Birthday Cakes

Wayne and Janette surprised me with an ice cream cake.

A peanut butter and chocolate ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins!

Ang gave me the recipe for a pumpkin cake. I had to bake and puree my own pumpkin because they don't sell it in a can in Australia.

Cold Rock

I nearly made Jonathon wreck the car when I saw this sign. How could Cold Rock have been here for a YEAR already without me knowing about it? I think I will be coming up with a whole lot of excuses of why we "need" to drive to the city of Penrith. : )

Notice the rock in the center of the logo is Uluru (AKA Ayers Rock). It's an icon of Australia. Clever, eh?

I normally don't eat sweets at night but this definitely called for a celebration. Walking through these doors reminded me so much of Cold Stone Creamery in Colorado (sniff sniff).

I was savoring every spoonful of my peanut butter ice cream with peanut M&Ms.

October 30th

Wayne and Janette took us out for dinner for my birthday.

We went to Jonathon's favourite - The Stonegrill

Smiles all around after a delicious steak dinner.

I think Jonathon was enjoying the chow more than anyone. You're sooooo cute Babe.

What a great birthday present - tickets to see CATS. Thank you Janette & Wayne!

Kelly Burton

Simone didn't tell me she invited Kelly for lunch today. She used to the be the volunteer coordinator at the Ronald McDonald House when I first started. It was such a WONDERFUL surprise to see her again.

Kelly, Simone, and me

Eden's Ornament

A note from my adopted Mom.

Thank you for bringing tears of joy to my eyes and always knowing just what to say and just when I need to hear it. I love you!

What a sweet reminder of our baby girl.

"We miss you Eden Lanay."

Le Pain

I think we were one of the few people who went to Little Italy today and ended up eating at a French bakery called "Le Pain."

Call me crazy, but I'm thinking a different name might draw in a few more diners!

This was Jonathon's open-faced sandwich. I don't know what it tasted like because I really hate chicken, BUT the rock melon (cantaloupe) was fanstico!

This chocolate chip cookie looked too good to pass up. We shared it while being stuck in Sydney traffic on the way home.

Nuclear Free Zone

Say what?

If this side of the side street is nuclear free, shall I infer that the other side of the street isn't?

Supermarket

We thought this was hilarious. "Honey, I'll run and get some milk, oh, and check my email while I'm there."

The Italian Forum

The suburb of Leichhardt is known as Little Italy in Sydney.

Today we found The Italian Forum. There are heaps of stores selling Italian wares and restaurants out the wazoo.

This was my favourite shop. The Merchant of Venice sells the most elaborate masks I have ever seen. Inside the store are photos of their customers in their masquerade costumes. WOW! I can just imagine how much fun that would be.


This mask looks like it was painted by a small child. You should see the ones INSIDE the store, and then sit down before you notice their prices! Yikes.

Organic Market

We stumbled on a organic farmer's market today.


Jonathon bought several bags of coffee beans from this vendor. I got "Organic No-Sugar Drinking Xocolat with Chilli and Cinnamon." These coffee and cocoa beans come from Guatemala. Xocolat means frothy water, and the botanical name for the tree is Theobroma Cacoa which means food of the gods. The Mayan people used cacao beans as currency.

"That'll be 1 Snickers, 3 Baby Ruths, a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup and a Junior Mint." "Here's your change - 3 Hershey's Kisses." : )

Do you have any idea what is in my hand? Neither did I. ha ha It is called a broad bean but probably better known in the U.S. as a fava bean. If you buy these, you should probably pick up some BEANO too.

Jesus

On our way home, a skywriter had written "Jesus = Hope" and "Jesus is Lord." Jonathon and I both agreed, "This would be a good day to return LORD! Everyone is looking up in the sky."

Cathleen

Mandy has told me a hundred times how much I remind her of her friend Cathleen. She lives on the opposite coast but was in Sydney today. I was so happy to finally meet her. She is tons of fun. What a shame for me that she had to catch a cruise departing out of Darling Harbour today.


When I first saw Cathleen, it was OBVIOUS we didn't look anything alike.



However, the first clue that hinted at just how much we had in common was our watches. We were both wearing the exact same one!

Hugh (Mandy's brother), Cathleen, Mandy, Christina, Paul, Jonathon and me

Max Brenner is famous for chocolate. This photo is of Mandy's soy hot chocolate. The container with the handle is full of milk, the tray is full of milk and dark bits of chocolate, the mug has a tealite candle burning underneath it to keep your cocoa hot. It's a chocolate-lover's dream come true.

Granny Smith Festival

Back in 1868, Marie Ann Smith (AKA Granny Smith) accidentally grew a batch of delicious, tangy green apples on her farm in Eastwood, Australia, which just happens to be one suburb away from us. Today was the 20th annual Granny Apple Festival held in her honour.

There were food vendors, carnival rides, concerts, fireworks at night, a parade, etc. The only reason we left when we did is because of the balloons. I am almost 41 and they still scare me to death.

"Lucky Dips" are what Americans would call a grab bag. You pay $2 and have no idea what kind of JUNK you'll end up with.

Pumpkins

Would you pay $25 for a pumpkin? Jonathon, please explain to me again why we live here.

Peter & Fiona

Jonathon and I had Pete and Fi over for a barbie. We just found out that Pete is a huge gridiron fan, and his favorite team is the DALLAS COWBOYS! They are going to come over again as soon as the next Dallas game is aired in Australia. We only get three games a week televised here. Oh, what we would give to be able to watch Dallas and Denver play each week. : )

The Park at Nobby's Beach

After picking up our lunch at Scotties, we met Barry, Karyn and their daughters Autumn and Skye at the park by Nobby's Beach. What a sweet family. We thoroughly enjoyed our day with them.