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![Tribute to a Sister](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/sc0043d64b-e1405259608735.jpg?resize=995%2C675&ssl=1)
![Christmas Memories](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/DSC00182.jpg?resize=1080%2C675&ssl=1)
Christmas Memories
So, Christmas is over and the night has now claimed Boxing Day, too. Ah, Boxing Day, my favourite day of the year. I feel as if I can now exhale: the rush and stress of Christmas is behind me and the holidays can truly begin. I love the day so much, I could...![Bittersweet](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/bittersweet.png?resize=800%2C675&ssl=1)
Bittersweet
It’s that time of the year, busy with Christmas preparations, end-of-school services, speech days, and a graduation: The spec family Our eldest has finished school. Hard to believe, really, as I still think of our family as looking like this: 2003 But no, this...![Part 3: And life goes on …](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Fran-Collage-4.jpg?resize=1080%2C675&ssl=1)
Part 3: And life goes on …
This is the third and final instalment in this series about my sister’s death. If you want to read the earlier instalments, click for Part 1 or Part 2. However, I pulled all three posts together as a single essay, which I called, ‘Tribute to a...![Part 3: And life goes on …](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Fran-Collage-4.jpg?resize=1080%2C675&ssl=1)
Part 2: The next few days
This is Part 2 in a series I’ve written about the death of my sister. If you wish to read Part 1, click here. I have made it easier to read by pulling all three parts together as a single essay, ‘Tribute to a Sister’. ~ My sister’s boyfriend’s...![Part 3: And life goes on …](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Fran-Collage-4.jpg?resize=1080%2C675&ssl=1)
Part 1: Friday, November 13th, 1987
*I’ve combined the three blog posts about my sister’s death into a single essay, which might be easier to read and which you can find here. On Friday, 13th November, 1987, my sister, Fran, and I were in the thick of end-of-year exams at the...![Trusting My (Maternal) Instinct](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/TrustingMy-Maternal-Instinct.png?resize=940%2C675&ssl=1)
Trusting My (Maternal) Instinct
I had a fairly run-of-the-mill first delivery — sixteen hour labour, overnight of course, episiotomy, forceps. Then I was rewarded with my baby, a purple bundle in my arms. Obviously we’d never met before, yet she was so familiar. And when I spoke, she...![12 Good Things About Homeschooling](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/12-GOOD-THINGS-ABOUT-HOMESCHOOLING.png?resize=940%2C675&ssl=1)
12 Good Things About Homeschooling
I didn’t think I’d be able to homeschool. It seemed too huge a responsibility. What if I taught the wrong facts? What if I omitted a vital part of the curriculum? Plus, I hadn’t quit work to start teaching—I had a novel to write. But when one of our sons became really...![On Smacking Kids](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/ON-SMACKING-KIDS-2.png?resize=940%2C675&ssl=1)
On Smacking Kids
This post is about something personal and very important to me: the physical punishment of children. On Friday, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) issued a Media Release with their Position Statement and brochure on the use of Physical Punishment...![A Snippet from the Novel](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ll-Nan-and-Grandpop-Allan-Version-3-e1405259510133.jpg?resize=411%2C309&ssl=1)
A Snippet from the Novel
An excerpt from my novel, ‘Ida’s Children’. LEN’S CAMERA One night he came out, full as a boot and holding up a cardboard box as if it was a priceless antique. ‘I won! I won!’ he kept saying as he came over. He’d won a raffle and had a choice...![On Squares and Pegs](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ON-SQUARES-AND-PEGS.png?resize=940%2C675&ssl=1)