My daughter was supposed to be coming home from a family holiday today, but it's too dangerous. She's staying at her paternal grandparents' house in Albury with her dad. He thought he’d attempt to drive back this morning, but changed his mind yesterday afternoon. When you see the bushfire map of NSW it's not hard... Continue Reading →

Just before Christmas, I was midway through a moan about life to my hairdresser when he held up his hand and said: "Stop, that's enough. I've spent the past few weeks listening to people moan all day and I can't deal with it any more." Oh! OK ... "Let's find something funny to talk about... Continue Reading →

Ah, New Year's Eve ... that delusional time of year when everyone resolves to eat less food and guzzle less booze. Me included ... yet again. I have an additional motivator for abstinence in 2020 - I’ve been consulting with Dr Google and he says I'm too fat. Well, he didn't say those exact words,... Continue Reading →

I’ve done very little over the Christmas break and it's been oddly exhausting. On Boxing Day I was so knackered I spent the morning lying cactus on the sofa, alternately reading, snoozing and eating rocky road. It took forever to haul myself to a standing position. I'm thinking it’s because normal life is so go,... Continue Reading →

Wishing people a ‘Merry Christmas’ is a bit fraught these days. It presumes that everyone celebrates Christmas when not everyone does. It’s also not necessarily a happy time for people who are grieving or lonely. But I’ve enjoyed having friends and strangers wish me ‘Merry Christmas’ on my morning walks. It’s knocked some of the... Continue Reading →

I got an email yesterday that shocked me The White Island volcano tragedy has been hurting my heart since the news first broke. I was particularly saddened to hear about the loss of a family in a nearby suburb, whose daughter went to the same school as mine. When the photos of the parents were... Continue Reading →

My lip trembled slightly when I got the news that my computer was fried, but I didn’t wake feeling too desolate yesterday. I put my Gen X big girl pants on and got cracking. I was relieved to hear that my new mortgage had settled, my boss bought everyone Chargrill Charlie’s for lunch to celebrate... Continue Reading →

This year feels like a very long escape room session, filled with problems that constantly need to be solved. The latest one: it seems the surge protector on my computer was blown by a recent storm, so it wasn’t protected when my faulty washing machine blacked out the house. Bottom line: I need a new... Continue Reading →

Everyone keeps telling me how busy they are this week. They have too many Christmas events on - dinners, parties, drinks. I’m starting to feel a bit weird about it because I don't have ANYTHING in my calendar. Well, other than getting my roots done tomorrow night. Oh, and the owner of my local cafe... Continue Reading →

So, it turns out both my children are changing high schools next year. The youngest and I met with the deputy principal of her new school on Friday. She has been hassling me for months to let her switch to a selective sport high school. I suspect her eagerness to leave her current school wasn’t... Continue Reading →