Curly Waves & Mary's Birthday

Sunday, April 1st 

Whelp, I completely forgot about April Fools. I’ll have to nab someone next year.  I used to play tricks on Dad when I was younger.  Instead, I took Mary and Laura to Curl Curl for some sun.  Mary and I played in the ocean, trying to stand our ground against the colossal waves.  They regularly surprised us with their strength and magnitude.  It was so much fun splashing in the water like a pair of giggling youngsters.  I was as giddy as a schoolgirl J

That evening I enjoyed pizza with Tom in Coogee.  They have so many different types of pizza here. We ordered a Tendori Pizza topped with chicken and a spicy sauce (Tendori), cucumbers, cashews, mushrooms and yogurt.  Very odd combinations but together it was actually a quiet harmonious explosion of taste.  (Don’t worry, the yogurt was more like sour cream.)  I’ll have to experiment more the next time I make homemade pizza.  I think I’ve been limiting myself to the traditional tomato sauce with cheese and pepperoni.  They also use barbeque sauce instead of tomato sauce sometimes… innovative.  Definitely thinking outside the box.

Monday, April 2^nd

I have two goals for today: 1) Find a harp to rent 2) Find a place to go for Easter with Laura and Mary. 

In regards to the first goal, Emila and Jerry decided they wanted to “hire” a harp for me to teach Mark how to play.  I was ecstatic!  I can play the harp again while I’m here.  I’ve missed playing so.  This is such a blessing! I’m also excited about teaching someone how to play.  I have yet to be a harp instructor.  This will be such a great learning experience for both of us!

The only problem is, there aren’t many harps here.  I’m having troubles finding a harp that is available for hire. (They say hire instead of rent here. Like, “Would you like to hire a car for the weekend” or “Surfer Boards for Hire”…) Sadly, after an afternoon of looking, I still haven’t found a harp for us to rent.  Emila would like a harp just after the Easter holiday.  This is when the kids will be on holiday for 2 weeks and I’ll have them all day every day.  It would be a perfect time to start teaching Mark how to play.  Hopefully I’ll find one soon.

Secondly, Laura, Mary and I want to go camping somewhere along the coast about 2 hours north of Sydney.  It will be warmer there and camping is a cheaper way to see some nice beaches and enjoy the outdoors.  Unfortunately, Easter is a HUGE travel holiday here and every last place I checked was booked.  We’ll have to go camping on another weekend, when the whole Eastern coast of 
Australia isn’t camping at the same time.

Manly Wine

So, I didn’t accomplish either of my goals and I missed out on a beautiful day outside. L Less than ideal.  However, it’s Mary’s birthday tomorrow so I’m taking her out to celebrate.  I bought her some flowers since she’s far from home and needs a proper birthday celebration.  We ate at the cute “Manly Wine” where we first met up.  Our dinner was sublime.  I relished every bite of my Pumpkin Ravioli.  It was to die for.  Odd, I know, but it was lick-your-lips good.  We sipped on a glass of wine, flirted with our waiter and enjoyed the ambience of the wine bar.  We also stopped by a stylish upscale restaurant/bar on the beach called the Whitehouse.  While enjoying a glass of wine, we talked about favorite birthday memories.  I am so blessed to have family and friends who gave me so many wonderful memories.
  

The Whitehouse Bar