12:24 30 AUGUST 2010

Update: new blog here (click on these words).

11:10 SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2009

Finished work yesterday - have been working seven days a week for months - and hit the beach, but this time with the Maui boogie board Bee bought Alex for his birthday. Just as we turned into the beach, a humpback whale soared out of the water, something I have wanted to witness all my life (two weeks ago, I watched a pod of dolphins offshore). I was ecstatic. And then I stole the boogie from Alex and spent the following hour plunging in and out of the water. So happy.

00:12 THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER 2009

Madly editing, just overwhelmed. Otherwise:

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)

- i carry your heart with me , by e.e.cummings

11:14 THURSDAY 8 OCTOBER 2009

Last night was ... blissful. Bee fell asleep early, which meant that we were able to finish work before 2am. Otherwise? Editing like a madwoman. And this is new (click here).

11:00 FRIDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2009

My old debating - and camping - partner is up for the Bradfield seat. We always knew he would end up as PM. However much I may recoil from the Liberal Party, GO PAULIE! (For more information, click on these words.)

23:09 THURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2009

Another day in Paradise. A mad dust storm from South Australia, the worst in over 70 years, made pumpkin soup of Sydney yesterday; it was impossible to see more than 400m ahead. Barely any sun at all - friends were driving with their headlights on. Today was magical: blue and balmy, with native birds everywhere. Had dinner with our beautiful neighbors and made scratchy plans to visit the gym. Tonight, my beloved and I will nestle in each other's arms to watch the fourth season of (trumpets, drumroll) SUPERNATURAL. (Ridiculous, I know, but also terribly enjoyable.)

20:24 FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2009

Alice, my Italian cousin, backstage:

11:40 THURSDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2009

We have discovered paradise. Our gorgeous 50something neighbors have imported their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild into the house for the next two years, meaning that Bee now has a playmate on tap. In addition to which, said playmate (the very dear and improbably named Jet) comes with a TRAMPOLINE, CUBBY HOUSE and SLIDES. Bee can barely bring herself to choose between the many activities on offer - gardening, painting, violin, trampoline, preparing sushi in the dollhouse, et cetera. Otherwise? Editing editing editing, madly anticipating the new season of Supernatural on DVD (just arrived), dancing around the house with my beloved husband to salsa, and harassed by him and various friends into considering my birthday, about which I had completely forgotten. I turn four thousand four hundred or so on Saturday.

20:00 THURSDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2009

Writing writing writing. Knocked out two reviews and a column, and then back to THE BOOK. Otherwise? The happiest of little muffintops.

22:00 THURSDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2009

Listening to Chopin as I write, loving my little family, and tweeting (click on these words).

10:55 WEDNESDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 2009

Writing writing writing. Bee is very happy after a weekend spent with her improbably glamorous Grandmother Gail and also hearing from her other (Italian) grandmother that she can expect an absolute haul and a visit at Christmastime. She is also thrilled to be receiving sushi for her dolls' house from Mama: tiny 2.5cm plates of tempura, salmon sushi, and cucumber rolls. (Beebo loves Japanese food.) We pick up her first (minuscule) violin on Friday, which is very exciting. Otherwise? My Beloved Husband is reveling in the garden and also writing writing writing.

22:00 FRIDAY 21 AUGUST 2009

A perfect day. Ro dropped around with dress-up outfits for Bee this morning (mermaid, angel, etc.), and then Bee had her very first violin lesson and was OUTSTANDING. I could not be prouder of this dear and lovely little creature. In addition to which, the weather was magical - warm, blue, breezy - I love our new house, and my husband was adorable. Otherwise? Writing every other second God sends. That and trying to find attractive planters online. Oh, and learning about clouds.

01:00 SATURDAY 15 AUGUST 2009

It was so warm this morning that I was sleeveless at my desk. Bethesda had a successful playdate this afternoon with Chloe, who reveled in her Madeline dolls' house, fairyland, and easel. There was a moment of tension when we found Bethesda gaily painting the trunk of a palm tree, but all was otherwise merry. I baked blueberry muffins in between paragraphs, and my beloved husband swept the house and completed a piece.

15:03 TUESDAY 11 AUGUST 2009

Madly scrambling to finish a manuscript - barely enough time to sleep. Alex, too, is madly running around. We're trying to find a new ballet school for Bee, and are otherwise engaged in all those other readjustment processes associated with relocation. And then I last night discovered that an old friend - we hadn't been in touch for 20 years, but not because of any friction - recently committed suicide. He was 52, and left behind two children: a boy of 15 and a girl of 17. I'm stunned.

12:00 WEDNESDAY 5 AUGUST 2009

My Eric Bana interview was a cover story in London (please click on these words), and Bee and I have been busy planting seedlings (oregano, Sweetie Tomatoes, chives) in the garden all afternoon.

13:20 THURSDAY 23 JULY 2009

In recovery. All three of us caught the 'flu before we left, which means we had to move whilst hacking, coughing, streaming, weeping, and generally staggering about. So: the new place is lovely, but there are still boxes to unpack. In addition to which, I have had to tweak one feature, try to finish another, and write a review in order to return to my new book, which must be completed by the end of August. Otherwise? We have been (again) plagued by a mentally ill pensioner who simply refuses to let up. Something will have to be done if he continues. It wouldn't be so bad if he were harmless, but he is a toxic old thing, plotting away in his universe of flying pigs and leaking venom. He was institutionalized in a high security facility and is on anti-psychotic medication, but this is apparently insufficient. A similar situation happened to a girlfriend of mine, also a writer, who became the target of a personally and professionally frustrated 50something father's hateful obsession. The guy was a basketcase, and made her life chaotic. Police and lawyers had to be called in before he left her alone. The people I feel for are the children and grandchildren of these nutjobs. What a burden to be related to a person like that. For them, the anguish, embarrassment and disappointment never ends. No wonder the children of these people so often commit suicide [click on these words for more information].

15:27 THURSDAY 09 JULY 2009

I'm absolutely thrilled - signed another book contract, my second in almost as many months. Will be submitting the manuscript for the first book by the end of August, and then launching into this one. Otherwise? Preparing to take our former landlords to court - those scumbags par excellence - and moving to a lovely new place. In short: over the moon and under the gun.

11:34 SUNDAY 28 JUNE 2009

Interviewed a lovely movie star yesterday (more on that soon). My piece on separated fathers is in the new issue of Men's Style (Megan Fox cover). Otherwise? Trying to keep however many balls in the air as we prepare to move.

14:25 MONDAY 15 JUNE 2009

Preparing for the second move of the year, the one before we (finally) buy. Otherwise? The usual tornado. A wonderful new book contract - the second in a year - is in the mail, and I have had my long hair chopped off into a kind of Germaine Greer circa 1970 or thereabouts shaggy bob thing that doesn't look at all as dire as it sounds. To complete the look, I have taken to wearing long black velvet DKNY skirts. No toe-rings or ankle bells, though, as the frigid weather demands boots. An advance copy of Your Mother Would Be Proud arrived, and it really is an exceptionally jolly read. In it, I document some of my improbable misadventures in London, all of them verified by one of my dearest chums and a writer for The Sunday Times (he and I first met in 1984, when I had red or green or orange hair and wore Dalmatian-spotted micro-minis and thigh-high leather boots). Below, a picture of me with a friend of my then-boyfriend's, the adorable Robert Smith of The Cure (and his thumb), taken around the same time. For more information on Your Mother Would Be Proud, click on these words.

21:00 FRIDAY 05 JUNE 2009

Another death this week: two family funerals in the space of a fortnight. We are exhausted. And here is Bee, my limpid empress, and her handsome emperor, Jacob:

23:00 MONDAY 25 MAY 2009

My father died today.

14:00 SUNDAY 24 MAY 2009

50% of each copy of The Big Issue goes to its (homeless) vendor. So next time you see someone selling the magazine, buy a copy. (It costs less than a good cup of coffee.) For more information, please click on these words. Otherwise? Writing, reading, writing. And adoring my buzzy little Bee.

13:14 SUNDAY 17 MAY 2009

Last week, we spent three days at the beautiful Bellachara in Gerringong. (I have been longing to leave the city for years.) The bath was as wide as a lake, and the beds were heavenly. Wept all the way through Slumdog Millionaire and ate hamburgers and hot chips by the shore and then we deeply slept. Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at Luna Park. Alexander and I, longtime Dolphin Derby addicts, finally - FINALLY - redeemed ourselves in the eyes of our daughter by actually winning her a large stuffed toy each. (All up, I think each toy cost us $50.) "I've always wanted to be one of those people festooned with stuffed toys on their way out of amusement parks," noted my husband, who was festooned with stuffed toys on his way out of the amusement park. "Why? Because they look like WINNERS."

15:15 FRIDAY 15 MAY 2009

happiness
I asked the professors who teach the meaning of life to tell
     me what is happiness.
And I went to famous executives who boss the work of
     thousands of men.
They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though
     I was trying to fool with them
And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along
     the Desplaines river
And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with
     their women and children and a keg of beer and an
     accordion.

- Carl Sandburg

00:24 THURSDAY 14 MAY 2009

Today I threaded cotton through chestnuts in order to play conkers with my baby.

15:53 SUNDAY 26 APRIL 2009

Caught Pigs, Bears, and Billy Goats Gruff at the Opera House today, and 3D Under the Sea at the Imax Theater yesterday - Bee kept stretching her fingers out in an attempt to touch the shrimp and cuttlefish. (It was too cold for the Collette Dinnigan dress that Grandmama bought her.) On Friday, we met real live mermaids at the aquarium, and caught a little train around Darling Harbor. That and working on the book. That and tea with Grandpa this afternoon.

13:00 WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL 2009

A nightmare of a morning, no details necessary. The good news? An essay of mine concerning my misadventures as a teenager in London is included in this new Allen & Unwin anthology, out in June ...

21:34 EASTER SUNDAY 2009

Today was absolutely splendid. Two Easter egg hunts at each end of a long writing session, like bookends. The magical eggs had been secreted everywhere - behind the stone Balinese warrior by the clipped buxus, beneath Bee's giant stuffed microbe (Bookworm - click here), on the mantelpiece, atop the cherub's torch, behind the exposed porcelain bottom of a sculpture. I made a tray of vanilla marshmallows - killing, perfect - and a vat of Chinese noodles with mushrooms, shallots, and organic chicken. Bee danced (eyes closed, in a delirium of beauty) as Alexander and I sang Woody Guthrie lullabies, and then we all chased each other through the house until Bebo's bathtime.

11:58 TUESDAY 7 APRIL 2009

Life continues at a whirlwind pace. Last week, Bee bit into one of Grandma's tumblers - that mouthful of terrible shards, unforgettable - an episode which aged me, oh - maybe 67 years? I shot into action, and, as I screamed at her not to swallow or bite, cleared her mouth of glass. No cuts or scratches (I'll be donating all my organs to the needy in thanks). Nonetheless: three paramedics and an ambulance, x-rays, the works. It took me a week to climb down from the ceiling, and only with my beloved husband's help. Otherwise? We took her to see Les Sylphides, Petroushka, and The Firebird at the Opera House, Grandma steered her through a retail orgy yesterday (new shoes, new boots, new dress, and a lovely sushi lunch), we have almost finished unpacking, and I am a third of the way through the first draft of my new book (which I absolutely love). Our new office is exhilarating: water views, fresh air, peace. Very busy, very happy.

14:50 THURSDAY 19 MARCH 2009

Finally surfacing after a month of madness - packing, moving house, trying to work ... we're utterly exhausted.

14:53 WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2009

A wonderful week. I've signed a new book contract - an absolutely thrilling project - and received the first copy of the latest hardback translation of The Eclipse, which is, I think, the most beautiful of all the editions. Otherwise? Preparing for the move (packing books, organizing schedules), watching my baby blossom in ballet, and completing a major feature.

14:00 MONDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2009

Last week was bizarre, and I could not be happier that it is over. Yesterday, on the other hand, was magical. My lovely mother-in-law took us to see Sweet Dreams at the Opera House, where we bumped into two dear old friends of mine and their beautiful six-year-old son. Chinese at Circular Quay for lunch, and then we all strolled through the Botanical Gardens to the Rose Garden, where Alexander and I were married four years ago. Bethesda danced on the red rose petals she had scattered (the less said about those petals, the better - we hadn't been paying attention). Otherwise? We are inundated with laundry - the rain has been torrential - and I am completing a major interview.

23:00 TUESDAY 03 FEBRUARY 2009

Today was Bee's first ballet lesson. She was so completely beautiful in her strappy little pale pink leotard and floaty skirt, and with her golden/caramel hair in a chignon. Her skin was so pale that in certain lights, she seemed luminous. She lasted a long half hour, whereupon she began doing laps of the converted church. No matter: she was perfect.

22:00 WEDNESDAY 28 JANUARY2009

Grandma has come to Bethesda's rescue: a three trillion dollar pug is being flown up from Melbourne - not on its own plane, admittedly, but still. (My baby will be playing with a dog that is worth more than I am on the black market.) Photographs show a dear little squashy-faced thing clad in a buttercup scarf. Her birth name is Rasta, but that may change - Bethesda wants to christen her "Fairy Rose". Otherwise? Completing a critique and organizing finances. Rest in peace, John Updike.

21:00 FRIDAY 23 JANUARY 2009

Happy Chinese New Year! Otherwise? Extremely happy with the cover of the latest translation of The Eclipse.

09:00 FRIDAY 16 JANUARY 2009

Bee wants a pug, although I am reluctant to buy a dog who wants to sleep with its owner:

16:28 MONDAY 12 JANUARY 2009

In the process of searching for a house, which is, in addition to journalism and literary commitments and babycare, complete madness. That said, this December/January period has been the happiest and most fulfilling in memory. So many bridges mended, and so much to anticipate. We are all as happy as that proverbial clam. Our darling Bethesda, winged:

14:00 SUNDAY 4 JANUARY 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's a wonderful life ...

DIARY CONTINUED ...