My Goodness, it is HOT!
It was 44 C as we drove into our street at 5.00 pm today.
That is nearly 112 F, which is crazy talk in our usual moderately tropical climate.
We have air-con in one room only, not normally needing it very often.
Today, the house was a hotbox of the first order, and we took off to the movies.
Saw the gorgeous Colin Firth and Our Aussie Nicole Kidman in
The Railway Man.
This movie was partly filmed in South East Queensland, including areas not far from where we live.
It is a true story of a British POW in World War II, assigned to the Burma/Thai railway, and is a powerful tale about forgiveness towards one's enemies. I liked it a lot.
I'd be smiling too, Nicole, if I was playing Colin's wife...
.JPG)
Last week we saw The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second of the Hobbit trilogy. Mr C loved it, but after amusing myself looking for biblical and other literary references, and metaphors for this and that, I became a bit bored. However, the rivers of gold at the end were impressive.
Here are a few shots from our visit to the set of Hobbiton, New Zealand, from our 2012 visit.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Trying to detox after the Christmas feasting? Me too...
.JPG)
A few late Christmas gifts arrived from Amazon:
Forever Chic, the Frenchwomen's Secrets of Style and Substance.
I am enjoying it very much, even if it is possibly a bit late for moi...
.JPG)
Mr C tells me he got a good deal by throwing in this one too, much to my amusement. I don't fancy a facelift one little bit, because I hate pain!
.JPG)
It is far too hot to sew right now, but I am looking forward to getting involved in this tome over the coming months.
.JPG)
A little treasure of a book arrived just before Christmas.
It is a delightful read by Valerie Poore, of the blog Watery Ways, and tells the story of how she comes to be living on a lovely old boat in Rotterdam.
Pop over to Val's blog and you can take a peek at her fascinating life.
Val, I am enjoying your book very much.
.JPG)
There are news reports of extreme weather events in the northern hemisphere - thinking of you in North America in the heavy snow storms, and extremes of cold and flooding in the UK.
Everybody stay safe!
XXXX
Wow! That is dangerously, miserably hot. I hope the heat wave doesn't last very long. The hottest temperature I have experienced was our first summer in Kamloops. We had a day when it got up to 41. You were smart to head off to the air conditioned theatre.
ReplyDeleteMr C and I were discussing yesterday when we had experienced such heat before - only 3 times that we can recall, and they were not in Brisbane. One place which came close was in Canada - at Niagara Falls one 4th July...I nearly jumped in the river! It think that day was 42.
DeleteI can't imagine those temperatures. We don't even get that here in Europe when we visit the continent. Colin Firth - mmmmmmmm he is my all time favourite actor and watch him in Love Actually a lot, I mean a lot! Must go and see his new film. Your books look like some good reading there Patricia. Enjoy.
ReplyDeletePatricia x
Being outside at 44 deg. with high humidity was like being burnt by a big hot fire. Love that you like to watch Colin Firth - a lot - he he. He looks slightly older in this film but that only makes him more delightful :) xx
DeleteI saw the latest Hobbit but I think that they are spinning it all out rather a lot. I seem to remember it was about 3 hours long and there are still two more films to go.
ReplyDelete44ยบ C is unbelievably hot - lots of rain here - one day brilliant sunshine the next torrential rain. Luckily we live 750 feet up so no flooding around us.
I saw the trailer for the Railway Man following your recomendation must go and see it.
Spinning out they are, Rosemary. Hobbit was a long film, and I thought later that really the narrative made very little progress - it was all action and special effects to pad it out. An extra bonus in The Railway Man was picking up on the scenes made in Australia, although representing Burma/Thailand. I was watching the foliage in the backgrounds, and seeing gum trees here and there and other greenery which we see around here.
DeleteWho would not be happy playing Colin Firth's wife!! I hope that the temperatures moderate for you a little. That does seem uncommonly hot even for Brisbane. xx
ReplyDeleteHi Amy, welcome to my blog. Colin Firth is certainly a favourite! I love the smirk on Nicole's face. Yesterday was record-breaking for the Brisbane area, not a record we want or need. A little cooler today, but still uncomfortable.
DeleteWith 112 degrees F I do hope the humidity is not high as well. It's the humidity here that does us in, even when it's only in the 90s. I want to see the movie with Colin Firth! He's a great actor. Looks as if you have your reading lined up for you. I got Forever Chic on my Kindle and enjoyed it. Stay cool during the heatwave, Patricia. Wish we could send you some of our cold weather!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the humidity is also high Sanda, and certainly did me in. Today I was weak and unwell after yesterday's heat. It was impossible to hydrate sufficiently, and I have had oedema problems as well. We could organize a blog outing to see Colin Firth's movie - everyone go in their own country, but all at the same time! He has universal appeal, at least to women. A bit of cold weather would be a treat right now!
DeleteThat is not a bad idea - to organize a blog outing to see Colin Firth's movie! I like it! Why don't you organize it and we can follow your lead!! Good thinking, Patricia.
DeleteWasn't it dreadful yesterday!?! At least today has been a little more pleasant ... a little snowball from the 'other-side' would be most welcoming ... J
ReplyDeleteJust awful, Judith. Dreaming of snowballs, and jealous of the little Canadian grandsons, over there shovelling snow. I hope the forecast rain cools things down this week. This is my best time of year to sew, lots of projects lined up, but it's too hot to go into the sewing cave!
DeleteSounds so hot, glad I spent all that time rigging up the watering system before we came to Bali.
ReplyDeleteI could do with a watering system here and now. Perhaps you could blog about it and tell us how you made it? Bad news from Bali today - do take care.
DeleteHeat as you describe lives in my 'physical memory' from my years in South Africa, Patricia. I can bring the feeling of it to mind easily still. Going to the movies seems a very sensible escape :) I am so glad you are enjoying my book. That makes my day.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can imagine there would be similar heat in parts of Africa, Val. I hope there is no repeat of yesterday's effort. Even today's 35 was a big improvement. There are now many bush fires, and a pall of smoke over the city. Rain is forecast - I hope they are right about it. Back to the book now :)
DeleteSo often there is crazy weather simultaneously in both hemispheres. Grandchildren are snowed in over there, and we are trapped by high heat here. Even the air con at the movies was struggling, and it was quite hot at times. Colin can do no wrong :)
ReplyDeleteYour area is really hot. Yikes! It must be hard to cope with and a nice dark air conditioned movie theater does sound like the best place to be. I'm fairly adept at escaping into a book but don't know if even reading would do it in your temps. Hope you get some cooler weather soon.
ReplyDeleteDarla
This is not normal, Darla, and Yikes indeed! It is a bit cooler now, but still in the vicinity of 100F. We are closing off most of the house, to enable the struggling aircon to at least cool one or two rooms to an acceptable level to work in.
DeleteWow. I can not even imagine how hot it is over there. The few summer days, we have dry, a bit above +30°C, seem exhausting enough.
ReplyDeleteHow is it even possible to sleep?
I have experienced the - 44°C´s and must say, that it was terrible, as it lasted for a long time ( two weeks ).
So hoping, that you don´t have to suffer from it long !!
Dear Mette, Finland and snow have never been more appealing :) It is difficult to sleep in the heat, and we have the fan going above the bed. Extreme weather at either end of the scale is not fun; my daughter is finding it difficult in Ottawa right now. Here's to more sensible temps, and soon!
DeleteThat heat! Goodness. I can't even imagine, and I live in a place that can be very hot in the summer. I love Colin Firth and that movie looks really good.
ReplyDeleteIf you love Colin Firth (and who doesn't??) then you will probably enjoy the movie, Jennifer. We saw your area in September/October and the weather was very pleasant, but I could imagine it being hot in the summer. Love the rugged scenery - perfect for movie locations!
DeleteI need a dose of Colin Firth right now - I might even be able to entice my husband along too seeing it involves war!
ReplyDeleteWe visited that railway when we were in Thailand - of how those men suffered.
I remember those humid days, but it never got to such high temps when we lived there - I would have to sleep in your air conditioned room - humidity is not my friend Patricia!
Love all the books - great selection.
Hugs
Shane
If you visited the railway in Thailand, you would surely find the movie interesting, Shane. It was a terrible part of the war, and affected so many ANZAC soldiers too. Humidity is not my friend either - it quite takes the fun out of Summer!
DeleteAs always, I wish we could swap some of our weather, Patricia, to warm us up a bit and cool you off with our excess of rain. You've had some super books there and I'm glad you enjoyed The Railway Man, which I'm looking forward to seeing. Though I loved The Lord of the Rings, I'm going to give The Hobbit a miss. How on earth can they make a trilogy out of one ordinary-length children's book?
ReplyDeleteVery little forward narrative in the second of the trilogy, Perpetua! Lots of special effects is how they pad out one small book - maybe I'll pass on the final episode next Christmas. Lots of good movies about, though, and I enjoyed Philomena yesterday.
Delete