Storytime

Yes i'm busy relearning the intricacies of technology. (hard for a dinosaur like myself- I still have trouble with my mobile phone and take way too long to figure out which remote is for the DVD player).  I was recently given an iMac for my birthday - a big surprise for a PC girl like me. My first question was how do I turn it on? - quickly followed by and where are the buttons on the mouse? Once these two questions were answered - it became the job of showing no fear in front of it. Bit like facing a large wild animal- appear confident and it will leave you alone. That is the theory and so far it is working. I will confess to deleting a lot of windows when I merely want to go back, and have no idea what most of the icons at the bottom of the screen mean - but it is on my to-do list. Another goal for the year- become master of the machine - show no fear and move forward bravely. As for goals - and I know it's only 2 months in to the year and things may change - bu...

Must admit to a bit of bias...I think libraries are great places. All those books, free to take home. Row after row of them, all lined up in easy to navigate order. What more could a person want? And libraries today have changed dramatically since the days of the frowning spinsterish badly-dressed older woman telling everyone to shhhhhhhhhh! Today they are a vital part of the community....in some cases they become the hub of the community. Whether you use a library to borrow books, CD's or DVD's (cheaper than the video store), to do research, use a computer or game station, a quiet place to study or even to sit down and catch up with the paper...it's all good. And if you thought working in a library only meant dealing out books, here are some of the things I've done over the past few years * Read blurbs to the visually impaired to help them decide which ones they would like * Found the local pound *Using the Melways to find not only local addresses - but how ...

Is one of my writing goals for the year. One of only six - but a good one I thought. What does it mean? It means that when I go away, for a weekend, for a holiday, no matter where - to soak up the experiences - really see the place that I'm in- the people - the buildings, the atmosphere - to take notes for later use. I have done this before. My first overseas trip became quite a few poems and a short story (which went on to win a prize). Our trip to the Flinders Ranges a few years ago became more poetry and another short story (yet to find a home) I even use other people's experiences. Last year I wrote about my husband's 'boy's only adventure' to India - and sold the article :) It's been too easy to take for granted the places I go, people I've met. This weekend we spent  two days showing a Dutch IT student as much of Tasmania as we could before he goes back home ... We walked Hobart's Constitution Dock and  Salamanca Place, climbed the stair...

Always curious - this is my thought of the week...where do you write? What is your writing space? Do you have your own space, perhaps an office just for you? Or do you share a space with 3 children, a guinea pig and a fish that edits over your shoulder? Or are one of those that write (happily) in a coffee shop or cafe, away from the procrastinations found at home. Those dust bunnies that sing out, the washing that NEEDS to be done....NOW. This is where I write . (Perhaps I should have tidied up?) This is a nook in our bedroom. So not the ideal place to write, behind the chair is our chest of drawers, beside that my art/craft supplies (even messier than my desk :) The window to the left looks out to the bank behind the house and onto the backyard (if you can imagine even MORE messier than previously talked about) which in one way is good as I don't get distracted - until the birds come in. When the silver eyes and finches flit from tree fern to ivy...I'm lost. To the righ...