Happy Birthday Rookie

This is a post dedicated to a website that is very close to our life-singing teenage hearts, Rookie which has turned one year old and inspires us to do all manner many silly crafty things. I wanted to write it a letter, or something of the sort, but websites don't have post office boxes, so it shall just have to a virtual letter.

A letter, and a Rookie inspired illustration.

Doodle Me A River...

A doodle,

made by a girl,

who is far too old

to be in love with River Phoenix

circa Stand By Me,

But who none the less is.

Word of the Week

I have a confession to make,
 I have been a little lazy recently and have got caught up a little too much in my homework, I know how very lazy of me!
...And have therefore fallen a little bit behind in my word of the weeks. I know it is Wednesday here, or perhaps Tuesday if you live somewhere exotic and cool like Madagascar (may i add, where it is legal to have more than one husband), but I am one of those people who believe that it is never too late for a good word to help you through the week. This week's word is...
Blue.
Now, before you sigh and roll your eyes dramatically at the computer screen, as I know you might be doing, think about this word a bit. Blue is the colour of the sky and the ocean and although you may think it a little dull and boring, for word of the week I want you to consider the following examples of Blue as an awesome word, before you judge it! And that means you, yes you who is staring critically at your computer screen...
Try this, even if you're not by yourself...
 Say the word blue over and over out loud. it must be out loud because the sound is only good when you say it.          

Blue. Blue. Blue. Blue.

Now do you see what I am talking about. It sounds and feels so wonderful when you say it that I couldn't possibly not give it the proper credit it deserves.


The other rad thing to do is to make a song out of it, start with a hip-hop jammin' beat, just by saying the word blue over and over again, and then get someone else to come over the top of it and with an awesome solo (they must also be saying the word blue, if your singing in the song you must be saying Blue).
And there you have it.
 There's even someone from the nineties that wrote a who song about it!

And I think that says a lot.

Stories about Men, Bears and Secrets.

There was once a very small man.

Who lived in the forest of Glanomlinom.

He had a lage beard, which was full of secrets.

One day he went for a walk in the wood of Glanomlinom.

There he met a bear.

and the bear said to him.

"Could you knit me a sweater"

and although it just sounded like roars,

The man took it to be a request for a sweater,

So the man knitted a large and bear shaped sweater,

which had lots of pockets for the bear to keep all his knobs and ends in.

knobs and ends? This story isn't going the way I expected.

And the bear was very pleased with his sweater

And was delighted with the pockets in which he could keep all his knobs and ends.

knobs?

And then the was a big rainbow and the man ran right up it to heaven and to God who was an elk, and his antelers were full of secrets and all sorts of people and lanterns and wonderful things, and little hymn books which they were in a lanuage that everyone could understand. And secrets.

A story by Kate, Gemma and Iona, over a pizza.

The Antelers of God

Licorice Review No. 2

In our quest to find the best and most Truly Scrumptious Liquorice in the world Katie and Iona present

Uncle John's

Fresh Licorice.

Good Points.

1. Good kangaroo-poo texture

2. Not too sweet and not too salty flavour.  

3. Generous pieces that could happily be floated on over Niagra-Falls.

4. Groovy 80's-esque wrapping.

5. An alright price of $4 for six pieces, just in our meagre price range.

6. Does turn teeth and tongue black, so as one can happily frighten everybody that one happens to drive past... (including lanky lads and their possum-toting palls... but I think that we might frighten them anyway)

Bad Points.

1. The bag of Uncle John's fresh licorice is hopeful; if beards are full of secrets this bag is full of promise and enticement. However, after closer inspection it appears that the bag is NOT EVEN HALF FULL OF LiCORICE! this leads to the sad conclusion that, like so many other things in life, things full of promise so often end up as things full of disappointment (this is true of all childhood birthday parties)

2. really, really big pieces that could happily floated on over Niagra-Falls. Owing to the sheer size of this licorice, some of the fun goes out of it. This licorice is not fun. This licorice is serious.

General Notes.

Iona: At first I was disappointed by this licorice's texture, but soon my doubts were alleviated when the following was discovered on the back of the packet "HOW TO ENJOY YOUR LICORICE" which tells you that if you like your licorice soft, warm it up in the mirowave for a few seconds (OH ARN"T YOU SO VERY CLEVER. Unfortunately owing to the hippy nature of my family I have used a microwave about twice in my life)despite this the texture and taste is just about perfect... For me however the true disappointment of this licorice came in the sheer solidity of the pieces. this is no ordinary licorice (whatever that is) but MAN-LICORICE, a no nonsense alternative to these silly effeminate things. "Real men eat Uncle John's" should be the slogan. Also what's up with "Licorice", I always thought it was "Liquorice"... the world is becoming an increasingly peculiar place... I give it three and a half plastic cowboys out of five, and now I am going to hide under my bed.

Kate: I have to say, eating these lovely big pieces of Licorice was a very "serious" business, mostly due to their massive size factor!! But though they are the bad boys of the licorice industry, one finds a certain amount of enjoyment in eating them and for some reason you feel like a hardcore cowboy out in the hot sun somewhere in Arizona (if they had cowboys there!! Did they??) In saying all that I can still say that these licorice sticks were very enjoyable. They were just the right amount of sweet and savoury which meant that you didn't get to much of a sugar hit! In saying that we did try to contact our friends and ask them silly questions while eating it... but they could be more fun size i.e a wee bit smaller so that you don't feel like you have to eat a massive piece all at once.  I am giving it four plastic cowboys out of five. Now you go try!!

Obsessions of a Teenage Melodrama

Weekly Obsessions... Try it On

Other than the rather splashing (especially dashing) Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront ......my thoughts have turned to the rather clever but exceedingly daggy poncho.

 As I personally have never been afraid to wear such a previously unfashionable item, their sudden popularity is unsurprising to me. Poncho's are the rage of the age! And that has set me wondering whether 'daggy' is the new 'cool'? Since forever being daggy was it's polar opposite and was chosen by uncool people (me) as a way of actively avoiding the popularity rat race. One must note that Cynicism is over rated, yet preferable to try hard coolness.... here think DARIA...(just act as dead pan as possible). 

Yet Poncho's to me seem a harmless new addition to being trendy, as they're rather woolly and over enveloping, tending to lump it over the better half of one's body.

 As a bonus there is no need for near nudity!

Unless of course you are sporting the string variety, quite popular with 00's crocheters. 
Poncho's, besides their obvious attraction as a highly patterned 'cover it all' are a darn sight useful. They can double as a impromptu picnic rug, tent, sun hat, towel, wash cloth etc.... it's up to your imagination! They are also really great to dance in, as they tend to limit wild hand movements and cover the hesitant starting dance shuffle. Ex American President Bush, not my preferred person at the best of times, has accurately demonstrated my favourite the 'it's alive, it's alive' move! I find that it tends to happen to poncho novices.
Trippy 
So I will happily raise my glass with poncho lovers world wide and recognise the value of a truly multi-talented yet fashionable item! Try it on!
Adiós