Where the hell have you been?

Good question...

The answer is convoluted but, in a nut shell (not peanut shell though, cause you might be allergic to them - say a macadamia or perhaps a pecan) - life jumped up and down and demanded attention by throwing up the most ridiculous scenarios for me to sort out.

My wife and I took a nice longish (but never long enough) holiday to tropical north Queensland. The weather there is so not conducive to sitting in a darkened room staring at a computer screen.

We bush-walked, ambled aimlessly along beautiful beaches, drank fabulous cocktails far too early in the day, saw some incredible wildlife, dived on the Great Barrier reef (where I encounted a pretty but painful Portugese Man Of War or Bluebottle, as we Aussies call them).

I took loads of photos, caught up with family I hadn't seen in many years (and my wife had never met), renewed some old acquaintances and, generally, had a wonderful time.

Then we had to come home.

This is when life decided it was going to be difficult and cause us some heartbreak and sadness.

Without going into too much detail, the last few months have been shockers for us but we're slowly getting past it all and looking forward to what the new year has to offer.

I have found my Muse again (she had fallen down behind the bookcase and, being hard of hearing, I didn't hear her cries of help). Thankfully, my wife did and, after giving Muse a good feed and apologising profusely, she has finally seen fit to forgive me and reinvigorate my imagination.

I hope all my friends and acquaintances here had a very Merry Christmas and New Year. All the best for 2010.

Peace and lots of other good stuff.