(*) New bed, new guitar!

The boys, my brother and I spent Sunday at the car races held at Mt Panorana... it's the first Easter event they've held there for many years, and basically - as far as events go, it was a fizzer! There were just not enough things happening on the track... I mean, for 90 minutes we were sitting there with nothing at all happening! Mind you... it gave us the opportunity to walk in and out of the Pits area - I mean IN the pits [normally totally out-of-bounds], and really take a colse-up look at the finer details of some of the cars! While I'm not really 'into' motor sport, I could still appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making these machines do what they do. And the crowds...? Well... it was empty! I mean... we got there and were able to sit in the empty grandstand [which is also highly off-limits to non-passholders such as ourselves] and watch and block our ears as a Ute did the LOUDEST burn-outs I have ever witnessed! Needless to say, the boys (and even my brother) really enjoyed the day just hanging out together. Having 7-yo Ix sit snuggling happily in my arms for like 20 minutes was like THE soul-battery-recharging I needed so badly!

I finally bought myself a really good, nice & playable bass guitar - only after like 20 years' playing them! It's a Musicman 5-string, and cost me only $700 - a bargain! All the basses I've ever owned have been cheap & flimsy copys, so it's nice to have the real thing for a change. Plus - now I'll have the confidence to be able to make myself available to play/jam/gig again with a good guitar at last. I've still got my 'rig' - amp, speaker cabinet etc etc from when I used to play/record, so it'll be fun dusting them off and using them again. Whoo hoo!

Finally, I had a decent nights' sleep - on a brand-new double-bed matress! Only cost me $227 rather than $500 - a good buy! And this matress weighs almost nothing... compared to my old one, which is a disgustingly-heavy old beast! The base was fine, so I just invested in a place where I'll spend 1/3 of my life asleep! heh heh.

Another recent purchase has been finally realising my dreams and owning copies of a whole heap of classic LPs on CD - at last! Sure, it cost a lot (I got a great discount for ordering so many in one hit tho), but - they're absolute classics! Along with The Beatles 'Anthology' DVD's, I'm currently deliciously listening to:

The Beatles - Live at the BBC
The Band - Music From Big Pink & The Band
Love - Forever Changes
Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield Again
Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding & Blood on the Tracks
The Who - The Kids Are Alright & Live At Leeds
Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones Now! & 12 x 5
Paul Simon - Graceland
Ringo Starr - Ringo
The Velvet Underground and Nico
Steve Windwood - Arc of a Diver
Stevie Wonder - Talking Book & Innervisions
Neil Young - After the Gold Rush & Rust Never Sleeps

And - my little car is going great-guns! Really practical & reliable vehicle - enjoying the luxury. Thanks mum!