What a way to start the New Year

Almost a year to the day after we travelled down the Derwent River and across the ocean to New Zealand on a cruise, DD and I sailed back up the river to Hobart for New Year’s Eve. After anchoring in gorgeous Norfolk Bay the night prior, we visited Port Arthur for a few hours, where... Continue Reading →

Dolphin sunsets & missing persons

We woke on day three of our Sydney to Hobart cruise to blessedly calm waters and stunning scenery. Before breakfast Captain Andy guided the ship into Wineglass Bay for a scenic tour. As we sat down to Eggs Benedict, a pod of dolphins frolicked in the waves beside us. In the afternoon we embarked on... Continue Reading →

Ship wrecked

We woke on day two of our cruise to the awful news that two sailors competing in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race had tragically died during the night, the first fatalities since 1998. Catastrophic conditions in 1998 saw six sailors die, five yachts sink and more than 60 yachts retire - the boats were... Continue Reading →

Anything that can happen

How was your Chrissie and New Year? Mine got off to a rocky start. Surprise! While it's usually me that gets sick during the festive season (I've lost two Christmases to COVID-19) this year it was those around me who suffered. The youngest was crook as Rookwood with tonsillitis, glandular fever and a cold, which... Continue Reading →

Switching off

Best holiday wishes to you, whether you are celebrating Christmas, just taking a few days off or working straight through ... hopefully there's some fun for you along the way. I've finally finished work - yesterday was an absolute shocker, but I won’t bore you with the stressful details … other than to say it... Continue Reading →

Secret sauce

Long-time HouseGoesHome followers may recall that I once went semi-viral after writing a blog post about a woman who made her fortune by writing erotic novels about sex with dinosaurs. After discovering the weird reason why the post went semi-viral, I wrote another blog post about THAT, which went even more sort of viral and... Continue Reading →

Accident and emergency

Guess where I was last night? The hospital. The youngest was admitted to the short stay department with acute Epstein Barr virus AND rhinovirus (aka glandular fever AND a cold). Her spleen and liver are both enlarged and she feels terrible. My ex sat with her in the afternoon and I took over parenting duties... Continue Reading →

That’s the way you do it

The universe made it up to me last night after yesterday's cranky blog post. I was invited to visit a restaurant in Double Bay called Bartiga, which features modern Australian cuisine mixed with Southeast Asian flavours, paired with a cocktail menu highlighting a Seychelles rum called Takamaka. I worked in Double Bay many moons ago... Continue Reading →

Cancel culture

WARNING: This is a cranky blog post. Should I make up a word for that? Is it a crog? Let me start by saying that I enjoy a cancelled plan as much as the next person in my middle age. An unexpected night at home always hits the spot. But 2025 has felt like the... Continue Reading →

Great prospects

It is hard during summer to return to the real world from my second home on the Northern Beaches. Over the last few days I have wandered down the street each morning for coffee, window shopping and chatting with local friends along the way; then I’ve ducked to the beach in the late afternoon for... Continue Reading →

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