Friends

Some of our oldest and dearest friends came to lunch yesterday.  One couple had recently returned from a walking tour through England and France, so they had many happy tales to share.

During the course of the meal one of our friends asked what was the main reason for us leaving Brisbane after almost 21 years to return to the city of our birth.  That was a difficult question to answer as it was not one single reason, but a culmination of many.  The hardest and most emotional decision was leaving our son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren behind, not to mention the wonderful friends we had made over the years.  However, it finally came down to the fact that Sydney always deep down in my heart was the place I wanted to be in my later years.  Here are friends we have known since early childhood or since our children were babies and here is where most of our family resides.

 
It is difficult acclimatising to the colder temperatures, but the Pollyanna in me is still delighted by the bareness of some of the trees in winter, the glorious colours in autumn and the sudden burst of blossoms in the spring.

To complete my day, while we were drinking our coffee the phone rang.  It was a gentleman from India trying to convince me he was calling from Australia.  He knew he was in Sydney somewhere, but couldn't quite recall exactly where.  Then I had a text message informing me that I had won $1,500,000 (US Dollars no less) and all I needed to do was advise my banking details to have the booty dumped into my account.

Oh happy day.

On the road again

It was time to say goodbye to the cat, as her owners returned from their three week cycling/camping trip around New Zealand.  Their re-appearance brought a frosty feline reception and they were given the odd scratch and bite as a warning to NEVER LEAVER HER ALONE WITH THOSE PEOPLE AGAIN!

There was one last store to visit on our way out of Brisbane and luckily it was only a few blocks away.  How had I missed it all the time we were there?

It looked fairly innocuous from the street, but Mr Fudge was already crying.  He had come so close to leaving the city without having to sit patiently while I browsed.  So he decided to come in with me.

Oh my ... heaven in a shed.

Beautiful linens in every shade called out to be purchased.  I needed a brown paper bag to breathe into but settled for the Fabric Whisperer who had to admit later that he was almost as impressed as I was by the glorious and very tempting bolts of fabric.

Miraculously, I found a brown paper bag.

How the blue floral linen inside the bag found its way into the car is a mystery.  The good news is that there is also a branch of this store in Sydney.  Poor Mr Fudge.

Our journey back to Sydney was broken with two nights spent at the country home of some dear friends, who were the most gracious host and hostess.  We arrived in time for lunch, which was followed by afternoon tea, cocktail hour and dinner.

How fresh do you want your eggs today?

Who needs a market when the produce is at your back door?

Not a sight I am used to seeing when I hang my clothes on the line.

What a fashion statement the earrings make.

I could really be tempted to stay here forever, but it was time to thank our hosts profusely and be on our way again.

We crawled past this barrier at Cunninghams Gap which is laughingly supposed to deter the mountain from collapsing on top of you.  

Here is a video on YouTube which shows what it was like when we drove past the same point twelve months ago.  If you right click your mouse on the lower right-hand corner of the video, you can elect to watch it on YouTube, where you can see it in full screen mode.  I don't think anyone believed it when we described the experience, so I am glad someone was brave enough to stop screaming long enough to film the video.

Now that we are home, I have started on my first project and I must say it is wonderful to feel so enthused about sewing once again.  Three weeks away from the machine worked wonders. 

Woo-hoo!

At last we have an Aussie Grand Slam Champ.

I guess like the rest of the country, we sat glued in front of the TV this morning watching, hardly daring to hope that it may actually happen.

But it did and I was so proud of Samantha's composure and humility.  You'll have to excuse the euphoria - the last Australian to win the US Open was Wendy Turnbull way back in 1980.  It's been a long time between drinks.

One big disadvantage of living in an apartment is a lack of flowers to pick.  So we were delighted yesterday when some dear friends came to lunch bearing gifts from their garden.

It really stuck home a couple of days ago that I had forgotten how stunningly beautiful Sydney is in Spring.  It almost takes your breath away.

 

If only there was a way of bringing down Brisbane family, friends and weather, Sydney would be heaven on earth.

Emerald City

The one good thing (possibly the only good thing) about achieving a Significant Birthday is that the celebrations go on for at least a week, or they do within our circle.

After milking the event for all it was worth here in Brisbane, we flew south last Friday to continue the celebrations with the Sydney branch of the Fudge clan.  My brother had organised our return flights, plus a special treat a few nights later.

Our first stop on our arrival was casual lunch at the Boatshed Cafe at La Perouse.  We sat at our table overlooking Frenchmans Bay, a family-friendly beach with no scary waves to scare the children away.  What a perfect way to start Birthday Part II.

A professional photographer and his lovely assistant taking pictures of the wall.
I guess he had already seen the sea view.

Back at my brother's unit we noticed a new piece of electronic equipment - a projector.  I had not seen a home projector since the Seventies and naively thought we were in for a night of travel slides. 

Wrong.  Live Rugby.  All over the wall.  That's a grandfather clock to the left.  My.  It was big.  Later on we watched North by Northwest and I had a bout of vertigo during the Mount Rushmore scenes.  I was like Mr Toad when he saw his first automobile.  I think I want a projector, if only we had a huge blank wall, which we don't.

The next day was hot, humid and steamy, so it was a blessing that we once again had lunch by the water, this time with our oldest and dearest friends.

We sat on the cool veranda overlooking the Hawkesbury River and again seafood was on the menu.



The local bowlers don't stand on ceremony -
very sensibly dressed for the weather.



















Then it was back to our lovely friends' home for coffee and cake.

Sunday arrived and it was time for yet another lunch (told you the birthday was being milked for all it was worth), this time with our two daughters, spouses and grandchildren.  The venue was the Botanic Gardens Restaurant in a stunning garden setting a short walk from the Art Gallery.

My house model wore a Hot Fudge creation, of course

The company and the food were all delightful, and I probably took a couple of years off my life with the chocolate tart, but it was worth it.

And now for the Monday night treat my brother had organised a few weeks back - tickets to the Opera House to see Billy Connolly, who has a sell-out season in Sydney.

Where else would you want to have a pre-show drink?  Of course, daylight savings makes such a difference.  If the devil himself would run on a daylight savings ticket in Queensland, he'd have my vote in an instant.

Berthed at the overseas terminal was the latest word in designer cruise ships, the Crystal Serenity.  Now what sort of a name is that for a ship?  Maybe they called in Paris Hilton as a consultant.  Can you imagine it on the Bay of Biscay?  Lots of crystal but not much serenity.

Billy Connolly was in excellent form, even if he worked the third and sixth letters of the alphabet to death.

I don't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually looking forward to the next Big Birthday.

Random Acts of Kindness

It may not look much, but this little collection reduced me to tears a couple of days ago.

As the world knows, our State of Queensland is emerging from the most devastating floods.  We were among the fortunate ones, our house here in Brisbane was saved - but we were left without power for several days and were cut off from the rest of the city by flooded roads and a river ferry which broke its cable spectacularly.  Our landline telephone didn't work - needed electricity of course.  Our two mobile phones were our only means of communication with the outside world.  We had calls and text messages from all over the country from concerned relatives and friends.  They obviously knew a lot more than we did, sitting here without any television coverage. 

However, we are blessed with wonderful young neighbours who made it their mission in life to see that we were OK (don't tell me we've reached that stage of our lives already!).  On our second day without power, one next door neighbour who with her husband and three young children was staying with relatives up the road (they still had power) dropped by and lent us their primus stove and came back later with her father-in-law with a dozen eggs, some cheese, a large packet of cashews and some cucumbers.  A little later two young mothers on the other side of us knocked on the door, one with freshly baked banana bread cooked on their barbecue (I am in awe), while the other neighbour gave us some long-life milk.  After they left I had a little cry - these are young families with children and babies to care for and they took the time to check up on a couple of old fogies. 

But we were fine, thanks to those battery operated lights bought for the BrisStyle Twilight Market in December.  Wine looks so beautiful under twinkling lights and we tried it ignore the fact that it was warm.  Pity the same couldn't be said for the main course of peanut and sultana sandwiches.  However, the dessert of mini meringues which the grandchildren didn't eat at our Christmas lunch went down a treat.

A Little Night Reading - I can see the musical now.

The power has been restored, the roads are open and this morning we drove miles to find fuel for the almost-empty car and food to re-stock what had to be thrown out of our fridge and freezer.  It was the first time we had an opportunity to see first-hand some of the devastation left by the flood.  We have so much to be thankful for - our family and friends are all safe.

The BrisStyle committee has quickly swung into action with an appeal linked to the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal.  If you would like to contribute, please click on the handmade ark appeal button above, where you will find all the necessary details. Please spread the word among your friends, as every little helps.  I have some items in my Etsy shop, with all proceeds going to the appeal.  

The Race that Stops a Nation

Picture this.  Melbourne Cup Day.  It's a public holiday in Melbourne and it's raining cats and dogs.  Here in Brisbane we gather with friends in the warm sunshine to soak up the Melbourne atmosphere, but not that pesky rain. 

I was up early to make my contribution to lunch, lemon meringue pie.  Eleven of us gathered on the back porch of our friends' home and before long the first champagne cork popped (Mr Fudge has a special talent in this department).

Jack the kookaburra knows that sound only too well.  If there's champagne, can the food be far behind?

Ah, that's better.

It was time to draw the sweep and one of the punters came prepared to spend up big.  This is legal tender in Zimbabwe - it will buy you three eggs.

After lashings of prawns, cold beef fillet, seafood pie, roast potatoes and salad, washed down with a little wine, it was time to watch the race.

As every living soul in Australia knows, the winner was Americain, an American bred horse, trained by a Frenchman, ridden by a Hong Kong based French jockey and owned by Australians.  Tres jolie!  My horse ran in second, so I came away with a little more than 100 billion Zimbabwean dollars.

After all the excitement of the race, dessert was a welcome diversion.  The lemon meringue pie was followed by some of Joy's baked cheesecake.  Mmmm ....

Where would you rather watch the Cup from?  Melbourne ...

... or Brisbane?

I know - it's a no-brainer.