With our Australian winter setting in I'm remembering a neighbour from my childhood, Mrs Johnson, who used to sleep under a kangaroo skin. That was all she had on her bed right through winter, and the only form of heating she had was a wood stove. She never had a car and walked everywhere - rain, hail or shine. Her rooms were lined with books and she was possibly the most knowledgeable, interesting and healthy woman I knew, well into her old age. There is an increasing number of people exploring ways to leave a smaller footprint on the earth - emulating people like Mrs Johnson (sans the kangaroo element I would hope) and living closer to nature. One...
Pristine sandhills under vivid blue Australian skies are one of nature's most beautiful sculptures, but sometimes they come with a 'take care' tag. In this case it was high-voltage glare from the summer sun and the possibility of treading on a snake. So as much as I love sunshine and feeling the sand under my feet, when we hit the dunes on our 10-day deserted beach getaway I was never without my utilitarian Brookes runners, a cap with a wide visor, and my ROC Eyewear sunnies. The Brookes were token protection from the Death Adders that live in the area - the warning was that they bury themselves just under the sand with their small grub-like tail protruding as a...
The utilitarian body brush is sadly neglected in the presentation stakes. No seasonal colour range or flavour of the month celeb endorsements. I am yet to see a body brush handle peeking from designer bags of the rich and famous. But for those of us who spend time with these cactus and plywood understatements, they are up there with the haute couture of skin care. It is almost 20 years since I decided to step my health up a notch and had my first visit to a naturopath. Among a raft of life changes that day was my introduction to the wonders of dry body brushing. Seemed an odd thing to do - to dry brush my skin and then...
Seventy. I rolled the number around on my tongue a few times - it tasted a little strange. And then it occurred to me that instead of lying around pondering I needed to get up - get out of bed - and get into life. It suddenly seemed bizarre that we are expected to slow down as we age. Why would we do that when there are still so many things we want to enjoy? So instead of slowing down I decided to crank up my time machine and slide some more time into my days. Getting up an hour earlier and not to falling into the trap of veging out in front of telly at night can easily score...
