Catherine

We finally fixed the internal living room stone wall. It was messy, dusty and one of those ideas that you regret until a week has gone by. It was repointed with some new stones, cleaned up and plastered. Now that the dust has settled, the natural stonework shines through. When thinking of walls, images both positive and negative appear. I recall many years ago we had moved into a new house, a new job had been offered and the Friday before I was to start, there was a re-organisation and my new role was gone. Taking the phone call,

We live in interesting times. Today, Germany goes to the polls with the end of the Merkel era and the Swiss have finally voted for same-sex marriage; better late than never. Australia is still behind the rest of the world, working through the pandemic with no forethought or backward look to 2020 in other countries to learn from our mistakes. The news is sobering, the air is cooling, leaves fall, the sea is like Spanish glass and the melancholy note of Autumn hovers around the corner. I prefer the hope of Spring. I have friends who love snow and watching their

Somerset Maughan said, "at a dinner party, one should eat wisely but not too well and talk well but not too wisely". This resonates with many favourite memories sitting at a table in anticipation of good food and conversation. As we slowly reconnect with people for dining, it is interesting to see how we set a table. While white table cloths and shiny silver look lovely, equally a simple setting with different but matching plates entices our eyes before the food. Many years ago, we visited Japan and attended dinners but the one that stood out was in a

With many of us still working from home, different rooms have been adapted for a dual purpose. Having worked remotely for years, I know how difficult it can be to adjust to a new schedule and environment. The office structure has gone, set coffee breaks and lunches are now more fluid and normal face to face conversations have disappeared. Some have other family members in the same space which can make for some interesting discussions! It can become a big mess creating tension and it is important to choose which room becomes a dual room.   Feng Shui First

We finally moved this weekend and it feels like we have come home. John Le Carré said that 'home is where you go to when you run out of homes'. Perhaps that is our state at the moment. We will put in bifold doors between the kitchen and dining room to give more light. The irony is, these are called French doors and are difficult to find in France! The search is on. The cats have settled in with familiar furniture smells and a dinner has been cooked and wine served. A good friend is visiting on Wednesday to

A New York friend said when we first met, “I am not sure if I should invest in this friendship as you are going to leave one day.” The irony is that she moved to Miami! I write this as we have had several visitors these last few weeks and if nothing else from this bemusing year, we have learnt the importance of reaching out and connecting. There are friendships about past cocktails at Vespers laughing at life’s and our own idiosyncrasies. Some are based on the pure love of music giving space for the friendship to grow. Others

Now, before anyone thinks we have finally lost our minds and in our defence, initially we lived for over 25 years in just two houses  and then have usually spent at least three to five years in apartments to avoid paying someone else's rent. These last three years have been crazy and I would think the same as others must be thinking about us! So..the latest update is that we are going to move back upstairs and sell downstairs. What happened? A builder friend returned from being stuck in the UK and asked, why we didn't just take a

My mentor, Clear Englebert, has just published his latest book, Feng Shui for Real Estate. I am looking forward to reading it but am lucky to have his wisdom at hand. He has guided me through the different countries and places we have lived in. So I went back to his books to look at how best to sell our upstairs apartment. For once, we are being zen about selling- something that doesn't come naturally to me! We are not in the usual rush of selling to leave a country and enter another. We understand that our likely buyer