Written for Frank's Haibun Monday at dVerse - topic: Writer's Block Sometimes an idea flares in the brain – spontaneous combustion – and it’s big and bright and I bask in its wonderful glow. But when that’s used up, it’s easy to think that every idea will be like that – intense and consuming, shimmering … Continue reading Spark Blindness
In response to Jewish Young Professional's Anti Self Deprecation post I am going to try and write about five random things I think I am good at... without being self deprecating. That's the challenge. Spelling. I'm not a spelling wiz like those kids on that Netflix documentary who can spell words they've never heard or … Continue reading 5 Things
August follows from a grey and fearful July – the closed hatch of cities in lock-down. Concrete and buildings hunkered under shifty, flannelette skies. The grime of recycled messages from haggard, mesh-faced leaders. Closed front doors, a stultifying blank. Resentment breeds as fast as the virus itself. Different areas, different rules. Anger like pavement cracks … Continue reading August – Haibun Monday
In the morning, after shutting the gate (to keep the chooks in), I turned around to see a handsome king parrot land in a shaft of weak eastern sunlight on one of the bare boughs of our pear tree. He chirruped softly and I chirruped back. He cocked a curious head down at me. I … Continue reading Photo Phrustration
So I want to write about Tesla. I will not feed you lots of facts because I'm afraid my brain just isn't that good at retaining facts. But I will try and be logical. First of all... we bought a Tesla Model 3 in October 2019 - just before life in general turned into a … Continue reading Tesla
I wanted to actually send this letter but I can't find an address to send it to. So I have changed nearly all the critical details and am posting it here as a balm to my own feelings. It's sort of a work of fiction, given how much I have changed. But the feelings are … Continue reading The Worlds We Revisit
This afternoon we went for a little loop walk in Tidbinbilla - a nearby National Park. The walk we chose was the Lyrebird Trail with a bit of Cascade Trail thrown in for good measure - perhaps as much as 4kms in all. As we stepped out of the car to begin our walk, a … Continue reading Tidbinbilla
Warning: some fowl language content. Our daughter has piano lessons on Friday afternoons so we don't get home from school pick up until close to 5pm. By then, the dinner preparations are pretty urgent. Today, I had at least decided on the meal but had had to purchase a few items while daughter was in … Continue reading A different sort of evening…
There were two things I dreaded about having chemotherapy. One was the nausea - it's a pretty well known... almost an infamous side effect. And the other was losing my hair... again a fairly publicly visible outcome. The first has proved relatively manageable. The hospital wants you to be able to function as normally as … Continue reading About Chemo
I sit, warmly blanketed, in a bland room. The dim light on the wall opposite is an assault on my closed eyes. There’s no clock and no windows. The air conditioning hums loudly for intervals and then cuts off. My eyes water but I don’t raise a hand to brush the liquid away. Sometimes I … Continue reading PET Scan
