Pictures is the answer

A month has gone by, and I have not made any entries here, so I'm posting some pictures so you can see some what we've been up to.

October, of course, deserves an Octoberfest.

Michal & Adam are at work feeding us Bratwurst.

Coming to the serious part, the next weekend, the
experts (Natalie & Geoff) are cutting
pumpkins for Halloween.

Kellie is getting her pumpkin ready to insert the knife.

In the meantime, Patricia has a growing man to feed.

Another weekend trip was to Seattle, Patricia's old stomping
grounds during college at Univ of Washington.

The Chihuly glass exhibit at the Civic Center is a permenant home
of this famous Washington native son.

And as always, Patricia is creating great memories.

Back at home Michal, Adam and Kellie invited me for an
evening of wild entertainment, go-carts, pinball machines and minigolf.

Then, we are off again, this time to San Miguel de Allende
to visit our friends,Whitney and Don

Don waiting for Patricia who is discovering the town through
her lense.

Back home again hanging out having coffee at
the CUP, a little coffee shop in Oceanside.

Chef Kendal cooking at Native Foods Encinitas

There was a full house at the Native Foods Vegan Restaurant in Encinitas on Saturday as Chef Kendal Huff gave a very spirited cooking demonstration of several delicious recipes. Chef Kendal must be the best kept secret at Native Foods. The place was packed, and we were very impressed with the organization. Patricia took a video of Kendal making Tiramisu, which I posted on YouTube.
You can see the atmosphere and get an idea for registering early next time, as the seating is limited.

There was no room to swing a frying pan, and the samples kept coming.

We found it again

We were wondering where the Surfing Madonna went.  She showed up over night a while back on the underpass for the train tracks at Encinitas Blvd - until the council decided it had to go, because it constituted defacing public property.
On our walk today, Patricia and I came across a little coffee shop on 101 near Leucadia Blvd., and there she was in all her glory at cafe ipe .

What a beautiful Mosaic.

It's a bit tucked away, and you'll find it if you look.

Cafe Moto

Somehow, there always seems to be coffee in my life.  I can go without it for some time, but I always seem to come back to it. There was a time when Tea seemed to be the drink of choice, as I discovered that coffee is not good for my stomach; it gives me heartburn.  But, after a while, I try it again, and it seems to be ok.  So now it is again in my live in moderation. What's more, now 'they' tell me Coffee is good for me again, especially to ward off Alzheimer's.
A few days ago, Patricia and I went to our favorite coffee store to buy some tea and coffee. Cafe Moto is south of San Diego about 5 minutes drive from the CBD (that's Australian for Central Business District). We love this place, so much so that we always spend extra time there discovering new things, fantasizing about how we would stock our cafe and talking to the great staff.

They now have a little espresso bar.

Coffee galore and also in 5 lb. bags

Teas to smell 

and then to buy

I like my coffee black or with milk, but they also have flavors galore.

This is where the magic happens, in the Roastery.

This is what I am talking about when I say new things -
a coffee table outside made out of  pallets.

We just love this place.

The Yellow Deli

What a great place to eat and relax. Aariel had taken Patricia and me there a while ago.  The other day when we were there just before lunchtime, getting more familiar with the Vista area where we might buy a house, we decided to stop and refresh ourselves.  The Restaurant is called the Yellow Deli.  The food and atmosphere (the vibe) are great, the service excellent and the prices very reasonable.

Read their story; it's quite interesting and inspiring. 

Monday morning

This is where you will find me most Monday mornings, at the Java Hut Coffee House on 101 in Encinitas, Southern California having my latte and muffin with Glen. Life is tough for some of us.

This is the place, if you are looking for me.

Glen holding up the sign

Still in flux

 So once again we have moved out of our Crest Nest and are now staying with Aariel and Ryan for, we hope, only a short time. All is going well, and Patricia and I are having fun doing little jobs around their house.
Our social live is well and thriving. Last Sunday, we went to Corina's house where her mother Maria instructed us for a hour of yoga, and then we hung around to socialize.
On Thursday, Michal invited us for dinner at Via Italia in Encinitas, his favorite hangout, to meet our friends from Argentina, Mariano and Alejandra.

Sitting in front of our dessert seems to make us happy.

In the meantime at the house, the guard-dogs are working very hard, keeping their ears to the ground for Indians.

Sasha and Banjo in the midst of it.

We want to be helpful, so Patricia is building a vegetable garden, and I am
painting the garage floor.

After a day's work is done, Ryan entertains us,

while Patricia plays with Coconut, the cat.

This weekend it was time again to visit Annette & Guido in Anza for a few days.
It was still snowing last week, so the summer is not here quit yet.

Before we could get away for the weekend, we needed to support the
economy by having our car looked over and got the timing-belt and
some other stuff done.

We got there just in time to see Guido fix his antenna and some other
jobs done around the property; I mean just in time to be too late to help.

Friday night we went to an interesting talk about
how to grow your own mushrooms, held at the Public Library, which is in the High School, by a local doctor who was very much
into mushrooms in a good way. I found out that it can be very easy and that it
would go nicely alongside of making our wine.

Here he is describing an easy way of growing mushrooms in a bag
of wood shavings.

Saturday, Patricia and I went for a drive, not knowing exactly where to go,
and we ended up just about 40 minutes from the place where we staying.
The town is Idyllwild at 5000 ft, and they still had some snow on the side
of the road. We found a European Cafe (what do you expect), and we had to stop to
sample their food.

The whole town is very idyllic and lays in the middle of a forest.

Tomorrow we will go back to Aariel and the animals.
Rain has been forcast.

Last Weekend

This is it. Things have changed a bit.  Patricia just found out that her mother broke her hip and had a replacement, so we are going home 55 days earlier than expected. Patricia spent the day changing our bookings and informing all concerned that we are on the way.

I did spend a little time with Michaela in her studio watching her making a teapot and some cups and trying to be of some help.

Another beautiful Teapot

Then I went out with Dieter to get some sand for the chicken coop, so we cleaned that out

After we cleaned it it looked like a Hilton

and soon it was time to visit Arni and Urs at their home for dinner, and what a dinner it was, lots of food and more laughs.

Arni, Evelin, Dieter, Michael, Urs & Patricia. Michaela takes the picture

What a Paella

This is Urs's office

Time to eat and make conversation

 This was a great final day here in Surfers Paradise.

Now we are on our way back to Sydney, staying another night with Annette in Coffs Harbour. Then we pick up more of our luggage in Port Maquarie and say good-by to Mary White and to Rosie’s and head to Sydney to stay two nights with Neal and Pam.

Mary White. Patricia & I love this lady

Great Start into the 2012

The first day of the New Year is over, and we had a great start.  Eric suggested that we go for a walk to check out the area a bit, and we decided to head south. The weather was perfect for hiking, and after feeding the fish in his backyard pond, 

Eric started of with 5 fish and there are a hundred now

we drove to Bonny Hills and headed into the bush, mind you, we couldn't start until Patricia took a few pictures of the spectacular view from up here.

What an Ocean

This is just mind blowing beautiful 

Walking thru the bush in the shade of the trees is just the best, especially with the occasional glimpse of the ocean.

The camera distorted my size 

We then arrived after about 6km at North Haven beach and relaxed with a refreshing drink before starting our walk back.

This tastes great

It had me appreciate that I need to do a bit more walking; I was a bit out of breath after just a few miles, while Eric, 15 years my senior, was just chugging away at a good clip.  All in all, we were out for 5 hours and covered 12 km!  You convert it for yourself.

Eric leading the charge

Some Excitement @ Johns River

Johns River was buzzing with activity today.  This morning, a once-a-month market was on.  Then at 1:30, a panel of politicians, a farmers’ group and one scientist assembled in the Community Hall for a Q & A with the local population about the issue of coal seam gas exploration in the area, and in the evening, we had the Camden Brass Band playing Christmas Songs. A rousing good time was had by all.

When the town of Johns River was bypassed by the new highway a year ago, the market vendors initially stayed away, but they are now coming back as more people come to the once-a-month market to buy local handicrafts and produce.

Nice day to have a coffee and cake at the Market

The vendor on the phone, properly talking to his mom

A big deal at the moment is the coal seam gas exploration proposed for the larger area, and as with most things, there are people for and against, and some of the opinions are based on not enough information or information that is not relevant to the area.

Upper panel of experts and dignitaries and Lorri and David; lower panel Dr. Mary White and an opposition representative

Everyone is listening very attentively

Patricia debriefing, and Roy seems to be the only one listening 

The meeting was very well attended, and when the question: “who has learned something new today” almost everyone put the hands up, and the next question: “how many have changed there minds?” No hands went up.

The Hall is still empty, but soon the Christmas lights will be up

Then it was time to get ready for the Carols by Candlelight performance. The organizer put in a lot of work getting the right atmosphere going for Christmas; after all, it is the middle of summer here.

The band is playing jollily along

While the kids make an indoor picnic.

The kids loved father Xmas giving them little presents.

Luke kept busy grilling sausages and onions for sandwiches with beer in hand 

and the rest are standing around having a beer, a good Australia custom.

And then it is all over and the town goes back to its quietness.