
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.
I’ve always thought travelling around Australia would be an amazing thing to do.
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It was the most amazing experience and I would be back on the road again in half a heartbeat. Alas, I have to keep working to save more pennies to do so.
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