aussielozzie18

Snow & zero degrees - Brrr - keep warm @grapau27 and @sgmn Graham & Sue. Its’s 28C (84f) here today and 30C (86f) in Sydney tomorrow. Photos from today from family members lucky enough to work in offices overlooking Sydney Harbour.

Sorry to hear about the pain and that the walker hasn’t been the asset you hoped it would be. Yes, dogs are very good at comforting us when needed. Glad you have your grand-dog over atm.

Hot day in Sydney yesterday. Most of the city headed to the beach. DH headed north and spent the morning at Killcare Beach. DD headed to the harbour with friends. Both reported the beaches were packed, but worth it. Debate going on in Sydney atm about all the large overhead canopies that families take to the beach for sun protection - they take up too much space according to some people.. - in my opinion as someone who is dealing with the consequences sun exposure in childhood - as long as families are protecting their kids from sun damage - they can use whatever they want - and with 20+ beaches to chose from on the Northern Beaches alone…we have the space.

That is so sweet. Having his company next to you would have been lovely. How is your “new” Walker going? I know you’ve had it a while now.

Our cinema of choice these days is an art deco stunner that is not in the local area but worth driving to for its range of past movie screenings, Adventure film festivals, big name author book launches and for DH the cinema has better atmosphere and attendance than our soul-less local multiplex with dwindling audience numbers. Cost for multiplex with tickets through our phone provider $12. Cost for art deco cinema is $25 upwards depending on what is being screened. For us going to the Art Deco is worth paying extra.

Wet & overcast Saturday morning in Sydney for our prebooked Coffee Paddle Kayak Tour. Only our family of three + guide on the tour. All of us in single kayaks. Started early and the harbour was calm and there was no wind or swell. This was great for paddling, Paddled from Manly Sailing Club (close to Manly Wharf) out to Smedleys Head, then across to Collins Beach for a short break, then paddled onto Store Beach - a beautiful small beach that can only be reached by water - the perfect place for a swim (water temps were so nice today for swimming) and finishing up at Quarantine Beach for another swim before heading straight back to Manly Wharf. On the return paddle, DH was very thankful we all managed to stay upright when the wash from two Manly Ferries & one Manly fast ferry reached our Kayaks…. We thoroughly enjoyed the 2.5hr kayak tour and agreed we would rather paddle in rain & overcast conditions than the hot temps forecast for tomorrow, even if it means the photos don’t do justice to the beaches we went to.

@jimbo - beautifully designed kitchen. Stands outs for me are the copper sink & the lights.

Sorry your little grandson has been sick again. Wishing you a speedy recovery from your cold this time around.

Congratulations!

Had Indian takeout for dinner tonight at DD’s request. Indian cuisine is a rare treat for me. I chose Dates & Apricot Kofta - a vegetarian dish - mix of dates, apricots and potato dumplings in a rich onion cashew gravy. It was delicious. DD tells me the restaurant is very popular with her friends. I think I need to try more Indian dishes.

+1 @dani negreanu

That is really neat and you must have lovely memories of the time you spent with him.

Does anyone’s kids or grandkids do B-Reel? It’s an app where your phone sends you an alert each day and you take a selfie of yourself and whoever you are with at that exact moment and post it online to your chosen group of friends. My “kids” do it. DD loves it for seeing her friend’s cats each day I love it because DD sends me the photo DS posts each day in Canada with the comment “mum, here is your “proof of life”!

I posted my son in Canada a card & CDN for Christmas. He was horrified when I told him because unbeknownst to me, a staff member had been fired for stealing from the mail. He was convinced he wouldn’t receive it. Thankfully it did arrive (2 weeks via standard mail). Going forward, I will definitely be doing the international money transfer instead especially since getting CDN was a pain - after clearly requesting Canadian dollars and after a long wait, I was given Indonesian dollars from the new staff member….. Then the very grumpy Manager had to take over to reverse the transaction and do it all again. He was not happy and the poor girl got the brunt of his displeasure and then the dramatics when I asked for small notes….. (which I had requested originally)

Oh gosh, Sam looks so comfortable. Living the life. Nice easy access for the pool builders. Building is soooo delayed here. Your pool will probably be finished before the private pool near us, even starts being built. Can I ask how long it took after you accepted the quote/signed the contract to when they started?

I feel for you and get you. We’ve been through this, including rock slides that closed a roadways for weeks on end. The constant rain is frustrating and depressing and you do feel really guilty complaining when others are so much worse off. Hope the weather and conditions improve soon.

@grapau27 So sorry that your Sarah is going through this. So painful for Sarah and worrying for you and Pauline.

Maybe they are engrossed in reading Spare by Harry & his ghost writer……?

@derorim thanks for sharing. Very impressive. Wish my DH had a hobby like that. Brings back memories of my childhood retired neighbour who used to build large models of navy ships.

Such a striking looking pet you had. I can admire spiders from a distance or behind glass but even still I doubt I could keep one as a pet.

It’s warm here but the skies look threatening so put my umbrella on the passenger seat. Driving along (thankfully in local streets, so slow) and I have my window right down. Look over at the drivers side mirror and a huntsman spider climbs out of the gap and onto the middle of the mirror. Eeek! Thank goodness I was driving slow and able to pay pull over and even more thankful I had that umbrella to flick it off…then I had to get out and check it was gone and not hanging on my door…. That’ll be my only spider/car encounter for 2023 I hope!

We have the same issue with people driving through floodwaters- then the SES have to put their lives at risk to rescue them from their cars. So many people ignore warnings and don’t use their common sense…

Not sure if these are considered a bargain or not - Carnival Luminosa has 4 x 7 night cruises departing Brisbane for the South Pacific in Feb/March 2023 in a Balcony cabin at prices ranging from $726-$776pp twin share. Price varies slightly depending on date - 2 dates in Feb and 2 dates in March 2023. (Balcony for the price of an Oceanview).

In today’s episode of what is in my work kitchen that I cannot resist- homemade - Toffee Pecan Roll. Oh my goodness, I could smell it on approach and it tasted so good! I need to quit work to be able to stick to new year’s resolutions…,

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Lovely photo of you both. Love the jacket. Even Sam is posing nicely.