We’re not quite in the habit yet, though the mornings are light again. There’s always ‘something’: someone’s sick, or I have to drive straight off to an appointment, or there’s a bulky planet costume to take with us, or we have to drop MT at work, or, more truthfully, two out of three of us… Continue reading Denmark Sketch: The School Run on Two Wheels
Category: Creative Living
Friendship on the Move: Transcending Time and Continents
November has been quiet around here because, after my first attempt two years ago, I'm again taking part in NaNoWriMo. (Let me know in the comments or on Facebook or Instagram if you want to know how I'm doing with that, writerly types.) But some exciting news has me thinking lots of thoughts that I… Continue reading Friendship on the Move: Transcending Time and Continents
Trolling Myself
The end is in sight of another two-week French school holiday. A week ago I was congratulating myself on being a 'good mum': as well as daily tennis coaching, the boys had an English lesson with me scheduled every morning. There were movies and Netflix, but also lunches with friends, craft projects, and card games… Continue reading Trolling Myself
How Not to Keep a Travel Journal
Best. Wedding Present. Ever. Well, it was the one that impressed me the most that day anyway: a large shiny gift box filled with fancy goodies from Paperchase. When I opened it up it seemed like the most thoughtful and tailored collection of life-enhancing little items in the pile. The Book Journal was an obvious… Continue reading How Not to Keep a Travel Journal
Haggis, Tatties and Nae Selfies
Today, 25th January, is Burns Night, which, unlike St Andrew's Day, is celebrated just as much back home in Scotland as it is by the diaspora. Especially in the west and south-west, where I grew up. The first poems I learned to recite in primary school were Burns' poems, and it was at inter-school Burns… Continue reading Haggis, Tatties and Nae Selfies
A Year of Words and Work
I kept hearing about words as 2018 kicked off. There was the usual round-up of announcements by dictionary publishers and websites, telling us their most looked-up or supposedly definitive word of 2017. These include, if you're interested, youthquake, populism, complicit, feminism, and, my personal favourite, Milkshake Duck. On the less clickbaity side of things, some… Continue reading A Year of Words and Work
The Dream Job/No Job Conundrum
Sometimes it seems like I spend more time listening to people talking about writing than doing any writing. OK, full disclosure, over the past two months, I definitely have spent more time listening to people talking about writing than doing any writing. One of the podcasts I've found along the way is The Petal to… Continue reading The Dream Job/No Job Conundrum
I Miss Getting Lost
There was a time when I would frequently get lost. I could turn from my desk to my bookshelves to look something up, and find myself an hour later lost in the opening pages of a dozen well-loved novels. I could stay at my desk, having sat down to do half an hour of preparation,… Continue reading I Miss Getting Lost
A Frustrated Nester Fiction Nugget*
I promised a little while ago that if I got to 100 facebook page likes then I would publish a 'nugget' of fiction here on the blog. I wrote this flash fiction piece about 18 months ago, while I was at Circle of Missé. A goal this year is to maintain a steady stream of… Continue reading A Frustrated Nester Fiction Nugget*
Stitched Up: Contrast Top Refashion
I've written before about how valuable to me time sewing with friends has been (in the book Once Upon an Expat...available now on Amazon...click here!) Here in Congo we have a group who get together around once a month to craft together, in surprisingly diverse ways: last week, we were drawing, making dreamcatchers, sewing garments, and… Continue reading Stitched Up: Contrast Top Refashion
Catriona Turner Books & Blog 