• Daily Life

    Glorious Grevillea

    Although the harsher than normal seasons this year have made it tough for our garden, our consistently strong grevillea has survived and thrived. Related posts: An Aussie Chrissie The Strine Why Atorkin: Natchrule Strine Arrows of Outrageous Fortune Nicking Off To Nikko Blessed By Wonderful People in 2023 Strine Dictionary Strine (オージー英語)Dictionary Awe-tumnal! Where’s the Whist Amid the Wisteria? Do Little Powered by YARPP.

  • Daily Life

    Saying It With Flowers

    Running out of time with a busy schedule ahead, but a flourishing garden at hand, what better way to say anything than to do it with flowers? So that’s what we’ll do, courtesy of Kangaeroo Corner’s enduring grevillea. Related posts: Arrows of Outrageous Fortune Strine Dictionary Strine (オージー英語)Dictionary Awe-tumnal! Where’s the Whist Amid the Wisteria? Beating Jobsworths with Luck Do Little Barking Mad at a Dog Marathon Savorin’ Straya Quick Cleanse Powered by YARPP.

  • Daily Life - Strine - Strine Dictionary 豪語辞書

    Enshittification

    Enshittification has been chosen by Australia’s preeminent dictionary as the word of the year for 2024. The Macquarie Dictionary, which is regarded as the main chronicler of Australian English, defines enshittification as “the deterioration of a service brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit seeking.” Most Strine speakers would probably refer to enshittification as things going to the shits. Macquire notes that the term is now being used to describe many things in life, not just tech-related, citing the example of shrinkflation of products as…

  • Daily Life

    Strewth, The Whole Strewth And Nothing But The Strewth

    An amphibious reptile has taken over the Fountain of Strewth, and that’s no crock. Well, it is, but more croc that crock. A large crocodile is occupying the rim of the Fountain of Strewth. Mrs. Kangaeroo bought it and placed it there, using it to replace a tiny replica crocodile she had initially attached to the new lettering on the fountain. We’ve always had lettering on the fountain, but it got a new, metallic upgrade over the summer, in addition to a Beware of Crocodiles replica road sign. Ironically, the solar-power fountain that worked so tremendously well and gave the…

  • Daily Life

    Moving Mountains

    This weekend was probably the last until the very end of the year where I would be able to do a decent amount of cycling, and timing presented the opportunity to return to mountain riding for the first time in over three years. I got to ride through Takao first and see my physician for a regular check up. This allowed me to grab some time in Takao Komagino Teien, the gorgeous Japanese garden adjacent to my hospital. I enjoyed a leisurely ride over Otarumi Pass, a popular ride for many cyclists in Tokyo, and was pleasantly surprised that the…

  • Daily Life - Unknown Nichigo

    Tokyo’s Wonderfully Whirled With Aus

    Walking around central Tokyo over a couple of days this week, I got to discover a pocket garden filled with Aussie plants, including blooming grevillea and kangaroo paw. This little circular garden created a wonderful whirled of Aus, right in the Marunouchi business district. Flowers weren’t the only wonderful sights of the city. Walking around gifted me plenty of wonderful sights to see. Related posts: Paws for Effect Paws and Reflect Get Your ‘Thinking’ Paws From Me, A Damned, Dirty Mate! AFL – Modern Australia’s Religion and Failed Proselytizing in Japan With 10 Thumbs, Odds Were Always For 1 Being…

  • Daily Life

    Bloomin’ Freezing

    After an Indian summer and unseasonably warm autumn, this morning finally sent a message that winter is on its way, even as the warm weather grevillea in Kangaeroo Corner continued to thrive. We have three grevillea trees in the garden, all of which are fantastic growers. (And a fourth, ground-covering, grevillea that has also done well this year.) Only one of them has ever flowered, though. But, oh how well it has bloomed! The star of our garden began shooting flowers in about April and has not stopped. It currently has about eight buds ready to flower. The onset of…

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    Mist-ical

    Nature conjured up a mystical morning as the warm air over the icy Tama River created a fabulous world of mist. It’s common around this time of year to have mist over the river. The effect creates a surrealistic atmosphere. It’s difficult cycling as visibility is greatly reduced, and my eyesight is already too poor for pre-dawn riding. But the upside of that is being presented with the opportunity to slowly pedal through the fantastic scenery. And the cold, dark early hour of my rides means that I pretty much get to have the sight to myself. Moments like this…

  • Daily Life

    Many Happy Returns

    Don’t be fooled: This post has absolutely nothing to do with birthdays. It’s about doing things again for the first time in a while. The whole day was a series of events reminding me of the past. We started by cleaning the estate garden. We live in what is basically a retirement village that has cheap management fees, and they’re cheap because residents have to keep the common gardens and grounds maintained. When the cleaning was over, it was back on the bike. And I was back with a camera bag on my back for the first time in many…

  • Daily Life

    Virtuous Cycle

    Today’s title is more than just a play on words to boast about the beautiful bicycle photos I have been able to take recently. It also refers to what’s going on in my life at the moment. I can’t stop pinching myself to check that I am really going through what’s happening. Essentially, it revolves around the various miracles that have occurred to get me into a great new company, where I am surrounded by extraordinarily talented people and working in an environment so supportive that it is difficult to believe. Hence the pinching. This has brought about such an…