Our first motor vehicle was almost a rather stylish De Soto utility, but as my father’s farm diaries record, it ended up being a blocky, dark green Dodge (I secretly yearned for a car, but never mind). The ute was second hand, and I don’t remember how
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Decluttering, what a stressful job it is. So many baby boomers are downsizing that sometimes you can’t even give things away. One of the toughest items I had to move on recently was a pair of bulky, forty year old life jackets. Why on earth did my
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This little piece on the Stony Rise Quarry arose from a major decluttering prior to my move into a new home. I was sorting old photos when this one popped up, taken at my father’s Tasmanian farm circa 1975. It took me a while to remember what
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My parents-in-law, Alan and Jean Conolly (nee Atkins) were married in Manly in December 1946 and spent their honeymoon in the Blue Mountains. They were certainly not alone! I was amused at the following snippet relating to couples who had chosen a winter wedding. Wow, quite risqué
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Sadly, I never met my father-in-law Alan Conolly. He died far too young, before I met my husband Rob. He travelled extensively during Rob’s childhood so father and son missed out on much precious time together. In the late 1960s, when Rob was still at school in
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A tribute to Tasmanian silversmith Mr Harold Sargison on the anniversary of his death. Recently I have been trying to decide what to do with three full cutlery sets (from several generations) plus numerous boxed sets; demitasse spoons, fish knives, fruit knives and forks, teaspoon sets etc
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Singing a song of Sixpence. 💛 During a major decluttering, some dusty life vests turned up at our Blue Mountains Home. Dear me, they were very bulky compared to modern ones. And as I was ripping up old diaries I found this gem from the early 1980s.
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Whenever I post photos of my (often large) containers of cut flowers there will be people who say; ‘Beautiful Pauline, but I can’t bear to pick mine.‘ I have no such qualms. 😎 For me it’s simply an added and wonderful way of enjoying the garden. I
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I came across a pile of garden magazines in a recent declutter and one in particular brought back uncomfortable memories. In the 1980s I was working fulltime, but also trying my hand as a freelance writer. In 1988 my husband Rob and I bought our first freestanding
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Sam Hood was a well known commercial photographer in Sydney for many years. During WWII he would take photographs of service personnel, which were naturally very popular with friends and relatives. In November 1941 H.M.A.S. Sydney was lost in an encounter with the German ship Kormoran. All
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