Easter Show 2010

We have made our pilgrimage to the Royal Easter Agricultural Show here in Sydney and spent most of the morning watching the animals. We managed to find healthy food for lunch and lots of samples in the Food Hall. A few showbags later and we headed home for tea. We saw the tallest horse- Noddy- and fell in love with piglets, lambs, alpacas and cattle dog pups. On my list of animals I need to get to know are: chickens, Jersey cows and alpacas (their wool is silky and light.)

Old friends

Last week we had tea with some old Singapore friends. My son and her daughter were at playgroup together from the age of 2- 4 years. Now they are at neighboring schools, both in Form 1. We sat around the kitchen table, eating Portuguese tarts and drinking cups of tea, happily reminiscing.

Karma

I am hoping that I'll have a place in Pet Heaven once I have left this planet- yet again we have opened our home up to another orphan animal- this time a Russian Blue cat who needed a place to chill for a while. She has captured the heart of my husband and therefore has just about sealed her fate. Our other cats have continued to give her the cold shoulder as only cats can and have moved out of the kitchen and onto the front verandah. We can only hope that winter will bring them all back inside. However if another friendlier home appears it may be her Forever Home.........

Slightly emptier nest

Our Number two daughter has left home for University. The house is slightly emptier, but thanks to the other three being well and truly still at home the fridge is still emptying, the washing basket still filling rapidly and there is still a large pile of shoes at the front door.
Now we have two daughters forging ahead along their chosen career paths, the other two not far behind them. We are certainly entering a new phase in parenting.

Memory Lane

We visited the lovely suburb of Belmore last week- Grandma was born there and lived there until she was married. The old house still stands- a grand old dame, Federation style; owned by her father, the local baker. It is truly the best house on the street. Dad and his brothers (all in their 50's) remembered the front porch and the green tiles on the steps, and their grandma's Christmas puddings with sixpences baked in. Now Belmore is Italian/Greek, bursting with coffee shops full of old men, delicatessens selling olives, coffee beans and olive oil. We bought Greek cakes from the baker- cream puffs and a fruity slice. The coffee was dreamy.
We took the photos and a laptop to Grandma's when we visited her at the Retirement Home- she was thrilled to see the house in such good condition, and amazed at the technology too.

Lasagna anyone?

We had eight people for supper- a mix of vegetarians and the just plain hungry. Most of them under 20. Lasagna ticked all the boxes. Eight fitted easily around my new-ish kitchen table; no leftovers. Fruit salad for pudding. No leftovers there either. Lots of washing up.........

New eyes

We have some visitors staying from Hong Kong- friends of one of my daughters. They have visited some of the iconic beaches around town and all the usual sites- Opera House etc. Today we took them on a tour of the south Sydney beaches. The tide was very high and so was the surf- not good for a swim but made good photos. We stopped for coffee at Bronte, fish and chips at La Perouse and an ice cream at Clovelly Kiosk. It is good to see Sydney from another perspective.