Salt Dough Ornaments, Part 1

Okay, this was quite a project. The recipe was simple enough:

1cup salt
2 cups plain flour
1 cup water
3 tsp lemon juice

Once mixed, the dough is rough, but kneading for a while makes it more pliable.  It rolls out well, and cookie cutters work really well on this dough.

Keep some excess flour on hand to dip cookie cutters into, and to dust rolling pin, bench, etc.

I put them on some baking paper, and will put them in a warm sunny spot to air dry for 2 days (if you want to speed it up, place in oven for a couple of hours @ 120°c).

Remember, before drying (or baking), to put holes in the tops for your ribbon to thread through if you want to hang them on the tree when finished.

Once dry I'll paint them up in Christmas designs.

Oh P.S, leftover dough can be wrapped in cling wrap and put in fridge.

Looky what I made!

I just finished my first ever patchwork item. It's only a little pincushion, but I'm darn proud of it!

I think I'll get some nicer material (this was made with scrap stuff), and perhaps make one for mum? She loves handmade gifts.

Only in the country...

Just heard a news update and had to share. 

Apparently, 3 guys are in hospital with burns to their butts.  Intrigued, I put down my book to listen.  The idiots had been drinking around a campfire, and drunk, had branded each other on the bum with a poker! ... Ouch!

It's THAT time of year again...

Yes, it's heading towards Christmas time my dears.  The time of year where you spend too much money on stuff you really don't need - and lets face it, a lot of its a little tacky these days - to make your house look pretty!  This is my first year away from home and friends and family, so I have to buy a tree - oh, God!

Since making the big move I'm a little strapped for cash this yuletide season.  So I put my thinking cap on and decided to d.i.y this year.  That's right ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to toss my tiara into the ring and make things!

I've found a great recipe for salt dough, which will become tree ornaments and possibly some room ornaments, which will be painted in festive colours (watch this space...).  I've delved into my craft and home decoration magazine piles to find some simple, yet inexpensive and quite fabulous looking projects that I hope to complete before my visitors arrive to spend the Christmas with me.

Looking into my remnants bag, I've got some festive coloured material, so it's bunting for me, baby.  I'm thinking of making some NOEL cushions (just red and white fabric), perhaps a Joyeux as well.  Some paper cut/lace decorations.  I found a great one for a fancy reindeer... a gift tag perhaps?

As I make these fabulous wonders, I'll blog about them - even if they sucked and were a complete failure.  Perhaps someone else can learn from my mistakes :-P

Wish me luck, and fingers crossed that it turns out okay....

RIP DVD

Well, after 12 years, my cheap DVD player has finally gone to silicon heaven.  I put in the first disc of season 3 Big Bang Theory, and as I picked up the remote to press play there was a loud *POP * and the horrible smell of frying electronics.

I then had to pull it apart to get the disc out. There was a black mark where it had fried itself too.  God, I do hate the smell of fried wires.

Good thing Big W is having a special on TVs and other AV goods.  Now I can get a blu-ray player - yeah!

Just a little morning shower...

... not!

We here in the South Burnett have just had one heck of a thunderstorm.  Unfortunately, I still had my laundry drying on the balcony (2nd floor unit) so had to haul ass out there - before 6am mind you! - to get it off the line.  Thankfully it was only slightly damp.

The storm cut power to my place so I couldn't even make a cup of tea (very annoying), or read my book.  It passed after 40 min or so, but now we're getting a second storm cell.  Just what I needed - all this lovely rain and no tank to put it in (our complex doesn't have tank water even though town water tastes bloody awful).

So this was my Saturday wake-up call... and I just wanted to sleep in this morning too.

Steampunk... whuh?

Okay, I've never given much thought about Steampunk.  It always sounded too sci-fi for me, that is until I took the advice of one of the guys at my old bookshop.  Although I was still hesitant about trying it, the cover was so intriguing I thought "what the hell?"

I don't regret my decision.  The Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger (love the logo) is truly wonderful.  It is full of the customary corsets and carriages, teapots and tiaras, that one expects from a period series, but don't let the Victorian setting put you off from reading this awesome series.  Our heroine kicks butt with her jumped up hi-tech parasol.

For those of us who adore a little supernatural spice, you will get your fill of werewolves, vampires and other things that go bump in the night - rest assured that they play a major part in the storyline.  The central story revolves around a bluestocking, Alexia Tarabotti.  A lady of Italian extraction, who just happens to be soulless.  Her curse, if that is how one wishes to view it, is that if she touches another supernatural being, they become human - and can be killed.

And if that didn't set her apart enough, then Alexia has the most superficial and gossip-mongering family.  If I was in Alexia's shoes I would have tried to do away with them long before now. . . hint hint




And yes, I know it's actually 'An Alexia Tarabotti Novel', but it doesn't have the same ring as the Parasol Protectorate does it :D



About the Books

So far there are four books available in the Parasol Protectorate series, with Timeless being released on 28 Feb 2012;

Soulless

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

Changeless

Alexia Tarabotti, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears - leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can.

She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.


Blameless

Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.

While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.


Heartless

Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband's past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux's latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant.

Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf's clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama's second best closet?


Timeless

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.

Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

UPDATE - this does seem to be the last book in the series {searching for tissues to sniffle into} however Ms Carriger is planning another series set in the same funky Victorian period, only 25 years earlier, and at a Finishing School.

About the Author

Ms. Carriger began writing in order to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in Higher Learning. Ms. Carriger then traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She now resides in the Colonies, surrounded by a harem of Armenian lovers, where she insists on tea imported directly from London and cats that pee into toilets. She is fond of teeny tiny hats and tropical fruit. Find out more about the author at gailcarriger.com


PS all book descriptions and author bio were taken from Amazon.  The bio is the same in the back of the books, but it just saved time to cut and paste.

Freezing west of the Great Divide

Hi there folks,

It's been quite a long time since I've been able to sit down and blog.  Finally got my internet connected again yesterday - yippee - and can now surf to my hearts content.  Seeing how I've moved west I forsee a great deal of time spent online, whether it be emailing, messaging or skyping family and friends back home.

The weather here has been a real eye-opener.  Back on the coast, my family are enjoying nightly temperatures of about 9-12°c, but over here I haven't been quite so lucky.  In the three weeks that I've called this town home there hasn't been a night when the mercury has risen above 5°c, indeed the other night it was a chilly 1°c!  Seriously, that's like being in Antarctica for a Queenslander!

I'm still finding it hard to be by myself.  At night there is a silence that I'm just not used to yet.  My little cat keeps me company, but I find that I do miss the daily interaction I had with my family, friends and neighbours.  Thankfully I'm in an area that reminds me of home.  There is little traffic noise in my street, and there is a park only a few doors down, which means that I can hear the numerous species of birds as they forage during the day.  It may not be much, but it does make this strange environment seem a little less foreign.

The one thing I don't think I'll get used to in a hurry is no shopping on Sundays!  Yes, that right people.  The towns shopping centre shuts down on Sunday.  I haven't had to worry about shops closed on a Sunday for over 10 years!  They should tell people these things when they move into a new town.  Thank God I didn't have to get anything vital, just a few odds and sods.  Lucky for me I was able to flag down an old gentleman with a shopping bag and ask him where he had shopped.  So I do have one or two food shops as an option, but seriously, no Big W, clothes shops, anything.  I feel like I've stepped back in time about 20 years.

Anyhow I must dash.  Adieu for now possums.  I'm off to find some warmer blankets to adorn my bed with.  I have a feeling I'm going to need them tonight as its only 10.20am here - and I'm freezing already! . . .  now which box were they in . . .

Gardeners little helper

I couldn't find her on the patio until I looked at the pot!

Unpacking sucks

Have just about unpacked.  The place looked a complete mess for the first few days with boxes everywhere!  I was so sore the first night.  With 17 steps to navigate my feet were throbbing and aching like you wouldn't believe - even a hot soak in a deep footbath didn't help.  Remind me never to move again. . . or at least not to d.i.y it next time!

Now, its looking more like a home. All the kitchen stuff is washed and put away and I now have a fridge.  Will put up a pic soon. Need to organise internet connection still.

Ah, home sweet home!

Return to Wonderland

Wow, what luck.  I was passing our local EB (Electronic Boutique) shop the other day and decided to look around.  Among the utter violent crap I happened to spot a lonely DVD case on a high shelf.  Grabbing it, I couldn't believe that I'd gotten my hands on the last copy of Alice: Madness Returns that they had!

I'm not really into PC games - or Xbox, PS whatever, etc - but I just had to have it.  I found a copy of the original game at a local cheap shop for about $8 (na-na-neh na na) and found it to be entertaining, you know, for a complete gaming novice.  So with that in mind, I bit the bullet and bought A:MR.

Okay, its a lot harder {oy, no laughing at the newbie!} and the graphics are certainly better than the first Alice.  The Cheshire Cat is back in all his tribal glory, as Alice, ably accompanied by her trusty Vorpal Blade, hunts for the monster corrupting Wonderland. . . again.

This series hasn't gotten the best of reviews, but I don't care.  I love the Alice in Wonderland story and collect the books, movies and games.  The only thing I've found disappointing about this game so far is that there is no Offical (or Unofficial for that matter) Strategy Guide.  Some enterprising people have guides online for PS3, etc, but as yet no PC versions.  There isn't even a PC Cheat list!

Anyhow, must dash.  I'm off to run havoc in Wonderland - will be back in time for tea! :P

Moving Day approaches

Well, this Friday it will be official.  I will be signing the lease for my unit.... woohoo!

I'm so excited by the move, but I also feel queasy at the thought of striking out on my own.  Thankfully, family will be less than 2 hours away.  So stiff upper lip and all that.

It's an exciting time but reality is hitting me as I now need to organise to have all my stuff hauled out there.  There will be boxes everywhere in the coming week or so.  I have so many books its not funny - and I can't even take my huge bookcase because it's too heavy!  The furniture shops out west are sure going to luv me :P

My only real problem will be getting my cat out there.  Poor little darlin' gets upset if you drive down the end of the street with her stuck in the noisy growling people-mover.  Two hours over the mountain range is just going to suck. . . I think I'll hit the vets before I go to get her something to calm her down.

Oh, and then there is my collection of plants, ferns, roses.  How the hell is this going to work?

Meanwhile, I'm just about to start another lot of units in my studies.  Oh, joy - not.  I certainly didn't pick the best time in the world to move, did I?  I'll have to chose the least demanding of my remaining units so that I don't stress while I'm settling in.  Who'd of thought that there would be so many details to see to?  Insurance, rent, utilities, internet, mobile phone coverage, changing address with everyone (banks, school, etc), arranging new Dr's, vet, dentist, finding a good hairdresser . . . oh God, the list never ends!

Woohoo!

I've been trying to find a place to rent for the last two years.  I have pets, I don't want to share, the GFC shot the rental market to hell, etc, etc.

Well, the other afternoon I received a phone call out of the blue (actually it came during the delivery of the couches - but that's another story :p) with the offer of a unit!

I won't be able to move for few weeks, but I don't care. . . I got a place! 

Oh God, that means I have to pack up all my books. . .

Ouch!

Am feeling soooooo sore today.  New couches arriving tomorrow, so old one moved into office. . . Only it took 3 of us to move it.... stupid big butt couch.  The new couches had better be heavenly or I'll be really ticked off.

Anyhoo, will be sleeping with the hot water bottle tonight :P  Fingers crossed I can move tomorrow.

In other news, during the massive cleanup I found some old copies of the Merry Gentry series that I had squirrelled away.  I do enjoying them, but. . . I don't know. I think my squickiness over the AB series is rubbing off on it - or maybe I just need a nap :-)

Hit List surprise

Talk about a total surprise!  I was so sure that reading the latest offering in the Anita Blake would leave me feeling disappointed that I nearly didn't read it.  Happily, instead of finding Anita and friends burning up the sheets by page 10, I found myself reminded of LKH's earlier style of Anita Blake novel - she's back baby!

Edward's role in this story just reinforced my feelings.  Olaf is back, but this time he isn't Anita's biggest problem.  She's away from her power base, and the Mother of All Darkness is still after her.

I won't give away the whole plot, but if you've thought that the series had lost it's shiny, then you'll be pleasantly surprised.

While not as good as books 1 - 10, its certainly no Skin Trade.

Give her another chance.