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SERIOUSLY, HOW DO YOU GET WORK DONE WHEN YOU LIVE BY THE BEACH!
Every morning when you wake up it’s there. The smell of the damp ocean air creeping through every little crevice, the sound of the pounding waves. Sometimes crashing angrily on top of each other ........
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE A TRUE ‘COASTIE’?
It’s a given, as soon as you throw those windows open you wake up to the smell of the sea air, the sea mist settles on the kitchen countertops whilst you gather your breakfast cereal and coffee ........
‘MATESHIP. “HOW THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU?”!!
So, what’s in a word? A word originally from Germany as in ‘gemate’ meaning: to share a meal at the same table (Wikipedia) Nothing has changed really in that regard except to perhaps extend t ........
‘HI VIZ’ IS THE NEW BLACK
‘Hi Viz’ is the buzzword on the streets. Look ahead, to your left, to your right, up above your head, in the skyline, in the passing truck cab. There it is ‘Hi Viz’! What, may you ask, am I t ........
‘SURF’S UP’
it all mean you ask? Well, it means that the waves are high at the beach and are just right to go surfing if you feel the need. Of course, you feel the need, that’s what life is about isn’t it? ........
WHAT’S IN A TRADIE’S LUNCHBOX?
What is in a Tradie’s lunchbox you may well ask. Well from my experience of packing one, I would suggest that there is enough food packed in said lunchbox to feed a picnic to a family of four!! ........
HOW LONG BEFORE THE WASHING STOPS COMING HOME AFTER TRADIE MOVES OUT?!
There’s nothing quite like seeing the loaded washing line flapping in the breeze, the sun warming and drying out garments, sheets and towels ready for another week ahead. The smell of ‘ocean bre ........
LIVING WITH CHALK AND CHEESE
Two siblings to the same two parents. The first a girl and then a boy, both born with blue eyes and the beginnings of beautiful strawberry blonde hair. And that, my friends, is where any simi ........
BRINGING A BRITISH NORTHERN ACCENT TO OZ
Blinding sunshine and thick humidity greeted us to our new home. It was breakfast time early and already 27degrees in the shade when we set foot on the promised land but we knew that before we s ........
MY BELOVED
I won’t be the first and I certainly won’t be the last to put some words together during these difficult times of COVID-19 but put some together I must. The world is experiencing a pandemic viru ........
WHAT SHOPPING LIST?
One trolley, one shopper, those are the new rules amid this tense time and as only my beloved could, he volunteers to be our shopper. Letting go of the control of the shopping basket is somet ........
THE PROVERBIAL CARROT.
It’s hard not to speak about the times we are experiencing with this deadly virus in our world as it seems to be part of our everyday conversations and rightly so I suppose. These social distanc ........
TEABAGS
If I have to confess to an annoying habit then it would be that of multi-tasking Multi-tasking is a habit of mine that really, really infuriates ‘him indoors’. Yes, I can call him that now as ........
WHAT IS MY ‘ONLINE’ DRESS SIZE?
I’ve not been one to get into ‘online’ shopping but my busy offspring tell me it’s the way to go. Personally, I have found it more time consuming than actually running out to the shops and makin ........
THE WRITTEN WORD
The written word is a powerful thing. It can evoke beauty, kindness, thoughtfulness and bring joy to the reader. Even the scribbliest scrawly hand of a child writing their first words to Grandm ........
STILL WORKING, EMERGENCY BANK BALANCE INTACT!
I have to say that for me, putting up with him indoors working for weeks on end at the dining room table, the creeping around in the background hoping not to be caught on camera whilst virtual m ........
LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE.
As the days of hibernation drag on during this COVID-19 pandemic and we find the world a bit more of a scarier place, our mind can start acting out its own scenarios and that in itself can be a ........
AUTUMN 2.0
The seasons come and the seasons go, always four in each year. That never changes. For some countries though, one season looks like the next. There can be constant sunshine and heat or a never-e ........
MOVING
It’s a known fact that moving house lists in the top 10 of life’s stressful events but to do it whilst the world around us changes the way we do things on a daily basis and the unrest out there ........
TO GET TESTED OR NOT TO GET TESTED.
Three months of strict lockdowns and health guidelines are now slowly starting to ease for us in the ‘Land Down Under’. We have had a tough time of it for sure and lost loved ones in the most pa ........
THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR.
Friends come in all shapes and sizes and ethnic diversity. There are old friends, new friends and friends yet to be made. They all have different impacts on your life. Some friends make you laug ........
WINTER
Having spent the first half of my life in the Northern Hemisphere where Winter can be described as cold, chilly, bitter, harsh, dismal and dreary by some (or should I probably say “most” ), I fi ........
HOW DID I EVER GET TO MY AGE ……….
How many times have you heard the lines “mum, you don’t know what you are talking about”? or “you wouldn’t understand”. Funny that, having lived just a tad longer than the mouth the words are ........
TRADIE TRAFFIC
If you are unfortunate enough to be on the road between 5am and 7am and not tucked up in bed catching ‘just another hour’ before your day begins then brace yourself. It’s ‘Tradie Traffic’ time a ........
DOWNSIZING……. PFFT, MY FOOT!
First there was the two of us, newly married and starting our new journey. Hopes and dreams and rainbows and unicorns, well not really, but we had our hopes and dreams. Then there was three, ........
THE REFRIGERATOR, AKA ‘THE FRIDGE’
Have you ever looked at your fridge, really looked? Seriously? ‘What on earth is this about’, I hear you ask. This time the author has really lost the plot! Let me explain. Fridges come in ........
THE F WORD.
It is often said that the learning English is one of the hardest languages to learn and if English language isn’t your first language, I am sure you would totally agree. What is it about Engl ........
THANK GOODNESS FOR TECHNOLOGY
As a member of the older generation I wasn’t brought up on technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI). There wasn’t all this face to face chatting over the phone, we were lucky if we had a tele ........
COVID-19 ATTIRE
‘Clothes maketh the man’ Shakespeare’s Hamlet declared. Mark Twain was known to have stated that “Clothes make the man; naked people have little or no influence on society”. Mark Twain howeve ........
I DON’T KNOW WHETHER TO LAUGH OR CRY
I am a pale skinned freckle faced redhead living in Australia…. a choice I made over 30 years ago I may add. There must be a word for that…….’idiot’ now comes to front of mind. Researching m ........
MY BACKYARD
Life is busy we know. Add bringing up children into the mix and many would agree, life gets very busy, hectic at times some would say depending on the number of said tackers in the family mix. W ........
RITE OF PASSAGE
Life is described in just three words: ‘a ceremony or event marking an important stage in someone’s life, especially birth, the transition from childhood to adulthood, marriage, and death’. ........
BACK SEAT DRIVER
I think there is a ‘Mrs Bucket’ (pronounced Bouquet!) in all of us. Even the non-drivers have an opinion on how the road trip should be managed and can be quite vocal about the whole thing. ‘ ........
AT GRANDMA’S HOUSE
We run through the door and grab a big hug A cuddly Grandma kiss and another big hug Grandma is waiting for us so she can play All her jobs were done yesterday. With paint and cra ........
EAT TO LIVE
As Nigella schmoozes around her kitchen on our screens, and quickly whips up ‘something quick for lunch’, a world away in my modern but hardly used kitchen I throw myself together a quick tuna a ........
SECURITY BLANKET
These two words can be used in various ways but generally referring to something as a security blanket, means that it provides someone with a feeling of safety and comfort. Quite often, an image ........
SILLY GRANDMA
When your offspring begin the offspring journey of their own, I believe this is when the magic begins. The scrunched up little faces peeping from the cuddly baby rugs have now become an extended ........
I THINK
I think GRANDMA WAS A LITTLE GIRL ONCE!! Grandma does some silly things My mum says, Just like me Grandma likes to make a mess in the kitchen making cupcakes, She likes to pain ........
WHO WOULD HAVE A TRADIE IN THE HOUSE?
Tradies are generally, by title, great at their chosen Trade …………when its for a paying customer! There is a Tradie raiding my fridge daily and leaving his washing on the laundry floor? Who w ........