This is ... my favourite thing from nature

My favourite thing from nature is a colour ... this iridescent blue. I'm sure I could admire it from now until the day I die and still think that it is one of the most exquisite things I have ever seen.

I took this photo at the gorgeous Niagra Parks Butterfly Conservatory in Ontario, Canada (it was probably my only hope of ever seeing this colour up close!).

This week's This is theme was chosen by the delightful Beth from Cloth and Fodder. What she doesn't know about gardening and other pursuits of the natural world, really isn't worth knowing! Thank you to our lovely host Angela over at Three Buttons. Drop on over to her blog to see who else is playing along.

This is ... a favourite recipe I would like to share

Once upon a time, long ago there was a girl who loved to cook. Long before sleep deprivation. Long before piles of dirty clothes. Long before the eating whims of toddlers. Anyone who has read my stand-back-and-throw posts would surely think I am the laziest cook in the world. But really, this hasn't always been the way.

In my previous life I had a penchant for serious cooking gadgets. The pantry was stocked with exotic ingredients. My shelves groaned with Vogue Entertaining, Gourmet Traveller and a myriad of beautiful cookbooks. I took lots of cooking courses and once went and stayed at a French chateau and learnt how to make local specialities. Heaven.

But now as I stand armed with the can opener, surveying a stack of tins for tonight's meal inspiration, I can but daydream about the fancy cookery. For the time being, I'll have to be content with wheeling out the occasional favourite.

Peking Duck Risotto
adapted from: Risotto 'round the world, Tamara Milstein, 1996

This is an East meets West favourite. I'm not sure if fusion cooking is still that fashionable - the only food trends I really keep up with these days, are what colour vegetables two small boys are willing to eat. I did a risotto course with the author of this book years ago and it was fabulous. She had all sorts of simple, but effective tips for a good risotto. For example, when you add the wine it must really sizzle as it hits the pan - this ensures you've got the right temperature. The aim is to keep a good consistent heat to ensure the rice keeps taking up the stock. Make sure the stock is very hot at all times too. And finally stirring is the key to a nice risotto. This effectively knocks the starch off the grains of rice, giving a beautiful creamy consistency.

1.5 litres chicken stock
1 cooked Chinese roast duck
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
8 spring onions, finely chopped
400g arborio rice
200ml dry white wine
4 baby bok choy halved or quartered lengthways
200g sliced water chestnuts, drained
3 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped

1. Strip the meat from the duck and reserve.
2. Place the stock in a large pan and add all the duck offcuts and bones and bring to the boil.
3. Reduce and simmer for 30 minutes (you will need to end up with about 900ml stock).
4. Strain the duck stock, discarding all the duck pieces and then return the stock to the heat to keep warm
5. In a separate pan, heat the oils.
6. Add the spring onions and cook gently til softened
7. Add the rice and stir through the oil and onions to coat well
8. Add the wine and allow to absorb while stirring.
9. Begin adding the hot stock half a cup at a time. Stir very well after every addition - allow the previous stock to be absorbed before adding the next.
10. With the second addition of the stock, add the bock choy.
11. When half the stock has been used, add the Peking duck and stir to incorporate.
12. Continue to add the remainder of the stock.
13. With the last addition of the stock add the water chestnuts.
14. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the fresh herbs.

Thank you Angela at Three Buttons who is hosting "This is ..." - I loved the theme this week! Head on over to Angela's blog to see who else is playing along. I can't wait to pick up some new recipes.

This is ... what I'm surprised I like

When Victoria from Earl and Cookie announced the theme for the next "This is ...", I thought I'd really have to get my thinking cap on. That is, until I was in the process of packing up Argy and Bargy's toys the other night.

Ah, yes! I surprised myself, when I realised. I am quite partial to the boys' Thomas the Tank Engine train set.

Shhhh .... don't tell anyone ... but I might have been known to sit down with the trains when the boys aren't even round. To make sure the batteries aren't flat and the track is clipped together in good working order .... of course.

Let's see if there are any other secret Thomas the Tank Engine fans out there - can you identify which engine I have pictured?

Thank you to Victoria at Earl and Cookie for the fun theme this week and to Angela at Three Buttons who is hosting "This is ...". Head on over to Angela's blog to see who else is playing along.

This is ... my favourite film

I was delighted with Hokey's suggestion for the "This is" theme this week. I don't see many movies these days, so its nice to think fondly back on my favourites!

My very favourite would have to be Empire of the Sun (1987).

This beautifully filmed wartime story, follows the journey of young English boy Jim, during the the Japanese occupation of Shanghai International Settlement. During the chaos, Jim is separated from his parents. He is first left to fend for himself and is then interred into a POW camp.

Although it makes me sad, I never tire of watching this film. Its a poignant story about the loss of innocence. I love the cinematography and the opening is accompanied by a most ethereal piece of music.

Watch the trailer for Empire if you have some time - it is accompanied by the beautiful piece of music, Suo Gan (a Welsh lullaby). The cast included a 13-year-old Christian Bale, along with Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers and the incomparable John Malkovich.

Thank you to Hokey for the great theme this week and to Angela at Three Buttons who is hosting "This is ...".

This is ... my current reading material

When the theme for "This is ..." was revealed by Missk from My Champagne Dreams this week, I knew I'd better not peek at anyone else's entry before posting this one.

You see, I was sure that everyone would be showing their fabulous selection of tomes. And that I would feel a bit embarrassed.

Most of my reading these days is comprised of magazines and children's books. (It hasn't always been so. Back in the day, I was known to have read interesting works like Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment". I blame it on Argy and Bargy - they just aren't into Russian literature. Especially at bedtime.)

So here is my current reading material:

• Metric pattern cutting for children's wear and babywear (top left)
  I'm not really reading this cover-to-cover; more just meandering about, trying to wrap my head around pattern grading concepts.
  


• Duck in a truck (top right)
  I have actually read this one cover-to-cover (about 95 times).
  


• Australian Stitches (bottom right)
  This latest edition features a beautiful evening gown on the cover ... made by my very talented dress-making teacher.
  


• Assorted quilting magazines (bottom left)
  If you have read this blog before, I doubt you'll have seen a single reference to quilting. Ever. So these magazines are clearly an aberration. Or the faint spark of a distant plan. Or maybe a sign or someone who just can't kick the magazine habit.

Thank you to Missk at My Champagne Dreams for the great theme this week and to Angela at Three Buttons who is hosting "This is ...".

This is ... my favourite kitchen tool

The theme for this week's "This is ..." asked us to show our favourite kitchen tool. The clown in me, considered showing a picture of the telephone (which is oft resorted to in our house!), but in fact I really love cooking and have a pretty good array of gadgets.

One of my all-time favourites is the slow-cooker my parents gave me last year. Its a 6.5 litre beauty, that I use to cook a good portion of our weekly meals. Slow cookers are wonderful for busy people. Set in the morning and forget; dinner is ready and waiting in the evening - I love it. However, for the week's theme, I thought I would dig out something that fewer people might have seen.

This is it: the Sticky Bowl. Its a relatively new, chef-invented, Australian product. I saw this on a TV program called the New Inventors and then patiently waited until it became commercially available, to snap one up. The Sticky Bowl is effectively a double-sided suction cup that you can use to secure a mixing bowl to the bench. If you have ever made custard from scratch, you'll know how attractive this idea is. You can whisk and pour at the same time, without having to worry about steadying the bowl. (You can see a demonstration here).

Its also a fantastic gadget to have on hand when cooking with children. By securing the mixing bowl, you have two hands free to avert any potential culinary, ahem, incidents. I have also used it on the odd occasion to affix an evening meal to a high chair tray!

Thank you to Sharon at Handmaiden for the great theme this week and to Angela at Three Buttons who is hosting "This is ...".

This is ... show off time

When Katie suggested the theme for "This is ..." this week, I knew I finally had my big chance. After all, how I was ever going to weave this into my regular posts?

Yup ... that's me pointing and clicking at my feet. Don't ask how or why .... I just can.

In fact, I can turn both feet backwards at the same time, but this freakish party trick makes me fall down.

Now I'm looking forward to heading off to see some real talents and treasures that other people are showing off! Look here if you would like to see some too.

Thanks Katie at May The Cloth Be With You for this really fun theme and to Sharon at Handmaiden who is guest hosting "This is ..." while Angela at Three Buttons is away.

This is ... what I want to be when I grow up

I loved this week's "This is ..." theme from Cindy.  Something a bit retrospective and nostalgic, but relevant to the future too.

As a kid there were lots of things that I wanted to be when I grew up, but Teacher was always high on the list.

When I was in primary school, my second grade teacher allowed me to make a worksheet for the class.  I spent hours writing the whole thing in my very best hand-writing onto a stencil to be fed through the roneograph copier.  Ah, 32 fresh damp purple copies made for the class.  All smelling of - what I assume was - methylated spirit.  I loved that smell; it cemented my ambitions to be a primary teacher.

By high school I changed tack just a little and decided to be a secondary teacher.  Once I was in university, I did my "teaching rounds" at all sorts of places.  A notorious technical school, a school with an accelerated program for gifted students and a youth detention centre.  All amazing experiences.  But you know what? It was a bunch of flatulent 15-year-olds at a boys school that made me realise that it might less hazardous teaching adults.

So I graduated, found my feet for a bit and then worked in vocational and workplace  training.  I did it for years and had a ball.  Disappointingly technology had moved on and there was no longer any methylated spirits involved.  But I was paid to do things I absolutely loved: to learn and to help others learn.  I amassed skills and knowledge in new areas.  I travelled the world and lived in interesting places.  I met wonderful people.

But also on my list of things to be when I grew up was to be a Mummy.  So now I have the immense privilege to help two small boys learn.  There's not as much travel involved these days (unless you count the kindergarten run and trips to the park) and the pay, well we won't go into that.  But I have met two wonderful small people.

Some day I hope to go back to teaching, but in the meantime I've been thinking about what do while Argy and Bargy are young.  There's been a bit of casting around, but finally I've settled on the idea that it should involve a sewing machine.  When I grow up, I'd like to be (or dream of being!) a dressmaker like my Nan was.

Thank you to Cindy for the great theme this week and to Sharon at Handmaiden who is guest hosting This is.  To see more, look over here.

This is ... what I do with a spare 10 minutes

Despite suggesting this week's theme, I'm a bit stuck.

Do I speak about what I should be doing with that 10 minutes? Or maybe what I like to think I do with it? Or perhaps admit what I really do with a little spare time?

Well, Mr Hoppo Bumpo, if you happen to chance upon this, let me tell you that every ten minutes of the day is accounted for. Apart from running after Argy and Bargy all day, there's the washing, ironing, shopping, bill-paying, repairs, appointments, gardening, cleaning and vacuuming. The great cycle of household tasks are done with regular monotony.

However, I'd like to think (loftily) that I spend a spare 10 minutes broadening my horizons. As I've mentioned previously I do love magazines. I'm an avid reader of the monthly, Australian Stitches (which generous friends gave me as a subscription) and the bi-monthly US publication Threads. Ten minutes is just enough time to digest a technical article, gain a little inspiration or discover some must-have new product for the wishlist.

For example, today I have been reading about how to use a blind hemming foot on my machine. I've also been studying how to sew flat fell seams. I've discovered that there's a product that will distress denim so that it frays and become all holey. Hmmm ... how perfect when I need more of Mr HB's jeans for refashioning into clothes for the boys (evil laugh: mwhua haa haaa). More soberingly, I have also read that in the commercial world, a pair of jeans can be sewn in just 14 minutes. Which begs the question as to why this project remains incomplete after nearly 44,640 minutes?

The answer, I'm afraid, may be revealed in the next paragraph.

For in reality, this is what I really do with those spare 10 minutes. Yes: its just me, a cuppa, a block of chocolate and my blog reader.

Note: There is every chance that the illustration in [3] may be indicative of what is happening following over-indulgence in [1] and [2]

Thank you to Sharon at Handmaiden who is guest-hosting "This is". I had great fun picking the theme and I am looking forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with. Look over here to see who else is playing along.

Next "This is ...." theme

I'm delighted that Sharon from Handmaiden - and guest host of "This is ..." - has asked me for a theme for this week.

So a little background ...

I'm always amazed at how productive other bloggers appear to be: at the vast amounts of crafting, work, leisure and other activities that they fit into their days. How do you all manage it??

I guess the answer is that most of you are pretty canny with how you use your standard-issue 24 x 7. And me? Well, I'm forever squandering those spare moments by scouting for forgotten chocolate bars in the pantry and being taken off on tangents with Mr Google.

So this week's theme is: This is ... what I do with a spare 10 minutes.

I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with for this Sunday. If you would like to join in, or see who's playing along, just pop over here.

This is ... my absolute favourite band of all time

Abba, originally uploaded by PeterForret

First it was fashionable. Then it was daggy. Then fashionably daggy ... and commercial. Then perhaps just commercial.

I'm not sure in 2008 whether its fashionable, daggy or commercial to proclaim Abba your favourite band. But they're mine. Ahhh, pure nostalgia.

I loved them like everyone else in 197os. I had the albums, the posters and - with the assistance of my sister and a hair brush - all the dance moves. So many happy hours were spent listening to Abba on vinyl.

Ooohhh and I still remember that day in 1976 when Abba released Money, money, money. A copy of the single was rushed to my primary school and aired, as the end-of-playtime music. I was so excited I think I hyperventilated. Pity all I had to breathe into was my green plastic lunchbox.

I still like to listen to Abba and have been trying to indoctrinate educate my boys about this Swedish phenomenon. It has been difficult to get Argy and Bargy to sing into hair brushes, but Mr HB is soon away overseas on a long jaunt business trip and we should be able to perfect our dance routines unhindered.

PS. Mr HB a message for you, in case the business trip is too long:

In my dreams I have a plan

If I got me a wealthy man

I wouldn’t have to work at all

I’d fool around and have a ball

Thank you to Cam over at Curlypops for the really fun theme this week and to Sharon at Handmaiden who is guest hosting This is ...

This is ... my favourite fabric shop

This week's theme for the "This is ..." meme was a tricky one.

Gosh, what to pick? Cheap, cheerful and local, like Spotlight? Or the faraway eye-popping, Aladdin's cave of Amitie? In fact, shop-o-holic and hopeless hoarder that I am, I could have reeled off quite a number of favourites.

In the end I settled on the point at which my fabric stash starting to get a bit out of control. You know, that first time that you go shopping and decide: buy now; work out what later.

So my favourite would be Pippijoe - an online store stocking fabulous, hand screen-printed fabric by the very talented Australian indie-designer, Caitlin. I'm yet to meet a Pippijoe print that I haven't fallen in love with.

The hemp-cotton blends are such a pleasing weight and the prints and colourways gorgeous. Pippijoe fabrics have graced all sorts of projects here and there are more in the pipeline. To be honest, I'm not sure if Mr Hoppo Bumpo has yet woken up to the fact that his surrounds are becoming more and more adorned with Red Daisies. Do you think blokes notice these things?

Anyway .... head over to Pippijoe and treat yourself to some beautiful fabric. You can always decide what to make later.

Thank you to Sharon at Handmaiden for the great theme this week and to Angela at Three Buttons who hosts This is ...

This is ... my favourite children's book

This very endearing book is about a teddy named Corduroy. During a visit to a laundromat with his owner Lisa, he realises that he doesn't have a pocket for his little green overalls. He sets out to find something suitable to make one. The story follows his adventure, as he searches for a pocket and is then accidentally left behind in the laundromat overnight. A Pocket For Corduroy is the 1978 sequel to the original Corduroy book by Don Freeman (which has just celebrated its 40th anniversary). I just loved Corduroy as a kid ... and still find him very charming.

I think there is every possibility this story was the catalyst for my life-long love of corduroy fabric.

But in fact I hadn't thought about this book for some long time. In our house of late, there's been an abundance of stories about trains, cars and diggers. This week's theme prompted a visit to Borders to buy a copy to read to my boys. I hope they will remember it fondly, too.

Thank you to Potty Mouth Mama for helping me remember Corduroy and to Angela at Three Buttons who hosts This is ...

This is ... how I like to spend my weekend

Sewing (main picture, right): while Mr HB is home, I have the opportunity to sew without Bargy pressing the sewing machine pedal or stuffing reels of thread in his mouth sideways

Reading (top left): I love the weekend papers, but I've been gradually refining my reading. Before the kids were born I read almost cover-to-cover, including the business section (3 hours). After the Argy arrived I skim-read the newspaper and pored over the magazines (2 hours). After Bargy arrived I pulled out the magazines and ditched the newspaper (1 hour). These days I whip out the magazine, turn to page 37 and see if there is anything remotely worth cooking. Always disappointing, if that's not the location of this week's recipe page.

Coffee (middle left): too much is never enough on the weekend

Pilates (bottom left): I'd like to pretend that I'm the fit and sporty type. But I'm not. I'm doing pilates to address structural failure caused by bringing two giganta-babies into the world. Argy was 10lb 1oz and Bargy was predicted to blow out to 11lb. Mercifully they whipped him out early in a sun-roof exit.

Thank you to The Bird Bath for this week's theme and to Angela at Three Buttons who hosts This is ...

This is ... a work in progress

Quick, look over here. I've had to do this while Mr HB was out of the house.

I've done a bit of of whip around here at Chez Hoppo Bumpo to collect the corduroy from all the secret hidey places. This is the first time the stash has been seen in one place. Apart from that towering pile on the desk, there are two bolts in the background. Estimates put the metrage at about 40.

I made brief reference to this particular work-in-progress a week or so ago. The plan (since May) has been to make up children's trousers and pop them into my bereft-never-been-used Etsy store. Trouble is the W in this W.I.P. appears to just be an increasing corduroy stash and the P is all in my head!

Hoppo Bumpo, the label, is moving on from being a running joke at home and heading toward becoming a moot point. Its hard to justify increasing corduroy inputs, when there are no corresponding trouser outputs.

Perhaps a little public shaming, will spur me into action. And let's hope that Mr HB's disinterest in reading this blog continues.

Thank you to Debbie at Kept In A Jar for this week's theme and to Angela at Three Buttons who hosts This is ...

This is ... my trade secret

My angled tweezers are my favourite sewing gadget.

They are nice and solid and have just the right amount of spring in them. They make me feel like I have highly-developed fine motor skills, despite knowing all ten of my digits are actually just big fat sausage fingers.

The tweezer's main purpose in life is to help with the joyous process of threading an overlocker. However, they are endlessly useful for all manner of sewing tasks.

They have been used to retrieve a broken needle from the bowels of the sewing machine. To gain purchase on a needle stuck fast in layers of fabric whilst hand-sewing. To remove stray pieces of cotton after unpicking seams. To push out corners when completing turnings. To remove splinters and tweeze eyebrows. Oh, and I must not forget the time they saved the cushion that had all four sides inadvertently sewn up whilst the zipper was still closed.

According to Wikipedia tweezers have been used by craftspeople since pre-dynastic Egypt. In Mesopotamia circa 3000BC they were clearly thinking laterally and also using them to catch lice. Really, is there anything that these all-round beauties can't be used for?

Thank you to Amelia at bollewangenhaptoet for this week's theme and to Angela at Three Buttons who hosts This is ...

This is .... where I did my work experience

The Zoo
Originally uploaded to Flickr by Changyang1230

I'm not sure that I ever had genuine aspirations to be a zoo keeper, but I was certainly most privileged to be placed at the Melbourne Zoo for my high school work experience. My placement was in Birds, which I adored.

It was two weeks of good, honest hard work. There was a great deal of shovelling, raking, mowing, hosing, wheeling of barrows and hauling of food. And to this day, I remember how mortified I felt at visitor stares, when they noticed a human in an enclosure. I was a self-conscious and shy 15 year-old.

But how many people can say they have stood alone in the Great Flight Aviary, surrounded by glorious bird-song, in the golden light of early morning? Or been at just arm's length from the beautiful, doe-eyed South American flightless Rheas? Or fed the serene Tawny Frogmouths mice by hand?

It was magic.

Thank you Angela at Three Buttons who is hosting This is ... and for suggesting this week's "free format" theme. If you'd like to see who else is playing, please look over here.

This is ... what makes me happy

After family and friends, sunsets are one of the things that evoke the greatest feelings of happiness.

I never tire of the amazing palette graduating from one hue to the next. Or the seemingly endless permutations of colour. Or of the beautiful dark sillouette of the trees against the last light of the day.

I love the fact that almost everyone can enjoy a gorgeous sunset. And that people long before me and those long after, will all have enjoyed this natural beauty.

I have become very partial to photographing sunsets. Lots of them. It makes me happy.




Thank you to Jacinta at One Little Acorn for this week's theme and to Angela at Three Buttons who hosts This is ...

This is ... what scrambles my brain when I try to understand it

This is my new Bamboo graphics tablet. If you haven't seen one of these nifty gadgets before, its a device that plugs into your PC and allows you to write and draw free-hand.

Its amazing and I love it ... I just can't use it yet. I do one thing and it does another.

The marketing spiel that comes with it says ...
More natural. More human. More you.
The pen makes it easy and intuitive.

Not only is my brain scrambled, but I am feeling inadequate. How could I not? Apparently its all intuitive. Perhaps I am just less human than the ordinary Bamboo user.

Thank you to Flightless Boyds for this week's theme and to Three Buttons who hosts This is ...

This is ... my most treasured childhood possession

A very special page from my Holly Hobby autograph book. Instead of signing my book, my Nan added this oil painting for me (c.1980).

Thank you Teacups on treetops for this week's theme and to Three Buttons who hosts This is ...