It seems the things we remember the most in life are the big events, the big adventures. We have the international travels or visiting a community in our own country with diversity different to where we live. The births, the deaths, the weddings, the milestone birthdays. But what we don’t always remember are the micro-adventures. Our day to day activities that make us laugh, or cry. The events we go to such as a film, a good book we share, a quiet time with our pets or someone in a shop who is just so friendly or helps us when we need it.
We constantly hear about how we need to live in the moment. So without going on any further I found that I was thinking of the micro-adventures I had this past week. I’ll start with a bus ride into town on Tuesday. A morning at the gym doing well in the treadmill that sometimes seems too hard. Running errands and chatting to people in town then a pleasant bus ride home.
Wednesday had me at the gym and successfully completing all the activities in the Barre’ class. I felt happy that I finally achieved a particular exercise I have struggled with. A small adventure achieved.
The evenings had me reading Helen Garner’s book, This House of Grief.
I’m having the adventure this week of following two trials. The first is the book This House of Grief by Helen Garner. It is a powerful and meticulously crafted true crime narrative about the trial of Robert Farquharson, an Australian man accused of murdering his three young sons—Jai, Tyler, and Bailey—by deliberately driving his car into a dam on Father’s Day in 2005. All three boys die.
Summary:
The book follows the legal proceedings from Farquharson’s first trial through appeals and a retrial, with Garner attending court almost every day. She offers a deeply personal and observant account of the unfolding drama—not only focusing on the facts of the case but also on the emotional weight of the tragedy and the complexities of justice.
Farquharson claimed the crash was an accident caused by a coughing fit and a blackout. However, the prosecution argued that he murdered the children to punish his ex-wife, Cindy Gambino, after their marriage broke down. Garner explores this horrifying possibility with compassion but without sentimentality.
Throughout the book, she reflects on the nature of grief, truth, memory, and the fallibility of the justice system. She captures the personalities of the lawyers, judges, and witnesses, weaving in philosophical and psychological reflections.
I am at the appeals process at the moment but it is not a story one enjoys but the way Garner writes about the trial is fascinating. I just love her writing.
My next micro-adventure was loading the dogs up in the car and taking them to the dog beach. I really enjoy watching their goofy antics and watching them play. Watching Ollie fall off a tiny bank into the river was quite funny. He was so distracted by smells he walked right off the bank of the small river that runs through the beach and fell in. He popped up absolutely drenched wagging his tail. Dogs don’t react the same way people do with an annoying occurrence. People generally swear if they fall into a river. The dog thinks it’s fun. He is such a dorky dog at times.
On Friday my friend and trainer from the gym went for our weekly coffee and sat discussing the second trial of the Mushroom Murder case that is currently running now in Victoria.
Erin Paterson fixed a lunch for her in-laws and the mother in law’s sister and husband. She made a beef wellington. However the lunch had death cap mushrooms in it and the in laws as well as the sister died. The fourth victim, the sister’s husband survived after several weeks in hospital. Her husband from whom she is separated from pulled out the night before so didn’t turn up. Erin claims she did not know the mushrooms were the death cap variety. She claimed she bought them from a nearby Asian grocer ( but can’t remember which one) and the local supermarket. Her reason for the lunch was to get advice from these family members of how to tell her children of her cancer diagnosis she recently received. However, turns out she did not have cancer.
The ABC has been running a podcast from one of their journalists that updates listeners if what happens each day in the courtroom. I have been following it all week. The summaries may happen as early as next week. Another micro-adventure.
Lastly, Saturday had my photography friend and I at a hot rod show in a small village north of here. It was called Rat Rod and on display were vintage classic cars and hot rods. The cars were beautiful. The day was cold and foggy but as the sun rose it became a lovely winter’s day.
I have scattered the photos here so hope you enjoy them.
What micro-adventure did you have this week!
Travellin' Penguin 