A few months ago, we had another L-plater enter the house. The older daughter is already a P-plater, so I’d had my fair share of hanging out the passenger’s seat; knew what it was like, what directions to give, how to be calm and soothing when really all I wanted to do was scream. I…
Being a woman, ‘you’ll need to lose weight’ is NOT a phrase you really want to hear. Still, I heard that last Monday when I went to see my specialist about my back. If you don’t know what happened to cause me to have spinal surgery in January, you can read about it here! Interestingly,…
I’ve always said I can write anywhere. With a deadline looming (as they always seem to!) and having to take our exchange student back to Perth to fly home to Italy, I’ve proved again, I can do just that. On Thursday we left to do a ‘last tour’ of the south west, so Gabri got…
Today, Where the River Runs, goes to print. This book feels like it’s been a mammoth effort – I was supposed to have it finished a long time before I actually handed the manuscript in… There was a reason! On the 29th of December I was leaning down to pull up a fence so…
Thinking ahead is a critical in life. Planning is important. You’d think at nearly 44, I would understand this. So, today, (Saturday morning) I fail to understand why I have woken up with a slight hangover and found there to be no cold pizza in the house for breakfast. My desire to ‘keep it healthy’…
Meet Jack. He’s the new addition to the McDonald household. He’s a gorgeous, energetic, five year old Kelpie from Woonwooring Kelpies at Cunderdin. Why, might you ask, does someone who lives in town and writes books for a living, need a Kelpie? And that would be good question because Kelpies need space to run around…
Esperance received a fair bit of rain on Thursday. Rain is one of my all-time favourite parts of mother nature. I grew up in the mid north of SA where it wasn’t a common occurrence and, as a farmer, I know there are good times for rain and others not so great. To me, any…
Domestic Violence is another form of terrorism. Why? Terrorism creates fear and fear is what these people live with, daily. Fear of what will happen next. One in four rural women will endure some kind of domestic abuse within their life time. Who are the four women you love the most? Mother, sister, wife, daughter?…
That crazy time of the year in between Christmas and New year, when no-one seems to know what day it is, has past us by once again! I’ve got admit I love that time of year because it’s the one time I can read and relax without feeling guilty – like I should be working…
Hand-me-down recipes from previous generations are a wonderful heirloom. I love it when we get to Christmas time and I can open my old, tattered, food stained, hand written recipe book, and start cooking food from my Nana or Aunty. Both my Nana’s loved to cook; unfortunately neither of them are with us now. My…
Have you ever read the book The Secret Garden? I fell in love with that book, the mystery and wildness of the garden, the secrets within such a grand old house and of course the unexplained cries in the middle of the night. I always feel like I’m heading somewhere mysterious and wild when I head…
Don’t these clouds look like fire works gone wrong? Actually I can’t say that, because in all the fireworks I’ve seen, I wouldn’t have a clue if they’d gone wrong or not! Anyhow, when I looked up at these, that was the first thing I thought of. I was staying with a friend, on a…
We had some great times in 2015 and I thought it would be fun to look back over the good times. It makes me realise that 2015 wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it was! And it reminds me of the things I’ve learned over this year. This is was the first sunset of…
Happy New Year! Has it been a good start for you? We spent the evening at the foreshore in Esperance having tea with friends and watching the fireworks. It was a really pleasant way to see in 2016. I’ve spent the first two days going through the final edit of Indigo Storm. It’s been a…
I know it’s been a while since I’ve written on my blog – and once again, I’m sorry! Indigo Storm, my next book, has been taking my time away from here – I had a deadline which I didn’t make… THREE times! Finally, right on the death knock of November, I managed to get…
You know that feeling when you head back to your childhood home, where you know every corner and bump in the road and every sight is familiar? Well that’s what I’ve been feeling while we’ve been away on holidays. Although it was a holiday, it was also a research trip for my next book…
To coin a phrase, but slightly twist it, from Amanda over at Bush Babe of Oz (BB): ‘It’s no secret I’m a Bush Babe of Oz fan.’ In fact I think Amanda and I have a mutual admiration party going on! Not sure how long ago it was now, that we met online – I was…
the roads in the Mid north of SA It’s funny where life takes you. Often you have know idea what is around the corner, or if you do, it’s completely different to what you thought was going to be there. I saw a quote on Facebook yesterday and it went something like: ‘Life didn’t go…
Today over at Outback Paparazzi, we’re focusing on THE LITTLE THINGS. Things that make us smile, when we stop and look for them. I love dew drops on the fence, green grass, good coffee, beautiful views, kids laughing. Cattle sitting contentedly chewing their cud. Too many things to mention – oh, the moon rising.…
Did you ever read the ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books when you were a kid? You know the ones where you’d read a chapter and then get given two choices, and depending on which choice you made, you’d get sent to a certain page and follow the story on from there? I used to love…
Do ever find lunch boxes so hard to fill? Does it feel like you’re making ham and pickles sandwiches (or something similar) ALL the time and the kids are board with your food? Oh. I sound like an advert don’t? Sorry! But, that’s how I feel. Especially since I’ve been pre-making food for the whole…
