Category: use what you have
-
fresh inspiration
When is an ‘inspiration wall’ not an inspiration wall? When it’s been up for almost two years and you’ve stopped seeing it anymore… I have a creative room out in my backyard. Our garage was converted to a sleepout by previous owners and now we’ve set it up so half of it is guest-room (well,…
-
Pioneer cooking for energy efficiency
In an effort to be more energy efficient, save money on bills and be more organised with food practices, for the last few years I have gotten into viewing a warm oven like a pioneer woman would. What do I mean by that? Well, as anyone who has read ‘Little House On The Prairie’…
-
the last
I write about the seasons a lot, don’t I? I can’t help it. I grew up in a small town in the middle of farmland – my Dad was (still is) a hunter and fisherman and so we ate with the seasons and the seasons were meaningful in a way they may not be for…
-
‘The Comforter’ launches (2)
Launch one: The first launch was in Palmerston North at the City Library. The speakers were Helen Rickerby, my editor, Thom Conroy, friend and creative writing professor at Massey University, and Natasha Allan did a beautiful blessing of the book. This one felt like a slightly more formal, ‘family, colleagues, local community’ (and friends, of…
-
beets and pieces
First some writing news – Fourth Floor Literary Journal is up and I have two poems in it! Yay! You can read them HERE. Back HERE I mentioned my friend Helen wrote an essay about ‘Taking Care’ (killing) ‘Of Animals’. It’s also in 4th Floor. It is a funny, chilling read – you can read…
-
keeping the prunings
Every time my lavender needs a prune, I tie up the prunings and hang them up in our porch to dry. Then, some months later when I have a spare hour, I pull the dried blooms off the stalks and add them to my lavender jar. My friend Melissa makes lovely lavender sachets with hand-printed…