What’s the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten?

The most delicious thing I have eaten as a child were my Mum’s Golden Syrup Dumplings. I treasure the memory of them. They were just delectable.

The other time I had the best food I have ever eaten was when I went on a cruise and enjoyed the fine dining experience. Everything I ate on the cruise was delicious in particular the Tasmanian Salmon and the Bombe Alaska on the last night of the cruise. The Bombe Alaska was set on 🔥 fire before you ate it. I have many fond memories of the cruise and the food was definitely a highlight.

If you were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, what would it be?

If I were forced to wear one outfit over and over, it would be my favourite dress. It is a dress 👗 that Susanna gave me for Christmas 2 years ago, and it is my absolute favourite 👗 dress only worn on special occasions. It is green chiffon, a fifties style wrap dress, with a pleated skirt, with a petticoat lining.

The other outfit’s I would choose would be any of the clothes my mother made for me when I was much younger, made with such love and definitely one off’s.

I guess my favourite clothes are favourites for sentimental reasons.

How important is spirituality in your life?

Spirituality is important in my life as my faith in God drives my day to day life. I have a strong faith in God and sense his presence in my life.

I strongly believe in angels 😇 as messengers of God. If you believe in them you can sense their guiding presence in your life. There has just been too much happen in my life, that could not be coincidence. It only makes sense to me that angels 😇 as messengers of God have been omnipresent.

I also passionately believe that God sends some angels in human form to earth 🌎 to live amongst us, and show us how we are to live our life in faith. My beautiful angel lady Susanna was definitely an angel in human form, and she has inspired how I now lead my day to day life. So yes spirituality is important to me.

How do you practice self-care?

Self care is important to me, and became absolutely important to me, when I worked in mental health and managed my own mental health issues on a daily basis

I have learnt to be kind to myself first and foremost and to that extent I never judge myself or others. I regularly treat myself to small rewards eg a cup of coffee or tea, a small slice of cake, or a glass of wine with a meal. These small gestures provide comfort..

I also try to practice mindfulness as part of self care and do little things to live in the moment eg slowly chewing my food and savouring the taste. Spraying myself with a little perfume and using toiletries from the Body Shop which are an indulgence and luxurious thing to do, and make me feel femine and at peace.

I also regularly read books as part of my self care. I need to read regularly to feel contentment and peace. Being captured in a book is a wonderful experience and helps us with our imagination and creativity. Certainly writing ✍️ my blog is a big part of my self care. The writing and the inspiration make ny life all the more enriched.

I appreciate the small things in life that cost nothing but bring about peace and contentment. I walk Lily in the morning 🌄 sunshine and appreciate the sunshine and fresh air, and the bond between Lily and I which is enhanced by walking her.

Lily is a big part of my self care and the love and affection she shows me are the most wonderful tonic and definitely help me to feel joy, peace, serenity and contentment. Having a pet is probably the most significant thing in my life that I do towards my self care. Having that responsibility is one of the most gratifying things we can do.

Investing in little gestures, appeaciating what in life is free and spreading love is important and is self care at its best.

How do you waste the most time every day?

I spend a lot of time in my day nurturing and communicating with and loving Lily, my little cavoodle dog. It brings me so much joy and is very fulfilling

Like a lot of people I spend alot of time everyday using my phone talking and texting loved one’s, writing my blog, exploring the on-line world 🌎. I think Lily gets a little jealous of the phone, so I make sure I give her a lot of attention.

Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?

There are a few foods that when I eat or smell them, it instantly takes me back to my childhood. My favourite desert 🏜 as a child was the Golden Syrup Dumplings that my Mum would cook. I can still recall the taste and the closest thing scent wise is Sticky Date 🍮 Pudding. Golden Syrup Dumplings will remain my absolute favourite.

I can still recall the smell of my Grandmother’s kitchen growing up. My Grandmother’s would always bake and her kitchen would always smell of her baking. She would regularly make Anzac Biscuits which she would affectionately call “Nutties “. When I would visit her I would love the smell of her kitchen, when now I talk of that smell, I can smell that because that smell is embedded in my memory and can be recalled at will. The other memory of my Grandmother is that she always served tea to us in a teacup 🍵 and saucer. To this day when I go out for afternoon tea with friends I often order tea in a teacup and saucer because of that fond memory association.

The other desert 🏜 that takes me back to childhood is chocolate Pudding and custard. It reminds me of being in my Mums workplace childcare and there we would often be given that for desert with our lunch. After lunch we would have our afternoon nap on tiny little fold up beds. When I have chocolate Pudding with custard it brings back vivid memories of being in that childcare. Mum’s employer Ericsson was quite forward thinking to offer workplace childcare to their employees. I have lovely memories of that time in my life.

Who is your favorite historical figure?

There are three women that in my life I have found inspiring.

Every since I was a small child I was inspired by the story of Helen Keller. It amazed me at how much she achieved in her life despite being deaf and blind. She really was an inspiration and showed the 🌎world how much people with disabilities can accomplish, so yes, she is definitely a historical figure I find inspiring.

The other two women that inspire and empower me are two that are intrinsically linked for me. Of course I find my angel lady Susanna inspiring and how she battled cancer will always touch my life. I have the Olivia Newton John Cancer Centre at the Austin Hospital here in Melbourne, for the fact that Susanna lived with her cancer for 6 years before it ultimately claimed her. Susanna was on an experimental treatment at the ONJ Centre and outlived everyone else on that treatment by 4 years. I have Olivia Newton John to thank for having an additional 6 years with my friend. Olivia Newton John just like Susanna was an angelic presence and she was both talented, empathic and compassionate. I have no doubt that in heaven, Susanna and Olivia are friends and I’m quite sure that Olivia is a regular visitor to the tearooms that Susanna is running in heaven, as is Helen Keller too. Strong women of heaven unite.

What countries do you want to visit?

There are a few countries that I would like to visit. First and foremost I would like to own property in New Zealand, so I could live between there and here in Melbourne. It is a pipe dream, as I don’t even own property in Melbourne. I would like to own property in both. Part of me would like that property to be in Auckland, but again that is a pipe dream. It is more expensive to live in Auckland, than what it is to live in Sydney. Sydney is the most expensive city in Australia to live, so that is really just a dream to me. Perhaps I could own land in the Central Otago region of the South Island and have vineyards there, much like Sam Neill. Oh but it is nice to dream.

Another country I would like to visit is Italy 🇮🇹. I mould love to immerse myself, in the culture fashion and food of Italy 🇮🇹 I love Italian food especially and think it is my favourite food in the world 🌎 apart from Indian food, which is my second favourite food in the world. I love the smell of Indian spices and am bedazzled by how beautiful the Indian saris are. I would love to roam markets and see the spices, beautiful sparkling materials used to make the saris etc. Again I would want to immerse myself in the Indian culture and customs.

The other country I would like to see is Ireland. I love the thought of such a green hilly country and two beautiful friends of mine Michael Fleming and Liz Cupples are from Ireland. They are both such enchanting people, and both make me long to see the country they hail from. Cathy Kelly makes life in Ireland sound charming and interesting and I long to see the villages of Ireland 🇮🇪.

What’s your favorite thing about yourself?

I find today’s topic amusing again, because it is again asking us to be a little self absorbed. Admittedly as writers we need to be a little self absorbed to hone our craft.

There are two favourite things about me which I think are significant. The first thing I like about myself, is my creative streak which now is mainly manifested through my ✍️ writing. I have been a writer since a small child, but now with writing ✍️ a blog and writing ✍️ children’s literature I feel I can now call myself a writer. In the past I have used other creative mediums like silk painting and jewellery making, but it is through writing that I have found my forte.

The other quality I have is my empathy and compassion, something that really developed once I experienced mental health issues and got further developed through my career in mental health. Having empathy is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because we can put ourselves in another person’s shoes, but a curse as we can feel their pain. One of my friends says I am a powerful positive force and I am flattered by that, and know there is some truth to that, but I prefer to see it that my empathy leads me to treat everyone as my equal.

I honestly see that my creativity and empathy go hand in hand as one allows the other to blossom in my life and I hope my readers gather that in my ✍️ writing I allow my empathy and compassion to shine through, like a shining light.