toast for tea

My dear friend I hung out the washing earlier and  thought of you, remembered that time I visited. You were down the back at the line with a mountain of clothes and I helped you peg them. You'd started to look weary. I let the chooks out today. Only two of them left now. They still make a mess of the garden. It’s amazing how much earth they move in a day. So much for my new mulch and all the raking I did last week. Still, I couldn’t leave them locked up on such a lovely day. There’s something relaxing about having them nearby, watching them scratch, scratch, scratch, step back then peck something delectable from the ground. Days like this are exquisite: warm enough to sit out on the deck, not too hot, the sounds of the birds and the water feature in the background, and still January – before the weight of another year of working weeks settles on my shoulders. You’d never guess what I saw, just now. A blackbird came down to the birdbath under the orange tree. I love the way ...

Christmas Day takes a year to arrive and then it’s over in a woosh. Well, that’s how it feels to me. Perhaps if you didn’t have anyone to be with on Christmas Day or the people you spent the day with drove you crazy you might not agree. I tried really hard to be ready for Christmas this year instead of it creeping up on me when I wasn’t looking. But it did anyway. It crept up even with me keeping a close watch out for signs – like a plethora of biscuit tins in the stationary aisle at the supermarket and the humungous decorations the council hang from the light poles. I did manage to get the cards posted – well, okay, the overseas ones will probably arrive a tad after Christmas. I got the presents thought about, bought and wrapped. And I was going to put the tree up. Actually, that’s a bit of an untruth. I had no intention of putting the tree up. I made a decision not to have a tree this year because we were going to have Christmas Day at my father’s house and my teenagers were both ...

My dog, Milly, and I have a few things in common: we believe a long walk is a daily necessity, good for emptying – she, her bladder, me, my head; forty winks on the couch is so much better when you’ve got each other for a hot water bottle – except on a Melbourne forty-plus killer; we’d sell our souls for a decent backrub; we’re chocoholics; and we love a good novel. The liking for chocolate is a bit of a worry. Though to be truthful, for me it’s an indulgence-slash-addiction I have no intention of ever trying to conquer. To overcome my chocolate habit would be tantamount to donating my tastebuds to science. I’m never doing it. It’s another matter for the dog, however. For her, chocolate, for all its sublime slide-down-your-throat-on-velvet-rollerblades allure, is toxic. Chocolate contains a compound called theobromine – a stimulant and diuretic – which dogs cannot digest. In large enough quantities – and for a small dog this could mean only a few squares of chocolate – it can be f...

So much has happened since Dog Gone was launched at the Melbourne Writers Festival. What a whirlwind few months it’s been – the reason this post is so overdue. When I look back I can’t believe I’ve managed all I have between packing up the house, moving into a hotel then back into the house again. I certainly wouldn’t have chosen it, but having an unexpected renovation thrown into the mix of our already hectic lives hasn’t been all bad. The house looks great – apart from the front fence – some of which is still in a crumpled heap on the nature strip. (Think steep driveway, wet day, plaster delivery.) The launch was so much fun. Elly Varrenti was wonderful considering she’d had such an awful couple of weeks beforehand . Euan Mitchell introduced us and after Elly spoke I gave a bit of background to the book and read out some of the funny bits. Everyone laughed and groaned in the right places, which was a most satisfying feeling. It was fantastic to see so many people come down to ...

The fantastic news is it’s FINISHED! And ELLY VARRENTI is launching it at the Melbourne Writers Festival . EVERYBODY is invited! Date: Sunday 5th September 2010 Time: 4pm Place: Melbourne Writers Festival           Feddish Cafe Bar           River Terrace, Federation Square           RSVP: carolepoustie@optusnet.com.au

It’s a Monday morning and I’ve just finished eating a breakfast of fresh fruit and yoghurt; bacon and eggs, tomato and pan-fried mushrooms; a freshly baked croissant with strawberry jam; and at least three cups of brewed coffee. The big band sound of muted trumpets and the voice of Frank Sinatra wafts overhead. I never have coffee for breakfast. Nor, I don’t think, have I ever eaten mushrooms this early in the day. But then I don’t usually start my day off in the dining room of the local motel. It’s a far cry from my usual routine of muesli and yoghurt eaten on the run between trips to the station and bus stop with teenagers. And today I feel displaced. The dining room is opulent. White table cloths, a waiter in black, cushioned wicker chairs, remarkably real-looking fake palm trees. Business people arrive for breakfast meetings; a young couple lean in towards each other, deep in conversation; there is applause from a conference room to the side. It feels surreal, me here on my own...

Yes, it’s true. The Word Spy is back. She snuck in by bus, train and plane without anyone noticing. And shhh, don’t tell, but she’s uncovered a heap of fascinating facts about words. Reading The Word Spy was adventure enough, but this time the trail takes some tricky twists and turns through language itself. A lot of snooping goes on, I can tell you. The Word Spy’s torch illuminates the origins of language, different types of languages – dead ones and new ones – sign language and Braille. There’s even a real Braille page in the book to run your fingers over! She talks about “the language of the road” and the symbols that swaggies used in case there were angry dogs about.  From babble to Chomsky, over-extension to metaphors and similes, you can be guaranteed the Word Spy has unearthed a fine selection of language peculiarities with her pick – and explained her findings with humour and intrigue. But there’s more.  Nouns, verbs, adjectives, subjects and objects. Don’t worry,...