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Joanne Tracey's avatar

Again congratulations on your win. I need to pick up a copy and have a read! Love the pup and the beach (definitely a pirate beach and surely some smugglers tales), but also love the concept of bite-sized pieces. When I was working full-time I used to write like this. I called it writing in the cracks - between work, school, after school etc etc etc.

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prue batten's avatar

Oh! Writing in the cracks! Yes!

Thanks so much Jo, for such a great expression and for your wishes.

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Denyse Whelan's avatar

Small bites and a huge 'winners are grinners' congratulations to you Prue. Oh how well I know of the dentist and outcomes and with a permanently 'non sealed mouth' I cannot eat/drink other than small bites/drinks and I do 'dribble'

Enough of that.

Your nature pics and stories are treasures too.

When we lived on NSW Central Coast I often walked on the winter days to see and collect ( a few) treasures of rocks and shells changing the beach during those big storms.

Congrats again on your book win!

Denyse x

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prue batten's avatar

Thanks so much, Denyse. It's been a busy couple of days.

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Beth T (BethOfAus)'s avatar

Congratulations!!! Big moments and small to make up the tapestry of a life well lived. Happy, happy sigh. 🤗🤗

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prue batten's avatar

Thanks Beth.

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Susan Baker's avatar

Tesserae...reminds me of your extraordinary embroidery, the smallest details that give it such vibrancy! Like marshmallows in hot chocolate or sprinkles on an ice cream cone! Small embellishments that delight!

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prue batten's avatar

I love small things.

We even live in a small cottage and have a small dog!

And as for marshmallows in a hot chocolate or sprinkles on an icecream - yummo!

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Lindsay Cameron Wilson's avatar

Congratulations Prue! I think I’ll also eat a florentine in celebration of you!

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prue batten's avatar

Thank you, Lindsay.

I don't suppose you've got a really nice, easy recipe for homemade Florentines? And a story to go with it?

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Lindsay Cameron Wilson's avatar

Ooh you’ve planted a seed! I’ll see what I can do :)

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Sabrina Simpson's avatar

Absolutely over the moon to hear that you won the prize! So fantastic and well-deserved! And a lovely post about the small things. The things we really notice when we are fully present, and taking it all in.

I'm like you with the flu vaccine: i always get what I hope is only a small version of the real thing. I have to plan when I get the jab so I can take the evening and next day easy to recover.

And your description of the trip to the dentist: spot on what it feels like!

Hope your pup has accepted you fully back now. ❤️

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prue batten's avatar

Oh Sabrina! So thrilled. This spurs me on if only I can put myself in a week of writing purdah. No distractions... Ha!

At the GP's, I was also given scripts for RSV vax's for husband and self. Hugely expensive, not on PBS or Medicare at $300 per dose. But we will get some back on private health. My friend, Willie, had RSV last year and said it nearly did her in - absolutely awful and worse than 'flu. So we will get thos jabs as well and then watch as something else entirely, takes us out!

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Sabrina Simpson's avatar

I haven’t yet dealt with the RSV vaccine…good luck with that one!

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Susan Colleen Browne's avatar

Big Congratulations on your #1 in the OZMA competition, Prue! What a wonderful honor, and the cover truly is stunning 😊 All the series covers have so much drama in them, and each tells a compelling story!

I love that you have adopted Amie McNee’s “little snacks/small bites” mindset!! I feel like it’s transformed my life since I came across her quotation a few weeks ago.

Thinking in terms of just doing a little thing has made everything I do feel easier—and I’m experiencing a lot less spring overwhelm than I usually do, just when the garden is exploding in weeds!

I’m not surprised the your Pup missed you very much—and I find it so interesting, the way he took your wrist into his mouth. I like to think he really *was* trying to connect with you. And I wonder: maybe he was also telling you not to leave him again!

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prue batten's avatar

Thanks so much, Susan. I am delighted, have to say.

Yes, Jane did a brilliant job with the cover. My other four were designed by my daughter who is a graphic designer but who went down a different path of business a few years ago. Friends recommended Jane and I haven't looked back.

Pups is softnening. Getting into his groove. Accepting of his new family and we of him. We now have a very normal routine, not unlike our routine with my Late Boy. Off to Class 2 of Dog School tomorrow. Fingers crossed. XXXX

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Susan Colleen Browne's avatar

Wishing you and the Pup all good experiences at school!

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Rosy Gee's avatar

Congratulations on your writing success, Prue. Such an achievement and you must feel so proud.

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prue batten's avatar

Thanks Rosy. I'm truly thrilled when any of my books win an international award. It's what honestly keeps me writing.

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Janice Walton's avatar

Bravo Prue. What an accomplishment.

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prue batten's avatar

Thanks so much, Janet.

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Mary B's avatar

Congratulations, Prue, the award takes its place in your tesserae. I like the metaphor of mosaic to one's life, always so many choices of what to include in it, as well as how to respond or react to those pieces we don't choose. P.S. Nat King Cole is one of my favorites. That silky voice, so elegant and sure of itself.

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prue batten's avatar

Thanks so much, Mary. Yes, I have a soft spot for Nat King Cole as well. So many favourite songs. Rambling Rose usually brings tears as it was Mum's favourite.

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Elizabeth Beggins's avatar

Lovely flow to this week's piece, Prue. Moment by moment, piece by piece, we make our way through our days. What are the small, oval shapes in your tesserae collection? They look almost like seeds.

I love that Fang missed you. I can't imagine he's not bonded to you--you are integral to his days.

That must have been some storm, to take away so much sand. Your beaches are different from ours. Here, below the sand is more sand. I find your boulders beautiful, but I"m sure they're not as easy on the feet.

CONGRATULATIONS on your book award!!! Much deserved, and what an honor to have two in the series with such acclaim.

Congratulations, too, on the election outcome. So relieved for you!

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prue batten's avatar

Some of the beaches are rocky beneath but most are pure white sand down down down forever. The boulders are the pirate beach whilst beautifully marked are hell. And I no longer have the right balance or strong right leg to manage them. Falling on them would no doubt smash a tibia, fibula or both!

The small oval shapes are cowrie shells (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowrie) and there is a lovely anecdote that they're lucky, in which case, my husband is blessed after his walk.

Yes, the election is a total relief. The biggest mistake the former Opposition leader made was to align himself with Trumpism and Australia just wasn't having any of it. Bravo Australia. The acceptance speech by the PM emphasised empathy, humility and social awareness. I do hope his party can help all those who badly need it.

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Sue Sutherland-Wood's avatar

YES Congrats on that as well - bravo Australia indeed!!!

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Sue Sutherland-Wood's avatar

I had a very good feeling that you would win this prize all along Prue and now here, you've done it! Many, many congratulations to you - so amazing to be recognized in this way!!! Couldn't be more impressed or pleased. Your pics of the beach this week remind me of Daphne du Maurier's 'Rebecca' somehow. (One of my fav books btw). Hoping you are over the post-vac blues by now, I had to laugh at your being "waterboarded" at the dentist too, a perfect description!

As for the pup's pressure on the wrist, I well recall our Terrier going through that phase and we called it being a "Niblet Dog" because it never amounted to anything more and we couldn't figure out what his intention was but there was no "whale eye" action either, lol.

He is a wee smasher!

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prue batten's avatar

XXXX

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Maree's avatar

Congratulations on your win. :)

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prue batten's avatar

Thank you, Maree!

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Ms. Writer's avatar

Best wishes on your recent award! You are truly an accomplished writer, and it's an honor to "know" you personally.

My kitties give love bites to show affection, although the one boy tends to get a bit carried away, and I must be cautious around those teeth!

You've written a wonderful post to illustrate that the total sum of life is made up of small experiences, many of which are sadly forgotten over time. This is all the more reason to be acutely present in the now and fully enjoy the many blessings of the day, both small and large.

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prue batten's avatar

Teeth! Pups has only lost one. And will losing all of those dreadful puppy fangs make any difference anyway?

Sometimes, a long forgotten moment from a life long past will pop into my head and it's wonderful, like a signpost pointing down a little pathway. I make it sound as if I have Alzheimer's, don't I?

And thank you so much for the wishes!

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

Oh Prue, congratulations for such a thrilling achievement! Wonderful, wonderful news!

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prue batten's avatar

Thank you so much, Rebecca. It’s special - a good thing to happen and reassuring.

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

😘

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