Yesterday was Himself's birthday. His birthday is often a low-key event, following so closely as it does on the heels of another famous bloke's special day... Yesterday was no exception. But I know for a fact that Himself had a beautiful day. I made sure of it. I took him out to breakfast. (Clever, hey?) I also …
Our Christmas Carport Makeover
Stand aside! There's writin' to be rescued! Okay. This was supposed to be the Day Three post of my self-imposed, pre-Christmas blogging challenge. I wrote most of it—then lost my mojo and my faith, got distracted by Christmas preparations, and, erm, abandoned the writing. But it's never too late to rescue our darlings, is it? …
Australian House and Garden. Keeping it Real.
We have a new bakery in our little town, dear reader. It's actually the old bakery rejigged. They have revamped and stoked-up the ancient wood-fired oven and they're making posh bread and fancy biscuits. And they have a hole in the wall where they serve totally ACE coffee. And it's all VERY exciting. Yesterday when …
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How the Heart Informs Our Art
My childhood memories of Christmas are pretty darn scratchy, dear reader. Not patchy. Scratchy. Like chook scratches in loose dirt. Hard to decipher. Vague. No hint of a plot. And yet. Some of my favourite glimpses (I won't call them memories) are from the Christmases we spent at my aunt and uncle's dairy farm on …
A day in the life of higgledy-piggledy
Rambling writer alert! Read at your own peril... I have very little to offer you on this Thursday afternoon, dear reader, and yet I still feel compelled to pick up a pen and scratch a few lines. Perhaps I should write in my journal and keep my muddled thoughts private. But. I am sitting here …
What I bought overseas
Hey there bloggy reader! Are you on my mailing list? If you'd like to hear from me more often, and if you want more of the 'insider goss', sign up for my museletters. I write once a fortnight with creativity tips, news from home, pretty stuff to inspire and support you. Meantime, here's a copy …
I was a sick nurse…
Storytime, dear reader. Many years ago, in fact it was LAST CENTURY, I worked as a nurse. (Think 1980s. Think Princess Di, shoulder pads and Estee Lauder, All Day Berry Basket lipstick...) I trained in country Queensland and once I obtained my certificate, I toddled off to the big smoke (aka Bris Vegas, aka Brisbane), …
Let’s Enchant our Lives!
There are some words that always make my ears prick up: Creativity Bewitched Enchantment If anyone's talking about these things or tossing these words into their copy, I'm there. I can't help but pay attention. It's like 'once upon a time'. Or, 'long ago and far away'. Or 'gather round'. Such words and phrases speak …
Four Ways to Improve Your Story
Pull up a chair! Grab a latte. A Lady Grey. A shandy. Let's chat! I was going to call this blog post, 'What's Wrong With This Bloody Story?' But on second thoughts that title might be misleading. Who's story? Which story? Your story or my story? See what I'm sayin'? Let's narrow it down. Don …
Hey, Jen! Are you retiring?
The other day I followed a link to a promising webpage. I was interested in what the business had to offer and I wanted to see who was behind it and, if I felt a connection, I was going to sign up. Get involved. I got to the website and guess what? No face. No …