First BBQ of the Summer

Linda's Kitchen Tea & Hen's Night

Mare and Marie organised a fun day at Linda's place. Lots of homemade food: chicken wings, fried wontons, panfried wontons, pastry puffs and fried rice as well as lots of cakes and desserts.



Lots of games to be played, including Design a bridal gown out of toilet paper, Name that product in my shopping bag, What kind of tea is that? and Do you know your kitchen ingredients?
A makeup session for 4 lucky girls was organised. The 4 girls being, Janet, Christine, Mandi and Silvia.


After most of the older ladies had disappeared, the adult entertainment arrived at 7pm under the guise of "limo driver". Linda was not expecting this at all. Not a stripper, but a Puppetry of the Penis performer. So what can you do with your penis? Make a parachute, a pelican, a submarine, put a champagne ring around it and ride like the greyhounds, make a hamburger, or KFC chicken skin. Didn't realise there were so many things one could do with it.


After the adult entertainment, our real limo drivers arrived to chauffeur us to Mancini's at Belfield. A pizza, pasta place for dinner. So much food, we had to takeaway. Anyway...Linda and some of the younger girls partied on after..taking it to the town and ending up at the Verandah Bar, where Nathan had just finished his set and shouted them to some drinks.

Christmas Day & Boxing Day 2008

Christmas Day was spent at the Simon's, Carl, Joy, Matthew and Renee were playing host this year.

We had a BBQ lunch, where we supplied the Caesar Salad. There was potato noodles, fried rice, bbq chicken wings, ham, and so much more that I forget. After which they held Kris Kringle, not around the tree but outside where it was cooler. The some of the kids took off to the beach, while some of us played scrabble and gossiped.

On Boxing Day, the Seetos came over and we had a belated Christmas, opening presents and more eating.

High School Musical

As an early Christmas present, I took Kaylene to see High School Musical the Musical at the Capitol Theatre. We caught the train out to Central and walked to the theatre to pick up our tickets which I had booked online. It didn't start till 3.30pm, so we went for a walk to Market City to take a look at the shops, especially Smiggles, and also had a look in Supre...where I bought a T-shirk (bright pink K) for Kaylene. We then walked back to the theatre to take our seats before the show started which was promptly at 3.30pm. Lots of kids with parents...the theatre was packed.

No photos allowed in the theatre..not even when there was no show, but we managed to sneak this one.

Alice found a very small cake, on which the words `EAT ME' were beautifully marked in currants...

Dear friends

To celebrate all things wonderful and sweet, I hereby invite you to join Steve and I on our dessert adventure on Sunday 14th December 2008 at a secret location (details to be disclosed closer to the date).

The only catch:- it will be in on the morning of the 14th as these sweet delights sell out quickly to other Alices and Wonderland friends...

Hopefully the foggy eyes and 'sweets in the morning?!' exclamation will not deter you as we would love to share our indulgence in some little sugary treats with you. For those worried about the waistline - fear not, tis the holiday season to be enjoyed and our weekly tennis romp will keep you fit; for those worried about the bottom line - these morsels plus a drink should not exceed $20 at the most...

Please RSVP by COB Monday 8 December 2008 so I can make a booking. Unfortunately numbers are limited to 10, so get in quick!

This was the invitation that Marisa sent out to a select few. Not knowing where we were going until the last minute..we ended up at Adriano Zumbo's pastisserie and Cafe. Steve and Marisa swung by to give me a lift. We met up with Mandi and Dan and Julie and Bevan at the cake shop where we bought our goodies to share and went to the Cafe to eat our desserts with coffee, tea, hot chocolate and frappes.

Picannini Tennis Ministry of Food Xmas 08

Quan suggested we do a Ministry of Food. If you haven't heard of it by now, it is based on Jamie Oliver's show Jamie's Ministry of Food. Which is all about a new food movement, called Pass It On http://www.jamieoliver.com/jamies-ministry-of-food

Based on this concept, all you need to do is come along with your basic ingredients and show us how to make your quick and simple dish which we can then all sample.

So I kindly donated our place at 36 Swan Avenue, Strathfield, to host this get together.

The following attended and this is what they made:

Quan & Wendy: Viet pork mince Quan Style

Marisa & Steve: Chicken Pie - casserole style/Moomba Cup Cakes

Megan: Sweet Chicken Corn Soup (+ will provide rice to go with all dishes)

Linda & Tones: Char Siu Gnar Choy Hokkien Noodles

Roy & Diana: Tomato and Tofu
Jessica: Stir Fried Vegetarian Noodles
Casey & Shirley: Microwaved Silken Tofu with thousand year old egg

It was all very yummy...but because we all had to take turns cooking the afternoon stretched and there wasn't time to play pass the parcel...so we got to play that at Tennis on Monday night.

My Poor Car!!!

Today was wet and rainy and we'd already told Justin to be very careful. He was on his way into the city with his friend Arnold..to attend a concert. He never made it. Instead he somehow managed to rear end a lady driving a Lexus. This is what my poor car looked liked when they towed it home prior to towing it to the junkyard.

Burwood Library Christmas Luncheon

We had our work xmas luncheon out at Mimmo's Place, Five Dock, an Italian Cafe/Restaurant. For $45 we had a set menu of Garlic bread, Salad, Pizza and Pasta as well as a mains. Seated out the back...the day was hot and sticky, but managed to cool down a little when a passing shower/storm came and went.

Paul & Trudie's Housewarming

Peoples

You are cordially (fave word) invited to our HOUSEWARMING PARTY ACCA HIGH SCHOOL REUNION

Time and Place: Saturday 6th December. From 3.30pm onwards (so little kiddies can make it) till whenever.

Bring your own alcohol and nappies.

Theme: Retro ACCA. You must wear your least fashionable piece of ACCA gear. The worse the better. An effigy will be burned in tribute to the winner of the worst piece of clothing. The prize will be its ashes.

Sausage Sandwiches, Soft Drinks and Salad to be provided. Guaranteed to be as tasty as the hotdogs from Bunnings or Ikea.

If you want any special meat such as Kangaroo, Ox Tongue or any sort of foreign penis delicacy please BYO.

Address is: 13 Napoleon Street, Rozelle. Parking aint too bad with a stroke of luck. Car pool if you can then you can not watch what you drink.

Hope to see ya there. Paul

Tony and Linda were kind enough to give Steve, Marisa and myself a lift to Paul & Trudi's housewarming. Evan and Ken couldn't go as their Grandma had passed away and they were in mourning.
Who was there: Paul, Trudi, Maria (baby Tiago) + hubby, Casey, Shirley (baby Matty), Nick, Chris, Jim, Linda, Tony, Steve, Marisa, Mandi, Dan, Donkey (Dan) & Kim (baby Karina).
Everyone dragged out whatever ACCA gear they could find. Even Matty was dressed in an ACCA race top.
Only a few of us stayed for dinner, the rest left before Paul had cooked the last kebab.

Mare organised a trip to Young for cherry picking. We (Marion, Lyndsey, Janet and Megan) left Strathfield around 7.20am. Driving through showers, sunshine and windy weather, we got to Yass for a pitstop and breakie at Maccas. Before we could set off again, a sudden shower of small hail came spitting down. Not a good sign. Also the jackets and beanies came out...winter had hit us..didn't think it would be this cold..should have packed my snow jacket.

We got to Wombat Heights by 11.30am..and spent one and half hours picking cherries...one for the bucket..one in the mouth...one in the bucket..etc. The weather was against us...more hail showers and windy weather made picking a challenge, but we prevailed.

At $7 a kilo..we eached picked over 5 kgs each...at least a bucket full. We left around 1.30pm..making our way back with another stop at Yass KFC for a late lunch..hmm wicked wings...we'd built up an appetite picking those cherries. We got back to Strathfield around 6.00pm.

High Tea

Vanita organised a High Tea at the Stamford in North Ryde for some of us to attend. At $16pp..it was very reasonable.

Who attended: Ken, Ivan, Steve, Marisa, Vanita and myself.
What was on offer: Devonshire scones, Petit fours (small cakes) and salmon, ham sandwiches...with accompanying choices of tea or coffee.

Wendy's CCIA Big Yum Cha

Wendy invited us to a fund raising yum cha on Sunday 26 Oct at 11am. Linda and Tones offered to give me a lift, so I took them up on the offer, and we drove in. Tones parked in Wilson Parking $10/day and we walked up Sussex St to Market City and the China Grand (Previously Kam Fook) Level 3 9 Hay St, Market City, Chinatown.

The fixed menu is as follows for $18/person and is 1 item or serving per person:

1 Fried spring roll
2 BBQ pork and BBQ roast duck
3 Steamed dim sim
4 Steamed prawn dumpling
5 Steamed BBQ pork bun
6 Steamed vegetable with oyster sauce
7 Fried noodle with soy sauce
8 Fried spicy squid
9 Fried rice

10 Egg tart

11 Chinese tea

No photos taken as the photographer, Evan did not attend. But in attendance was:
Linda, Tony, Jim, Lilly, Marisa, Steve, Chris, Eliza, Briella, Casey, Shirley, Matty, Paul, Trudy, Mark H, Julie, Bevan, besides another 33 or so guests..5 tables in total.

Pink Night In

Jane and Veronica held a Pink Night in for ladies only to raise funds for Breast Cancer. Teresa picked up Mar Mar and came over to our place, before all the girls dressed in pink piled into the blue bus and took off for Jane's place. Dinner was $15 for adults, $10 for Teens, and raffles were sold $5 for 3 tickets. Also $3 nail polish and manicure sets..donated by a friend of Janes were available for purchase. Guess who owns the bra managed to raise a few more $$$...only Jane was daring enough to show off her boobs and bra. Finger food was served..with curry puffs, chicken wings, party pies, mini quiches, egg rolls, cupcakes and marshmallow teacups. Only Janet managed to win with 2 of her raffle tickets, a crocheted bag and a box of Wendy's sorbet icecream. Megan, Lily and Teresa had no luck in the raffle draw, with most of the prizes being won by a friend of Mary's.

Dragon's Abreast Challenge

I had arranged to visit baby Matty, Casey & Shirl, but they cancelled, so with a free day, I decided to tag along with Evan to the Darling Harbour DA dragonboat challenge. Had Maccas for breakfast and then watched a few of the races with Evan taking pics. Tony was racing for Unilever..as a pink apache. Missed his first race but managed to catch his second race. After watching for a while, I decided to go for a walk and visit the shops at Darling Harbour...window shopping...saw some nice stuff but only bought 2 tops at Cotton On. Went back to watch the races again and see the Roses on the Water salute to women who've died through breast cancer. Saw the hospital challenge, and was on the lookout for Jane, who was out last year as cheer squad. This year, we spotted her in the boat for Fairfield Hospital..rowing her heart out.
The races finished around 2.30pm and we walked to QVB for malaysian laksa and ipoh hor fun..late lunch..before heading home on the train.

Spring Cleaning

Saturday and I don't have to work, so it's time to do a bit of spring cleaning and wash the windows. Janet has to move all the roses away from the windows.

Lily's 50th Birthday Surprise

Mark wanted to organise a surprise birthday for Lily, so he roped Janet and I in to help organise the invites and sort out everything else, while he took Lily overseas on their annual holidays.

Also while the Seeto's were in US and HK, he got us to message them to buy a present for Lily..stipulating that it be a diamond costing HK$???? .

Where: Bankstown RSL Star Buffet.
When: Saturday 11 October at 7.30pm
How many guests?: at least 50 people

So how to get Lily to the venue, without her catching on...after much thought and discussion, Missy came up with the idea. Since Ken was graduating on the Friday, why not issue an invite to his graduation dinner, so Ken worked on an invite and sent it out to the Tsui's and Chan's. This put paid to Mark getting to the venue early...since Lily knew he didn't work on Saturday night.

Lucky, for the rest, I managed to convince her that I had a Stamping workshop that afternoon and then I would meet up with them at the restaurant.

So Saturday came around...and we had all managed to avoid letting the cat out of the bag. She probably had an inkling..but Lily being Lily...she wasn't too worried about anything..just that we were going out to dinner for Ken's graduation. Justin's plans of catching the train to Daniela's fell through and he asked his mum to drop him off...since I needed the car, there was no way else for him to get to Daniela's, so mum came to the rescue. Janet and Kaylene went with her, so they could go shopping after. While they were out, I went shopping for last minute supplies (the candles) and then popped over to the Seeto's to wait out the day. Also went to pick up Fiona at 3.30pm and then to pick up the balloon bouquets I had preordered. Then to pick up the cake, which Aunty Cath had preordered for us.

We left for the RSL around 6.45pm..got their around 7.15pm and most of the guests were already there waiting in the front foyer. I had to organise with the staff to get all of us in and seated. They apparently had not reserved enough tables and we had to wait for them to clear out patrons and make another table for us.

Janet smsed me when they were in the parking lot...everyone was all seated and ready to surprise her. Ken went out to meet them and explain that I had already settled paying for them, so they could just come through without lining up and paying. When she did come in and looked at the table, she could only wonder why Mitchell was sitting at the table with Nathan and Justin...SURPRISE...the whole Chan clan screamed out..and you could hear a pin drop...everyone looked our way..but Lily says she didn't hear it. She didn't have her glasses on and couldn't see everyone else...only as she got closer did she see and then I asked her to sit with her friends and she was really surprised to see her work friends also there.

Everyone ate as much as they could..seafood, sushi, fried foods, salads, chinese food, roasts, soups..you name it they had it. Everyone was too full to have the cake, so we invited everyone back to Strathfield for tea/coffee and cake.

Preparations for Lily's 50th

While Lily and Mark are on holidays, I have been very busy making thank you gifts as well as making a scrapbook album of Lily's photos...I only have 2 weeks to do this and finding photos of Lily is pretty hard.

Girl's Get Together

Jacq was in town and had arranged to meet us at Papa's at Haberfield on Saturday afternoon. Shirley turned up as a surprise..have chatted to Suzy, who couldn't make it, and what a nice surprise it was..although she had told me earlier, just in case. Sam had news of her own, which everyone was already aware of, but she is expecting her first child and having Shirl on hand to tell her of her experiences was for the best.

Yvette has a baby boy

Yvette had her baby boy today - Charlie Gus Kellehear, weight: 3.270kg

Congratulations Vetty & Jamie

Darren's Presentation

Tonight we went out to Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL for Darren's presentation night. Lily and Mark are away in Thailand/KL, so Janet and I are substituting.

We are so proud of Darren. Besides being in the SRC, he received 3 awards for Firsts in Maths, Physics and Economics.

We also finally got to see some of his "friends" which he always says he has none.

Justin's 19th Birthday

Today we had the local council elections as well as Justin's Birthday dinner. We also had problems with the hot water system, where we had no hot water at all...only freezing cold water..so no showers for any of us.

Dinner for Justin was at Hurstville RSL. Came back for cake and ice cream, but Justin took so long to come down, we couldn't wait any longer so had the ice cream and cake without him. I had made a cake, but again it didn't rise.

Ed & Jen pay a visit

Vanita hosted a get together to welcome back Ed & Jen. They came back to attend Jen's sister's wedding and catch up with friends.

I made curry samosa's, while Vanita's parents had a spread of Nasi Lemak, Casey, Shirley & Matty bought KFC, Quan made Viet Pork, others who attended were Chris, Eliza & Briella, and Nick & Kelly (pregnant, due in 23 Nov)

Vanita's brother, Ivan brought out his puppet to scare the kids and entertain the adults.

Lots of eating, watching the Olympics, and catching up with the goss.

Briella's First Birthday

Chris and Eliza went all out for their little girl's first birthday. The theme was Butterflies and Fairies, but not many got into the spirit. Ken wore a tiara and had tinkerbell earrings. Evan and I had fairy wings on. Another little girl got into the spirit and wore a costume, but that was it.

Lots of food, fried wontons, pasta, salads, and a catered for baked dinner with pork crackling, that was to die for.

The Birthday Girl was so cute, and not shy, don't know what she thought of all the fuss, but the flash of cameras, and the crowds of family photographers, you'd think she was Paris Hilton.

After cutting the cake and seeing off most of the guests, we settled in to see her parents open her presents. Lots of toys and clothes, she is one spoilt little girl.

Seeto's Farewell Dinner

Friday 15 August.

I get another surprise at work. Seems having completed the State Library's Learning 2.0 progam, I got put into a draw to win a prize. They sent it to my Library Manager, Philip Edney, and he came up to my desk with envelope in hand asking me to guess what he had for me. I guessed it straight off. Woohoo...I got an Samsung MP3 player.



This was also the night we went out to dinner with the Seetos at Hurstville RSL. Lily, Mark, Darren, Kaylene, Janet and I joined U. David, A. Cath, Evan and Ken. Had Chinese meal..then went back to their place for packet cheesecake and tea.

Gave A. Cath her belated birthday gift...puzzle book and travel set (mini plastic bottles).

8/08/2008

Today is the Opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics..it is also the day I receive a Values Award for "Demonstrating Leadership", and a $200 Westfield Voucher. A very lucky day for me indeed. The award was such a surprise, no one had told me, so I was left open mouthed, shaking the hands of the General Manager Pat Romano.

New desk, new position

I've got the flu, and I'm off work, having arranged for the day off to be at home for the delivery of my new desk from Bowermans. They arrive in the morning, two men and proceed to assemble my desk in front of my eyes. I probably could have assembled it, having assembled all my other Ikea furniture, but, it feels good to let someone else do it.

They position it into the corner and I'm left to admire it. I start to move my stuff onto, then decide to take photos first then, move and take more photos, so I can scrap it.

I decide to go to Ikea to buy some small filing cabinets to put my bits and pieces in. I end up buying 3 of them, as well as some more photo boxes.

Spend the rest of the day assembling the filing cabinets.

Looks good, but still not much room, Lily's mound of materials and wool are still a problem.

Hail/slush in Strathfield

Sunday afternoon and the black clouds rolled in and the slush came down. What we thought was hail turned out to be slushy ice. The garden was covered in ice and Dareen had a field day making ice balls.

World Youth Day

The Pope visited and the world celebrated World Youth Day in Sydney this week.

Beginning on Friday 11 July, Lily's work friend JJ asked for help in cooking a dinner for the Sisters of Life, so taking the afternoon off, Lily and friends, JJ, Linda & Elizabeth went shopping and bought home a lot of food to prepare and make. I ended up pitching in, helping make the salad and cooking fried rice with Lily. Linda fried her home made tuna/corn cakes and Janet helped baked the many boxes of fried fish. Once all the food was made, they transported it to Five Dock where the Sisters were staying and had dinner with the Sisters. Because Nathan needed someone to drop him off at the airport (he was off the Melbourne to DJ) I ended up not going, but the rest of the family went.

Darren was an active participant, while the rest of us tried to soak in the atmosphere and helped where we could. He went out on Thursday, but had a rest on Friday, before going out again on Saturday to sleep the night at Randwick and attend the mass on Sunday.

Thursday: the Pope was out and about and so was Kaylene, Lily, Janet and Evan. They went out to try and catch a glimpse of the Pope, which they did both on the harbour and at the Art Gallery when he zoomed past in his Popemobile. They also managed to meet up with Marion and Aunty Joy.

Friday: Kaylene, Lily, Janet and Evan went out again to see the Stations of the Cross and follow the pilgrims around Sydney.

Saturday: After finishing work, I came home to find that Kaylene and Evan were heading out again to walk across the harbour bridge. A quick lunch of chips and we headed out. When we arrived at Milson's Point, announcements were being made that the bridge was closed to pedestrian traffic, so we didn't make it in time. So we made a detour and visited Luna Park instead. We then made our way up to the pedestrian walkway and made our way across the bridge the normal way. Most of the pilgrims had already gone and only a handful were making there way across. Kaylene and I were 2 lost pilgrims.

We made our way to The Rocks and then up to Observatory Hill and then down to Barangaroo, but that also was closed and barricades were being dismantled, so we walked to Darling Harbour. The souvenir tents were closed and my feet was starting to hurt, so I wasn't in the mood to walk to Hyde Park. Kaylene was also complaining, so we made our way to Town Hall, and stopped at QVB food court for a spot of Malaysian Laksa, Hor Fun and bubble tea before heading home.

Redecorating the front room

Photos show what the front room looked like before I went shopping @ Ikea and bought 4 Billy bookcases with glass doors and a half Expedit book shelf. We had boxes of old photo albums, the fooze ball table and an old entertainment unit which was not very useful. I spent an entire week beforehand drawing up plans and working out how I was going to reorganise and put everything.

I then took a week off work from the 7- 11/7/08 to go shopping and build the bookcases and move everything. Kaylene was on her first week of school holidays, so I got her to help me when I needed to shift heavier stuff, but otherwise I moved most of it myself. I also ordered a new desk for myself and I'm still waiting on delivery, but in the meantime I'm using the desk which will eventually be used for the sewing machine and Lily's stuff.


Now all our photo albums are in the Billy bookshelves and I have a scrap corner, which will eventually feel like home, not quite there yet.

Tennis EOSD @ Botoli

Ginger Mud Crab with Long Life Noodle

Instead of a game of tennis, we celebrated our end of season dinner with a feast at Botoli's at Burwood. They seated us upstairs at 2 tables...considering we were the only ones upstairs, it was like a private room.

On the menu:

• Viet skewered pork with rice paper
• Ginger/Shallot crab with long life noodle
• Deep fried quail
• Spare rib peking style
• Deep fried stuffed tofu
• Stir fried french beans with minced pork
• Combination seafood tofu hot pot
• Prawns with snow peas
• Braised chicken with lemon grass & chilli
• Braised beef with vegetables

Plantar Fasciitis or Heel Pain

I've had pain in the heels for a couple of weeks and it's been getting more and more painful, every morning when I wake up, I have a very painful left foot, so this week I decided enough was enough and went to see a podiatrist, Dr Dan at Burwood Foot Clinic in the Burwood Plaza. Apparently I have plantar fasciitis and was told I had to get myself to Athletes Foot to buy better footwear for walking and for playing tennis. Anyway, Dr Dan taped my foot up and told me to leave the tape on for 4 days (hmm...I'm going to have a very smelly foot), do a few stretching exercises, morning, noon and night and I'll have to see him again in 3 weeks time.

So I took myself to Westfields Athletes Foot, got served by Tara, who was pretty good in fitting me out and spent over $500 on 3 pairs of shoes, two for walking and one cross-trainer.

Hopefully my pain will go away.

Redecorating and Meeting Roy's New Girlfriend

Saturday, 21 June

Shirley invited Evan and I over for lunch to join, Roy and Diana. Roy was buying Viet takeout from Flemmo. As I had the morning off and didn't have to work after all, Evan, Ken and I drove to Ikea, Rhodes for the $2 breakfast and for me to buy a few bookcases. I'm trying to clean up the front room and organise all the photo albums and craft stuff, and the first step is to get some Billy bookcases. Apparently they were out of stock of the glass doors I wanted, so could only buy one pair. After Ikea, Ken cycled back to Strathfield, while Evan and I continued on to Shirley and Casey's.

Matty was wide awake and in a playful mood, while Shirley had just got back from work, and Casey was in the shower after having a nice sleep in with Matty. I got to play with Matty as Evan went about playing with his new toys, flash here, beep there...Matty is a star, a mini male model.

Roy was running late, and we were starving, so by the time he arrived with the food and his new girlfriend, we were more interested in the food, than in the girlfriend. Casey gave her the third degree over lunch and then we settled into the bean game. After Roy and Diana left, we played a few rounds of the Trip around Europe, to satisfy Casey's hunger for game play.

Scrabble Champ

On our second night in Melbourne, we played scrabble and I managed to score over 200 points beating both Mare and Richard. So when we had time to spare on Sunday afternoon, we had a rematch. Unfortunately, I didn't fare so well this time, coming last to Richard and Marion.

After our game, I decided to work on a title for my scrapbook page, and the last photo in the collage is what we came up with.

Williamstown

Williamstown is only a short drive away from Point Cook. It's very touristy and reminds me of Port Macquarie or Nelson's Bay.

After eating our fish and chips, we walked down to Gem Pier, and Jacq showed us the hotel she and Richard stayed in when they first came to Melbourne. The war ship HMAS Castlemaine is a tourist attraction, and apparently you can catch sightseeing ferries from the pier. Something to do next time I visit.

The Best Fish n' Chips in Town

For $24, $6 pp, we had 2 boxes of calamari and chips and 1 box of fish pieces and chips. Top of the Bay was recommended to Jacq by a Japanese work friend, and it was a very good recommendation. The fish and calamari were very fresh and the batter was so light it was like eating tempura. The chips were also yummy, but whether it was because we had worked up an appetite or because they were the best fish n' chips we'll never know.

Cheetham Wetlands Tower

Point Cook Coastal Park features abundant birdlife, a historic bluestone homestead, intertidal sand banks and a Marine Reserve. Located 20 km southwest of Melbourne, it is a popular destination for birdwatchers, nature lovers and family groups.

Access to “The Tower” is via the car park immediately north of the homestead and walking a gravel track through native grasslands. The track is 1.5 kilometres each way.

Richard was more interested in the creek and what was in it: brine shrimps.

Didn't see many birds, except some crows.

Point Cook Homestead

Built in 1857, the homestead was home to the Chirnside Family prior to construction of the Werribee Park Mansion.
Today the Homestead with its panoramic views out onto the bay is open to visitors and is a delightful spot for a picnic, sit down for lunch or a function in the fully licensed café/restaurant.
We spotted a very colourful peacock and peahen when we got there, but by the time we came back to the bird pen, they had disappeared.

Jacq's Viet Pork Chops ala Quan Style

Viet Pork Chops following Quans recipe

Marinate pork chops with chopped lemon grass, chopped garlic (2) and fish sauce before pan frying.

Dipping sauce:

Ground garlic cloves (5), chilli (2 small) and sugar (2 cups?) in a mortar with pestle.

Transfer ground ingredients to bowl and add fish sauce and vinegar to taste.

Serve with sliced cucumber, tomato and mixed vegies.

Luna Park, St Kilda

Marion and I were so busy taking photos of each other, we didn't even see Jacq and Rich walk into the park. Apparently it's like the one in Sydney, don't have to pay to go in, just have to pay to go on the rides. We just went on the free tram trolley to take photos and on the way out spotted the moon, so posed for some pics on it, very uncomfortable, but it seems I made it look easy, cause Mare had a hard time posing on it.

Highly Overpriced Cake

So many cakes to choose from, I ended up buying a Chocolate Pyramid slice and a hot chocolate for $9. A bit steep for cake and hot chocolate, but I guess it's where the tourists go.

There are many cake shops to choose from, all of them are crowded with people. Not good for the hips or the hip pocket.

Didn't even spot any stars either.

Shopping on Chapel Street

Although I didn't buy anything in this particular shop, it reflected most of the shops we walked into. Sales everywhere, but most of the large sizes had been bought already, leaving all the xsmalls and smalls...which I am never ever going to fit into again.

I did however buy a nice pair of black suede boots from Steve Madden for $85, it was 50% off.

Prahran Markets

Lunch time and we head to the Prahran Markets, 163 Commercial Road, South Yarra. After finding a parking spot down a narrow laneway, we go in search of a Japanese Fish shop. It's drizzling and I'e left my umbrella packed in my bag. Marion and I get sidetracked by a bead shop, so Jacq & Rich go ahead to check out the fish shop, but come back disappointed, it's small and not what Jacq expected.



Our stomaches are grumbling and we head towards the markets in search of food, but we stop at a shopping centre to use the public facilities, they have a food court there, but nothing looks appetising, so we head to the markets.

I end up buying a gourmet chicken and mushroom pie, Jacq & Rich settle for a bag of freshly made falafels and dim sum and Marion orders a pasta dish.

As we walk through the markets we taste test the sausages on offer. Jacq and Rich do some fruit and vegie shopping, while Marion and I make our way to Chapel Street to do some shopping. We get sidetracked again, by a Japanese grocery store, which has many nick nacks.

Brighton Bathing Boxes

Marion really wanted to find these colourful "beach huts" which she had seen on the cover of a Lonely Planet Melbourne book. In the book, it didn't say where you could find these huts, but we kind of knew they were around St Kilda or Brighton Beach, but where ??? who knew. Richard drove us following the Mare's GPS till we got to Middle Brighton Beach. Taking the coastal road, we kept our eyes peeled looking for any signs of colour, but not a hut to be seen. We drove as far as Black Rock, but still no sign of any huts. Jacq even resorted to ringing information to see whether they could tell us where to find these huts. The only information they could give us was Beach Road, Brighton. So we turned around and drove back to Brighton. Along The Esplanade, I spotted some colour as we rounded a bend, and we finally found them on Middle Brighton Beach.



The 82 Brighton bathing boxes are unique because of their uniform scale and proportion, building materials, sentry order alignment and a Planning Scheme Heritage Overlay on a beach owned by Bayside City Council. As simple structures, all retain classic Victorian architectural features with timber framing, weatherboards and corrugated iron roofs. They remain as they did over one hundred years ago, as licensed bathing boxes. No service amenities such as electricity or water are connected.