MY AUSTRALIAN LIFE
by the sea.
by the sea.
About Me
I am a fourth generation Australian married to a Slovenian. We have two creatively talented adult children; one a writer, the other a musician, and three terrific grandkids who are happy in their employment and fast becoming independent. It is easy to be very proud of all of them.
My husband and I live on the coast with Spitzli our Mini Schnauzer. Swimming in the salt water pool in summer and walking on the beach in winter are two of my favourite things. Following Ferrari in Formula 1 is also special to us. We travelled to Melbourne to see Michael Schumacher race at the Albert Park track.
After our life in the city, where we raised our kids and I worked as a registered nurse in public and private hospitals, we moved to the country. My husband and I raised beef cattle in the Southern Highlands of NSW for sixteen years. We loved the land and our animals, including our beautiful German shepherd, Tiger, and we lived an idyllic life in spite of the bitter winters and often-scorching summers. Some of our cows left a greater impact on us than others. Billy the Bonsai Bull, star of my children's chapter book Billy the Bonsai Bull, was one of them.
My husband and I live on the coast with Spitzli our Mini Schnauzer. Swimming in the salt water pool in summer and walking on the beach in winter are two of my favourite things. Following Ferrari in Formula 1 is also special to us. We travelled to Melbourne to see Michael Schumacher race at the Albert Park track.
After our life in the city, where we raised our kids and I worked as a registered nurse in public and private hospitals, we moved to the country. My husband and I raised beef cattle in the Southern Highlands of NSW for sixteen years. We loved the land and our animals, including our beautiful German shepherd, Tiger, and we lived an idyllic life in spite of the bitter winters and often-scorching summers. Some of our cows left a greater impact on us than others. Billy the Bonsai Bull, star of my children's chapter book Billy the Bonsai Bull, was one of them.
One trip to New Zealand with our family, and four trips overseas to Europe have satisfied our long distance travel urges. We loved visiting my husband's relatives and seeing different countries – countries with so much more Western history than ours. In Switzerland I enjoyed the time spent in Wilhelm Tell's birthplace, Bürglen, and visiting Altdorf, Lake Luzern and Küssnacht where the legend played out. Knowing this setting so well, and because of the help from my new Swiss friends, Conny and Antonia and their families, I found writing The Unhewn Stone and the subsequent amendments so much fun and very rewarding.
Now, our travel plans are limited to within Australia and must include pet-friendly accommodation, which is not easy to find. I'd fret too much for Spitzli, if we had to leave her for too long.
We had a party for Spitzli on her 1st birthday with three of her little dog friends. On her 3rd birthday she will have a bigger party. It will be her 21st in dog years. At the moment she's about to enter her teenage years. Obedience training is working well. She cooperates quite willingly, but does tend to talk back if she thinks I've been unjust e.g if I withhold a treat when she thinks she has performed her task well enough.
Work for me is pleasurable but there is pressure, necessary to keep the adrenaline pumping, since I have a dead-line to meet with publishing Calamity's Corner each month and with finding time to do the one thing that brings me the most personal satisfaction, writing. It is funny and it's wrong that I should struggle to find time to write, when I have no trouble finding time to set up internet accounts to promote myself as a writer and 'talk' to other writers. Perhaps it has something to do with me being a Gemini - a communicator. Nevertheless, I'd rather be writing my full length novels - that part written fantasy trilogy, 'The Elfin Bride'; the 2nd draft of the psychological thriller "Cover Story' and the mystery I'm polishing now, 'Motive for Murder.'
In August 2011 MuseItUp Publishing will release The Unhewn Stone in ebook format and later in print. This is the story about the Swiss boy who travelled back to 1307AD and tried to prevent the legend of Wilhelm Tell to save his ancestor's life. Billy the Bonsai Bull and his struggle to survive is due in February 2012.
As a child I loved my schools and later University (UNE, Armidale) -BA in English Lit and Classical Lit. in translation. I also enjoyed my diploma course in Professional Writing - Fiction and Freelance Journalism. I like learning so that's why it's easy for me to lose myself in research. Since I mustn't waste all that pleasure and learning, it's less talk and back to writing for me. #
Now, our travel plans are limited to within Australia and must include pet-friendly accommodation, which is not easy to find. I'd fret too much for Spitzli, if we had to leave her for too long.
We had a party for Spitzli on her 1st birthday with three of her little dog friends. On her 3rd birthday she will have a bigger party. It will be her 21st in dog years. At the moment she's about to enter her teenage years. Obedience training is working well. She cooperates quite willingly, but does tend to talk back if she thinks I've been unjust e.g if I withhold a treat when she thinks she has performed her task well enough.
Work for me is pleasurable but there is pressure, necessary to keep the adrenaline pumping, since I have a dead-line to meet with publishing Calamity's Corner each month and with finding time to do the one thing that brings me the most personal satisfaction, writing. It is funny and it's wrong that I should struggle to find time to write, when I have no trouble finding time to set up internet accounts to promote myself as a writer and 'talk' to other writers. Perhaps it has something to do with me being a Gemini - a communicator. Nevertheless, I'd rather be writing my full length novels - that part written fantasy trilogy, 'The Elfin Bride'; the 2nd draft of the psychological thriller "Cover Story' and the mystery I'm polishing now, 'Motive for Murder.'
In August 2011 MuseItUp Publishing will release The Unhewn Stone in ebook format and later in print. This is the story about the Swiss boy who travelled back to 1307AD and tried to prevent the legend of Wilhelm Tell to save his ancestor's life. Billy the Bonsai Bull and his struggle to survive is due in February 2012.
As a child I loved my schools and later University (UNE, Armidale) -BA in English Lit and Classical Lit. in translation. I also enjoyed my diploma course in Professional Writing - Fiction and Freelance Journalism. I like learning so that's why it's easy for me to lose myself in research. Since I mustn't waste all that pleasure and learning, it's less talk and back to writing for me. #