"Like many of us, I have been spending more time cooking at home. On Sunday I decided to attempt Martin Benn's toffee apple dessert [as featured on MasterChef]. I spent most of my day creating the dessert, ruined a lot of apples, burnt the caramel but also picked up valuable lessons along the way. Lockdown cooking and time with family has definitely been a positive for me!" - Jason

"We had a Christmas in July Zoom party Saturday night. Our friend Mandy kindly gifted us chocolate fondue kits for all of us to enjoy during the chat." - Casey

"Stringing up an acoustic guitar for the first time that I've been building for almost three years. It was intended as a gift for a friend's 40th birthday ... several years late (lucky it's just a hobby), but I'm sure he'll like it all the same." - Tim

"It was 8.06pm, the mobile phone pinged, the message read 'Result: COVID-19 virus was not detected'." - Peter

"My wife and I had just returned home from a busy 12½-hour shift at a COVID swabbing clinic. The rain was beating down on the window. The cats were sitting in front of the fire. A box of Sydney’s best charcoal chicken was on the table. As the news played on the TV, I took my first sip of a nice red." - Frank

If you are in need of some more good news we will soon be launching a Greater Good newsletter featuring a collection of stories to brighten your outlook, delivered weekly to your inbox. Sign up to The Age's here and the Sydney Morning Herald's here.