Painting flower pictures is something painters do. It’s natural like walking a dog, cooking a meal, and keeping yourself clean. No great effort is required and is the perfect motif for the occasional lack of motivation or mind blanks that occurs with stress. Living is stressful, studying is demanding, finding meaningful work is challenging, good health is unreliable, friends are fickle, and neighbours and family are doomed to disappoint. So, a...

Where did 2017 go? Well, I did a post-graduate course in teaching, secondary education, grades 7 to 12. The course started after Australia Day in January and my results come out 5 December. Some days were tough, some days I wanted to go some place else, and some days I had wonderful surprises; but, I have got through so it seems. Academically, I do quite well. The practicums, where you observe and teach at various schools, was either...