Three days and counting. The 2010 Olympics are almost upon us. I remember the day in July, 2003 when it was announced that Vancouver would host these games. I was so happy. Back then I lived in Toronto. I had dreams of attending the games (in the audience of course). I had no idea what my future held, where I might be living come game time. I never would have guessed that I’d be two years into living in Sydney, Australia about as far away from these Olympics as I could be.
But, I am right beside you in spirit. I am counting down from half way around the world. I’ll be watching. I want to take in as much of this global showcase as possible.
Canada, while I may be far away, I hold you close in my heart. I wish you well in these games. I thank the organizers and athletes for all their preparation, determination and inspiration in bringing this competition to the world. I’ll be cheering for you Canada and for the spirited Canadian athletes who will stand, ski, skate and compete for their country. I wish you good luck, good spirits and a safe and enjoyable games. Do us proud Canada. 2010 is your time to Own the Podium!
Whether it be before, during or after the games, I will always be proud to be a Canadian.
What a fabulous event. Three cheers to Captain Crunch, Sarah and everyone else who did their part to make this one of the best club events yet!
This day long Canadian Australian Club event had us sailing from Gibson Marina, north through the Pittwater, around Lion Island, up the Hawkesbury River to Refuge Bay.
Sign me up for next time!
I took mostly stills, Chris mainly video, together they give you a glimpse at the highlights of our day… but there really is nothing like being there.
This Australia Day was, as ordered, another stunning summer’s day. So, like most good Aussies, we set out to enjoy it in fair dinkum Aussie fashion.
First stop… the beach of course! We swam in both the ocean and the rock pools at Curl Curl, we soaked up the sun for a while and Chris had his new board in the water and I had a play with my boogie board.
When we’d had enough of the sun, we headed for stop #2 – Circular Quay and The Rocks. With thousands of Aussies about, the patriotism was palpable - be they young or old, citizen or tourist, everyone was happy to display some good Aussie spirit. The harbour was humming with boats and the skies we showcasing some of Australia’s biggest and fastest birds. I was so taken by the numbers of people who were decked out in Aussie garb, that I started taking photos. I wanted to be able to share this with all of you. What follows is just a sampling of the Australiana that dotted the streets, the harbour and the beaches. Enjoy and maybe even think about joining us next year.
Topped up with Aussie spirit we arrived back at home where we set out to have ourselves a good Aussie feed. We fired up the barbie, tossed on some beef and made ourselves a dinner of burgers with “the lot”. Add to that a nice bottle of Aussie Shiraz, and Bob’s your uncle, what we had was some true Aussie tucker to top off a great Australia Day!
This past Sunday was not at all what I expected. When Chris said let’s close the computers forget about the housework, fill up the XL7 and see where she takes us, I was ready in a flash. I love our house, but it’s nice to get out of it once in a while. So, we packed the cooler (eskie), packed some clothes and camping gear and headed south. Our ultimate destination was Batemans Bay. We envisaged some swimming, snorkeling and exploring along the way. And we floated the possibility of camping overnight.
The warm sunny day we had awoke to disappeared about 40 minutes outside of Sydney when the rain started. But, we kept on keeping on. The weather didn’t improve. In fact, it got bloody cold. So that tossed a spanner (wrench) into our original plans. Sometimes that’s just life, isn’t it? You start off with a certain agenda and something outside of your control changes it. Today, that something was the weather.
Instead of donning our cossies (bathing suits) for a swim and snorkel, we stopped for a picnic lunch in quaint little town called Berry. Then we drove further into the gray day for awhile before stopping at McDonald’s (Macca’s) in Ulla Dulla where I enjoyed a coffee and Chris enjoyed free wifi.
Our next stop was lovely Lake Conjola, where it appears that the main access to the lake is through a trailer (caravan) park, so we didn’t stay too long, but long enough for a couple of photos though.
The coolest part of the trip by far was our stop at Pebbly Beach – we met up with a few kangaroos just hanging out in their original habitat. C’mon we’ll give you a peek…
Our post-kangaroo stop was Batemans Bay where we cruised around and then had a picnic dinner that included Chris’ Steak and Guinness pie ( if you want to see him making it, click here for the video) enjoyed as we looked out onto the Clyde River. The day was still cool, cloudy and very quiet for Bateman’s Bay. But I could now say that I’d been there. I’d like to go back to experience it in the sunshine though.
We began our trek back home, but decided to hop out and take a walk around Kiama.
Here Chris spied a white XL7 and then another Suzuki complete with the club bumper sticker so of course we followed them. It’s funny how cruising down the streets of Kiama on a whim led us to a chance meeting with Liz, Dave and Luke from the club. They invited us to join them for some of the best pizza I’ve ever had, but they also put us under NDA, so we are not allowed to reveal its name because the locals want to keep it to themselves.
Between the interesting stops, the Ted talks and podcasts we listened to along the way, the silly singing and car games as well as some great conversation, it was a lovely way to spend a Sunday, and while it didn’t go according to plan, our real plan was to enjoy the day and that we did! Thanks, honey.
Well it’s a circuit training facility that sits outside, smack dab in the middle of our neighbourhood park. The kids’ swings and jungle gym are still there too, but now the adults have some equipment to play on as well. Brilliant!
This particular setup has a stepper, a recumbent bike, a lat pull down, a chest press, a rower, a cross trainer and a few other machines. Yes, they’re a pretty basic design, but what a great concept our tax dollars going toward something innovative that also helps to address fitness concerns.
They seem to be popping up in a number of parks around Sydney. I guess the weather in Australia makes this a more viable option here than in other countries, but wouldn’t it be great if this was a trend we saw go global.
One thing’s for sure, it’s now a regular stop on our walks around the neighbourhood. And, in related news, I have cancelled my gym membership and am taking my workouts outside. Now, I just have to concentrate on working more of them into my schedule!
PS – on that note, it’s so cool that the nike running app is embedded in my iPhone so I can track all those walks/runs- those folks at Apple think of everything!
I am so very lucky to live, love and share my life with someone who teaches me so much.
While, I will often tease Chris about “playing computer” too much, but the truth is, I’m astounded by what he can accomplish during his time connected to the interwebs!
He has recently revised betchablog and changed blogging platforms. As I observed him during this project, I was able to witness someone who can balance a very clear vision of what he wants to accomplish with an openness and flexibility that leads him to explore and leverage all that is possible.
His innate curiosity leads him down paths filled with infinite learning. And, that learning is exponential and contagious as he shares with others along the way. He has taught me so much about technology, so much about learning, so much about possibility.
I will never cease to be impressed by this guy who can ease deftly from building a website, into building garage shelving, then onto building a fabulous dinner, all the while he’s helping to build the most important thing of all – a wonderful life for himself and me.
Honey, I learn from you ever day in so many ways. Thanks for being one of the greatest teachers I’ve ever had!
Being the carnivores that we are, we couldn’t resist the great deal we found on a slow cooker. So, yes, we bought ourselves a little post-Christmas pressie. Inspired by the amazing fall off your fork pulled pork we enjoyed at Sarah and Al’s on Christmas, we thought this would be a nice addition to our kitchen (now that we actually have the room to store it).
The inaugural dish did not disappoint – it was a tasty variation on a beef bourguignon. So incredibly tender and the flavours, so intense. It looked okay too!
We think we’ll be using this new appliance quite a bit. Anyone have any favourite recipes to share?
A huge THANK YOU goes out to our hosts Sarah, Allan and lil Tucker (and to everyone who attended) for a lovely festive dinner and an incredibly enjoyable day with some fabulous people. We certainly had ourselves a merry little Christmas…
