Thoughts About Who I Am

That’s me there with my husband Dean.  This photo was taken in 2012, so, I’m a little older now and (I like to think) a little wiser.

Perhaps I’m also a little more wrinkly – ok, a lot more wrinkly – but I love this photo because it captures the joy that exists between us.

We are happily married and have been for more than 30 years and, apparently, that’s a rare thing these days.  We have three adult daughters, Kate, Shelley and Melissa, and we love them dearly.

In June 2014, I was told there was no longer a place for me in the organisation in which I worked.  I was devastated, however, all I kept thinking was, “Be positive!  It’s ok!  You’ll get through this!”

But my favourite thought I kept having was:

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!

So with that, Dean and I decided to turn a negative into a positive and made the (relatively easy) decision to go on a trip of a lifetime and travel around Australia.

My intention with this blog (initially Clare & Dean), was to keep a diary of our experiences, sharing with family and friends the amazing destinations in which we found ourselves, as well as the adventures we had along the way.  I never imagined others would also be interested in reading about our journey.  Nor did I imagine I would discover so much joy in sharing our story and the photographs I took.

Our big adventure began on Friday, October 31, 2014.  We spent 20 months on the road – loving living and laughing all the way.

Blogging certainly made the task of keeping everyone up to date easy and enjoyable.  In fact, I loved it so much I created another blog (My Creative Cosmos) where I could post creative articles that had nothing to do with our trip.

When our big adventure was finally over, I decided to combine both blogs into one.  It was not an easy decision, and I put a lot of thought into doing so.

The hardest question to answer however was “What do I call this ‘new’ blog?”

What do you get when you join Clare & Dean with My Creative Cosmos?

Retrospectively speaking, that answer was simple.

You get . . .

– ⋅ o ♥ o ⋅ –

These days my blog has become an eclectic collection of all things Clare.

A system for documenting my thoughts because, as I get older, it has become important for me to do that.

And here I am – a little older, a little wiser and yes, a little more wrinkly.

I come here to record my thoughts, to write about the things I’m passionate about – from what’s happening in my life, to what’s growing in my garden or being created in my kitchen.

I also love the Moon and often share photographs I’ve taken because I now own a camera that makes taking those shots an effortless task.  An important priority for a self-professed lunatic – I mean, selenophile.

So yes, it certainly is a bit of a cosmos here – my personal galaxy of thoughts and creativity.

Have a dig around.  I hope you enjoy what you find.