I guess after a few months of trying to DIY many things at home, eventually ones thoughts turn to the topic of hair. Does becoming self-sufficient mean I need to attempt DIY haircuts?

Last night Melburnians experienced their hottest night on record since 1902 – 30.6 degrees Celcius. This temperature didn’t drop below 30 degress until morning (See the Age: Sleepless in the city: Melbourne sweats through equal-hottest night).

A few weeks before Christmas, my friend Anna rang me with one of her more unusual requests. Could we house her boyfriend Andrew’s two goldfish (at that stage contained to life in a small tank with bright blue pebbles and a plastic plant)?

I stared at the badly browned and limp banana on my bench the other day, so tender to the touch that I could barely lift it, and knew what had to be done.

Banana Loaf 1 ¾ cups self raising flour ¼ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup sugar 2 eggs ¼ cup milk 75g butter, melted 1 cup mashed bananas Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Mix in sugar. In another bowl beat eggs. Stir in milk, butter and bananas. Mix quickly…

I feel very concerned about the way we are destroying our planet, and at times I have felt helpless to stop it. Sometimes it feels like our own small changes are insignificant when the issues we are facing (global warming, peak oil crises) are so large. Normal living pressures and trying to juggle work, family,…

I awoke this morning thinking I would just relax a little today after the new years celebrations. Right! New Years eve was spent at our friends house, swimming in their pool trying to beat the 38 degree C heat, then darting the enormous hail stones that rained from the sky in one of the more…

It’s natural to draw to the close of a year and think back over what has been, and how life may have changed. And this evening, when we pass from this decade to the next, it is even more insightful to look back at the last 10 years. Ten years ago, I was on a 5…

Today I tried a fruit I have never seen before, let alone tasted, called Babaco. I was given it yesterday by a visitor Sam. I was intrigued, and at the same time spent a good 24 hours eyeing it before I decided to try it. I noticed that I felt quite reluctant to try something new….

Being Dutch (or half dutch) has it’s advantages. For starters, if you say you are Dutch, it instantly makes you cool. Try it – even if you aren’t Dutch, and you will notice people instantly associate you with dykes, windmills, legislated hash and prostitution. Awesome!

My husband keeps telling me I am the luckiest woman on earth to be married to him (he has a healthy sense of self confidence). But I think we all know that it is actually he who is the luckiest man on earth – to be married to me (I have a sense of humour)!

I read an interesting article in last Friday’s Age called Spoiling Christmas. “Australian parents intend to spend an average of $584 on Christmas gifts for their children this year according to this week’s “Toy Treasure Trove” report from BankWest.“