October 2, 2025

Spring cleaning

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With a completed draft of my book emailed to my wonderful mentor before heading off on our NT trip in early July, the intention was to tackle a lengthy list of tasks on my To Do list when we returned. A broken wrist suffered while we were away put the kybosh on that idea - full details in an earlier blog post - but with that now on the mend I can finally tick off one item on that list: cleaning out our large walk-in pantry.


A couple of wet days this week ensured I was able to enlist John's help to clean the top shelves, and avoid multiple trips up and down the stepladder. The pantry is amazing and was clearly designed to house bottles and jars of processed produce grown by previous owners in what is now our large vegie garden. But while we certainly grow a few vegies, and berry fruits, I am not into bottling and preserving. Freezing stuff is more my style and John is the jam-maker - he's the one that eats it - so after dispensing with a pile of jars, plastic containers of various sizes, and bit and pieces we are never likely to use again, the pantry is under control - and clean and tidy.


Next on the list is to sort the linen cupboard and - sigh - culling a bookshelf or two. That will not be easy but there are definitely some books I'll not read again, that have had their day so far as a place on my bookshelves are concerned, and need to be appreciated by someone else.


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Magni

Fiona's gift

By Anne Layton-Bennett • June 14, 2026
It’s taken far too many months for this marvellous model to grace the dedicated desk space in my office. When Fiona comes to visit next she will be very surprised, and hopefully gratified, that her amazing creative talent is finally on display. We’ve known each other for a very long time, and during the insanely busy time when I was helping to run the flower farm, working part-time in a school library, doing a spot of journalism on the side, and fighting the proposed pulp mill that is the subject of the manuscript I’m hoping to get published, Fiona cleaned my house each week. There’s only so much a person can do after all, and it has to be said cleaning our house during those manic years was fairly low down on the list of my priorities. But Fiona is a woman of many talents and she certainly possesses one that I so don’t have: sewing and dressmaking. So over the years she’s also made a few garments based on the pattern of a favourite garment that I was particularly fond of, and she’s also done some clothing alterations for both of us. My skills with needles and thread are limited to sewing on buttons, and taking up hems on John’s too-long pairs of jeans. Anything else is beyond me. But this fabulous model is the pièce de résistance – along with the beautiful crocheted knee warmer she gave me last year. This was when winter was approaching and so determined was I to finish writing the book, I decided to get out of bed at the insane hour of 5am and get in a solid hour’s writing in before dog walking and the demands of the day took over. Fiona was also one of many Tasmanians who needed to be circumspect about her opinion of the pulp mill. It was a project that polarised people, including families and friendships. She was one of several who passed on snippets of useful information, but on the basis of anonymity so it couldn’t be sheeted home to her.  Needless to say Fiona will be one of those whose contribution will be acknowledged – when this book is finally accepted by a publisher.

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