Bloody Buddy (FIELD NOTES)

Bloody Buddy (FIELD NOTES)

First things first. If you’ve got kids in the car, or you don’t want little ears hearing a generous amount of swearing, this probably isn’t the episode for them. About an hour ago, I had one of those moments where my nervous system completely took over. Nobody died. Nobody was seriously hurt. But for fifteen minutes, my brain became convinced I was in danger, and I wanted to record what that felt like before my body forgot. This Field Notes episode is an honest, unfiltered reflection on emotional regulation, survival strategies, sobriety, and what happened when a gorgeous Border Collie called Buddy decided he had absolutely no interest in the ball I’d brought to the beach. If you’ve ever walked away from an interaction thinking, “That wasn’t the best version of me,” you’re in excellent company. 🎙️👀 What worked? What dragged? What made you mutter “Jesus Christ, Catharine”? Tell me. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2594538/fan_mail/new] Content Note ~ This podcast gets into bodies, panic attacks, trauma, sexism, mental health, and the occasional emotional sinkhole. Please look after yourself only listen when you feel safe to engage with potentially triggering material.  Also, I swear. Support ~  These aren’t here as a formality. I’ve used some of these myself. Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7) Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (ages 5–25) 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 Emergency 000 Outside Australia, local crisis services are available. ~ The Socials (I'd love a follow)  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/ [https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/] LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/] Support The Pod Substack (where I write stuff) https://catharineredden.substack.com [https://catharineredden.substack.com] Buy Me a Coffee (where you can financially support the pod, and me!) https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden [https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden] Credits Recorded on the lands of the Ramindjeri and Ngarrindjeri peoples. Sovereignty never ceded. Recorded & edited at Ridley Farm Studio by Luke Ridley https://ridleyfarmstudio.com... [https://ridleyfarmstudio.com.au]

Hummus Will Bring Us Together ~ with Stephanie Pierce (GUEST CHAT)

What do hummus, gumbo, German bread, Jewish food, autism, Down syndrome, a South Australian lamb roast and one very versatile carrot have in common? Stephanie Pierce. Stephanie is a disability specialist, cookbook author and culinary educator whose work focuses on making cooking more accessible, more inclusive and a lot less intimidating. We talk about neurodivergence in the kitchen, confidence, texture, taste, food waste, travel, and why learning a few cooking techniques can change far more than what’s on your dinner plate. Also featuring: the world’s most enviable spice cupboard, one microwave cake nobody would eat, and the comforting magic of grilled cheese with tomato soup. All The Stephanie Things  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pickytonguecooking [https://www.instagram.com/pickytonguecooking?igsh=MWEyMHhqeDVzajVrMw==] Buy The Cook Books & More: https://pickytonguecooking.com/ [https://pickytonguecooking.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAdGRleAS88oBwZG9mAmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABpzWlxkk-rpHzpXP9o0Uq0q__ES-voy4yDpWcIpkv5ucklwzIKS5WU8KyBct9_aem_YSb_lp9iTWzXJA5mB9at1w] Even More Ways to Get In Touch: https://linktr.ee/Pickytongue [https://linktr.ee/Pickytongue?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAdGRleAS888twZG9mAmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABp3GrRSt8w3W2WdkGI5i5Off5NAfWykhTU3GCxFV0cVbDVLg39-vET6HiACcG_aem_bta5N7xZX5sMpMmQprMMwA] 🎙️👀 What worked? What dragged? What made you mutter “Jesus Christ, Catharine”? Tell me. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2594538/fan_mail/new] Content Note ~ This podcast gets into bodies, panic attacks, trauma, sexism, mental health, and the occasional emotional sinkhole. Please look after yourself only listen when you feel safe to engage with potentially triggering material.  Also, I swear. Support ~  These aren’t here as a formality. I’ve used some of these myself. Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7) Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (ages 5–25) 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 Emergency 000 Outside Australia, local crisis services are available. ~ The Socials (I'd love a follow)  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/ [https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/] LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/] Support The Pod Substack (where I write stuff) https://catharineredden.substack.com [https://catharineredden.substack.com] Buy Me a Coffee (where you can financially support the pod, and me!) https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden [https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden] Credits Recorded on the lands of the Ramindjeri and Ngarrindjeri peoples. Sovereignty never ceded. Recorded & edited at Ridley Farm Studio by Luke Ridley https://ridleyfarmstudio.com... [https://ridleyfarmstudio.com.au]

My Knee Is Older Than I Am: Adriana Obando (GUEST CHAT)

At 16, Adriana Obando shattered her femur.  Thirty-three years, 12 major surgeries and countless procedures later, she stopped chasing “the fix.” We talk about chronic pain, failed knee replacements, perfectionism, perimenopause, modified bikes, and why acceptance isn’t giving up. It’s choosing where your energy goes when the striving starts taking energy away from the living. Also featuring: one Polish surgeon, one modified trike, and a trip to church. 🎙️👀 What worked? What dragged? What made you mutter “Jesus Christ, Catharine”? Tell me. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2594538/fan_mail/new] Content Note ~ This podcast gets into bodies, panic attacks, trauma, sexism, mental health, and the occasional emotional sinkhole. Please look after yourself only listen when you feel safe to engage with potentially triggering material.  Also, I swear. Support ~  These aren’t here as a formality. I’ve used some of these myself. Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7) Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (ages 5–25) 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 Emergency 000 Outside Australia, local crisis services are available. ~ The Socials (I'd love a follow)  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/ [https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/] LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/] Support The Pod Substack (where I write stuff) https://catharineredden.substack.com [https://catharineredden.substack.com] Buy Me a Coffee (where you can financially support the pod, and me!) https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden [https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden] Credits Recorded on the lands of the Ramindjeri and Ngarrindjeri peoples. Sovereignty never ceded. Recorded & edited at Ridley Farm Studio by Luke Ridley https://ridleyfarmstudio.com... [https://ridleyfarmstudio.com.au]

I Didn’t Hit Rock Bottom. I Still Got Sober.

This episode is dedicated to everyone who grew up in a household impacted by alcohol. ❤️ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I thought you had to hit rock bottom before you were allowed to get sober. Turns out, you don’t. For years, I thought I couldn’t possibly have a problem with alcohol because I wasn’t drinking every day. I hadn’t lost my job. I hadn’t been arrested. I hadn’t lost my marriage because of alcohol. I wasn’t the person I imagined when I thought about alcoholism. I was wrong. In this episode, I talk about growing up in a culture where drinking was just what adults did, becoming “the girl who could drink” at university, using alcohol to manage social anxiety, and the quiet moment I realised I didn’t want alcohol running my life anymore. I’m not a medical doctor. I’m not a counsellor. I’m not a therapist. I’m a 54-year-old woman who used to have a problem with alcohol and who is now sober. This is simply my story. If you’re listening to this and thinking your own relationship with alcohol might not be where you’d like it to be, please don’t struggle with it on your own. Talk to your GP. Talk to someone you trust. Or walk into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. I’ve never attended AA myself, but I know it’s helped countless people around the world, and if that’s the support you need, I hope you’ll reach out. I don’t tell this story because I think everyone needs to stop drinking. I tell it because I was fortunate enough to make a big change before I lost my licence, before I hurt someone, before I had a serious crash, or before alcohol took more from me than it already had. Not everyone gets that opportunity, and I don’t take it for granted. Content note: This episode discusses alcohol use, binge drinking, anxiety and drink driving. 🎙️👀 What worked? What dragged? What made you mutter “Jesus Christ, Catharine”? Tell me. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2594538/fan_mail/new] Content Note ~ This podcast gets into bodies, panic attacks, trauma, sexism, mental health, and the occasional emotional sinkhole. Please look after yourself only listen when you feel safe to engage with potentially triggering material.  Also, I swear. Support ~  These aren’t here as a formality. I’ve used some of these myself. Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7) Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (ages 5–25) 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 Emergency 000 Outside Australia, local crisis services are available. ~ The Socials (I'd love a follow)  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/ [https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/] LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/] Support The Pod Substack (where I write stuff) https://catharineredden.substack.com [https://catharineredden.substack.com] Buy Me a Coffee (where you can financially support the pod, and me!) https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden [https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden] Credits Recorded on the lands of the Ramindjeri and Ngarrindjeri peoples. Sovereignty never ceded. Recorded & edited at Ridley Farm Studio by Luke Ridley https://ridleyfarmstudio.com... [https://ridleyfarmstudio.com.au]

Accessibility Isn’t a Favour: A Conversation with Ellie Rowlands (GUEST CHAT)

Accessibility Isn’t a Favour: Ellie Rowlands on Ableism in Everyday Life When we talk about disability, we often focus on the big moments: discrimination cases, inspirational stories, fundraising campaigns, or medical diagnoses. But what if inequality lives somewhere much quieter? In this episode of The C-Word, Catharine sits down with disability advocate, public speaker, and creative business owner Ellie Rowlands to talk about the everyday realities of navigating a world that isn’t always designed with disabled people in mind. Born with spina bifida and living in regional New South Wales, Ellie shares what ableism actually looks like in practice: inaccessible buildings, limited accessible bathrooms, assumptions from strangers, planning every outing around access, and the constant exhaustion of having to advocate for yourself. Together, Catharine and Ellie explore ~  • What ableism is and why it often goes unnoticed  • Why accessibility isn’t a favour, it’s participation  • The hidden labour of planning daily life with a disability  • Living, working, and running a business while managing disability and chronic illness  • Regional Australia’s accessibility challenges  • The importance of self-advocacy  • Community, belonging, and finding joy Ellie also shares her journey from spending years bedridden with a serious pressure injury to building a successful design business, becoming a disability advocate, and being recognised as Mudgee’s Young Citizen of the Year. This is a conversation about dignity, access, community, and a simple but powerful truth: Nobody is “in the way” simply because they exist. CONNECT WITH ELLIE Instagram: @byellecreative Website: https://byellecreative.com.au Ellie Rowlands is the founder of By Elle Creative, a graphic design studio specialising in wedding stationery, branding, and design for creative businesses. Based in Mudgee, New South Wales, Ellie works with clients across Australia and beyond, offering her services online to couples, entrepreneurs, and businesses wherever they are located. Alongside her creative work, Ellie is a disability advocate, lived-experience speaker, and the recipient of Mudgee’s Young Citizen of the Year Award. Women’s Circle: Conversations About First Periods On Saturday 25 July, I’ll be hosting a small women’s circle at Goolwa Library as part of Firstival. This isn’t a lecture or a panel. It’s a conversation about first periods, the stories we carry, what we were told, what we weren’t told, and the moments we still remember decades later. Numbers are capped at 12 to keep the group intimate, and there’ll be tea, coffee, and a few nibbles while we chat. The event is free, but bookings are essential. Book your place here:  https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/womens-circle-conversations-about-first-periods-tickets-1989071039022?aff=oddtdtcreator 🎙️👀 What worked? What dragged? What made you mutter “Jesus Christ, Catharine”? Tell me. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2594538/fan_mail/new] Content Note ~ This podcast gets into bodies, panic attacks, trauma, sexism, mental health, and the occasional emotional sinkhole. Please look after yourself only listen when you feel safe to engage with potentially triggering material.  Also, I swear. Support ~  These aren’t here as a formality. I’ve used some of these myself. Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7) Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (ages 5–25) 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 Emergency 000 Outside Australia, local crisis services are available. ~ The Socials (I'd love a follow)  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/ [https://www.instagram.com/catharine.redden/] LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharine-redden/] Support The Pod Substack (where I write stuff) https://catharineredden.substack.com [https://catharineredden.substack.com] Buy Me a Coffee (where you can financially support the pod, and me!) https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden [https://buymeacoffee.com/CatharineRedden] Credits Recorded on the lands of the Ramindjeri and Ngarrindjeri peoples. Sovereignty never ceded. Recorded & edited at Ridley Farm Studio by Luke Ridley https://ridleyfarmstudio.com... [https://ridleyfarmstudio.com.au]