Australia Day is pretty low key at our home, and it’s only been in recent years that we have done anything at all. We now have a family lunch at Mum’s with some traditional foods like BBQ, damper and lamingtons. There were also pavlova nests – which I skipped as part of my healthy eating plan :-).
We finished up lunch with a game of Cluedo.
This afternoon Kevin & I headed off to a Day on the Green – an outdoor concert at a Bowral vineyard.
I’d never been to such an event so was a little nervous about crowds, parking, etc. We had booked seats as I’m a big Ronan Keating fan and wanted to be able to see him (as opposed to watching a screen). We were about 10 rows back which was fabulous. You can purchase a set seat (which we did) or bring your own and picnic.
We arrived just before Damien Leith went on stage. I didn’t know any of his music but was quite impressed.
Then was Australian legend, Tina Arena. Boy, can that girl sing!
There were plenty of food stands – we had bought our own but it was cool night so we ended up buying some profritteroles and a hot tea! Just as Ronan Keating was about to come on we started to get a drizzly mist but at least it didn’t rain. Such a difference from 40 deg yesterday – it was around 17 in Bowral! This was our REAL view of the stage.
Ronan was fabulous – sang a great mix of songs both old and new and even did a great version of Bed are Burning!! Super fun night.
We left as he started to sing The Long Goodbye to try and beat the crowds. But unlike a normal concert he serenaded us all the way back to our car :-). It was good move as we able to get out of the car park without too much delay. Fantastic Night!!! Will definitely go another event.
And finally, just had to share my favourite Ronan song.
A couple of weeks ago when Amy was having a emotional time she requested a day out with just me. Today was that day. It was hard to think of something to do (that we wouldn’t want Kevin & Christy to miss out on). In the end we decided to drive to the Southern Highlands for some shopping and sightseeing.
We started to day with a visit to my optomotrist (I snapped the arm off my glasses last week which were fixed “temporarily”). We then stopped by Gloria Jeans for an ice chocolate (Amy chose Hot Chocolate) to enjoy on the way. And we headed off on our adventure.
First stop was the Visitors Center.We then drove on to Bowral where we wandered around the shops – so many lovely home shops – I could easily have spent LOTS of money but I was good and only got a few things I really loved. We got some clothes for Amy (some of which will be put away for our UK trip) and then had lunch at a cafe we had spotted earlier.
We didn’t buy any of the above yummies but they sure did look good. Amy had a pie which she enjoyed.
The same could not be said about my lentil salad. I ended up only eating the feta (which was delicious) and a few other bites. Really wasn’t my cup of tea.
While at lunch I checked out how to get to Wool Addiction. I thought Kevin would be very proud of me!
We loved the street of Bowral and the surrounding areas – so many trees and everything was green thanks to all the rain we’ve had lately. It was stinking hot day though – 38 deg. celcius.
We found the shop and got some wool (not that I really needed any). Amy picked some to make a scarf and I couldn’t resist after seeing a certain colour combination.
We then drove to Sutton Forrest to visit A Little Piece of Scotland. We had to buy some shortbread (which Amy tells me is nicer than the one we make – which I think is pretty darn good), Scottish Tablet and Scottish Breakfast Tea (which I’m enjoying as I type this).
Then it was on to Red Cow Farm where we explored the gardens, guided by the 3 collies who live there. The gardens were nice but well past their best. We still enjoyed our visit.
Our last stop in the Highlands was the Old Cheese Factory in Robertson. We had stopped for gelato but as soon as I saw they had scones with jam & King Island Cream I changed my mind. This is a cute little place – part shop and part cafe. Of course I had to buy some of the locally made camembert (my fav. cheese).
Loved the sign by the door.
After driving back down Macquarie Pass we headed to Shellharbour Square to get some new school shoes for Amy, baskets for my scrapbook room and a few other clothing items for the girls.
We had a fabulous day. Amy felt special and seemed to enjoy having me to herself for the whole day. I’ll definitely try to make this an annual event.
NOTE: Christy had a fun day out with her Nan – which included a trip to the movies – and I’ve promised her at least a half day out with me before she goes back to school.
This week we have been hanging out at the local roller skating rink – in fact we’ve been four times :-). I hadn’t skated in around 25 years and have been having a ball. I even got my VERY OWN skates! Here’s some photo from the week and a short little video Kevin took of me today – for your daily laugh!
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