Beginning with Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson. If you’ve read Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, you’ll be back in familiar territory as Winterson talks about her troubled formative years with her adopted parents. This book also tells of her search – and discovery – of her birth mother. Beautiful writing,…
It had been a stressful week. That Friday was the deadline for two – significant – literary competitions I had been working on my manuscript really hard to meet, but I had fallen short of finishing. So I was deliberating on the wisdom (or madness) of submitting what I had done in the hopes that…
I’ve entered the Melbourne Marathon. I think I’m ready, and I certainly think it’s time. No more procrastination or indecision. Even better, I’ve got a terrific sponsor behind me, believing I can do it too. Incredible. But more about that later. Let’s go back to motivation(s) first. Why a marathon? Why is it on my…
On this day, 65 years ago, my grandfather and grandmother were married – in the same church Adam and I were also married in. Nan is recovering from her stroke in February, and was last week discharged from her rehab ward at the hospital to enter a care facility. It has been a stressful…
It was quiet. Very, very quiet. Thanks mostly to a combination of my not feeling particularly well, and a chilly change in the weather that, while expected and typical, always arrives with a adjustment period that can be hard. So we stayed close to home, watched lots of movies, and chipped away at that mountain…
Age 6 & 7 Age 8 & 9 Dear Keira, As I approached my tenth birthday, I remember mentioning my excitement about the milestone to a neighbour. She shook her head emphatically and said, “You don’t want to grow up”. You’re on the cusp of your own tenth birthday, but I’m not going to say…
What follows is a brief update as to how our make-your-own school holiday challenge is going. Cook Mistake one: buying an American packet mix without properly figuring out the conversion differences. Mistake two: buying a red velvet cake with enough added red food colouring to stain whatever part of skin or clothing that comes into…
No, you haven’t accidentally wandered over to a cake wreck website. It’s me, hello. Remember when I made Borg Cube Christmas Gingerbread? (If you don’t, you should see it. Now that was a wreck. OF FUN.) Anyway, I’ve had this idea rattling around my head for over a year to make Monty Python Killer Rabbit…
To explain: The Year of Creative Engagement (#yoce) will be my attempt to document my creative journey, put greater stock in accountability and output, while also showing what new work I’m reading or listening to. I bent to the will of the children and took them along to The Lego Movie the other day. Although…
