And suddenly it's Spring...

I have to say that the first day of spring has lived up to all of my very high expectations.

Look... I even got to stand barefoot in the grass without my feet turning blue:

Notice how blindingly white these feet are.  This is a symptom of a long, cold, and very wet winter.

I just rushed outside half an hour ago to take these photos while I was checking to see if my camera still works after months of disuse.  The poor thing has been sitting in its camera bag under my desk, getting dusty and dented.  After my 21st birthday party I ran out of things to take photos of, besides salami.

Winter Perspective

It's one of those clear cold days.

And I'm in a vegetable garden.

It belongs to my Nonno and Nonna, and they grow vegetables because that's what you do when you have space in your garden.  Supermarket?  Why would we buy vegetables at the supermarket?

Nonna is getting together a box of vegetables for me to take home.

Today's box is full of winter vegetables.  I know these are winter vegetables because they are growing in winter (booyah!).  Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce...

Now I am in the shed.

It also belongs to my Nonno and Nonna, and this is where they hang the salami in winter.  That's what you do when you have an empty shed, and the need for a year's supply of homemade salami. 

Now I am standing by the barbecue.

I'm going to stand here for a while because it's nice and warm.

And it smells really, really good.

I'm going to go inside and have some of that winter salami and some of those winter vegetables for lunch now.


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(Sorry about the bizarre narration.  I'm in a strange mood after finishing a major essay on public policy failures and government implementation plans.  I thought I'd post about the 'normal' winter things I experience because I'm pretty sure not everyone has grandparents who feed you fresh homemade salami and cabbage for lunch.  Grandparents are the best.)

WWW: Dissimulate

According to my sketchy records, the last Wonderful Word of the Week appeared at the beginning of November.  I think I remember explaining the lack of WWWs as a result of studying too much literature and too much sociology at university level.  There were so many big words flying around I didn't feel up to squishing any more into my brain.

I just applied for graduation at the beginning of the week which means I'm definitely on the homestretch of this BA.  Soon I'll be able sign my name like Anne Shirley does in Anne of Windy Willows:

(Letter from Anne Shirley, B.A., Principal of Summerside High School, to Gilbert Blythe, medical student at Redmond College, Kingsport.)

I may not be studying literature in this final year, but I have a few more politics units to go.  Politics units don't really bombard me with new big words.  But when I was writing out an answer to a quiz question last week, I realised that I needed a new big word to describe a new problem caused by the study of politics.

Dissimulate {v}  /diˈsimyəˌlāt/ 
Conceal or disguise (one's thoughts, feelings, or character)


I chose the word dissimulate because the word 'fudge' didn't sound intellectual enough.
You may recognise some of the other synonyms of dissimulate... pretend, sham, mask, hide.

My Uncle's Harley

Back in the day when I used to pretend to blog regularly, I used to pretend to have a photo of the week.  More like photo of the month.

Anyway, the last photo I posted as photo of the week was taken in September last year so I'm thinking it has been sitting there for a while.  hehe?  


I can't just delete it without explanation, especially since my photos of the week were supposed to prelude a new blog post.  In this case, a blog post full of shiny Harley Davidson fittings (I know. You were dying to seem them, right?)

The thing is, a few months after I took thirty-five pictures of Uncle B's Harley in our driveway, a miscreant stole it.

They stole an entire Harley Davidson motorbike.  From the footpath outside my uncle's office in the CBD.

Can we just pause for a moment of righteous anger.