THINGS TO MAKE AND DO: One of the things I try to do when I travel overseas is visit a local Girl Guide unit. I didn’t manage to visit an actual weekly meeting or camp, but I did go to the Girl Scout HQ in New York. It’s a bit of a nerdy Girl Guide thing to do, but I always like to have a little gift from Australia to share. Australian Girl Guide supporters make felt birds and Aussie animals for our intrepid members to pack and give to their international counterparts and new friends. I’m going to whip up something like these to share next time one of us is off on an international adventure, which actually happens quite a lot. Girl Guides Go Places, don’t you know. It’s even a hashtag: #girlguidesgoplaces

Speaking of the US Girl Scouts, did you see the awesome crowdfund venture of one Girl Scout troop? Talk about living by their Girl Scout Promise and Law: this was a brave and ethical decision. Makes me so proud.

THINGS TO COOK AND EAT: What’s more Aussie than a pie? How about a pie that is a nod to our colonial roots with squishy peas, our post-World War II migrant intake with a smidge of Italian parmesan and our more worldly multicultural mix with a side serve of sumac and labneh? That’s my kinda pie. If I could infuse it with a little Indigenous-inspired bush tucka, it’d be perfect.


THINGS TO DROP DOUGH ON: I have a pair of good old Clarks Desert Boots bought at an op shop for a song. They’ve served me well but they’re pretty beaten up now and I’ve been hunting around for a similar looking pair of boots but with street smarts that I can wear on more casual dressing days to work. Clarks Desert Boots are an English-made boot, but I still associate Clarks with the school shoes I wore through much of primary school. You?

THINGS TO HANG ON THE WALL: I’ve had a lot of small artworks, and one big one, framed. They’re all mementos from overseas travel that have been sitting around in folders – some for years – waiting for that “get ‘round to it” moment. Well it came, and I may have very little wall space once I work out where they’re all to go, but should I be adding to it, this one would remind me of home for sure. No beach near here would be complete without a seagull, or a few hundred of them.

#flashback: The big blue skies I'm enjoying right now were a feature of this week last year too, as were things hearty and solid.