Walking around various local suburbs going about my normal day, it’s fair to say that things have deteriorated. ~ Rubbish is in the streets everywhere ~ Pot holes on our roads that go unrepaired (this annoys me because it destroys my car wheels) ~ Police cars with graffiti on them (signs of protest made by […]
Lazy Sunday Afternoon Pretending I’m in Hawaii Golfing
Okay, so we can’t travel at the moment because everything is so expensive and we are waiting until Andrew retires in January 2026 BUT I can still pretend… This afternoon when the sun came out, I decided to head out to our backyard under the wonderful paperbark tree (which is 53 years old) to try […]
Our Book Club Author Event
This year I started a Book Club I’ve called Birdies, Bogies and Books at my golf club. Its one of the many clubs (other than golf) that members can become involved with and as I love to read and share my love of reading, I created the group, curate the book list and then run […]
New Second Hand Book Haul
I love to visit second hand book stores so naturally, I went to Savers and saw these wonderful books. Someone was obviously clearing out their Julian Barnes collection so I bought the entire lot for $2 each. BARGAIN. I’m slowly getting rid of some books that simply don’t do anything for me but unfortunately, I […]
What Would the World Be Like If We Didn’t Have Covid?
That’s the question that my husband asked me last night. We were watching the news which had a story about how the Melbourne City Council is trying to entice workers back into the city. Our city is still feeling the effects of the long lockdown of 2020 where it felt we were all in our […]
Brute Force Spam Attacks
(I just looked at this photo and saw that he’s holding up a sign that says, ‘Stop and Pray’. Ha! Now that I’ve inserted it into the blog, I can’t be bothered removing it and replacing it with something else. I’d pray that these annoying spammers have their server farms zapped and blown up in […]
Reading Graphic Novels: Sharing My Thoughts on Video
This September, I’m reading more graphic novels as part of the #FramedInSeptember challenge by a few YouTubers where we are challenged to read about art – or art in different ways. You can read more about what I wrote about it in this blog post, Reading Graphic Novels. As Andrew is a mad graphic novel […]
End of Term Dinner at the French Providore Cafe
Last night I attended a lovely French dining experience with fellow classmates from our French School. Our teacher Nathalie had organised an end of term dinner at the nearby Providore Cafe on Hampton Road. Chef Guillaume laid out a fantastic charcuterie spread of French products like hams, terrines, butters, cornichons (pickles), cheeses and delicious confitures […]
Bah! Amazon Shmamazon
I’m not a fan of Amazon. Never have been. Never will. Add to that, Uber and other platforms that invariably, force us in some way or another, to have no choice in using them or be physically, and virtually, isolated. A few months ago, for a lark to see how it works (and the question […]
Delectable Desserts
Every Tuesday afternoon, I have French classes. Our teacher serves us dessert at the end of the class and it’s fair to say I’ve had some delicious cakes in this class. Today, she pulls out a large box of hamburgers! My first thought was “this is different! No cake?” The mini hamburgers were actually the […]
Book Review: My Husband by Maud Ventura
Here’s the latest video I published on YouTube. This book was recommended by one of the ladies in my book group as a quick, if not, a creepy read. A woman is so in love with her husband that she does everything just to spend time with him (at the expense of everyone and anything […]
Recurring Dream: Locating My Room in a Corridor
I’ve been having this recurring dream for a while and I wonder why. I’m always either at one of three places. The Australian Defence Force Academy (which is a place I used to work at); Monash University Biochemistry Labs or a hotel that I’m staying at and I need to check out to catch a […]
A Visit to Mont Albert & Box Hill
It’s Friday. It means that it’s a day to go jaunting around Melbourne to discover its glorious suburbs. So I jump into my car and decide to drive to the eastern leafy suburb of Mont Albert. The Mont Albert Village in Hamilton Street is a cute strip of old shops that are a mix of […]
Bits & Bobs For the Week
Virtual Visit to 
Japan I’ve been in a Japanese Culture Appreciation phase for a while now. I can’t get enough of it. It may have been inspired from all those novels I’ve read this year that take part in Japan. Or reading Japanese authors. It may also be because I’ve been living through the travels […]
Vladivostock Circus Book Review
I love the writing of Elisa Shua Dusapin who is a French Korean author. I read Pachinko Parlour this year that set me off on a love affair reading all her books as well as exploring Korean and Japanese books, food and culture. I wanted to read her latest novel Vladivostock Circus which was all […]
McClelland Sculpture Park
Last week I visited the McClelland Sculpture Park in Langwarrin Melbourne. It’s a great place to spend a morning or afternoon wandering the grounds and looking at the various modern art sculptures that interact with the elements. Looking at art – any art – opens the mind into a curious and inquisitive state. I was […]
Visit to Canterbury
On Saturday it was a lovely day so rather than stay inside, I wanted to go and explore a bit. One of the things I like to do is to visit second hand bookstores and I found out that there was one in the quaint suburb of Canterbury. Our first stop was to the Canterbury […]
Why I Love My YouTube Channel: For The Stories People Write
Even though creating videos to share online on YouTube is a bit of a pain, I prefer reading the comments from viewers and fellow readers. This morning I read one that I loved. As a history buff, this reader brought back to life a part of Melbourne that was long since forgotten: Cheshire’s Bookstore. What […]
New Book Review: Body Friend by Katherine Brabon
I’m a member of my local library’s book club and over the last few months or so, I haven’t enjoyed the books that were chosen for us. However, I guess that’s why we have book clubs. We don’t always need to love the book we read. Instead, if it inspires thought provoking conversation or changes […]
My Book Club Books for 2024
I started a Book Club this year at my local golf club that has various clubs that members can get involved with. It’s a great way to socialise with others other than just golf. Here are the books I’ve chosen for the year. I select them based on recommendations by others but also my own […]