Ah dear.

I know I haven't posted for aaages again, sorry. It's because, you see, I had this post all planned out for the Friday before last, which was International Talk Like a Pirate Day, involving lots of Captain Jack Sparrow... and then I didn't get a chance to watch Pirates of the Caribbean to help me write the post and so I didn't have it ready and so... it didn't happen. And then everytime I thought of catching up on here I remembered that post and remembered how it wasn't done and I felt bad about it and really still wanted to post it anyway but then it just got far too late to bother and....

... and now you have a little glimpse into how my whacko brain operates sometimes!

I still will get around to that Pirates/ Captain Jack post, and one just detailing the reasons I love Johnny himself, sometime soon. Just thought I'd let you know I'm still around, meanwhile.

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I made some great choc-chip cookies a couple of days ago, and my goodness they were good. But gosh, they totally messed with my head because I used Nestle choc-chips. Nestle (the company) makes me want to throw up because it's such a revolting selfish greedy exploitative company and I NEVER buy their products (Noel had bought these choc-chips). I buy organic fair trade chocolate like Scarborough Fair or Cocolo or Green & Blacks' Maya Gold. But anyway these Nestle ones were in the cupboard so I used them, and man I'm so annoyed about how good they tasted! I was stuffing myself with these scrummy bites of chocolate that people literally SLAVED away to produce. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Speaking of which, I just remembered about a good place to buy fair trade chocolate products for baking or just general eating purposes (no choc-chips but there is cocoa powder and raw cacao): Cacao Power

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I took the kids to a free showing of Horton Hears a Who today at the library. What a good fun film. Gotta love Dr Suess.

A person's a person, no matter how small!

Treats for dinner again

Who needs real dinner, when you can have pancakes instead?



I had all the pancake-making fun to myself this time...

because the girlies were busy with their own mess...

Ah yes, the house was in need of a good clean up that night. Just the way a home should be.

*sulk*

My husband, with a whole bunch of my friends, is currently sitting in the State Theatre being fabulously and, no doubt, hysterically, entertained by the brilliant Bill Bailey. I am at home trying desperately to get a crazy bubba boy to sleep so that I can get some work done so that I can pay some flippin' bills next month....

*sulk*

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I've been asked by an old college friend to help out on her short film in a couple of weeks' time but I'm going to have to say no. Because bubba boy is still just a bubba!

All the saying no and being home and not doing anything about a career is kinda getting me down lately. I need another one of those reminders that they're only small for such a short time, and I'm only young, and there's plenty of time for careers later...

And now he's staring up at me from his favourite cuddly spot, and you know what? I wouldn't give this up for all the careers in the world.

Anyone having a birthday party?

Because, oh my goodness, I need a reason to make this stunning chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frostings. Yes, frostings.

Or, someone could make it for me. Either way, I'm good.

Another delicious meal inspired by Chrissy...

I've linked you to the crazy culinary creator Chrissy before, I know. But seriously. Go to her blog and try some of that food. Oh my goodness, you will not be disappointed.

I had a night to myself last night (which means Noel was away; I still had three kids to feed but they are so much less fussy than him!) - and it was shopping day, so I took the opportunity to buy myself some nice ingredients and have a bit of a feast!

To begin, Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta. Noel wouldn't go near smoked salmon if you paid him... and as it turns out neither will the girls... but oh well, all the more for me me me! I just followed Chrissy's recipe there and added some boring button mushrooms (sorry love, the budget just doesn't stretch to fancy mushies when it's already stretching to smoked salmon!).

It really doesn't look all that pretty in the photo, does it? Trust me, it's good stuff.

For dessert, pudding! Self-Saucing Sticky Date Pud, to be precise.

Unfortunately mine didn't turn out as big and saucy as Chrissy's, perhaps because my dish was very shallow and wide. (I need to get me some better casserole/pudding/baking... ah, all sorts of dishes!) Nevertheless, this pudding was as delicious as big is big (to quote a children's book I've been reading lately). And the girls, who were "too full" to eat any smoked salmon with their pasta, wolfed it down in about 3 seconds flat.

Oh yes, it was good.

Some weekend films

My Noel, darling man that he is, is a bit of a nut. Those of you who know him will cheerily agree with me - but you won't get away with saying it, like I can.

Anyway, he likes to hire a few DVDs at a time, because our local place has special deals where it's cheaper to rent 3 new releases plus a couple of weekly ones. The problem is, he always gets 3 overnight ones, and always M or M15 rated films. So, we have to watch three movies in one night, or else try to occupy the (movie-loving) children so that we can watch a couple during the day without them seeing anything too grown-up.

*sigh*

This weekend it was Vantage Point , The Bucket List , and Jumper.

So memorable was Jumper that I racked my brains this afternoon trying to think of the 3rd film we watched, then finally asked my B, who remembered "the boy who fell in the water!" I suppose you could say it's hard to remember a film when you see two on an otherwise busy day... but nah, it's just not that memorable. The characters were a bit blah, and several of them kept making decisions that just didn't make sense in their established persona. The scenario of the conflict (a war between "jumpers" and people called, I think, "paladin") wasn't set up well enough for me to grasp what the bell was going on.
It was a very interesting concept, though, and I quite enjoyed the first part where the young bloke figured out his nifty ability to teleport himself wherever he fancied... but after the fun of that wore off, the blah set in.
Oh, and NOT good to watch while curious little girls hover about asking questions about people dying and guns and such...

The Bucket List was all lovely and feel-good and Nice. Jack Nicholson kinda freaks me out (how does he DO that?) but he is, of course, brilliant. And whatshisname... Morgan Freeman... I always forget his name... is, too. It was actually really refreshing to see the portrayal of a relationship between two older men. I do get pretty peeved at the general stereotype of men as macho, distant, unemotional types. It's nice to see something different - whaddya know, it isn't only young women who have friends to be there for each other and laugh and do stuff together! Well done, Hollywood.

Vantage Point was another awful choice to watch during the day with the kids up. However, the main comments we got was "why is he doing that again?" and "ooh she's getting ANOTHER ice cream!", as the events kept replaying from the various points of view. Noel got a bit annoyed with the repetition but I really enjoyed it. I liked the suspense-but-not of knowing what was about to happen but trying to figure out more of how or why it was going to happen. I was completely hopeless at any of the figuring, but I enjoyed trying nonetheless. :) And I was completely tricked - as I always am by tricky twisty plots.

That's been it of late. I have been watching far fewer DVDs because I work on the computer in the evenings now (I'm working as an online researcher for the UK service Any Questions Answered), which totally eats up all my movie time. Such is life.

Sorry!

Dontcha hate it when bloggers don't blog as often as you want them to?

A comment from Sarah made me realise how long it's been since I last posted anything - sorry! And thanks, Sarah, for the reminder!

I've been cooking and sewing and doing various bits & pieces that I've been meaning to blog about but, gosh I'm tired lately! So, it never happens.

I have a quiet day tomorrow so I'll try (really!) to get a bit caught up.

Pretty.

I was all set to write a post about how lovely the weather is lately and how I'm enjoying watching the flowers beginning the bloom and the trees coming back to life... and then it turned freezing cold and poured with rain just when we had to walk to the post office today. Just as well the girls love their boots and umbrellas!

Ah well, the fresh blooms are still pretty when they're wet!

A Spot of Afternoon Tea

I had a troop of (well, three) kindy kids coming round for an after-school visit, plus their mums and younger siblings*, so needed something good-looking enough for the kids and impressive enough for the mums!

I reckon these banana cupcakes did just fine. I had three bananas becoming blacker and blacker on my kitchen bench and finally got around to using them. Mmmmm, sticky-sweet, gooey, brownish banana-mush...

Any old banana cake recipe does the trick, and I just used plain butter icing (though lemon is always nice too). And my B chose the sprinkles to help make them look boo-ti-ful:



*I do not recommend this. Especially on a Friday afternoon. If you must invite more than one friend around, make sure you know the kids and mums, so that you know they're not likely to throw rocks, break doors, and generally act like crazymen let out of prison...

A Most Australia Ven!

At our house at the moment, thanks to the Olympics, it's all about the national anthem (aka Australia Flag Song!). Here's B's version (with a little help from Miss T):

Australians all in arly choice,
For we are young and free,
With golden soil we sing to choice,
Our land is good by sea...
Our land is all in arly choice
For we are young and free...
In histy page in arly stage,
A most Australia Ven!
In joy for 'stralia let us sing,
A most Australia Ven!

Just read a beautiful script.

I received an email from a lovely fella from the Sydney International Film School, asking me to audition for his short film. I had a read of the script and it's beautiful! A thoughtful and mostly visual religious theme ending with a very thought-provoking image.

My little C is still such a bubba, though, and I wouldn't leave him for the three whole days it will take to film. So, I had to tell him I can't audition this time. Hopefully this little bit of attention I've been getting in the last few months will continue when Bubba Boy is old enough for mumma-free time!

More light play

Noel took the girls to work with him on Saturday, giving me some time alone with the small boy. I got some work done in the morning (I have a job working from home! More about that later.), then took advantage of the mild sunny day to get some exercise and fresh air. Ah, the simple pleasures in life...


Charlie fell asleep in the pram... well no, he didn't fall asleep in the pram, pigs might fly, but I fed him to sleep and he stayed asleep when I put him down which is the good bit... so I grabbed my chance to whip out the camera and play around.

This was a beautiful stark winter tree. Shots of the whole tree turned out boringly ordinary, but I liked a few of my close-ups.

I love how this tap turned out blue-ish. It didn't look blue at all in real life...


I mentioned in the comments of my previous photography post how much I like over-exposed images in photography. This next one definitely falls into that category and I love it. I think it looks like either a painting, or a really old film photograph.

I couldn't quite get the lighting right in this one because, well, there was a tree in the way! So, just imagine that the lower seed pod is a little brighter and the higher one is a little darker...

This one is also boringly ordinary... but i just wanted to show off the beautiful blossom trees I see everywhere 'round here...

Best Roast Lamb Ever.

Huge thanks to the gorgeous and inspiring Chrissy of You'll Eat It And Like It for posting this amazing recipe for a delicious "legga" (as she calls it).

Our neighbour, friendly and generous girl that she is, gave us a leg of lamb that she didn't have room in the freezer for. What a fabulous gift, hey! So yesterday I invited her 'round to help us eat it.

I've never cooked a proper lamb leg before (only those roll roast things and they never turned out very well anyway), and I prefer my meat *really* well roasted, until it's tender and falling apart, so I thought Chrissy's Greek-style legga sounded perfect and easy.

I didn't have any oregano as called for. I only had parsely, basil and coriander, and I don't know much about herbs so I just decided in my random way that coriander seemed like a better match than those other two. On it went with the lemon, salt, pepper and lots of butter...

Really, there can never be too much butter!

Into the oven for hours and hours.... yum yum yum. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the done deal! The house was a tad chaotic when I was serving up, and then we all tucked into it quick-smart.

By golly it was good. When I started to cut into it I thought I'd just about die with foodie pleasure. It was SO tender and juicy and just fell apart under the knife. We stuffed ourselves and then Noel and I kept going back to pinch the extra bits off the bone (our neighbour was too polite for that!).

I see many more lamb roasts in my future...

Do English people ever ponder the insanity of their historical monarchs?

I just watched The Other Boleyn Girl. It's a very good film - I was particularly impressed with Scarlett Johansson, whose acting I haven't seen much of before. I'm just having a bit of a boggle, though, over the frequency and nonchalance with which they used to chop one another's heads off.

It's a wonder the monarchy has survived at all, really.

Proper review coming tomorrow perhaps...

Milky goodness

This blog is about creative stuff, right? Well, what could be more creative than making, storing, and supplying all the food my bubba needs to thrive? Creative, in the purest sense of the word. Quite brilliant, I reckon. Almost as brilliant as creating the bubs in the first place!

Talitha feeding bunny while I feed Beryl.

It's World Breastfeeding Week, as I was just reminded in this post by the very talented Kate at Picklebums. I actually have a badge that says "I make milk - what's your super power?". I really should find it and wear it this week.

Beryl getting the very best party food!

Charlie's another booby-loving bubba.

So there you go. Now you know that I will definitely never be one of those movie stars desired for her cleavage more than her talent - so let's hope I have enough talent! :-)

Meh

The cake was good, but not spectacular. Moist and moreish, but to be honest I was expecting more from those lovely passionfruit. Ah well, it fed and pleased everyone, and that's what counts. :-)

Apple Passionfruit Cake

This cake was inspired by my friend Hayley the Crazy Baking Girl. I pretty much followed the recipe she used there, but I used self-raising flour instead of the flour plus baking powder and salt, and I used Granny Smiths rather than Pink Lady apples.

I also added some passionfruit I'd collected the day before that were just begging to be used in something scrumptious. We love our passionfruit vines, and there's not much nicer than using food from your own garden to add a bit of extra meaning to your baking.

I had four HUGE Grannies so I cut myself a heap of circles to arrange on the top rather than try to mix them all into the batter. Just look at the appley goodness:

I have to admit here than I broke the cardinal rule of cake-baking by taking it out of the oven halfway through the cooking time to drizzle the passionfruit pulp on top. It didn't completely kill the poor cake, but it did mean the cake took a lot longer than it should have.

In the picture the passionfruit seeds on top look scorched, but they actually seem to have stayed quite tender and sweet despite that. If I do this again, though, I'll probably abandon the idea of trying to bake the pulp on top and just drizzle it over once the baking's done.

The cake is waiting patiently on the bench for when my mum visits tomorrow... I'll be sure to let you know how it tastes...

Back into photography

Way back, years ago, when I studied photography (fairly briefly, at commuity college and school), it was still all about film. I still love film but we don't have a film camera at the moment, so I'm learning how to use our digital SLR. Some things are the same, some are very different, and some things I just plain forget how to do. And spending the copious amount of time it takes to reaquaint oneself with the art is nigh impossible with my three small people. So, it's a slow process...
... which all might sound like I'm trying to justify my crappy results but really, I'm just rambling away as usual...

The sun is shining again today (after a beautiful, very impressive storm last night!) so I popped out into the backyard to play in the lovely warm light. I just fiddled about with the camera settings and the light on a few plants.
It was quite dim in this corner of the garden and I loved the way the pinks kept changing as I increased the exposure time. Nothing special but I liked the colours.

Then, I was distracted by far more important subject matter...

Spring is springing... or not!

I went outside at 6.30 this morning (as you do) and I wasn't cold. I walked the big girl over to school, and got quite warm. I walked the small girl to dance class and we both became too hot for our jumpers.

The sun is shining, the gusty breeze is warm, and oh yes, the air smells like a new season. It feels good.

Edit - um, perhaps not. It is now freezing cold, with icy wind and increasing rain. Oh well. It was good while it lasted. :)

Also.

Paparazzi photographers are revolting. The poo of a flea living in the scum of the earth. The people who buy the magazines they publish are almost as bad.

That is all.