Whew, after a jam-packed five days, I'm back home. The conference was fantastic and I'm so glad I went. I won't talk about course content just yet. I'll make some general observations about things relating to travel and family in this post. My dh and children dropped me off at the airport very early in the morning. After quite a long drought period, we'd been enjoying our first decent spell of rain for quite some time. The heavens opened the moment we parked at the airport and by the time we stepped inside the terminal, we all looked like drowned rats. There was a slight hold-up when we walked through the security sensors and Andrew set the beepers off. They made him empty his pockets of coins but still the problem persisted. He was frisked up and down with the wand. I had to laugh because Logan, our eldest, was standing there writhing with embarrassment at his dad being the centre of attention. Finally Andrew realised that he was wearing his work shoes, which just happened to be steel-capped boots. All's well that end's well. We met up with my friend Rosanne, a local children's author also attending the conference on my flight. I felt very sad to wave my family goodbye but soon we were on our way.

It was very interesting to fly into Brisbane and see from the air some of the sights I'd seen with my family on our caravan tour three years ago. A lady named Lyn, one of the conference organisers, was there to meet us and drive us to our accomodation, a beautiful Bed-&-Breakfast named Cream Gables. It turned out to be run single-handedly by a lovely lady named Anne, whose business cards bear the name, "Anne of Cream Gables". After settling into our shared room, Rosanne and I had the day at our disposal so we strolled into the city centre, bought some lunch and enjoyed a ferry ride on the Brisbane River. That evening, Rosanne went out to dinner with a friend from Brisbane and I was happy to settle down and phone my family. They'd just returned from buying a take-away pizza. While I was talking to Andrew, little Blake was yelling at Logan & Emma in the background for polishing off the pizza. I heard him cry, "Leave some for Mummy!" while they tried to explain that I wouldn't be there until the following Tuesday.

On Friday I was taken to read several stories which had been sent to the conference team for possible inclusion in a published anthology. We were asked to give stories a rating from 1 to 5. Now, I'm definitely no editor and feel far more comfortable writing my own stories than judging those of others. I was the only person who gave a few ratings of 5, and the general concensus was, "Paula must be very generous." That day, Cream Gables filled up with many other guest writers flown in for the conference, like myself. My friend Meredith, who helped me learn the ropes of publishing several years ago, was one of them. Then on Saturday, the conference itself began and we were all kept very busy either running our own sessions or attending those of others. As I said, I won't fill this post with those details but save them for later.

I'll just finish off with a few observations about Queensland. The weather was sticky, humid and around 30 degrees the entire time I was there. It had been reasonably cool when I left Adelaide but the few long sleeved shirts I took along didn't get worn. I don't mind the tropical atmosphere but I can understand how others may find it oppressive. It is sometimes difficult to draw a deep breath, a little like walking around all day in a mild sauna. I'd bought a banana for my supper on the first day, yet it turned out to be starchy and inedible. I thought I'd just struck a bad one but since then, I noticed that every banana on the breakfast table had a slight starchiness. Most of our bananas are from Queensland, so I decided that the Queensland ones might be sold too early to the public. By the time they arrive as far south as Adelaide, they must have that extra bit of time to get ripe and luscious. However, Brisbane is a real taste experience for the palate. On the busy street around the corner from us were many colourful Asian and middle-eastern restaurants from Himalayan to Japanese. On Monday night, when the conference was over, Rosanne and I went to a tasty Lebanese restaurant to celebrate. Sticky squares of genuine Turkish Delight for dessert, dipped in icing sugar instead of chocolate.

I woke up in high spirits on Tuesday, anxious to see my dear family again. I'd heard their voices over the phone every evening and they'd told me that Blake had been happy most of the time, and that helped me get through. They also told me that while Brisbane was sweltering in the heat, Adelaide's rain had continued. I could see the truth of that when the cabin crew told us that we were about to descend into Adelaide. The countryside appeared so green and verdant, like billiard table felt, after just one decent week of soaking. The paddocks, vineyards, gardens and our small city centre looked as beautiful as a fantasy setting. (I'm glad I live right where I do rather than Brisbane, as pleasant as it is, and apologise to any Queenslanders who might be reading this. You have a wonderful state to visit). It was wonderful to see the faces of Andrew and the children waiting for me. Emma and Blake raced to meet me while Logan stood back grinning and in no time at all, I felt as if I'd been back for ages. I found that Andrew had been worn out by the constant looking after of them, so now he appreciates more fully the work of a full-time housewife and mother. As a bonus, he even went and bought a new vacuum cleaner. It seems that after one day of using it, he decided that our old one, which has been patched and repaired for several years, is ready for the rubbish tip! I think that's something he had to find out through experience rather than just being told.