• Wrecked (a short story)

    Wrecked (a short story)

    Dear Mother, I hope this letter finds you well, and certainly better than it leaves me. Finding my way in the world has been more difficult than I envisioned.  After three years of floating across the globe, I thought I had found my haven, my own personal slice of paradise…

  • “Mindfulness and it’s discontents”

    “Mindfulness and it’s discontents”

    The more I learn about mindfulness, the more I discover there is also push-back.  If mindfulness is a ‘movement’, then there are those who are advocates and those who are not.  The internet is full of the first camp, and you don’t have to look too hard to find someone…

  • It’s like riding a bike… backwards

    It’s like riding a bike… backwards

    Everyone’s heard the saying, “it’s like riding a bike – once you learn how, you never forget it.” The implication is, it’s easy, and once you master the skill, it’s for life. In reality, there ARE a stack of skills that we master in our youth that stay with us…

  • Battlefield versus Farmland

    Battlefield versus Farmland

    I know I occasionally harp on about this, but the “Migraine Warrior” label isn’t for everyone – I prefer something gentler, more organic, more aligned with a garden-like-metaphor. I know it might annoy others who feel very passionately that the ‘warrior’ label is the right way to go – it…

  • The power of positivity

    The power of positivity

    Don’t ask me why, but the other day it occurred to me how many ‘crosses’ there are in my life.  I spend a lot of time at pharmacists, and there’s always a red (blue or green) cross on the signage.  My husband has Maltese heritage, so my house is filled…

  • Half-life (a short story)

    Half-life (a short story)

    Helen slapped the alarm into silence, then leapt out of bed.  In the shower, her mind roved over her wardrobe as she picked out the blouse and skirt she would wear to work.  She deliberated on whether to wear stockings or not.  “Not,” she said to herself as she remembered…

  • What am I doing here?

    What am I doing here?

    While doing my regular blog-land roundabout I came across a blog called The Spectacled Bean and a post labelled “Home Sweet Home: do you know where you belong?” The post referred to an interactive website (OECD Better Life Index) where you can find out which country best suits you based…

  • Midnight migraines

    Midnight migraines

    A while ago I wrote that I was pretty sure that nightmares can trigger midnight migraines… today I’m adding another unconventional culprit to the list: wearing socks to bed.  Hear me out… For a few months there, one of the biggest banes of my life was midnight migraines.  I was…

  • Fond of fondue?

    Fond of fondue?

    Communal meals used to be all the rage when I was a kid.  Even right up to the global outbreak of Covid, sharing was caring.  Sure, there were ‘sneeze-guards’ at the all-you-can-eat buffet diners, but mostly, smorgasbords were common and cool, and tongs were preferred… but optional.  Now in our…