Storytime

School holidays, children moaning 'there's nothing to do' and the dreaded 'I"m bored'. We've all been there. And when faced with a child that states 'I'm bored' and you tell them they could always do fun stuff like clean their room, or read the books they should have read for school- only to be met by the death stare.  What to do? There's always lots of options, some even include nothing to do with cleaning. Last weekend Other Half and myself headed into the city with Little Miss, Miss A and Master R. We lunched at Fed Square then a wander through the graffitied alleyways which raised much discussion. Why are they allowed to do that? Can anyone come along and paint? Cover Little Miss's eyes, there are bad words painted there...and there...and over there. (As Other Half says, at least it got them reading). They oohed and aahed over the three groups of brides posing for photographs. They discussed which were favourites and...

Last week I headed east...to my sister's place for five days. I knew before hand that she and my brother in law and my niece would be working...that it would be me and two teenage nephews (with an X Box fixation). So I planned accordingly. I took down lots of books, some colouring books I'd received as Christmas presents and my writing. I took down notebooks and hard copies and pens and papers...knowing I would have lots of time in the relative peace and quiet to write. However there was quite a lot of this... a bit of this... a lot of this... and even a bit of... So I bonded with the animals and the hammock. Always a good move. I went for a drive with my sister one day...so that meant a bit of.. some of this.... and a bit of this... I didn't write - well I think I wrote a paragraph.  That's it. But I read and I read, I read and I read. It was a total relax. Nothing major to think about, no plans to make,...

Yep, it's here. 2016 No matter how much you ignored it, or celebrated it in style..the new year is here. Sitting. Waiting. Staring. A blank canvas waiting for me to put my mark on it. Hmmmmm. So of course I prepare. One can't merely plough full on into a new year, you must sort yourself, prepare yourself and your writing environment.  Get yourself mentally and physically ready. Tidying my desk, is of course on my list of MUST DO items. It always is. And I do tidy my desk...occasionally. The trouble is, it never lasts. For a day or two, perhaps even a week it looks so sleek and inviting and appealing. I become lost in admiration of my own hard work. In my dreams my desk looks a little like this... in reality, it never ever will be. This is a part of life that I must come to terms with and accept. Eventually. So before I do anything else I must tidy my desk, my writing area. This will, on a good day, take about a month. Perhaps two months, allowi...

Yep, two days left and 2015 is over. It was a full on year in so many respects. A few health glitches this year but mostly it has been amazing. (Warning, there will be a photo montage ahead) We ventured forth and saw some lovely gardens and came back inspired...and with plants. Due to this inspiration three new garden beds were dug and planted, definitely Works In Progress, but I have a vision. Whether they become anything like I imagine is hard to say. During 2015 we had one child move house, one child become engaged, one child tell us they are about to become a parent and one child get married. A very exciting year (and we only have two children!) We also spent a lot of time with Little Miss...which is always a joy...and a learning curve for all involved. We went to see animals... and Disney Princesses with a stop at a lovely tea room on the way. It was also a year of a bit of culture... I say a bit. From the Buena Vista Social Club to Stephen Fry, Sw...

Yes tis the season (yet again, where has the year gone?) for the mad rush of shopping for just that right present. If you have a writer in your life, what do you give them? Stationery never goes amiss. Whether a new notebook  or pad, a pen or two...post it notes, paper clips...you name it. I have yet to meet a writer that doesn't ooh and ahh over stationery, and fondle a brand new notebook with the wonder of what words to fill it. Then that same blank notebook stares accusingly at the writer for most of the year. There is always books. Whether a favourite author or perhaps a new one...new genre, a biography...a book on writing perhaps such as Stephen King's On Writing ( happily sits on my shelf) ....  a dictionary or even subscription to a writing magazine such as Writer's Victoria...or the UK one. How about a new coffee cup (the consensus is that writers drink nothing but cups of coffee and red wine...lots of red wine)....so make that a HUGE coffee cup (doesn...

We had a busy weekend...it involved shopping and baking and Christmas light looking (quite disappointing up here)  with Little Miss. It was lots of fun, a tad tiring, but fun. Then on Sunday we had the work family Christmas do at Luna Park. Little Miss was very impressed. Not only did she get a present but food, lots of rides (this year we managed seven), she also got to meet Santa. If Santa doesn't know by now that all she wants is an Elsa doll, then he isn't listening. She has told each Santa helper we have met, as well as written letters stating this fact. Fingers crossed for her.  After all this we went to a friend's Christmas party. This is a friend we have known for years...but here's the thing...I don't do parties. I'm an introvert, and no matter how much I push myself to get out there, do things, attend things, get myself out and about...I still have this urge to just snuggle in at home and not move.  Parties make me cringe. I d...

On the weekend my writing group, Lazy River Writers , had our Christmas break up. We tend to have a meal out to celebrate, there is usually festive decorations, a secret Kris Kringle, we also hold a meeting. This meeting is not for workshopping nor fine tuning a WIP...but we do the usual talk of what we have achieved the past month, our brags, as well as catching up with what has occurred personally. One  member puts together our Top Five Achievements for the year which is always a great way of looking back over what we sometimes feel has been a year of little success. We also discuss how our goals for the year have gone. This usually brings much chair scraping, much mumbling of 'didn't do anything' or the announcement of 'it was a crap year'. This year, amongst the tinsel and Santa's...and the most yummy food..... (I have told you that our group does food very very well haven't I?) It was suggested that since we celebrated our fifteenth...