Scrumdiferous

(cue TV voice over here) Previously on my blog...

HR and I are away for the weekend, staying in Albury, but the main event - dinner - is to be at Miss Amelie which is in Wodonga (go read the blogs). We've had the obligatory domestic, played tourist and now it is time for the finest dining experience one could wish for..........

However, before I move on I must admit to being a bit of an ignoramus...I have been saying Miss Amelie with a long e sound in the Amelie sort of Ameelie, turns out it is pronounced Amelie, like Emily but with an A (Thanks Christian)

Scrumdiferous is the best word to describe the food at  Miss Amelie. Grandificent is the word to describe the whole experience. I'm not sure how to get flippercanorious in but all three words meant 'wonderful' a century ago. Uniquely splendid words for a uniquely splendid establishment and experience!

HR and I took a taxi to the restaurant so we could both enjoy a drink and not have to worry bout the booze bus.
The last time we were here it was winter and quite dark at 6:30 pm. This time it is spring and the light fills the space.
The dining room was beautifully set up and we were shown to our table where Christian looked after us for the evening.
I started with the Miss Amelie cocktail, again, still have no idea what is in it, and frankly if you want to know go to the restaurant and order one!!! It is a delightfully refreshing drink and a perfect accompaniment to perusing the menu (updated since our last visit) HR had a beer.

I started with the- green asparagus, organic duck egg, beurre noisette crumb, salted ricotta- what a riot of beautiful flavours and textures. The gorgeous greens of the asparagus highlighted by the bright yellow of the duck egg a gorgeous feast for the eyes. The crisp vegetable, the creamy yolk, the buerre noisette crumb all combined into a delicious whole. I paired this dish with a glass of - cooper burns riesling ~ eden valley sa -a nice combination.
HR chose the - spanner crab, compressed green apple, daikon, shisho, cucumber jelly- and pronounced himself very happy with his choice. HR had beer with his entrée. No I didn't sample this dish :) I was to engrossed with my own food.

HR and I ,having overcome the earlier contretemps, discussed the relative merits of retiring to the region so it would be easier to dine regularly at Miss Amelie.....

Main course and I have chosen the - confit lamb scotch, spring peas, beetroot, radish, pickled raspberries - what a crime to actually cut into this picturesque dish!!!! However I overcame my qualms and tucked in.....what a delight!!! The lamb was tender and cooked to perfection the vegetables divine the flavours blending perfectly. This Kapay boy knows how to construct a dish to appeal to all the senses!!!
Now I am not a red wine drinker and indeed am fairly ignorant on the subject so I asked Christian to serve my something a little fruity and not too dry - he excelled in fulfilling the brief!! I have no idea what he served but it was lovely and perfectly matched to the meal! (Thank you again Christian).
HR chose - baked potato + parmesan gnocchi, tuscan cabbage, taleggio + fontina - and again declared himself well pleased with his choice.Again he had beer and again I did not taste the dish - seriously it would have messed with my experience AND he would have expected to have a taste of mine and quite frankly that was NEVER going to happen!!!!
Not a lot of chat happening at this stage as we were fully immersed in enjoying our chosen repast. Heaven.
Now those of you who read my blogs (thank you, thank you, thank you) would know that while I know of David Kapay and his recent chef history,we share a passion for the same footy team (the Mighty Brisbane Lions), I have never had the pleasure of actually meeting him. That changed this evening. I asked Christian to mention to David that I was surprised he did not have a maroon, blue and gold (Brisbane Lion's colours) dish on the menu and David laughed and promptly came over to the table and we introduced ourselves. Mindful of the busy dining room we didn't hold David up for long but it was nice that we could have that moment - Thank you.

HR and I consulted the dessert menu...
I can never resist the - lemon soufflé, poppy seed sablé, french meringue, cheesecake ice cream - honestly it is the most awesome experience eating this soufflé like eating lemon flavoured clouds. I chose t have a lovely glass of - montevecchio moscato ~ heathcote vic - the lemon of the soufflé working with the sweetness of the wine. Hey, I'm no epicure, gastronome or whatever,it worked for me!!!
HR had - chocolate + hazelnut praline 'cannelloni', salted honeycomb, orange curd - and while I am not one for chocolate dessert thingies, this thing looked awesome and smelled like jaffas!!! HR was very well pleased. There's a really good write up about this particular dessert in the 'Essentials' magazine . Someone who is way more articulate than I am describes this dessert beautifully and you get some nice back story on our host - David Kapay.


 We've just spent the last two hours wining and dining, we've hardly noticed that the dining room is actually full.

Of the three words I used at the beginning of this blog 'Scrumdiferous' is the one that most suits how I feel about Miss Amelie and that is why I used it as the title.

 It's been a pleasure as always and we have made plans to return in February 2017.

talking to brick walls

Quick recap: HR and I are away for the weekend and so far so good (see To the Manor Born Blog).

It's Saturday morning and we've just had breakfast at Hampton Court. Up to now HR has been reasonably communicative. Seriously if HR didn't have shoulders he would NOT be able to communicate - shrugs once for yes and shrug twice for no.
Anyway, thus far, 0945, and all is well. 0955 and he has ignored me (reckons he didn't hear me, old mongrel is going deaf too it seems) and we get into the car cos we are off to Rutherglen, apparently its a food and wine zone. Only 45 minutes down the road so not all day in the car.

On the way out of Albury, down the main street and what do we see in the park? Oh YES a Triumph Rally! Heaps of the classic little cars of all models......

HR and I browsed the cars for a little while and I engaged a perfectly lovely Nanna in chat. HR was not very forthcoming about the cars when I got back to him.
After we looked at the lovely cars it was time to resume the trip to Rutherglen.

For the next 45 minutes I try to engage the curmudgeonly HR in conversation and get donuts, zip, zilch, nada, Sweet FA.
I get a little agitated as most women would under the circumstances. So when he asks ME a question I ignore him. I ignored him only one time, not multiples like he has me, oh no just once and he lights up like a Christmas tree, huffing and puffing like a freaking steam train!!!!!!!
So he asks again did I want to go to Brown Brother's winery (another 45 mins down the road, remember I didn't want to spend all bloody day in the car) and I tell him to please himself (with a few expletives for good measure) and remain totally silent for the whole time it takes to get there.
We duly arrive at the winery and he asks if we are getting out and I let him have it with both barrels!!
How on earth could he expect I would want to go into the winery ?
We sat in the car park for 30 minutes and 'discussed' the issues. Then we left.
By the time we left we had come to an accord.
We would revisit the winery next time we are in the region (Feb 17)
We would go and find some food (emotional outbursts make one very hungry)
We would enjoy the rest of the afternoon
and we did.....
We grabbed some schnitzel burgers from Schnitz and went to the Botanical Gardens in Albury for a picnic. It was lovely in the gardens, a tad breezy and the food was decent.
HR lived in the region when he was a youngster and he indicated it would be cool to have a wander down memory lane.
Off we went to Bandiana. We saw where he went to school and the vacant land where his house had stood.
On the way out we noticed a sign for the Bonegilla Migrant Experience and HR obligingly turned off the main road for me to have a look.
Now almost fifty years ago I arrived in Australia from the 'Mother' country and as Dad was joining the Royal Australian Air Force  we were promptly housed at the Smithfield Migrant Hostel in South Australia (recruit training was done at RAAF Base Edinburgh in the 'old' days). Visiting the Bonegilla Migrant Experience reminded me of the months we spent in that drab establishment before we were sent to Norlane Migrant Hostel when Dad had to go to Victoria for his category training after recruits.
Norlane had Nissan huts unlike the other two hostels that had barracks. While we had our own 'rooms' we used communal bathrooms and eating halls. It was very thought provoking wandering through the buildings and recalling things I hadn't thought of for many years.
The last port of call for the afternoon was the Hume Weir.

Awesome scenery!!!!! and apparently a popular place for Brides to have wedding shots taken.
By now it is time to go back to our fabulous hotel and get ready for dinner...
Dinner at Miss Amelie.........

To the Manor Born.......

HR and I have been gallivanting about the countryside yet again.
I finished early on Friday and fled the Crypt with indecent haste, got home, packed a bag, grabbed a traveller and HR and off we went.

It's my birthday next week and we will both be working so we figured we'd take this weekend and go do some birthday type stuff.

I decided I wanted to go to Miss Amelie for dinner and that we should stay somewhere nearby so we could grab a cab and both be able to enjoy a drink with dinner. So Albury/Wodonga was our destination.
Three hours into a four hour drive I mentioned coffee to HR and we promptly pulled into Holbrook.
Now I may have mentioned J&B Cafe in Holbrook as being an excellent purveyor of Eggs Benedict and entirely drinkable tea and it is to this establishment we made a beeline only to find them closed.
So HR executed a quick U turn and we moseyed on in to the Holbrook Bakery.
Well what a bloody revelation!! They have almost any baked good you could desire and it all made on the premises.There are prize certificates proudly displayed in the window for their pies.
They have THE most divine Apple Crumble and the columbine donut thingy HR had  was filled with delicious custard and Chantilly cream and was very very very decadent.

Then HR spotted the Wagon Wheels. These Wagon Wheels are freaking ginormous!!!

We bought two for spares on the Sportage and trundled off to our weekend destination (The Wagon Wheels are delicious by the way).


We have stayed in various hotels throughout the Albury/Wodonga area and while they are all good clean places I wanted something different.  I decided to use the TripAdvisor app on my phone to have a look - and found the Albury Manor House.  What an awesome place! " The Albury Manor House is a truly individual 4 star boutique establishment that offers character and warmth in an English Tudor Style"  Reception has two suits of armour, each a different knight. The restaurants are Elizabethan themed ( we had breakfast at Hampton Court) and the room we stayed in was called Queen Elizabeth I Suite.

A beautiful King size four poster in a huge room with comfy lounging chairs and a cute little tea table and chairs, beautiful bedside cabinets and credenza, and a generous size bathroom with a spa. A range of pillows was provided and even though HR and I bring our own pillows, HR used the hotel pillow and was well pleased. The bed was really comfortable. The best thing? The MOST sensible thing? The thing that really will have us coming back again? There were FOUR, yes FOUR, towels in the bathroom. The women get it......

 HR and I do not get up early when we travel and so it was almost nine before we chose to break our fast.
Breakfast at Hampton Court was a buffet affair and well provisioned. A choice of warm croissant, English muffins or toast with all the condiments one could wish for as well as yoghurt and fruits, cereals AND they even had my green tea with Jasmine.
Hampton Court overlooks the swimming pool and the sound of the water fall was very pleasant.
The Albury Manor hotel is a very popular wedding venue and they even have their own stretch limmo!! We decided that rather than share a dining room with pre wedding guests we would forage afar and eat in our room. Hopefully we can try some of the restaurants next time (February next year I have made an executive decision!) and of course Saturday night we went to Miss Amelie.

Stayed tuned for the next Blog where we discuss the discussion (screaming argument) outside Brown Brothers Winery and other interesting Saturday events.......

Money Money Money

HR and I are on a good wicket. We each earn a good wage. Sure we help the kids out but, we still have enough to do the stuff we want; new cars,weekend brunches, weekend trips away, cruises and the New Zealand trip next year, always a few dollars in the pocket.
Yep we earn good money. However, it seems we will have to sell a child or take a personal loan to pay the winter gas bill.
I have been 'down south' for 6 months now and all of it has been cold. I love the cold, as long as I have a heater and a blanket. The first heating bill (gas) we got was in the region of $650 dollars and after HR got over his heart attack I mentioned that the heating was gas. He argued of course, I mean seriously how could I know it was gas? Anyway he checked the books and the gas meter and confirmed what I had told him. The electric bill was minimal.
Now some of you are out there saying there are ways we can minimise the use of the heater and,  you may well be right but not in this place. It seems that the heater is on, in every room, or it is off. There is no way to close the heat off in any of the rooms. Seriously, the upstairs is always ten degrees warmer than downstairs and we only use two rooms up there so closing the unused rooms off would be a no brainer. But we can't. If we closed any of the vents the system would over heat and shut down and then we would be up for repairs which may cost more than the gas bill.
Anyway we decided that the cold was too severe and we could afford the bill so screw it we will use the heater. Right up until yesterday when the second bill in 6 months rocked up. $1020.60!!!!!!!!! for 90 days. $1020.60 you have got to be joking!!!! A total of over $1600 for winter gas. That is ten times what we were paying in Queensland.
I figured I would see if there is an alternate power provider for the area - wasn't that a hoot. Bloody hell they want to know how many pairs of pink knickers you have as well as you credit rating before they will tell you the smallest thing.
HR is the name on the bill so he rang the energy provider and was a tad terse, seems as he scrutinised the bill further he discovered the bill was an estimate. He spoke to a very nice young man who advised that the people contracted to read the meters had not provided the information in time so they had taken a best guess. Great if they were anywhere near accurate. The numbers on the bill were so far out from what the meter read it was ridiculous (the meter read hundreds of MJ's less than what the bill read). So the young man mentioned that since the bill had been issued the required info had rocked up and that a new bill would be issued in the next few weeks.
HR and I have decided we need to move to a more temperate region or at least one where the gas is a lot bloody cheaper.
Until then we will sit here huddled in blankets sipping hot drinks to ward off the cold and dream of warmer days.

Half a Century

Late last year HR, Hagalicious and CR (her hubby) and I went on four day cruise. It was fantastic fun a relaxing cruise from Brisbane to Hamilton Island and back. Each couple had a mini suite aboard the Pacific Dawn and nothing to do but relax and sip the odd cocktail or five.
Whilst on this short but sweet holiday we received an email extolling the virtues of the Pacific Aria and how for a paltry sum we could have a seven day cruise to Cairns in a balcony room with a premium drinks package and $300.00 room credit ( because of who we work for we each got another $100.00 each person making it $500.00 per cabin). Cairns is a favourite destination for the four of us so that was a good enough reason to book the cruise. That and the fact that day two of the cruise was HR's 50th Birthday!!
At the end of the short cruise we immediately booked the Aria for August 2016. That was a hell of a long wait for the next cruise and so much happened between the booking and the cruising (have a read of my Reflections blog). Due to me moving 'down south' we had to travel back to Brisbane to go on the cruise. We decided to take a few days extra at the end of the cruise and go visit Mother, the kids and my gorgeous grandsons.
HR and I had great cruise. What's not to like? Everything is done for you! Someone cooks, does the dishes, makes the bed, cleans the bathroom, mixes the drinks and never do you have to do a damned thing you don't want to. The Aria does not have a Buffet for casual dining. The Aria has 'The Pantry' a series of small eateries that serve anything from fish and chips to a chef's salad to any pastry you'd like - total yummy-ness.The speciality restaurants were awesome, although the Luke Mangan Salt Grill was a little disappointing. We had some lovely wait persons in our favourite bars especially Minelli!.
After the cruise we went to visit the Boy Child and my Grandsons, then off Toowoomba to catch up with the Mini Brat (we had seen the Normal Autistic Girl before the cruise in Brisbane). Of course we went to visit Mother as well, took her shopping and spent time helping her do a few things. We stayed in a perfectly serviceable motel in Toowoomba. I even visited the folk at the Mausoleum!
While travelling around Toowoomba we passed the Ford dealership many times and HR drooled over the new Mustang sitting in the pride of place in the yard. He had also complained incessantly about the shortcomings of the Beast (Mazda BT50)
The afternoon before we left to return 'down south' we had said our goodbyes to family and friends and had a few hours to kill. 'Go to the pictures or go looking at car yards?' I asked HR. 'Car yards' he answered. 'Ford or Kia' I asked again 'Kia' he answered. So off to Kia we went and saw Grant the dealer who sold me two Cerato's earlier this year and Lachie.
We just wanted to have a look at the Sportage. We wanted a vehicle that was comfortable for the travelling we do all over the place. Quite frankly the Beast gets very uncomfortable after four hours driving and we generally like to travel 4-6 hours a day when we're roaming the country. I also wanted to get a vehicle that was easy to get my Grandsons in and out of but still had plenty of room and comfort.
Lachie showed us a few different models and then let us test drive Grant's Sportage Platinum.
The Platinum is top of the range with a moon roof, sat nav, blind spot mirror doovey, heated/cooled seats, electronic seat adjustment and all manner of other really cool options and this one is a diesel as well so very economical. HR was bowled over and so was I!!! What a great vehicle! Alas the Beast is a lease vehicle and we have too many years till payout and owe too much etc etc etc.
Grant and Lachie commenced the wheeling dealing part of the equation. Try as they might they couldn't get enough for the Beast to satisfy the lease and it looked like we would wait for the Sportage like we first planned. Que Sera and off we went back 'down south' a great trip in itself. HR and I DO love to travel.
The day we got home there's an email from Grant -' if you want to buy the demo you drove we can get the extra you need to pay out the lease (on the Beast)what do you think?'

Three weeks later HR drove the Beast back to Brisbane. I flew in (business class what a blast) and after spending the night in Brisbane we picked up the Normal Autistic Girl and drove off to Toowoomba to pick up the Sportage. While we did the paperwork and swapped out the cars the Normal Autistic Girl met up with the Mini Brat and went off to spend my money.
An hour later we picked up the girls and went to lunch in an early birthday celebration for the Mini Brat. After lunch we drove back to Brisbane and went to see my grandsons for a few hours.
The next day we stared our drive home in the new car. What a great trip! the Sportage was amazing and so comfy and HR didn't hobble/limp after driving for four hours.
I do need to mention The Stockmans Hotel in Tamworth. A truly awesome room with a bathroom to die for. A huge spa bath you can lie down in, twin vanities a huge shower all beautifully presented! The room had a huge king size bed with a fifty inch flat screen, lounge and table. The mini bar was fabulous and extremely well priced. Breakfast was simple food well cooked and reasonably priced. I thoroughly recommend this hotel to everyone.
So, HR had a cruise AND got a new car for his 50th birthday. Me? I ended up with a bad case of the flu that kept me away fro the Crypt for ten days. Swings and roundabouts people...swings and roundabouts.

Reflections

 They say you should be careful what you wish for.....you might just get it

 At the beginning of 2016 I decided that this was going to be a good year and I would get the things I wanted, nay that I deserved. The Universe was going to provide my every whim....

On reflection I have indeed received much largess from the Universe, but it has come at a cost.

Two weeks into the New Year and I am involved in a car crash (wasn't my fault but the Fleet Manager reckons no more work cars for me) and I still have internal bruising on my leg.

A few weeks later, in a flurry of interviews, I get the job that will move me to the same state as HR. This has been a double edged gift. I am glad to move after seven years in the one job. However where I work is way different to what I am used to and quite frankly I have no qualifications for the tasks I am set. There is precious little support and encouragement from my 'team' and often I flounder. I get tasked by my immediate and my second level supervisor  and get half assed instructions that make it tricky to prioritise work let alone complete it. Ah well I got what I wanted yeah?

We sold the house as we travelled from one end of the country to the other. We didn't get what we wanted for the house and the pennies we did have left over were used to; buy a  car for the Mini Brat, pay several lots of Bond money (the Boy Child and the Consort have gone their separate ways, as a consequence two households needed to be set up), and sundry other child expenses.
So again I got what  wanted - the house sold.

I am learning to live with HR again after 18 months apart. There are times I'd like to strangle him and I am sure he feels that he would like to strangle me too.

It's different not being in the same state as my children and Mother and that can add stress at times as we try and coordinate communications.

I wanted my Brisbane Lions to be competitive but it seems that was too big an ask of the Universe. 2017 is another year.

HR and I have been on a cruise, I think there's a blog in that.

I am looking for another job but while I have had a few interviews I have not yet been successful.

I have had a nasty dose of the flu complicated with cardiac issues - I had ten days off work....swings and roundabouts there yeah?

I am off to Wodonga again in October to have my birthday dinner at Miss Amelie!!!!!!!!!

Ah well there's still a few months left in this year lets see what good things it brings shall we?

Tales from the Crypt

Picture it...
A big square building (holds a zillion people) with only three windows
peering through one window we see.......


A Meglomaniacal Director (MD) and a deputy dawg (dd)
and then there's the idiot factor - me.
What IS she rambling on about you  ask, have I got a tale for you.

There's this document
it needs attention but...it doesn't match up with this corresponding document so we can't do what we need to do...let's send it to whatsherface the idiot newbie she'll fix it

but wait -  MD sends it to dd cc'ing me
dd sends it to me and says let's discuss
MD asks me about it but dd hasn't talked to me yet so I know naf all
dd says click the links in the document and talk to this chickie ( I have never met) in this section here
 I click links like the dutiful idiot I am and then approach this unsuspecting chickie and ask for help

the chickie provides details and a hazy picture emerges
MD and dd have a confab about the document dilemma, without me, and I get a half assed synopsis of the meeting and a few more supporting documents and get told to crack on

So the idiot newbie (me) makes the best guesstimate she can with the crap she is given and approaches MD (at the behest of dd as he is so BUSY and SO important)
but oh no, the idiot newbie (me) doesn't have a document that supposedly explains all
MD carries on like a raw prawn 'I have explained this once I shouldn't have to explain it again' (sic)
and various other complaints making me (the idiot newbie) feel like a total loser when I have never played in this particular space before

so MD and me approach the chickie and have a confab and do the investigation and lo and behold something wasn't calculated correctly in the original document

mea culpa screams MD and wonders how to fix the problem
phone calls are made and guess who gets to do the paperwork to fix the problem?







go on guess.....






give up?





it was ME yes ME the freaking stupid idiot newbie!!!!

this has taken four days to fix
four days of trying to complete tasking as well as other adhoc URGENT issues and dealing with snippy infighting in the 'team'

I need a holiday, a new job or a lotto win........... I'll settle for a glass of wine

Miss Amelie

What a beautiful name for a beautiful restaurant.
Miss Amelie.
David Kapay has certainly created a very special eating experience in Wodonga.
Places Victoria has a lovely little blurb about Miss Amelie's origins, use the hyperlink to have a read.

I am going to tell you about our experience at Miss Amelie.
As you should know by now ( go read the blogs people, go read the blogs) HR gets one weekend a month as a weekend. HR likes to 'do something' on these weekends. 'Doing something' is generally HR code for going away. HR generally likes to find a good food experience on these trips.
Ok here is where it gets complicated but bear with me.
I am a Lions fan. David Kapay is a Lions fan. We both use Twitter. We follow one another on Twitter as Lions fans. David Kapay was Head Chef at 25Toorak Road (go and read the bloody blog!!!). HR and I dined at 25Toorak Road.
Right, connection established.
When David and his family returned to Wodonga to create Miss Amelie HR and I decided that at some stage we would make a trip to Wodonga and visit the restaurant.
Last weekend we made the trip to Wodonga. Less than 4 hours from home. A lovely drive down the Hume Highway. We stayed the night at the Comfort Inn Blazing Stump a very nice Junior Suite at a reasonable price.
HR and I are not late diners, we like to eat around 6 o'clockish. Of course we're flexible when we're 'away'. Table was booked for 6:30.
It was with a sense of anticipation that we drove out to Miss Amelie. Lots of parking was the first tick. Then a stroll around the old railway station absorbing the atmosphere before heading in to Miss Amelie.
What a lovely room!!!!

 Simple, elegant, clean, black and white with glorious splashes of pink. I really like the fact we can see our chefs as they prepare the delightful foods for our delectation. Watching them interact with each other you could see they were truly happy to be there and totally enjoying their craft.

We had decided not to drink alcohol but when the 'Miss Amelie' cocktail was described to us it seemed a shame not to try one! I'll tell you the ingredients after I go back next time. Suffice to say it was a refreshing pink drink that was a lovely confluence of flavours.
The menu had just the right amount of choices. Some restaurants overwhelm with choices and that can be a pain.
HR chose the 'king prawns, café de paris butter, wild fennel, sorrel' and I had the 'seared scallops, butternut pumpkin, beurre noisette crumble, cured pig’s cheek'.  I enjoyed trying HR's prawns, they were delightfully tasty. My scallops were perfect, a terrific combination of tastes and textures.

For mains HR chose 'goat shoulder ragu, pappardelle, green olives, pine nuts, meridith goat's cheese'. OMG it was to die for it was so awesomely delicious. I shall be having that next time! I had the 'seared duck breast, parsnip puree, poached rhubarb, macadamias + baby onions'. Never having tried duck before I was being brave and I am so gad I was brave (you can see images of all these delightful dishes at Miss Amelie Gallery). Crispy skinned duck breast beautifully presented and so delicious to eat.

Each dish was a symphony for the senses! Beautifully presented, the fine white china acting as a blank canvas for the chef to create a beautiful picture. The different textures and flavours combining to tantalise the taste buds. The delicious aromas tickling the nose.

The courses were not served one on top of the other but a perfect amount of time elapsed between them. It was great to watch the room fill up and hear the hubbub of happy diners around us.
HR and I were discussing retirement plans but the way things are going that will be a long way off!!

Of course we HAD to have dessert. Who has a peanut butter sandwich for dessert in a restaurant? HR does that's who. 'peanut butter + jam sandwich, raspberry sorbet, white chocolate crumb' I have never seen a peanut butter sandwich look quite that delicious (for the record I detest peanut butter but damn I was tempted to try this thing). I of course had the 'lemon soufflé, poppy seed sablé, french meringue, cheesecake ice cream. The soufflé was perfectly heavenly and a truly sublime experience in eating. I do LOVE a good soufflé. HR had a cappuccino and I had a green tea.

We left totally satisfied on all counts:

• Terrific location
• Great parking
• Fabulous room
• Wonderful atmosphere
• Incredible food
• Lovely staff
• Reasonable prices 

As Molly Meldrum would say 'Do yourself a favour' and find the time to experience this all for yourself.
David Kapay and his staff have created a supremely wonderful dining experience that is accessible to all!!! Congratulations and keep up the good work.

Not Happy

Well that was pretty bloody ordinary. To say I am miffed is an understatement. I am borderline furious actually.
4 weeks ago I made an appointment to see a 'professional' service provider in the cosmetic solutions industry. Yes I was looking at a non invasive facelift type procedure - all the rage and no down time.

Sunday I got a text asking me to confirm my appointment and I duly responded with the required 'Y'.

I forgot to tell HR about the text and so today he rang them to confirm. Whilst on the phone they asked if I could go in earlier as they had had cancellations. HR indicated this was highly unlikely as I was at work and I was already finishing early to make the 4 o'clock appointment. HR advised me of this conversation but said the appointment was still on.

3 o'clock I get to my car to discover 7 missed calls and two texts. Remember where I work I cannot have my mobile phone with me for security reasons.

I call the number in the text. I ask them what is going on. The person was all. 'oh I don't see your name here who are you again?' I repeat that I have an appointment at 4 and that someone, obviously not her, has been calling me. 'Oh she is in with someone I'll get her to call when she gets out. What is your number?' Fecking heck I think you HAVE my number if the texts and missed calls are anything to go by. I repeat my number five times before they finally get it right. 'She'll call right back' Yep no worries there might be a black spot on my way in to you but keep trying. 'Oh yes we will call for sure'

I drive from work straight there and am 15 minutes early for the appointment. No phone call. No text.
I park the car and walk into the building. The door is locked and the lights are off.

How totally bloody rude!!! How bloody unprofessional!!!
They couldn't be bothered hanging around for my appointment cos they wanted to go home early.
I already knew what I wanted from these people and this appointment was a confirmation and then book for the 'procedure' worth $2,500. I took time off work and was so excited.
Guess I will just have to find somewhere else to spend my money eh?

Hair

As you all know I moved interstate earlier this year.
A good move mostly, the usual hiccups - settling into the new location and job, learning to live with HR again after 18 months of blissful peace.....
I think the worst thing about moving is trying to find the right 'support' team; you know - hair stylist, colourist, beautician and nail tech.
Three months in and the search continues, though I MAY have the hair stylist, colourist and beautician sorted. The nail tech not so much.
I had intended to continue getting my hair done in Queensland - once a month when I go up to visit Mother. Sadly every fricken Saturday I go up my stylist is not working!!!!
So I tried the local hairdresser in the local mall and while they did a reasonable job and didn't cost the earth the atmosphere wasn't quite what I wanted. I mean when I go to the salon it's all about ME!!! The interaction with my stylists etc must be positive, fun and at my whim. So I asked around at work and they recommended a place in Canberra, but on reflection it looked very young, not for the more mature person such as myself so I kept looking.
Then one day I was stuck at the lights and just idly surveying the scene when what should I see to my left but a hair salon. When I got home I googled the shop and lo and behold they had a website. Right then...I made the call. an appointment for Thursday afternoon.
I duly turned up for said appointment. We spent time discussing what colour and style I wanted. My hair will no longer hold red colours they fade quickly and look nasty. I decided to get the red out. An hour later the foils and colour were in. 45 minutes later the colour was set and time for the wash. The best part of going to the salon is the head massage!!!! Then it was time for the cut. The manager of the salon cut my hair and I am really happy with the style. Then came the drying and styling. The colour is gorgeous! Hardly any red left.The foils are subtle and natural looking. I actually look younger with this cut and colour!!
Three hours have passed and I am quite hungry as I thought this would take 90 minutes tops and then I would go and have dinner with HR. Now it is time for the 'beauty' Eyebrows waxed and tinted and of course the top lip rip!!
Because my hair is so fair whenever I get an eyebrow tint it can be quire scary lol. All of a sudden I have eyebrows.
It was after 9 pm when I got out of there and I went in at 5:30, almost 4 hours. I think it was worth it.
I am going back again. When I am sure I am on a winner I will name names!
Now if I could just find a decent nail tech.......

Kaleidescope

This weekend I am off to Brisbane and environs. HR is working. There will not be a brunch date.
We did, however, have dinner last night (Thursday 23 June).
We went to a nifty place called Schnitz. Schnitz is a franchise restaurant bordering on fast food but by golly they know how to do schnitzel!!
We were unsure about meal sizes so we ordered a schnitzel each.  HR went the beef Schnitzel, chips and coleslaw. I went for the chicken, chips and salad.
These are some big meals and in future we will just share!! The chickens Scnitzel was tender and moist and the crumbs were perfect. I tasted HR's beef and it was tender as well. The chips were AMAZING!!! Homestyle chips with a seasoning that just hinted of chicken salt. I tasted the coleslaw ( I LOATHE coleslaw) it wasn't drowned in dressing and was healthy sized shreds of cabbage and carrot etc. I could actually eat this coleslaw. The garden salad was crisp and fresh and not even a HINT of ice berg lettuce!! We had a dipping sauce of Honey Mustard for the chips as well. Tasty.

There has been a few days hiatus in writing this blog. I have been to Brisbane and back.
It was a quick trip and I managed to catch up with The Mini Brat, the Normal Autistic Kid, Mother and even had interaction with the Boy Child and the Consort (brief electronic contact with the latter two).
The trip from Brisbane to the top of the Range and beyond never ceases to drive me insane.
I do enjoy staying at The Hotel Grand Chancellor though. The rooms are clean and modern, off street parking, nice views, the room service is great and the location is perfect.

The football team got beat - again. My brother in law will be annoying me tomorrow. Last week he predicted a St Kilda win (he's a Saints fan) and I told him he was delusional- they won (only by 3 points and he said 22 so I figure he was still delusional). The bloody filth won, Freo is officially off the tip list. Tipping is a mugs game.

I read a book over the weekend; Scattered Pearls by Sohila Zanjani. What a fascinating, engaging read. The story of three generations of Iranian women spanning over a hundred years. It reminded me of when I went to university (as a mature age student - my mid life crisis). I studied History, International Relations and Asian Studies. One of the last pieces of work I produced was a 9000 word mini thesis and I chose to write about women in Afghanistan pre and post Talliban. I was most fortunate in that I had a real life study in my classes and this beautiful woman agreed to be interviewed by me for this paper. Over a period of 6 weeks I was invited to join her in her home and ask any questions, what a wonderful experience. Outside her home she embraced the Australian culture and laws. Within her home she kept certain traditions of her culture alive and I was privileged to partake of her hospitality. We ate traditional foods seated in the traditional manner. We talked for hours and I still have the tapes I made of those conversations. The stories she told me of being a woman in Afghanistan are similar to those Sohila Zanjani in Iran.
I have also read Jung Chang's Wild Swans, another fascinating insight into three generations of Chinese women. Reading of how other women live/lived during the period I have been alive, trying to understand their cultures and how those cultures have evolved, regressed/progressed, is totally fascinating to me. One day I may get my uni papers out and blog about them - one day.

 Ah well, back to work tomorrow.

and another thing

So, I have a glass of O'Mara's in hand and it's time to have a bit of a rant about football. No not that round ball choreographed dance they call soccer, or thugby (rugby), or even that ugly throw-the-ball-backwards-to-go-forwards rubbish they call league (rugby league) (for our American friends your Grid Iron is not football either so deal with it). I am talking about the only game that could possibly call itself football, where men are men and the boys can go home, where padding is for the feint of heart and skills and fitness rule supreme. I refer to Australian Rules Football.

Now as everyone knows I am a slightly rabid Brisbane Lions fan. The Lions are having a very bad year . Actually bad doesn't quite cut it, HORRENDOUS is more like it. I know it, the media knows it, we ALL bloody know it.
Oh did I say media? MEDIA???? The bloody media ignores the crap out of the Lions when we are trundling along, not earth shattering wins or anything, just trundling, getting it done, winning some losing others. But you just wait until we do something wrong, like lose almost every game of the season so far (we've won one of thirteen to date) or some of our drafted players decide to go home (they're leaving in droves the headlines read). Suddenly the Lions are the hottest news in Australia. Suddenly every hack journalist has an expert opinion on what is wrong with the Lions and how to fix it.

Picture it: It's August 2013,13 August 2013 to be precise, the Normal Autistic Kid and I are at the hotel in Brisbane getting gussied up for the Brisbane Lions Gala Auction. We're keeping a weather eye on FaceBook and Twitter for messages from friends we will be meeting up with at the function. I am scrolling through the Tweets and there's something about Vossy (Lion's coach) I shake my head , reset my glasses and read again, Michael Voss, Lion's coach, has been sacked. WTF????? Two hours before a Gala event and they sack the coach? surely this is a joke, put the telly on, where's the news?
2013 was not the worst year for the Brisbane Lions. It wasn't a good one but hell Vossy was starting to come good, we thought. The media thought otherwise and in what can only be described as a sustained attack the media hounded Vossy up hill and down dale in the press, on telly, social media and anywhere else they could get a hearing. A man's career as a senior coach butchered by the press.
That evening was awful, truly awful. The players were stunned, the guests were angry and vocal in their anger.

Move to 2015 and the go home five. The AFL has a DRAFT system, where young players are picked up by teams these kids are supposed to be down with the fact that they may have to go interstate to get a gig on the big stage. For many it is their first time away from home and they get homesick. Nothing wrong with that, let them go home. But, the media cook it up as something else, they dream up tensions in the club - administration, coaches and even the fans.
How about we look at what the real issues are, how about we look at facts not fiction?
After the historical three peat of the early 2000's Eddie McGuire campaigned long and hard to have our retention allowance removed. Why did he do that one might ask??? Because two of the the Premierships were won against his team. Sour grapes much Eddie? He tried the same game when Sydney Swans started beating his team regularly. So, money that had helped to keep players at the club was suddenly removed and there was an exodus.There was the usual turn over over retiring players and coaches.

There was of course the incredibly idiotic recruiting debacle when Vossy thought getting Fev was a good idea and ended up losing two very good servants of the club over it.(that was also blown out of proportion in the press but Fev asked for it)
Then the AFL in its infinite wisdom decided that Queensland needed a second team and created what the Normal autistic Kid refers to as the fantastic plastic - the Gold Coast Suns (2011)- or cold toast scums, depends who you are right? Fans from the Gold Coast who used to be Lions supporters switched allegiance to 'their' team starting a membership loss for the Lions which the media ascribed to the fans being disenchanted with the Lions.
2016 - Brisbane Lions has the youngest list, we had a very tough draw, even the press agree, Leppa (coach) is changing the game plan. This year we have re-signed key players, some early because they want to stay.

There is more but you get the picture. Some good stuff and bad stuff and through it all the players keep on keeping on. When we win we are ignored by the media (unless it's against Eddies team) when we lose we're a basket case.

It is extremely difficult watching your team lose week after week. I loathe when so called fans think social media is there for them to abuse the players and coaches. I DETEST the media for  the continual negative press and their attempts to get yet another Lions coach sacked. In all fairness the media have been responsible for the sacking of other teams coaches as well but as they are not MY team I am not concerned with them here.
The media have set themselves up as demi gods, king makers, coach breakers and I for one have had quite enough. I am extending my media boycott to include such shows as AFL360, On the Couch as well as all print media, I am also culling my Twitter 'following' list to remove the more rabid negative so called Lions fans.

One day soon the tide will turn and my Lions will be up there winning and I am with them every tricky step of the way...

We are the pride of Brisbane town
We wear maroon, blue and gold
We will always fight for victory
Like Fitzroy and Bears of old
All for one and one for all
We will answer to the call
Go lions, Brisbane Lions we'll kick the winning score
You'll hear our mighty roar!!!!!!

the long and winding road

That leads to Brunch!!!

HR and I are doing the whole losing weight, learning to eat better thing and one day a week, usually the weekend we go a little nuts.  Generally starts Friday night and finishes Saturday after dinner-ish.

Friday night's are a trip to Grill'd (see previous blogs). Last week we shared the 'Front Bar'; a steak sandwich with egg, mesculin, tomato, Spanish Onion, Dijon mustard, beetroot relish and herbed mayo and of course the Chips Share Plate. Safe to say a total success as a meal!! I think that a second success has seen this place become a firm favourite and a definite part of the 'routine'.

The 'routine' is something HR and I are setting up to help establish a stable home life for us both. You may recall that for eighteen months HR and I were living in different states. When you add to that the fact that I have started a new job after seven years in the last one, moved after eighteen years in one place, and the car accident at the beginning of the year, I am one unsettled person!

Anyway, I digress, last Saturday HR and I took a drive to a lovely little town name of Gundaroo. A rustic little eatery called 'The Cork Street Cafe' served a particularly delicious repast for HR and I. HR chose the Eggs Benedict with Bacon and I had, wait for it, I had Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Bacon and Fried Eggs. OMG talk about deliciousness! Totally worth the drive out there I can tell you.
Then there is the Gundaroo Heritage Walk a meander through the historical high spots of the town.
One could do a lot worse than head to Gundaroo for a feed and a walk!

This Friday we again trekked off to Grill'd where we tried a Beef Burger with our usual accompaniment of Chips. We ordered the 'Almighty' .  'Grilled grass fed lean beef , tasty cheese, crispy trim bacon, free range egg, couple of slices of beetroot with salad, relish and herbed mayo' and we added some avocado. What a HUGE burger!! We cut the burger and I had to eat my share with a knife and fork. Seriously there was no way I was going to get a bite of that baby!! Needless to say it was a thoroughly enjoyable meal and we waddled out of there! We have dibs on a chicken burger next week.

This morning we trundled off to Yass to have a bit of a looksee. We wandered the high street and back streets, there are some beautiful old houses out that way. We decided to have a very late breakfast/early lunch at a lovely establishment named 'The Roses Cafe' where we ordered Eggs Benedict with Bacon, a cappuccino for HR and a pot of Green Tea for me. Next time we go there we will partake of the other delights they had there. Quiche's, savoury muffins, pies, wraps, all manner of delightful baked goods as well as traditional burgers and breakfast foods. A veritable cornucopia of culinary concoctions!!
HR did mention that he preferred the Cork Street Cafe Hollandaise to that of The Roses Cafe. Apparently he found The Roses Cafe Hollandaise a little 'claggy'. However the bacon was cooked just right at The Roses Cafe.
One could be forgiven for thinking we are on a crusade to find the perfect Eggs Benedict, at least HR may be.
Anyway we are scoping next weeks destination As I type so I'll update you when I know!

Oh yeah HR has lost nearly ten kilos, me not so much only four, mebbe if I got off my fat arse I might lose a bit more.............

Blah

It really has been a shitty week.
It was a week I wish had never happened and I guess the coup de grace was watching the Brisbane Lions not even try in their game against Carlton and subsequently get beat by 38 points.

There were maybe one or two high points in the week and these are what I will write about.
The first highpoint was Friday night. After working late ( DO NOT get me started about my supervisor saying I am not allowed to accrue flex but hey you need to be here for like more than the mandated 7.5 hours a day) I arrived home and greeted HR (bastard finished work almost three hours before me and he works in the same place) with the usual 'what's for dinner?' As usual he mumbled shrugged his shoulders and said 'what do YOU want?' Nothing is designed to drive me from calm to ballistic quicker than this typical HR response to any question I might ask. How the hell he makes decisions at work I have no idea!!!!!!!
Anyway, I digress.
Taking a deep breath, I refused to be riled by HR's irritating response, and made a snap decision; 'lets' go shopping' I said 'we can get some dinner while we're out.' HR said where do you want to go? It took more than a deep breath but, I retained my equanimity and said 'hey I chose what to do about dinner you choose where we go' Whereupon he chose a shopping venue and off we went.
Sadly we didn't get to his choice of shopping venue because he got lost. Yes my darling husband got lost. So we went to another shopping venue that we knew had a good selection of eateries.
Now earlier in the week I mentioned to HR that as we are now living in a new state it behoves us to explore the area within a three hour radius of home. He was amenable to such a suggestion and I further suggested that it would be cool to have a huge map of the state on the wall and draw some concentric circles at a one hour, two hour and three hour radius from home. We could place the map on the wall in the computer room and turn it into a little planning cell. HR agreed this was a good idea and so whilst we were out and about on Friday evening we purchased the appropriate map and pin board!!Of course the map was purchased in a book shop and of course I had to look at the books didn't I? I bought a couple of books (Bernard Cornwall 'Gallows' Thief and Ronnie Barker 'A Few Well Frozen Worms' I also picked up a couple of DVD/Book compilation one is for the Normal Autistic Kid 'The Grand Finale of British Steam'(she is mad keen on steam trains) she can have it next time I fly into Brisbane. I also found a truly awesome burnt orange sweater so I bought that too.
It was time to eat!

We strolled along the eatery walk way to see what was there. We had sampled the Dumpling House on a previous visit and would have been happy to revisit but it was so damned busy!!!! We decided to check some of the other places out and if push came to shove we would go dumplings.
There was a Nandos, not a lot of takers there, a Vietnamese place was as packed as the Dumpling House and the Thai restaurant was the same. We weren't in the mood for Indian and the Turkish place was too far away ( though I am partial to Turkish food) and we weren't up for Schnitzels or Snags. That left Grill'd (Healthy Burgers). Grill'd was well patronised and we figured why not? I am so glad we did!!
Now keeping in mind that HR and I are doing the whole diet/change of eating habit thing I suggested that we should share a burger and some chips. HR agreed (especially as he thought it might mean we could have some ice cream later for supper).
After some deliberation we ordered the 'Back Bar'; Grilled 100% grass fed scotch fillet, crispy trim bacon, mesculin, feta, tomato, Spanish onion, tomato relish and herbed mayo. We teamed it up with a Chips Share Platter; Grilled Chips, Sweet Potato Chips, Zucchini Chips, served with a trio of chip dips.

Every last bite was delicious!!! We were so glad we decided to share cos DAMN!!! There was so much food!! We are SO going back there!!
Yes we did have ice cream for supper, believe it or not a Coles brand Banana cone thingy. Not bad at all actually.
Saturday we slept late and then I totally needed my nails doing so we set off down the road. While I got my nails done HR scoped the nearby cafe's to find a suitable spot for brunch.
Now let me tell you, in QLD it took two year hard work to find a decent nail tech (miss you Shayliegh) and so I am in the process of trying to find a decent one in the new location. This is the result of today's effort;

Not too bad but I like a bit of conversation whilst I am sitting there getting nails done and old matey (yep he was male) said diddly squat. So I guess the quest will continue.
We went to a cafe on the main street for brunch. Sadly I forget the name, but I will never forget the Eggs Benedict!! The Hollandaise sauce was pretty close to the best I have tasted. It is always so obvious when places cheat and use a packet mix, but not this place the sauce was amazing, the bacon was crispy and the poached egg was delightfully yolky. I was a little bemused by the serve of chips on the side though. We could have shared one serve of this too but I ignored the toast (mostly) and didn't eat a chip!!! We will go there again I am sure and then I will get the name for my next foodie blog.
Right then the Giants have fallen to the Cats and as I type Freo is in front of the Bombers (Freo is between us and a wooden spoon. I'd rather they had it than us) and WTF is going on at Metricon? The Suns are in front.....ah well tipping is a mugs game.
Hopefully next week is better than this last one..............

Weigh to Go

Right then, three weeks ago, HR and I commenced a weight loss program. (see my blog Middle Age Spread).
I had most of one week off due to interstate commitments (see Ticket to Ride Planes and Cars) and so now it is time to weigh in!

HR is finding it a bit tough on the shakes and seriously looks forward to the evening meal which free style. Once a week we go a bit nuts for one meal and a lot of planning goes into it!!
You may recall we had Southern Fried Chicken the first week and last week we went Dumplings.

We went to a lovely little place called Dumpling House and took a table for two. The waitress brought tea and HR and I sipped refreshing Jasmine tea whilst we made our choices.
The Dumpling House has traditional Chinese dishes as well as Dumplings, Buns and Pancakes.
We decided to try 'Combination: Chicken, Beef and Vegetable (15)' and team them with 'Steamed BBQ Pork Bun (2 or 4)'

The three different types of dumpling were very tasty! The vegetable dumping needed just a touch of chili sauce, the beef was delicious and the chicken more so. But the Best of all were the BBQ Pork Buns.... The bun was sweet and fluffy and light. There was sufficient BBQ Pork was sufficient (some people skimp) and perfectly cooked. I was in seventh heaven!!  There is nothing quite like a decent BBQ Pork Bun, nothing!! There was enough food and tea to make quite a good meal (remember we have smaller tummies now we are dieting) though HR wants to try the Dim Sims next time.

Turns out next time will be tomorrow as HR failed in his tasking to decide what we should have this week. I will be choosing next weeks.
So how are we going in this quest to win the battle of the bulge?
To date HR has lost 4.5kg and 2 inches off his bulky waist.
I have lost 2.9 kg but the waist measurement remains the same the gut seems to be slowly shifting though.

HR and I really need to get some regular exercise going to help us shift the flab. I have my little work out room that I have used. I do low impact aerobics and I have a dvd coming from  Denise Austin 
called Shrink Your Female Fat Zones. I have used this dvd before (for many years actually) but it seems the copy I have is region  and all my dvd players are Region 4, go figure.
I have used Denise Austin's exercise regimes on and off for over twenty years and I find them very, very good for helping to shape the body in the privacy of my own home.

Anyway onwards and upwards, or is that downwards........more next week!!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

This is bound to be one of the questions I get asked at tomorrow's interview for the job I am doing
I am receiving higher duties allowance until the recruitment activity for the job I am doing is completed. I figured I may as well have a bash as I might have a chance, you know, seeing as how I am doing the job....
Only problem is there are unknowns in the competition.
Someone may actually know what they are doing which puts me RIGHT behind the 8 ball.

I do know that two of my colleagues are also interviewing for the positions (there are two of them yes).

The pro's are:
I have been working in the position
I have been working with the consultant in the domain
I have helped lay the groundwork for the tasking in the role
I am beginning to understand the complexities around the tasking
I am beginning to build the networks required to facilitate the role
I am conversant with the major reporting tool
I can see the synergies between the two roles and can see opportunities for leveraging off interdependencies (sounds good eh?)

Cons:
I have no experience in the domain
I have no training in the domain
I have only been in the agency for two months
two of my rivals have been with the agency for years
I am bad at interviews
I am the first to be interviewed

I spoke with the domain experts for both positions. I have identified appropriate training. I am not looking forward to this interview. It will most likely take forever for them to advise the successful applicants too. Oh well there'll be other jobs to apply for I suppose.

In five years time I will most likely still be working. I'd like to think I could improve my ranking in the agency. Then again some days I just wonder what the hell I am dong and why.

Wish me luck boys and girls, wish me luck.....

Ticket to Ride (planes and cars)

Wednesday 18 May 2016 the date for the Brisbane Lions Player Sponsor Function. Given what transpired the Saturday (Port Adelaide massacred us) before it was always going to be a strained atmosphere.
I flew into Brisbane, collected my hire car (nifty little Toyota Corolla, nice but not my Kia ) and drove to my hotel (Gabba Central Apartments) without getting lost!!!

The delightful Normal Autistic Kid dropped by and we crossed the road to the Gabba.
It's always a good evening when the champagne is flowing and the canapés are plentiful. Apart from meeting up with my sponsored player (Josh Clayton) who was a perfect gentleman, it is always fun to catch up with other friends and sponsors. Tommy and Drew are just the most delightful couple and it was lovely to catch up with them after a year,sadly we didn't get to go to the pub for a glass or seven of Chardy but we will catch up again next year.
Then there was Frances and Stella, two sisters we met when we went to Wellington to watch the Lions beat StKilda in 2014. It was great to catch up with the ever lovely Kim, but we missed Sheryn and Roger and one of my cosponsors Margaret.
The cheeky Sammy Mayes took us on a tour of the facilities and he roped several of the other players, including Josh, into his patter.
Whilst we were hob nobbing the Boy Child contacted me, he needed to get his resume off my laptop and get it updated but alas, he has no computer of his own! He drove into Brisbane and waited for me to finish socialising (hence the no Chardy). It was good to see him (he is now a full time employee of ADBRI Masonry).

Thursday 19 May 2016 I drove the two hours to Toowoomba and had lunch with my bestie, Borah, at Club Glenvale.
We both had the Chicken and Asparagus Crepe. Tasty. We spent a pleasant few hours catching up before I made my way to Tuscany on Tor to stay the night. The best part of this place is the spa bath!!!!

 The Mini Brat came over later in the evening and we had a catch up chat!! It was so cool catching up with the kids, I did miss out on seeing my Grandsons and their Mum, sigh.(My supervisor was a pain about me taking the three days off, even though I gave him four weeks notice, oh well let's see how he copes in August when we go on the cruise!!).

Friday 20 May 2016 I drove to beautiful down town Oakey and spent the day with Mum.  We went shopping and then she cooked me a really yummy dinner. Mum is about the only thing I miss about Oakey.

Saturday 21 May 2016 a two and a half hour drive back to Brisbane and fly home..........
HR picked me up from the airport and it was good to get home!!!!

Tea for Me

Yes yes I know I have written about tea before but I just HAVE to rave about this new tea by Madame Flavour!!

There I was, shopping for my usual Delicate Green Tea with Jasmine and Pear when to my horror I saw that the shelf at my local supermarket was BARE!!!! OMG this is a disaster of EPIC proportions!!
How on earth am I to cope without my tea? I cast around the other shelves, poking packs aside to see if my tea was hidden perhaps and it as then I discovered the loose leaf version of my favourite tea. SAVED!!!!!I swept my eyes across the shelves one more time and it was then I saw an interesting orange looking box,' I must investigate' I thought.
I reached up to the top shelf and plucked a package and delved into my handbag for my reading glasses. Hmm another Madame Flavour tea. Tea Treats this particular selection is named, there are several others apparently.
The box that had caught my eye contains Tea Treats, orange choc ceylon Tea Treats. I thought that sounded quite exotically decadent, I simply MUST try, and so into the shopping cart with the little box of Tea Treats!!

The box remained unopened for a few days and then HR was making a cuppa and I thought hmm I should try the new tea.
Well...
Let me tell you, that tea is like drinking dessert!!!!! The subtle aromas are delightful,orange and chocolate, like those little thin wafers you have after dinner (no not the mint ones, keep up here) or the chocolate oranges you get from Terry's. The smell alone was delicious.
The taste is DIVINE!! It's like actually drinking a Terry's chocolate orange. The ceylon tea does not overpower the taste of chocolate and orange. It is a beautifully balanced infusion that actually makes me feel like I am having dessert!

Given that HR and I are on a weight loss journey this tea is the PERFECT way for me to have an indulgence without the calories!!
Thank you Madame Flavour!!

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Hubby

Previously on my blog (Middle Age Spread)...HR and I have embarked on a weight loss venture, time for some updates!!

HR may have lost more weight than me but percentage wise we are even...go figure.

HR says the shakes are getting a bit hard to take, it's almost winter and the shakes are made with ice cold water, I shudder watching him. There is absolutely NO WAY I would do those shakes, uh uh not me.
My food is really quite tasty and there's heaps of it. Sometimes I don't get through all of the snackage pieces but I do make a determined effort to eat the lunches at a regular time. I wonder though if there is a little too much bread product. I have noticed that after a few days I no longer seem to hit a wall at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
HR and I generally have a tasty evening meal (mostly to make up for his cold blandness during the day) but we have gone down the whole portion control thing.
We have also decided that we can have one 'mad' meal a week where we break the shackles and have something really yummy and not for everyday consumption.

This week we chose Saturday evening for the mad meal. Earlier in the week a friend came to visit and she mentioned a Southern Fried Chicken outlet in a neighbouring suburb, so HR, in his infinite wisdom, decided that was to be the mad meal for this week.

Kingsley's Chicken  serves excellent fried chicken with acceptable chips and a very nice gravy at a  reasonable price!!!! We got five pieces of chicken with a small chips and gravy. Very tasty!!! the chicken was moist and tender under a crisp mildly spicy skin , the chips appropriately salted and the gravy slightly peppery.
Next week we are going Chinese!!!!

Because my beloved Brisbane Lions were getting seven kinds of crap kicked out of them later that evening we shared a small block of Cadbury Snack chocolate.

HR is in for a bit of a treat this week, I am off to Brisbane to attend the Player sponsor function ( I sponsor Josh Clayton) and won't be taking my meals with me so he gets to enjoy the tasty breakfasts and lunches so they don't go to waste. I think he is really looking forward to it.

I have started doing some low impact aerobics this week so hopefully my weight drop will be a bit better than last week. Of course there will be the interruption of being away, and all that champagne I will drink at the function, but I will try to keep food choices healthy and junk to a minimum.

Anyway, more updates to come wish us luck!

Middle Age Spread

Right then, it seems HR and I might be a bit overweight; a bit pudgy,soft around the middle, showing signs of too much good living. Time to get our lard arses of the couch and out of the pig pen.

HR has chosen ' The Man Shake' for reasons best known to him. He will replace two meals a day with the shakes and have a portion controlled bad carb free dinner. Lots of water, healthy snacks and dammit 30 minutes of exercise a day!!!

I have chosen the 'Lite and Easy' breakfast and lunch option, again a portion controlled evening meal, bad carb free etc etc etc (thank you Yul Brynner "The King and I"). The Normal Autistic Brat has been using Lite and Easy for 5 months now and along with a few other shifts in eating habits (read she finally dropped the junk) she has successfully dropped 10 kilograms.Of course I need to get myself off the couch more than HR does.

HR has helped me make a start on putting together my own little workout/meditation room. I think the dual purpose is appropriate. I have real issues going to a gym/working out in public, I have no idea why. I am sure some psychology type could tell me but whatever.
HR can use the gym at work and the walking track as well as the walks we can do round our home suburb.

HR's shakes arrived in a large box complete with shaker and instructions and meal plans and this will last him three months. He has a choice of shake flavours.We have been shopping for healthy snacks for HR. The instructions suggested yoghurt or nuts so we got a selection of both for him to chose from.
My food arrived in a Styrofoam cooler, has  fridge and a freezer components and will last me a week. I get to make choices about what food I eat each day for a week but have to order every week ( there is an auto order option I may look into further down the track). I will share some of HR's snacks in the evenings if I feel the need.

We started today 7 May 16 on our journey to healthy weight, fitness and better living.
We weighed in (classified info thank you very much) and took a few vital measurements (I SAID classified ok?) We will update these every week.

HR made his first shake, chocolate, and first thing he noticed was that the consistency was that of a thick shake whereas other shakes he had experienced were more like milk shakes. He reckons that the shakes must have fiber in them as well. he had vanilla for lunch and yoghurt for his afternoon snack.

My first breakfast was a two egg omelette with ham, tomato and cheese. Mid morning snack was grapes. Lunch was a chicken wrap and mid afternoon snack was kiwi fruit and mixed nuts. So much food that was healthy and tasty and prepared in perfect portion sizes t help me achieve my weight loss goals. I like the idea of the meals being sorted for me, it's really going to be convenient just grabbing a bag of food for lunches at The Crypt.

This is going to be an interesting journey for us hope you lot come along for the ride.

It's Closing Time (on the house sale)

Those of you (you precious few) that read my blog (bless all six of you whoever you are) will recall that HR and I are in the process of selling a house.

You might recall my blog 'Patience is a Virtue' where I mentioned casually that the buyers of aforementioned house had been quite insistent that we produce signed contracts on such a date at such a time or they would rescind their not so generous offer. You might also recall I was having difficulty pressing send on the email containing the required contracts (HR pushed the button so to speak).

Subsequent blogs have mentioned that the buyers (God bless them) wanted to bring the settlement date forward and HR and I were happy with that.

Today is the day they SHOULD have settled. Well guess what? Those lovely impatient people weren't ready and asked for an extension!!!! You can imagine our response. We were NOT happy one little bit. You might say I was a bit cross actually. I may have used profanity quite liberally and creatively. However, as HR and I are REALLY bloody nice people ( and original settlement day was next Monday anyway) we acquiesced to their request.

Meanwhile the real estate agents are sending me 'rate your agent' emails. Cool I will rate my agent when the transaction is completed. Well no they think I should rate when they want me to so they send reminder emails. SERIOUSLY  you might want to wait until the damned house settles before I tell you what I really think of your agent, because believe you me if the buyers default (and that will be a whole other story) I will NOT be continuing to use you or her as an agent, let me be VERY clear on that. The agent has made it abundantly clear that they are only interested in the dollars at the end of the transaction and that they do not care about being honest in getting those dollars, nor are they about the seller in any way shape or form.

So tomorrow at 2:00 pm they will once again attempt to complete the settlement of the house.
I am not holding my breath.

Seafood Special

This is living....

HR and I trundled off to Batemans Bay today. Not an onerous journey at all. Some lovely scenery and quaint towns on the way, though the traffic behaviour left quite a bit to be desired. Yes Mr NSW Ford Territory, I am looking at you you tailgating fool!!!! HR was quite cross and was seen to apply the brakes in an effort to dissuade Mr NSW Ford Territory from getting any closer, apparently HR could not see the car's grill in his mirrors.

Batemans Bay is a very pretty place.

This is the view from the room at Mariners on the Waterfront.
Mariners on the Waterfront is perfectly positioned. Close to all the shops and eateries, has picturesque views and a hotel/restaurant attached. Perfect one would think. But alas the rooms themselves leave a bit to be desired. At $150.00 a night in coastal NSW I would expect a little more luxury than we have. On the website the rooms look lovely, frankly I have paid less for better in country NSW.

Rooms aside the food at the restaurant/hotel was really excellent for pub meals and the views from the pub's decks and balconies are pure awesomeness.

HR and I had several pre dinner drinks on the deck over looking the bay. As the daylight faded (and the level lowered on HR's beer) we made our way to the dining room.

HR availed himself of a 250gm steak with mushroom sauce (the Philistine eats it medium to well done ugh). The steak was cooked as ordered and the gravy was really quite tasty not the usual mass produced from a tin of instant one normally gets from a pub. The salad dressing was not the usual pub french dressing.
I ordered the seafood platter. A very tasty and nicely presented plate with fresh prawns, local oysters, beetroot cured salmon, salt and pepper squid, seared garlic scallops,fish in tempura, chips and salad.It was a freaking huge plate full!!!!! The salmon and the fish were the best part of this meal and the squid was cooked perfectly. I do like tempura , it's cleaner and crisper than your average batter.
The meal was so huge there was not even a hint of a thought of dessert.
A perfectly acceptable dining experience!

Back in the room and HR made me a lovely cup of Madame Flavours Delicate Green Jasmine and Pear tea ( see my blog 'Lets Talk About Tea') and we watched the last quarter of the Giants v Hawks game. A great end to a great day as the Hawks got hammered by 75 points. Last years Premiers not looking quite as good as they could (see my blog 'Up There Cazaley' for an explanation ). Of course that is yet another result that has screwed my tipping up this week. Ah well, we all know tipping is a mugs game......

Anyway the Cats are eclipsing the Suns and I have yet another cup of tea. Tomorrow we shall return to the home front and commence preparations for another fun filled week at  The Crypt!!

Settling in

Previously on my blog HR and I abandoned 18 years of history in Queensland and moved to New South Wales (NSW) (yes HR left 18 months before me but whatever) and we did the whole negotiate a price for the house whilst driving across Australia.
Several weeks have passed and we have moved into a rather nice abode (rental) and started the next phase of life.

I now work in the same building as HR but thankfully we rarely cross paths. If I thought the previous place of employment was a Mausoleum I truly had no clue, at least that place had windows!!!! I will heretofore refer to my place of employ as 'The Crypt'.
My new job has quite the story attached. The day I started a lovely young lady met me in reception and after introducing herself she advised me that she would teach me the role I was to have in this organisation (she had been dong the job temporarily and was about to return to her own organisation). For three weeks we worked closely together and I dutifully learned the ropes. But wait, there are rumours flying, it seems that the hierarchy don't want the young lady to leave, it seems the hierarchy might have a cunning plan to keep her (all well and good but where does that leave me?).
Upshot is that the hierarchy had their way and the young lady was spirited 'upstairs' with the role she was supposed to hand over to me.......  oh well I still have a job just no idea what it is (and the extra remuneration I was slated for went with the work)
The following week I front up to work and the boss calls me in and explains her vision for me. As I walk out from a very good meeting she asks me to prepare the forms for the extra remuneration (woohoo). So now I have a focus and some extra pennies and I am quite happy with it all. And yes I have applied or some other jobs but as a promotion where I am (fingers crossed)

Right so while all the above is transpiring the saga of the house sale continues.I swear the bloody real estate agent is actually working for the buyer not us. Making all the demands for the buyer and when I demure she's their advocate!!!!!!

So the house is officially under contract, the contract is unconditional and settlement is next week. The Moet is in the fridge.

But what about the cat I hear some of you ask...
Well, the poor kitteh was placed in a cattery for the first time in her life while we cleaned house, drove interstate and set up the new place. Kitteh has NEVER been away from home before and she has certainly never been on a plane before!!! HR picked her up from the airport. Our once aloof skittish kitteh is now the biggest sook ever!! She sleeps on the end of the bed, snuggles up on the couch in the evening and is even nice to us. Of course she absotively LOVES the stairs and thunders up and down them regularly.

Anyway, back to HR and me.  I haven't killed him yet.

We have a reasonable division of labour going on. I have some weekends to myself and he has some of  his weekends during the week so there is still a degree of separation. 

This weekend is one we share so we're off to the coast. The blogging will be more regular now as I will be reporting on where we go and the experiences we have.

Patience is a VIRTUE!!!!!!

I am so close to cutting my nose off to spite my face. You may ask why would one do that?Well...

Tuesday the removalists turned up and we were busily packing when the real Estate agent calls: 'Can I bring someone through today...'
Well sure but you know we're moving and the place is trashed and
'Oh that's ok. They don't mind'
So through the punters trundle and we play dodge the buyer.

Wednesday we are madly cleaning. The Real Estate agent rings: 'It ticked their boxes but I didn't get the high five moment. Will keep you up to date'

Thursday 40 minutes into a six hour drive the madness begins. 'They made an offer it's this many days and this many whatevers and the offer is...' and the phone cuts out in a black spot.
Drive madly to the next major town for coverage and get the offer which is madly below the asking price.
The next four hours of the drive are spent playing phone tag with the Real Estate agent and HR (HR is driving the Beast and I am driving my gorgeous little KIA). We finally negotiate a price and the contract is emailed to us.

We arrive at the day's destination and are hassled by the real Estate agent to get the contract signed and back to her.  Umm we have no printer/scanner they can wait till tomorrow when we get to the final destination. 'Oh well they're awfully keen' YES and I will get stuff done when I can get to the technology I need and a chance to read the bloody contract.

Friday another 6 hour drive punctuated with texts as to where we are at with the contracts!
Arrive at the final destination and call the agent and she informs us the buyer has said if we don't have the contracts to her/them by 0900 tomorrow he will rescind the offer.
GUESS WHAT SUNSHINE...GO A FUCKING HEAD!!!!
You KNEW from the start we were packing and moving and you've been told on several occasions we're driving so how about you exercise some patience!!!!!!!!

So now COB Friday has come and gone and I have the contract signed and witnessed and scanned in, attached to an email ready to send...Some one needs to make me hit send....cos I don't want too
Don't poke the bear people.....I hate being threatened!!!!!

Slowly Losing My Mind (it'll take as long as footy season...)

27 March 2016
For the last six months I (and many others) have been whinging and whining that the Footy season is over (see my Up There Cazaly Blog for more explanations about Aussie Rules).
We have suffered through the glorious long hot summer, we've watched Cricket (see my I Don't Like Cricket Blog), hated Tennis ( no one blogs about Tennis) and even got excited about the pre season challenge...some of us have even found an new job interstate and are in the process of moving.

Four days ago we watched as Carlton made a good game against Richmond, going down gallantly by nine points.
We watched in astonishment as Melbourne pipped the Giants by two points, ruining everyone's tipping. We watched the suns belt Essendon as expected, watched an engrossing game between North Melbourne and Adelaide (North won). We snickered madly waiting for Eddie shots as the filth (Collingwood) went down to the Swans (and prayed we don't cop as big a hiding tonight). The Bulldogs upset Fremantle and Port Adelaide finally triumphed over St Kilda.
Now its the Brisbane Lions versus West Coast Eagles and we are getting smashed...sigh.

I hate footy season.I hate being full of hope and confidence and then as the day gets closer I start to fret. I worry. I start making deals with God/the Universe. I think if I do this then the boys will win. It's agony.
I hate reading Twitter as the game unfolds. If I am not at the game I cannot watch us play live on the telly. I swear, a LOT, I shout and carry on, and the neighbours worry.
I 'watch' the game via the AFL site, watching the stats but not the play.
I hate seeing my boys getting their arses handed to them. I hate seeing the umpires favour the high flying teams. Some of the umpiring decisions tonight have been abysmal even allowing for my bias. As I am oft want to advise the umpires when I attend a match ...CONSISTENCY, IT ISN'T JUST FOR PUDDING!!!!!!!!!
I am hoping Leppa can get the boys up and about after half time.
The Twitter is going off that even though we are thirty nine points down we are looking a better team than we did last year.There is hope. There is ALWAYS hope.
Last year the club slogan was ' Believe Belong'. I believe in my team.
This year is 'Your team. Represent'. I LOVE my team.
Even though I won't live in Queensland anymore, I will still be a loyal Lions fan, I will still sponsor my player, Josh Clayton (number 19) and I will still be a member of the Women Of The Pride!!!!!

One day we will revisit the pinnacle of success, the Grand Final, and we WILL WIN and raise that Premiership Cup high and sing the club song loud and proud:

We are the Pride of Brisbane Town
We wear maroon, blue and gold
We will always fight for victory
Like Fitzroy and Bears of old
All for one
and one for all
We will answer to the call
Go Lions, the Brisbane Lions
We'll kick the winning score
You'll hear the mighty roar!!!!!