The Journal

The dog woke me this morning at seven with a bark, an old dog's querulous protest at some passing shadow. The tan and white pup, a now-grizzled blend of spaniel, pug and papillon, is deaf and almost blind. Yet somehow the dog senses when his universe has been disturbed. Somewhere in our street something had moved. Since coming to this house, where the dog's fee…

Today's challenge was to grab people's attention with clever social media, to make people stop swiping and read my post, maybe even like it, or share it with their friends. Since February I've been managing communications for Queensland Fencing. It's fun. I enjoy it. Not sure I'm brilliant at it, but occasionally something I produce will gain traction.…

Are there ground rules for claiming writer's block? You know, thresholds? Do you have to be a published author or at least earning a regular income from word craft to qualify as being 'blocked' when you stop? I'll ponder this as I write. That's The Socialite in the picture above and The Mutt beside her.…

Never do the grocery shopping when you're hungry. It's a golden rule, an axiom, a given. I was very hungry this afternoon when I grabbed a trolley to navigate the aisles at my local supermarket. At 2pm the only food I'd ingested all day was a milky espresso, and even that was an indulgence. Famine day…

Paddle Pop stick dipped in white wax. Hot. A shiny glob, stretching Slowly falling from its wooden perch Twisting Catching falling strands. Smeared across soft skin in a swirling eight Smothering curly, wiry strands. Some gray. Coarse, thick, stubbornly attached. Peeping out from granny pants. Some adventurous, rooted outside the elastic. Defiantly public pubes. Pull…

Maybe I should give in and call this column a weekly note? Such has been life's pattern lately. The craft Oh there's been writing, tonnes of writing. And my creative talents have been stretched to their limit with the QFA Annual Report*. I agreed to help produce this document during a car conversation en route…

All the talk revolves around Adele today. The cockney superstar with golden pipes and potty mouth is giving a concert-in-the-round at The Gabba. A record crowd is descending on the venue, with its limited access and no nearby train station, and the city is aquiver with anticipation and anxiety. Heaven help us if we ever…

Today's challenge is to write something and not edit, allowing for the occasional backspace to correct spelling. Because that's how I wrote the 1979 diary. Fast and furious. And pithy. The 11-year-old me knew her stuff. So today was Fun Friday. And it was. But I also spent much of the day in the car, which…

Nearly 18 years ago The Husband and I gave away our dog, sold our rusty car, stored our few bits of furniture under friends' houses and took two toddlers across the planet to live in America. He wanted to do some advanced training with world experts in his field. So he called on his connections and wrote…

A friend told me in a text today God doesn't exist. I retorted 'For God's sake!', hoping to annoy him, then resumed my stroll around the fruit shop, more concerned about the price of avocados than the existence of a higher power. Another friend, a Buddhist monk who was on the debating team with me at…

Trying something new today. Preparing the daily note on my phone. Because I'm worn out and need an early night, which won't happen if I wait till 10pm tonight to lift the laptop lid. Also, this tests my two thumb dexterity. Let's call it a form of communications in-service. Early adopter I'm using the phone…

I went to a funeral today where everyone wore pink; pink dresses, pink ribbons, pink ties. At the end of the service a woman in black gently lifted a cream-coloured coffin by herself, cradling it in her arms as she carried it to the back of the chapel. Then the pastor pushed a button on his lectern…

This morning I dragged my sorry butt to yoga. That makes yoga sound like a chore when it's most definitely my favourite thing to do. But the studio where I practise is in West End which is a hike and parking is a challenge. I drove around the block looking for a street park until…

The Husband and I are working on improving our health game, trying desperately not to drink alcohol during the week. With a comfortable income and a climate-controlled cellar, we've been amassing quite a wine collection. Rather, we've been buying a lot of wine, storing it momentarily and then drinking it. There aren't many dusty bottles…

The middle child is a socialite, never happier than when she's with people, holding court. She's an extrovert. A drama queen. An intensely colourful character. As a newborn baby she'd wake in the wee hours for a feed, attach herself to my breast and suck furiously for about five minutes then stop. She'd look up…