Miscellaneous...

First of all, the above is evidence that we really have been painting at Tarzali. All the furniture is still piled in the middle of the room, and those walls used to be pale green with dark green trims. We're painting everything off white to open the whole place up and make it feel much bigger, and hopefully, to enhance the country cottage feel.

Back in Townsville, I went to the hairdresser yesterday, and yes, she found paint in my hair. But for those who were worried (thank you) I am writing again, adding some male viewpoint (at my editor's request) to my latest submission. I'm pleased to report that she's v happy with my first attempt at a romantic comedy. I'll tell you more about that soon.

On the way home from Tarzali, we called in at Innisfail's Feast of the Senses, where we lunched from paper cones filled with local seafood. The most popular stall was made up of huge trestle tables covered in vividly hued plies of lush tropical fruit. We brought home sugar bananas, late season mangoes (from Mareeba) and mangosteens, a fruit I hadn't tried before that's delicious -- a cross between a lychee and a lemon sorbet.

Now I just have to get as excited about my next story as I was about my last. I love the feeling of anticipation and "let's go!" that takes hold as a new idea gets its claws into me.