“It is an awful thing to be betrayed by your body. And it’s lonely, because you feel you can’t talk about it. You feel it’s something between you and the body. You feel it’s a battle you will never win . . . and yet you fight it day after day, and it wears you […]
The Joy of Guerrilla Art
“Art is not a thing; it is a way.” ~ Elbert Hubbard I went to my local Library in Byron Bay yesterday, and was delighted to find a small house made entirely of books (used in such a way that they were still readable) displayed prominently in the middle of the room. The librarians had found it […]
A Guided Meditation for Heart Healing
“The human heart has a way of making itself large again even after it’s been broken into a million pieces.” ~ Robert James Waller, The Bridges of Madison County No-one is immune to heartache, loneliness or troubled relationships. Human hearts were made to love, but in loving – or having no-one to love – our heart can […]
Nicole’s Fruit Slice Recipe
“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.” ~ Tom Stoppard This week’s offering for my ‘Slice Extravaganza’ series – recipes taken from the hallowed Family Recipe Book – is known simply as ‘Nicole’s Fruit Slice’. Why? When I was a little girl it was my absolute favourite, and I never tired of it. […]
An Afternoon Walk On My Farm
“When I woke up I was changed. The land had recognised me again.” ~ George Djilaynga, Neil Murray, Warumpi Band I’m home again, at my little farm at Possum Creek. Yesterday I went for a walk in the late afternoon sunshine. The wind was rustling the branches, the giant wedgetail eagle flew above me, fat […]
Monday Morning Pledge
“The beginning is always today.” ~ Mary Shelley There’s a great energy in the air for positive change and growth right now. And momentum can be created from the humblest of starts. This week I encourage you to take a pledge with me, to enable that change, and to get your life back on track. You […]
Real Friendship
“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” ~ Anaïs Nin My husband Ben, the dogs and one of Ben’s good mates went back down to our farm at the crack of dawn yesterday to check […]
French Toast with Banana and Bacon Recipe
“Oh, I just want what we all want: a comfortable couch, a nice beverage, a weekend of no distractions and a book that will stop time, lift me out of my quotidian existence and alter my thinking forever.” ~ Elizabeth Gilbert French Toast is such weekend food! The sort of breakfast where you don’t have to rush, […]
Nurse Bert
“A nurse will always give us hope, an angel with a stethoscope.” ~Terri Guillemets Nurse Bert is very busy right now. As well as looking after me as I travel through extensive and arduous Lyme disease treatment, he is now caring for young Harry as well. Harry had surgery for his bottom jaw yesterday. […]
What happened to the Sisterhood?
“Nobody objects to a woman being a good writer or sculptor or geneticist if at the same time she manages to be a good wife, a good mother, good-looking, good-tempered, well-dressed, well-groomed, and unaggressive.” ~ Marya Mannes I briefly thought about titling this post ‘Sisters, don’t be Bitches!’… It is somewhat surprising to me – […]
Chocolate Covered Coconut Slice Recipe
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” ~ Charles M. Schulz Chocolate and coconut is a heavenly combination, and this particular slice recipe delivers! It is quite light in texture, so it’s not rich and it’s not too sweet – a crisp biscuit base, a fluffy coconut centre and […]
Healing Old Hurts
“We are often haunted by important relationships from the past that influence us unconsciously in the present. As we work them through, they go from haunting us to becoming simply part of our history.” ~ Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science Why is it that […]
The Magic of a Cup of Tea
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” ~ Mother Teresa There are a few things that have helped me to feel human again in the past twenty-four hours after days of being wretchedly ill. Such simple things, but they nurtured me, body and soul: a long […]
Lyme Schlyme!
“I keep sailing on in this middle passage. I am sailing into the wind and the dark. But I am doing my best to keep my boat steady and my sails full.” ~ Arthur Ashe The past few days have not been among my best. Physically I’ve struggled. It started earlier this week, of course, […]
Alice’s Lifelong Invisible Friend
“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery The Little Prince Alice is the oldest person to have ever sought out my services as a psychic. She came to see me […]
Sex, Drugs and Meditation – A journey to Self!
“I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope, for hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love, for love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith, but the faith and the love are all in the waiting. Wait without thought, for you are not ready […]
Uncanny Harry!
“Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.” ~ Rumi Harry, our young pup, continues to astound and delight us. For those of you who’ve been following his journey, you’ll know that Harry joined our family late last year, after the death of Charlie, our much loved old cattledog. Right from the first […]
Simple ways to make your week look better
“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.” ~ Marian Wright Edelman Another Monday’s rolling around and that means that you have the opportunity, in small ways, […]
Thoughts on Mother’s Day
“There are three musts that hold us back: I must do well. You must treat me well. And the world must be easy.”~ Albert Ellis It’s Mother’s Day in Australia today. It’s a day when so many families will get together with their Mothers, give heartfelt gifts of appreciation, share meals and practice love and […]
Tasty Asian Flavours Quinoa – Virtual Vegan Potluck 2013
“Eating superfoods won’t turn you into a superhero, but it might help you look better in Lycra.” ~ Nicole Cody Quinoa (pronounced keen- wah) is touted as one of the latest ‘superfoods’ and apparently all the cool and beautiful people have recently discovered it. As you well know, I’m not in the ‘cool and beautiful’ […]
Inviting Stillness…
“The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh How can you be well, how can you know peace, if you are always busy? Always rushing? If your days are blurring one […]
‘Mum’s sleeping!’ by Guest Bloggers Bert & Harry
“Sleep is the best meditation.” ~ Dalai Lama Mum’s sleeping. But she hates to miss posting her blog, so we are writing one for her. We’ve had enough of napping! There is a pesky lizard that keeps swimming in our water bowl. This is a picture of him. A naughty bird keeps stealing our biscuits. Here […]
Will you join my Secret Dreams Project?
“Surround yourself with people who believe in you.” ~ Brian Koslow A few weeks ago I first blogged about my Secret Dreams Project. The idea for this project sprang from a life-changing experience I had as a child. When I was young I went to a funny little arts and crafts store in a tiny […]
Wednesday Blessings
“When people refer to ‘Back in the Day,’ it was a Wednesday. Just a little fun fact for you.” ~ Dane Cook It’s been a rough ride this past week or so. That’s why I’ve decided to gift myself an ordinary Wednesday! There’s a gentle rain falling, and I started my day by staying in bed, […]
What May Come
“Fate is never fair. You are caught in a current much stronger than you are; struggle against it and you’ll drown not just yourself but those who try to save you. Swim with it, and you’ll survive.” ~ Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes This morning I have gained perspective. It’s not much, but it’s […]
On illness and being unreliable…
“I’m a very loyal and unreliable friend.” ~ Bono One of the issues you need to deal with when you or a family member lives with chronic illness is your unreliability factor. When I speak of chronic illness, I am talking about any condition that lasts for more than a few weeks, that doesn’t conform […]
Midnight Visits
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” ~ Lao Tzu I’ve been herxing badly the past few days. Herxing is a strong physical reaction to the die-off of pathogens, which release toxins into the body. It’s a good thing – or so I tell myself. It […]
Problems…
I got problems. Mum’s in bed, and I was just trying to amuse myself. And it’s nearly breakfast. I was hungry. Also, my teeth hurt. So I tried to be good. I ate the zip off my mum’s travel bag. It felt good to nibble all the teeth off one side. It was so good […]
Parents are also People
“Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are.” ― Cheryl Lacey Donovan, The Ministry of Motherhood It’s a common theme right now – I see it over and over again on cheesy social media posts – how rewarding parenting is, how ‘special’ and ‘wise’ children are, how exceptional and precious the […]
The Gifts of Silence
“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.” ~ Mother Teresa Silence gifts […]