Another week has passed, a week in which I was braced for turbulence that never eventuated. Today I feel oddly fragile, like a bird with a sore wing. Nothing’s broken, maybe I’ve just flown into a window.

I’m writing this with the front door open (even though it’s cloudy in Hobart today it’s still warm) and a steaming cup of Bengal Spice tea on my desk, the smell of jasmine, lilac and wattle in the air, and the crow of the neighbourhood rooster echoing in the street.

Getting grounded, taking a moment to be here, now, in the moment - it always helps.

Favourite experience/s of the week

Lots of little moments of joy. Finishing a journal and starting a new one. A beautiful card and letter from a friend on the mainland. Two lovely morning runs with the smell of crushed gumnuts underfoot, a clear view of the mountain, a still river and wallabies watching me from the long grass. Another friend’s new book arriving, lying in bed with it, turning pages until well after midnight.

Reading

My friend Holly’s new book The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding - I’m trying my best to savour it and not succeeding, she’s written another page turner! I’ll say more once I’ve finished it but needless to say it’s sumptuous, sensory and poignant writing, as always, and I’m enjoying it very much.

My Tongue is My Own: A Life of Gwen Harwood by Ann-Marie Priest - I’m reading this to review for an academic journal and absolutely loving it. Thoroughly researched, lively and utterly riveting, I’m loving getting to know Gwen Harwood and the fascinating life she lived. Any good biography of a poet should send the engaged reader straight to the work and that’s exactly what this book has done for me - I’m now reading Harwood’s poetry alongside the biography, which is proving to be a fun, if slightly mind bending, experience!

Everything Feels Like The End of the World by Else Fitzgerald - I’ve started dipping into this short story collection which is described as “short speculative fiction exploring possible futures in an Australia not so different to our present day to one thousands of years into an unrecognisable future.” Certainly what I’ve read so far has felt very prescient! Full of fiery, flooding imagery, cities becoming unliveable. As I dipped into this earlier in the week we were told to brace ourselves for severe weather which ended up not reaching us down here…yet. Towns on the mainland already torn apart by flooding needing to prepare for more, and worse. So reading Fitzgerald’s stories felt odd alongside this, and everything else that has happened - it’s speculative but also very, very real. In many ways it almost reads like nostalgia for the world we live in now, because on some level we know it’s already been lost. Lots to ponder here.

GQ Magazine: 14 hours in the queue to see Queen Elizabeth’s coffin by Laurie Penny - would I have queued to see the Queen lying in state if I still lived in London? I really didn’t know, especially after reading this!

Paul Graham: Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule - an article from 2009 but still deeply relevant and relatable. It made me feel very seen. A must read for creatives!

Listening to

We Can Do Hard Things with Glenn Doyle: Hannah Gadsby, How to Communicate Better - always a pleasure to listen to Hannah who, as the whole world knows, is a very funny and deeply intelligent person.

How to Fail: Melanie Chisholm on mental health, self-worth and the Spice Girls - loved this revealing, tender and lively interview with Melanie, who comes across as someone very grounded and self-aware. I related to so much of what she had to say. Highly recommended!

Doing it Right with Pandora Sykes: a new to me podcast which I’m impressed with so far - her conversation with environmentalist and slow fashion advocate Venetia La Manna (one of my favourite Youtubers) was fantastic. Two articulate, passionate and well-informed women having an important conversation - it ticked all my boxes!

I’ve had Beethoven’s Pastoral symphony (his 6th symphony) playing while writing and working this week - in My Tongue is My Own, there is a lovely description of new mother Gwen in 1946 bringing her baby home from the hospital, back to their Fern Tree cottage, on the road to Hobart’s mountain kunanyi/Mt Wellington. She and her husband had just got a radio and Beethoven’s Pastoral was what came on as Gwen walked out on to the balcony, baby in her arms, as the snow began to fall. '“It was too much: that marvellous Movement…the snow falling, the great tall gum trees and to hold my own child. Every time I hear that great flowing theme, I am back there with the child, in the snow.” (88).

Eating

My favourite spinach, risoni and lemon soup - with loads of dill! Absolutely delicious as always.

Our favourite brunch, the Full Vegan, was enjoyed after a big 10km walk on the weekend. I haven’t seen our favourite sausages in the shops for a while but we make do with the hash browns, avocado, mushrooms and beans!

We had a Sunday roast with some wellingtons I’d made from the vegan sausage roll mixture and frozen the weekend before. After a bedtime flick through Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries, I was craving roast potatoes, crispy and golden, their edges made translucent with (vegan) butter. Utterly delicious!

We also had the usual tofu noodle stir fry, dhal from the freezer, and more mind-blowing nachos which are such a treat. I also made a broccoli pasta with miso, vegan cream and capers which was quite sensational.

Watching

We finished The Newsreader on ABC iview which was absolutely wonderful - I cannot recommend it more highly. Smart writing, great acting and an utterly compelling story. If you loved Morning Wars (The Morning Show), I think this is even better.

I caught up with a few of my favourite Youtubers while also catching up on my sewing - I’m making a gift for a friend who I’m going to see in a few weeks so wanted to get that almost finished. I really enjoy sewing while catching up with Katie, Miranda, Venetia, Helen and Phoebe. In Katie’s case, I do know her - we met at an Arvon Foundation event well over ten years ago now and stayed in intermittent touch for a few years. I didn’t realise she had a Youtube channel, and so watching a few episodes on her channel I felt like I’d spent the afternoon sewing and catching up with an old friend, which was really nice! Who are your favourites? Anyone I should be checking out?

Grateful for

Tom. Every time I am lost, he is the map that helps me get home.

Quote of the week

Not attributed to anyone in particular, just something I wrote in the last pages of the journal book I’ve just finished that felt pertinent this week. I think I read somewhere that everything that happens to you, you have a choice - whether you let it open you up, or close you down. This is my reminder to stay open. May it be yours too, if you need it.

If you’d like to share your thoughts on this post, or anything else, with me, please do! Have a happy weekend and I’ll see you next week xx

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