Alternative title: Break and enter. I have a father-in-law. He’s pretty much like Macgyver, but with normal hair and without the bad acting. So tonight, we took the mysterious cedar-wood box to his house (and his tools. And his many keys). CJ and his dad did That Man Thing while the mum-in-law and I oohedContinue reading “#186: What’s in the box? Part 2: The father-in-law”
Author Archives: Felicity Banks Books
#187: What’s in the box? Part 1
Some are born awesome. Some achieve awesome. And some have awesome thrust upon ’em.* My mum likes to be mysterious. She sent me an email a few days ago saying she’d “had an idea” and I should “drop in so we could talk about it”. Things are a little crazy at the moment, so IContinue reading “#187: What’s in the box? Part 1”
#185: Experiment on a cat
The myth: That if you tie something around a cat’s middle, it won’t be able to walk. The video: The conclusion is at the bottom of this post. And here are some gratuitously cute photos to show Ana was not disturbed by her latest adventure (or WAS SHE???) Those are CJ’s feet, by the way.Continue reading “#185: Experiment on a cat”
#189: Vote
I just voted in Australia’s national election. I waited in a little line, wrote numbers in boxes, and made a difference to governmental policy for the next few years. My vote could help save a few more refugees, or legalise gay marriage, or help slow global warming. No one shot at me, disinherited me, orContinue reading “#189: Vote”
“Peace Hostage” story so far
If you’d like to access this tale (and all the tales to come) in real time, you can either follow http://twitter.com/Louise_Curtis_ (the second underline needs to be manually added) or become a fan of “Louise Curtis Books” on facebook. Most stories run for a month. PEACE HOSTAGE The boar was so close I could tasteContinue reading ““Peace Hostage” story so far”
#184: All day in a wired cafe
I love the smell of cliché in the morning. Taking advantage of a day when I didn’t have any tutoring, I decided to snap out of my recent pre-conference chocolate binge by distracting myself with writing and pancakes (pancakes being less evil than chocolate, believe me). So I went to the Pancake Parlour, an underground caveContinue reading “#184: All day in a wired cafe”
Three-Ingredient Thursday is CURSED!!!
Another near-death experience this week. It’s becoming a habit. In other news, I made fish and chips. I use the word “made” in its loosest sense. I sprayed two trays with oil, and put the fish in one. I washed, peeled and cut the potatoes and put them in the other tray with more oilContinue reading “Three-Ingredient Thursday is CURSED!!!”
#182: Go to a 90th birthday
Remember Steve Irwin? Remember how he was so alive it was like he filled the whole room just by being on TV? He’s got nothing on my grandpa. Nothing. My grandpa recently saw a doctor because he felt “slightly puffed” when he went upstairs. My grandpa asked my grandma to marry him on their thirdContinue reading “#182: Go to a 90th birthday”
#137: Invent your own alphabet (and write something in it)
This was a suggestion by a linguistically-inclined reader. After spending some time working on making new symbols, rediscovering phonetics, and so on, I decided to throw away the darn thing. My new choice of language is an unwritten one. I’ve called it, “Girl Talk” and I think you’ll find it’s super useful in everyday life.Continue reading “#137: Invent your own alphabet (and write something in it)”
#180: Become an expert on something you know nothing about
This reader suggestion has been haunting me for weeks. How can I become an expert in a day (or perhaps a week), when becoming an expert takes thousands of hours? Answer: specialise. Originally I was going to become an expert on my tetras. I would be the Only One in the Whole World who couldContinue reading “#180: Become an expert on something you know nothing about”
S#54: Clothing Attack
My heart is racing, I’m out of breath, and my torso is strangely constricted. I’ve been a-sewing. Warning: If you don’t like Hollywood blood and/or you’re under 12 years old, this is probably not the blog entry for you. Many years ago, I acquired this shirt due to winning the youth section of the SistersContinue reading “S#54: Clothing Attack”
S#35: Recreate your food lust
PS oops. I meant to post this on Saturday. You kids will just have to wait extra long for the next piece of awesome. My mum makes a dish called “coq au vin” (which is to say, “chicken in wine” – you can imagine how the French came up with THAT one). I really likeContinue reading “S#35: Recreate your food lust”
#179: Play with a pirate ship
This was a recent gift from a good friend. It has working winches, a hold cover, and fully functional cannons with TINY plastic cannonballs. Naturally, every so often it catches my eye and I move the captain into the crow’s nest, or send the rowboat over the other side of the room, or arrange aContinue reading “#179: Play with a pirate ship”
Three-Ingredient Thursday: The Dark Dinosaur
You can argue the case that this has only two ingredients. I would. NB: The zombie cat is not an ingredient. She is cunningly hidden on a chair underneath a glass table. Method: Break orange intense Lindt into squares. Make sandwich with a dinosaur (or several snakes). Eat before CJ comes home and find aContinue reading “Three-Ingredient Thursday: The Dark Dinosaur”
#178: Kick your life goal in the eye
Sometimes, having a grand life dream just sucks. Here are two simple stats I wish I’d known fifteen years ago: 1. Only 1 in 10,000 books gets published via the slushpile (ie, by just sending it to “sir/madam” at a publisher who seems to fit). 2. Authors who are doing pretty darn well – ieContinue reading “#178: Kick your life goal in the eye”
#97: Cancel Fu
These days, everyone is running around, stressed over this and that and “I said I’d get right on to such-and-such”. We hold on so tightly to our plans. So, when we let something go, it’s a wonderful feeling. That is my awesomeness for today – not doing anything awesome today (whoaa, what a paradox). Personally,Continue reading “#97: Cancel Fu”
S#67: Make someone’s day
Yet another friend had a birthday on the weekend, and a bunch of us went out to dinner. I managed to manipulate events to get almost all of them to come back to my house bearing ice cream, chocolate, and assorted candy. We made our own fantastic creations with (among other things) mint chocolate sprinkles,Continue reading “S#67: Make someone’s day”
#177: The Piper
A scottish-born friend of ours celebrated his 50th today, so his friends were all summoned to celebrate – as Scottishly as we knew how.* One five-year old took a look at him and said, “Hey look! He’s wearing the same dress I am!” Awesome. Due to a tug-of-war gone horribly right, I also finally saw whatContinue reading “#177: The Piper”
S#31: Join the Library
Mmm. . . booooooooks. . . Flushed with the success of the “Reaching the World” YA writers’ conference in Sydney on July 3 (and wide-eyed with the new data that only 1 in 10,ooo books gets published via the “look up publishers and send the book to The Editor” method), I’ve decided to go toContinue reading “S#31: Join the Library”
#176: Eat cookie dough
Mmm Louise’s Lardylicious Choc Chip Cookies: Mix: 3/4ths c white sugar 3/4ths c brown sugar 1 egg 1/2 c oil 1 cup butter (softened or melted) 1 tsp vanilla esence Mix and add to above: 3 c flour 3 c cornflakes 1 tsp cream of tartar 1 tsp baking soda Cook at 175 degrees celsiusContinue reading “#176: Eat cookie dough”