• writer • philosopher • dog magnet •
In days gone by, houses were much smaller. They generally consisted of Best Rooms like the parlour, where you received guests during designated visiting hours, and everywhere else. Best Rooms Best rooms were very special places, strictly for showing off, all the very special, very expensive things went in there. You can see a more modern Australian interpretation in The Castle…
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We’ve been blessed this year by some exciting lunar events, including the supermoon, blue moon, blood moon, partial solar eclipses, and a total lunar eclipse. It’s like a big old moon balloon. Oddly enough, the moon has no light of its own, the light we see is a reflection of the sun. How amusing given it is traditionally a symbol of…
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Here I am at the 2018 Trasnplantiversary. Another year post-transplant – seven now. And as far as the transplant goes, it’s all good. There has been some deterioration, but no worse than a “normal” person suffers over an average year. At least, that’s what my new, slightly more aggressive nephrologist tells me anyway. The colonoscopy guy removed a polyp, but…
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A harbinger of the March of Progress knocked on my door the other day. She’s a Real Estate agent, and apparently, she’s “very good friends” with my neighbours, though she didn’t specify which ones. Seeing as she’s selling the house next door, I guess she thinks I know which neighbours she knows very well. She wondered if I’d be interested in selling mine,…
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We had a “discussion” recently about the current quality of home care, and as I’m hard at work packaging my new book Minimally Viable Housekeeping, (thus the discussion) so I thought I’d give you a quick introduction to housekeeping standard practices. Standardisation Standardisation is the process of developing and implementing an agreed standard, for example, the size of your chocolate bar,…
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I’m laughing a little, because this Stress Free Steampunk Dinner Party, is an almost but not quite Stress Free Victorian Dinner Party, because Steampunk is a futuristic science fiction genre powered by Victorian steam technology. Food I’ve selected dishes from a menu given in Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management: Dinner for six persons (September) I. It’s actually five courses of…
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Even though Spring is barely here, the shops are ready for Christmas so it’s time for my 2018 Signature Wardrobe Summer Plan. 2018 Summer Plan I’m fairly well stocked for summer thanks to the last couple of years, but I discovered last year, it’s a good idea to plan even if you don’t think you have any shopping to do. Again,…
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I did not have a very good September 2018. My poor Jack fell ill, got worse, and had to be euthanised. We humans are a bit shocked by its suddenness, but our pretty girl seems the same as ever. Virtue Aug Sep Notes Wisdom I learn and grow every day. 🙂 😐 I feel foolish. I didn’t read much, and…
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Here in Australia, we’ve only got another three weeks to lodge our tax returns, so it seems like a good idea to talk a little about the kind of personal finance annual review you could be doing to improve your future. Annual Review The main reason I’m linking your annual review to the fiscal year is that we often get…
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Winter by J Macfarlane published in The illustrated Australian news June 1, 1896, via State Library Victoria Before I start my Summer wardrobe planning, it’s time for the 2018 Signature Winter Wardrobe Update. 2018 Winter Plan The 2018 Winter plan was for a basic 8 outfit wardrobe: 5 interchangeable work/errand/social outfits 1 exercise 1 house cleaning 1 yard work And my planned purchases were: Alterations: 2…
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Hard as it is to imagine now, there was a time when I didn’t drink coffee. But now my most favourite time of the day is first thing, with my coffee. The quiet time. Before anything happens. Well, not before I’ve made the coffee and let Pretty Girl (my surviving dog) out, but before the big stuff happens. Just a few quiet moments…
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August 2018 was a strange month. On the one hand, it was full steam ahead, and on the other full stop! It was one of those months where everything costs twice as much and takes three times as long as you expect. Virtue Jul Aug Notes Wisdom I learn and grow every day. 🙂 🙂 I read five books this…
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Here in Australia, the major banks have increased their mortgage rates, and the “average” borrower (whoever that is) will be paying another $50 a month. I think that most people will actually be paying more. And when you add that to increasing credit card debt, it’s time to think seriously about debt reduction. Vision, Mission, Virtues I’m fairly sure that…
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I’ve been watching a few romances lately, and I can’t help asking, what is love? Bearing in mind the standard romance book/movie/song storyline where a person meets another person, falls in love, has a big fight, gets back together and lives happily ever after. Forever. And ever. And ever… What is Love for Teens? Modern high school romances such as The…
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