Remembrance Day

As I sat down to write this blog the "Last Post" was playing on the radio and I observed a minutes silence.  I wonder how many others still do this.
We have now been home ten days and it has been full on.  We have had three trips to Cairns....four if you count the trip I have to make later today, a weekend in Cooktown for the races, a visit from our PNG friends, yoga twice this week to try and get some level of fitness again and sleep.....so much sleep! Our body clocks have taken awhile to adjust to the time changes.
In between all this I have been trying to cook some healthy meals to try and lose the kilos that accumulated on holidays.  I have loved watching Jamie Oliver's latest cooking show - Super Food Family Classics, and have purchased the book.  There are so many great healthy recipes and the one we have been enjoying is the Spinach Pici Pasta.  We have eaten it with zucchini, tomatoes and pine nuts and for todays lunch I am going to toss it with my 7 vegetable sauce and leftover chicken.
The pasta is so simple - 300g flour into the blender with 200g baby spinach and when it comes together in the processor you roll into lengths (think beans).

Our trip to Cooktown is now an annual thing that we do with our Mossman friends.  This year we were also joined by some old friends from Julia Creek.  It is a terrific weekend.  The racecourse is one of the nicest I have ever been to and we always book a seat in the marquee area.  It is well worth it, not just because it is close to the racetrack but the food platters they bring around all afternoon are very delicious.  It also helps to have our own private bookie and bar area.  We are not gamblers.  We each pick a horse and put $5 on the nose.  So, seven races equals $70.  Of this we were reimbursed $50 for our winnings.  I pick my horses by their name.  Couldn't give a damn about the stats!

We drive to Cooktown the day before the races and together with our friends we cook a bbq on Friday evening.  The motel that we stay at is situated right on the waterfront at Cooktown.  It is wonderful to watch the sunset over the water with a few beers and nibbles.

My mother-in-law is coming to visit us next week for a couple of days and then we will take her to Cairns where Philip's brother has just had a hip replacement.  The following week we will head to Cooktown Crossing for a couple of nights.  It is a lovely camping spot and we want to make sure that all the wiring for the camper in the new vehicle is working correctly before we head away in December. We have also bought an inflatable kayak/canoe and it is the perfect place to practice using it.  A first for me!