I love lists. All kinds.
To do lists. Bucket lists. Fun things to do lists. Lists of places to eat. Lists of books to read. Lists of things I love about my partner. Christmas card lists. Lists of goals and dreams. Read more
Getting it Sorted – August’s Challenge
It’s a whole new month and a whole new challenge. The past few months of my life have been taken over by a school craft stall. When a huge project consumes your life SO many things are left undone. The project wraps up and you are left with the fall out of all that has been ignored. That’s exactly where I am at.
Time to step back, see what needs to be done and get stuck in. (But I don’t think I can face cleaning my sewing/craft room just yet).
This month I am going to focus on getting it sorted.
The big things and the little things. I need to re-group and re-organise my life. Maybe you’d like to join me?
My creative childhood
When I was very young, I desperately wanted a secret keyper.
Specifically, I was quite taken with Sheldon, a plastic jewellery box in the shape of a turtle. You could keep all your trinkets in his shell, replete with a lock. If you are of a certain age, you might remember the ad. My parents where not so keen on buying me Sheldon. Undeterred, I set about making my own. A strawberry punnet, an empty toilet roll, some glitter, stickers and a small lock and key (purloined from my tiny diary) were fashioned into something approximating Sheldon. And I loved that thing.
My husband thinks this is a sad story. I think it’s a great reflection of childhood imagination and innovation.
How to run a school craft stall
During this month of creativity, I have been very busy sewing, gluing, painting and generally having a lovely time making things. My mum and I have sewed and chatted together. I have cherished those moments. I have been amazed by the cleverness and generosity of others. My dear friend and I have been able to collaborate, lean on each other’s strengths, and build something amazing together. I have had ideas at silly o’clock in the morning and been unable to sleep.
Yesterday, all this work came to fruition in the form of the school craft stall. Read more
Turning a flight into a luxury mini-break: My top travel tips
This post was written as an entry to the ProBlogger Virgin Australia competition.
I love flying. For me, the allure of plane travel has never waned. Airports themselves still fascinate me. The bustle of people. The palpable emotions. The excitement of either returning home or discovering somewhere new. I still get a thrill when the plane leaves the tarmac. So, when an opportunity came up to fly to Melbourne and back for the day, sans family, I was as excited about the plane flights as I was the event itself. Read more
Periscope and Slippery Slopes
When I was about twelve years old my neighbour received a walkie-talkie set for her birthday. Not a kids set. A real set. It didn’t take my neighbour, my sister and I long to figure out that we could tune into the radio frequency truck drivers used. We often chatted to these men (and they were always men) and felt a girlish thrill in doing so. The men were polite and respectful, if somewhat bemused to find a trio of girls on their wave length. Very occasionally we would pick up a bad vibe and hurriedly turn the things off if we were concerned about where the conversation was going.
I remembered those walkie talkies the other day as I was playing with Twitter’s new app: Periscope. It’s a live video streaming app where people can comment as you are streaming. I think it has some great potential uses. Q & A sessions. Tutorials. Discovering exactly what sunset looks like in St Petersburg tonight. But it also rang alarm bells. Read more