Adventure, baby!

Month: May 2008

RSPCA Million Paws Walk

/ Animals, Sydney Life / 2 Comments

Today was the annual Million paws Walk at Olympic park, Homebush. Kahlua had an ear infection, so it was only Buffers this year who we took on the walk. I spend a lot of time reading about and trying to help with the injustices done to animals, so this is really one of the few days of the year that reminds me of how many people really love their animals, and it gives me hope for the future.

The start! Many many people and puppies.


Katia’s husband Ross and their lovely Irish setter Raf.


Sally-Ann and Michael walk their beautiful beagles Sammy and Leo.


Little Buff was overwhelmed by so many people and huge dogs. She did most of the walk on her own little legs but needed to be carried when she was worried about being trodden on in tight quarters.




This doggie had booties and saddle bags.


Family portrait.


Cuddles from dad.


Fluffy!!


Chilling out in the sun. Such a beautiful day!

Photography Lighting Class – Still Life

/ Sydney Life / 1 Comment

I have enrolled in a photography class with the Australian Centre of Photography – Lighting 1. I was a bit worried that I would be really behind in terms of technical knowledge as apart from the basics I am self-taught, but I did my first practical class tonight and I loved it.

We shot wine glasses in a studio using a tungsten light source – from an old projector. The shadows were fabulous. We added water and food colouring to get the beautiful colours.





Mother’s Day

/ Family, Sydney Food / 0 comment

I love my mum a lot. She’s pretty awesome, so I was looking forward to spending the day with her and my dad.

We decided to go for a drive down to the Southern Highlands, to a few places we used to drive to frequently when I was young.

We had lunch at our first stop, Bowrel at The Grand Bar and Brasserie. The old hotel had a great vegetarian menu so it was perfect for me, as well as having lots of old favourites like fish and chips for my dad.

The damper garlic bread was divine.


My vege tasting plate – with broccoli tempura, honey carrots, sweet potato chips, asparagus and beans.


Mum’s vege omelette with tomato salsa.


Dad’s fish and chips.


The area had a lot of beautiful autumn trees. The colours were amazing!


Nina’s chocolate shop – lots of sweets from all over the world as well as these handmade chocolates – made in Sydney, and really delicious.


This was a really quirky antiques store.




After Bowrel we drove to Berrima which is about 15 mins away. Berrima is a bit more touristy than Bowrel but also has more galleries and cafes. I do love Bowrel though as it has amazing tulips in October every year.

We went to some markets at the public school in Berrima an came away with homemade food and second-hand books. Awesome bargains.


Afternoon tea in the Southern Highlands is always Devonshire tea. The alpaca centre has a great little cafe in it that looks quite plain from the outside but is really cosy on the inside. It also has really lovely scones.


Mmmmm!


With Mum.


Tasty caramel slice from the markets.


Yummu chocolates.


The Chaser Age of Terror Variety Hour

/ Sydney Life / 0 comment

I’ve long been a fan of the Chaser boys. I also find them to be quite hit and miss – so funny when they’re right on the mark, and groaningly bad when they do (and especially sing) things that I just think are in bad bad taste.

The Chaser live show, at the Enmore Theatre, is pretty similar in all aspects to the TV show – except there is way, way more singing. Can the boys sing? Um, no they can’t. Does it stop them? Of course it doesn’t!

The show included jokes about Heath Ledger (sorry, not ready for that yet – I’m still in mourning for Heath), Scientology and Tom Cruise (jokes like this NEVER get old), Kevin Rudd and many other prominent Australians. It also wouldn’t be the Chaser show without some George W. Bush bashing. Also always a pleasure.

The show only went for just over an hour, but it was high energy and completely entertaining. My favourite section was on internet dating, where the team created fake profiles of different kinds of girls to see if it was possible to find true love on the internet. Reading the real-life responses to these over-the-top profiles was insanely funny.

Hunter Valley Offsite

/ NSW, Travel / 1 Comment

Occasionally I get sent to cool places like the Sebel Kirkton Park Hotel in the Hunter Valley for an offsite.

The hotel was stunning, set in beautiful rollings hills. The property had a few dams and I saw some kangaroos hopping in the distance.

This is the room I shared with Katia. Another thing about offsites – they’re kind of like having a sleepover in high school again. I always get great roommates so it’s a lot of fun.


Bird of paradise flowers.


Where are our rooms?


Pretty balcony view.



Close-up of roses.


Piece of wood I smashed into three pieces using the palm of my hand. Yeah!


Me and Katia with Olympic gold medal winner Lauren Burns, who gave us a bit of a martial arts lesson.


Sun setting.




All prettied up at the Casino Royal-themed dinner.



Even under duress, I won’t give up my lip gloss.


Retribution is swift.



View from my window the next morning.



Going for a walk around the property with Katia and Shaden.





I also stopped at a winery on the way home and stocked up on some red, white and dessert wine. Does an offsite get much better than this?!

Iron Man and Mr Wong’s Kitchen

/ Sydney Food, Sydney Life / 0 comment

I love a good action movie, particularly when it is based on a Marvel superhero. I had never heard of Iron Man before, but after hearing some early rave reviews I was more than keen to see the movie.

Robert Downey Jr stars in the main role of Tony Stark, a brilliant rich play boy who uses his amazing mind to create weapons for the USA to use for “homeland security” if you get my drift. He is captured by a group of terrorists who want him to build weapons for them. Stark builds a robot to escape instead, and is motivated by the experience to turn his life around and save people rather than building weapons.

I just realised writing this how bad the plot sounds, but I really enjoyed the movie. I found it exciting, smart and funny. Robert Downey Jr is an actor who has shown a lot of talent over the years – when he hasn’t been on drugs or in rehab. It’s a shame that he’s been so screwed up as this movie shows what a great actor he really is.


After the movie we went to Mr Wong’s Kitchen. I absolutely love this place and its cheap delicious food.

Tonight however the service was really slow and the spring rolls weren’t fabulous. The vege fried rice and mixed veges were delicious however, so the meal was redeemed and I will be back for more.