Hi. I’m Amanda. I’m mumma to 2-year old Joshua (we call him Joshie), wife to Gareth and cat mumma to Poppy. We live in Papakura, New Zealand. It’s almost as far South in Auckland as you can get and still call it Auckland. We’re surrounded by native bush, kereru (wood pigeons) and tuis. I’m writingContinue reading “My experience returning to work after maternity leave”
Author Archives: Amanda Sterling
Gardening space
Gardening is one of a few things where I completely lose track of time. There’s something about being outside, pottering from one task to another, getting my hands dirty, and the satisfaction of weeding, pruning, planting. There is also something so continual, impermanent and exciting about gardening. I can weed one area but, without furtherContinue reading “Gardening space”
Art, death, bodies
I don’t understand art. I tend to read the little placards next to paintings, or find the descriptions written somewhere on the walls near installations. I take note of the details, and then glance at the art to confirm that what those words have told me is true in what I see. Checking that off,Continue reading “Art, death, bodies”
The School of Athens
For as many years as I’ve owned a laptop I’ve had this image as my screensaver. It’s a fresco by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael in the Stanze di Raffaello within the Vatican. It is one in a series of four images representing branches of knowledge. The School of Athens, as it’s called, is describedContinue reading “The School of Athens”
Men and Monkeys
I was watching a documentary with my son this weekend that followed the story of a troop of Macaque monkeys, their ousting from their home by a rival gang, and the emergent leadership of a lower-caste monkey called Maya*. Maya was the underdog in this story. Pre the dramatic eviction from their home, the monkeyContinue reading “Men and Monkeys”
