My Saturday

What a day! Minding my business, driving to my writer's meeting, I had a tyre blowout. Of course it happened on a bad stretch of the highway with very little room to pull over. And my shoulder has been hurting for the last couple of days, so I couldn't even lift the spare tyre out of the boot. Luckily for me, a knight in shining armour stopped, helped me nurse the car up the road to a stopping bay, and helped me change the tyre. It's one thing to know the theory, but another to have to do it, especially when you don't have the strength.

So I spent last night doing some calculations on how much I need to spend on my car to get it back up to scratch as my registration is due at the end of next month. Time to get a loan application in but still the cost is very good considering I'm driving a 25 year old car and have had no mechanical repairs required. The costs have all been or will be for tyres and cosmetics. The car should be good for at least another couple of years once I get a new bonnet on it, and a paint job.

The writer's group meeting was really good and inspiring. Five new members - a great start to the new year. And I read my Cinderella story and received good feedback. Encouraged by this, I finished the extended version (i.e over 3000 words instead of 1800 words) today so that I can mail it to the competition this week. Somehow in the melee of yesterday I lost the entry form, so when I get to work tomorrow, I'll send out an emergency email to see if anyone can provide me with the relevant magazine.

L to R: Diane, Jennifer, Carrolline, Roby, Sue

This photo was taken at the farewell luncheon for Jennifer (second from the left). Jen was our president but has now moved to Melbourne so Carrolline has stepped up to the plate to become president.

We also did a 10 minute writing exercise in which we had to include all of the following words: luckily, cultural, eggplant, client and overhead. It's amazing the different ideas that people came up with.



Here's mine:



Sheila trudged through her market garden to her prize eggplants. She eyed them with pride. Surely she'd be in with a chance to knock Hilda McGeachin off her pedestal with these beauties. Bloody Hilda, if she wasn't taking out gold cups and blue ribbons with her steroid-filled tomatoes, she was boasting about the circumference of her zucchinis or the purple hue of her aubergine.

Overhead the clouds grumbled as a rainstorm threatened. Luckily, Sheila had finished her chores for the day, and could take refuge inside with a nice cup of tea. But she'd pull the shade cloth over the stakes just in case. She hadn't been doing a raindance half an hour earlier. No way - she'd been dancing up a hail storm to fall down on Hilda's crop just as she was ready to harvest.

She smiled to herself as the hail stones plonked on her tin roof. That would put a big dent on Hilda's plans to dominate the only cultural event in town. And the tea tasted damn good -- a new herbal mix from her newest massage client. Bit of a looker he was too, could have had some Apache Indian in him. Something like that. She owed him a massage on the house for that hail dance lesson.

I borrowed the character of Hilda McGeachin from Bilby Creek, the setting of Making the Cut.

I have also come up with a few ideas for a monologue. Finally! As this is our big group project, I didn't want to let everyone down by not coming up with something. So I will let my subconscious toss it around a while longer before I start to write.

The house is quiet again. Not so much fighting over the internet or the remote because the teenager has gone back home to the big smoke. (Hee, hee - it's back to school on Tuesday) Here she is avoiding the camera (delayed shutters can be a real pain sometimes) and securely attached to her mobile phone. The contraption will have to be surgically removed one day.

Hanging out at the carnival

I had a few hours to kill in town the other night so I wandered down to the Jetty and took some photos of the Carnival.

I've never been one for wild rides, but it was interesting watching other people on the rides. The expressions change as the ride moved faster or in an unexpected direction.

In this photo on the left hand side, the monster's hand is between the two exit doors. He kept poking his head out to entice the kids to enter The Temple of Doom. It was great watching the little's kids faces when they came out of the ride. So many young kids I noticed at the carnival were covering their ears, blocking out the loud music and loudspeakers. And I've noticed this reaction with young kids in my own family. So I wonder when they reach the point that loud noise is suddenly okay for their eardrums, and they stick earphones right in their ear, and turn the music up to '11'.

Diary of the Future is now uploaded to lulu.com so I can have a copy to stick on my bookshelf and inspire me to finish the editing and send it to a publisher. The editing isn't done as yet. So much other stuff going on, including training for the new role at work -which I'm going to love. But I managed a copy edit so there should at least be no typo's left in the book. Things like typing 'head in his pocket' instead of 'hand in his pocket' and 'chickout check' instead of 'check out chick.' I still want to rewrite the beginning of the story to change how Nicky acquires the diary.

It took until 2.30 in the morning to upload it all to lulu.com - I probably should not have converted the document to a PDF myself, because it kept reformating it to a larger size, meaning the text was going to be smaller when I changed it back on the lulu site to novel size. And then the cover took 20 minutes to upload by itself. Meanwhile, my eyes were falling out of my head, and I was wondering how I was going to function at work the next day. But I perservered and went to bed at 2.30am, knowing it was done.

I've been receiving great feedback on the Cinderella story, so I'm pumping it up with another 1200 words to bring it to the 3000 word minimum for a major short story comp which is closing at the beginning of February. Cinderella now has a major shoe fetish - wonder where she developed that?

We watched Candy last night with Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish. It was interesting seeing the movie after hearing Luke Davies talking about it at the Byron Bay Writers Festival. And I can't imagine how long it took to set up the scene where Candy writes her story all over the walls of the house.

I'm also catching up with the second season of Love My Way. But today I need to do some writing/editing.

Why do the weekends go so fast?

Diary of the Future cover

The editing is happening, although not as fast as I would like. By 3pm yesterday afternoon, I was exhausted (post Nano, post holiday exhaustion perhaps), I laid down and woke up three hours later. Then this morning I slept in again. Guess I needed the extra sleep.

I have designed the cover for the lulu copy. I'm not going to be releasing the book for sale. At this point, the lulu copy is just for my bookshelf to inspire me. A real novel with my name on it. Goal: a real novel with my name on it and a major publisher's insignia on the spine.

I had been looking at diaries on ebay, but a lot of the more unusual diaries looked a bit on the evil side and I didn't want Nicky's diary to be that obvious. So I ditched the sculpted diaries with monsters, dragons and pentagrams and pulled out a trusted journal from my collection, added the 'bag of words' that Nicky refers to in the story, scissors, pen and a glue stick, and matched the title font to the gold on the 'diary'. I love digital cameras, and photoshop - so cool.

I added a back cover blurb and there you have it: a cover for my 'novel'.

Now to finish editing the stuff that will go in between the covers.

Another fog

Saturday morning and another fog.

So as promised, I got up early (7.30 is early for me on a Saturday morning), hopped in my car, and took some photos of the valley.

Can someone remind the weatherman that this is summer?

It's the 6th January, I live on the East Coast of Australia - it's supposed to be hot.

Now its time for me to get off the net and do some editing.

Finally, the weekend arrives

Why is it that the four days at work following a public holiday seem to go longer than any five day week? Yes, I've been hanging out for the weekend. And finally it is here.

The work week had its ups and downs. The up was a request for me to take on a new role, something I have been working towards for a while, so that was very welcome news. The downs - well, the usual downs that occur in working in a bureaucracy with fixed ways of working. Enough said. It's the weekend and I enter a fantasy world for the duration.

I wish I'd had my camera on the way to work this morning. The fog was incredible, low lying in the valley, a thick blanket covering all the trees. Beautiful! But what the -? We're supposed to be in the middle of summer!
If I wake up tomorrow and it's the same, I'll go out and take pictures. But judging by the weather this afternoon, I doubt we'll have another fog in the morning.

So I've been in a bit of dilemma the last few days. My original plan was to edit Making the Cut and polish up for submission. But as I'm working on Diary of the Future in preparation for the Nanowrimo winner offer from lulu.com, I'm thinking that perhaps I should concentrate my energy on that. So that's now the plan. And I'll be spending my weekend immersed in the landscape of Diary, editing, rewriting, preparing a cover. I need to make the most of the weekend as my partner is away so I won't have any interruptions. Plus he's bringing his 16 year old sister back for the remainder of the school holidays - she can be my beta reader as she is the same age as the main character.

So my draft copy is printing now. 196 pages. I don't know how many scenes that will be but I'm ready to immerse myself into Nicky's world.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Comment Graphics

So, it's 2007 and I'm awake.

A quiet celebration last night. Dinner at the local pub. Listening to a local singer. And then home in time to watch the fireworks on Sydney Harbour on television.

No New Year resolutions. They will only be broken and forgotten.

Seriously, I think the last time I wrote down resolutions on New Years Day was 1984. And the final one was 'to expand my horizons, form new friendships, renew old and precious friendships and have a completely fulfilling, rewarding and successful year in everything I do...'

Ah! The idealism of youth.

The dreams of a 16 year old.

And I must add, that for the previous resolutions written in that diary, I've added 'HA!' in red pen following each of them.

I'm thinking about writing a Things to Do before I'm 40 list. Up the ante on the 'Things to do before I die' because the clock is ticking.

Can you believe it's 2007? No. Neither can I. It seems like only yesterday I was running around in a millenium bug costume, New Year's Eve 1999. Sorry, I don't think I have any photos of the bug moment.

But apparently it's now 2007. The clock is ticking.

So, a few time specific goals for 2007.

By January 16, I will have done a simple edit on Diary of the Future, designed a cover and uploaded to lulu.com to take advantage of the free printed copy.

By January 27, I will have written an essay for my writers' group's annual competition. (I don't really want to hand that trophy back).

By February 28th, I will have completed editing Making the Cut, and sent out a cover letter, synopsis and three chapters to an Australian publisher.

That's enough for now! I can't think beyond the first two months of the year. I need to leave some room in the calendar for new creations, revision and submission and the ongoing updating of the Chickollage shop.

Speaking of Chickollage, we have added the Baby Boutique, which features cute collage designs by Jennifer Gordon on bibs, bodysuits and kid's t-shirts.

And the clock is ticking on the Ransom Notes Collage Poetry 2007 Diary ebay auctions. Less than 24 hours to go: black and green.

Here is a leaf from the diary, an attitude for the New Year, my collage poem, New Beginning.

I hope 2007 will be your Best Year Ever too.

Dorkus helps with the editing - NOT!

Dorkus decided he wanted to help me edit. Which is all well and good, but it makes my task a little harder, trying to read around him.

Well, it seems that everyone's a critic. I left the pages out for him and he slept on them. Next morning, he'd given his considered opinion by throwing up all over the manuscript.

Beautiful! Thank you very much. Lucky I wasn't the one to discover it, and my partner cleaned up the mess. Hehe!

But this version of the manuscript was chucked out after being chucked up on. Thankfully, I had finished transferring all the corrections to date to the computer file, and printed a new and clean edit copy which is safely encased in plastic.

Yesterday I finished my Cinderella short story and mailed it today for the short story competition. Because I was working so close to the deadline, there was no time for an edit after my beta reader checked it out today, but she thought it was very funny and politically uncorrect. So the premise is...what happens when the Prince and Cinderella are having trouble conceiving the heir to the throne? And I take potshots at tabloids and paparazzi, and modern royalty and celebrity.It was challenging to write a story with a beginning, middle and end in under 2000 words after writing 50k, 80k, 100k - you get the idea! In 2000 words, I'm just getting warmed up.

I also reserved a place in the blogosphere for Nambucca Valley Writers' Group, who are my favourite bunch of people. I have been posting the 2006 Year in Review for the group. You can check it out here.

Because it was relatively quiet at work today, I started working on the One-Pass Manuscript Revision on Making the Cut. And yes, I have worked through all the steps of Part One, including condensing the novel into 25 words. I'm still working on the 250 words - that will need a few more revisions.

Another work day (hopefully reasonably quiet again) and then another three day weekend. I just wish every weekend would last three days!

The Christmas Round-up

First thing - open the pressies! Dorkus scores a new water bowl, a catnip mouse and numerous toys.

I score a Virgin mobile phone and MP3 player and cooler with speakers, a cardigan, a colourful scarf, and DVD's including The Young Ones, Six Feet Under Season 1, Sommersby, and Northern Exposure Season 2.

Robbie scores The Dukes of Hazzard season 1, Reservoir Dogs, Black Dog, and others I can't remember now, diabetes cookbooks, an Austin Powers talking cooler, plus combined presents of framed pics for the wall.


Lunch is roast chicken, veggies and ham, and the weather is kind to us, not too hot despite the temperature of the kitchen.

Dinner is slices of turkey, ham and salad followed by Christmas pudding and ice cream.

A very relaxing Christmas day!

It's an exhausting job being Santa!

Christmas Holidays

Oh yes! The first day of my six-day Christmas break. How nice to sleep in, to wander leisurely around the shops, battered by holiday makers and the seasonal invasion of tourists. But six days, and several of those where I do not need to drive anywhere! That's what I call a holiday.

There are still a few copies of the Ransom Notes Collage Poetry Diary available so I have put up a couple of Ebay auctions to sell them.

The first cover is a green design and the second is a black design. Only 130 of these were printed so they are definitely limited edition. The diaries are a week to an opening, and feature quotations from famous writers, flash fiction, haiku, ransom notes and 12 full colour collage poems.

Here are a couple of my poems featured in the diary:

I want to take advantage of lulu's offer for Nano winners and print a copy of Diary of the Future but I have to edit it and upload it by January 16 to be eligible. Along with editing Making the Cut, I'm piling a lot onto my plate. Still I'm determined. I just need match the determination with focus. I'm going to try Holly Lisle's One Pass Revision Method. I've bought a new ink cartridge and a ream of paper, so I will enter the corrections I've already made, and then print out a new, clean copy to do the One Pass Revision. (We won't count the previous passes at this point.)

The short story is coming along. It's about Cinderella and Snow White, and what happened after 'the happily ever after' because it really it isn't happy especially when you consider the pressure on modern day's princesses - life is not a fairy tale. The deadline for the short story competition is 31st December so the plan is to finish tomorrow and then edit on the weekend, before posting it.

Writing Deadlines

Yesterday our writers' group had a monologue workshop, as preparation for our next big project. We watched and listened to some of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads monologues, and then lunched at the local RSL and then had a drink at the Sports Club to soak up the ambience for our project.

This means that my writing/editing timetable has now expanded:

1. Write short story for competition. Deadline 31 Dec
2. Write essay for competition. Deadline 27 Jan.
3. Edit Making the Cut and write cover letter, synospis. Submit by end of Feb.

4. Write monologue by end of March.
5. Finish first draft of 'I'm with the Band' by 31st May

6. Edit Diary of the Future by 31st July.

I like the famous Douglas Adams quote about deadlines whooshing by, but I will not be subscribing to it at this point. I am committed (or maybe I should be committed!)

And at the same time as all of this writing and editing, keep working the day job and updating the Chickollage shop with new designs.

Jen and I both have bestsellers at this point:

This is Jen's Smile design.

And my Erotica Writer design:

And Jen has given me a few more designs to upload over the next week.

We had our work Christmas lunch at the Botanic Gardens and it was very relaxing. I must get down there more often and walk around, spend some time with nature because I spend way too much time sitting in front of one screen or another: at home on the computer, watching TV, or at work on the computer.

How's the Christmas shopping?

Ok so the Christmas shopping is done, just one or two more presents to buy, and then food to buy. No relatives for Christmas this year - we're just going to stay at home and enjoy the peaceful surroundings of our lovely home.

Last night I watched the final four episodes of Six Feet Under. Very impressive, great writing, and the way it was wrapped up was very fitting. I discovered the first season DVD set on special on Thursday night so I bought it and it is now wrapped up under the Christmas tree from Dorkus the cat, much to his disgust.

He wasn't impressed with his new Santa hat and scarf either.

This morning I woke to no electricity. So I couldn't jump onto the net and check my email as I normally do. When I went shopping on Thursday night, I had no idea what to buy my brother for Christmas and came home with nothing for him. So this was playing on my mind, and I was considering venturing into town again to find something. Instead, I started sorting out through some boxes in my study, and found the perfect book for him that I had bought several months ago, and forgotten. Duh! So, he's now set. And I also went to the local occasional market and bought a bag of tomatos - everything else was just junk. No inspiration there. When I arrived home, electricity was restored and was swiftly followed with a courtesy call from the power company to ensure everything was okay.

So while I have almost completed my Christmas shopping, I'm wondering if everyone else has.

I have uploaded a heap of Jennifer's new designs to the Chickollage store.

Here is just a small sample available on t-shirts, journals etc. Face it, Jen has the bug:

And here is the Queen of Collage Poetry herself, Ms Jennifer Gordon, launching the Nambucca Valley Writers Group 2007 Collage Poetry Diary.

Party Animals

Last night I went to my work end of year party. You know the old cliches - when the workers get flirtatious and drunk, and say inappropriate things to their superiors. Didn't see any of that. The function was held at the Pet Porpoise Pool, so I spent the evening surrounded by animals, and not just the party animals from my workplace. I played catch with a dolphin, and was kissed by a seal. A unique experience and not one I would usually expect at an end of year gig.

In my post Nano life, I have been spoiling myself with rewards for reaching my Nano goal. This included buying the Countdown Spectacular DVD (watched half of one DVD so far) and having a Six Feet Under marathon (I watched 8 episodes in 2 days). And I enjoyed reading a new young adult novel, Notes from the Teenage Underground by Simmone Howell. But now its back to the editing of Making the Cut.

Jacaranda Films blogspot

My partner has got himself a blog, so the times that I can't access the net, its because he's updating Jacarands Films at half the speed that I would work.

Hopefully, I have now taught him enough about blogspot that I don't have to answer questions every fifteen minutes.

Check out Jacaranda Films!

You'll make him happy.

Nano Day 29 and I'm a winner

So here it is, the winner icon. 50,088 words in 29 days. I must be getting better at this because I finished with a day to spare. And not only did I produce the required words, I wrapped up the story arc of Diary of the Future, so I don't need to add any story. The first draft is complete! Woohoo!

Word wars certainly helped me focus on the word count (thanks Di), and I plotted out bits of story while driving to work. And by attempting to write every day, I managed to keep the story in my subconscious at all times.

But today was agonising, knowing that I was so close to the finish line (46607 as of last night), all I wanted to do today was finish the story. Not work. I wrote over 1400 words during teabreaks, lunchtime, and while waiting for my lift home. Came home and typed up the long-hand and then started word wars to finish, and it actually came out slow. Perhaps I didn't want to let go of the story after all. But I had to drive the story forward to the final three lines, which I wrote yesterday.

I stare at the flames as the diary burns, the leather cracking under the intense heat. The future was an unknown quantity. And that’s the way I like it.

And now playing on my computer is the song Winners by Moving Pictures.

Nano Day 26 & new Chickollage products

I went to my writers group meeting yesterday, and Jennifer has been very busy with the collage, handing me nine more designs for the Chickollage shop.

So here is one that I have uploaded today: Jen gave it to me in blue, and I had a play in photoshop and also created a pink edition.

But I think the design looks so cute on the teddy bear's shirt. More of Jen's designs will be available through the week. And at the rate Jen is working, her designs will outnumber mine very quickly.

So Nanowrimo is going well, and I'm on track to finishing, with 40,200 words committed to my computer's memory (and backed up on the flash drive).

Now I just need to steer the story to a logical (but not predictable) conclusion and make sure it doesn't go off on any wild tangents. But also ensure that it doesn't conclude before the 50,000 words are up, or I'll be forced to go back and add a heap of dialogue tags.

I'd considered putting a teenage pregnancy into the story but have rejected this as too much of a cliche, so that's one issue that doesn't need to be dealt with. However, there is still teenage heartbreak and the last words I have written this evening are 'Oh Nickie, what the hell have we done?' - a definite marker for the end of Act Two.

Focusing on the future

Yesterday it was my birthday. Despite this, I did not take the day off from the Nano challenge, and I wrote another 2600 words.

As of last night, I had cruised past the 35,000 word target -- well on my way to achieving the Nanowrimog goal, and even better, FINISHING THE STORY within the time frame.

I feel truly alive when I'm writing, when the characters are speaking to me and acting of their own accord, events happen that I did not imagine, and my subconscious works overtime. This is the part that I love. I have deliberately tackled Nano very fast this year. No dithering in front of the computer, wondering what I'm going to write.

I set the Wizard for thirty minutes and write as fast as I can. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. But my personal best for thirty minutes is over 1200 words.

This love of creativity has become a common theme in each of my stories.

In Kissing Toads, Jessica is a photographer but in many ways, it has become just a job. She documents her search for Mr Right with her camera, and holds an exhibition of the subsequent photos. The journey and her creativity become more important than finding a man.

In Making the Cut, Chloe realises that Luke is the love of her life just as rumours start circulating that he is leaving the country town. She makes a documentary featuring the students and parents of Bilby Creek to convince him to stay.

In I'm with the Band, Kat is on a personal journey of self-discovery which includes singing on stage with her rock idols, writing a song and recording it.

And in my lastest Nanowrimo outpouring of creativity, Diary of the Future, Nickie not only exercises her creative talents by writing diary entries in advance and watching the events unfold, she also discovers a talent for painting. And she and her boyfriend Craig (another art student) have nicknamed each other Salvadore (as in Dali) and Frida (as in Kahlo)

So, I'm an advocate of creativity in whatever form turns on the muse and brings her out to play. I encourage everyone to discover their creative talent. Write, draw, knit, scrapbook, cook -- experiment and discover your muse.

After passing yesterday's milestone, I have upped the ante on my Things to Do Before I Die list. My goal is to have a publishing contract in my hand by the time I'm 40. 364 days to achieve this goal.

So with a goal comes a plan:
NOVEMBER: Finish first draft of Diary of the Future. Win Nano!!
DEC/JAN: Edit Making the Cut
FEB: Submit Making the Cut, Finish I'm with the Band
MAR/APR: Edit I'm with the Band
MAY/JUNE: Edit Diary of the Future
AUG: Chill out and find more writing mojo at Byron Bay Writers Festival

There's no 'new' writing in the plan. (although I'm sure it will happen in the rewrites). It's time to focus on the editing and rewriting and knocking the manuscripts into shape, because there has been one element missing in the process in the past. SUBMIT. And that, will be the keyword to propel me towards the goal.

Besides, there is always the momentum of Nanowrimo next November to spin out another first draft.

Nano Day 22 - Ebay Loot - Calendar Sale

Nano Day 22

I squeezed past the 30,000 word mark last night, and with just nine days to go (including today), I should make it to the finish line as long as I continue placing my butt in the seat, and the fingers on the keyboard.

Last night's writing had some surprising, unplanned elements, but they ended up being very pleasing in the overall story of the book, and the continued motif of how much of her life Nickie chooses to write in advance.

Today was a bonus. With the computer system down at work, I managed to write over 1000 bonus words, so I am way ahead for today's tally. A couple more word wars and I shall be done, and I should just about be reaching the second turning point of the story.

Ebay Loot

I've been scoring a few things of Ebay - this Moving Pictures sticker, a groovy looking radio promotional sticker from the band's heyday.

and this CD single by Alex Smith.

A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking about this single (remembered something about a photograph). I had the single on cassette at one time, and having moved seven times or so since, was wondering if it was still in my possession. I could not remember the song or the music. So that morning, I logged onto my email and discovered the Ebay lot waiting in my email searches. Like it was meant to be. It was fate. Think and the universe shall provide.

Chickollage Calendars

Cafepress is having a 20% sale off calendars at the moment, so now is a great time to grab a Chickollage Collage Poetry Calendar, and have a collage poem a month for every year in 2007.

Visit the Chickollage shop for unique Christmas gifts. It's hard to believe, it's just over a month away!

Nano Day 16

It's 11.20 pm and I'm barely awake after several word war challenges. Woohoo, I've past the 20K mark, so while I'm still behind on the word count, I have gained over 5500 w0rd in the last two days.

I've reached another incident in the story, where Nickie is about to write in her diary in anger,with devestating consequences. Consequences that will make her realise that the diary can be a destructive tool if used in the wrong way, and with the wrong emotion projected.

I haven't been consistent. I haven't written every day. There have been some days that I've been too tired after work, and I've only been brainstorming the story at work. No actual writing. But I'm really pleased with the amount of words that I've managed to write during my half-hour challenges with the wizard. It has shown me that I can write fast.

There will need to be a lot of editing. But that's okay. That will be later. It's the story that I want to discover now.

In Memorium - my mum Judith 30.04.49 - 12.11.97

Today it is nine years since Mum passed away. I have already written a tribute during Pink for October here. But I thought I would add a few more thoughts about my mum today.

Driving

Mum learned to drive when I was 13. Her first car was a beat-up old Audi with no guts, and until recently, I did not realise that an Audi was a prestige motor vehicle. She wasn't game enough to drive across Gladesville Bridge because the car had no power. Her next car was a VW and she used to kangaroo hop down the street in it (on purpose) and wind down the road. She rarely looked up how to get anywhere - I think she enjoyed losing her way. And she'd turn left when I told her to turn right. But getting her licence was the best thing she could've done because it opened up a whole new world for her.

Mice

It started when I was about 6. Mum had a couple of mice. And the mice multiplied and multiplied. So when she was pregnant with my sister, the mice were farmed off and she started collecting ornamental mice instead. It was always so easy to buy her a present, and there are still times when I go into a gift shop, see a gorgeous mouse ornament, and think mum would love that. Here is part of her collection - the ornaments I gave her over the years, now back on display in my living room.

Cakes
Mum was a marvellous cake decorator and president of her local cake decorating guild. She always had one or two cakes on the go, but one of the favourites that she made for me was this dragon cake. When I turned 27, I decided to have a 7 year old birthday party, and we all played kids games and ate chocolate crackles. It was a lot of fun for both the pretend kids and the real kids and mum made me a dragon cake for the occasion.

Painting
Mum painted this picture for me when I was about fifteen from a photo that a friend had taken. The painting has hung in my bedroom in many different dwellings since then, and now has pride of place in the lounge room.

Animals
Our house was a menagerie when I was growing up. Dogs, cats, birds (including Chook the cockatoo), chooks, fish, even a baby lamb at one time. Whenever there was a stray, it would land on our doorstep and find a home. It's not a tradition I've carried on. I'm happy with my singular cat Dorkus, and he is also happy with the status quo.

Mum was always fun and lightened up any room she walked into. She didn't judge people and took everyone on face value. All the neighbourhood kids wanted to hang around for her friendship, her cooking and her love. It was a sad day nine years ago when the light was turned off, far to early, for the bright light that was my mum.