Author: Isolde

Despite new directions to work from home if possible, no concerts, plays, or theatre, no gatherings of more than two people and physical distancing, my new life isn’t actually too different from my old one so far. I’m still going in to the office, although only three days a week. I’m riding my bike, perhaps even a little more than I used to. The girls seem to be adjusting well. And I’m trying to maintain a fairly similar routine which is helping me feel centred. Routines have been recommended as an important part of wellbeing. This makes sense, it gives…

Last month, my plan was that this month, one of the girls, or both, would write about their school camp as Lara did last year. Instead, here we are. Maybe in retrospect Australia should have quarantined everyone entering the country, including flight crew, at the point at which travel was restricted in by people from South Korea and Iran as well as China, but not from anywhere else. Hindsight is a useful thing. And we learn from our mistakes; there’s no doubt we’ll be better prepared and take it more seriously next time, as they did in Taiwan after SARS…

Today our family has transitioned from a family without a pet to one with one. Welcome to Lotus! Rhea: Today we drove to the Mittagong Golf Club and we met up with Pam Ericson, the owner of Lotus. It was a two-hour (actually 1 hour and 44 minutes) drive. Lara finished a book and then I read it, and when I finished it then every time dad had to overtake a vehicle, I got to put the indicators on. When we arrived, we went into the golf club and there was a restaurant there, so we got lunch. I had…

What I liked about the mornings was the racket that the birds made before dawn, screeching and singing away so close by. There was only a tent’s thickness of fabric to muffle the sound. I found it reassuring. An estimated one billion animals were killed in the inferno-like fires that have been ravaging our east coast over the past two months, but in this pocket at least, these birds were still alive and kicking. We had a lovely family Christmas at Maggie’s house involving a table tennis tournament and magic tricks as well as a long and heaving table full…

Once again, here are some memorable quotes from the girls as a snapshot of our year. Rhea: Eek! Lara: Yikes! Rhea: And plus. . . Lara: That’s sad. Rhea: I figured out. . . Lara: That’s disappointing. Rhea: Just saying. . . Lara: I want to. . . Rhea: And I thought to myself. . . Lara: Christmasso! Rhea: Sorry about before. Lara: I hate you. Rhea: I love you. Lara: God I hope not! Rhea: I hate you daddy! Lara: What does ‘chuffed’ mean? Rhea: I was enjoying that. Lara: Come on! Rhea: To be honest. . . Lara:…

It’s peak performance period: last Thursday was the girls’ school concert; the day after that Rhea recited her poem in French that she won second prize in her age group for in the whole city; and tomorrow is the girls’ ballet performance. We’re getting the work ethic in to them with rehearsals for ballet being three times a week at the moment, and a dress rehearsal on top of that lasted all day today. I volunteered to help backstage at both the dress rehearsal and ballet concert and I’ve been allocated the task of girls’ dressing room helper, including helping…

We had our Year Ten reunion the other week. I use the term ‘we’ loosely here – technically it was Maggie’s Year Ten reunion, not mine, as I attended a different high school. But I went with her given that I knew many of the people there from our years at primary school together. Some people had travelled from overseas to be there, so the experience must have been a bit surreal seeing the changing city as well as the school they may not have visited for decades. I’m at the school twice a week though with the girls, so…

Building up to the international climate change rallies on Friday September 20, I approached the event carefully with the girls, and I didn’t have any expectations that they would come. I didn’t want to force them to attend, and I had little faith in my ability to make them want to come. If they didn’t, I didn’t think I would attend either as I saw it as an event for children. I picked them up from after school care the Wednesday before and had a short video of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg on my phone that I was watching…

I recently read Nora Ephron’s last book of essays I remember Nothing, followed by her sister Delia’s book Sister Mother Husband Dog, also a very well-written book of essays including one about Nora and Delia’s experiences of grief following her death. Nora’s book included two lists: What I’ll Miss and What I won’t Miss, which inspired me to the following lists. I like Reading Exploring Playing the piano (currently Bach, Brahms and Beethoven) Coffee and cake at Silo’s My favourite TV shows (currently Mad as Hell; Sea Change; Squinters; Chef’s Table; Gardening Australia) Running My day off Helping others Friday…

This winter holidays we had two weeks in New Zealand. I hadn’t been since I was four, and I don’t remember anything about that trip except the plane and my teddy, which might be a mixed up memory with the photo we have of us in the main isle of the plane. Apparently my brother, sister, parents and I went to the north Island. Steve, the girls and I touristed in the south. Our smart, clean YMCA hotel in Christchurch where we arrived in the early hours of the morning was opposite the Botanic Gardens, and after a good sleep…