There were more riots in Paris this week over the French government raising the country's official retirement age from 62 to 64. The French have been protesting pension reforms for decades. In 1995, weeks-long mass protests forced the government of the day to abandon plans to reform public sector pensions. In 2010, millions took to... Continue Reading →

I am mourning the last warm days until spring. I was so cold yesterday that I wore ugg boots and put the bar heater on while I worked. I've become a summer person in my middle age. I also felt like having a comforting soup for my lunch, in particular I fancied a Vietnamese chicken... Continue Reading →

I had no idea when I woke up feeling a bit weary and wrecked on Friday morning - after two nights of rubbish sleep - that the week would end on a high. Work kicked off at about 7.30am due to a few urgent projects, then I clocked off at 4pm to go to Freshwater... Continue Reading →

There’s a surprising amount of wildlife wandering around my new inner-suburban location, and I'm not talking about the rats at night or the parade of oodles by day. There was a bush turkey strutting around the beer garden of my local pub on my last visit and a few bin chicken have been sauntering down... Continue Reading →

The incredible force of nature that is my high school friend Tracy Chapman is in Sydney this week. She caught the train down from the north coast for the closing submissions in the second judicial inquiry into Kathleen Folbigg's case. Tracy was all over the news yesterday being amazing and articulate in the battle to... Continue Reading →

I launched a new Instagram account yesterday. It's called @rubyandpeggy and it’s a tribute to my great grandmother - Ruby - and my grandmother - Peggy. The youngest thinks its creepy because I’m pretending to be Ruby. The concept in my head is to run it like there was Instagram in the early 20th century... Continue Reading →

Blimey I had a busy weekend. It kicked off with a lovely walk at Balmoral Beach, followed by an 85th birthday lunch for DD's mum, who brought along her partner Bruce. Bruce is 96. They met about six months ago and are delighted with each other’s company. They also raised a glass together at a... Continue Reading →

Longtime readers of HouseGoesHome may remember me frightening a young whippersnapper many years ago at Mamamia by babbling about being a journalist during the Recession. I was telling her about my evening plans and happened to mention I was having a drink with someone that I'd known forever and somehow the phrase “we met during... Continue Reading →

I'd like to send a big thank you to the pioneering legend who decided that satin pyjama pants should become daywear. I wore a pair to work yesterday and they felt awesome. I'm not so sure about the pyjama pants AND pyjama top patterned combos that some people are wearing, but never say never ...... Continue Reading →