Counting blessings

Sometimes it’s hard to find a subject to write about, so to move on to the next blog I decided to count my blessings and write about things that have made me happy in the past few weeks.

One of those things is the weather. Here in the west of Australia in the summer the temperature ranges from hot to extremely so. Winter has just ended, but the thought of putting an extra blanket on the bed and snuggling under it is still a real and pleasurable memory – as were a couple of good storms with some drenching rain.

Another pleasure was being nominated for an award. That is the Alice Award, which is bestowed by the NSW branch of the Society of Women Writers every two years. The award goes to an Australian woman who has made a distinguished and long-term contribution to literature. Only one candidate per state can be nominated. The outcome of the award has yet to be decided. There are other candidates for the award. I’d like to wish them luck, and hope they’re feeling as good about being nominated to represent their state as I am to represent mine. The list of previous recipients of the award are drawn from all walks of academia, and many well-known names are there. Thank you to the committee of the Western Australian branch for the nomination. I feel honoured.

Several lovely letters from readers arrived: from Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, and from Canada. I do answer them all, but a couple of messages I sent and answer to bounced back . . . so apologies if my answer didn’t get back to you. Thank you all for your best wishes and compliments. Reading your letters is indeed a pleasure.

The fourth pleasure was to open the front door to a ring on the bell a couple of days ago, to find a surprise - my youngest daughter and my eldest granddaughter standing there on the doorstep. They’d flown over from Victoria, a distance of 2727 Ks (1700 miles) to support my middle daughter as she celebrates one of those scary birthdays with a nought on the end. As I write, the birthday girl is unaware that her younger sister and niece are in town. The party is today and it will be a lovely surprise for her, and their brother. Happy birthday Sandra girl!

It’s always a pleasure to finish a novel, and the final book in my “Tall Poppies/ Secrets and Lies,” trilogy is now with my editor and scheduled for publication in February 2013. Its title is I’LL GET BY. As you can probably guess this one has a WW2 setting.

As I’m a very early riser, over the past few weeks I’ve been watching a couple of bright stars move across the sky, sometimes in company of the moon. I don’t know anything about stars except they’re pretty. I do know that this pair gave me a feeling of awe. So clear they were, in a vast, silent, dark sky. It was just one of those moments you experience now and again, an emotional connection between the stars and me. (If that makes sense).

It’s amazing how many blessings there are in life when you stop and think about them. Best wishes to all.