Another week in Paradise

We really are so blessed to live in this lovely tropical part of the world and even more so when I think about a lot of the folks around the world who are going into a second Covid lockdown.  This insidious pandemic is never ending.  I wonder if we should somehow just try and live with the damn thing and take our chances.  I know the elderly would suffer but talking to my mum about it, well I don't think they are too worried.  And lest not forget that us baby boomers are now also the older generation and even though I have a somewhat compromised immune system I am ready to tackle Covid head-on. Bring it on and let's open up our country again.  Ok, I will now get off my soapbox.......

So what's been happening this past week or so.  We decided, finally, to put the Camper up for sale.  What a drama that's been.  What is it with people that can't make a decision!  We had a huge response to the sale and a couple from Cairns asked for an immediate inspection, that we agreed to.  They said yes they will take it and that they had paid the $$'s into our account.  We were very happy but that was short-lived when we received a message the next day that they had decided against.  Back to the drawing board and more advertising.  So now we have a couple from Victoria (!!) who have paid a hefty deposit and getting a friend to inspect the camper on Wednesday.  I don't have a good feeling about this potential sale though.  The logistics of getting the camper down to Victoria I think will defeat them.

We also sold Philips old Trek Bike on gumtree this week and that was another drama with people "to and frooing".  But it did sell relatively fast so we can't complain.  

So what else has been happening this week.  

We enjoyed our first Connoisseur's Lunch this week at the Reef House Resort. The group get together once a month to enjoy a lunch at various venues around Palm Cove.  They have a guest speaker and this week we were lucky enough to enjoy a talk from Paul Furse who's grandfather is thought to be the original James Bond 007 and yes there really was an M.  Paul inherited all his grandfathers diaries and he spoke for most part straight from those diaries.  The lunch we ate was really lovely with lots of choices.  I chose the Crispy Skin Salmon with asparagus puree followed by Lime Brûlée.  We were given a glass of champagne on arrival and we sipped on a delicious Sauvignon Blanc during the talk.  It was a lovely lunch and we met some really nice people who I'm sure we will meet up with again.  We now know a lot more about the area we are living in and the "things" going on and that was the whole idea of going to the lunch.

My two friends and I went to a Terrarium making course on Saturday.  It was lots of fun and it was interesting to see how different our terrariums where, even though we used identical plants and embellishments.  Mine is sitting in the bathroom under the skylight at the moment.  One of my plants is already looking a little sad so I may have to find another spot.

On the cooking front I was surprised to find a Burrata in the cheese section of my local Coles store this week.  Wow, I had always wanted to try one and believe me I was not disappointed.  The recipe I chose was a simple pasta dish that took a whole 10 minutes to put together and I placed the Burrata ball in the middle of the bowl and then broke it apart and mixed through the pasta.  My husband voted it a definite keeper and I have to say it really was one of best pasta dishes I have made!

Yesterday we woke early to watch the start of the Ironman 70.3.  The swim leg is right along the waterfront here at Palm Cove so we had a birds eye view.  They close the whole esplanade so it was lovely to see people instead of cars on Williams Esplanade!  

Our friends came and joined us for breakfast afterwards and they are always enjoyable company.  Kate sent me some photos yesterday dating back to 1978 just after we were married.  Gee I wish I knew then what I know now......or maybe not....

Take care folks

x Judi

Time flies........

To say that we have been busy is quite the understatement.  Philip and I both commented that we have to somehow stop jamming so much into a week.  For goodness sake we are retired and should be slowing down not speeding up.  I wonder if deep down we are worried that we are going to become bored.  Heaven help us........I wish!

It's been well over a month since I last posted and so much has happened in that time.  Philip flew down to Marco for ten days to help him erect a new fence. When he flew home he brought Mum with him who stayed for two weeks and didn't that fly.  I decided to deliver mum back to Brisbane so I flew down and back in the same day.  It wasn't difficult as I managed to get back to back flights so I only had two hours to kill in Brisbane.

After mum left it was a quick pack up of the van for a trip to Mission Beach with two other couples who are very special friends.  It seemed that we just got into relaxation mode and we had to once again pack up and return home.  Note to self.....book for at least a week next time.  Mission Beach is such a beautiful place and it was very fitting that we were able to celebrate what should have been Kurt's 41st birthday at Buko Restaurant at Castaway Resort. I highly recommend this restaurant.  We chose tapas that just keep flowing and were both delicious and filling.  Of course they were washed down with cocktails for the women and beers for the men.

In this past week our new lounge arrived and I LOVE it.  We purchased it from UD Furniture in Brisbane. The furniture is handmade to perfection and it is well worth paying the extra dollars to get quality.  They usually have a turnaround of four weeks but as the material from Warwick Fabrics had to come from Melbourne there was a slight delay.  Still, all in all it is much faster than our bedside tables and dresser that were ordered from Harvey Norman in July and are still on a slow boat from China.  We honestly thought we were purchasing Australian Made.  Another note to self.......check origin thoroughly.

We had to hire a crane to take the old lounge away and bring the new one in.  It caused quite a bit of commottion in the street.  Folks just love watching a crane operate and I must admit I couldn't stop taking photos.  The crane operator and his offsider were magicians at manoeuvring that furniture from three floors up!

So that brings us to this week that has been lots of fun with three girlfriends (all ex Julia Creek) rocking up for sundowners and pizza on Saturday night. We had so much fun and laughter as the drinks flowed.  We were quite a noisy lot and I did try to take the party inside but they were having none of that!  We had the obligatory photo shoot before they left at midnight.

Sunday we both hit the road, Philip on his bike and I did the 6km walk to the end of Clifton Beach.  It was probably not the best thing to choose after a big night but it felt good.  After all that exercise we decided to walk down to the Underground Restaurant for lunch and it is another restaurant I can recommend.  I had the pork belly and sides that absolutely melted in the mouth.  Philip chose the garlic prawn pizza that was also "to die for" delicious.

So that brings me to today that is relatively quiet.  We had to move a painting over the lounge and rearrange the lounge slightly but that is about it.  We are still making lunch our main meal and suits us very well.  I like to "go go go" in the morning and relax in the afternoon so lunch fits in well with that plan.  I slow cooked a ragu two days ago that has been sitting in the fridge and developing flavours.  We will have that with gnocchi today and the leftover will go into the freezer for meat pies next week.

My way of relaxing lately has been huddled over the jigsaw table.  I bought an easel style table that certainly makes doing a puzzle a lot more user friendly.  Mum bought two puzzles with her so I have completed them and am now working on a rather complicated puzzle.  It is a photo of Portofino and I love it so much.  I dream about the day that we might be able to once again return to Italy!

Take care everyone,

x Judi,