Settled At Colac Bay

Settled At Colac Bay We soon settled at Colac Bay and became a part of the small community. Those early years seemed idyllic, I never understood how much Mum must have worried about us all, and how we would survive financially. But in her stoic way, she never showed any sign of concern. Not that as a child I could appreciate, anyway. “We joined in everything at Colac as everyone else did and used to have great Christmas parties for … Continue reading

Lacking Confidence Is Okay

Lacking Confidence Shouldn’t Stop You From Writing That Book Within You So the thought of writing that book might be rolling around inside your head, but you’re lacking confidence to actually start? You have far too many doubts pushing aside any possibility you’ll actually produce something readable.  Well, I’m here to suggest now is the time to ignore those doubts.  Take a deep breath and launch yourself head first into a writing frenzy. Don’t wait. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t let that … Continue reading

Merville’s Teenage Years

Teenage Years In 1920’s Southland As we have the benefit of hindsight, we see the 1920’s were indeed changing times, as this snippet I found suggests. “The 1920’s was a crucial era in the making of ‘modern’ New Zealand. The word itself was widely used at the time, as in this Ladies? Mirror story from 1926: The modern girl has, during the past dozen years, either acquired or increased her regard for:- Drinking and smoking; Paint and powder; Slang; Pastimes … Continue reading

Memories

Merville’s Memories After spending the last couple of weeks with my mother – hospitalised after a fall – I had plenty of time to dig around in her memories for little snippets I might have missed. Of course I found quite a few pieces that deserve to be in my previous posts so if you are following my blog about her, perhaps you’d like to also slip back and reread my previous posts as I have added some small extras. … Continue reading

Memories From Southland

Merville’s Memories I can already see selecting how to commence my posts is going to be an issue for me. I guess the easiest way is just to copy what Mum has written herself and hope it makes sense and is of interest. These memories are from around 1919. “We had an old white horse called Snowy and she was driven three and a half miles to school each day. The only memory I have of my eldest brother Allan … Continue reading

Memories – A Daughter’s Perspective

Merville’s Memories Now I have come up with this plan to share my mother’s memories, I’m dead keen to get on with it. I feel ready to burst into print every day, and am hoping that enthusiasm doesn’t wane. When Mum was born, her family lived on a 120 acre farm in Dacre, which is sixteen miles outside Invercargill. “The land was covered with silver tussocks and the boundary on one side was the Te Tipua creek.” (I’ve spelt this … Continue reading

Memories – A Daughter’s Prospective

Merville’s Memories This week my amazing mother celebrated her 101st birthday. For over twenty years I have dreaded having to say farewell to Mum after a visit. Living so far away from her I have always been afraid each goodbye could be the last. That hug, that kiss, they could be my permanent farewell to someone I have tried (and probably failed in most part) to emulate my whole life. We are so blessed to still have her with us. … Continue reading

Welcome 2016

Welcome 2016 This day has definitely crept up on me but I’m very happy to welcome 2016 into my life. What will this year bring to me and those I love? I hope there will be good health, happiness and an ongoing joy for life for us all. May the bumps along the way be little ones and cause no more than a couple of ripples in an otherwise still pond. One of Loree’s Facebook posts suggested we come up … Continue reading

Say Hi To Loree Lough

Come On In And Say Hi To Loree Lough   In a previous post I shared my gratitude toward a very special lady. I know without a doubt I would not be a romance writer today if it was not for Loree Lough. Author bio: Loree Lough Bestselling author Loree Lough once sang for her supper, performing across the U.S. and Canada. Now and then, she blows the dust from her 6-string to croon a tune or two, but mostly, … Continue reading

Celebrating This Week

Looking Back At This Week As I’m sitting at my desk organising some up and coming blogs I intend to post, I realised its been a few days since I posted on my blog. But what shall I write, what can I share? Then it came to me. Why not look at the week that’s just past and decide what there was within those days that I could celebrate. Immediately I knew what I could write about. On Tuesday hubby … Continue reading