As the last days of December run like water to the ocean that is (was) 2021, this is a quick and very patchy self-reflection. On the writing front in 2021, I was delighted to be a contributor to the short fiction anthology, The Shadows We Breathe (vol 1) , the brainchild of the remarkable Sarah Brentyn. Creativity and crafting words doesn't always come easily to me, but this was one of those experiences where showing up at the keyboard eventually got the words to show up too. I wrote about it here . It's nice to remember that I got some nice feedback about one of my stories, "The Coma". (Also, there's a TSWB volume 2! Check it out here !) Something I did do a bit more regularly in 2021 was blogging - especially during the Australian spring. Mainly nature- or parenting-focussed. Which is lovely and right and good as they're important things in my life. But I haven't blogged as much about the creativity side of things. Which is interesting, and