I am not a good friend to myself in the middle of the night. I spin my brain around like a roulette wheel, filling it with thoughts and fears and ideas. On Tuesday night I lay in bed fretting that I hadn't provided enough food to the family I cook for each week. When I... Continue Reading →

I was looking at the new NSW Premier as he launched "Freedom Day" earlier this week and I couldn't work out what was bothering me about the photos. Then the Member for Port Stephens noted on Facebook: "This is how the new Premier chose to present so-called ‘freedom day’. Men in positions of power at... Continue Reading →

Were you released from lockdown yesterday? Did you go out and celebrate? I grabbed my regular takeaway coffee and some lunch for the youngest, but that was the extent of my excursions on #freedomday. It felt pretty much the same as the past 106 days. However, Facebook was filled with friends toasting the moment, while... Continue Reading →

A former colleague shared a photo on Facebook of her cow last week, with the caption: "Someone needs to tell Norman his head is now too small for his body #covidkilos." I think we're all looking a little like Norman after months in lockdown: stout and shaggy. My hairdresser can’t fit me in until November... Continue Reading →

How was your yesterday? Mine was good and annoying, in equal parts. On the annoying front, NBN reminded me that it’s cutting off my access to the internet from 8am until noon today. That sucks because I have a major freelance job every Friday that requires me to write like a woman possessed for three... Continue Reading →

There's a buzz in the air in Sydney as we count down the days to leaving lockdown. I've been invited to two 50th birthdays, we've rebooked DD's birthday sunset cruise, I'm organising to use a restaurant voucher that's been languishing on my desk, we have two concerts coming up in Newcastle ... and that's all... Continue Reading →

I lost the plot about life in lockdown - and life in general - over the weekend. When I got a little teary on the phone to DD, he suggested I pop up to the Northern Beaches for my first sleepover in FOREVER. When I texted to say I was on my way, he replied:... Continue Reading →

I'm in shock. The kids want to go on holidays with me. And they've even agreed on a destination: Fiji. The eldest has been anti-beach over the past few years. I don't know why, perhaps it doesn't fit with the alternative, head-to-toe black attire vibe. So I was stunned to hear a beach holiday was... Continue Reading →

It was International Coffee Day on Friday …cue an avalanche of coffee-centric press releases and the terrifying news that there's a global coffee bean shortage. Nooooooo! The price of coffee has surged 21.6% this year to $3.65 a kilogram, according to IBISWorld, with climate change-related weather events affecting key coffee-producing regions. Drought and severe frost... Continue Reading →