On my summer holidays!

I'm off on holdiay until mid August - enjoy the summer!!!!!!

New Writing Gizmo

I'm very excited by the delivery of my new writing Gizmo - it came a couple of weeks ago but I've only just had time to use it in the past week. There are some pics so you can see it from several angles. It's an AlphaSmart Neo - great name isn't it? Sounds like something out of The Matrix! It's actually just a word processor - sounds very retro but it is perfect for what I need. I go to Australia at least once - usually twice a year and each time I lug my laptop and get very precious and worried about its safety! All I really want it for is to write because I only check emails maybe once a week and can use family/friends computers or pop into the local library.

I read about this on a few websites and a couple of writers magazines and it sparked my interest. It was £179 so a lot cheaper than a laptop as well. It stores everything to the hard drive automatically and runs off double A batteries - I think there are 3 in there and they are meant to last for 600hours and from all the reviews I've read - they do! It can hold the equivalent of a thick novel and you can have 6 files. You just plug it into your USB on your computer and hit send and it sends your files straight to your computer. It is a full size keyboard and you see up to 6 lines of type on the screen.

I'm a bit in love with it! It's really light as well. I don't write into a notebook as I like to type, think and write so its perfect for my needs. I am actually looking forward to 22hours in an economy seat when I fly to Oz next week - and that's a first!!!! All that time to write on this little device - very exciting!!!!! I shall stop gushing and do some writing!

Happy Anniversary Tulips

Today is an anniversary day - I've lived in the UK for 9 years. It's difficult to believe and it's impossible not to be reflective. This time nine years ago I'd been here for 3 hours and was deliriously happy, jet lagged, shell shocked, sad and excited. The first person I saw when I walked through customs was the man I would eventually marry. It was 6am and I'd been travelling for 24 hours from Sydney - and there he was with a huge bunch of flowers and a big, happy smile.

Back in Sydney my departure had been full of tears. I didn't think I'd be gone so long but life changes, no matter how radical they are, soon settle in to just being your life. It took me about 3 years before I stopped reflecting on a weekly basis about where I lived and how my life had changed so dramatically.

My husband gave me beautiful tulips to mark the occasion and I have them in vases all over the house but this is the special bunch in my study. Today I am going to reflect on how wonderful it is to be loved, how sad it is to be so far away from others that I love and how lucky I am to be enjoying a life full of adventures, lovely relationships and passion.