Here’s the latest book review up online. I liked this book as it taught me a little about the history of Japanese and Korean relations. I had no idea of their tension and how Japan had colonised Korea in the past. Well worth a read.
Tasting Raclette
One of the things I love about my French school is that our teacher includes cultural experiences within the lesson. We speak in French and then we learn various cultural and traditional aspects of the country. Today was our last lesson for the semester before a three week break and she put on a “raclette”. […]
If You Can’t Travel to Paris, Go To Bendigo in Regional Victoria
It was a very long time since I had a school excursion so on Saturday, my French School organised a day trip out to regional Victoria, the old gold town of Bendigo to see the French Impressionism Art Exhibition of Life in Paris during 1880-1925. And shock horror, we were all going to go out […]
Worldwide Knitting in Public Day
Saturday June 8th is worldwide Knitting in Public Day and one of the local libraries in the area, hosted an event for knitters and crocheters. They also had biscuits and a barista there for biscuits and coffees as well as baskets of yarn and needles for anyone to have a go. I decided to go […]
What are My Next Steps?
I’ve been considering what to do with this Activate Learning blog. Should I close it down? Should I rename and redesign it? Should I start a new one as Life Lessons from Books? However, the more I think about it, the more I realise that “activate learning” is a useful generic “catch-all” phrase that could […]
Medea and Other Plays
Here’s the latest review I published on YouTube. I enjoyed reading this book and wondered why I hadn’t read the Greek plays before this. 🤦♀️
Love Affair with a Hot Water Bottle
The most underrated piece of kit any home to have is the hot water bottle. …and flannelette bed sheets …and flannelette pyjamas …and hand knitted woollen socks But mainly the hot water bottle. If I was a poet, I’d write a poem to my beloved hot water bottle. It’s THAT important in my life 🤣. […]
At the Crossroads of a Decision
Learning Inclusive Language for French
We had an interesting lesson in French today where we talked about inclusive language in French. To be honest, I thought that anyone who doesn’t identify as male or female would have used “vous” which is the equivalent of “they” or a formal “you” in French but I was wrong. The pronoun iel is used […]
A Good Clean Feels Cathartic
As poor little Pud has been sick lately we monitor his health daily. It means unfortunately he’s not always using his litter. Stressful for him as it is for me. However, I’m not too fussed in all honesty. I keep a fairly tidy house but not “sterile clean” because that’s way too much work (and […]
Knitting Projects
This month due to a lot happening where I had to drop everything and care for parents or the cat, I decided to start a few knitting projects of varying brain capacity. I needed some brainless knits that I could take with me when waiting at medical appointments or vet visits just to get my […]
Book Review: Steppenwolf By Herman Hesse
Here’s the latest video I uploaded to my YouTube account.
Cafe Rando
Once a month on a Sunday, our French School has Café Rando, an informal and leisurely beach walk at the Rickett’s Point Marine Sanctuary followed by a coffee at the beachside cafe there. It’s an opportunity to meet other students and Francophiles and bavarder en français. 🤣 What a stunning day! We have been lucky […]
Mensis Horribilis (Horrible Month)
I would say that this month has been one of my worst months in a long while. It included everything from illness, emergency, doctors, ambulance, even a funeral. However in hindsight, after all that, it’s also a month that has shown me what I will face more often in the near future with ageing parents […]
What I’ve Been Reading, Finished Reading or Unable to Continue Reading
Here’s my latest video vlog talking about what I’ve been reading and what I put down. I don’t always have one video per book simply because I read too many books and it takes a long time to shoot, edit and upload these videos. Instead I choose which books I devote a video to nowadays. […]
Sunday
While my family members have Covid this week, it meant the day was quiet as it was spent at home. Today I submitted a short story for the Booroondara Short Story Competition. It’s a story about a homeless man which I made up on the spot as a conversation between two rich young girls who […]
Learning a Language According to Me
I’ve been watching my husband using DuoLingo to learn German. It’s that little ding when he gets something correct, that I now hear every night. 🤣 However, when he gets something wrong, he becomes frustrated because he loses points. He has to repeat something and then he can’t move on to the next level. Welcome […]
New Book Review of Wifedom by Anna Funder
I posted a new book review on my YouTube channel on Anna Funder’s controversial book Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life. As a huge fan of George Orwell, I read this book at the same time as his books of his Diaries and Letters. It’s worth reading and it makes you question why his wife wasn’t […]
Playing At Flinders Golf Course
Today I played at the Flinders Golf Club Charity Day with a couple of other ladies from my club as well as representatives from over ten different clubs around Melbourne. What a gloriously sunny day as we couldn’t have asked for a nicer day. Heaps of sunshine, no wind and spectacular views of the rugged […]
How I Grew Up in Clips
My typical Saturday mornings unable to ever sleep in…. Every family gathering where all my aunts were in the kitchen. And afterwards, when they did the dishes Meanwhile all my uncles inside the dining room And when I tried to cook anything…. This 👇