Rose's 94th Birthday

Rose turned 94 on 15 July 2007 and to help her celebrate, Fred invited a number of friends and relatives, including her brother Ferdie, nephew Leon and his wife Lilo, who came out from Zurich for the occasion, to dinner at Omeros on the beach, at Ramsgate Beach.




Here are some photos of the happy occasion. The question: "is Rose 94 or just 49?"

An evening out

Last Friday evening, Diane and I went to the Rhinedorf German Restaurant at Beverly Hills for dinner. We shared Camembert Cheese, Deep-fried and served with cranberry sauce and salad for the entrée.

For the main course, Diane had Kasseler Rippchen, Smoked pork cutlets, chargrilled served with dumplings, sauerkraut and German mustard.

and I had Rinder Rouladen, Thinly sliced beef filled with onion, gherkin, bacon, oven baked served with mustard gravy, red cabbage and Spaetzle (noodles).

To wash it down, Diane had a lemon, lime and bitters;

and I had a half pint of Schlosser alt dark beer.

A very enjoyable meal and a great restaurant.

Afterwards, we enjoyed coffee at home and then went to the movies at Hurstville to watch Ocean’s Thirteen, a good story, plenty of action tinged with comedy.

Overall, a very pleasant evening together.

An interesting weekend

The weekend just past was very different - Lynda had left and it was strange and quiet. However, we did have some adventures and it was a great weekend.

Friday night I had a meeting at Burwood and afterwards came back to our friends' place where Diane joined us for coffee and then Diane and I drove to the airport to pick up Barbara who visited for the weekend. A very wet trip and we were glad to use the M5 because it was not raining in the tunnel.

Saturday was wet and Barbara had a wedding to attend and so Diane and I worked around the home. Then mid afternoon, Erika rang to invite us for dinner. Wow! what a surprise and what a lovely time spent enjoying the food and wine and catching up with dear friends Erika and Dave.

On Sunday, Barbara suggested we go to the Good Food and Wine show at Darling Harbour. There were more than 300 exhibitors with over 500 products and five venues of presentations running at selected times on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Again, a great time to sample food and wine and to mingle with a host of Sydney-siders out to have a great time on a wet Sunday afternoon. We were able to collect a range of free or very cheap samples. However, I think the dogs scored better than the humans from the sample bags. We just enjoyed our freebies at the show instead of bringing them home.

We again went to the airport today to say farewell to Barbara as she travelled back to Melbourne.

Farewell to Lynda

This afternoon, we said farewell to Lynda who is off to Canada to work at Teen Ranch for nine months.

There was a small gathering of friends at the airport, including Kristina, Emma, Lucas, Johnny, Paul, Kevin, Michael, Diane and me.

Check-in took an hour and a half with only four desks open so there was not a long while before Lynda had to board her flight to Auckland and then on to Los Angeles and Calgary where she will spend a few days with Julie. Then she is heading to Toronto to spend time with friends before going to the Ranch next weekend.

John's Graduation

Today John graduated from the University of Sydney with a Master of Business with Merit with majors in Business Information Systems and Small Business Management.



Diane and Lynda were able to be present at the ceremony which commenced at 2 PM in the Great Hall.







This was followed by refreshments in the main Quadrangle.


Afterwards, we all went and had afternoon tea at the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place in the city.



In the evening, Diane and John went to Summer Salt at Eloura, just north of Cronulla for dinner.

Diane had Potato & asparagus gnocchi with fresh sage & nut butter sauce for an entree and Baked brie with prosciutto, shallot & wrapped in puff pastry with red wine caramel and Leaf salad with palm sugar dressing for a main followed by tea and chocolates.

John had Baked brie with prosciutto, shallot & wrapped in puff pastry with red wine caramel for an entree and Pork belly with scallop & spinach colcannon for a main followed by Latte coffee and chocolates.

A very enjoyable meal and a good finish to a memorable day.

Dee Why

Today Lynda was off to meet friends on the North Shore so Diane and I travelled with her and then went off to see what we could find. Dee Why was a beautiful spot and one where I do not think I had ever been before. Diane had a Great Aunt who used to live at Dee Why when she was a child but all had changed since then. Lots of high rise accommodation and quite a trendy beachside shopping centre with lots of cafes and restaurants.

We decided it was time for lunch and discovered Sea la Vie cafe on The Strand overlooking the beach. Diane had Spinach and cheese in a puff pastry case with a salad garnish and a skim Cappuccino and I had French crêpe filled with chilli con carne topped with melted cheese and served with a side salad and a latte. The service was very good, cheerful staff and very fast and the meals were excellent. A good spot to go again, although it is about 90 minutes from home.

Afterwards, we walked along the beach, up the hill to gain better views and back down onto the rock platform and along by the three rock pools. There were lots of families and friends just enjoying the beautiful day. Dee Why is a spot I would like to explore further. Unfortunately we did not have the camera with us today but will be sure to take it next time.

Diane's Birthday

May is the Birthday month and today is Diane's Birthday.

It was a crafty morning followed by lunch with Lorraine at Dolce's Cafe at Oatley.



Lynda took Diane to dinner at Summer Salt at Cronulla.





Then when Michael and John arrived home from work, it was time to continue the celebration with a birthday cake from Michel's Patisserie and desert from the Lindt Shop in Martin Place.



We hope Diane had a very Happy Birthday and that this will be the beginning of a great year ahead.