By Vita Forest
Near Woolwich Dock, Sydney
This week or so I have been
WRITING
READING
LISTENING to podcasts on ABC Radio
WATCHINGÂ Killing Eve on ABC iView
Woolwich Dock
WALKING around
Cherry blossom in Hunters Hill
By Vita Forest
On the Two Creeks Track, Roseville
This week I have been
WRITING and REWRITING poems
READINGÂ Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman
RETURNING to school
PRACTISING
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney
VISITING Hyde Park Barracks on a school excursion
ATTENDING Writers’ Circle and having a good laugh and a good chat and a good listen to some good writing
MAKING mandalas in the playground out of found materials with a bunch of Year 3 and Year 4 children
Gordon Creek, Two Creeks Track, Roseville
WALKING and TALKING with Saskia and Vastra at Roseville and Waverton
Wattle trees on the Two Creeks Track
SPENDING time out in the winter sun (it’s warmer outside than in here in Sydney)
SEEING a whole crowd of women doing Tai-chi with coloured parasols beside Chatswood Oval.
By Vita Forest
Castle Cove
This week I have been
WRITING a short story, some poems, a Maths program and a bit of my novel
READING up on Japan
WATCHING a Harry Potter marathon with Lucy
Towards Castle Cove from the Harold Reid Foreshore Track, Middle Cove
EXPLORING part of Willoughby on a few sections of the Round Willoughby Walk with Lucy. We managed 19km! and
Castlecrag
TESTING to see if some borrowed hiking shoes will do the job (they will)
Middle Cove
CLIMBING the equivalent of 110 stories as we marched up and down headlands, cliffs and hills on many many stairs and
Castlecrag from Middle Cove
ADMIRING many lovely views and
Can you see the wrecks in the bay?
SPOTTING the wrecks of old boats in Salt Pan Creek and
A lyrebird! Right there!
SEEING lots of birds – wrens, magpies, lorrikeets and other parrots and even a lyrebird in suburban Sydney and
NOTICING many many plants – ferns, wattle and other native plants in flower
ATTENDING
VISITING the Maritime Museum to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition with my parents and children
CHOREOGRAPHING a class item for next term
RIDING my bike
By Vita Forest
This week I have been
WRITING
DISCUSSING our writing and having a good laugh with my Writers’ Circle pals
READING
CATCHING up with all sorts of friends during the school holidays – lovely to see you all!
SKETCHING at Carriageworks and enjoying the warmth of the winter sunshine
DOING a whole bunch of ‘Life Admin’ chores
VISITING
INDULGING in a few mornings of sleeping in
By Vita Forest
This week I have been
READING
WRITINGÂ Tai-chi and Tennis rackets
MAKING a collage of a Christmas Island crab on a grand scale with my class
LEARNING about the migration of the crabs
WATCHINGÂ Casablanca with my kids
WALKING and TALKING with Saskia on a cold windy winter’s evening
SLEEPING in as it’s now the holidays
PLANNING the next term and the big trip
By Vita Forest
This week I have been
WRITING
READING
VISITING Balmoral Beach for some sketching on a beautiful sunny winter’s morning.
WATCHING The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2 – OMG!!!!
HAVING a very interesting discussion at Writers’ Circle about how we each write and edit and generally fit writing into life.
DOING a whole bunch of yoga.
SEEING our performance through fresh eyes at the dress rehearsal in front of the whole school (it went well – phew!)
By Vita Forest
This week I have been
READINGÂ A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman
WRITING school reports!!
THINKING about ideas for poems
SHARING and LAUGHING at writers’ circle
VISITING The Strand Arcade with sketch club and
TRYING not to sample too many of the delights on offer…
LISTENING to two of my boys play Despacito on the trumpet and saxophone
CRAMMING a lot into a short week of school.
DRIVING my children all over the place on the weekend…
WALKING with Vastra on a brisk, early winter’s evening.
By Vita Forest
This week I have been
WRITING school reports!
READING
ATTENDING my Writers’ Circle and getting lots of good writing advice.
SEEING a bit more of Vivid at Chatswood.
CATCHING up with Saskia at one of our favourite cosy restaurants with flowers and lettuce in vases on the table.
FINALIZING costumes for our performance group
RUGGING up as winter arrives in Sydney
MAKING a herd of Ann Wood horses with a group of Year 3 and Year 4 students
EATING lots of soup
By Vita Forest
This week I have been
WRITING school reports!
READINGÂ Fire by Kristin Cashore
WATCHING Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock with the kids (Max is studying it at school) Wow! Is it our new favourite Hitchcock??
VISITING Vivid in Chatswood with the kids and enjoying the atmosphere while eating a gelato from Gelateria Gondola (the best). We liked all the music-making, interactive fun. No doubt we’ll get to the city sometime too.
SKETCHING with my niece Pippi in the Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney. Then we went
LOOKING in the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Pippi’s first visit. Her verdict – “There were lots of butts, some of them were quite detailed…”)
PLANTING some lovely things on my balconies after being inspired by our apartment’s gardener
UPDATING our block’s garden.
LOOKING forward to seeing it all in bloom.
By Vita Forest
This week I have been
WRITING
READING
WATCHING
ATTENDING my writers circle where we were
RELOCATING to a nearby food court when the library fire alarm went off and
RECITING poetry at a shared table with a stranger eating his dinner in our midst and
FINDING out later that the drama at the library was all due to a woman in a bathroom at a restaurant
DOUSING herself with an aerosol perfume…
RESTING and RECOVERING over the weekend with the flu or some such
Jotterizing 