Novels teach us a lot about human interaction: how we behave in particular situations, how we react to crises, and how we deal with our emotions. I have learned so much from fictional characters – thank you to all the authors who have created them. I have cried while reading many novels. Here are five […]

The leaves on local deciduous trees have turned the most glorious colours and the temperatures have dropped. We have had two frosts this month! I love that we have distinct seasons here and that they don’t just merge into each other. Autumn is the most glorious time. Here are some of the things I’ve been […]

I wish I’d discovered this book when it was published in 2019. That was a busy and stressful year for me so I guess that’s why I missed it. But now I’ve read it and wow – it is the most astonishingly poignant story I have read in a long time. Immediately I started reading […]

We’ve had one complete week of constant rain (294 mm) followed by a week of gloriously sunny days. Of course, it would have been better if the rain had been spread out but weather systems don’t work like that, do they? Many plants in my garden drowned. That means plenty of tidying up to do […]

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks. My garden club is meeting again and so is my quilting group, so I’m enjoying meeting new people with common interests and getting involved. The state government suspended our local council and replaced it with an interim administrator, initially for three months. There’s been lots of rain and […]

It always intrigues me when an author takes facts – in this case, that Elizabeth Macarthur was the wife of John Macarthur and they both emigrated to New South Wales in the early days of the colony – and applies the ‘what if’ question. In this case, Kate Grenville asks: what if Elizabeth had written […]

What a satisfactory week! It’s been sunny every day and that’s helped my dahlia flowers unfurl their petals. I’ll write more on that later and show you some photos. I’m so glad I planted these glorious blooms. The sunshine cheered my spirits this week. The leaves on the deciduous trees in my garden are changing […]

It’s a stunning Southern Highlands day today – sunny, with light winds to dry out the ground after yesterday’s tumultuous storm. I’m gazing out the window of my office and watching the washing flapping in the breeze. I love that. The smell of freshly-washed and air-dried clothes and sheets – it’s one of the small […]