My birth mother lived two streets away from where my Mum and Dad had retired to, in a sleepy little village near the sea. Mum and Dad had been there for 12 years, but somehow, they had never crossed paths in such a small community. I was living in Australia, and so Mum and Dad got to know my birth mother well before I had a chance to meet her face-to-face. My birth mother was furious that her mother hadn’t passed on the information that I was looking for her and, also, hurt t

As I was talking to some customers in my café the other day, I related to them my adoption story after learning they had two adopted...

OMG how the years have flown by. In year 2000, I left my partner and started my life as a single girl. I can’t believe that it’s been 24...

How families change over the years! Mine certainly has. I grew up in a family of six—two grandparents, two parents, myself and my younger...

Here I am writing this blog in the country. I love to sit somewhere peaceful with a view to write. It inspires me and gets all the...

Here I am, sitting in my lounge room surrounded by untidy chaos. The irony is that I’m writing a blog about cleaning. YUK – cleaning is...

This is the time of year when there’s always an overabundance of food left over from Christmas and New Year. It’s a great time to change...

Nothing prepared me for facing the death of my mum. Death of a loved one is hard even when it is expected, but saying goodbye to your mum...

My family has mushroomed from two of us to now 27 and contains 4 generations. I’ve noticed over the last 10 years how hard it is to keep...

I seem to have this conversation on a regular basis with my friends, business acquaintances, daughters, and granddaughters. Let go of the...

It doesn’t matter whether you are in your own country or travelling overseas – there are several things to keep in mind to keep healthy, particularly when you are a solo  traveller: 1. Sleep Routine: Don’t change your sleep routine. Try to keep within your normal hours. Take your pillow from home with you. It will help you have a better sleep. 2. Hydrate properly:  Drink plenty of water particularly if you are doing more walking than normal. Make sure that your water is bot

Over the years when I have recruited staff – I always look for those staff who have common sense. It’s hard to find these days – the...

My paternal grandmother always brings up lovely memories. My grandmother was my cooking inspiration. She was my role model as a child and...

I invite you to step back in time to the 1950s, an era that I grew up in, and today it is a generation or two away. 70 years have passed...

How many times have you stood at the supermarket and wondered which of the many varieties of tomato do you choose from. Who has time to...

I came across this poem by Bryce Courtenay and it really resonated with me this week as I dream a dream of my own. I have had many dreams...

One of the hardest things when you are dining with food allergies is being comfortable in safely eating something that isn’t going to...

I'm the sort of person that is a stayer. I commit myself to doing something and then like a terrier, I never let that go until it goes...