Art and Abart

The Picasso Exhibition has finished and judging by the number of people there on the day I went, it must have been the most visited exhibiti...

The Aboretum in Pearl Beach is a santuary for over 90 species including threatened species like Koalas, Glossy Black Cockatoo and Barking Ow...

The first watercolour class was last night and it was good fun. We painted pears on the cheapest and the most expensive paper I could find. ...

It was pointed out to me the other day that we are all one transport catastrophe away from starvation and the best risk management strategy ...

Twenty years ago I lived next to a Qantas engineer who complained bitterly about sliding maintenance standards; 10 years ago I sat in an MBA...

At both tables next to mine in the coffee shop today people were talking about relationships, how to manage blended families/access rights/t...

The Patonga Pub is a wonderful old building set right on the water at Patonga which is just over the hill from where I live. On Saturdays an...

The Archibald Portrait competition held at the Art Gallery of NSW always features prominently in the media and is the cause of much discuss...

Suddenly my garden is full of spiders webs with curled leaves stuck in them. Inside the curled leaves sit the spiders, waiting for prey. I...

So much water! It is raining almost everywhere in Australia as a huge cloud band makes its way across the country. The Bureau of Meteorology...

On the other side of the globe my friend is just finishing a course of radiation therapy. I am thinking of her as I go about my day.

My newest homewares-experiment is with an alternate type of oven, a glass oven called an 'Easy Cook'. People who use them seem to lo...

A spider with a view over Umina Beach on the NSW Central Coast.

Flying back to Oz after long enough in New Zealand to adapt to the 2 hours time difference has the advantage of effortless early mornings. W...

Granny would know the names of these roses, all of them photographed in her garden. Red rose Rust-red rose White 'iceberg...

Jug of flowers from Granny's garden.

"If you have a garden you are never lonely," says my mother. She spent a lifetime on an isolated farm, so she should know. At 84 ...

In Granny's back garden

In Wellington I bought a little pack of Anchor milk to drink on the bus. It tasted as milk used to taste, which is more than you can say for...

I know I am home when I see signposts like these. Rural Signpost near Taihape. Nowadays these signs remind me of the wonderful work of N...