Blog
I Have a New Hobby. A Battery.
May 31, 2026
My new hobby doesn’t take up much of my time each day, but it is enormously satisfying. Usually, at about 10.55am, I open up my battery app and watch. I love seeing the energy from my solar panels flow into my battery instead of the grid. But it’s when the clock hits 11am that the…
A Recycling Confession
May 22, 2026
But first – the denial. Aghast, I re-read the letter from Nillumbik Council. There was no way that I could have put the wrong things in my recycling bin – as they said I had. Clearly, it was Council which had made the mistake. Not me. I’m a greenie, green through and through. And a…
Cuba vs Us
May 9, 2026
In this crazy mixed-up world of ours, we humanise dogs – watching online videos of talking, clothed pets – and yet we dehumanise immigrants. Foreign-owned companies extract and export our gas for free, while our old people in nursing homes are charged extra for a cup of Moccona coffee. Cuba is labelled a state sponsor…
Writing Against the Usual Story
April 10, 2026
I didn’t write Nikki vs Jess to follow the usual story.I wrote it to challenge it. I deliberately refused to describe my two central characters.Not their looks, not their bodies.Because the usual story focuses on the appearance of women, and I wanted readers to understand them through what they say, what they do, and who…
Not a Mother, Not by Choice
April 5, 2026
Mothers – we all have them. But not all of us are one. Some women choose not to have children. Some of us don’t make that choice and – for many different reasons – never become a mother. I am not a mother. It wasn’t a decision I made. I just wasn’t with the right…
In the Midst of Conflict: What We Choose to Hold Onto
March 28, 2026
When I was writing Nikki vs Jess, I spent a lot of time thinking about conflict and competition. Not the big, global kind – but the quieter, personal kind. The sort that fuels the small battles in our everyday lives. Nikki and Jess compete for dominance at the pool table. They challenge each other constantly.…
The Importance of Friendship
March 20, 2026
I think friends are vastly underrated. Frankly, I couldn’t survive without mine. My friend Michele has always been there for me, through every crisis and through every moment of triumph. Julie’s steadfast belief in me continually encourages and sustains me – and she never fails to make me laugh. When I have tech issues (which…
Women in Trades in 1980s Australia: Courage and Defiance
March 14, 2026
“How many female apprentices do you have?” I asked as I walked into the Plumbing Department at Box Hill TAFE. For a moment there was stunned silence as all the men looked up from workbenches, tools suspended mid-air. Then the whole workshop erupted into laughter. It was 1987 and I was the newly appointed Women’s…
Confronting the Legacy I Inherited: Jewish Heritage, Gaza, and Reconciliation
February 21, 2026
I am the child of a mixed marriage. My father was a Russian Jew who emigrated to Australia in the 1930s as a young boy, and my mother was a proud fourth-generation Australian. Growing up, I was inspired by The Diary of Anne Frank and every story written by Henry Lawson. I had nightmares about…
Black Saturday Bushfires: 17 Years On
February 7, 2026
Today marks 17 years since the catastrophic Black Saturday bushfires. I think of all the people we loved and lost on that horrific day, and still miss immensely. I also mourn the loss of so many animals and precious wildlife. However, today I write this post to honour the survivors of Black Saturday. For against…