New Century Notebook

Is Journal Writing Are Bad For You?

2008-04-04T16:04:00.002+08:00

It is a fair question ... a recent study published in the Journal of Psychiatry suggests that emailing and texting excessively is a new century mental illness. So does anyone know if journalling might be bad for you?

Oh come on now. Surely not. Surely ...
Hmmm ... that thought could spoil my weekend ...

What for determines what style!

2008-03-31T09:43:00.003+08:00

Writing a journal without having an idea what you want to get from it is kinda like taking a forest trek without a map or compass and then wondering why you keep going in circles.

There are as many reasons for writing a journal as their are journal writers. What is important to remember however is that the style that you write, how often and what you do with the journal after you have written in it, will all be determined by the reason you were writing in the first place.

Let me start with:
There is no one right way to write a journal.

Then go on to:
Whatever you write, it will have an impact on you in some way, so it might as well be something useful and positive.

Some of the basic journal types are:
Health journals - including exercise and diet dairies.
Well being journals - psychological, social and emotional well being which raise your EQ. Including Sarah Ban Breathnach's Gratitude journal.
Reflective practice journals - for study, pondering life and spiritual matters and your reading or your work and careers.
Creative journals - for all artists and wanna be artists, writers etc. An example is Julia Cameron's Morning Pages.
Recording journals - to record your life, your decisions, aspirations and dreams. These commonly have lists, and charts and photos as well as scribbling.

What you want to get from it will determine how you write, where you write, how often, on what and what you do with what you have written.

If you have been keeping a journal for awhile now, take stock for a moment and think about your purpose. And are you getting there or have you been a little lost lately?

What do I write?

2008-03-18T15:04:00.004+08:00

What a good question - for any diarist. But a really good question for students writing reflective journals.

Can I share a really simple framework that works for most journal writing situations?

* What happened?
* How did you react to this? Feel about this?
* Did it remind you of anything?
* What could have happened differently? What information would have been/is useful to you about this?
* What are you going to do next? (If anything) Or next time?
* Answer the question "So What"?

If you cover these basics you really can't go wrong in a general sense.

So what is reflecting?

2008-03-16T14:13:00.005+08:00

Artist: Pat de Groot

As a writer, I often start my own contemplation from a creative perspective. And to begin examining reflection I talked with a couple of painter friends about reflections. The connection between reflection and light is one that hit a chord for me. There is a connection between considering the importance of light in a reflection in nature (or a painting) and the act of reflecting being an act of casting some light on a situation you have experienced.

In talking with these painters I discovered there are other connections to be made. Learning to paint a reflection, paint the impact of light is a basic painting technique learnt by all student painters. When I raise the issue of reflecting with my students, I always link it to being a basic skill they must learn to be able to move on and effectively critically analyse. In a more practical setting in human resources I also always described reflection as a critical skill which practitioners need to practice habitually, to be able to fully develop as a practitioner.

Like the art of learning to paint though, reflection and the casting of light, is not a simple skill to learn. It is not material. It is not simple to describe. It is not solid or shaped.

A lesson from maths reminds us that reflection is a map that transforms an object into its mirror image. It is transformative. It is a mirror image - not a pure image.

In writing, reflection is contemplation with a conscious intent. Observing and interpreting what you observe - and continuing that observation and interpretation on the impact of any event, or even of the reflection itself. Perhaps as endless as light appears to be in masterful painting.

Dear Student: You can see why reflection is not easily taught. Like a student painter though, you can take the tools you have and practice. It is in the practicing that the reflection begins, and moves and grows and takes a life of its own. Remember the last posting - perfection is not part of the journey or the journey's end.

A Perfect Reflection?

2008-03-15T13:54:00.001+08:00

I'm thinking about my students again ... asking them to reflect on their learning, reflect on their experiences, reflect on their feelings ...

The ability to reflect is such a critical part of the qualification they are completing at the Uni. For one of my units, a reflective assessment has been set for another purpose too - to assist them to do some self-debriefing in what can be endless reading and viewing about the horrors of past historical treatment of marginlised people.

So I am finally biting the bullet. In my own post grad study on tertiary teaching, I have decided to look at the act of reflection. What do we mean when we ask our students to reflect? How does this look as a behaviour and how would it read as an article/journal entry/tutorial.

I thought it only fair to record some of my summary thoughts here as I go.

Defining reflection is obviously the starting point - and while I will be looking at all kinds of philosophical and pedagogical musings on this ... I want to record some early thoughts I have, where I think they might be of some assistance for students ...

My first link to the material world was to think about reflections in mirrors or water ... where a reflection is a copy of another image - and two things immediately came to mind.

In the mirror we see what we choose to concentrate on - the good, the bad, the ugly! Then there are those lovely fun house mirrors which are a great example of how the reflection in a mirror can be distorted for us.

A reflection in nature, say a tree reflected in a lake, or the picture at the beginning of this blog posting, is open for some interpretation too. The reflection is never quite like that of the original picture. While it is close enough to see what it represents, it is never as clear as the original is it?

Dear students: There is a powerful lesson here. Your reflection is just that. A reflection, and not a perfected image of the experiences you are having. Some distortion of the experience and feelings is going to be a part of the experience.

Reflective Journal Writing Resource for Nervous Students

2008-03-14T15:54:00.001+08:00

In a previous post I created a link to a useful site for students having to writer reflective journals ... I figure its worth putting it up here again.

A journal ends ...

2008-03-10T10:45:00.003+08:00

I may have mentioned this before ... but I never write in the last few pages of my journal .. I just start the new one ... I'm sure Jung would have his say on this.

How do you end yours? Do you hand it on? Name it? File it? Go through and rip out pages or embellish? Do you have a standard "ending" or perhaps even writer "The End"?

We all have our little journal ending's habits ... or maybe you choose NOT to make a big deal at the end ...

I came upon the last words in Swiss Family Robinson in which Father finishes the book with ...

“For the last time my united family slumbers beneath my care. Tomorrow

this closing chapter of my journal will pass into the hands of my

eldest son.”

Benefits for kids ...

2008-03-05T11:57:00.003+08:00

A blank journal is a great gift for kids ...

There are so many benefits to creating opportunities for kids to writer freely in a journal. I would strongly suggest a paper copy diary or journal for primary ages kids ... even for older ones. There are enough excuses for them to be using the technology that comes with computers without adding a new one. There are some cute voice activated journals that offer full privacy that I would have loved to have when I was a youngster.

Skills and opportunities include:

writing
handwriting
reflecting
debriefing
self directing
creativity
reading
contemplation
self reliance
imagination ...

The list goes on ... ask any primary school teacher ... so consider the real gift behind giving a journal and pen to a little friend ...

Go inside .... journal quote for the week ...

2008-02-20T12:43:00.001+08:00

Some people call journal writing 'ego centric' or selfish and self centered ... who cares?

There are so many healthful reasons to write a journal and I would love to hear your ideas about this ...

For now, I love Christina Baldwin's sense of adventure when she claims ...

"Journal writing is a voyage to the interior."

Christina is co-owner of Peer Spirit and author of journal writing texts such as Life's Companion: Journal writing as a spiritual quest and One to One: Self understanding through journal writing.

Spiritual Journalling

2008-02-02T16:38:00.000+08:00

Journal writing can be a rather intrinsic experience. The ultimate for many respondents to my journal writing research was writing a spiritual journal ....

The benefits from writing such a journal appeared to be quite incredible, and experienced on many different levels. The most common theme was the sens of being on a pilgrimage ...I can't imagine any reason why this wouldn't be a deep and fulfilling experience. Here are a couple of sites that you might find useful if you are contemplating such a journal.

Dan Phillips - How to develop a Spiritual Journal
Spirithome.com -Spiritual Journalling
A Wordpress Spiritual Journal
Jill Novak - How to Keep A Spiritual Journal
Bella On Line - Beginning a Spiritual journal
Creating a Faith book

And if you want to know more you can always try Ronald Klug's book ...

Designing Reflective Journal Tasks

2008-01-30T12:12:00.001+08:00

I admit to waxing lyrical about student journals. I especially admit to finding them difficult to grade - great to read, mark and provide student feedback that is really individual, but difficult to put a numerical value on.

So while I am preparing for the new semester of students which will soon be upon me, I am pondering how to design a journal activity (as opposed to an open journal) for the students. It's for a first year University class, in which we look at some pretty awful parts of history and try to make sense of them with contemporary minds ... thus there is plenty to reflect on.

In breaking down some tasks, it has taken me on a little internal journey examining how it is that I reflect in a journal piece. I know the theory about reflecting, I know how to do it ... but breaking it down into arbitrary steps is another thing.

So I'm taking my time in the design - despite the looming deadlines of the new semester ...

Journal Stolen!

2008-01-19T16:53:00.000+08:00

What would you do if your journal was stolen? Would it matter what was in it - or who read it?

Hmmm - that's a new worry isn't it journal writers?

I watched the DVD of Man About Town this week and, and having a stolen journal was a major plot point. Written and directed by Mike Binder, it raises some interesting thoughts for most journallers I am sure!

The main character (played by Ben Affleck) is a top Hollywood talent scout agent, and he has written quite freely in the journal. In short, his journal is kinda kidnapped and held for ransom ... A drama/comedy flick worth watching.

I'm just going to find a good safe place for my journal now ....

How True are You?

2008-01-11T07:49:00.000+08:00

Diary quote for the week:

"I tried to keep a diary but writing isn't one of my skills and also there was no way of presenting a true picture."

Charles Dance

New Writer's Resource Launched

2008-01-10T17:02:00.002+08:00

There is a new blog space on the black dedicated to writer resources, musings, creative exercises and guest writer bloggers ...

I am pleased to introduce The Writer's Room to you ...

The blog is by yours truly, but dedicated to the craft of writing more generally than a blog on Journals (in all their exciting shapes and forms) can provide.

Do pop by and have a look - and regular visitors here who are writers are welcome to do a guest blog post if they have something interesting to say!

Freelance Writing Privilege

2008-01-10T16:24:00.000+08:00

Every now and then as a write you get the privilege of a contract really worth doing ... one you know could make some small difference to someone ...

I had this pleasure just before Christmas when I was asked to write the dedication for this year's Red Sky Ride, a fundraising event for SolarisCare who provide pretty incredible supports for people diagnosed with cancer.

This year's ride is being dedicated to a young woman Carys Gilbert, who passed on in October 2007 at the age of 17. Her family have shared Carys' story to remind people of the reality of living and dying with cancer in the hope that there will be some donations put forward for this cause.

It was a Christmas present and a half to have the privlege of meeting Carys' family and writing the dedication. Thanks.

Now to the riders of this year's 8-day ride ... all the best! You're all doing a great job getting prepared and I'm sure its going to be tough but well worth it when the donations start flying in.

(c) Pamela Weatherill 2008

Quote Journal

2008-01-09T16:34:00.001+08:00

Chuck Swannell of Burlington County College created a useful classroom exercise based on a Quote Journal. It is worth having a read about - as it had a really positive effect on the students involved in his writing classes and I suspect it could easily be adjusted for other topics at all educational levels as well.

The basic idea is that students are encouraged to find quotes that move them - from films, bumper stickers, books TV etc. and then reflect upon them. Chuck also had students read them out in class each week ... The possibilities for this type of exercise are endless in a number of different subjects and at primary, secondary and tertiary study levels.

Never underestimate the value of journals in teaching!

I was here!

2008-01-04T11:11:00.000+08:00

Something I have questioned in my research on journaling is "Why do you journal?"

For many people their responses were based on somehow leaving a record that they were here, alive and lived a life. This is a reasonable deduction to make about human behaviour without any intense research really. In pre-historic times we carved pictures on cave walls, we build structures, take photos, write books, put our foot print on wet cement .... and some of us write in journals, keep visual diaries, video diaries or blogs ... all as ways of saying "I was here".

I understand this desire. I write a blog, keep numerous journals and yes, I have done the wet cement thing and even had a hand in some graffiti when I was a teen ... I actually have no problem with graffiti that doesn't destroy property ... I have worked in youth services and have even created graffiti projects ...

But.

There is always a but isn't there?

Don't destroy the beauty around you to record you were here. It just tells everyone you're an idiot, with little self respect and no respect for the world around you. Who wants to be remembered for that?

This posting is inspired by a visit to the Perth Zoo where some really great conservation work is going on ... and where the photograph above was taken by yours truly ... the gardens at the zoo are stunning ... and this bamboo (as was much of it) is ruined ... for goodness sakes find some wet cerement somewhere or buy a blank book!

Gramma's Diary Has a Home!

2007-12-28T17:05:00.001+08:00

Regular readers will remember how exciting it was for the Australian side of the family to get to read my Gramma's diary from Canada ... well the story continues. The diary has been doing the rounds of family and recently returned to me again.

This time it had been with the namesake of its original owner. My sister was named after my Gramma you see ... so she really enjoyed having a read and finding out that they had some things in common. My sister was lucky enough to know and love Gramma (she died before I was born) ...

Anyway having had her turn reading it, my sister made a beautiful box to keep the diary in - hand painted with her folk art. It was SO OVERWHELMING to receive this! It is painted with my Gramma's favorite flower (the pansy) and has a photo of Gramma and my sister (as a baby ) on the top. My sister did a stunning job and I am still feeling really emotional about it. She also wrote out some memories she has of Gramma so I have left those with the diary ... who knows what generations will do with it in the future, but the stories will be cherished, that's for sure.

So Gramma's diary now has a real home ... and is in the pride of place in my office for all to see ... I just hope Gramma doesn't mind us all reading it!

Thank you Esther for such a wonderful gift for ALL the family ...

The Christmas Lights are on in Madison

2007-12-18T10:40:00.000+08:00

Regular readers have heard about Madison Town before ... it's Stuart's model railway town ... his hobby ... his deal ... but as a writer I can't help but give every little model person a name and wonder who lives where and why the young boy is skateboarding while the other kids are at school ... I see it a little child-like I think ... almost as if it all comes to life when we aren't around.

Of course the other option here is that as a writer I am in need of the men in white coats to take me away too.

What's important, here in the season of Christmas, is that Madison town has its own Christmas lights! Not enough to have lights in our house and yard, Madison had to be all gussied up too!

You gotta love this time of year!

The Christmas Journal

2007-12-17T11:12:00.000+08:00

Of course there is such thing as a Christmas Journal! How else do you think Santa keeps himself organised to get around to doing everything on his list?

Christmas Journals are often a mixture between an organiser for the Christmas Season and a perpetual annual journal ... sometimes only used for one year, more often dragged out year after year in December.

Some start as Christmas Card lists in a book, or lists of presents and present suggestions, menus, and shopping lists. Even without ramblings of what went on each Christmas, a book of these simple lists can be enough to bring back the memories of Christmases past.

If you don't want to buy a blank notebook, or can't find one that is Christmassy enough for you, then you can always cover an old notebook in your favourite Christmas wrapping paper from this year.

Sex and the City

2007-12-12T14:22:00.001+08:00

They say when you are looking for something ... you will find it ... often in amazing places!

During my research for New Century Notebook, there have been plenty of references to writing about sex in diaries.... it's a part of life! Some came from members of the Erotica Writers Association and were linked to erotica writers using the diary form to create stories and adventures. Others were from run-of-the-mill folk who just wrote about sex in their diaries. It often came up as an issue people were worried that others might read about. One woman wrote about a sex diary that she and her husband kept for fun - and to keep their sex life interesting.

As you know I have been looking out for references to diaries and journals in the movies ... and had a little giggle when watching an old episode of Sex and the City ... where Charlotte's doctor gets her to keep a Vagina Diary because she thinks her vagina is depressed ... Typical Sex and the City it was a fun perspective ... but that got me to thinking about people who are asked to keep them for medical reasons ... I haven't had any responses from people in my research who use diaries for medical reasons somehow linked to sex ... So if you are out there please feel free to email me for a copy of my survey - I think this would be a useful inclusion in the book don't you?

Oh and for Sex and the City fans ... the new movie was announced in Australia today ... cool huh?

Every kind of art is a journal in the end ...

2007-12-06T10:49:00.000+08:00

This week's diary quote is from Pablo Picasso. It reminds me that for all artists, the journal is represented in many art forms. I don't know many artists (including writers, poets, sculptors, photographers etc etc etc) who only ever do one art form ... we all have our addictive art, the one we can't live without ... but we all experiment with our left over creativity in other ways too.

Most artists keep a visual or written diary of some sort ... and for most of us it is part of living, breathing and eatings ... however I also think its important to acknowledge our particular art as a journal of sorts too ...

Which brings me to the quote for the week .... with thanks to Picasso ...

"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary"

Encrypting Your Diary

2007-12-05T09:45:00.000+08:00

It seems the theme of "who might read my diary" is a pretty common one when talking about where you might keep your journal or diary.

What I think about sneaks who read another's diary is surely obvious on this blog ... boil in oil, burn at the stake etc .... If you think your diary is at risk there are some lovely techniques you can use to encrypt your handwritten diary (electronic ones simply need really good passwording systems) or hide it.

Here are ten tips:

Write in another language (great practice too!).
Write your life as if it were a short story - use fictional characters for the main people in your life.
Create your own code (you know the kind you had as a kid ... A=5 B = 13) for entries that you are really concerned about people reading
Keep your diary where no one else goes ... eg if you are the only one who does the vacuuming keep it with the vacuum cleaner!
Write in a notebook that doesn't look like a diary ... an old school exercise book for example.
Buy a really boring old book at a second hand shop ... calculus or something ... and write your diary in the margins and spaces of that book.
Don't fall for the "between the mattress and the bed" hiding spot ... its more obvious than you think (especially to pesky little brothers and sisters).
Write and burn.
Change your hiding spot regularly ... one person in my research even had a decoy diary!
Don't bother writing one at all if it stresses you so much. :-)

Weekly Diary Quote ...

2007-11-27T12:37:00.000+08:00

"The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another"

James Barrie (1860-1937). Author of Peter Pan ....

Another Movie Journal!

2007-11-26T10:50:00.000+08:00

Sometimes you take a chance when you watch a DVD ... you never know if the movie will be any good or not ... and if you're me and into researching journals and journal use you never know if there will be a journal in the movie or not!

We watched Turistas on the weekend. Bad choice. Horror movie, pretty poor all around. HOWEVER all was not lost! This John Stockwell horror is about a group of tourists stranded in Brazil after a rickety bus with a rough driver wipes out their transportation on a cliff ...

I'm not here to tell you about the movie ... but about one of the characters ... and the journal of course. One character is writing in her travel journal. It appeared to have some pics and well as small amounts of writing in it. She was working on it when the bus crashed ... everyone turned over again and again .... and she got out of the crashed vehicle, totally overturned ... and next shot she had her journal in her hand again! Terrible editing, but I was pleased to see the journal survived ... I saw little point to the journal in the movie so was surprised at the billing it got in terms of air time. But pleased nonetheless of course.

Ahhhhh travel journals. One of the original types of journals kept ...

A Summer Journal

2007-11-22T10:33:00.001+08:00

The Christmas season is upon us ... and here in Australia it is also the beginning of long days, warm days and nights, and thoughts of the coming long summer break. Even for those who don't take a long holiday during summer, there is a sense of holiday in the air even in the busiest of workplaces as soon as December hits ...

December 1st marks the beginning of summer. For a few years in a row, a dear friend and I kept a summer journal. We would meet on Dec 1 (the first time was at a gorgeous cafe in Northbridge, whose name escapes me, but whose Strawberry Shortcake I still lust after). An entry would be made on the 1st and we would set some summer goals - usually ones about enjoying ourselves over summer.

We would then take turns having the journal and writing in it. There was hardly more than a dozen entries each summer ... but we did this for years. And then each Dec 1 became even more fun as we re-read past entries, and had a laugh or two before setting more summer goals.

I can't remember when we stopped doing this. But I do know she still has it in a box of goodies somewhere ... and I might just suggest we pull it out again this summer ...even if just to read ...

Writing with a friend you love and trust with your summer secrets, is one of life's really special memories ...

Diary Quote for the Week!

2007-11-21T10:46:00.000+08:00

In Hollywood now when people die they don't say, 'Did he leave a will?' but 'Did he leave a diary?'

Liza Minnelli

To Do List Vs Journal

2007-11-16T14:38:00.000+08:00

Journals take many forms ... and one is the notebook full of to do lists. Always a fun way to record part of your life, while also being useful. There is a To Do List blog (recently published as a book ... congrats!) .... worth a visit for to do listers!

Journal Writing Conference

2007-11-12T15:35:00.000+08:00

For those of you in North America (or planning a trip next June) there is a Journal Conference coming up ... special topic writing to heal ... check it out here! (And if you go you must tell me about it!).

Diary Quotes

2007-11-11T15:33:00.000+08:00

I'm searching for quotes about diary and journal writing ... will share some here ... (do send me some if you know any). Can't help but start with good old Oscar Wilde ...

"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train. " Oscar Wilde

Beach Journal ...

2007-11-10T16:08:00.000+08:00

Bought the perfect journal for beachy summer journalling ... the shells are real ... the string is string! :-) Love it.

Student Journals

2007-11-02T13:13:00.000+08:00

I 'fessed up to my student group today! I am marking papers from the lecturing I have been doing this semester and left some of the best till last! The student journals. I confessed to them that I love reading them - and had told them this in the first workshop 12 weeks ago ... I've been honest. It is such a privledge to read their musings, hear about their growth, and see all the things they experience and learn. Better still they are only a PASS or FAIL. I can't hack it when journals for tertiary students are given a GRADE. Defeats the whole purpose ...

Journals in Movies

2007-10-29T11:38:00.001+08:00

Why would you use a journal to create the back story in a film? There are so many techniques at hand to make back story connections ... but the journal brings a sense of privacy, hiding information, personal troubles and feelings with it.

I watched Lady in The Water last night and the main character Cleveland Heep is a janitor. While he is central to the entire story, it isn't until another character finds (and reads!!!!) his journal that we find out about his past... and perhaps help to explain a little of his life as it appears in the film.

While I would never condone the reading of another's journal ... it's use in the film provides back story while at the same time showing us a little of the pain that the main character has in his life.

Good old journals!

Beach House Journal

2007-10-26T08:22:00.001+08:00

Here's an idea I have been trialling for the novel I'm writing ...

I have been writing the journal of the main character. Not that it will appear in the end novel (well I don't think it will) ... It's purpose is to really get into the head of the main character and include descriptions of the beach house where most of the story is set.

Apart from being fun it is useful in many ways. I suspect its possibly a good writer's exercise as well ...

Guilt Journals

2007-10-23T08:21:00.000+08:00

Journals suck you in. A set of blank pages, ready to be scribbled on with witty rantings can set off a whole new set of responsibilities in your life. Bloggers seem to suffer from the same fate.

Just because you CAN write every day, doesn't mean you HAVE to. Even when you use a dated journal ... who said you have to fill every page?

Yet so often in the journals (and blogs) I have been reviewing people apologise for not writing regularly ... or after a long break. So what?

I don't know about others ... but I have enough REAL deadlines to deal with, without feeling guilty about taking a break from writing a journal/blog/diary ...

So here ... have a day off!

Book Month and Book Crossing

2007-10-17T16:10:00.001+08:00

October is Book Month ... time to make a new commitment to setting books free.

I'm sorting my office this month coz we are getting new carpet ... which means I have to move my entire library! Sooooooooooo to make it a more positive experience I have downloaded a page of ten tags and will release 10 books!

If you don't know about Book Crossing .... then the time to check it out is now!

Tomorrow morning I set one free up at the uni and see if one of my students gets it ...

Reflective Journals - one for the students

2007-10-17T13:28:00.000+08:00

I know I am a journal writing purist when I get cranky about student assignments being set as journals ... and then the students are told exactly how they are to keep this journal, what to write, how to set it out! Worse still ... it is given a mark. Ouch.

I also know I am a realist.

Assignments must be graded in the big bad world of tertiary study and journals are a useful tool for students to learn for reflection - either in study or for their future professional lives.

Having waxed lyrical ... here is a useful article on line about writing a reflective journal.

I'll talk more about grading these in a future blog entry ....

Final Sense

2007-10-17T08:45:00.000+08:00

Big thanks to Final Sense for the new Template.

No thanks to Blogger for loosing my last one and not replying to my request for assistance!

If you are looking for a new Blogger Template pop by to Final Sense ... they have 100s of lovely ones to share.

Writing Habits

2007-10-05T16:06:00.002+08:00

Some of my writing habits have really taken a beaten. Blame getting married and having a great honeymoon, blame taking on more 'other' work than was conducive for writing, blame procrastination. Doesn't really matter what I blame ... they've taken a beating.

Every writer knows the key is to write daily, edit yourself harshly, live creatively and curiously, and read read read ...

I have been doing all this. Just not as much as I possibly could have. So the holiday is really over ha ha!

I've still had some nice pieces in magazines like Flourish and Perth Today tho ... but some of my bigger projects that are just for me have taken the beating ... No more I say. No more!

Oh and I'm back in blog land too!!! (While I was away the blogger fairies stole my template and everything in it ... so excuse the randomness of my new template!).

Flourish in Spring!

2007-10-05T16:06:00.001+08:00

Spring Has Sprung .... Where have I been?

Blogging just took a little back seat for awhile tis all!

(While I was away the blogger fairies stole my template and everything in it ... so excuse the randomness of my new template!).

This month I've had some nice pieces published in magazines like Flourish and Perth Today ...

Check them out ... Flourish is really setting some great new standards in women's magazines in Australia - lots of encouraging and uplifting articles and less celebrity gossip ... so much to read in each edition and not all full of ads.

The Holiday Is Over

2007-08-21T16:46:00.000+08:00

Well the holiday is well and truly over ... and testimony to that is the lack of action my blog! No I haven't given up ... just catchin' up.

For regular readers ... here is a pic which integrates both my holiday and past postings ... I had the pleasure of having cuddle with Elmo at Sea World on the Gold Coast here in Australia while we were away. regular readers will know that Elmo is rather important to me ... see previous blog entries with his picture!

We did it!

2007-07-24T11:24:00.001+08:00

What does one say about eloping?

(Photo courtesy of Ferrettography)

We had the perfect setting and day - Queensland turned on the sunshine and blue skies, the resort provided a perfect backdrop, our celebrant provided an intimate service for exchanging vows and rings, and our visual historian photographer gave us momento shots and a fun morning of picture taking.

I really just want to thank Stuart for the privilege of being his wife ....

The pictures are the closest I could ever get to recording the event ... words don't cut it ...

Eloping to the Gold Coast

2007-07-11T08:35:00.000+08:00

We're off for now ... I reckon this is a good enough reason not to be blogging for awhile!

(Yes I'm taking TWO journals with me!)

Favourite Artist

2007-07-10T11:11:00.000+08:00

Here is my latest aquisition from my favourite artist - Isabella.

Birthday Journals

2007-07-01T11:03:00.000+08:00

I need to clarify something for friends and family ...

It doesn't matter how many journals/blank books/pens/things to decorate journals with that I have. It is never enough.

Therefore being given a gift of one of the above IS the perfect gift at all times!

Here's my latest aquisition ... a birthday present from Clare - THANKS CLARE!

Writing Implements

2007-06-21T08:17:00.000+08:00

My New Century Notebook research is currently looking at the implements people use to write thei diary with. The usual things are like pens, pencils, crayons, coloured felt tip pens or other drawing implements and also the good old computer of course for Bloggers!

My research is also taking me up some strange pathways however ... like what do people write on ... other than notebooks. I've had lots of feedback about writing on old notebooks, napkins from restaurants and the back of tickets etc ... But there are some weird and whacky things people write on too (I'm leaving the whakiest for the book by the way!) ..

Any stories out there abou twhat you write your diary notes on????

A Diary for the Day

2007-06-14T10:51:00.000+08:00

Hey if you are interested in diary writing (and why else would you be here?) ... then I have found a little treat for you.

First I must say I am a little peeved I didn't know about the Keep a Diary for a Day project run by the UK National trust for their project 'History in the Making'.

However having got over that (!) the project was run for 17 October 2006. The idea was that people in the UK would record their day (in a diary or on a blog). What a fantastic present to tomorrow's historians ans sociologists.

Here' the link to a BBC interview, which while it is advertising the project, is a really interesting interview about diary writing. I really enjoyed it.

Who do you trust your diary to?

2007-06-06T09:17:00.000+08:00

Imagine being able to read the diary of one of the Jacobite's who plotted the 1715 rebellion ... the plotting, the reality of the underground battling, the fears and the motivation to rebel.

Imagine reading it written in the hand of someone who was actually there ....

Imagine having this diary bequeathed to you. Having in your hands, not only the story of the rebellion, a piece of history, but also the story of your ancestors long forgotten.

Imagine honouring the diary so much that you donate it to a library to care for it and preserve it for generations to come. Not any library. The British Library no less. Despite its worth being a five figure sum ... imagine donating it for posterity.

Imagine how you would feel when you went to visit the diary, only to find that it had been ruined. Oil spilt across it, the leather cover cut off, and most of its contents totally illegible.

Not happy I imagine.

It wasn't even a diary from my collection and I feel really sad ... and cranky ...

Here's the story from the Times if you want to read the original.

While we are talking postcards ...

2007-06-01T14:33:00.000+08:00

Some of you will know blogging duchess Anji (!) ... and even if you don't ... she has a really lovely site about postcards - she is an expert and buys and sells as well as collects.

Check her site out at Time and Oft - it is like going to a post card museum.

Serendipity

2007-05-25T15:40:00.000+08:00

After writing yesterday's post about Post Cards I went to my Post Office Box, only to find a post card from my god daughter Isabella from France.

Here it is ... a picture of a pirate ship, with the skull and cross bone flag and all.

I love the Island with the palm tree, but I especially love her drawing of the Australian flag.

Thanks Isabella. If you double-click on the picture you can make it bigger. You are a fantastic artist.

FreePostcards

2007-05-24T08:26:00.000+08:00

Not sure if the phenomenon is anywhere else ... but all the best cafes and movie theatres have free postcards these days. In a rack, with advertising on them SOMEWHERE, but many are really cool and the advertising is no more than a line on the back. For those that have heaps of verbiage on them, they are often still worth picking up for the picture on the front.

These picture postcards are really handy for quick notes to a friend to say thanks .... bloggers are probably amongst the worst when it comes to sending hand written notes, and people love getting things in the "real mail".

I also use them as bookmarks, for covering books and boxes, decorating and just plain note taking ...

Look out for some near you! Of course if you're crafty, hand made ones are really cool too. Here's a great web site where I found this book.

Pepys ' Diary On-Line

2007-05-11T15:39:00.000+08:00

Historians, writers, readers, students of literature will probably all know of Samuel Pepys - his famous diaries about life in London in the 17th Century were published and are now often referred to as 'the' journal to demonstrate that journals/diaries are a significant form of literature.

I love the internet ... having a 17th Century Diary
at my fingertips? WOW.

Now while I know this might not excite ALL of you ... it's worth sharing that the full version of Pepys Diary is not only available on line, but Phil Gyford has it set up so you can do amazing things with it ... like read a diary entry for today's date (every day!) and search it for topics.

Journals for Everything!

2007-05-11T14:23:00.000+08:00

Since I started my research on journals and journal writing (including blogs), I heave learnt so many uses for the many beautiful notebooks I own!

As a self confessed addict, the answer to the "what do you want for ... (eg mother's day!)" question ... is always a notebook or journal. I'm kinda past the standard kind of thing and do like something a bit arty or different these days ... but then the resurgence of journal writing has seen many stationers design some really beautiful mass produced ones as well ...

The thing that never ceases to surprise me is what people use their journals and diaries for ... I learnt yet another new one yesterday

... no longer do we write of the Bridget Jones' style of "Dear Diary , today I ...."

(tho many people still do that of course) ... it is more a shift to notebooks and recording handy things as well as thoughts and feelings ... I have at least eight on the go at a time, and most writers I know do seem to have an extraordinary collection of the things ...

So what do you do with yours?

My Elmo!

2007-05-10T11:45:00.000+08:00

Mother's Day is on its way ... and I just wanted to say how great it is to be Mum!

Happy Mother's Day (for Sunday) to All the Mummy Bloggers!

I love my two kids like nothing else on earth ... and hey why wouldn't I when my ADULT daughter gives me an Elmo as a present? Life couldn't be any better could it? He sits on my desk reminding me to have fun ... and when the puppies are getting bored sitting around with me in my office? I turn him on to do the "Birdie Dance" and love to watch the dog's inquisitive reactions ...

And then of course I get back to my work ...

How Many of Me Could The World Handle?

2007-05-08T11:27:00.000+08:00

Need an excuse to dabble and procrastinate on the net for a minute?

Try this :-) Means nothing of course. Not even sure why I did it. Beats "goggling myself" I suppose!

HowManyOfMe.com

There is
1
person with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Shhhhhhhhhhhh! Listen

2007-05-08T11:23:00.000+08:00

A client asked me the other day ... "What do you think is the most important gift we have as humans?"

I believe it is the ability to listen.

Whatever it is you are hearing today ... really listen. Whether it is your own thoughts, the voice of a tired friend, a stressed child, or a loving spouse ... whether it is a song, or sounds of nature ... whether it is silence or din.

Really listen.

It changes everything.

Technorati Authority

2007-05-07T15:00:00.000+08:00

Good old Technorati are shaking it all up again! No seriously, this is an interesting one. For those of you with a blog registered with Technorati (and if you aren't then you should ...)... Technorati no longer has that "blogs that link here" status for member, but rather an 'authority' status. It is pretty much worked out the same way, but relies more on currency of links. Here's the link to a description of the new authority thingy ....

The implications? All the more reason to link to each other when you are interested in someone else's blog

... keep the blogging conversations active ...

surely it was one of the things that brought you to blogging in the first place?

One for the Mommy Bloggers

2007-05-02T08:05:00.000+08:00

There's a new Q & A at the e-zine for mums motherinc. I pitched the idea, name and all, to the editor at motherinc ages ago and now they have it set up for Mums looking at returning to the workforce which is fantastic. I'm the first guest advisor so check it out ... there's lots of other useful resources for parents on the site too.

Top 100 Aussie Blogs! (And I'm # 50!)

2007-04-30T10:49:00.000+08:00

Isn't it great that a country with 20 million people can produce such great blogs!

Check out Meg's Dipping into the Blogland blog with the unending job she has created for herself of listing Australia's top 100 blogs ... what a job! good on you Meg!

Hey I was happy to see that last week I was ranked number 50!

I mean how cool is that ... lots of great Aussie blogs to check out and heaps from over here in WA as well.

"Australian's all let us rejoice ..."

Long Table Lunch

2007-04-29T22:32:00.000+08:00

I was invited to the Celebration of Women Long Table Lunch yesterday ... the invitation came from the lovely Debbie, Managing Director of Aurenda and her team of injury management specialist... and what a great day it turned out to be. We are finally getting some rain here in WA which is fantastic, and the downpour didn't affect the fun atmosphere created by the organising team. 850 women (well there were a couple of brave guys) attended the lunch which has been designed to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Foundation of Western Australia and commemorate courageous Western Australian women who have sadly lost their battles with breast cancer.

There were auctions, raffles, great music by Our Generation, fun comperes, respectful commemoration and some serious fund raising going on - and a collection of WA Women getting together to have fun while supporting such a worthy cause.

I think it's a shame that we have to fund raise for something like this ... but there you go, the support by Perth's business community was outstanding ...

What a lovely way to start the week ...

Journal Circa 1939

2007-04-27T15:27:00.000+08:00

I have this lovely piece of art in my hands ... an old journal from 1939. I usually only collect journals with some writing in them, but this one is so lovely ... a hardbound book with a partial leather binding ... it's an executive journal, from England.

I love that journals (even blank ones) seem to record some of the most ordinary parts of our day.

And to be honest, the best parts of most days are the ordinary ... aren't they?

Here are are some interesting facts from April 27 1939 ... It was the 117th day of the year ... and there were 248 more to go until 1940 ... It was Thursday ... The sun was expected to rise in London at 0542 and set at 2015 - with lighting being up at 2115 (hmmmm what did people do for that hour in between one must ask?). It also says "High water London Bridge 8.16am and 8.38pm" .... anyone got more than an educated guess as to why that information was important? What is very quaint ... is the saying for the day (don't forget that this is an 'executive's diary'):

"What a slow and gloomy affair the day's shopping would be if the housewife could not believe a word she was told".

More later ... when I stop giggling.

So sad ...

2007-04-26T15:15:00.000+08:00

I can't believe it ... I have released two books into the wild for the Book Crossing projec t ... and while I know they have been picked up ... there is no journal entry for either of them ...

I hope those little books are doing ok .... travelling all alone out there ...

*sigh*

ANZAC Musing

2007-04-25T15:42:00.000+08:00

I am not a proponent of war. But I support the democracy I call home here in Australia, and that means understanding that sometimes we might choose to fight on foreign or home soils.

I am not a proponent for glorifying killing at any level. But I do support the celebration of ANZAC day and the spirit we have created around the ANZAC legend.

You can't be Australian and not be moved in some way by ANZAC Day celebrations.

Here in Perth, on a cold wet dark morning, over 40,000 people met for the simple dawn service in Kings Park. Thousands more went to other services around the State and the rest of the country. Aussies also travel to Turkey as a pilgrimage ... all in the name of the spirit of ANZAC.

You can't help but be moved and want to make sure that somehow we retain the lifestyle we have created, as Australians, and to better it somehow. From the ANZAC spirit of mateship, larikinism, courage to adventure, they are all qualities that make Australia what it is today. Anzac Day makes me less cynical than I do after listening to daily news reports of senseless violence, wasted water and natural resources, and the inequities that exist on a day to day basis.

For today, ANZAC day ... I feel like I can think about the things we all have in common here - and how proud I am to be Australian - even if I wasn't born here.

Another writer in the family

2007-04-20T17:05:00.000+08:00

They say creativity runs in families, and I suspect its true. Seems most of my brood have a creative streak in one of the arts ... and use their talents in various ways.

I suppose I shouldn't really be surprised ... my dad was a magician, my mum a music teacher, my sister is a painter, and I have a brother that ties flies for fishing that are pieces of art. We can all hold a tune as well.... but I was the only one that ever seemed to write or had a calling for writing (hey guys .... leave a comment here if I am wrong here and you have just been hiding it for years!).

But of course you need to look further than this when it comes to the creative stuff ... and my Uncle Stanley was a keen letter writer and also a poet.

I never met Topper (as he was known by family) as he was killed in action in the second world war, but his memory has been kept well alive for all us kids, by my mum who loved him dearly. My brother was even named after him ... (the mad fisherman, fly tying brother)

He was in the Canadian Forces as a Private in the North Nova Scotia Highlanders Regiment. At once point he was stationed on Kiska, an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

Have a read ... even on a hot Aussie summer's day you can feel the cold from this poem he wrote ...

"Kiska"

Maybe God was tired, when he made this little Isle,
He took the things left over and put them in a pile.
He dropped them in the ocean, and paused then for a spell,
Then said, "I'll call it "Kiska". This earth must have a Hell!

And what a hell this "Kiska" is, so misty, damp, and drear,
and grows upon the soul, for there's no sunshine here.
Where the fog rolls up the valley, and the clouds drop o'er
the hills. Where the rain comes down in torrents,
and the wind is never still.

Where in your daily duties, you plunder in the mud.
Where the whirling, sweeping westerlies, coagulate your blood,
The dampness penetrates you, to the marrow of your bones,
And you wake up in the morning, with aches and pains and groans.

When in the dead of summer, you shiver in the cold, and
the hardships that you suffer, turn young men into old.
Where there's no entertainment, no music, joy, or mirth.
Oh! What a place this "Kiska" is, it's really hell on earth.

And in the midst of winter. When all is ice and snow. You
have your furry blizzards, when the north wind starts to blow.
It steals away your senses, it knocks away your pride.
If ever I get off this lonely Isle, I'll ne'er come back again!

(The Canadians built a monument to their dead to friendly fire, out of captured Japanese 13.2mm cartridges. A few years later, reportedly, Japanese fishermen broke the memorial.)

Kiska has an interesting history of its own ... click here if you're interested ... It's been listed as a National Historic Landmark by the USA due to its involvement in the second world war ...

TV Seredipity

2007-04-17T13:28:00.000+08:00

There are some who say that unless your blog is totally about TV or entertainment, then it is poor taste and very low brow to discuss Television on blogland ...

Well right now I disagree. TV IS a part of my life ... as a writer I love reality TV for getting character ideas and good fictional drama is creatively stimulating ... so there!

Having admitted TV is a little joy I partake in I must comment on some serious serendipity happening on Australian TV (this is as low brow as I ca get ha ha!) ... my fav show in the whole world is West Wing ... (at the moment ... many dramas have been given this personal award from me in the past too!). For Aussie viewers it ends this week on ABC on Saturday night - it finished in the USA this time last year! I am addicted to the series and am seriously grieving already!!!

HOWEVER ...

Life is always in balance ...

Because BIG BROTHER is coming back on Sunday evening here in Australia ...

There is reason to the Universe after all. *sigh*

Why would you live anywhere else ....?

2007-04-17T10:48:00.000+08:00

One of the things I really appreciate about living the writer's life is making it your job to listen to people, watch people, visit new places, and observe everything around you as if you are seeing it for the first time.

I am mid interviews this week for a number of articles I am working on. All really interesting people with viewpoints that I really want to hear, and so much to learn from them. I love it! While you have to play the hermit a lot as a writer, you also have to at least have an interest in people ... maybe even like people!!!

One of the fun things about going out to interview people is that you go to parts of your own city that you haven't discovered before or haven't been to for awhile.

Yesterday I had the absolute pleasure of going to the wharves... it brought back so many memories ... and was fantastic for people watching.

The woman I interviewed talked about Perth and Australia and the lifestyle we have here ... got me thinking ... and got me feeling cheerfully abundant about the ordinary side of Perth, the part I take for granted - the temperate weather all year around, the white sandy beaches with turquoise blue waters, the parklands, the bordering wheat fields and desert, the south west forests and the laid back life style. I honestly ask myself ... why would I live anywhere but Perth?

Cartoon Diaries

2007-04-13T09:02:00.000+08:00

Gees I wish I could draw!

I've always wanted to be able to draw - I've tried and tried and tried. I even suck at playing Hangman I am so bad at drawing ...

Cartoon diaries are a really interesting genre of diary.

You could say that they started with the cave drawings of ancient times. Other examples include the political cartoons in the local newspaper - chronicling the events of our time.

The advent of a personal cartoon dairy dates back to the 1960s - and to continue on today.

Here's one you can check out (Where this pic is from) ... Spaniel Rage... very creative and emotive in a way that I sometimes think words fail to achieve (did I say that as a writer? Wow!).

If anyone has another example I would love to link to it ... as a non drawer I am totally intrigued by the whole concept ...

Release Your Books ... Set them Free!

2007-04-12T09:07:00.000+08:00

I am releasing this book to the wild!

I joined Book Crossing ages ago and have been meaning to release a book ... finally I get around to it. As I mentioned a couple of posts ago I have been reading Susan Howatch's Starbridge Series. I ended up with two copies of Scandalous Risks so one is now off in the wild ...

bookcrossing
n. the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.

(added to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary in August 2004)

You can trace its journey on Book Crossing.

All you readers and writers out there ... set a book free. It's fun. You might want to check out "wild releases" in your local area on the Book Crossing site too ... it's kinda fun to see where people are leaving books in your local area. What goes around comes around remember?

The Discipline of Writing

2007-04-12T08:28:00.000+08:00

Every writer faces this ... every writer has techniques that work - and then days that don't. 'How to' books are filled with tips and techniques ...

Yet in the end, the journey of writing is laced with very personal ways and means to deal with the act of discipline. Not the whip brandishing kind, but the 'just sit there and write' kind.

The main enemies of a writer's life are procrastination, distraction and lack of passion - and all writers suffer these from time to time.

The difference between a productive day and an unproductive day is huge. You feel different at the end of the day and the cycle of each is hard to break. Productive doesn't only mean how many words you write - it can be linked to research and experiencing things that are essential to the art of what you are writing too. I think it's really important to remember that reading, listening to others, trying new things and sometimes, especially if you write fiction, sometimes just day dreaming is a part of the writers productive tool kit ...

Of course in the end you still have to face that blank page or computer screen ...

Button, button, whose got the button ???

2007-04-11T13:47:00.000+08:00

We all have dirty little secrets right? Well I'm coming out of the closet with mine ... well one of mine anyway.

It's my button collection. A source of rolling eyes from my kids, raised eyebrows from my partner when I buy more on e-bay, and a source of laughter behind my back from some friends ... though there is one friend who 'fessed up and said she collected them too

... So you see, your dirty little secret might inspire others to tell you theirs ...

I'm not a particularly focused person at the best of times, so you can imagine my collection isn't catalogued (much!) or in any particular order, and I am not an obsessive type so I actually don't even know alot about buttons on button collecting. I just like the things.

It all started when I had a huge jar of them from various sources and I kept adding to it. I actually used to bring out the jar and a tray when the kids were sick in bed and we played all kinds of games with them (I am good at imagination games ... thus a writer, but not an obsessive one!). (So you see kids ... it could be seen to be your fault I have that collection you roll your eyes at.)

Some people take it all so seriously and have the most amazing historical or themed collections ... mine just sit in jars - one is even colour coded which impresses me no end! I have recently started buying vintage buttons still on their old cardboard backings and they sit in a gorgeous treasure box I got as a birthday present.

What do you do with them? Well like any collection ... I suspect it's just about having them ... not much more than that really ... I found a source of sites if you're actually interested in button collecting ... there is obviously alot more to it than I originally thought ... but I'd rather spend my time on e-bay ...

Fruit Tuesday!

2007-04-10T13:47:00.000+08:00

Seriously ... I do think that we need to declare the first Tuesday after Easter, 'Fruit Tuesday'.

Enough of the hot cross buns and chocolate eggs... today, turn to fruit for redemption. Happy Fruit Tuesday!

We're getting hitched!

2007-04-07T18:27:00.000+08:00

Phew! We finally set a date and are taking the final plunge!

For those of you who know us, you'll know we haven't rushed into anything ha ha! Getting married just kinda slipped our wee minds for awhile with all the adventures we have been having. And now the time has come.

It is kind of like eloping without all the secrecy.

We have decided to be oh so totally selfish and we are flying over to the Gold Coast and doing the deed over there on the Pacific Ocean. We're having all the usual wedding trappings - only without a guest list of thousands - thus we get to do everything the way we want to. How clever is that? Even better? We get to spend our holiday time over there just having a good old fashioned party for two - our honeymoon starts the second the ceremony finishes this way!

It's been a hoot trying to organise everything from over here on the West Coast. The kids have been holding the whole secret with us ... but now the word is out. Married life here we come!

How many days till July 16???? (too many)

Living at Starbride for awhile ...

2007-04-06T19:02:00.000+08:00

A good friend of mine has added to my list of addictions by introducing me to the Starbridge Series written by Susan Howatch. One of the many wonderful things about being a writer is that you must read. One of the even better things about being a writer is having other wonderful writer friends who lend you their entire collections! I mean how lucky can you get?Despite the fact these books were published over a decade ago now, they are entirely timeless.

The characters' lives are weaved throughout the series so you feel like you never have to say goodbye to your favourite people.

I saved the last of the series of six until Easter weekend to read as a treat ... so I'll be back at the other end of this addiction ...

Check out Mother Inc ...

2007-04-02T18:14:00.000+08:00

Hot off the press!

One of my articles 'To Work or Not to Work' has been published on a great web site for Mums (and Dads!) called Mother Inc. here in Australia. Check it out if you have been struggling with the decision of whether (or when) to go back to work now you're a parent!

And to think you were starting to think that I hadn't been working while I had my little break from Blog Land!

No excuses except to say "I'm Back"!

2007-04-01T15:58:00.000+08:00

I'm back!!!!!!!!!!!! No excuses or anything on my part. I'm back. Been productive to say the least ... it's kinda nice to be back here ...

My mum's response ...

2007-02-20T11:45:00.000+08:00

Well how do you like that?

It seems my mum was the "unknown author" on Grandma's diary. My grandad asked her to write some things in it - he apparently dictated much of it ...

Anyway here is my Mum's reponse to reading it all back ...

"How do I describe my feelings and thoughts of seeing my Mother's Green Five Year Diary, wrapped by a silk wide ribbon,laying upright on a cushion of my bed?

My first impulse was a feeling of Pure Love! The vibrations were hitting me so strongly knowing of its originality.

I was mesmerized, so much so I just wanted to savor the moment and its feelings as long as possible, yet at the same time wanting to enter and read its contents...

It looked so lovely sitting there.

I kept going in and out of the room, still not believing my eyes and thoughts.

Finally.....after about three hours the urge was so strong to pick it up and untie the ribbon, yet not really wanting to disturb it.

I carefully untied the ribbon,gently opened the cover, read what was written there and then read each of the following pages.

I could relate to most all she wrote about and the people she mentioned. Her written abruptly stopped on October 16th 1960 and from here someone else took over and as I continued to read I kept saying it looks like my writing, the more I read the more I knew it was my writing, but so help me I could not remember writing it,but then this was 45 years ago.

After re-reading it came to me. Yes, I now do remember writing in it for Pa. He wanted me to do the writing as he never did much writting and when he needed correspondence done he usually dictated to my Mom, now he was dictating to me.

Reading this diary has brought up many questions in my mind that need to be addressed.

Acknowledgement: Many Thanks to my niece Reba Miller for sending this Diary down to Pamela and many Thanks for sharing it with me.

Love to all! Ella Weatherill (Nee Miller)."

How it all ends ...

2007-02-19T10:22:00.000+08:00

For those of you following the path of my grandmother's diary from Canada to Australia I have the end of the diary for you ...

If you remember right her last entry was on October 16 ...

Then the handwriting changed to someone who is currently 'unknown'. And here is how her diary ends [TISSUE ALERT for the more sensitive among you]:
October 30 1960
[Unknown author writing]
Pa got sick to-night & Ma stayed up all night to look after Pa.

October 31 1960
[Unknown author writing]
Ma took sick to-night and Pa stayed up all night to look after her.

November 1 1960
[Unknown author writing]
Bea took Ma to the hospital today.

November 2 1960
[Unknown author writing]
Bea and Michael took Pa to the hospital.

Thursday November 3 1960
[Unknown author writing]
The Dr said to-day that Pas has pleurisy & pneumonia.

November 5 1960
[Unknown author writing]
Dr said Ma has had a heart attack.

Sun November 6 1960
[Unknown author writing]
Bonko came down to-day from La Morey. Mum had 2 attacks to-day.

November 7 1960
[Unknown author writing]
Mum feels a bit better to-day. Ella [My mum] & Pete phones Pa to-day & said they would be up on Friday.

November 11 1960
[Pa’s writing] Mun wanted Ella [My mum] to write in her diary to morrow. Mum passed away smiling at 12.40. Mun knew she was leaving us. The best wife and mother in the world.
[Unknown author writing]
Ella & Pete got up to see Ma 3 times to-day. She looked grand.

November 12 1960
[Unknown author writing]
To-day is very sad. We are all mourning the loss of a wonderful mother. There’s nothing too good in this world for her. God bless Her! At last she is at peace.

November 12 1960

[Unknown author writing]
To-day has been so long. Just can’t seem to think straight. All the family stayed with Pa at the hospital when we could.

November 14 1960
[Unknown author writing]
We (the family) visited Pa at the hospital & are trying to think of the things to be arranged for Ma’s funeral.

November 15 1960
[Unknown author writing]
The family have been running around all day to get everything settles. Visited Pa all day. Elsie, Frank, Henry came up from Salmon Arm to-night.

November 16 1960
[Unknown author writing]
Bill W [My dad], Bill M & Margaret came up by bus. Ma’s funeral was to-day, we all paid her our last respects. Pa’s house was full of people, over 50. Ma had a lovely bunch of flowers. Over 50 wreaths in all. She had a lovely service at the church & the Legion had one at the cemetery, with armed guards & last post.

I will write more later, on the subject of multiple people writing in a journal, but will leave you with this lovely set of entries for now. Hopefully when My mum finishes reading the diary she will comment here so you all get to read her response!

Grandma's Diary is on its way ...

2007-02-18T00:18:00.000+08:00

Well Grandma's diary is on its way to Bunbury W.A. to be with my Mum tomorrow ... It has been so fun having it here and reading it, scanning it, devouring it again then transcribing some of it as well ... Oh and sharing it with any poor soul who walks through the doors ...

Once I know my Mum has had a chance to read it I will tell you the story of how it ends ... just get your tissues ready ...

Can't wait to hear what my Mum has to say - it was great to read my Grandmother's diary ... imagine what it would be like to read your mother's diary????

All things young and new ...

2007-02-17T14:32:00.000+08:00

New life is a useful tool for the creative spirit ...

We are surrounded by it here at the moment ... new fluffy kittens (really fluffy as their Mum is a Persian tortoiseshell) and new baby budgies and more eggs ready to hatch ...

The way the kittens play, then the dogs react to the kittens playing, and even better when Mum Cat (Emily) reacts to the dogs reacting to the kittens ... it is really funny at times ...

I suggest that any writer cloistering themselves up to consider having a pet ... and I know where there are some kittens looking for a good home!!!

Madison Town ... circa 2007

2007-02-17T14:22:00.000+08:00

Those of us bloggers with partners in real life know about the compromise... you know the one? The one where YOU want to blog, and work on your latest writing project ... and THEY want some real life interaction with you ...

We have a solution in our household! A suitably addictive hobby for my man! AND .... (drum roll) ... one that feeds my creative nature as a writer at the same time ...

Stuart has joined the millions of guys around the world that spend their time, dollars and other resources into setting up a model train and associated landscape and village! Now I must be honest here - if I wasn't so damn addicted to the writing work I do, I might even be tempted to join in (which would defeat the purpose I alluded to in the beginning) ...

While he has just started this hobby recently it was a long time in the wishing! We finally broke through the resistance, visited our local Hobby Shop and there HIS addiction began.

Madison Town has begun - and I must say its sparking all kinds of creative responses in me ... While I am not heavily in to the train part of it, I insisted that the landscape needed some people models to populate it ... and now .. I find myself writing the inner lives of the little OO size model people sitting on park benches in a vilage that is just beginning ...

But I'll stop there - non-writers will be sending the men in white coats over soon if I carry on ...

The best bit? I'm here blogging away ... and Stu is happily engaged in creating Madison Town ... where Jimmy is sitting under a tree wondering whether the couple on the bench are going to move soon so he can sit on it while he watches the trains go by ...

Saskia's Valentines Contribution!

2007-02-16T14:06:00.000+08:00

Well she's done it again! Saskia Walker has published another hot read, and was sooooooo sweet as to send me a signed copy (nearly) in time for Valentine's Day!

As I said to my daughter " I wanna be just like her when I grow up" (despite thinking I might be a tad older than Saskia!). Saskia's new novella Sex, Lies and Bondage Tape is in KINK ... and if you like erotic romance you really need to have a read.

Us Aussie readers need to get it on Amazon - but if you're in the UK, US, or Canada you are lucky lucky punters and can buy your own hot copy!

I had fun when I picked mine up from my P.O. box ... I can never resist opening a parcel straight away, so there I was with those poor people who work a nine to five work day, first thing in the morning in their suits and office gear ... they opened their mail boxes to a day's worth of correspondence to deal with ... and ... now I'm living the writer's life ... I could stand there with my red hot copy of KINK and saunter to the local cafe for a read ... I am sure the look on their faces was one of jealousy ... or perhaps it was just intrigue at the cover of the book ...

My daughter thinks all I do is blog ...

2007-02-11T17:03:00.000+08:00

I'm sure she thinks all I do is blog all day .... (check out the lack of blogging in the last month to see this is NOT true!).

Anyways ... she sent me a fun little site called Blog Things .... where I got this little quiz about blogging. It's all lies of course ... I have NO class when it comes to who I share my blog with ... I share it with anyone who will read it ha ha!

Your Blogging Type is Artistic and Passionate

You see your blog as the ultimate personal expression - and work hard to make it great.
One moment you may be working on a new dramatic design for your blog...
And the next, you're passionately writing about your pet causes.
Your blog is very important - and you're careful about who you share it with.

What's Your Blogging Personality?

Grandma's last Diary entry ....

2007-02-11T16:30:00.000+08:00

My grandmother's diary, is from the last year that she was with us ... She died on November 11 1960 ....

Her last entry is here on October 16 1960 ...

There is actually a lot more written after this date but I don't want to spoil the reading for my Mum. I'm taking the diary down to her next Sunday. So after she has read it I will publish more here ...

It is a story worth hearing ... but be warned, you have a week to buy tissues!

Here is a picture of my (2nd) Cousin who is visiting from Canada (Carissa) and my Mum (Evelyn). It was Carissa's Mum (Reba) that sent the diary for us Aussie family to read!

Here's One for Esther's Namesake

2007-02-11T15:29:00.000+08:00

Here's a little more of Esther Miller's diary from 1960, she was living in Quesnel, BC Canada ...

It appears that she was given the diary for Christmas 1959 ... She addressed herself as Mrs J.A. Miller (her husband was James Adelbert).

You can enlarge any of these by simply clicking on them ... it makes them clearer to read ...

I purposely put one in here where she has a win at Bingo. My sister was named after Grandma (she was born before Grandma died) ... my sister Esther married a guy with the last name of Miller so she ended up with the whole same name as our grandmother - Esther Miller! Seems they both also had Bingo in common! Winning $1.50 was obviously a big won in those days ...

There are lots of entries that give you an idea of the cold winter being married to a Railway man who worked away at times ... with grown up family and grandkids all around her.

And some references to the Cariboo region in which she lived (for 37 years it says here in this entry).

Journal Journeys

2007-02-10T14:40:00.000+08:00

You can learn heaps from reading someones journal.

However ...

You must always remember that the journal is never the whole story. They might have been fictionalised, sanitised or written knowing someone was going to read them and thus have an audience that you aren't really sure of. They must always be rad with respect. Unless of course someone has published their own journals and I reckon that gives you full permission to critique them the same as any other publication ...

And I want to repeat here that it is rude to read the journal of another person without some kind of permission. Published journals are fine. Journals that have been willingly passed down (or given) to family members (as long as you abide by any instructions) are fine, but other than that leave journals alone. Even if you stumble across an open page of your loved one's journal sitting on your desk!!!

Having put out that proviso - I will continue writing about my grandmother's journal here. There are some pages I don't wawnt to talk about until my Mum (now head of that particular line of the family) has read it. For now tho ... I just feel like yelling from the roof tops!

It is so much fun to discover my Grandma as a mum of adult children and grandchildren. To be connecting with a part of my heritage. Especially my female heritage right now ... sitting between my own mother before me and my daughter coming up behind ...

Does your diary or journal provide useful stories and memories for a future generation?(Click on images to enlarge)

My Grandmother's Journal is in Australia (travelled from Canada!)

2007-02-09T12:18:00.000+08:00

(double click on picture to enlarge)

I am actually rather overwhelmed today. Really overwhelmed to be honest.

Regular 'New Century Notebook' readers will know the basic background ... but here's a summary. I live in Perth Western Australia - possibly the furtherest Capital City from British Columbia Canada where I was born. I left there when I was 8 ... (yeah you can do the maths and work out my age ... it was 1970 when we left). The only blood family here in Australia are my kids, mum and dad, one brother ( & his kids) and my sister. I grew up not knowing my extended family - and with sketchy memories to say the least. My Grandma died 2 years before I was born.

Recently, my cousin's daughter has come to visit us here from Canada. It's been a blast having family around .... and one of the stories she told was about having read her Great Grandmother's diary. Check out previous post regarding my excitement that there was even a diary in existence ... My partner Stuart put up with me ranting non stop about how I really wanted to read Grandma's journal ... I needed to read it ... but didn't dare think I could actually hold it in my hands, thousands of miles from its origins ...

... The diary is now here ... sitting on my desk ... in front of me ...

You can only imagine the crazy emotions. I collect old diaries as part of my research, and to have my grandmother's here is such a gift. My cousin Reba is the most amazing cousin to have (albeit across the miles). First she lent us her daughter Carissa for a while (!) and then she posted the diary so we could all have a read here in the Antipodes.

I will feature the diary in some future posts - believe me there is some tear jerking to come. For now I just wanted to let regular readers know the exciting news and say a big THANK YOU to my cousin Reba!

Typo Queen

2007-02-09T08:00:00.000+08:00

OK OK OK ... I get the message.

Those of you who are sick and tired of my typos will be pleased to know that I have downloaded Blogger for Word and the typos should cease.

I understand your frustration - imagine how I feel? Freelance writer, editing, lecturing and marking University papers for goodness sakes.

But ... consider this ... I am so comfortable in the company of such a wonderful blogging community that my typos are merely a demonstration of my comfort with you - a little like wearing ugg boots around the house when no one is looking ...

I mean really ... my blog is like one of my notebooks ... and perfect just ain't part of the game ...

I hereby promise to take more time when I am blogging and not irritate the more perfect of you in the blogosphere ... hee hee

Surrogate Journals

2007-01-31T13:43:00.000+08:00

It strikes me that not everyone keeps a journal or a blog ... this was no major revelation mind you, just something I have to remind myself now and again when I am socialising. "Not everyone writes a journal Pamela", I sometimes have to soothe myself ...

There are so many other forms of chronicalling our lives. I mused here recently about the visit of an old friend. Catching up on news face-to-face is a great way to review the months since last you met. Even emailing a friend regularly can become a type of journal experience - especially if you (or they) keep them all and you can review them at a later date.

Then there is your daily diary. If you record your activities (and perhaps some qualitative comments about the day) then your appointment diary becomes your journal too ...

More recently for me I have had a young cousin staying from Cananda. This has inspired more conversations with other family memebers too. And I see these interactions as a nother way of telling the stories of our lives ... our family lives, history and points of remembrance ... all really important aspects of who we are.

It is making me feel quite strongly about my heritage, especially my female heritage, right now.

Consider the things that are journalling, but without journalling ... collecting letters, notes, souveniers from movies you go to, photo albums, postcards or your scrap book.

Expanding the definition of journalling as a verb can only be a healthy thing I am sure ...

Can I Have Five?

2007-01-24T14:09:00.000+08:00

Can I have five minutes of your time???

Oh you would not believe the twists and turns in New Century Notebook at the moment. Wow.

I really would love some responses to my Blogging Survey ... all dead easy questions and really fast and easy to fill out. Five minutes maximum. Calling all bloggers!

The survey is ..... here ... if you choose to accept this mission!

Test time!

2007-01-24T09:39:00.000+08:00

Ok!

So who is still keeping any New Year's resolutions to write everyday in their blog or diary???

Hmmm?

How are you doing?

I'm keeping up my usual writing rituals but falling behind in the blogging (we have had so many visitors from other cities and my gorgeous cousin from Canada that I have a great excuse!!!).

It's only 24 days in to the year - too early to be faliling those resolutions guys!

My Grandma Wrote a Journal!

2007-01-20T14:12:00.000+08:00

Can you imagine how excited I was to learn this news!!!!!!!!!!!??????????

It was like - "OH MY GOODNESS". I couldn't think straight for a little bit when I heard the news. My poor cousin is here down under visiting from Canada at the moment and she just mentioned in passing that she had read Grandma's diary and that it is "full of ordinary things like what she did each day, going shopping and things like that".

I nearly lost my breath, fainted, & screamed with delight! To know that I come from a genetic pool that includes a diary writer! Horray. I am not alone in being the mad diary writing one in my family anymore. Phew! To think that it is in family hands and wasn't destroyed or given to a local museum or historical society too. I am so pleased it is in family hands. My grandma died before I was born so I never got to meet her ... but my mum tells stories about her.

I asked my Mum if she knew that HER mum had kept a diary and it was a total surprise to her too. It's so exciting. Of course now I need to work out how to get an airfare to Canada solely for the purpose of reading it ... hmmm ... what can I sell on e-bay?

Seriously - it has given me such a boost of motivation for this project just knowing she kept one ... But now of course my cousin think's I'm some kinda strange person - I'll need to work on that and start acting normal again! (By the way this is a pic of my Gramma in Sept 1960 - don't you LOVE the feather?).

Calling All Bloggers!

2007-01-18T16:04:00.000+08:00

Research and book writing is never easy ... I need help from fellow bloggers for my book.

I need to know more about how people got started blogging, what they blog about and WHY they do it ...

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ... I have set up a survey for bloggers here ... and I would really really really love you forever if you could stop by and just fill out this quick survey. I would love you even more if you sent other people there too!!

(I've plenty of love to go around!)

Old Friends - Walking Diaries

2007-01-15T08:50:00.000+08:00

Summer seems to be the time so many people return to Perth if they are living overseas or interstate ... this is possibly due to the great summer weather, but more likely due to the fact it's also a long school holiday period.

I like catching up with people I haven't seen for awhile. I might put a restriction on that, I like catching up with people I haven't seen for awhile if they are friends and I like them!

I had reason to catch up with a few people over summer, but one was a friend I haven't seen for a few years. We knew each other when we were like 17 and starting our nursing careers together. This was a time we all 'grew up' from innocent childhoods to adults who help really responsible jobs and met incredible people in awful circumstances (the patients). We witnessed all those embarrassing mistakes one makes in the transition - you have to stay friends because you all have so much 'dirt' on each other!!! In those days (oh dear ... I am coming off old now!) we did our nursing training on the wards, and very little in the classroom - we played and worked hard.

The catch up was like re-reading a diary. Snippets of gossip about people we still saw, changes in our own lives and changes in people around us. It stimulates memories, feelings and thoughts from the past the same way reading an old diary can do.

Old friends, diaries, memories, photo albums - like it or not the past determines part of who we are.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

2007-01-09T10:02:00.000+08:00

I'll feel better soon ... I hope ... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Hmmm ... not yet obviously ... but I will .... soon.

Regular readers will remember how much I loved the new Beta Blogger when it first came out (not). Well I succumbed. I tried again. I was really postive (honest). I didn't have even the tiniest little negative thought in my mind. I figured the bugs would be out of it by now. I was actually being really rational.

It was all wasted *sigh*

But - in trying to stay positive my blogs appear on line this time. That is a huge improvement. What has been missing is any comments people have left in the last few months. Well interestingly, some comments were still coming to me, and some weren't.

SO- If I offended anyone by not getting back to them I apologise. And I am going to sit here and read them all now. (Well sometime in the next couple of days, but from your PC screen you can't tell that I am actually taking off to the movies with my daughter to see Holiday).

Now. Back to being positive. I don't think (fingers crossed) that the new Blogger has any other hiccups.

New Year Diaries

2007-01-04T07:07:00.000+08:00

So how does your new diary look?

Are you already regretting not getting a different one? Or perhaps you love the one you have but wish you had written more neatly in it that last couple of days? Or are you still to buy one (perhaps you are one of those people who will wait until they are on sale before you buy!).

Whether it's your date book or journal - the new year usually brings new books to sribble in - and the opportunity to do it differently this year. Just don't forget you don't need to wait a whole year to change how you are doing your journal or diary. Don't fall for that one!

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T14:00:00.000+08:00

Oh the joys of the New Year and a new blank book to start writing in!

Yep, that's crazy I know. But it's an exciting part of the annual cycle to start afresh, start anew. No different than we can every day of our lives, but there is something special about New Years.

Make the most of it. And have a great start to 2007.

The Half and Half Solution

2006-12-29T18:44:00.000+08:00

Try something new for your diary or journal this year ...

If you like to have a paper based diary for recording to do lists and appointments in, but you don't seem to use all the space for each day, you have a wonderful opportunity.

This year buy a diary that gives you just a little more space per day on the page. If you used to have a week to a page, try two days to a page for example. Then, use the top part of each page to record the things you need to remember like bills to pay, appointments, friend's birthdays, shifts for work (or whatever you use a date book/diary for normally).

THEN ... use the other half of the page (or more) to record things that happen during the day. Or things you over hear, places you go, situations you observe or feelings you have as you line up in a queue for 20 mins at the bank.

By the end of the year you will have a full record of a year's worth of living - and how you felt about it. Sometimes from a planning perspective, sometimes written as you experience it and at other times when you reflect at the end of the day.

One book.

Two purposes.

New way of looking at the world.

It's ALL about Diaries now!

2006-12-29T08:17:00.000+08:00

Ok ok ok ..... Stop the chatter about Turkey and Families now. THIS ... this little week between Christmas and New Year is THE time of year for all diary and journal writers.

We come in to our own now.

You can spot the serious diary users and journal writers at this time of the year. We speed through the shoe sales and spend most of the day around blank books, journals and new diaries. Oh those new diaries. It is such an important decision ... do you upgrade your electronic PDA? Do you revert to the old paper based day to a page? Week to a page? A4 size? Pocket size? Pretty or classy?

And that is just the way you handle your date book.

Journals take on a new meaning. So many journallers won't just keep writing in their current book. These get disbanded and discarded for new blank books to start the new year with a blank page. Oh the blank page! (More on that later in the week).

Then when you get your purchases home ... time to fondle, fill out opening pages, decorate and generally just satiate yourself with the touch of the new and blank pages ahead ... sigh ...

The week between Christmas and New Year is journal and diary week ... life is so sweet. (And better still the left over turkey is all finished!).

Nearly Time for New Year's Resolutions

2006-12-29T07:24:00.000+08:00

Like it or not, I bet you over indulged in SOMETHING over Christmas huh?

There is a great health and wellbeing site to go to to start thinking healthy. No Excuses Gym is both kind and hard on you!

It is tough because it reminds you that there really isn't any good reason not to get fit, exercise, eat well etc etc (you can add your own failures here!). I think I am most creative when it comes to excuses not to do things I know I really want to do - and should do.

The site is kind because it doesn't say "Don't go to a Mexican Restaurant" ... instead it says "Here's what to order so you can still get out the door after eating at a Mexican Restaurant". How much better is that? Simple ways to change some habits but still not miss out on life!

This blog is written by Marcela who is totally into personal training and highly qualified by the look of it - both a PhD and Masters ... . I am NOT focussed on intense exercise or motivated by lectures on health, but I like her site. It has a sense of realism to it. Just what I need as the New Year starts. No more huge resolutions thatI know I won't keep.

Pop by and have a look at the hints about exercise, eating healthy, sleeping more (I like that one!), daily tips, interesting tid bits and information that is current and looks at the wellness debate.

Merry Christmas to All and To All A Good Turkey!

2006-12-22T07:26:00.000+08:00

I'll be back writing again after Boxing Day - so have a ...