Adventures

Farmers and their markets

All the good stuff - especially truffle (front and centre)

 

Food has been on my mind lately. When is it not? Some would say I was quite obsessed by it. Sometimes I have been thinking about feeding my child. I didn’t completely understand the amount of time and energy that would be put in, usually by me, to plan, cook and arrange, meals for my child. Not always by me. Every morning, Benedict’s porridge is served by his daddy. It’s their time, breakfast. It is a two-fold joy. Usually, it is a smooth, easy time. It allows them to bond over AM and the news of the day and have a bit of time together. After Benedict has finished his own porridge, he usually helps himself to mine too, no matter how much he ate of his own. Read More

On holidays

South Broulee

Here we are on holidays

And we are doing a bit of this

Rock pools

And a bit of this

Kiss blowing practice

And even some of this

South Broulee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tense day in mamaland

Yesterday I was tested as a mother.

This morning, as I was preparing to listen to two lovely people on the radio. I was also in the bathroom, before nine, trying to unblock the sink. While I was trying to do this, my toddler was opening cupboards. He opened the cupboard which contains, among other things, a plastic box full of small ramekins and pyrex dishes. These are great things to bang together, they make fantastic noise. Until they break. And I heard that noise and bolted to the kitchen. I was too late. Toddler was griping the broken piece of glass in his fist. I was there two seconds too late. He gripped and it cut into his thumb. Read More

The wood AND the trees

I have been in a persistent funk lately. Since Easter really. It’s a bloody long time. Read More

On reading

On Reading

The collision of the book and digital reading

The internet has not impacted upon my reading habits in the slightest. I still pass my eyes from left to right across the lines of text, just as I always have. I still read line by line, turn from page to page; just as I always have. I still pick and chose. I still seek inspiring texts (to read). The internet has no impact on my reading habits, but the book says the internet is ambitious, and the book is honourable. The book fears there will be worse come in its place, that will lay waste to its carefully nurtured kingdom of readers and writers.

Books are my friends, faithful and just; they line up in my study like soldiers. They look down on the interloping screens from their posts on the battlements high on the walls.

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Much Ado About Nothing

Last night, Robert and I took Talking Boy to see Much Ado About Nothing.

In preparation for this we ran through the story (such as it is) a few times. Talking Boy was worried it wasn’t in “normal English”. I worried that he would talk all the way through it. We talked a bit about the theatre and seeing plays. We reassured him it was a comedy, a rom-com in fact and that he would enjoy it. (Or else I thought quietly to myself.)

Much Ado About Nothing

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When my husband does the dishes … Kerri Sackville’s booklaunch part two (A)

It is taking an incredibly long time to deliver on my promised part two of the story of Kerri Sackville’s book launch. I just read @TwitchyCorner’s account. Her part one. It’s such a big story it needs to be told in stages! There is also, perhaps, something like collective amnesia induced by champagne, occurring.  So to tide you over and to pique your interest, while I stuff around writing all the things I am supposed to be writing – like a review of the book for HerCanberra.com.au – par exemple – here is part two (A). The teaser to Part Two.
Some of my favourite moments from after the official ‘launching bit’ and the after party.

@Woogsworld diving into my cleavage to get a better sniff of my perfume (Fracas – for the record).

Giving @deemadigan a lecture on the ACT Legislative Assembly and how it is unicameral.

Dragging @alexricia around to meet people after she had an attack of the shys.

Saving my phone number to @indydreaming’s phone as DUDE! (This only came to light much later – like last week!)

Asking @electric589 why I always imagined the distance between Ariel Booksellers and Dinosaur Designs on Oxford Street, to be much shorter than it actually is, only to cut him off dead when he started to give me a totally serious and sensible answer about spatial perception.

Waiting what seemed liked hours for a pizza with @lgcollard @BenisonAnne @yvettevignando and @Nicky_Lavigne When it finally arrived, after what was actually hours, it was delicious, but we had all pretty much lost interest and were talking about sex. Again.

The Architect whispers sweet nothings to The Author

More more more – and then some – soon.


booktopia.com.au - Australia's #1 online bookstore

Benedict reviews Jasper Jones

Benedict reviews Jasper Jones

 

Hospital corners and other domestic madness

I am particularly partial to a well made bed. In fact, some might say obsessed. I love a good cotton blanket, proper pillow and have been having an ongoing love affair with my latex (oo er) mattress now for many years. I would have clean, ironed sheets and pillow cases every day of the year, if I could keep up with the laundry or have enough money to pay someone who would do them for me to my exacting specifications.

Lovely, well made bed, how I love thee

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It’s me.com … now with added me!

The macinalia getting the me.com groove on

I’ve made a subtle but significant shift to this blog.

It is now self hosted. I know, I know you like the old stuff better than the new stuff.

Soon, you won’t notice a thing, it will look exactly the same.

In the meantime, I will work away quietly tidying up in the background.

 

 

Besieged by advice

One of the great things about being pregnant is that lots of people give you a barrage of advice.  All of which conflicts with the last book you read or what the last person you spoke to told you. Some of it is laughable and some of it is reassuring. Some of it useful and some of it just bloody annoying. Breast feed, don’t breast feed. Sleep with your baby, don’t sleep with your baby. Massage your perineum, don’t massage. Pick up your baby. Don’t pick up your baby. Let your baby cry. Don’t let your baby cry. You get the idea.

 

Besieged by advice

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Sydney adventure – the book launch – part one

Read this first. Here is my ever cavet on a blog post. This post is massively self-indulgent; don’t say I didn’t warn you. Also, if you are on twitter and I fail to mention you, and I did in fact see you – I cannot apologise enough. I should have kept notes, but I didn’t. Sorry in advance. Please don’t be mad. Note also that I have referred to peeps by the Twitter ‘handle’ so you can look them up.) It will be in two parts – because it is so long and is taking a long time to write due to ‘fact checking.’

When you have a very intense experience, and you pack a lot into 53 hours, it can be hard to write about. Where to start? Favourite bits? Chronological order? Funniest bits? Best alone in a big bed bits? Best I’m away by myself and I couldn’t be more pleased bits?

I have recently returned from Sydney, the town that I know and love. I went by myself. I left my lovely man and my love child to fend for themselves. I left NO notes. They will figure it out, I reckoned. After all here’s what the Commentator General had to say about it:


Preparations well under way for three days looking after baby with no @ . Surely 16 months is old enough for pizza and DVD night
@CommentatorGen
Robert Gotts

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