Another Crook and Law Zoo Day adventure

Thanks to the wonderful SDA (retail worker union) we had a free access day out a the wonderful Adelaide Zoo. Here is a poem that I have written, inspired by our adventures... Enjoy! A DAY AT THE ZOO The sun was bright The sky was blue We packed hats and sunscreen For our day at the zoo There was Nenna, and Maddy Tilly, Livvy, and Boo Ben, and Maria Heidi too A drive down the freeway Averaging a hundred and two Grey clouds, drizling rain What were we to do? Just past the Adelaide Hills Rain all gone away Sun shining brightly A promising day The drive throught the city Following closely behind Ben Eagle-eyes peeled Two perfect parks, then... Such a long line up Plenty to see Screeching, scary bats A Bin Chicken tree Finally in Penguins we see Five laughing children Everyone happy Lions and tigers A speedy Beetong Giraffes, but no spiders "Stop singing that song!" Livvy sees monkeys Boo a panda that's red We thought the python sleeping Until it moved its head Following the map Searching for a kangaroo Maddy is happy A great day at the zoo Livvy spies the playgound Everyone else takes a rest Thanks SDA for a great day A free trip to the zoo is the best

All at Sea

I love the ocean, the seaside is my happy place. It reminds me a lot about life. Some days are calm and the sky is so blue, there is not a single cloud in the sky. Other days there is grey as far as the eye can see, rain poors down like tears and lightning lets you know that someone, something, somewhere is angry. Reflecting back on life after a most recent birthday I think I am due a trip to the beach. That won't happen today though, so instead I shall just write about it...

This poem I have chosen to title All at Sea...

Enjoy


Some days are so calm
The sky is so blue
Not a cloud in the sky
To spoil the view

Other days are grey
A storm on its way
The flashes of lightning
Take my breath away

Sometimes the ocean
Appears just like glass
A mirror reflecting
Both future and past

Me in my boat
Upon the waters we float
A ship made of paper
A simplistic note

Do I take life too serious
Or do I act the clown
Is that me waving hello
Or have I started to drown

Life can be a happy place
But, some times it is rough
We just have to hope
We get as many good days as tough

And when we get those times
Dealing with so much stuff
My prayer for us all
Is that we are tough enough

The Laws go Down the Rabbit Hole

Family day out today thanks to Miss H, Mother of the Year. With three teens it is getting more and more difficult to come up with ideas of places where we can go as a whole family where everyone will come home again thinking "that was so much fun"...

Escape Hunt Adelaide has proven to be just the place for us. We have tried other escape rooms prior to this one, with Master 18 and Miss Boo (13) the only members of our troop of five inexperienced. The usual company we have tried alas was all booked out today so we had to go somewhere new.

I am so glad that we did... Escape Hunt got us in early, promised us plenty of hints (the room was REALLY challenging), and so kindly let us know we had been beheaded (sorry White Rabbit, I think we were doomed from the start)... We vow to return though, and this time bring our A game.

Yummy lunch at the OG Pancake Kitchen, and then a spot of shopping along Rundle Mall.

All in all a brilliant day spent in the city, lots of smiles, and some specially memories...

The Panda and a Penguin Provide Perfect Pleasure

With a title like that for a blogpost you would think that we have visited the zoo, but no... This is yet another movie review - This time it is for the newly released Kung Fu Panda (4) and for the emotional Aussie film Penguin Bloom. What else do you do on a day about remembering fallen soldiers? Go to the movies of course... My love of my life, Miss H decided that ANZAC Day was going to be the day for shopping (grocery) and an opportunity for a family movie session... Our youngest decided that a sleep over with her friend trumped this offer, and our eldest had already seen Kung-Fu Panda 4 so it was middle child and mum and dad that hit the local cinema. Embaressingly we met our neighbours there who had just come from watching the new epic war flick Final Hour. When asked what we were planning to see we had to admit it was nothing so harrowing. From the looks on their faces I don't know if we would have been able to handle such a film. So did we enjoy seeing Po up to his antics again? Well I would have to say YES!!! All three of us enjoyed this movie, suprisingly not bad being the fourth one in the series. Humour, action, a new character to get to know, and a pretty cool villian. A solid three, maybe even four stars for this effort from Dreamworks... Of course it is set up ready for a fifth installment. Let us hope the magic and mayhem continues... And then, in the evening, we were joined again by Miss Nen for a great Austrlian film about the Bloom family and their magpie named Penguin. This one has been out for a while, so long in fact that we found it on a streaming service. I'd heard it was emotional and so had been putting off watching it. Now we have given it a go I'm so glad that we did. Definitely a tear jerker in places, but ultimately this is a film about putting pieces back together. A really good movie about familiy, and what it means to be a mother, a father, a child, a support... I continue to forget that Aussie films are so good... Definately four stars, a must watch if you have not seen it.

Harlan Coben has the right formula for us

Thank you once more Netflix... After Nine Perfect Strangers and other short series based on novels we have discovered the those based on the novels by American writer Harlan Coben. Safe caught our attention first, so interesting and so engaging. We then moved on to The Stranger, and its twists and turns it did not disappoint. With so many books published by this author it seems there will be just as many more mini series for us to watch as there seem to be murders in Midsomer... Thank you Harlan and thank you Netflix...

Magic Abounds as the Summer Holidays Draw to an End

We have farewelled 2023 and said with great relief a warm and hopeful "Hello" to 2024. Christmas was a delayed afair for this Law household, and the New Year celebrations were fun, but far from previously more lavish affairs. Thank you to the wonderful Crook family for again joining us and teaching us the fun that can be had with a box of matches and what seemed like a thousand sparklers. Nothing burned down, and nobody got injured (I think) so 2024 has started off well. On the writing front I have had a few pieces already accepted, some online publications scheduled for as late as September 2024, and a few stories/poems accepted in 2023 will be appearing in 2024 anthologies. On the family front we now have two learner drivers in the house, hoping that one will very soon be on P plates. Two kids are schooling while our eldest takes a gap year to work and travel (not both at the same time though like I did... Shhhhhh...) Workwise we are coming to the end of one of our busiest times for families, the Summer holidays, and we have ended our holiday programme with a roaring success. Firstly my Wonderland themed escape room proved quite challenging and popular (for most of the groups anyway... As usual my family (Laws and Crooks with some added helpers) creamed the competition taking almost half the time of every other group to escape), but the true star was our magician Dane Certificate (https://danecertificatemagic.com.au/) an absolute wizard who blew all of us away with his wonderful show. Dane even had the Library Team (myself included) bamboozled with how he did some of his tricks. We cannot recommend him highly enough. Finally I just wanted to mention a great show my wife and I have been watching with Miss Nen our daughter, a great little piece of aussie TV we found on Netflix called "Boy Swallows Universe". I have seen this book borrowed a lot, and have heard it is a great read so it did not surprise me it has been turned into a movie or television series. Having not heard much about the story it did surprise me though what it was actually about... Dark... Real dark... Occasionally a comedy... Very aussie and very eighties... I, like a few people I've spoken to, enjoyed the first half compared with the last few episodes. It has me very curious about the book now... So, please excuse me while I just go and pop Boy Swallows Universe on reserve from my local library...

Farewell 2023

Well, what a year 2023 turned out to be. Work-wise, our local library has returned to our normal program of authors, workshops, entertainment for young families, and of course the book/magazine/movie/music/toy lending that is our bread and butter. A new trainee has given us a pleasant surprise, and thanks to COVID and other things we have been busily juggling behind the scenes so everything looks like it is running smoothly. On the home front we were blown away by our son's efforts this year, traveling to Japan as part of a school trip, and acing his final year of secondary schooling. The world truly is his oyster and we could not be prouder. Our two girls are also on the path to wonderful success with our eldest daughter Nen impressing a local childcare centre, and our youngest daughter proving to be quite the entrepreneur (she cannot wait for her next birthday when she can finally get out into the workforce earning her own money). I have had a successful year of writing with a number of my stories and poems being accepted for publication on websites such as Black Hare Press, Academy of the Heart and Mind, The World of Myth Magazine, and many more. Looking back on 2023 it actually surprised me to see how successful it has been. Speaking of The World of Myth and publications, Dark Myth and their kids press subsidy published my children's novel The Neighbor and my youth novella Murdle Notton's Guide to World Domination. I hope to have another youth fantasy published by them this year on top of the sequel to The Neighbor, The Teacher. I have also enjoyed recording the weekly podcast for this company, The World of Mythbits, having almost recorded 70 episodes. I really enjoy each month the opportunity to read and review the magazine they publish, with the other episodes themed on writing, and general musings from my mind and life. Now that we have a fresh new year to look forward to I am hoping that I will be posting more. Fingers crossed I will have loads of good news to share. Until then, I hope that you are all safe, happy, and well, wherever life finds you. Ciao for now, and happy 2024!! Tim