Friday 26 December 2014

The blog is dead! Long live the blog!

A Christmas present to my blog (cos that's totally normal, right?) - a spruced up look, a new address and a new name!

The Procrastinatrix was a name I started using when I was at uni, and the act of blogging, while good in that I was writing, was actually expert procrastination (I should have been writing my thesis).

But lately I've been thinking about it, and feeling that the name doesn't suit anymore. It makes me feel a little bit guilty, and as though it's implying that the things I'm writing about are the periphery of my life, the stuff I'm messing about with when I'm supposed to be doing something else.

But actually, the things I write about are the things I want to be doing, and the things I enjoy doing (for the most part). These days the blog is less an avenue for procrastination and more a way of chronicling and celebrating the things that I'm doing. With the occasional rant thrown in for good measure.

So a new name. I tried to come up with something interesting, something quirky, something that would encapsulate everything I might ever potentially write about...a fool's errand. I've never been good at naming things (naming my short stories was always impossible). Then I thought, hey, my supporters' newsletter at SU has been called The Bexfiles for the last few years, so why mess with a good thing? (and I didn't even come up with that name, but oh well)

All my new posts now are going to be over at www.thebexfiles.net - though as most of you seem to read this from Facebook or Twitter links, it's probably not going to actually affect things that much. If you're an old-school bookmarker or RSS reader though, you'll want to update to the new URL.

See you over there!

Friday 19 December 2014

What I read this year

Reading is the best! Hooray for reading!

Looking back over the year is kind of cool (thanks to Goodreads - see the collage below). I read 28 books this year! Many more than I would have in the recent past, and mainly thanks to Audible and needing to be occupied while I drive. There's no way I would have read (or been able to afford) all these books if I had read paper versions. I've also read a lot more nonfiction than I normally would.

I'm trying to work out what my pick is for the year, but it's hard. I don't know that it was my favourite, but lately I've been thinking about scenes from The Goldfinch; Tartt's characters and settings were very memorable, even if the story was long and slow (but it was kind of nice to have a book like that, that unfolded gradually). Some books, like the Terry Pratchett, John Green and the Hugh Howey, were consumed quickly and enjoyed greatly but not especially memorable. Some, like One Thousand Gifts and The Art of Asking, gave me a lot to think about and I wanted to quote from every five minutes.

I've just started Just Kids by Patti Smith, which was a BHB retreat recommendation from many people, and it's great, even if Smith's deep monotone voice wants to lull me to sleep. I don't know if it'll sneak in under the 2014 wire though.

What have you read this year? What was your fave?



Raising Steam
The Goldfinch
The Lacuna
The Signature of All Things
Longbourn
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are
The Rosie Project
Heartburn
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The Fault in Our Stars
Shift
Sarah Thornhill
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
The Charming Quirks of Others
Outliers: The Story of Success
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
The Fictional Woman
Dad Is Fat


Rebecca's favorite books »

Thursday 18 December 2014

Bathroom update: complete!

And fancy!

Those bears are unaware of their fate
Day 1 - destructo

Dave roughing in the plumbing

The best waterproofing in town

Taking shape

Masterful tiling by Cory and Bryce

Almost there...

...and DONE! One day ahead of schedule, too!





Thank you a zillion times to Ash, Cory and Bryce from Davies Carpentry and Renovations. You guys are champions! Also Amanda and Rod at Beaumont Tiles Caringbah are pretty great too, if you ever need nice things for your bathroom.

Best Christmas present ever.