I'm back!

It's time to get out the metaphorical broom and whisk away the cobwebs on the windows and cornices; don gloves and pull up the weeds which have grown in the corners of the landing and twined their way up the banisters of my stairway...

Okay, enough with the unnecessary imagery. I'm back! And very glad to join you again. What have I been up to? All sorts of very worthwhile enterprises, some of them actually outdoors, which is always nice for a writer.

In November, I enjoyed my roses in full bloom. Can't resist sharing a picture.

Beautiful, right? I'm not such a big fan of long-stemmed hybrid tea roses. Though they do look lovely in a vase, I always think they look a little odd on the bush. Roses with more old fashioned leanings, however, and with softer, more muted colours...well, in this case (amateur photographer notwithstanding) I think the photograph speaks for itself.


And a few months after that, there were these Black Genoa figs to harvest.

I was very proud of my haul, I must say. As well as eating lots of them fresh, I made three different varieties of fig jam, including honey fig and ginger, and vanilla, lemon and fig. (The third was just plain old fig). To tell you the truth, I'm a bit over fig jam. Three batches is definitely enough!

As for the flowers you can see in the background...well, I might as well come clean about the fact that I've fallen in love with dahlias, and have plans to plant many more, as they seem to like my Sydney climate, are easy to look after, and have the most incredible flowers for quite a long flowering season. What's not to love? (Yes, I'm aware that for some people this confession will forever make them associate me with their grandmothers. If your grandmother does in fact like dahlias, tell her to follow my blog. There'll undoubtedly be more pictures of dahlias posted next year, so phooey to all the flower haters.)

So; a nice summer and first half of autumn, though it has been unseasonably wet.

My infant son has been rampaging around the house leaving trails of whatever he can get his hands on in his wake, so writing progress has been slow, though I've enjoyed the little I've done.

The most exciting news is that back in February, someone my agent sent part of my manuscript to requested the full. I'm allowing myself cautious optimism.

And next post - pictures of my very own work area, another project I undertook this autumn. No more kitchen table writing for me!

Hope everyone at my regular visiting places online is doing well, and I promise I'll be around to visit soon. In the meantime, what's new? What've I missed?