Have been up since 5 o’clock this morning, having struggled out of bed to attend the ANZAC day dawn service on the hill behind my house. Worth the struggle, to spend the time reflecting on what the brave soldiers from our past (and present) have done.

Back at home, my beloved cooked me bacon and eggs and we spent a lazy couple of hours before it was my turn to cook and I whipped up a batch of ANZAC biscuits, one of my favourite treats on any day of the year.

After lunch we watched the broadcast of the service from Villers-Bretonneux and were rewarded with a glimpse of Murphlet 3 laying a wreath. Tonight we saw him again in news footage. He seemed suddenly grown up, especially when he was being interviewed by the reporter from GWN.

Proud mum moments aside, I also did a little work today. I finished adding a stack of new reviews to Aussiereviews, including reviews of two picture books especially relevant to the day – Simpson and His Donkey, by West Aussies Mark Greenwood & Frane Lesac, and Lofty’s Mission, by Krista Bell & David Miller.

And, quite unplanned in my list of things to do today, I wrote the first draft of a new picture book which has been niggling at me the past few days. The idea had been there, but as I tried to get to sleep last night the words started to come, and I knew I had to give it priority. Only a first draft, but I’m pleased with where it’s going.

Quite a day.