I’ve written in journals and diaries on and off for over 35 years. I’m sure I started in one of those small diaries from the newsagency with a lock and tiny key. I have a vague memory of a glossy black one, maybe with a white Pierrot clown on it and a silver lock and key. No idea where it is now!

I do have a purple exercise book which I used as a journal when I was in grade five, hiding it carefully in the narrow gap between my desk drawers and my desk. Clearly it’s very valuable, it was marked down from 60 cents to 49 cents! And clearly I had a tenuous start as an editor – I couldn’t distinguish between dairy and diary! I started a new blank journal yesterday, which I bought from the Bespoke Press in Bowral. It’s a gorgeous grey linen book with patterned endpapers and gold embossed letters.

I write in my journal to make sense of the thoughts swirling around in my head and to empty my mind so that I can see clearly. I write a lot of lists so that my words can be at their most basic and concrete – this is at odds with my literary writing where I’m writing free verse poems.

I keep all my journals but rarely read over them, only occasionally pulling out one from years ago to compare the me from then to the me now. Same-same, different.

In these uncertain times, journal writing is a lifeline to me. I wonder whether it might be to you, too, or whether it’s a chance to discover if this is the case?

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Big magic, Eat pray love, The signature of all things and City of girls, recently posted a talk on Insight Timer, a meditation app. She talked about living with fear – she says she has a lot of experience. Every morning, she writes a letter to herself from love in order to calm the fear. The fear doesn’t go away, she says, but writing a letter from love calms it down. Her talk is incredibly wise – please listen.

Sarah Selecky, the Canadian author who ran the writing retreat I recently attended, is running a free writing prompt workshop, Writing through uncertainty. If you don’t like the idea of writing personal journal entries, you might like the idea of writing to a prompt each day for 30 days. Today’s prompt was to write ten random sentences that aren’t connected to each other. Sarah suggests you set aside ten minutes every day to write to the prompt.

Julia Cameron, who has written too many books to mention but is most well-known for her book, The artist’s way, introduced a practice called morning pages. Artists from all disciplines use it. Every day, as early as you can, you write three pages by hand. Anything and everything. It clears the mind, filtering out the negative thoughts and worries, the nagging should list, the inner critic so your mind is clear for creating. Or in today’s world, clear for not worrying.

I have been using the app Curable which helps users to manage and decrease chronic pain – I have migraines. One of the four activities Curable provides is writing exercises, usually a twenty minute process. I am always amazed at how insightful my writing is after doing an exercise. I can’t recommend this app highly enough, and at the moment they have a 50% price reduction.

Let me know in the comments if you are a journaller (consistent or not so) or if it’s something you’d like to try. It is an excuse to indulgence in pretty stationery!

 

 

In a past life, I was an after-school-care coordinator while I studied at university. And in the not so distant past, I tried to do a little freelance editing while at home with a school kid, kinder kid and baby. You could say I have had some experience in entertaining kids…

In case you have kids or grandkids at home with no school due to the coronavirus or are starting to think about the school holidays with more time at home, here are a few suggestions to keep them entertained – and provide sanity for you. Believe me, I’m writing this as much for me as for you!

Some of the activities will suit primary school kids, others are better for secondary school students and all of them can be adjusted for your own needs.

• Literary day – ask each kid to choose their favourite book for a day. On that day, the whole family eats like the characters in the book, dresses like them, acts out a scene, makes props such as newspaper hats, cardboard swords. Perhaps the favourite book is the gorgeous picture book, My mum and dad make me laugh by Nick Sharratt, where the mum loves spots, the dad likes stripes and the little boy loves grey elephants. Imagine the possibilities for food and clothes with spots and stripes! Perhaps your teenager loves Twilight – what smoothies could you make for a vampire? Who does the best Bella impersonation? And if your book has a movie, you definitely have permission to watch the movie!

 

• Make a mini concertina book – instructions here – and sketch out your favourite story with stick figures. Everyone else in the family has to guess the title.

 

• Make a book using a stick from the garden or park and rubber bands and turn it into a botanical masterpiece with botanical illustrations of leaves and flowers or draw pictures of the characters. Instructions here.

 

• Design a poster for a book as if it were going to become a movie. Decide on your cast and the tagline. Mr 10 recently read Crossover by Kwame Alexander and he decided that he’d play the main character (a kid passionate about basketball) and the dad character would be played by Le Bron James. Teenagers can do it digitally, young kids can do it with paper and paint.

 

• Make paper dolls of your favourite characters – look at this website for ideas. Think about how Katniss or Harry Potter would look like, as well as all the other characters. Younger kids might like the picture book Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson. Older kids might prefer to make individual ones like the ones from this art book The black apple’s paper doll primer by Emily Winfield Martin.

 

• Have a look at this clip about the hero’s journey. Make a clock, perhaps out of a paper plate, and track your favourite character’s journey. You can simplify this to four plot points for younger kids.

 

• For half an hour after lunch, play DEAR – Drop Everything And Read. You, too – I give you permission.

 

• Write a blackout poem, using an article from a newspaper or magazine – example here.

 

• Think of your favourite picnic scene in a book – Picnic at Hanging Rock, Wind in the willows, Famous Five – and recreate a picnic scene in your back garden for lunch or dinner.

 

• Your kids are going to come across Shakespeare at school if they haven’t already. Let them watch a few modern films such as 10 things about you, She’s the man, Shakespeare in love, Romeo and Juliet. Suggest they read a simplified version first, such as Leon Garfield’s Shakespeare stories so they know the story.

 

• Follow Miss Thirteen’s example (when she had chronic fatigue) and watch the entire series of Gilmore Girls – this catapulted her into reading classics like Moby Dick, and books by Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Jules Verne.

 

• Make some peg dolls to recreate nursery rhymes – I have made these with so many kids and everyone loves them! Margaret Bloom has a wonderful book, Making peg dolls and there are  supplies here.

 

• After dinner or while washing the dishes, create a story together. Everyone has to contribute two words, and go around and around the table – There was …. a man …. who liked…. to paint… his letterbox … with pink…

 

• Use lego figures, action figures, dolls to make up stories and film them using iMovie. Add music.

 

• Read your kids a poem every day. Ask them to find a different one from books like The Waldorf book of poetry or websites like this one.

 

• Print out photos of when the kids were little and help them to write their own story about themselves.

 

• Ask the kids to write a journal of their time at home to record for their grandchildren. Remind them they are the hero of their own story, they are the protagonist. Do not be surprised if they cast you as the antagonist!

 

• Older kids could write a dystopian story. Perhaps they could set it in the future, and have the character look back fifty years ago to 2020, to the year of bushfires and coronavirus. What has changed? What do we do differently? What is the technology like?

 

• Encourage the kids to write emails or letters to their grandparents or relatives who are isolated.

 

• Make a family time capsule – this is who we are at this moment in time, stuck at home because of the coronavirus. We ate, we studied, we read, we watched, we loved, we feared, we found this difficult, we found this fun. Open it in two years time or ten.

 

• Put a sheet of paper on the fridge to tally up the number of books everyone in the family has read. If you need to bribe, do it with chocolate or pocket money or a future excursion.

 

• Play libraries and make borrowing cards or alphabetise your books.

 

• Read a story to an audience of teddies and dolls. Film your kid reading and send it to a relative. Mr 10 and I – when he was four – filmed ourselves reciting The owl and the pussy-cat. (Note to self – find that video!)

 

• Make bookmarks that match the books and give them to neighbours and friends.

I know for sure that my kids will roll their eyes at some of these activities. But the point is, a few of them will stick. So keep trying. Let me know if you have any more ideas in the comments. We’re all in this together.

 

I’m always immersed in stories. The ones printed between the covers of a book, already published and out in the world. The ones my kids, husband and friends tell me about their days. The ones in my head. The ones in my notebook and my computer files.

And then there are the ones I edit, usually self-published books. I’ve had the privilege of editing and proofreading a range of stories, some recently published or almost there.

A few are memoirs, and what a privilege it is to help shape someone’s account of their life. It’s not an easy thing to shape a life, and many writers choose to tell their stories in fragments – small sections of the important situations, people and decisions that made up their days. Others like to do it chronologically, beginning with their early life, schooling, work and family with a more intense focus on the important events.

It doesn’t matter how it’s written or that some of the details are blurry. It is such an amazing legacy, to give families stories that have been passed down for generations or stories that may have been forgotten otherwise.

Other books are written by people who may not consider themselves a writer, but yet have produced a book. Often there is a strong urge to share information with others, whether it’s about health, wellness, running a business or encouraging readers to be the best version of themselves.

I have so much respect for anyone who watches less television, rises earlier, stays up later, says no to invitations, avoids social media, writes on the train or in their lunch break – all to write their story. To create instead of consume – so admirable.

All writers express and reveal themselves through their writing, and I love getting to know the authors through their choice of vocabulary and sentence length, colloquial language or formal dialogue, descriptive language or humorous observations.

Michael Hanrahan and his partner Anna Clemann run Publish Central and take writers of many different subjects through the process of planning, writing and publishing a book. They are an amazing team – I’m grateful they’ve sent so many interesting manuscripts (some with challenges!) my way.

Everyone has a story. Yesterday as I was driving in the rain, I noticed a man in a raincoat, hood pulled up, pushing his grandchild in a pram with a plastic cover. There were two expressions on the man’s face – he grimaced, possibly as a drop of rain ran down his neck or water splashed from the gutter AND then he smiled at his grandchild with a wide mouth and expressive eyes full of love. Grimace, smile, grimace, smile. Rain, love, rain, love. Now there’s a story!

 

It’s a Christmas miracle
when the last-minute parcel
you ordered online
arrives on Christmas Eve.

It’s a Christmas miracle
when your wonky tree
seems to straighten itself
in time for the annual photo.

It’s a Christmas miracle
that your show-stopper of a dessert,
a concoction of chocolate and raspberries,
looks exactly like the recipe photo.

It’s a Christmas miracle
when you finish the final piece of work,
turn off the laptop
and declare you’re on holidays.

It’s Christmas miracle
when the belligerent teenagers
pick up the vacuum
without complaining.

It’s a Christmas miracle
there’s a brief moment alone
with a flickering flame
to stop and wonder.

It’s a Christmas miracle
when the tight-fisted relative
brings a plate to share
on Christmas Day.

It’s a Christmas miracle
when the tiny ones,
their faces lit up with joy and sugar,
fall asleep in the laps of the older ones.

It’s a Christmas miracle
when we find our place at the table –
worthy or not, belonging or not –
and feel a light to connect us all.

May your Christmas be filled with miracles!

Thank you for supporting my words this year. I’m taking a break for a few weeks, and will be back here in mid-January.

Karen x

 

Middle-grade fiction is one of my favourite genres to read. There are some excellent options for books for the 9-12-year-old market below. And as these books are so beautifully written and superbly crafted, they are wonderful books for adults to read as well!

• The art of taxidermy by Sharon Kernot – a historical verse novel set in Australia after the Second World War, this is one of my favourite books for the year. Lottie, from a German family who have lived in Australia for many years, has seen so much death in her life, and wants to bring back the dead creatures she collects on her walks. She tends to their dead bodies with care but her aunt can’t abide her interest – it’s not suitable for a young lady. Sharon’s writing is so lyrical and beautiful, her descriptions of animals sensitive and observant and her Lottie is a unique and compelling character.

• How to make a movie in 12 days by Fiona Hardy – eleven-year-old Hayley plans to spend her summer holidays, with her brand-new video camera, finally making the movie she dreamt of making with her recently deceased grandmother. But with friends who aren’t always as passionate and committed to her movie as she is, and an unknown person who is making life difficult for her movie career, Hayley has to negotiate family, friends and setbacks. A perfect book for any creative reader who has longed to make something of value – funny and heartwarming.

• The girl, the dog and the writer in Rome by Katrina Nannestad – this is the first book in a trilogy – the third one has recently been published. Freja has been sent to live with an unknown friend of her mother’s, crime writer Tobias – cheerful, creative and absent-minded. Freja manages to forget her sick mother (sometimes) and has an amazing adventure in Italy. Miss 13 and I have read the first two and I am hoping she will receive the third one in her Christmas stocking so I can read it! Quirky and funny, with a strong plot and loveable characters, this trilogy is well worth reading.

• Queen of the sea by Dylan Meconis – written as a comic book, this quite extraordinary story is a historical book about Margaret, who lives on a remote island with the Elysian nuns in the time when King Edmund ruled. Margaret is curious, active and intelligent, and readers view her life in the convent through her eyes. But the outside world of royalty and sailors and prisoners intrudes on Margaret’s peaceful life. This is a dynamic story, told in an equally dynamic way through both illustrations and words. it’s a beautiful hardback book to keep.

• Being Brave by Sema Musson and Hester Leung – Being Brave is about two friends, Ellie and Alyssa, leaning into each other in an Australian adventure about courage and inner strength. Ellie and Alyssa are different in many ways – one chatty, one shy, one adventurous, the other considered, one Australian, one with Chinese heritage. Yet they support each other. Ultimately, their friendship guides them through obstacles and setbacks as they find their way. The story aims to bring out tools that can help children overcome the inner critic to build self-esteem and confidence. Full disclosure – this is a book I edited but I am so happy to include it here!

• The list by Patricia Forde – This one is more for 12-14-year-old readers, as the theme of environmental issues may be too complex for younger readers. I recently read The last word, the sequel, and loved it as much as The list, reading just one more chapter each night. It’s dystopian fiction, set in a world where words, food and resources are limited and all in the Ark must follow an authoritarian rule. Letta, apprentice to the Wordsmith, is allowed to use more than than the usual 500 words on the list. But her words may not be enough to protect her once she becomes embroiled in a battle with the leaders of the Ark.

• Crossover by Kwame Alexander – I loved, loved this one. I borrowed it from the library but I’ll buy my own copy. It’s a verse novel, which means the story is told in poems. The character is 12, so be aware that there are older issues here – his twin brother has a girlfriend and his Dad is not well.  The rhythm, language and rhyme – as well as the fabulous plot – really makes this book worthy of the Newberry Medal. Look at this clip where Alexander reads one of his poems – his writing is just as warm and humorous as he is. Imagine opening up your kids’ eyes to the possibilities of a story being told in poems, with a thudding basketball rhythm to boot. So awesome!

• Sick bay by Nova Weetman – Sick bay tells the story of two grade 6 girls, who don’t have much to do with each other at school but end up getting to know each other in the sick bay. Riley has diabetes, Meg relies on breathing in brown paper bags to keep her calm. The story is told from both girls’ perspectives in alternating chapters. Meg’s mother is not coping very well after Meg’s dad’s unexpected death. Riley’s mum is protective (controlling?) about her daughter’s diabetes. Chapter by chapter, the girls edge towards friendship with a few hiccups along the way. For anyone who feels a little different and has tried to hide it, this is a perfect book for 10-12 year-old girls. It’s an age for friendship dramas, and the end of grade six is such an important stage. Sick Bay thoughtfully presents a range of characters whom readers will adore.

• Catch a falling star by Meg McKinlay – set in 1979, a space station is supposedly falling back to Earth. But this was the space station that launched the night Frankie’s dad went missing, so while the rest of Frankie’s town is amused or concerned by the space station, Frankie and her younger brother have bigger emotions around Skylab. This book will be loved by young science readers and avid readers alike.

• Lenny’s book of everything by Karen Foxlee – this was another of my favourites. Lenny’s younger brother Davey has a condition where he keeps growing taller and taller. At six years old, he is as tall as a man. Lenny’s mother is busy working full-time, being a single mother and keeping Davey in clothes and food. But Lenny and Davey are lucky enough to be given a set of encyclopaedias, to be delivered in instalments month by month, which opens up their world. Heartwarming – grab the tissues for the last chapter!

Happy reading!

 

While I love reading fiction, I also love learning so I read quite a few non-fiction books on a range of topics. If you are looking for a present for a non-reader or a non-fiction reader, some of these books might give you some ideas.

Memoir – Clare Bowditch’s Your own kind of girl was my favourite memoir this year. I was so pleased I went to her launch and loved reading about her journey through owning her music and overcoming her anxiety. You can read more about it in a longer post here.

Spirituality – Gabrielle Bernstein’s latest book, Super attractor, is a book about manifesting your dreams and overcoming your limitations. She writes with a modern sensibility, and while her books could be described as a little ‘woo woo’, there’s so much that makes sense and so many quotes to live by.

Health – Dr John Sarno’s The divided mind – this is a medical book on overcoming chronic pain. As someone who has had migraines for over 20 years, I’m learning a lot of useful information that I’m applying – with success – to reducing my migraines. Maybe it’s not Christmas present material but it could be useful reading for anyone who suffers from chronic back, neck, knee, migraine pain.

Design – I received Maison, Parisian chic at home last Christmas and it’s one of the most gorgeous coffee table design books around. Written by Ines de la Fressange and Marin Montagut, it showcases twenty or so Parisian apartments, decorated in all kinds of styles. It has droolworthy photos – just look at the cover! My favourite photo is one of a pair of green velvet armchairs in front of a window with a typical Parisian outlook of grey rooftops. One day …

Just do it! – If Nike had a category, Marie Foleo’s book Everything is figureoutable would be number one! Full of practical tips and encouraging stories, Marie’s book is written in her usual no-nonsense style to help you achieve anything and everything in all areas of life. I am muttering the phrase – everything is figureoutable – right now as I’m aiming to meet an editing deadline, attend numerous Christmas and birthday functions and keep up with everything else December throws at me!

Cookbooks – My recipes come from a variety of cookbooks. None of them are new this year, but some of them might be new to you. Lola Berry always offers a variety of healthy meals, full of rainbow colours – her smoothies from Food to make you glow are divine. Tenina Holder has a range of Thermomix cookbooks which are quick and easy and delicious – we all love her taco beef salad. I’ve been cooking Karen Martini’s roman pork sausage ragu for years and we eat regular salads and vegetable dishes from Hetty McKinnon’s Community cookbook.

Creativity – I have a few books by Julia Cameron, including her most well-known, The artist’s way. This book would be inspiring for an artist in any field from photography or weaving, painting or gardening. I also love flicking through my books on sewing and drawing for inspiration, and I’m looking forward to starting a creative project or two in January.

Mindfulness – my favourite author on mindfulness is Jon Kabat-Zinn. He writes without judgement and his stories about his family and clients are heartwarming and encouraging. He has written many books on mindfulness in health and parenting. Kate James, a lovely Victorian writer, has written a few beautifully presented books on mindfulness and simplicity with small, actionable steps to lead you to the life of your dreams. Perfect summer reading – summer holidays and a fresh year equals mindful reading!

Travel – I’ve had a copy of Pia Jane Bijkerk’s My heart wanders on our coffee table for a few years. It’s such a beautiful book to pick up and leaf through – the blue-grey cover is so tactile. It tells the story of Pia Jane’s travels through Paris and Amsterdam with visits back to her Sydney hometown and how she has made herself a home in each place, even on a houseboat in Amsterdam. It’s a gorgeous mix of travel, story and design.

Writing – I have a lot of writing books but my favourite one is by US agent Donald Maas – The emotional craft of fiction. He provides lots of exercises with thorough explanations to go deeper in your writing and bring a layer of perception and compassion to your characters. I’m planning to go through his book again in January when working on the next draft of my manuscript.

Parenting – The conscious parent by Dr Shefali Tsabary is an intense read but worth it. She is currently running a free masterclass  which I’ve signed up for here but haven’t listened to yet. Her premise is that raising children brings up all sorts of unconscious beliefs and attitudes about our own childhoods and it’s only in understanding our biases towards parenting and our children, that we can raise them with conscious awareness. I also found Raising our children, raising ourselves by Naomi Aldort extremely useful. My husband and I still use her SALVE method – Separate yourself, Attention back to the child, Listen, Validate and Empower.

The art of living  – for want of a better category, I’ve come up with this one! I’m working my way through all of Brene Brown’s books again. She’s a social researcher, and her TED talk a few years went viral. She also has a netflix show which will give you a great understanding of her work. I bought her latest book on leadership for my husband. Her six books cover topics such as shame resilience, vulnerability, leadership at work and home, community, relationships, perfection. Brene is a wonderful storyteller and her data-based research, combined with her stories, are powerful.

Craigh Wilson’s Intuitive has been on my list to read for a little while, and his publisher Michael Hanrahan, kindly gave me a copy. It’s fascinating – the idea that everyone is intuitive and can tap into their intuition to make decisions is inspiring. I’m only halfway in but I’m looking forward to flicking through this book again in January when I have time to delve in more deeply.

I hope you find something in here to help with your Christmas shopping or summer reading!

Thank you to everyone who left a comment on my last blog post. The winner is – Rachel! You have won yourself a copy of Sonia Orchard’s Into the fire. I’ll be in touch to organise delivery, Rachel. Happy reading!

 

 

So many favourite adult fiction books I’ve read this year! I hope these brief reviews – in no particular order – give you some ideas for Christmas shopping for summer reading. There’s a variety of authors – female, male, Australian and international, and a variety of themes – family, friendship, ageing, art, mistakes, death.

As a thank-you for being such lovely supportive blog readers this year, please leave a comment telling me which book you would love to read by Thursday 5 December, 5pm. All readers with comments will go into a draw to win the book of your choice! The winner will be announced in my blog post on Friday 6 December. Good luck!

• Gravity is the thing by Jaclyn Moriarty – This book is quirky and endearing with beautiful language. Abigail is a woman in her mid-30s who is still looking for her missing brother who disappeared when he was 17. She’s a single mum in Sydney who accepts an invitation for a weekend retreat for people who once received separate chapters from a self-help book called The Guidebook as teenagers. This novel is full of lyrical phrases, slightly whacky situations and characters who are wonderful and flawed. I’m almost ready to read this one again.

• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett – A young sister and brother are evicted from their childhood home – an acclaimed house built by a Dutch family – by their stepmother when their father dies. They spend their lives mourning the loss of their home and identity, until the unexpected appearance of their mother changes their lives again. This would make a wonderful bookclub discussion. You can read a longer review here.

• A ladder to the sky by John Boyne – This was on my bookclub reading list, and we all enjoyed it. It’s told in a few different sections by different narrators who cross the path of Maurice Swift, a writer at different stages of his life. Maurice first appears as a young man, who cultivates a friendship with an older writer and cajoles him into telling a shameful story set in war-torn Germany. Maurice is so hell-bent on becoming not only a writer but a famous one that he writes his mentor’s story and publishes it to critical acclaim. Our bookclub had a great night discussing who owns a story and who has the right to tell it. Clearly, it’s a book to be discussed and was definitely a page-turner.

• Into the fire by Sonya Orchard – It’s a story about womanhood and friendship. Lara, the protagonist, and her friend Alice, become friends when they meet in the Women’s Studies department at Melbourne University but as they grow into young adults, they make different choices which leads to a drifting in their friendship. Readers know from the beginning that Alice was killed in a home fire. The story begins when Lara is returning to visit Alice’s husband and three children, a year after Alice died. You can read a longer review here.

• Boy swallows universe by Trent Dalton – This is the story of Eli Bell and his older, mute brother August. After their junkie mother and heroin dealer stepfather are caught up in a drug scandal, the boys are sent to live with their father, whom they haven’t seen for years. Eli has a compelling voice, the novel has an original concept and the ending had me turning pages swiftly to find out what happened next.

• City of girls by Elizabeth Gilbert – This is New York 1940s style glamour with theatre business against a backdrop of war. Vivian moves to New York to live with her theatre director aunt and ends up designing costumes for her shows and hanging out with the actors and show girls and socialites of New York. It’s her downfall – and it’s catastrophic for the time – that leads her, eventually, back to New York and to a life she couldn’t imagine. Great summer reading, full of history, scandal, glamour and love.

• Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak – this story of five brothers living alone is told with a strong, distinctive voice and so much heart. There are many moments of beautiful tenderness – ‘It’s a mystery, even to me, how boys and brothers love’. The characters are real and messy and flawed and beautiful. We’re shown the best and worst of them. The narrative flips around in time, so that we have an understanding of how the characters grow into their later selves. The breadth of the novel is astonishing – we have Michaelangelo, horse-racing, a typewriter, a few animals, a piano, Greek mythologies, running, two marriages and a divorce, an artist and of course, a bridge.

• The lost man by Jane Harper – This is another fabulous crime novel from Harper, this time without detective Faulk. The setting is outback Queensland on a cattle property, where three brothers have spent most of their lives. But one of them is dead, and the remaining two brothers search for answers. This would make a wonderful summer read as one of Harper’s strength is her descriptive settings, particularly in the heat.

• Normal people by Sally Rooney – Irish writer Sally Rooney has created an intimate world for Connell and Marianne, two teenagers at school in the west of Ireland. The book focuses on their metamorphosis from uncertain teenagers into young adults with dreams, dramas, relationships, politics and problems. I felt I knew them both well because Rooney focuses with such detail on their lives and shows the awkwardness and uncomfortable feelings and tenderness without becoming sentimental.

• The weekend by Charlotte Wood – I’ve only started this one but I’m already gripped. It’s the story of three women in their seventies who go away for a weekend to help sort out a deceased friend’s beach home. There’s an excellent review in The Sydney Morning Herald here. Wood wrote this when she had her writer in residency at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre with opportunities to speak with health professionals on campus.

 

 

 

 

I love the idea of Advent as a time of waiting – being patient and preparing for Christmas.

Our family have used an Advent calendar for the last thirteen years. Miss 13 was only a three-month-old baby when I bought it, her younger brother wasn’t even born and so her older brother at age three had the honours all to himself for that first year. Now Mr 15 barely remembers when it’s his turn to open the calendar and it’s really up to Mr 10 to organise his siblings.

Secretly, they all still love it.

Our Advent calendar is a wooden frame with 24 small hinged doors to open up a little space to reveal a surprise. I have always used handmade notes, with the occasional chocolate. Our notes have loops so they can be hung on the Christmas tree after being read. The notes say things like –

• Let’s put something under the giving tree at school
• Be extra kind to someone today
• Today we’re making peppermint bark
• Let’s wrap up presents for our cousins today
• Today we’ll make Christmas decorations

Can you see why the kids roll their eyes at my attempts to remind them that Christmas is about giving, not just getting?!!

This year, we will carry on our tradition, but with a difference. For the first time, I have my very own Advent calendar.

The Literary Tea Company have an Advent calendar with a different tea for the 24 days leading up to Christmas. Mine has already arrived (Rhiannon is extremely organised and accommodating!) and it is even more beautiful than the photos show. It’s going to be a long wait until the first of December!

Every morning, the first thing I do is put on the kettle. Our puppy, Cleo, knows that I’m up when she hears the kettle so she demands to be fed. Then I take my tea into the study, drink it and read for fifteen minutes before checking in on the rest of the family.

I can’t wait to try a different tea, like Charlotte Bronte or C. S. Lewis or Virginia Woolf.

Our Advent calendar is chipped and a couple of the doors won’t close properly but I know this is a tradition we’ll continue for quite a few years. Let me know if you have an Advent calendar tradition or a morning tea ritual. And have a look at the Literary Tea Company’s website – so many choices for a Christmas stocking!