Now...it did not start well. A wifely expletive, just as I'd closed the door of the apartment; the gut-chilling realisation that the security swipe card and keys were inside. So too, the bag containing the flight tickets and a wad of currency. Duck indeed! Contact the building manager. He'd gone home. Messages left, taxi cancelled. Time critical, called Wendy's daughter Emily, a last resort. She had a spare key and security swipe card, but was also 25 minutes away, and with Sydney traffic ...

I met my friend from Minneapolis over a decade ago and we’ve been friends ever since. She was one of the first to show me the joys of Midwest life, explain the intricacies of a lock and dam, share the roadside attraction of the Jolly Green Giant, and take me to the mecca that is the Mall of America. She was with me when I set foot in Lake Superior, crossed the border into Wisconsin, ogled at the Spoon and Cherry in the country’s largest urban sculpture garden, and even took the picture as I posed with Mary Tyler Moore throwing her hat in the air.

I spent time just letting Jillian’s paintings speak to me before I ever read any of her words.

I see the warmth of human beings, animals, and plants, evolving in a rough nature, made of thick layers of elements. I wonder about the mist which is lying over what I can perceive in the background of her paintings, and about the snow. These paintings speak for themselves.

The Carnegie Science Center, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is one of the most wonderful places for anyone, especially children, to learn about science through all five senses and interactive experiences. I remember as a young child taking field trips there in primary school. I visited about five years ago when my brothers were still little and a family friend treated all of us there because her daughter worked there.