Recent Blogs
My year of bullet journalling
Last year my life was transformed by a bullet journal. My friend Meliors Simms is usually far more up with what’s current than I am. About this time last year she emailed me and said, “I think you should know about this. Come over and I’ll show you.” And I entered the...
Emotional freedom technologies
This is an article about four slightly weird practices that could make a big difference to your wellbeing. One involves holding your index finger on a small machine that occasionally emits gentle beeps. In another, you move your eyes from side to side while talking....
My father the giant
This is a post about my father, Ralph Bulmer, a man literally larger than life. Ralph died more than a quarter of a century ago, at the age of 60. My half-brother Richard, who was only four, has no memories of our father. So, Rich, this is for you. And for the...
A matter of life and death (3): Farewell, Sue
Susan Evelyn Bulmer (nee Hirsh); February 17, 1933 – October 6, 2016; Archaeologist I’ve written about my mother, Sue, elsewhere on this website: Songs to Remember and The Family Bat. Last week my beautiful, brave, creative, energetic, passionate, wonderful, crazy,...
Why certified organic food is important
It’s important that those of us who care about food quality get our heads clear about why we need organic certification. Recently I’ve been hearing a lot of people dissing organics. Some say, “Organic certification is just too hard and expensive.” Others say,...
Musical foremothers
This is a post celebrating some of the women who have inspired me to make music. Growing up, I didn’t see many women musicians. I spent a lot of time looking for role models and people to play with. Plenty of men have inspired me as well. But, identifying as a...
The end of a rug, part 2: The Great Unwinding
It took me a few weeks to get around to finally saying farewell to the Mormor rug. (See my earlier post: Coming to the end of a rug.) It felt really hard to let it go. But in the end, taking it apart was much easier than I had expected. I started unpicking from the...
Fun new world
Niki Harre’s book Psychology for a Better World is about how to make sustainability sustainable. “The bottom line is that as change agents, if we don’t offer people happiness, they won’t be attracted to what we do, and they won’t stick with the activity we’re...
Becoming a New Zealander
The day I watched my husband become a New Zealand citizen. After only 37 years in this country.
Coming to the end of a rug
In my living room there is a beautiful handmade rug. It’s a traditional Scandinavian braided rug, made by plaiting long strips of recycled cloth and then coiling the plaits together and hand sewing them into a flat oval rug. This labour of love was created by my...