About me
I do believe being a maker is in your blood, just like being an athlete is. Regardless of what career path I have chosen, I have always come back to one that best showcases my passion as a maker. I have had an overwhelming desire to create things since I was a child. Being a curious soul and with a tendency to favour variety, I was fortunate that we were exposed to many walks of life, many nationalities including my very own Dutch family's eccentricities to keep me in awe of the world and it's inhabitants.
We were always encouraged to travel and explore and taste foods we were not familiar with, smell flowers we hadn't seen before and sit and observe nature. Interestingly I had a very bland palate and preferred simple foods for many years. I was exposed to languages and traditions that I never dreamed of and this kickstarted my travel adventures the moment I got my licence at 17 years of age. Taking a jaunt down to the beachside village of Huskisson with girlfriends or up North to the big wide rural views of Kingaroy in QLD was commonplace for me as a young adventurer.
Immersing myself in communities and listening and learning about the flow of life and seasons has been my passion.I have an ongoing quest to explore and experience life to it's fullest. I hope you enjoy my blog posts about my experiences, thoughts, and adventures.
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I have recently taken on the challenge of writing an Australian Native Foods of Provenance cookbook and it was warmly received by Agrifutures as I became one of the four Queensland finalists in the Rural Women's Award in 2018.
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A turn of events in December 2018 found me starting on my fiction novel 'What Happened to Sarah?" and I steadily worked on it until my manuscript was completed in early 2024. It now sits with an editor, awaiting the next step in the publishing timeline.
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We have also had the good fortune of becoming stewards of land in the hinterland of the Wide Bay region, with breathtaking views, crisp country air, and the peace and quite you can only experience when you live in nature. This has enabled me to grow a large diversity of native botanicals, herbs, fruits and vegetables with which I make herbal cosmetics, balms and salves and dabble in creating a signature perfume for the luxury market.