I spoke to my brother Anthony this morning. He's performing in a show at the EKKA and I asked how it was going. He said he's enjoying it. The role he's playing is fun "and I get to chase brumbies and do the things I like." He asked what I was up to and I told him the final files for the cookbook are due to the printer on Friday. He remarked that it must be exciting and I told him that it's ...
Gardening
seven tips for cooking for the bereaved
My brother David and his co-pilot Tomas died on 9 September 2011. David was 29 years old. I like to write about David. It feels good when I say his name aloud. Sometimes I wonder if my friends think I talk about him too often, but honestly, I have a hundred thoughts of him for every one I orate. When Kerrie from the Ground Swell Project approached me and asked me to curate a ...
one perfect day | the Berkeley River Lodge
Ever had a perfect day? One that makes all the others pale in significance? One that trumps the day your kids were born? Not because you're any more happy, but because the day passes and no one gets stitches? I had that one perfect day last Friday at the Berkeley River Lodge and I'm still smiling at the thought. On our way to breakfast we spotted this beautiful stick insect. If I ...
our anniversary trip to the Berkeley River Lodge
Bearhands and I had been looking forward to this trip since January. We celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary on the 27th and given our history of celebrating anniversaries, we wanted to make this one special. I'd read about the Berkeley River Lodge in the Qantas magazine a few years ago, so when a ridiculously cheap deal came up on Luxury Escapes I nabbed it, then kept it a secret ...
you can’t sugar coat MS | house arrest day 21
I needed a little lift yesterday. I haven't been sleeping very well - I suspect some of the anti-viral medicine I'm taking doesn't agree with me. I wake up in the middle of the night, heart pounding, head sweaty having another nightmare. I also have a constant low level headache. And while it's not excruitating, it just enough to make everything feel like a chore. This week has been ...
how to make sherbet
It's week two of the great house-arrest school holidays of 2017. To add an additional level of difficulty to the situation the farm paddocks were covered in a thick layer of chook poo on Friday, so the whole place is so stinky the kids don't want to play outside (and I can't really blame them). Desperate times, my friends. Desperate times and desperate measures. Yesterday, the troops ...