Five on a Friday - boats
October 3, 2025
We had several boats when I was growing up, sail boats to be exact, as Dad did not care for powered vessels. Dad was a great and experienced sailor and navigator. He had learned to sail on Lake Erie while growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, and joined the merchant navy...
Five on a Friday - pets
September 19, 2025
We are a cat family, apart from the occasional goldfish, and we've had a number of feline companions over the years. I'd say the cat trend began when Mom and Dad were first married, living in Texas with a cat named Critter who alerted Mom to a snake in the house one day, ear...
Five on a Friday - music
September 13, 2025
We grew up with music in our house. Even as a young kid - probably 6 or 7 - I remember marching around the living room while Mom played a rousing tune on the piano for me.And she played piano really well. We had a Steinway upright that was shipped with us from the USA when w...
Five on a Friday - Cake
September 12, 2025
There was a lot of baking going on when I was growing up. Back then (in the olden days...) Mom didn't buy a lot of cakes and cookies. She made them. Our lunchboxes held home-baked oat and raisin cookies and brownies, and desserts at home would often feature a fruit pie or co...
My Spring visitors
September 6, 2025
I'd noticed my hibiscus leaves and flowers had that 'nibbled-on' and slightly shredded look and now I know why.My wood pigeons are back, foraging on the Spring growth and thoroughly enjoying themselves in the garden. I love them. They arrive with that distinctive whoop...
A lemon, some rosemary, and a malfunctioning pump
September 1, 2025
Not much happens in our little bay here.That's usually true, it's kinda quiet, especially during the winter when you might be the only person walking along the shore - and often with good reason because we've had some wild and cold windy weather lately.I do think signs of Sp...
Bringing in the action ...
June 10, 2025
There's nothing like a good Florida thunderstorm to set the scene for some action, maybe in a ghost story, or the precursor to some serious conflict between characters. In my story, it served as the introduction to a revelation about a major character, Ida Mae, whose de...
Bringing in the characters ...
June 5, 2025
I made many visits to Fernandina Beach in Florida during my time living in the USA, and I would often stay with my Uncle Carl.He wasn't my real uncle. He was one of Mom's childhood friends. Mom always respectfully referred to these dear people as our 'Uncle' and 'Aunt' ...
The importance of setting
May 27, 2025
Setting the scene for our stories can bring our reader into the writing straightaway.When I tell people that Florida is one of my most favourite places, they hesitate before replying with something like, 'Why? It's for retired people and tourists to Disneyworld' or, 'It's ho...
It's wild out there today
April 17, 2025
Easter in New Zealand can sometimes be pretty rough weather-wise, and we're certainly experiencing some full-on stuff right now, as the photo shows. Our little bay here is socked in with rain, the high tide waves are threatening to overwhelm the beach toilet, and the w...
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