. It is absolutely beautiful!

Weekly Charts

I'm pretty lousy at keeping track of things without a list, and am too indecisive to think of things in the spur of the moment. I'll go to bed, be lying awake, and then suddenly remember, "Ah! I completely forgot to put on a wash!"

Below is my useful chore chart, especially since moving to our current house (two storey, five bedroom!) General tidying is done everyday, i.e. table and desk -tops cleared, wiped, et cetera, but other than that, I usually just fill up my days with reading, get to Saturday, freak out about the state of the house, and spend eight hours dusting, wiping, and sweeping. It is handy to just be able to flip this open and know what I should be doing, now or later. If there is a day where I am too busy to get around to the day's activities, I just double up on chores the next day.

I am also currently using a food chart. It isn't strictly adherred to, but just a general idea of things to have on proper rotation so I don't have to have an awkward conversation with Peter that is constantly, "I don't know what I want to eat, what do you want to eat?", that always ends up in dessert for dinner, take-out pizza, or other undesirable outcomes (well, partially desirable in the short-term, at least!)

Everything is implied to be vegan, and it is balanced with beans, mushrooms, tempeh, or tofu for a protein boost.

 

Sickness & Community Go Hand-In-Hand

When I was sick and in bed, I just to watch old episodes of either Seinfeld or Scrubs, but Community quickly took over that spot as the last episode of season 1 aired in Australia, and I happened to catch it. I went and bought the first DVD set, and the rest is history.

The lovable characters of Community became my family (as they did each others), and I am glad that this has also become the case with Peter. We started watching new Community exclusively with each other from the very first episode of season 3, and we haven't looked back.

Peter came down with a tummy-bug at the very end of this weekend, so we decided to sit down and watch the entirety of season 5 in one running (with the occasional break for a vegemite-toast and ice-water run). It was so good, and just what the doctor ordered.

The Lego Movie

Today we went to a 2 o'clock session of The Lego Movie, and it was pretty fantastic! As you can see from the picture below, we ate far too much for three people (ah... there was only two of us for the most of it though!)

Have you been to see it? I really liked the concepts they were driving to drive home in this movie, i.e. everyone can be special, sharing, taking into consideration those around you, et cetera. Although, every one of us seemed to agree that the dad had some right to keeping the different sorts of worlds apart... (How can you put a spaceman in the Wild West?!) So, realistically, this movie is aimed at us for being potential bad parents already... ;)

Burwood Library & Ultimo TAFE Library

Burwood Library re-opened last week, and I finally got to check it out on Tuesday. It looks pretty fantastic, if still a little loud due to the large amount of students, who often socialise more than they seem to study. I wish they'd gotten a room in the same way as the children did.

Regardless of my personal complaint, they have used to the space really well. Everything has room to breathe compared to the cluttered old library. They seem to have more books than before, which is absolutely amazing! (Or maybe everyone suddenly returned books I haven't come across).

The view from the second floor, which is mainly for adult fiction, is my favourite. You can see the bridge that goes over the train tracks, where we park just right on the other side.

I found some great books to borrow, and I also managed to lengthen my to-read list.

 

This is another post about Ultimo Library. Picture 1 is their amazing science section, which I was drooling over a little (erm, again). Pictures 2 & 3 are purely about computers and programming, and what is pictured here only goes up to 5.7, as the collection continues onto the other side. I am amazed. This is the biggest programming section I have seen in my life.

There are so many library books (books about libraries, I should say), that I want to check out, and I pictured a few of them below, including the stack that I ended up borrowing.

I also want to comment on the puzzle that they have set up. A communal puzzle in an adult environment is amazing, and I think they are awesome for making this available.