Storytime

Can you keep a secret I don't suppose you can You mustn't laugh You mustn't cry But do the best you can.... We all have secrets. It's only natural. Some secrets are little and quite innocent (like hiding chocolate in the veggie drawer in the fridge), or planning a semi-surprise birthday party...some secrets are huge. The little ones don't attract much attention. You may get a 'why didn't you tell me?'..or 'I knew that already'. The big secrets are usually much more powerful. These secrets could be anything from affairs and leading secret lives, to abortions and having children no one knows about, being married before (or even still married), to stealing and theft, being addicted to a substance or pursuit... or even murder. It's human nature to have secrets. There is always something we keep to ourselves. Whether we are ashamed or embarrassed, or know it could hurt someone else, or even ourselves. The important t...

"Everyone has a book in them, but in most cases that's where they should stay." Christopher Hitchens. We all know the above quote or one very similar and it appears that writing a book is on the bucket list of most people. And it is so easy. After all we know that politicians and TV presenters have written books, athletes and footballers, singers and actors, criminals and celebrities, royalty and ratbags. They have written poetry and memoir, nonfiction and fiction...and even picture books. And had these items published. I surmise (or call it an educated guess) that a lot of these people have had 'help' of some description. Ghost writers, editors that push, goad and mould them in the right direction. They have not had to send a piece out into the ether and let it sit in the slush pile, waiting for that reader to pick it up and say 'WE SO NEED TO PUBLISH THIS'. Most (once again an educated guess) have been commissioned to write such and such, o...

The past few weeks have been the school holidays in Victoria and thankfully....big deep breath...they are over and the library is back to the normality of busy. Compared to being MEGA busy during the holidays. One of the children's programs I did for these holidays was Snowflake Sensation. We read wintry stories, sang wintry songs (did the winter Hokey Pokey where we put our mittens in, we put our mittens out...) and basically had fun. We created a wonderful snowman artwork to take home.... and we made snowflakes. The joy of making snowflakes is the fact that each one is different. There is no right or wrong way to make them. You simply fold and cut, whatever way you want. Often when we do an activity the children have to make theirs EXACTLY how I have made mine. Including the same colours, the same placement of stick or piece of paper. If I have a tree in the far left corner, they MUST have a tree in the far left corner. Creating snowflakes was very liberating....

As last week's blog terrified informed us that the year is half over, a few of my writing colleagues have gone into a mild panic ... state of setting goals and deadlines. I do know that seeing the year whizz by so fast has a sobering impact. It makes you realise what you have done..all good if in fact you HAVE done something. As we all know, I have done very little. So I've settled in front of the computer...and Yep..I've checked Facebook...gave a thumbs up and even a smiley face or two. I've checked my emails (shoe shop having a great sale!). It's not like I have NOTHING to write. I have unfinished pieces all over the place. Let's pretend that all of the above is 'unfinished works in progress' and not merely 'stuff'. I do have first drafts, unfinished drafts, sentences that I thought were pretty good and would lead onto something...well something do-able. But where to begin? Hmmm.... looking out the window isn't help...

It is official...the year is half over. Half of it gone without a trace. Whizz. Zoom. Goodbye. I swear it was just February the other week..but here we are, and with repeated checking of all available calendars...it is the end of June. We know it is winter because of the cold, and the rain, and did I mention the cold? But the fact is that a good one hundred and eighty or so days have gone by and I'm left wondering what have I done? In truth quite a lot of things. There has been Cats the musical with daughter....there has been two plays with various children....been days spent up at my sister's place and doing not much...a few garden shows, okay quite a few.....and friendly catch ups.....Purple Rain and biscuit decorating classes....Goodbyes and welcomes....children sleepovers and some outings....and a bit of writing. This year I cleverly set up a file for each month. Very easy to see what exactly has been done..and when.  For me, it's a good system a...

There have been so many times at work (either running a children's program or just helping folks out) when a parent has stared aghast at their child, horrified and said quickly 'you can't tell people about that.' It happens all the time. And if I was inclined to blackmail, I'd be set for life! But apart from revealing bare naked truths, children are great for noting down ideas. On the weekend, we had Little Miss. At one stage as were putting on our gumboots to head outside she told me to 'lift up your feet.' 'Why,' I asked, puzzled. 'Just lift them up so I can check something.' I did as requested. She then nodded. 'Good, you have them on the right feet.' I didn't really doubt it for a moment but I'm glad she was there checking for me. It's always interesting how they see the world. When my son was very small I remember him watching as I plucked my eyebrows, then he became quite upset. When asked why 'be...

For the long weekend I headed east....north east..ish. Went to my sister's place in Swifts Creek, nestled in the Tambo Valley, East Gippsland. It's a small country town and my sister lives just out of said town. My phone doesn't work there....I have no ability to call anyone (unless I borrow their land line)...and I have no access to the internet. No messaging, no facebook, no google...no 'quick let's just check that.' So I go there to rest and relax. To spend quality time with my sister, her husband and which of the children are there at the time...currently two teenage boys. I've been coming up there for so many years that we have acquired rituals without realising it. There is the slow walk around the garden as we talk and compare plants. She gives me a few cuttings of this and that, I give her a few plants I've grown and we see which succeed. Her youngest son always wants me to play Monopoly ---have I ever told you how much I HATE...