Shambolic Living

The Widow Goes On A Date

Janine — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 11:23:43 +0000

The last time I went on a first date Bob Hawke was Prime Minister, Liam Hemsworth was being born, Madonna was singing Vogue on the radio, Macaulay Culkin was being left Home Alone and Kevin Costner was Dancing with Wolves. It was a long time ago people. To be honest I’ve never been great at the dating...

Home Alone: The Empty Nest

Janine — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 22:01:28 +0000

The empty nest looms in my near future. One more year before the youngest heads out into the world without my micromanaging her every move. I can feel the rotor blades on my helicopter starting to slow. I heard a whisper of what may be last night, when I found myself home alone for...

Taking Stock – May

Janine — Sun, 28 May 2017 13:38:35 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve done this Taking Stock post but I always find it a fun exercise which comes from Pip at Meet Me at Mikes. Making: Plans for a better future. Cooking : Packet ham and cheese tortellini with store-bought sauce – the bloke with the heart condition is no longer here...

What are you up to?

Janine — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 04:43:01 +0000

“April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.” T S Eliot So we have begun my least favourite month of the year. It’s full of sad milestones that we have to make our way through. But somehow we get to the...

I have a go at the Proust Questionnaire

Janine — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 20:30:44 +0000

So there is this thing called the Proust Questionnaire. Apparently it’s an old parlour game that is a questionnaire about your personality. It takes its name from the answers given by French writer Marcel Proust when he played the game back in 1890. In the modern day Vanity Fair regularly asks the Proust Questionnaire of the...

Entering the Bureaucracy of Adulthood

Janine — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 09:12:38 +0000

My holidays are nearing an end and I haven’t accomplished half of what I wanted to do. So in a desperate catch-up effort this week I’m trying to get at least the vitally important stuff completed. Yesterday I introduced Hippie Child to the great world of bureaucracy. We even went down the dark abyss...

Taking Stock – January 2016

Janine — Sat, 09 Jan 2016 04:53:40 +0000

At the start of a New Year I thought it was probably timely to do a Taking Stock post – the idea blatantly nicked from the lovely Pip at Meet Me At Mikes. I’m on holidays (22 December until 18 January) so I have had a deliciously long break to do all the things you don’t...

What I’d Miss (And What I Wouldn’t)

Janine — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 19:09:08 +0000

I’m reading The Most of Nora Ephron and for this post I am blatently stealing her idea of writing a list of what I’d miss if I was to die (read Nora’s lists here). Now I’m not planning on checking out soon, I’m not even sick, despite my repeated visits to the doctor with what...

One Down One Up 12/09/2014

Janine — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 04:54:49 +0000

Publishing Late oops. Sorry Chrystina. One Down It was a far better week this week. However, as is usual when you are living with a hailstorm of grief, the best of times can be the worst of times (sorry Dickens). Hippie Child’s team won their soccer grand final. It was thrilling and joyous. Yet now...

July Achievements

Janine — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 13:04:14 +0000

Negotiated my way through Centrelink without killing anyone. Managed to work six days in a fortnight and even came up with a few good story ideas (always a bonus if you are responsible for creating an interesting radio program). Accepted that it just gets harder. Started (and am enjoying) the Blog With Pip course. Applied...