Early Australian fairy tales

What a joy! The 'almost' twins dressed like their Pop - more interested in the Christmas paper than the toys inside. Next year they will be running around.  Moving back into my study after it has been painted and sorting the folders for the next week, culling school work and filing new finds. Just last week I found another literary competition (Under 21 Essay) Ernst had won while at Teachers Training College. No wonder I need more bookshelves. I have one day a week study leave this year (using my Long Service Leave) from March so my New Year's Resolution is to finish the first draft by Christmas 2013. 

Painting begins! is the Librarian's favourite book and I am having fun with numbers. If I need to write 320 paragraphs to complete my thesis then I have written approximately 120 since February this year in four chapters and 2 part chapters. This weekend I have written the princely total of 16 which is a good weekend's work. By Christmas my aim is the halfway mark (160) and by then I should have my study back. After it was home to two daughters in quick succession, I am now happy to relinquish my indoor study to the grandsons and the train set and go back to the Bungalow (aka 'Butterfly House' due to my propensity for having the heater on high) refurbished and repainted with desk, sofa bed and quiet.

Lovely to have a small commission (unpaid) to sidetrack the PhD: Celebrating Mooroolbark . Normally I submit to magazines and journals and hope they accept my work but this is the first time I have taken time out from research for some time to undertaken work that has been commissioned. Asked to write a section of this book using newspaper articles diligently collected and collated by the Mooroolbark Historical Society to a tight deadline was a challenge! Submitted by October 1st. Book Launch 25th & 26th October - definitely cutting it fine! Of course, I lived in Mooroolbark, taught at Red Earth Cluster Schools and attended a number of Red Earth Festivals with the girls so it wasn't as if I was writing about an unfamiliar topic. A pleasure to write, as some-one else had done the 'backbreaking' research in the archives and presented me with two large folders. A first book for MHS and I am sure not the last!

Well.. after my last despondent post every-one may feel correct in assuming I wasn't managing any of the above. But PhD writer's block doesn't equate with time management issues. When I my PhD began my good friend R2 (that makes me R1 as in Scrabble) suggested 20 hours a week was the requirement for part-time PhD so that's what I do. I kept a log for a while to make sure I was on track but as with all similar procrastination activities the excel spreadsheet sits dormant on the desktop. Here's my grand plan. Not particularly innovative.  Small chunks. Bit by bit. Nibble away. Concentrated effort at times of low work pressure; full-time for 50% of holidays and whatever-whenever for the rest. At least 5-6 hours on the weekend if full-time work is full-on. Bite size bits....research via TROVE, reading an article, writing a paragraph, interviewing by phone... can all be done in chunks. A hour here. An hour there. Chunk by chunk it is coming together. 30000 words and 6

I happily completed a chapter last month with a Cheshire Cat smugness, an article about toddler technology and a section of the  Celebrate Mooroolbark!  book making the October 1st deadline.  Sidetracked from the PhD, I have done other things with less success. My first turn at pushing WRM's pram did not engender confidence in my GM capabilities as I ran over the one large spikey thing that could puncture a tyre in the whole of Carlton.  A km from home, a flat tyre and a ready-for-a-feed-two-week old: pramming on 2 wheels is an experience I have no desire to re-try. Others were unhappy too! Update: I have spent about 16 hours over the past 4 days writing refining the introductory first paragraph to my next chapter - yes... just the first paragraph of 5 - 6,000 words and have 188 words that I am happy with. A snail's pace. I feel like crying too, Wills!

Exploring on my own 6 months. Note the dribble proof protective case! My grandchildren have been born into a highly technical world,  growing up as the first of the ‘Touch’ Generation. As  toddlers they will never know a world without digital cameras, computers, DVDs, iPads and Smartphones or Skype. Discussion often centres on the impact of new technologies on teenagers but toddlers also have access to a wide range of multiple media. I note, with wonder and concern, that the pre-schooler in the café using mum’s Smartphone is becoming a distinctly savvy consumer.   Long-term research on the effects of the use of digital devices and how they may shape the developing brains of small children is inconclusive. Despite any concerns parents might have, technology is not only here to stay but is progressing at an alarming rate.   My favourite Australian companies creating aps for children include: Giggle Kids  for littlies and Blue Quoll  for my older nieces and nephews who love the l

With 30% of first draft writing completed time for another small distraction in the form of Grandson Number 2: William Ross who is I day old, cousin to Xavier who is now 3 months and 1 day old.