Serendipity (that magic conjunction of different thoughts and outcomes) has been a gift for which I’m very grateful. How else to explain my start in family history? I had been visiting a historical-themed event in William St, Brisbane with our youngest daughter when we came across a tent promoting the Genealogical Society of Queensland. On … More Serendipity, Skills and Talents
Reading for me is like food and water – an essential experience in life, and one I can’t imagine being without. I’m so grateful to my dad for sharing his love of reading with me. Not because we shared books but because I saw his example of reading being a pleasure even though, in retrospect, … More Of Reading and Religion
One of the things I’m inordinately and illogically proud of is that I am a true maroon Queenslander. All but one of my immigrant ancestors arrived in Queensland and remained here, being part of the communities that built up the colony and then the state. Queen Victoria signed the Letters Patent to make Queensland a … More Queenslander!
It may be that, on a daily basis, I take our country’s peace for granted rather than give thanks for it. Yes, it has things that could be done better or differently, but overall we are indeed the Lucky Country when it comes to peace. Yes, I am aware that our Indigenous Australians paid a … More The Price of Peace
My ancestors were all what might be termed “ordinary people”, none achieved great heights of achievement other than to work hard, raise their children well and engage with their communities. It’s not that I have the Australian distrust of “Tall Poppies“, simply that my research means that I’d be shocked if I’d found a field … More Ordinary People
My 2020 Gratitude vision board has several pictures of the beauty of nature and especially flowers, which I love. I’m very grateful for the magnificent scenery where we live. When we lived in the Northern Territory I loved being out on the open road with vast spaces to the horizon. The grandeur of the Wet … More NATURE’S GLORY and DRAMA
When I list my gratitudes, it would not occur to me to count money, in and of, itself. And yet, things I am grateful for definitely require a level of financial security, and before I retired, it would have included a good job with a decent salary. So yes, money does matter. It’s given me … More Money matters
“What the world needs now is love, sweet love”[i]… Perhaps that’s more true than usual in these uncertain times of a pandemic. However, we’d probably mostly agree it’s what all of us hope for in our lives, whether it’s platonic, passionate, familial or of friends. Certainly, in my own life one of the key gratitudes … More Love and the Law
As the generations pass away behind us, we inherit bits and bobs that were once owned by family members. We may also have gifts that we’ve kept over the years because a much loved relative has given them to us. Unless your family was well off I think of these items as keepsakes – they … More Keepsakes or Heirlooms?
Earlier in the series I mentioned I’d prepared a Vision Board for 2020. One of the clippings I’d used said “Be brave -do something you’ve never done before”. I must admit I had something rather more fun that the current pandemic restrictions. <smile> Two of the other gratitude features I’d imaged were Joy and our … More Joy and Jubilees
Family history across the seas 