Weekend wonder

21 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, MY BOOKS, THE WRITERS' LIFE, TORN

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achievement, Brisbane, Convict settlement, employees, Hero, horses, Moreton Bay, To Do List

This weekend I did something I can’t remember having done for a very long time. On the train home Friday evening I wrote my To Do List for the weekend. This evening I am about to cross the last item off the list! I’ve even done a couple of things that didn’t make it onto that list.

As is so often the case, I don’t have a whole lot to show for it but I know what I did and that feeling is pretty darn good. So often in this world we work hard and have little or nothing to show for it. It’s not always like that and for my characters in my book it certainly wasn’t the case.

Moving to Moreton Bay in what was New South Wales, Australia in the 1850s was a courageous thing to do. There were few of the facilities and conveniences they had in Ireland in that time and next to none of those we take for granted today.

Brisbane in the Moreton Bay area had been a convict settlement holding some of the worst, hardened criminals. The convict settlement was closed in 1835.

My hero brought with him a number of his horses though not all of them. He had to begin by building houses, stables, outbuildings, yards and everything else he and his employees and horses needed. That kind of hard physical work can be very satisfying. You can look around and see the work of your hands.

You don’t get that same sense of achievement in an office. But that To Do List with those items crossed off looks pretty wonderful to me.

Sleepy Sunday

14 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, THE WRITERS' LIFE, Uncategorized

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Cruising, Dreaming, Make it happen, Moreton Bay, Writing Retreat

The sun sidles around the curtains to warm me awake. I stretch and languidly take my time before opening my bleary eyes, rubbing them before I decide I can believe what they show me. There to greet me, warming not only my body but also my heart, is my wonderful husband, bearing two steaming mugs and a rack of toast ready to be slathered with the waiting curls of rich creamy butter and the sweetness of honey or tart Vegemite, or Lemon and Lime Marmalade. The beautifully polished oaken tray is decorated with a lovely cut crystal vase of roses from our garden. Their fragrance makes a valiant but unsuccessful battle to overtake the aroma of the coffee but I appreciate the effort.

He greets me with a “Good morning, honey” and I answer with a cheery “Good morning, sweetheart,” of my own as I rise and prepare to shine. I slip my feet into the softness of my favourite woolly slippers and my body into the peignoir matching my nightgown. As I finish tying the sash of the peignoir which matches my nightgown I straighten and prepare to follow him through the curtained French doors onto our private balcony and gently touches the tray down on the white wrought iron table before turning to wait for me. Our kiss sparks echoes of hours gone by as we take our seats.

A smile splits my face as I lift my favourite mug to my nose and draw a deep breath, closing my eyes to savour the spicy richness of my white chocolate chai latte before sipping that first awakening draught. We hold hands, his right in my left as we take a moment to appreciate the clear sky morning and the view of Moreton Bay, noting the ships waiting in the channel to access the port of Brisbane where they will be unloaded by its distinctive “giraffes” towering above the water.

As we watch, a luxury cruise liner leaves the queue, heading toward the Portside terminal. “One day,” I sigh as I enjoy my favourite dream of taking my writing buddies on a two week writing retreat for the first leg of an around the world cruise.

“You’d better hurry your breakfast if you expect to be ready to circumnavigate the globe this afternoon, darling?”

Too bad it’s not a reality, just a dream. However, it’s up to us to make sure our dreams come true isn’t it? So, this week, my goal is to get us an oaken tray and to prune the rose bush, next week to get us an oaken tray and from there on to the balcony with that view…

To Moreton Bay

09 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, MY BOOKS, TORN, Uncategorized

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dolphins, dugongs, Moreton Bay, New South Wales, Queensland, ships

Moreton Bay is just at the end of the street where I live so there seemed nowhere better to set my books. Walking along the shores today there’s little resemblance to what was here in and around 1850 but if I close my eyes… no definitely not much is the same apart from the sun the sea and the sand. Hence a writer has to develop a fertile imagination.

The convict colony in closed in 1842, a few years before the Great Famine in Ireland and long before Queensland succeeded from New South Wales in 1859. So Brisbane was the perfect place for Mary, Liam and their friends to come for a new start.

The Port of Brisbane these days sees thousands of ships and every year more cargo inward and outward than those long ago sailors ever dreamed. The terminal a little further up the river now sees huge cruise ships instead of clipper ships. On the bay there are still fishing boats though very different as well. Then there are the jet skis and kite boarders beneath the planes taking off and landing at the international and domestic airports. Even the kites flown most weekends… you get the picture.

Twenty years ago, when I first started coming with my husband to visit his parents in the family home, my mother-in-law and I would walk along the shoreline. Occasionally we would see dolphins out in the water. It’s been years since I saw one. I believe there are still some there along with the turtles and dugongs but nowhere near as many. The huge ships, speed boats and the like have their downside.

Each time period has it’s own positives and negatives. Life was tough back then though much more simple. Visiting the Moreton Bay of the 1850s through my research has given me a different outlook on that water at the end of our street.