Rhodendron Season

Ultra purpleness

It’s nearly over.  This huge hunk of purple – no idea what it’s name is is the final one of my rhodies to flower and it is certainly a statement, a bold statement.  Every year I think, right rip it out it is a terrible colour, and then it flowers and I get all, oh look at that!  So, it stays, and flowers away merrily despite having sat if a pool of water for about a year before I moved in and discovered the pouring drain from next door. This year it’s roots are completely covered by grass clippings as I get to work on this side of the garden, trying to build a garden out of the King’s clippings, blood and bone, sheep poos, horse poos, and newspaper.

Before I die by Jenny Downham

This book is sad sad sad.  As the parent of a child named Tessa I found the ending just gut wrenching, and of course from the very beginning of the book you know that this character called Tessa is going to die.  It is beautifully written and not just the character of Tessa, but her Dad, and her little brother particularly.

Tessa has a form of leukaemia she is now 16 but was first diagnosed when she was 12.  It’s been a long hard four years for Tessa, but also for her Dad who has custody of her and her little brother Cal.  Her Mum ran off a few years ago and left them all so her Dad gave up work to look after them, but particularly Tessa while she has been ill.  Tessa has a list of things she would like to do before she dies.  She enlists the help of her best friend Zoey who has all manner of issues of her own but who treats Tessa as a normal person rather than a sick person,  together they knock off some of the things on Tessa’s list.  But this book is about far more than that.  It is a story of love, friendship and hope, even when there seems to be no hope.  Read it, box of tissues beside you and in a big gulp.

Funny Scientist

A virus walked into a bar! Har har!

via Miss Cellania and Boing Boing

Twitter go on you know you want to

I’ve been thinking about Twitter.  It is an interesting experience.  I believe that because of Twitter the school blog has reached over 3000 hits, I’m certain that most of the overseas hits – and they are almost all overseas hits – come because I follow library luminaries who then follow me.   I wonder if the same would happen if I put this blog on my profile?

Twitter has exposed me to more interesting sites than I would have found by myself, even using a tool like Stumble Upon or something like that, even visiting all the links that I find on the close to 20 blogs that feed into my reader or igoogle, the constant supply of great links is just fantastic.  It makes me cleverer, it makes me more connected to people I admire and therefore follow.  I don’t check it every day, I get bombarded with information and even a geek like me can have enough but if I leave it for a while I go back in and my eyes get all wide with excitement.

Another development is that people are finding and following me, whereas at the beginning it was the opposite way around.  That’s cool!  I like it!  Want to join in the fun?  I’m Bridgy_s

Veges galore

I am experimenting with growing potatoes in tyres.  This is batch number 1.  Batch number 2 will get planted tomorrow.  The heat generated in the compost within and the black rubber of the tyres is supposed to accelerate the growing and so if this turns out to be true there will be new potatoes for Xmas at the beginning of Advent!  Hmm.  I doubt it but anyway it is worth a try.

The tyres came for free from a tyre place, and the compost is grow your own and cheap stuff from the warehouse mixed with blood and bone (my fave).  At the moment in the garden there are.  Mustard greens (they will not make the cut next year) Corn Salad (fantastic stuff) various lettuces, tomatoes, zucchini x 2, and assorted others.  I await developments with interest.

‘Aotearoa’ Minuit

This is so great! Great photos from the National Library and Archives and this lovely band give thanks to them on You Tube  here is the quote:  “Huge appreciation to everyone involved in making this video: The awesome librarians at our national libraries and film archives. Te Haeata Awatea kapa haka group. The radio / internet / tv stations…”  Lovely stuff!

And more from Minuit here http://www.youtube.com/user/pauanui

Brett Dennen and Natalie Merchant

I have been besotted with Natalie Merchant’s gorgeous voice for years.  Here is her latest, a duet with Brett Dennen called Heaven.  Lovely words and – well I really like it, maybe you will too!

Die trying by Lee Child

Ok, so I work in a boy’s school, in the library, and I’ve never read Lee Child.  I know, I feel the shame!  Oh but come on, I read Harlan Coben, and I’ve read James Patterson and I remember John Grisham and David Baldacci who pump out a book every 6 months and I thought, nah, not this guy, this Jack Reacher, he man, I don’t need that.  Sure, the boys love him, the staff love him, but me, I’m better than that.  I had started one ages ago and put it down when distracted by the shiny cover of something else.  Well revise all that.  I loved this book!

Why did I even start it given my bad attitude.  Nick told me to.  He loves these books and has now read about 5 of them.  I thought, well he is a 16 year old, he likes them, probably the boys at school are just like him, I’ll try another one.

Action from start to finish.  Mystery and suspense, he had me from the end of page two.  Action all the way.  Slightly too gory in places for me, but the pace is so fast that I didn’t really care.

So, not immediately you understand, but I am going to read the next one.  Can’t believe it, but there you go.