You’d think that lolling about being ill at home wouldn’t lend itself to thrilling awesomeness. You’d be wrong. The night was last night*. The time: 7:15pm. The taste: sustagen and milk for dinner (again). The flavour: vanilla. I was watching yet another Spicks and Specks re-run when it was interrupted by a bang above me.Continue reading “Rescued by Firemen”
Author Archives: Felicity Banks Books
Aquarium
Back in the Summertime, CJ and I visited the Wharf Restaurant and Aquarium in Merimbula. The restaurant is excellent (great food, great service, and a stunning location right on the water), and so is the aquarium. We first visited the Wharf Restaurant and Aquarium on our honeymoon, and when we were about to pay weContinue reading “Aquarium”
Dreams of Mediocrity
Week 11. Mini-Me is now larger than any of our fish, and most of the complicated bits are largely finished (eyelashes, ears, kidneys). This has indeed resulted in a marked improvement in my health. Yaaaaaaaayyy! I’m still eating almost nothing, and still moving cautiously, but I only feel properly (“imminently”, if you like) ill about 30%Continue reading “Dreams of Mediocrity”
Second-hand shops. . .
. . . are the awesomest. All the couches CJ and I own are from op shops, including a sofa bed similar to this one: I love this table: And, if luck is with you (as it was with me several years ago), you can buy a wedding dress for a few hundredContinue reading “Second-hand shops. . .”
Sunsets
For today’s miscellaneous Monday, from author and blogger John Scalzi, a bunch of 2010 sunsets. See the rest (including one taken in Melbourne, and one sunrise).
Needlessly Terrifying Machines
We visited cracked.com yesterday, so may as well visit them again today. As I mentioned yesterday, this article is PG for swearing/crudity, but the site is MA. The 7 Most Needlessly Terrifying Pieces of Heavy Machinery If you never dreamed of driving a huge tank fitted with a giant chainsaw while growing up, then congratulationsContinue reading “Needlessly Terrifying Machines”
Getting Published in 5 Steps (PG swearing)
At this location one writer describes his journey to publication. The home site is cracked.com, which is MA, and I think this article is PG/M. How to Become an Author, in 5 Incredibly Difficult Steps A while back, I wrote a non-fiction book about the apocalypse. Since publishing the book, the question I get asked theContinue reading “Getting Published in 5 Steps (PG swearing)”
Fat pants
The best fat pants are pregnancy pants. I searched our local op shop for bigger board shorts so I could still swim regularly. The brown pair fit me that day, and I went for a swim immediately (the day before I became properly sick) and I figure the green pair (which have a drawstring, and whichContinue reading “Fat pants”
Octopus in an expected place?
When CJ and I pootled about Merimbula’s beaches earlier this year (when it was, you know, warm), we met this guy: It’s the first time I’ve seen an octopus in its natural environment, and we were both over the moon. Not to be confused with Octopus in an unexpected place, one of my all-timeContinue reading “Octopus in an expected place?”
What’s in a name?
I’m at ten weeks today. Mini-Me is 3.5cm long (the size of these guppies) and can touch its toes. Since taking Ondaz Zydis (and drinking sustagen for dinner most nights), I’ve lost only half a kilo this week (as opposed to two and a half kilos, which is what I lost last week). I amContinue reading “What’s in a name?”
Stay in
The view outside: There isn’t one. The smell: Rain. And a hint of snow on the wind. The sound: intense banging, crashing winds from the nearby mountains. Heavy rain. Birds screaming to one another. Sirens. My plan for today: Lie down a lot. Do not leave the house for any reason. Receive a visitor inContinue reading “Stay in”
Not Always Right
This is a hilarious (and sometimes disturbing) site about the bizarre and funny things customers say and do. I think it’s PG, but I haven’t read enough to be certain. Here’s three fine examples: Medical Training These Days Is Shocking College | DE, USA | Me: “Hello this is [name] from [college] returning your call. What canContinue reading “Not Always Right”
Encounter with a bushranger
This is an extract from “Australian Bushrangers” by George Boxall (not recommended for younger readers): [A Sydney tollman sharing a pipe with a stranger was rather alarmed when it turned out the stranger was the notorious bushranger Jackey Jackey.] “Ain’t you afraid of being took?” asked the tollman. Jackey laughed. “I’d like to see who’llContinue reading “Encounter with a bushranger”
Dialogue
Want to write good dialogue? This article at Ripping Ozzie Reads has links to so much information you can go back to it every week for a year. Dynamic Dialogue Last week Rita asked about ‘beats’ in dialogue. This was a term I had only seen used in plays or scripts when the author leavesContinue reading “Dialogue”
A steampunk series (that’s actually dieselpunk fantasy)
For CJ’s birthday, I bought him “The Laws of Magic: Hour of Need” by Michael Pryor. I was pleasantly surprised to discover it’s the last book in the series (most writers who get past three books can’t seem to stop). The series is about Aubrey FitzWilliam, son of the PM in an alternate reality where anContinue reading “A steampunk series (that’s actually dieselpunk fantasy)”
Move House
One of my friends recently bought a flat. It’s so incredibly exciting to watch all the drama unfold, and have no actual financial responsibility of my own. I saw the flat before she moved in, when it had the tenants’ furniture in it. I wanted so badly to see it when it was completely emptyContinue reading “Move House”
Like a macabre Bo Peep. . . (PG for illness)
. . . I carry a bucket wherever I go. Things that have caused me to vomit: 1. Walking past food. 2. Sitting at a table (as opposed to lying down, which is where I am for twenty hours of each day). 3. Taking a shower. 4. Brushing my teeth. Last Friday my period would haveContinue reading “Like a macabre Bo Peep. . . (PG for illness)”
Piper’s Lookout
Way back in Summer, when CJ and I were on our way back from our Merimbula holiday, we stopped off about half an hour along the road to admire Piper’s Lookout. Mr Piper was (by all accounts) an heroic busdriver who traversed the mountain road hundreds of times. The lookout is beautiful, with panoramic views andContinue reading “Piper’s Lookout”
Guide to the Australian Bogan
Bogans. They’re everywhere. There’s a little bit of bogan in all of us – unfortunately. Some of the major types of bogan: 1. The standard bogan. The standard bogan is a little like the American redneck, with a strong smattering of white trash thrown in. They are usually country dwellers (easily spotted by the broaderContinue reading “Guide to the Australian Bogan”
Victorian London
http://www.victorianlondon.org/ is packed with wonderfully vivid primary sources. If you used a book like “Victorian London” by Liza Picard to get an overview, then read through the bits of this site that appealed, I think you’d have an excellent sense of the time and place. Here’s what the site has on rain, for example: He whoContinue reading “Victorian London”