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 →

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 →

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 →

When I got married almost 25 year ago there were two extravagances: a Collette Dinnigan wedding dress and my favourite band serenading me down the aisle, Karma County.  The band had a song called Olana. Soooooo beautiful. And close enough to my name to make it the perfect serenade as I walked down the aisle. That was then ... This was... Continue Reading →

I am going to tell you how much money I spent on travel in 2024 without telling you much money I spent on travel ... This Christmas gift arrived yesterday from my travel agent ... A Maggie Beer gift box ... oooo la la! I was also emailed the finalised itinerary for my latest travel... Continue Reading →

The plan on Monday night was to head to bed early and catch up on sleep after a big weekend. I struggled wearily through to 9pm and was just about to take the dogs out for their last wee of the day when a strange and sudden urge to Christmas decorate came over me. I... Continue Reading →

It has not been a joy to return from the indolence and indulgence of my Melbourne getaway to force feeding one of my dogs tablets twice a day and wrestling the other dog to the ground to put ointment on his eyeballs three times a day. Get a dog they said, it will be fun... Continue Reading →

I started writing this blog post at 10.30pm last night at the bus stop after taking my sister to see Crowded House as her birthday present. The endless roadwork on the freeway meant it was a VERY long bus ride. Better be home soon … We had a bulk fun night, but it was very... Continue Reading →

You really start to worry about your big mouth when someone says the CEO thought you were "hilarious" at the office Christmas party. Being hilarious is both good and bad when you have whatever disorder or neurodiverse quirk that I have. It’s good because it means you were entertaining. It’s bad because it means you... Continue Reading →