Loobylu Loobylu

Dishing the fluff since 1999
  • December 6, 2011   Published ~ 13 years ago.

    12!

    Hey!

    Last Saturday night we were distracted by a homestyle rib-fest celebrating a nephew’s 25th birthday but it was also a special day for my blog. It turned 12 years old.

    My blog is OLD. My blog used to be called an “online journal” – that’s how old it is. My blog was once cut up into the tastiest of tasty html chunks and uploaded as a static page, every day. Seriously geriatric!

    I really don’t have many thoughts about this particular milestone other than “OLD”, but you know? I like my blog. I like it even when it isn’t doing much. I like being a blogger even though I’m not creating an empire or a magazine or a platform. I like it when you come by to visit, so thanks for persisting despite the quiet. You’re all my favourites.


  • November 23, 2011   Published ~ 13 years ago.

    I know you like Annie Hall as much as I do

    Sarah Blasko “Seems Like Old Times” (Annie Hall) by Sneakattackmedia
    And so does Sarah Blasko.

    And here’s Diane Keaton singing the original in “Annie Hall”.


  • November 21, 2011   Published ~ 13 years ago.

    Brrr…

    Snow! Beautiful Saturday morning.

    We didn’t do a lot this last weekend. The weekend seemed to be brought to us by the letter P:

    Pale and wan. Puzzles. Popcorn. Pizza. Puss in Boots. Pumpkin pie.

    This puzzle is a brilliant family puzzle. So many good little bits. It seems to have great balance between concentrated effort and ease.

    1) Speaking of snow – I’ve been listening to the new releases from two of my favourites – Kate Bush (listen to a stream here on NPR) and Bjork. Oh yes. New wintery tracks in abundance. Also listening quite obsessively to the gorgeous  Chris Bathgate. And also listening to locals Fish & Bird and also Jon & Roy – although at this point, certain family members are starting to suggest that I’m turning into a hillbilly.

    2) I made this thai curry upon my friend discovering lime leaves in the grocery store. Next time I would use less lime leaves and not even expect that the children might like it.

    3) They do, however, like pumpkin pie – even if I do forget to put on the kitchen timer and burn it.

    4) Are we talking about Christmas yet? …I didn’t think so.


  • November 3, 2011   Published ~ 13 years ago.

    Pinky blue

    Holy smokes! Not sure if this actually deserves and entire blog post dedicated to it, but look at the colours of these berries and flowers. I do like a little turquoise on pink action. I have no idea what this plant is. It’s a little tree in a pot, about four feet high, which had very little foliage in the summer but always looked like it was meant to do more. Now in the Autumn it’s fulfilling its potential and is being a big time attention seeker. Any ideas what it is?

    1) Quinces. I’m about to pick a tree full and then look at them and wonder what on earth I should do next. I think poaching them might be the plan. My favourite quince treat ever is Paterson’s cakes Quince and Ricotta Tart. Right there is reason enough to move back to Melbourne. But as I am on the other side of the planet, stuck here (quite happily, mind you) until further notice due to immigration processes, I will consider baking my own. Thank you to Patersons for putting the recipe online.

    2) A shout out to my off-grid peeps on Lasqueti Island! You know who you are. I heard in the coffee shop this morning that you take the time to download Loobylu on dial-up just in case I update… well that’s incentive enough for me to add badly taken flora photos. xx

    3) NaNoWriMo! Are you in? I am and I’m suffering. It took me about 14 hours, on and off, yesterday to write the required 1667 daily words. Agony. Today I’ve written 246 but the sun is shining and I’m going out for a walk to check out the house building going on next door. Maybe I’ll find some inspiration in the cement foundations or the ever-changing wall angles. Self-doubt be gone!


  • October 24, 2011   Published ~ 13 years ago.

    The Art of the Hobbit – and other illustrations

    Added to the wishlist!

    “A swath of JRR Tolkien’s original illustrations for The Hobbit are to be published for the first time this week as part of celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of the book’s publication.” Alison Flood, The Guardian.

    I love Tolkien’s illustrations. Letters From Father Christmas was such a favourite of mine growing up – a real influence.  Here are some other great pieces:

     

     


  • October 13, 2011   Published ~ 13 years ago.

    Character sketch


    I’ve been writing. Nothing good, mind you, but words on the page none the less. And I’m starting to like it.

    While I write I listen to music and I doodle.

    I keep a sketch book by my laptop and one in my bag and fill them with notes and scribbles and pictures of the people I am writing about. I’m not even sure if the thing I am writing will be illustrated but it helps get my thoughts in order.

    1) Sunni Brown’s related TED talk: “Studies show that sketching and doodling improve our comprehension — and our creative thinking. So why do we still feel embarrassed when we’re caught doodling in a meeting? Sunni Brown says: Doodlers, unite! She makes the case for unlocking your brain via pad and pen.”

    2) Balance? Who needs balance? So what if there are dishes piling up in the sink, clean laundry on the sofa and the pizza place is on speed dial? I’m writing, I’ll get to all that other stuff later. Dan Blank talks about creativity (specifically writing, but of course it’s about anything worth doing) and obsession. Also, I think Dan Blank has a name that really should be that of a private investigator in a murder mystery novel.

    3)  Speaking of such things, did you see that Bored to Death is back on? That makes me very happy.

    4) And in other news, this song has made us late for school twice in the last week: breakfast dance party (sorry about the ad before hand).


  • September 28, 2011   Published ~ 13 years ago.

    Pretzels

    “Meet the teacher day” means kids home in the middle of the week. It means other kids hanging out here too and lots of hungry people. For entertainment value and for a fool-proof stomach stuffer, we made pretzels. It’s really just like making a batch of playdough (with yeast), sticking it in the oven and then eating it. Making the dough takes around 7 minutes and the shaping dough creatures can take up to an hour if the pretzel artists decide to remodel their monster into a car into a pretzel into hedgehog etc. Highly recommended. Don’t be scared away by having to use *active dry yeast*. It’s a cinch.

    Pretzels

    4 teaspoons of active dry yeast
    1 cup of warm water
    2 teaspoons of honey
    2 2/3 cups of flour
    1 teaspoon of salt

    for finishing them off to perfection:
    beaten egg
    granulated salt

    Preheat oven to 400°f
    Mix flour and salt
    Mix warm (not hot) water with yeast and honey. Let it stand for 5 minutes.
    Mix together and knead.
    Make shapes (pretzel shapes, monster shapes, shapes of hedgehogs etc).
    Brush with eggwash and sprinkle with an itty-bitty bit of granulated salt.
    Bake for 10-12 minutes on a greased cookie sheet.

    To be eaten immediately. They are pretty tough if left for a day.

    * thanks to my lovely friend Aidan Cassie, who introduced us to the world of pretzels *

    - a late update : not all the kids dug the pretzels. Some thought they were down-right yucky. Rather than scrap this blog post about how awesome and easy pretzels are, I will just add in that they are “good, easy, and sometimes down-right yucky”. Personally, I thought they were delicious.


  • September 27, 2011   Published ~ 13 years ago.

    Misty spider morning

    We were up at dawn on Saturday to watch spider webs billowing in the breeze.

    The misty garden was full of them. One lavender bush was like an apartment block with dozens of beautiful, fully occupied webs stretching between flower stems.

    The spectacular web pictured above was strung delicately in a japanese maple just outside our back door.  It had one long anchor line hanging from the bottom, attached to a little grey pebble from the gravel path. The pebble had been lifted by the web and hung suspended about an inch from the ground, spinning constantly. So cool.

    And with the garden spiders comes autumn. The rain sounds good on the skylights at night and I am amazed to find *both* children in school full-time, happy and occupied. Meanwhile I attempting to get back into this thing called “me”. Ah, and what was that again? I draw? I make stuff? I write?

    Amelia once said to me “Mum, I would like to be an artist when I grow up, just like you.”
    How sweet – and how touching! How good to be a role model! After I gushed and carried on and told her how nice that was to hear, she followed it up with an entirely innocent; “so I can do nothing, just like you.

    I ranted and raved about motherhood, and roles made by choice and circumstance and feminist ideals but, in truth, I do feel like things have been on hold for a very, very long time. So now that the house is empty and quiet and it’s time to step up and get busy.

    Distractions this week, other than the obvious Facebook and Twitter:

    Goodreads – catalogue your reading list, your book shelf, get recommendations, find friends and creep their reading lists. My friends are all impressively and intimidatingly well-read.

    - The flickr photostream of illustrator and cartoonist Tom Gauld.

    - The Lonely Polygamist: A Novel by Brady Udall. Not actually a distraction, per se, as it’s for bookclub and also reading is an entirely legit pastime for any aspiring writer (just ask Stephen King). The Lonely Polygamist is great fun and doesn’t feel like hard work in the least. I’m highly recommending it thus far, although I see from my goodreads status bar, I am only 11% of the way through, so perhaps not the best judge.


  • September 7, 2011   Published ~ 13 years ago.

    My favourite driving music right now

    Jónsi – Go Do from Jónsi on Vimeo.

    The screen shot above is a little scary looking – but it isn’t a scary video. The music is uplifting and perfect for driving down through the forest to school.


  • September 1, 2011   Published ~ 13 years ago.

    Ode to a celeriac

    I picked up this gorgeous guy at the grocery store.
    Have you ever cooked with celeriac?  For such an ugly vegetable it quite honestly produces the most delicious aroma while cooking up in a pot of wintery soup or Bill Granger’s chicken casserole (I will be forever grateful to the Waffler for that one).

    I am basing a character in a book on a celeriac so I actually bought this particular specimen to model for me. He’s doing a stellar job but might end up being a wee bit cuter. This one looks like something out of  Pirates of the Caribbean. Regardless of the hairy ugliness of this celeriac right now, I see a bright future for him ahead; mingling with lemon rind, chicken, bacon and melt-in-the-mouth onions in an autumnal casserole.

    Inspired by: Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall on eating veg in the Guardian:
    “Undeniably, we are faced with the very challenging question: how can we eat really well every day without contributing to global warming, the suffering of animals or the pillaging of our precious marine resources? There is one, unequivocal answer: to eat more vegetables. Addressing this issue isn’t about giving anything up, it’s about filling your boots: embracing a world of fabulous, fresh ingredients and finding some new and irresistible ways to cook and serve them. The crucial thing is the mental shift: after that, I predict you will find it a breeze.”

    Following up from the treehouse post:

    My Dad writes:

    Here are some sites I found useful, but there are plenty of others online if you google “building a treehouse”.

    Treehouse construction
    1. The Treehouse Guide
    2. Out’n’About Treehouse construction

    Also some more general sites dealing with decking, stairs and framing
    1. Renovation Robot
    2. How to Dig Post Holes & Install Posts
    3. Buildeazy

    Also Peter and Judy Nelson’s book, “The Treehouse Book“, has a useful introductory section about building.

    Keeping digital scrapbooks: I have a handful of accounts for bookmarking stuff I like – feel free to have a look around. I collect recipes at chompers, pretty boho house pictures at shameless housey, gardens at creatures of habitat, awesome online videos for kids at meilz and lilo, and everything else at loobylu tumbles. And pintrest. There’s always pintrest.


Feed Information for Loobylu

Find or add a new feed:

Enter website or RSS feed URL:
Upload/import OPML file:

Bookmarklet

Drag this link to your browser bookmarks bar, then click it whenever you want to add the site you're viewing to RSS2.com.

Add to RSS2.com