The youngest returned home from her Christmas holiday on Saturday with severe tonsilitis. Antibiotics have helped, but she's still been very crook. On Saturday night she showed me her chest, which was covered in a rash. It was one of those "I'm a 52-year-old mother, I should know what to do" moments where I had... Continue Reading →

It was a very subdued New Year's Eve around the globe for everyone this year, including celebrities. But I'm thrilled that Sam Armytage had her dream wedding day with Richard Lavender. Sam, 44, and Richard, 61, tied the knot at his Southern Highlands estates. Sam shared an official wedding photo - taken by Abbie Melle... Continue Reading →

I promised you a more light-hearted post today, so I'm ending the year by announcing the launch of my new website, called HotHouse Communications. It’s mainly just a page that sums up the freelance work I do at night ... and days and weekends over the past few months. I thought I needed to give... Continue Reading →

Australia stands at a difficult crossroads in its fight against COVID-19. I look at the situation in the US and despair: California surpassed two million cases on Christmas Eve. Christmas gatherings in the US will no doubt fuel further cases - there were estimates that 85 million people would travel during the festive season. A... Continue Reading →

A friend commented after reading about my festive fun on Christmas Day that I'd "certainly made lemonade out of lemons". She’s right, I had an unexpectedly fabulous time. But it became a lemon glut at 11am yesterday, with the news that the northern part of the Northern Beaches will be locked down until January 9.... Continue Reading →

There's a lot of pressure involved in keeping a child's sick pet alive while they're on holidays. The youngest still hasn't let me forget that I killed her Siamese Fighting Fish many years ago. I've been giving the eldest’s pet rat antibiotics and liquid Ventolin twice a day, as opposed to my normal practice of... Continue Reading →

It's been a long time between celebrity galleries at HouseGoesHome, but I'm at a bit of a loose end without DD or the kids and my Instagram feed has been crammed with pics of celebrity families in matching pyjamas, sweaters and even tracksuits. It's a trend that's been gathering steam for a few years and... Continue Reading →

Was your Christmas impacted by COVID-19 restrictions? Did you manage to have a good day? I was reminded about #gratitude by this rather confronting post in my Facebook feed: On a happier note, I was also reminded yesterday that people are - on balance - awesome. My faith in humanity has been a bit rattled... Continue Reading →

I cried buckets last night about the kids leaving and not being allowed to see DD. I rang NSW Health to confirm I can't visit my Northern Beaches residing partner on Christmas Day. After being on hold for ages, someone told me that while I could go to his place on compassionate grounds, I would... Continue Reading →

A friend noted yesterday that I was being very pragmatic about my "super weird" Christmas. Yeah, kinda. I'm feeling less and less pragmatic about it as it approaches. Yesterday was spent in isolation waiting for COVID results. I tapped away on the computer - I still have a few contracting jobs on the boil -... Continue Reading →