There is a simple meditation that I do sometimes, when I feel the need to be strengthened. It is something my Aboriginal Aunties taught me to do. Let me show you how to do it too. Find a tree. It could be a big tree, or small, gnarled or straight. Stand where you can see […]
Kindness Challenge – Week Four
“You can be the most beautiful person in the world and everybody sees light and rainbows when they look at you, but if you yourself don’t know it, all of that doesn’t even matter. Every second that you spend on doubting your worth, every moment that you use to criticize yourself; is a second of […]
The Return of Bandit
“Now they return home, their bones bruised and their spirit slightly broken, but they’re still alive, and they will be well sometime soon.” ~ Hannah Nikka Bryan, Soldier’s Descent It’s been blowing a gale all night. The wind chimes have been ringing furiously, and the rustling of the leaves sounds like an orchestra. Add […]
And Then It Was Done…
“When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live.” ~ Greg Anderson Since early this year I’ve been hammering away at a memoir. I started writing it because you, dear readers, suggested that it was the thing you most […]
Persian Love Cake Recipe #glutenfree
“You’ve got this life and while you’ve got it, you’d better kiss like you only have one moment, try to hold someone’s hand like you will never get another chance to, look into people’s eyes like they’re the last you’ll ever see, watch someone sleeping like there’s no time left, jump if you feel like […]
A Big Green #Lyme Anniversary!
“We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.” ~ W. Somerset Maugham I was talking with my sister yesterday, and she said to me, “Hey, are you planning anything special for your thirty year anniversary […]
A Little Light Rain
“The first supermarket supposedly appeared on the American landscape in 1946. That is not very long ago. Until then, where was all the food? Dear folks, the food was in homes, gardens, local fields, and forests. It was near kitchens, near tables, near bedsides. It was in the pantry, the cellar, the backyard.” ~ Joel […]
Kindness Challenge – Week Three
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” ~ Lao Tzu “We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness—and call it love—true love.” […]
Goth Boots and New Beginnings
“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibres connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibres, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.” ~ Herman Melville Have you ever found yourself in the right place at just the right time, even though it […]
Are You Giving Yourself Space To Heal?
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” ~John Lubbock, The Use Of Life I’m on a fairly savage regime of drugs and […]
What My Morning Looks Like
“Each of us is a book waiting to be written, and that book, if written, results in a person explained.” ~ Thomas M. Cirignano, The Constant Outsider: Memoirs of a South Boston Mechanic I woke at four this morning with the ending of my memoir firmly in my head. So I am writing. And writing. […]
Herbal Tea Recipe for Adrenal Fatigue
“My love affair with nature is so deep that I am not satisfied with being a mere onlooker, or nature tourist. I crave a more real and meaningful relationship. The spicy teas and tasty delicacies I prepare from wild ingredients are the bread and wine in which I have communion and fellowship with nature, and […]
Sorry, Lovelies, but I let myself sleep in!
“Sleep is my lover now, my forgetting, my opiate, my oblivion.” ~ Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler’s Wife Goodness, what a night I had last night. After a day of psychic appointments, and on my heavy new lyme drugs I was tucked up in bed and asleep by 7.30pm. So I was startled to […]
Kindness Challenge – Week Two
“Why did you do all this for me?’ he asked. ‘I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.’ ‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing.” ~ E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web “I think if I’ve learned anything about friendship, it’s to hang in, stay connected, fight for […]
Announcing our Advanced Channelling Intensive Retreat
“The soul itself is the center of all that we have come to call ‘psychic.’ The word itself translates literally to mean “of the soul.” When we embrace our psychic potential, we embrace our soul’s potential.” ~ Kim Chestney Are you ready to take your intuitive and psychic abilities to the next level? Do you […]
Baked Apple Maple Custard #dairyfree #sugarfree
“I hope there’s pudding!” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix This is a comforting, warm, easy-to-digest pudding that tastes delicious. It only takes a few minutes to throw together, which is also a nice bonus. I’ve long been a fan of baked custard, and I’ve modified my grandmother’s original recipe […]
Unexpected Treasures from the #Writers Festival
“What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show […]
A Busy Weekend of All Things #Books
“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.” ~ J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye […]
Requiem For A Lost Poet – #Lyme
“I don’t need a cloak to become invisible.” ~J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone I found out earlier this week that a fellow Lyme sufferer in the USA took her own life. I never met Heather, but I know her journey. All late-stage Lymies know, and understand, because so easily, that could […]
Kindness Challenge – Week One
“What this world needs is a new kind of army — the army of the kind.” ~ Cleveland Amory Hello Friends, and welcome to Week One of our six week Kindness Challenge. To participate in today’s challenge all you need to do is select and perform one of the following kindness activities. The beneficiaries […]
Will you join me for a Kindness Challenge?
“Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.” ~J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention.” ~Khalil Gibran, The Essential Kahlil Gibran I have always believed that kindness is a powerful act of magic. Would you like to […]
A Day Just For Me
“Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” ~Eleanor Brownn I’ve designated a day of rest. Today I have no agenda, no chores to do, and nowhere to be. I’ll leave the […]
Saying Goodbye To Julie
“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people […]
Two Steps Forward…
“Progress, of the best kind, is comparatively slow. Great results cannot be achieved at once; and we must be satisfied to advance in life as we walk, step by step.” ~ Samuel Smiles It’s been a frustrating few days for me. I’ve recently changed Lyme doctors, and begun a new regime of drugs […]
Easy Nutella Cheesecake Recipe
“….I can dream away a half-hour on the immortal flavor of those cheese cakes we used to have on a Saturday night.” ~ Mary Antin, ‘The Promised Land’ (1912) This is probably the easiest cheesecake I have ever made. It only requires a few ingredients, and it is seriously yum. Not too sweet, not overpoweringly Nutella flavoured, […]
Exhausted, with Aprons…
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” ~ Albert Einstein What a lovely weekend I’ve had. Our friends and their children visited the farm, and to my delight I found that these particular children had a […]
Around the Campfire
“So, I looked up and we were in this giant dome like a glass snowball, and Mark said that the amazing white stars were only holes in the black glass of the dome, and when you went to heaven, the glass broke away, and there was nothing but a whole sheet of star white, which […]
Guided Meditation for Anchoring into the Expanding Universe
“You and I are all as much continuous with the physical universe as a wave is continuous with the ocean.” ~ Alan Wilson Watts “To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at […]
Getting Ready for Our Final Guided Meditation
“Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns, it calls me on and on across the universe.” ~ John Lennon A few weeks ago I started a series of seven weekly guided meditations, and tomorrow I shall bring you the final meditation for this series. This last meditation is designed to anchor us […]
Dog-gone it, we’re busy!
“Sometimes, the best way to help someone is just to be near them.” ~ Veronica Roth, Divergent This will be a short blog post, owing to the fact that it’s cold, and all we really feel like doing this morning is going back to our nice warm bed for a cuddle. Sometimes, comfort takes priority, you […]
Lyme and Making Plans
“She had learned the lesson of renunciation and was as familiar with the wreck of each day’s wishes as with the diurnal setting of the sun.” ~ Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge “Success is when everything that goes wrong, fits in your plan.” ~ Gary Rudz When I was diagnosed, finally, with Lyme disease, back in […]
5 Tips For Creating Change
“Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.” ~ Frank Zappa Change is rarely an overnight thing. True, lasting change usually requires more energy than that. Here are my five top tips for creating positive change in your life: 1. Don’t wait – begin it now. Don’t wait for the perfect time, for the […]
Unplugging for the Super Moon
“Sometimes I feel like if you just watch things, just sit still and let the world exist in front of you – sometimes I swear that just for a second time freezes and the world pauses in its tilt. Just for a second. And if you somehow found a way to live in that second, […]
Tasty Moroccan Lamb Curry
“May my thoughts of kindness stretch over like a warm blanket to envelop your being and caress your soul.” ~ Truth Devour It’s cold, blustery weather here at the farm right now. I made a pot of this simple curry with the meat from some leftover grilled lamb chops. This recipe works equally well with leftover lamb […]
Guided Meditation for Anchoring into Oneness Energy
“You are not separate from the whole. You are one with the sun, the earth, the air. You don’t have a life. You are life.” ~ Eckhart Tolle Today’s guided meditation is designed to help you understand and connect to oneness energy, that beautiful space of unity consciousness where we realise that we truly are connected […]
Getting Ready for Tomorrow’s Meditation!
“Your spirit is mingled with mine what touches you, touches me.” ~ Rumi A few weeks ago I started a series of seven weekly guided meditations, and tomorrow I shall bring you number six! I wanted to give you a little notice today so that you could be well prepared. So, for you to make […]
Frosty, Frosty… Penguin!
“If a solution fails to appear … and yet we feel success is just around the corner, try resting for a while. … Like the early morning frost, this intellectual refreshment withers the parasitic and nasty vegetation that smothers the good seed. Bursting forth at last is the flower of truth.” ― Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Advice […]
Easy Activated Almonds Recipe
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” ~ Arthur Schopenhauer Have you ever heard of activated almonds? The first time I did I was in a rather pretentious whole foods store, and I saw a tiny bag of them for […]
Nurture in cups and bowls
“I think that women just have a primeval instinct to make soup, which they will try to foist on anybody who looks like a likely candidate.” ~ Dylan Moran It’s been a hard two weeks for me. Meds issues. Doctor issues. Mobility and pain issues. Crushing insomnia. Nausea. And a myriad other bothersome things. Ah, […]
A Quick Update On Me!
“To conquer frustration, one must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the obstacles.” ― T.F. Hodge “A bruise is a lesson… and each lesson makes us better.” ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones “The lotus is the most beautiful flower, whose petals open one by one. But it will only grow in the mud. In […]
Slowly Slowly Better…
“I saved a man’s life once,” said Granny. “Special medicine, twice a day. Boiled water with a bit of berry juice in it. Told him I’d bought it from the dwarves. That’s the biggest part of doct’rin, really. Most people’ll get over most things if they put their minds to it, you just have to […]
No Angels Wear Pink Pyjamas
“I do believe we’re all connected. I do believe in positive energy. I do believe in the power of prayer. I do believe in putting good out into the world. And I believe in taking care of each other.” ~ Harvey Fierstein Yesterday I went to a favourite cafe in New Farm. It’s the first […]
Sorry, but I’m #writing
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~ Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings I’ll keep this short. You see, I’m busy. Writing. Not blog writing. Book writing. Do you know how many words you need for a book? So many words. Not even counting the ones I […]
10 Signs You are Experiencing a Psychic Awakening
“I suspect everybody has a degree of psychic ability, just as a everybody has a degree of athletic or artistic ability. Some people have special gifts; other people have a particular interest that leads them to develop their abilities. But the phenomenon itself is ordinary and widespread.” ~ Michael Crichton, Travels There’s a difference between ‘spiritual […]
Guided Meditation for Orienting Soul Awareness
“Our soul, our true self, is the most mysterious, essential, and magical dimension of our being. In fact, it is not a separate reality, as traditional Western thought views it, but the cohesive force that unites our body, heart, and mind. It is not a ghost trapped somehow in the physical machinery of our body […]
Back to Meditation Tomorrow!
“Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.” ~ Sharon Salzberg, Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation I’m sorry I missed posting last week’s meditation recording, but as most of you know, I had a friend in serious need of love and support, and that trumped blogging. So stay tuned tomorrow for the […]
Sometimes We Just Need A Hug
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” ~ Anonymous, Holy Bible: King James Version Yesterday morning, very early, my husband took me out to an inner-city cafe for a good coffee. We took a sidewalk table, and Ben went inside to place our order. […]
Who’s Bad?
“I can learn to live with guilt. I don’t care about being good.” ~ Holly Black, Red Glove “All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. For after all, he was only human. He wasn’t a dog.” ~ Charles M. Schulz Someone has dug up my entire new vegetable garden. […]
Time With Julie, Crafting Dying Her Way
“Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.” ~ L.M. Montgomery, The Story Girl Perhaps you read my post a few days ago, about my friend Julie who has been given a diagnosis of mere weeks to live due to end-stage inoperable ovarian cancer. No-one knows if she’ll have three months, […]
Reality Check – A Reminder of What Really Matters
“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” ~ Stephen R. Covey I have a beautiful girlfriend who is the ultimate career woman. She has worked for the same corporation for 25 years, starting at the very bottom and working her way up. She is […]
Easy Bread Recipe
“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” ~ James Beard My lovely neighbour, Richard, shared his bread recipe with me last week. He assured me that the bread was both tasty and quick to make. I hadn’t thought I would try it […]
The Perils of 2AM Thinking
“Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength – carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” ~ Corrie ten Boom Have you ever stayed up all night stewing about something? Or woken up in the middle […]
Easy Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
“I’ve never met a problem a proper cupcake couldn’t fix.” ~ Sarah Ockler, Bittersweet Don’t you love Bert’s sweet little face sneakily captured in the cupcake photo above? He was seriously hoping that I would turn my back for just one moment… That’s how much everyone wants one of these cupcakes! This is a standard, moist […]
Update from Lyme Land
“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.” ~ Winston Churchill It’s […]
Music, Smiles and All Good Things
“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” ~ Confucius, The Book of Rites Ben and I ventured to the Mullumbimby Farmers’ Markets yesterday morning. We got there a little later than usual, about 8.30am, because after my pre-dawn meditation I sat down at the computer and hammered out some more words […]
Roadside Bounty and Shared Harvests
“We must give more in order to get more. It is the generous giving of ourselves that produces the generous harvest.” ~ Orison Swett Marden On the back roads around our own little farm, many farmers and those folks with large home gardens have set up roadside stalls to sell some of their surplus produce. I […]
Guided Meditation for Orienting Heart Awareness
“Her heart was a secret garden and the walls were very high.” ~ William Goldman, The Princess Bride Here is the third in a series of seven weekly guided meditations I am recording for you. We are spiritual beings in physical bodies. This guided meditation will help you to be aware of both your physical heart and your energetic […]
Real Hot Chocolate Recipe
“Happiness. Simple as a glass of chocolate or tortuous as the heart. Bitter. Sweet. Alive.” ~ Joanne Harris, Chocolat And I couldn’t resist this quote for me and all my writer friends and book lovers: “Chocolate is a perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power…it is the best friend of […]
Remembering Hot Chocolate
“There’s something liberating about not pretending. Dare to embarrass yourself. Risk.” ~ Drew Barrymore My early childhood was spent in a far-flung suburban estate in Brisbane, a place not noted for its cultural diversity let alone culinary delights. And yet, one of my strongest food memories comes from this time. One street over from our […]
The Wild Life!
“Connecting with the wilderness allows us to live in the flow of a meaningful, joyful life. Embracing this state of connectedness or oneness with other living beings including animals, as opposed to feeling an “otherness” or “separateness” brings a sense of harmony and enables us to be at peace with oneself and the world.” ~ Sylvia […]
Signs of Life
“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.” ~ Orson Welles There have been some signs this week that my world is beginning to extend beyond the farm, my pyjamas and bed, as I edge ahead in my battle against Lyme disease. We had to get a new radiator installed […]
Blog Hijack!
“All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. For after all, he was only human. He wasn’t a dog.” ~ Charles M. Schulz This is Bert. Me and my brother Harry have taken over this blog. Writing is dumb. Especially on a very lovely morning of rain and […]
Inviting Help into Your Life
“I do believe in an everyday sort of magic — the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art and the like; the eerie appropriateness of moments of synchronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we’re alone.” ~ Charles de Lint Divine Guidance. Signs. Help. Answers to prayers. Last-minute […]
Guided Meditation for Orienting Mind Awareness
“You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.” ~ Frank McCourt, Angela’s Ashes This is the second in a series of seven weekly guided meditations I am recording for you. The focus of this week’s meditation is the mind. This guided meditation will help you to be aware of the positive gifts of your mind, and teaches […]
I’ll Keep This Short And Sweet
“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” ~ Barack Obama Not much time for blog writing today. A dear […]
Something Very Beautiful
“Sometimes people are beautiful.Not in looks.Not in what they say.Just in what they are.” ~ Markus Zusak, I Am the Messenger When you begin to see with your heart, beauty is everywhere. There is something very beautiful in a Nana rocking a child to sleep in her arms, unselfconsciously singing in the corner of a crowded shopping mall… […]
5 Helpful Questions for Your Monday
“At the end of the day, the questions we ask of ourselves determine the type of people that we will become.” ~ Leo Babauta Here are five questions to guide you this week. Ponder them, and put the answers into action in your life. Much love, Nicole xx 1. What do I most need to get […]
Some thoughts on Dementia, Alzheimers and the End Stage of our Journey
“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” ~ Edgar Allan Poe Recently, my friend Catherine contacted me to ask about her grandmother Phyllis, also known as Little Nana. Her Grandad has already passed over, and Little Nana is in a nursing home. […]
A Gentle Morning at the Farm
“Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, Walden Autumn is a magical time at our farm. Gentle showers soak the ground during the night, and in the morning thick mist wraps itself around the mountains. As the sun burns […]
Warm Spiced Turmeric Milk Recipe
“Each spice has a special day to it. For turmeric it is Sunday, when light drips fat and butter-colored into the bins to be soaked up glowing, when you pray to the nine planets for love and luck.” ~ Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Mistress of Spices Turmeric Milk is a traditional Ayurvedic drink, often called by the wonderful […]
Guided Meditation for Orienting Body Awareness
“Whatever happens to your body, your soul will survive, untouched…” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Here is the first in a series of seven weekly guided meditations I am recording for you. We are spiritual beings in physical bodies. This guided meditation will help you to be aware of both your energetic or […]
Will You Join Me For Some Guided Meditations?
“Meditation is listening to the Divine within.” ~ Edgar Cayce Meditation is one of the foundation stones upon which I have built my life. It is a twice daily routine for me, and I have practiced now for nearly thirty years. Meditation is not based on a religion, and many atheists I know practice […]
Quick Tomato, Bacon and Lentil Soup Recipe
“Lentils are friendly—the Miss Congeniality of the bean world.” ~ Laurie Colwin Soup is one of those all-time comfort foods for a very good reason. Problem is, so many soup recipes take hours to cook. That’s why I love this one. It’s fast to make, economical, and entirely delicious. It takes less than ten minutes to […]
Me and That Owl
“Turn your wounds into wisdom.” ~ Oprah Winfrey “The unexamined life is not worth living.” ~ Socrates Last Monday, in my Doctor’s rooms, I received the best kind of news. Although I am still unwell, I have definitely turned the corner in my struggle against Lyme disease. I am no longer dying. I am healing. My life is once again unfurling […]
Listening to the Universe…
“Part of doing something is listening. We are listening. To the sun. To the stars. To the wind.” ~ Madeleine L’Engle, Swiftly Tilting Planet I came home to our little farm tonight. As we drove down the dirt road that leads to our front gate a great weight fell from my shoulders, and I realised that I […]
Heartbreakingly Wonderful News
“How strange that the nature of life is change, yet the nature of human beings is to resist change. And how ironic that the difficult times we fear might ruin us are the very ones that can break us open and help us blossom into who we were meant to be.” ~ Elizabeth Lesser, Broken Open: How Difficult […]
#Lymetime – The Big Day Looms…
“I still think that everyone’s life, no matter how unremarkable, has a singular tragic encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. That moment is the catalyst – the first step in the equation. But knowing the first step will get you nowhere – it’s what comes after that determines the result.” ~ Robyn Schneider, The Beginning […]
The Owl and the Banshee
“Fairies in Ireland are sometimes as big as we are, sometimes bigger, and sometimes, as I have been told, about three feet high.” ~ W.B. Yeats As I have been writing my Kimberley memoir, tumbling words onto the page at all hours of the day and night, I find myself I need to talk again about […]
Ten Ways to find ‘Me’ Time
“There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart. So you’d better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you’ll never understand what it’s saying.” ~ Sarah Dessen, Just Listen No matter how committed we are the love and care of others, no matter how much is on our […]
Making a Cosy Nest
“The bird, a nest; the spider, a web; man, friendship.” ~ William Blake There’s a cold change in the air. Autumn is well and truly here at the farm. That means stoking the fire each night, and digging out our jumpers and extra blankets for the beds. A few weeks ago I sat on the veranda, discussing the Bluesfest program with […]
Chocolate Beetroot Cake Recipe – Gluten Free
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” ~ Charles M. Schulz Although at first this might sound like a strange flavour combination, I can assure you that this cake tastes sublime. The beetroot adds an earthy sweetness to the chocolate cake, giving a moist but surprisingly light cake with good […]
Why You Need to Stop Talking And Start Doing!
“They blossomed, they did not talk about blossoming.” ~ Dejan Stojanovic, The Sun Watches the Sun I’m guilty of it. I’m sure you’ve been guilty of it too. We have an idea. For a book. For a business. For a holiday. For a themed party. For something that excites us so much that we just have to […]
A Simple Exercise for becoming More Authentic
“We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” ~ May Sarton Ask yourself a question, just one question – and sit in your heartspace to listen for the answer. How can I be more authentic this week? To put this another way… What small steps can you […]
Clearing Sales – and their special charm
“A bargain is something you can’t use at a price you can’t resist.” ~ Franklin P. Jones I had quite the romantic outing yesterday. It started with the Lismore Farmers Markets and their Saturday auction in the showgrounds, where we enjoyed an excellent coffee and perused the wares. We came away with a bargain lawn mower, […]
Ghosts, Bones, Love and Forgiveness
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi Many years ago a woman came to me for a psychic consultation. She was probably about the age I am now, and she had travelled a great distance to see me in person. She wasn’t my usual kind of client. […]
Up all night, talking to Ghosts
“Now I know what a ghost is. Unfinished business, that’s what.” ~ Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses I’m late blogging today, but I have an excuse. I was up all night, talking to ghosts. Well, one ghost actually. This morning I was shaken, fragile and exhausted. And then his mother rang me… I’ll tell you all about it […]
Easy Chicken Stock – Bone Broth Recipe
“The quest for slowness, which begins as a simple rebellion against the impoverishment of taste in our lives, makes it possible to rediscover taste.” ~ Carlo Petrini, founder of the International Slow Food Movement When you’ve roasted a chicken (see my easy roast chicken recipe here) the scrapings from the pan, and the frame and […]
Simple Roast Chicken Recipe
“Cooking well doesn’t mean cooking fancy.” ~ Julia Child I was about to roast a chicken yesterday morning when a friend popped in. “Can you wait just a minute while I get this roast ready” I asked her. She looked at me as if I was from another planet. “Seriously? How long will that […]
Cedric Snake’s New Girlfriend!
“All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else.” ~ Mae West, Wit & Wisdom of Mae West There is an enormous carpet python who lives in the roof of our farmhouse, and has done for many years. We christened him Cedric, after my maternal grandfather. Last year Cedric had a girlfriend who […]
Gentle Rain
“The only noise now was the rain, pattering softly with the magnificent indifference of nature for the tangled passions of humans.” ~ Sherwood Smith I’ve lain awake for much of the night, listening first to a thunderstorm, and later, to the gentle sound of rain falling. I can hear the gurgle of rain in the gutters, […]
Zucchini Bread Recipe – Gluten free, dairy free, sugar free
“When I pass a flowering zucchini plant in a garden, my heart skips a beat.” ~ Gwyneth Paltrow I should have titled this post The Great Zucchini Loaf Challenge! I have a friend who is always telling me that they positively hate zucchini. This friend last ate zucchini thirty years ago at boarding school. They tell me […]
Hay, Hay, Hay! (because lame jokes & Nicole go so well together)
“Nic, step away from that computer. Sometimes you just have to get going!” ~ Ben Phillips, husband. We got up so early this morning there was no time to blog. We were in the ute and rolling out the door just on dawn. Why? To buy hay at the Saturday Markets of course! The […]
Remembering The Unknown Soldier – ANZAC DAY 2014
“He is all of them, and he is one of us.” – Inscription on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Australian War Memorial This ANZAC Day is particularly poignant for me. Today I can finally acknowledge my grandfather and the role he played with the No. 1 Wireless Operations Unit in World War Two. For me, my grandfather […]
Excuse me, are you the Witch?
“Perhaps I am the only person who, asked whether she were a witch or not, could truthfully say, “I do not know. I do know some very strange things have happened to me, or through me. – Lady Alice Rowhedge” ~ Norah Lofts, Bless This House Last year the little girl from down the road at our city house knocked […]
Sometimes You Have to Be The Warrior
“Whatever you are physically…male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy–all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.” ~ Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel 2014 is a BIG […]
A Boat Called Insomnia
“But Pooh couldn’t sleep. The more he tried to sleep the more he couldn’t. He tried counting Sheep, which is sometimes a good way of getting to sleep, and, as that was no good, he tried counting Heffalumps. And that was worse. Because every Heffalump that he counted was making straight for a pot of […]
Easy Mushroom and Walnut Soup Recipe
“Yes,” said Cook. “That is soup that you are smelling. The princess, not that you would know or care, is missing, bless her goodhearted self. And times are terrible. And when times are terrible, soup is the answer. Don’t it smell like the answer?” ~ Kate DiCamillo Soup is such an easy meal to whip up, […]
A Satisfyingly Late Start to My Day
“I made a nap this afternoon. I made it out of two pillows, a bed, a sheet, a blanket, and exhaustion.” ~ Jarod Kintz This morning has been fabulous. After the first night of Bluesfest I hit the pillow last night and slept solidly until 7.32am. No meditation, no blogging – a complete fiesta of relaxation […]
Singing the Blues while baking Easter Treats!
“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.” ~ Billy Joel Just one more sleep and it will be here. Bluesfest! The music festival in my own home town that showcases the best of Blues and […]
What’s Your Carrot?
“Dangling a carrot in front of a donkey—or anyone else for that matter—is not nice, and not fair, unless you eventually plan to give it up to them.” ~ Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration Traditionally a carrot was dangled in front of a donkey to keep him moving forward, even if he didn’t want to […]