A Weekend Out and About

It's good to get back to my roots occasionally. I feel as though the blood of the land is pouring through my veins each time I go walkabout. :) It's also good to have the support of my husband, urging me to keep writing.

This photograph taken next to the Gwydir river, snaked by mountains, is where my grandmother's house once sat. 

It came as a shock a few years back when it was demolished. To the right of the cocoas palm sat a lovely front garden surrounded by orange trees, and pepper trees, which have a peppery smell. There was always a cosy corner in the shade, somewhere to have a bit of relief from the extreme temperatures, which often went well into the 40s.

Now all that remains is a May bush, and another shrub which I don't recall. Not much to hang a past on, but I often write about memories. There are loads of memories from this photograph alone.

My grandmother use to take us walkabout and teach us what grubs were the best ones to eat. We use to call it Mully Grubbing, as it's the same grub as a witchetty grub.  Yes, I've had a few witchetty grubs, but not lately. :) They are edible, either raw or lightly cooked and are high in protein. The raw witchetty grub tastes like an almond and when cooked the skin is like roast chicken.  lol  NO... I haven't eaten a raw one, thank heavens. :)

She also use to show us what sap to eat from the trees. I recall eating a pinkish sap that tasted like fairy floss. It was yum. lol. :)

The beautiful Gwydir River.

This brings to me to my characters in my novels. Memories. Memories are what makes a person the person they are today. It's their past that builds their particular character as in real life. So before writing, I also fill in Character sheets, so my characters will have a past, either good or bad, and most times there is something in their past that will have them act and behave as they do in the novel.

Most of us have good and bad memories, but let's cling to the good. My grandmother left me with some great memories, some funny, some sad, but stories that now mean so much to me than they ever did. :)