meme time

(bold means I've been there, done that - italics are just comments)



1. Started your own blog.

2. Slept under the stars.

3. Played in a band. I used to play flute in the primary school band

4. Visited The Great Barrier Reef.

5. Stood under the stars in the outback, the real outback – think Uluru.

6. Given more than you can afford to charity.

7. Been to the Gold Coast’s theme parks – anyone, you take your pick. Dreamworld

8. Climbed a mountain.

9. Held a praying mantis.

10. Sung a solo.

11. Bungee jumped, jumped out of plane, been paragliding or hang-gliding, hot air ballooning – you get the idea, you’ve been hundreds of metres about earth in a seemingly flimsy contraption. None of these things, but I have done a fair bit of travelling both in light planes and tiny air-nuigini planes that felt pretty flimsy

12. Visited Paris.

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.

15. Had a child. Raised a child. Worked with children. had 2 babies

16. Had food poisoning. and a stay in a third world hospital to prove it

17. Been to the Snowy Mountains.

18. Grown your own vegetables.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.

20. Slept on an overnight train or bus.

21. Had a pillow fight.

22. Been backpacking.

23. Taken a mental health day.

24. Been buried in sand with just your head and toes sticking out.

25. Held a possum, kangaroo or koala – or any other native Australian animal.

26. Gone skinny dipping.

27. Run a marathon does a half marathon count - I am saying yes!

28. Been on the Blue Mountain cableway.

29. Seen a total eclipse. and a famous comet

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. both - over the ocean is the best

31. Played, or watched, summer cricket. bring back 'the hill'

32. Been to Niagra Falls on the Canadian side

33. Seen the Daintree.

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.

35. Visited an Aboriginal settlement or mission. Bathurst Island

36. Learned a new language. although out of practice, I used to be fluent in PNG tok pisin and could probably still hold a conversation

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. I think so

38. Toured the Sydney Opera House.

39. Tried rock climbing (indoor or outdoor), abseiling or just simple bushwalking bushwalking for me - the other two are scary

40. Visit Queensland’s Gallery of Modern Art

41. Been to the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

42. Sunbaked at Bondi.

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.

44. Visited Broome.

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.

46. Been transported in an ambulance. Twice - once with Kya and once with Mali

47. Had your portrait painted.

48. Gone fishing.

49. Seen Tasmania’s old growth forests.

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling. I did my PADIcertification in Alotau and the only diving that I have done is in the Pacific

52. Kissed in the rain.

53. Played in the mud.

54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.

55. Gotten a speeding ticket - yes, but only once

56. Driven the Great Ocean Road. a road trip with Kate and Jen during uni

57. Started a business.

58. Taken a martial arts class. I went to Yun Jung Do for a while

59. Visited Norfolk Island.

60. Served at a soup kitchen.

61. Sold Girl Guide biscuits.

62. Gone whale watching. I have seen whales on the northern beaches of Sydney, but have never been on a special whale watching 'cruise' or anything

63. Got flowers for no reason.

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.

65. Gone parasailing.

66. Stayed the night in jail.

65. Cried so hard you threw up - yes… don’t care to revisit that.

68. Flown in a helicopter. and far too many VERY VERY small light planes

69. Saved a favourite childhood toy.

70. Visited the Australian War Memorial.

71. Eaten Caviar.

72. Pieced a quilt.

73. Stood in Federation Square.

74. Been on the Murray River.

75. Been fired from a job.

76. Travelled, or climbed, over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

77. Broken a bone.

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.

79. Seen the Three Sisters at Echo Point, Katoomba.

80. Published a book.

81. Visited St Mary’s Cathedral, in Sydney.

82. Bought a brand new car.

83. Been to Litchfield National Park

84. Had your picture in the newspaper.

85. Read the entire Bible.

86. Visited Parliament House.

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.

88. Had chickenpox.

89. Saved someone’s life.

90. Sat on a jury.

91. Met someone famous.

92. Joined a book club.

93. Lost a loved one.

94. Saved a pet.

95. Been to the site of the Eureka Stockade.

96. Swum in The Whitsundays.

97. Been involved in a lawsuit. only through work, no juicy story here

98. Owned a mobile phone.

99. Been stung by a bee. and I am allergic

100. Read an entire book in one day those were the days

book list for 2009

The Last Wednesday Bookclub has set the reading list for 2009.

Edited to update on the January book -
We had the January meeting here at my place and the book - Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert provoked a lot of discussion, with people loving it or hating it. I was a bit in-between - I felt it difficult to relate to the author even though we had been through a similar traumatic marriage break-up. Having children, the liberty to run away just doesn't exist sadly.

The books for the remainder of the year are:

The Cure for Modern Life
Lisa Tucker

Atonement
Ian McEwan

The Secret Life of Bees
Sue Monk Kidd

The Slap
Christos Tsiolkas

When Gaston met Doris

Anne of Green Gables (2009 is the 50th anniversary of the release of AOGG)
Lucy Maud Montgomery

Infidlel
Ayaan Hirsi

Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe

Girls Like Us
Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon

The Young Widows Book of Home Improvement
Virginia Lloyd

To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee

We have a great list this year and I'm looking forward to getting all of them read. I used to be a voracious reader, but these days I find it hard to just get through my book club books unless I am going through a period of travelling frequently for work.

berry croissant pudding recipe

This recipe came from my friend Skue and it has become a favourite here that I often take when I am asked to bring a dessert.

Blueberry Croissant Pudding
butter for greasing
3 large croissants, cut length ways into thick slices (I have also used mini ones and they are fine too)
1 punnet blueberries (I have used frozen blueberries, raspberries, frozen mixed berries or chocolate pieces (white or milk) all turn out yummy)
250 gm block philly cheese, softened
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 cup cream
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)

Grease a 6 cup ovenproof dish
arrange croissant slices in a single overlapping layer in the base on the dish
Sprinkle with berries
beat the Philly and caster sugar until smooth
gradually pour in cream , milk, eggs and vanilla until mixed
pour the mix over the croissants and leave to stand for at least 30 minutes
sprinkle liberally with the brown sugar
bake at 180 degrees C in a water bath for 40 minutes or until golden
serve hot with cream or ice cream

YUM!

Hello big 4!

My big girl turned 4 in eary January. She woke up and said "goodbye three, hello four"
As is the usual tradition in our home, we wear a special birthday crown when we blow out our candles, but Lulu kept the crown on all day

Holiday time

Wonderful summer holidays. Great Christmas; time with far away friends; beach holiday....bliss.