A Christmas Surprise

Who made this lovely treat for me?

joy o joy

Sitting in a city office undergoing psychometric tests. Yikes! Lucky the view is good.

Throwing the baby out with the storm water

Anyone who lives in an Australian city knows the pattern: when Summer hits, city parks dry up, the grass withers and water restrictions are enforced by zealous neighbours who frown over the fence as you reach for the hose. Then there's a downpour, the street floods and all that desperately needed water flushes down the drain and into the nearest creek. We've come to accept this boom-and-bust nature of water management and probably assume our water courses benefit from the sudden flows of additional water. But what if that assumption were wrong? What if water gushing out of a drain is actually damaging the rivers and creeks? This week, a storm-water industry conference in Sydney discussed the impact of free-flowing city drains. And one of the speakers argued that the only good storm water is harvested storm water. And most of it should be put back into the ground where it belongs.  http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s2527215.htm 

The video below shows how the rain runs from my balcony, down the gutters, into the drains, then into Flat Rock Gully. 

Neapolitan biscuits

These are traditional Mauritian biscuits which are Christine's favorite.

Rain

Made in Dagenham

A story about female workers fighting for equal pay has been reviewed by Margaret and David. Historical clips on equal pay are available at EOWA's YouTube site: http://lnkd.in/WGWfAd

At the Movies: Made in Dagenham abc.net.au

In 1968, female workers at the Ford Dagenham car plant walked out in protest against sexual discrimination and demanded equal pay.

Solar Powered Clothes Dryer

There's an old joke about an ad in the paper offering a solar powered clothes dryer for $5. Amazed at the price, people sent off their five dollars and eagerly anticipated their new dryer. What they received was a length of clothes line - the original clothes dryer (plagiarised from Mooselt Musings)

see the website for our apartment...

sculpture by the sea

a good resource on climate change facts

Climate Change by the Australian Academy of Science

approved!

The installation of solar panels on our apartment roof was approved today. It follows successful receipt of a council grant and a just in time application to receive the nsw government feed in tariff before the scheme was revoked at midnight last night.
The solar panels reduces our carbon footprint but more importantly is an opportunity to involve our owners as a community and to get active on working towards a sustainable future.
Regards,
Sharon

David Suzuki

I saw David Suzuki at the Opera House last night.  I'd seen him once before when he published "The Sacred Balance".  Seeing him talk is inspirational because he is able to describe climate change in common sense terms. It makes me want to change how I'm living now. It's hard. Our normal life is what seems to be the sensible thing to do and it's a bit frightening to step out to do something different.  It doesn't matter what really, or that I feel quite inequipped. But I do feel the need to try.

David Suzuki's explanation of exponentional growth

See David Suzuki on Lateline

Breakfast at Coopernook

Just 3.5 hrs out of sydney, we got here a bit before 8 and the whole pub was expecting us! 'oh, you're here, your room's made up, dinner's just cooking (we'd phoned our order ahead because we would be arriving just as the kitchen was closing) - I don't think I've ever had such a warm welcome. It's a basic pub stay, but very clean and has been absolutely enjoyable.

Wedding present

This Wedding Present for my sister is wrapped in a tablecloth.  Wrapping paper can be so wasteful, and this is pretty as well as reusable!!!

Balcony garden

Growing Baby Spinach

Yesterday's rough ride here, which took 2 hrs. It took Mum and Harry half an hour to get back there with a tail wind today.

Hamilton Is

A lazy day at Hamilton Island, windy and low tide so we're vegging the day away.

Nice morning but in for a blowy day

We are cowering in Cid Harbour after having spent Saturday night at Nara inlet. The weather has been beautifully sunny but has become windy. On a sailing boat this is not good for those prone to seasickness. Today we are heading over to Hamilton Island. As a little boy I know says: hold on, we're in for a bumpy ride! At least it isn't rainy like Sydney.

SO stressful

It's been the most stressful night. Our plumber's fantastic, helpful, knows his stuff bending over backwards to get the job done, but the NOISE. My poor neighbours up to 9 at night!

Chronicle

You'd thing I'd be able to at least jot down one key item of each day, but it's hard. Anyway, the weekend was lovely - Bernard's parents experienced the wall bed hotel again, we went to the Mauritian Jalsa Creole on Saturday night and rode the ferry at Berowra Waters.

Easter Sunday

Went to mass, had lunch then afternoon at the beach.

Books and tiles

Really enjoyed reading a Gallipoli Letters book yesterday,curled up on the couch with the pussy cat. And some success today: found tiles and likely vanity for the bathroom!

A quiet day

Some grocery shopping in Chatswood, watching a movie at home, then going out to see a French Film - and that's sunday!

Sea cliff bridge

Near Woollongong. It was a nice scenic drive after an energetic morning learning to surf.

Alice

Saw the movie today. Alice has to decide whether she continues to live the life others have planned for her, or to face the Jaberwocky and slay it. Metaphorical, it is.

Today I'm going for a bushwalk. A ten minute bike ride from home, I am following flat rock gully down towards the harbour. I can't believe it's taken me 10 years to find these spots! What's happened?? Too much participation in the rat race, I think.

Whipbird

Walking along Lane Cove River, this is the sound you hear!

The Giant Lillies of Mauritius

you know you've been to Mauritius when...

1. We've swum at several beaches, including at Ile aux Cerf (Island of Deer)
2. We've followed the signs to "The North" and "The South": this lead to some beautiful drives along the coast, particularly along the south coast.
3. We've experienced serious weather.  Not cyclones (yet: but there's one brewing) but definitely the seasonal torrential rain; the heat - so hot that the locals are complaining bitterly.
4. We've met most of the "bebetes" (local beasties); mossies, cockroaches, a wide variety of flying bugs.  In addition there's lots of frogs and we even saw a family of porcupines. So cute!
5. We've eaten most of the local delicacies and many of them fortunately, cooked by our hosts: dholl purri, brede (greens), napolitan biscuits, a beautiful briyani cooked by one of the relatives; vindaye curry, rougai, chicken curry, faratas, gateau coco.
6. We went to the key tourist spots: saw the Blue Penny Museum which houses the worlds most rare and I think expensive stamps and also contains pictures, books and stories and statues of Paul et Virginie - the most famous Maurician folktake; L'Adventure du Sucre (Adventure of Sugar); Pamplemousses with the giant lily pads.
pics to follow on Friday

You know you're in Mauritius when...

Although we had the plan to go to Mauritius for several months, it wasn't until the Airsteward checking my boarding pass said "Bonjour" that it hit me that we were going somewhere new overseas. Because we arrived late at night, it wasn't until the morning that we felt that we were here.

You know you're in Mauritius when you see the volcanic remains as mountains, the cane fields in the foreground, when you are not sure weather the moisture on your skin is from the rain or from your sweat, and the sea water is like a bath.  I could almost be in Mackay (especially being on the same latitude) but the mountains are distinctive in their shape.  Then the cultural landscape colours in the rest of the picture when you hear the sing-song voices of the children speaking french, and the influence of the Indian population in the food and also in the Maha Shivratree festival where we've been watching the pilgrims walk to their destination.

Ile Maurice!

Ah, Mauritius! After twelve years of hearing about its tropical beauty and tasty treats, I have finally eaten a true Dhal Puri. And yes, it really is as light, flaky and tasty as I've been led to believe.

More sightseeing today!!